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"Can someone think of a way to catch them together with something?"

Hearing them shouting, Jian Mo straightened up and looked over at them.

Wu Jiong stood up too.

The moment the young people met Wu Jiong's gaze, they fell silent and hurriedly lowered their heads to catch fish.

Wu Jiong tossed the fish he had caught into a basket and bent down to continue catching them.

Jian Mo found the scene before him somewhat amusing.

He said to Wu Jiong, "If catching them one at a time is too much trouble, you could have people drive the fish down from upstream and scoop them up once they get here."

Wu Jiong said, "Drive them down?"

Jian Mo gestured. "Yes. You can build a dam downstream, then have people run down along the river. The fish will be startled and swim downstream, and we'll just have to wait by the dam and scoop them up."

Wu Jiong thought for a moment. "That could work. I'll go tell them."

Wu Jiong gathered everyone and told them about the idea. They all thought it was worth trying.

Quite a few people transformed into their enormous beast forms on the spot and began running through the marsh.

It was late autumn, and the beastmen had already grown in their coats. Their fur was longer than before and fluffy.

Jian Mo could tell at a glance from their pricked-up ears and gently swaying tails that they were in a very good mood.

Most of the people in the tribe were felines or canines, and looking out at them now, he felt as if he were seeing a pack of big cats and dogs.

Cats and dogs really did love water. Even though they hadn't caught any fish yet, they were already excited, running back and forth through the marsh.

The few beastmen who hadn't transformed joined the sub-beastmen in building a mud dam downstream.

Once it was finished, Jian Mo and the others waved to the people upstream from afar.

The beastmen let out a few roars to show they'd received the signal.

Then they lowered their heads and ran downstream.

Muddy water splashed everywhere, and soon the fluffy creatures' legs, bellies, rumps, and tails were covered in it.

They paid no attention to the mud on their bodies and ran even faster.

As they ran downstream, the schools of fish were driven along with them.

A dense mass of dark backs filled the channels. Even though they'd only just started scooping, Jian Mo could already tell they were sure to have a huge haul today.

"Quick, quick, quick! Start scooping!"

"Don't let the fish get away!"

"Scoop them up! Straight onto the bank!"

Even as they spoke, everyone had already sprung into action.

Some grabbed fish with their hands and threw them onto the bank, some scooped them up in baskets and tossed them ashore, and others caught them directly in their mouths.

Fat, plump fish rained down on the bank, flopping about with a patter.

Anyone standing near the fish might accidentally get slapped a couple of times by a tail.

Seeing that the method worked, the beastmen ran back upstream, this time driving the fish down from farther away.

Jian Mo looked up at the muddy big cats, giant wolves, and foxes, and couldn't help seeing in them those big cats and dogs that loved diving into mud puddles.

They really did look alike.

Fortunately, he didn't have to wash them this time, or he really might have ended up crying from all the washing.

Jian Mo looked away and discovered that Wu Jiong was watching him.

Wu Jiong was perfectly clean. If he transformed into a giant wolf, he would surely be a clean, handsome one.

Thinking this, Jian Mo smiled at Wu Jiong in a good mood.

"The second batch of fish is coming!"

Di Ya, transformed into a giant white wolf, ran at the front. He had turned into a muddy wolf and was enjoying himself with his tongue hanging out.

As he went around Qing Kuo, he took the opportunity to lower his head and lick Qing Kuo's hair.

Qing Kuo grabbed him by the scruff and rubbed him, his eyes full of laughter.

Jian Mo watched the pair, then quietly turned his head away before they looked over.

Now that everyone had found a method, the fish were easy to catch.

Huge numbers of fish were driven downstream, and everyone used their own methods to catch them and toss them onto the bank one after another.

Between rounds of driving the fish, everyone threaded ropes through the fishes' gills, then lifted the strings of fish into baskets.

As they strung the fish, they picked out the smaller ones and threw them back into the river.

Everyone worked until the afternoon. Only after they had used up all the rope they had brought and filled all the baskets did they get ready to head home.

Everyone was covered in muddy water. After they returned, they took soap to the river and gave themselves a thorough wash, cleaning away every trace of fishy smell and grit.

That evening, the tribe gathered at Wu Jiong's house to learn how to prepare fish from Jian Mo.

The weather had been rather cold lately, and the evening wind felt only a few degrees above freezing. It was already cold enough to make cured meat.

A few days earlier, Jian Mo had taught them to cure beast meat and fish with coarse salt and powdered seasonings, leaving it to marinate overnight and hanging it outside to dry during the day. Repeating the process would ensure the quality of the cured meat.

They were going to make cured fish today, and Jian Mo said, "The steps are all the same. Just clean it thoroughly, rub it with salt and powdered seasonings, and leave it to cure."

Although everyone understood, they were still a little unsure and wanted Jian Mo to help make sure they got it right.

Jian Mo didn't mind, so he had everyone bring their fish outside Wu Jiong's house to cure them.

While the others made cured fish, Jian Mo was going to fry fish pieces.

As he had last time, he washed the pieces clean, rinsing away as much blood as possible, and pulled out the fishy lines before adding seasonings and fruit wine to marinate them.

This time, however, once they had finished marinating, he didn't take them outside to dry. Instead, he mixed egg into the hairy-root starch he had made earlier, coated the pieces in it, and fried them in a stone pot.

The fish pieces rose and sank in the pot, giving off little bubbles, and soon a delicious aroma wafted up.

Jian Mo scooped out the fried fish and put it in a basket to drain off the oil.

Seeing everyone around him watching eagerly, he picked up the basket and said with a smile, "You can eat now. Careful, it's hot."

Zhou Fu was the first to take a piece, unable to wait. After one taste, Zhou Fu's eyes lit up. "This fish is so delicious! There's no fishy smell at all."

Xi Lu said, "It's so tender inside, completely different from the fish pieces last time!"

Jian Mo nodded. "They're both fried fish pieces, but I did use different techniques. These are meant to be a little crispier on the outside and more tender inside."