EDFF 04

Chapter 4

Catching Fish

A young woman who had never gotten her hands wet in her entire life suddenly deciding to catch fish in a valley—it was almost laughable.
She might as well wish for food to fall from the heavens.
Unlike So Yeon-hui, who brimmed with confidence thanks to her experience living in the mountains, the children’s eyes were filled with concern.
“I didn’t know fish liked Doenjang.”
At So Yeon-su’s somewhat cool remark, So Yeon-hui hastened to elaborate.
“Strictly speaking, it’s Doenjang. You see, if you pack soybeans well and let them ferment in salt water, the liquid that develops becomes what we call Ganjang, and the remaining solids, seasoned with salt and pressed down, become Doenjang. Fish absolutely love that pungent aroma.”
It was an old explanation, but this place, despite resembling East Asia in many ways, had yet to develop a robust fermentation culture.
Fish sauces called Meat Sauce were quite common, it seemed, but the long-fermented condiments like Ganjang and Doenjang did not yet exist here.
‘But I have the Spatial Storage.’
The Spatial Storage contained a variety of commercial-grade seasonings, so obtaining Doenjang was hardly difficult.
‘Though I did have some trouble transferring it from the original containers.’
At first I’d tried to keep everything in the plastic containers as they were, but then I realized—Korean characters, pictures of soybeans—it all looked far too strange.
This was an age rife with superstition.
What if someone mistook it for some kind of curse magic?
Already, due to the consciousness of a modern person inside me, there was a certain distance between who I’d been and who I was now.
So Yeon-hui resolved to leave not even a speck of anything that might invite misunderstanding.
‘Fortunately, the Thatched Cottage still has plenty of things left by the previous owner, so making excuses isn’t difficult.’
I’d said I’d dug it up from the yard and brought the jar as is, and everyone simply accepted it as truth.
“Anyway, since we have both a basket and Doenjang, catching fish shouldn’t be too hard.”
“Really? We don’t need nets or traps?”
“Of course not. Bamboo traps require careful observation of the water flow to set properly—it’s actually harder to catch fish that way.”
Some people say to position the opening upstream; others insist on the opposite.
Even the elders don’t agree on how to set traditional traps properly—need I say more?
Though there were indeed several parts I wasn’t entirely confident about, the three So siblings set off together toward the valley.
And beneath water clearer than glass, they marveled at schools of small fish swimming in formation.
“Wow, it’s practically half water, half fish!”
“Right? If we catch all of them, we could eat well for days!”
Assuming, of course, that we actually manage to catch them.
The children expressed their joy at the sight of the fish while taking care not to become too giddy.
They already understood well enough that fish in the water, no matter how plentiful, were worthless if they couldn’t be caught.
Meanwhile, So Yeon-hui, delighted, hiked up her skirts and tucked them around her waist.
Even the valley near home during her time in the mountains had fairly clear water, but never with this many fish, so she could scarcely contain her excitement.
“Yeon-su, Yeon-u—would you gather stones about this size from around here? Then let’s stack them in a long barrier from the edge of the stream toward the center, funnel-shaped.”
“Stone barrier? Why suddenly a stone barrier?”
“To make a Fish Trap—a fish weir, that is.”
The Fish Trap, also called a Fish Weir, is a fishing method humanity has used since the Stone Age.
Despite its primitive nature, it’s quite effective—so much so that on Jeju Island and the South Coast, such trap-fishing methods are still favored.
Even at the Geumgang River Estuary, a similar but wood-built version called the Bamboo Fish Trap is used as a traditional fishing tool.
“By stacking stones like this to constrain the water flow, fish naturally gather more easily. If you add a rounded trap at the end, the gathered fish will find it hard to escape. Then you can catch them easily even without nets.”
“We can catch them by hand?”
“Sure. As long as your hands are quick enough.”
Despite So Yeon-hui’s earnest explanation, the children remained skeptical, though they dutifully gathered and stacked stones scattered about the area.
When she’d first brought up the idea, I’d thought they might refuse to help, looking at me as if I were mad.
The actual response was the complete opposite, and I felt somewhat bewildered.
‘Why did they suddenly change their minds?’
Were they really that hungry for fish?
But thinking about it, the suspicion made sense.
Lately, the So household had eaten nothing but Blood Rice Porridge and boiled vegetables.
‘Today I absolutely must make them some Fish Soup to properly nourish their bodies.’
Growing children with inadequate meals didn’t hesitate to rush forward at the mere mention of meat, care thrown to the wind.
Going forward, whatever else might happen, So Yeon-hui inwardly resolved to never let these children go hungry.
After perhaps a quarter hour had passed,
a fairly convincing stone trap had been completed.
So Yeon-hui spread Doenjang inside the basket she’d brought beforehand, then laid it at an angle at the bottom of the stone trap, securing it firmly with large rocks so it wouldn’t float away.
Finally, she covered the trap with leafy branches to create shade—and that was truly the end of it.
“Whew. All done.”
“Will fish really be caught with just this?”
“Of course. We just have to wait about two hours.”
But to idle away time like this would be unlike a Korean.
Tucking the remaining basket under her arm, So Yeon-hui spoke.
“Well then, shall we take a light stroll through the forest?”
As the saying goes, an autumn forest is a treasure house.
Her steps quickened with rising anticipation, and her eyes shone like stars.
She didn’t notice that her younger siblings’ faces had grown curiously shadowed.
* * *
Indeed, the autumn forest held plenty of food. Mountain vegetables, wild ginger and arrowroot, yam and other root plants.
She even discovered a whole heap of plump, well-fed chestnuts.
Though the process of harvesting them proved somewhat troublesome.
“You two! Let’s gather those chestnuts over there!”
“What? No way. If a spine pricks our hands, what then?”
“Right. I heard that if you get hurt badly, the wound could fester.”
The children’s concern wasn’t without merit.
Without disinfectant or bandages here, even minor wounds could turn into serious injuries.
But did one really need to cut one’s hands open just to open these perfectly ripe chestnuts?
“Don’t worry! Just use your feet to peel away the spiky shell and pick out the nuts.”
So Yeon-hui spoke confidently, yet the doubt in the children’s eyes showed no sign of fading.
If it was terrifying to touch a chestnut burr even with careful hands for fear of being pricked, how could one possibly peel them with one’s feet?
Was such a feat truly possible?
Yet remarkably, So Yeon-hui actually succeeded in opening chestnuts with her feet.
Selecting a half-opened burr and pressing the side of it firmly with both feet, the shell burst open and the chestnut tumbled right out.
“……It actually works?”
“Really. I was sure it wouldn’t.”
So Yeon-su and So Yeon-u stared with blazing eyes, alternating their gaze between the split chestnut shell and their sister.
That intense regard was less than comfortable—her cheeks actually burned from it.
“The sole is thick enough that your feet won’t get pricked. But don’t step on anything too unripe—only touch the ones where the spikes have turned a slightly brown color. Understood?”
So Yeon-hui said this while hurriedly turning her head away.
Her siblings’ expressions felt somehow unusual.
It seemed they’d moved beyond simple doubt into something far more complex.
‘Well. I understand.’
A woman who’d spent her entire life sheltered in the Capital City suddenly treating the mountains like her own home, expertly foraging for food.
It would be harder not to find it suspicious.
‘But I’m their sister, so they won’t report me to the village as some demon, right?’
Just as I was beginning to regret perhaps overdoing things out of desperation to feed them,
a grove of hawthorn trees suddenly caught my eye.
“Look! Look there! Hawthorn Fruit! If we gather that and make a snack, it’d be wonderful!”
So Yeon-hui cried out and rushed forward.
Then, as if she knew nothing of their doubts, she busily picked Hawthorn Fruit and filled the basket.
“We probably don’t need to eat those.”
“Right. They were so sour my tongue hurt.”
“We can’t afford to be picky about food! Be grateful for anything you can put in your mouth!”
The So household was poor and in no position to choose food based on taste or nutrition.
Besides, sincere effort moves even heaven.
Three children wandering the forest determined to survive by any means—surely heaven was moved and provided sustenance.
With such brazen conviction, So Yeon-hui diligently collected fruit.
[Good Deed (Minor) Completed: You have secured provisions for your family.]
[2 Points have been earned.]
[Current Points: 8]
It absolutely was not her eyes that had gone wild because points were accumulating every time she gathered food.