My Manor

In North America, the crime rate is actually the highest in winter. The weather is cold, and the roads are slippery. If a crime is committed in the suburbs, the police will typically arrive within three minutes during other seasons. However, in winter, it can take much longer — sometimes more than thirteen minutes.

This is why winter is also the favorite season for thugs. However, the United States is in a better position compared to its northern neighbor, Canada. The U.S. has more people and more workers to manage road maintenance. While some smaller roads may not be cleaned in time, the main roads are usually cleared quickly. In contrast, Canada, with a population of only 35 million spread across the second-largest land area in the world, faces a different challenge.

Canada is vast and sparsely populated. The salary for cleaners is among the highest in the country, but even so, there are not enough workers. As a result, main roads are often difficult to clean. Urban areas are somewhat better maintained, but once you leave the cities, it's almost a snowy wilderness everywhere.

Although Philemon and Jiang Hai were not afraid of trouble, they saw no reason to invite any. Safety was their top priority during this outing, so they chose a river near Winthrop, which was close by and relatively safe.

What? The river is close to people but lacks fish? That's not an issue. Where are they? The United States!

Americans generally don't eat river fish, so as long as there's water, there's usually an abundance of fish.

After Jiang Hai and the others parked the car, they got out with their gear. Harriman seemed excited — it was clear he hadn't been on an outing like this in quite some time due to his stable job. He quickly retrieved a sledgehammer and an iron bar from the car to start breaking the ice.

Breaking the ice has its own technique. It's not as simple as smashing a hole and dropping a line. If the hole isn't made properly, the ice could crack, which can be dangerous if someone falls in.

So, ice breaking is actually a skill that requires experience. First, you need to crack the ice with iron rods, then cut it open and use iron claws to remove the chunks. Jiang Hai was familiar with this process. As a resident of Ice City, he often saw people cutting ice from the riverside during winter to make ice lanterns and sculptures.

However, knowing about it and doing it are two different things. Jiang Hai had never tried it himself. Fortunately, Philemon and Harriman were experienced and got to work.

Before long, they had opened a square ice hole about one and a half meters wide — not perfectly shaped, but sufficient for their needs. After opening the hole, Philemon quickly lit a fire on the ice to keep them warm.

Lighting a fire on the ice won't melt it, but sitting or squatting on ice for too long can be freezing. The fire made things much more comfortable. As Philemon tended to the fire, Harriman prepared the fishing hooks.

For North Americans, ice fishing is straightforward. They break the ice, add bait, and wait for fish like Asian carp to show up near the surface. Jiang Hai could already see the shadows of fish swimming under the ice.

However, Americans don't eat Asian carp, so they aim for other fish when ice fishing.

Good fish — the native species — take a bit more time to catch.

"These are the baits," Harriman said, smiling at Jiang Hai as he opened two buckets. As soon as the lids came off, Jiang Hai's stomach churned.

Both buckets were filled with worms. One bucket had various kinds of insects, some resembling centipedes with soft bodies, while others looked like oversized earthworms. Jiang Hai recoiled in disgust. The other bucket contained a bunch of tied-up worms, which made his scalp tingle. He instinctively took two steps back.

"Don't worry, they don't bite," Harriman laughed as he reached into one bucket and grabbed a worm with legs. He then pulled out a syringe from his backpack and injected air into the worm's body, making it puff up like a balloon.

"They're harmless. This bucket is full of sandworms," Philemon explained with a grin. "Harriman and I caught them this morning. The other bucket has shipworms. Edward raised those specifically for fishing and gave us some when he heard we were coming."

Both sandworms and shipworms are considered excellent bait, especially for sea fishing. In parts of southern China and Southeast Asia, these worms are even edible. However, Jiang Hai couldn't bring himself to stomach the thought.

In the past, Jiang Hai's fishing experience was limited to catching earthworms. Anything beyond that was a psychological hurdle he struggled to overcome.

"How about this? I'll handle the bait, and you fish," Harriman offered, seeing Jiang Hai's discomfort. Smiling gratefully, Jiang Hai accepted the fishing line from Harriman, then sat on a bench, keeping a noticeable distance from the buckets of worms.

As he sat and waited, Jiang Hai kept an anxious eye on the buckets, worried that the worms might spill out and crawl toward him. It was an irrational fear, but similar to how people afraid of heights feel like they'll fall when standing on a ledge.

"Boss, pin your license to your chest or arm," Philemon reminded him. "We're close to town. If the police come to check, we don't want to scare the fish away."

Jiang Hai nodded and pulled out his fishing license from his jacket pocket.

Fishing in the United States is different from China. You need a license to fish legally, or risk imprisonment. The U.S. also enforces seasonal fishing bans for certain freshwater species. If you fish quietly and avoid detection, you can sometimes get away with it — especially when it comes to Asian carp, which can be fished year-round.

But today, they weren't after carp. They were looking for more valuable fish.

Perhaps due to the cold weather, the fish were slow and ate less, which is typical of cold-water species. These fish don't grow as large as tropical species because they feed for about eight months of the year and starve for the remaining four.

After half an hour, the bait finally tempted a fish. Jiang Hai felt a tug on his line, and his strength kicked in. Within seconds, he pulled a fish out of the water.

It flopped on the ice, trying to jump back into the hole, but Jiang Hai was prepared. He grabbed the fish by the head and lifted it.

"Oh, a good start! A brown trout!" Philemon exclaimed with a laugh.

"Nice catch!" Jiang Hai beamed at the 40-centimeter fish in his hands.

Brown trout is a prized catch. Even people unfamiliar with fish may have heard of its cousin, rainbow trout. Trout are highly valued, and their price is much higher than common carp.

After removing the hook, Jiang Hai threw the trout into the insulated tank they had prepared. It was a successful start to the day.

Feeling more confident, Jiang Hai no longer found the worms as intimidating. He walked over to the bucket, picked a sandworm that looked less grotesque, baited his hook, and cast his line again.

Seeing Jiang Hai's newfound enthusiasm, Philemon and Harriman couldn't help but laugh. Both men then focused on their own fishing lines. Before long, Harriman caught a North American pike, once considered the king of North American freshwater fish before being driven out by Asian carp. Despite its decline, the pike remains a tasty catch.

Philemon soon followed with a big river bass. Though not as valuable as brown trout or pike, this bass was by far the largest fish of the day, weighing at least ten kilograms.

"Wow, not bad at all!" Jiang Hai admired Philemon's catch as they all enjoyed the fruits of their efforts.