Every winter, Captain Altroni would bring Shark of Red Sea back from whaling and it would be a rare celebration in Whitestag.
Even though only the students were on holiday, most of the townsfolk would spend the winter in hiding.
It was hard to find work in the snowy weather, let alone travel far away. So, those who had nothing better to do would spend the day at the taverns, drinking and bragging.
That was why the Red Sea Sharks returning from whaling became the most popular event for spectators. It was just like the time when Claude and the others hunted the niros crocodile. The streets by the docks were packed with people and were bustling with activity.
Clever peddlers pushed their carts and sold melon seeds, ale, roasted meat and the like.
Claude and Welikro squeezed their way to the entrance of the docks with much difficulty and were drenched in sweat.
Fortunately, Pegg, who was guarding the entrance, was there. When he saw the two of them, he hurriedly opened the door a little and let them in.
Shark of Red Sea was still parked at the edge of the frozen lake, about a hundred meters away from the docks.
There were a few people hammering on the surface of the ice with metal crows.
"What are they doing?
Are they trying to break the ice so that the boat can dock? "Claude asked Pegg.
During the winter holidays last year, the original owner of the body, Claude, and his three friends were digging holes in the lake to fish and accidentally slipped into the water.
Fortunately, his three companions managed to grab his clothes in time and pull him up.
However, Claude ended up bedridden for half a year and had his body taken away by a transmigrator.
"No, we can't let the boat dock at the docks during the winter. The lake will freeze and it'll cause great damage to the boat," Pegg replied, "The boat can only dock outside the ice.
Uncle Pegg replied, "The fishing boats can only be anchored outside the ice, and they have to move towards the center of the lake as the ice expands to prevent being frozen.
They're testing the thickness of the ice to see if it can hold the weight of a whale. "
Whales … Claude turned to look at the two whales that Shark of Red Sea was dragging behind it.
Just by looking at the parts that were exposed above the water surface, one could tell that the bodies of these two whales seemed to be longer than an ocean-going fishing boat. One could only imagine how big these two whales were.
Claude also noticed that the whales in this world were different from the ones he saw in his previous world.
Even though they were grayish-blue in color, the two whales seemed to have horns on their heads. Their heads were protruding out, but the horns had been removed and only a large hole was left where their heads protruded.
Narwhals … Claude recalled the whale drawing in his biology textbook.
The book showed pictures of seventeen species of whales, large and small, that had been discovered.
Narwhals were not big compared to other whales. Compared to the Great Blue Whale, they were more like children next to a strong man.
However, the pictures in the books were far less shocking than seeing it in real life. One could imagine how huge the body of the largest blue whale in the books was …
"With these two narwhals, Eriksson's family has had a great harvest this year," Welikro said enviously.
The description of narwhals in biology textbooks was very detailed. Compared to other different species of whales, narwhals were one of the more common whales that could be caught for food.
It was said that during the dark era, magi led fishermen to hunt whales for alchemical materials and used whale meat to make up for the famine caused by natural disasters.
Legend had it that the horn of a narwhal was a magical material used by magi for alchemical experiments.
Even though there wasn't a single book that could prove it, after magi were chased out of Freia, there was a rumor that narwhal's horn could revitalize a man's manhood. Narwhal's horn had become a rare medicinal ingredient in the market. Every captain of a whaling ship that caught a narwhal could earn a fortune from it.
"Uncle Pegg, you said that those people are testing the thickness of the ice. Are they planning to drag the two narwhals ashore?"
Pegg shook his head. "No, they're planning to dissect the two whales on the ice. There's no need to waste so much effort to drag them ashore.
Last year, there was only one, but this year, we were lucky enough to catch two. The onlookers are in luck. They'll be able to buy a few kilograms of whale meat at a very cheap price to bring back for a taste. "
Oh, so Eriksson's family had such a tradition. His father, Captain Altroni, would bring back one or two whales to be slaughtered at the docks every year to provide the onlookers with cheap, fresh whale meat. That was one of the benefits for the onlookers.
It was no wonder there were so many onlookers. Claude was wondering why most of the onlookers were carrying empty baskets. They were probably going to store the whale meat later.
"Wero, Claude …" Eriksson appeared on the fishing boat. When he saw Claude and Welikro, he excitedly took off his leather hat and waved it at them while shouting their names.
Claude and Welikro waved back at him to say that they heard him and that there was no need to shout like that.
Then, the two of them saw Eriksson grab a rope that was dangling below the boat and slide onto the ice like a nimble monkey. He stood up, dusted himself off, and ran towards the shore.
"Hey, Claude, Wero, I've missed you guys to death."
Eriksson gave the two of them a tight hug before looking around in disappointment. "Boa didn't come?"
"He can't," said Claude.
He then told him that Borkal was spending the new year at his aunt's place and would only be back in January.
Welikro looked at him carefully and breathed a sigh of relief. He gave him a hug as well. "Congratulations on coming back safely. You didn't lose anything. That's something to celebrate."
That was the truth. Going out to sea to hunt whales during the winter was a very dangerous thing to do.
It was very common for a newbie to lose a finger on their first voyage.
Firstly, the weather was cold and they didn't pay attention to keeping warm. Secondly, climbing the masts and rope nets was very dangerous work when operating on a ship or when chasing whales. If they weren't careful, they would be injured by these frozen ropes and so on.
Actually, losing a finger wasn't a big deal. What was more serious was losing an arm or a leg after returning from a voyage.
Eriksson knocked his fist on Welikro's chest. "What nonsense are you spouting? You underestimate me too much. Why don't you think about who I am? I'm the future greatest captain of Whitestag, Eriksson!"
"By the way, Claude, Wero, let me tell you. This voyage has really broadened my horizons.
You definitely wouldn't be able to imagine how calm the stormy seas are during winter.
Early in the morning, the sun rose from the east and the surface of the sea glistened with a golden hue.
Had it not been for the boundless sea, I would've suspected that I was sailing on Lake Balinga.
To be honest, that moment was truly beautiful and majestic. "
Eriksson waved his arms and legs as he told Claude and Weliksson about his adventure in the past month. He started talking nonstop an hour ago and only stopped when Claude handed him a glass of water.
"Thanks, I'm thirsty." Eriksson gulped down the water in one gulp. Only then did he realize that he had entered Pegg's hut with Claude and Welikro. Claude also handed him Pegg's cup of water.
"Of course you're thirsty." Claude looked at him helplessly. "You've spat saliva all over me and Wero. You've been talking since we got off the ship. I really wonder if you've been mute on the ship without anyone to talk to."
"Hehe, well, I was just happy to see you guys, so I said a little more," Eriksson explained with an awkward smile.
By this time a whale had been dragged up to the surface of the ice, and several seamen, with great axes and saws, were in the process of cutting open the belly of the whale, while a sledge, loaded with a great hunk of whale meat, was being dragged to the wharf.
Pegg and Eriksson's father, Captain Altroni, as well as a few other sailors, had already set up a few wooden tables at the entrance of the dock. On the tables were pieces of whale meat that had already been cut up.
The onlookers outside the dock also lined up in an orderly manner. They threw the money into a large wooden box next to the log table, then took a piece of whale meat from the table and went back to their seats.
"How much is this whale meat?" Claude asked.
"It's cheap. Five catties for a sunar," Eriksson replied.
It was indeed cheap. Two fennies for a catty, which was equivalent to twenty cents a catty. That was five catties for a dollar.
Claude had been on holiday recently and his mother often told him to go to the open-air market to buy groceries, so he was quite familiar with the prices in town.
Currently, beef was one sunar and four fennies a catty, lamb was one sunar and lamb was eight fennies a catty. Pork was five fennies a catty and wild boar was eight fennies a catty.
Long-tailed swordfish was six fennies a catty. Other lake fishes that weren't particularly expensive were around four to eight fennies a catty.
With such prices, Morssen's salary of one riyase a day meant that five or six sunars would be enough for his family to eat well three times a day.
But for the townspeople who only earned one or two thales a month, being able to eat beef and lamb once or twice a week was already good enough. Most of them chose to buy the cheaper lake fishes.
According to the experts, narwhal meat was comparable to beef in terms of both nutrition and taste.
So, buying a catty of whale meat for two fennies was a very good deal for the townspeople.
Even the poorest of them could easily earn two fennies if they were willing to work hard. So, eating whale meat wasn't all that difficult for them.
Eriksson's father, Captain Altroni, personally cut up the whale meat on the wooden table in front of the docks.
Uncle Pegg stood beside him and weighed the whale meat before handing it to the people who had paid for it.
Many of them threw a Sunar into the wooden box and carried a five-kilogram piece of whale meat before saying a few words of thanks to Captain Altroni before leaving.
Captain Altroni listened to everyone's words of thanks with a smile while using the short knife in his hand to quickly cut up pieces of whale meat.
Welikro nudged Claude and pointed at the whale meat being cut up by Captain Altroni.
It was only then that Claude noticed that the pieces of whale meat were almost exactly the same size. Pegg also reported the same weight. "Two and a half catties. Hold it well."
Eriksson wasn't surprised at all. "What's there to be surprised about? I've been cutting fish on the ship for two decades and I've long gotten used to it.
I'll do the same from now on. "
"Why does your father only give a five-catty piece and the people who buy it only take one? Won't they buy a few more?"
Claude found it a little strange. The weather was cold, and the whale meat could be stored for a while.
Why didn't the people who bought it ask for a few more?
Especially since it was so cheap.
"They wouldn't dare," Eriksson said gleefully.
As it turned out, it was an old tradition of the Altroni family to bring back whale meat every winter.
It was first done by Eriksson's grandfather, who was also an old captain of a whaling ship. Back then, the Shark of Red Sea didn't exist yet. It was just a smaller whaling ship.
Every time they went out to sea, it was like a life and death adventure. Quite a number of sailors died in the process.
Eriksson's grandfather would always bring back a whale. All he wanted was to give the whale meat to the families of the dead sailors so that they could have a good new year.
Only the extra whale meat would be sold to the poor of the town at a very low price.
When it came to Eriksson's father, with the help of the Shark of Red Sea, whaling wasn't that dangerous anymore.
The families and relatives of the older generation of sailors who had died and been injured had also grown up. If they were given whale meat for free, it would seem like pity. Some people with strong self-esteem refused to accept it. They would rather pay for it like the other poor people.