HUN Chapter 60: Building a Fishing Platform

Time came to the fifty-first day.

During the days of smoking meat, apart from rendering oil and miscellaneous tasks, Lin Yu'an had one important job that was always interspersed throughout, repairing his gill net that had unfortunately been damaged earlier.

A perfectly intact gill net was an important pathway for obtaining food, and this was a route Lin Yu'an would never abandon.

Whenever he had free time, his fingers would dart between the fine mesh lines. This process was slow and tedious, constantly testing his patience.

Finally, this morning, after carefully inspecting all the meticulously repaired sections, he let out a long breath of relief. The gill net had finally completed its final repair.

"My gill net can return to battle once again!"

After repairing the gill net, Lin Yu'an didn't rush to deploy it in the water this time.

"Having learned from last time's lesson, I've decided to build a sturdy net platform this time!"

Lin Yu'an's gaze turned toward a section of the lakeshore near his shelter that he had already scouted.

A sturdy and practical structure appeared in his mind, just like the kind he had seen at the logging camp before.

It would consist of several thick wooden stakes driven deep into the lake bottom as support, with several logs laid on top as a platform's wading pier, allowing it to extend some distance into the lake.

This kind of net platform would not only allow him to deploy the gill net farther from shore where fish might be more densely concentrated, but it could also serve as a good observation point and fishing platform, killing multiple birds with one stone! Most importantly, it would be sturdy and wouldn't fear the gill net being blown ashore by wind.

Another day of getting things done as soon as he thought of them. Having food meant no panic.

Lin Yu'an took his logging axe and handsaw and began scouting for suitable materials by the lake.

He needed several thick enough pieces of wood that had been washed by lake water for years to serve as underwater support stakes, as well as several relatively straight logs to serve as the platform surface.

He carefully selected several spruces with diameters of about fifteen to twenty centimeters that grew relatively straight and had hard wood.

He also found driftwood by the lakeshore, wood that had been worn smooth by years of washing.

"For underwater support stakes, both the wood's corrosion resistance and structural strength are very important. These pieces of driftwood can support in the water for quite a long time as support stakes."

Using his logging axe and handsaw, he felled and trimmed these selected trees, then based on estimated water depth and platform height, cut four stakes approximately two and a half to three meters long.

He carefully sharpened one end of each stake with his axe to make them easier to drive into the mud and sand at the lake bottom.

Next, he selected two logs about three meters long and approximately twenty centimeters in diameter that were relatively straight to serve as the main load-bearing beams for the platform.

He also chose several thinner, shorter logs whose length matched the predetermined platform width to serve as the platform's transverse surface materials.

After the materials were ready, Lin Yu'an transported the four sharpened stakes to the selected lakeshore.

Wearing rain pants, he carefully walked into the bone-chillingly cold lake water. The late autumn lake water already carried intense coldness, with the water depth reaching about waist-high.

He first determined the position for the first pair of support stakes about one meter from shore, with the two stakes about one meter apart, this would be the platform's width.

"Make sure they won't easily shake and can withstand possible future wind and waves."

He positioned one sharpened stake vertically at the predetermined location, using the thick back of his axe as a hammer, aiming at the top of the stake and pounding down with force, blow by blow!

He used the same method to drive in the other three support stakes.

These four dark brown stakes stood steadily like sentries in the gently rippling lake water, forming a solid foundation.

After the support stakes were set, Lin Yu'an began installing the platform's main beams.

He laboriously lifted the two logs that were about three meters long and twenty centimeters in diameter, laying them parallel across the front and rear pairs of support stakes.

For a secure connection, he used his logging axe to chop matching grooves at the top of each support stake.

This allowed the main beams to sit steadily in the grooves at the top of the support stakes, greatly enhancing the stability of the connection.

Then he took out iron nails he had prepared earlier and firmly nailed the main beams to each support stake!

After the main beams were secured, a stable platform framework appeared on the lake surface.

After a full half-day of hard work, a sturdy and practical wooden net platform finally extended steadily about three meters from the shore of Chilko Lake toward the lake center.

Though its design was rough, every connection point was exceptionally secure, and its structure was very solid, able to withstand strong winds.

Lin Yu'an stood on the newly completed net platform, with the wooden platform beneath his feet making pleasant sounds under the gentle lapping of the lake water.

"Guys, my lakeside multi-purpose work platform is officially complete!"

"With it, I can more conveniently deploy the gill net in deeper waters, hopefully with good results."

"Plus, fishing from here gives a much broader view. Maybe this is the feng shui treasure spot for a great catch!"

He didn't delay much and immediately returned to his shelter to fetch the repaired gill net.

Besides that, he also brought a spruce pole about four meters long.

While untangling the gill net, Lin Yu'an explained his net deployment strategy.

"I need to firmly secure one end of this gill net underwater far from shore."

"The other end will be tied to our fishing platform, creating an effective interception net."

He picked up the four-meter spruce pole and tightly bound one end of the gill net, along with its upper and lower paracords, to the top of the spruce pole.

About ten centimeters from the pole tip, he wrapped it repeatedly several times, ensuring the gill net was firmly connected to the pole head.

He stood at the front end of the fishing platform, gripping the long pole connected to the gill net with both hands.

He pointed the pole tip toward the lake surface far from the platform, then began slowly, horizontally pushing forward.

As the long pole extended bit by bit into the distance, the gill net connected to the pole head was also simultaneously pulled out.

The net body piled on the platform surface was pulled section by section smoothly into the water under the pulling force.

The wooden float blocks tied to the upper rope left the platform surface one by one, floating on the water surface and forming a gradually lengthening, clear line of float markers.

The sinker stones tied to the lower rope brought the bottom half of the net vertically down to the lake bottom.

When the entire gill net was completely stretched out, it formed an "underwater wall" extending from the fishing platform outward in the water.

At this point, a complete gill net was deployed in a position perpendicular to the fishing platform.

"Alright, the gill net has been successfully deployed again!"

"This position has a water depth of about three meters and is several meters from shore, exactly the kind of path where large trout or pike might patrol and forage."

"Now, all we need to do is wait patiently."

"Generally speaking, evening and early morning are when fish are most active, and also the best times for gill net harvests."

"Tomorrow morning, we'll see what kind of surprises this lake brings us."

After completing all this, the sky gradually darkened.

Lin Yu'an didn't engage in other activities but returned to the stone house and made a simple dinner with previously smoked venison jerky and some wild onions.

He lay in bed and began reviewing his recent plans.

Tomorrow would be the fifty-second day. Winter was approaching, and he didn't need to worry about food for now. The fuel problem would be the next priority.

He forced himself to have something to do every day to avoid problems with his psychological state.

When he watched Alone in his previous life, he had noticed this problem, loneliness was the greatest challenge in the wilderness.

Many keyboard warriors would say if food isn't a worry, just lie back and win!

Try having them stay seven days without talking to anyone.

Why do prisoners in jail fear solitary confinement? When people are alone, their thinking inevitably becomes scattered, and they tend to overthink.

So to prevent himself from overthinking, Lin Yu'an forced himself to have something to do every day.

This was also a survival technique that all contestants agreed upon.

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