CHAPTER 171: CHAPTER 160 FISHING

Mwanza.

The only shipbuilding center in the entire Great Lakes Region.

The resources in East Africa are limited. In the absence of technicians, i.e., skilled shipbuilders, Mwanza’s inland shipbuilding can only be prioritized and replicated to Soron Lake (Lake Tanganyika) and Lake Malawi.

So the workers from the Mwanza shipyard went ahead to support the shipyard construction on Soron Lake and Lake Malawi, instead of building new shipyards at other bases and cities in the Great Lakes Region.

The Mwanza shipyard continues to maintain its position as the only shipyard in the Great Lakes Region.

Due to previous wars, the Great Lake has become an East African inland lake, so the East African colonial development mindset for the Great Lakes Region is not urgent anymore.

However, Soron Lake and Lake Malawi are not exclusively owned by East Africa, so shipyards must first be established on these two crucial lakes for future East African colonial activities.

Although new shipyards were not established along the Great Lake’s coast, as time went by, the output capacity of the Mwanza shipyard increased, and more ships were built; small boats constructed by the Mwanza shipyard could be seen everywhere on the Great Lake.

These boats were allocated to coastal villages for fishing or incorporated into East Africa’s transport teams to transport goods.

Currently, Great Lake shipping has become the most important mode of transportation, connecting two main parts of the East African colony: the west and the north of the Great Lake.

Early morning.

The day had just begun, the dawn light scattered across the Great Lake’s surface, shimmering.

The villagers of Sangabu Village got up early, with smoke curling up as every household lit fires to cook breakfast.

After breakfast, the fishermen of Sangabu Village formed teams and headed out to the Great Lake for fishing.

Sangabu Village is located north of Mwanza, a small fishing village under Mwanza, with a population of over four hundred and seventy people, most of whom make a living by fishing.

More than a hundred people gathered at the village’s dock, where a dozen small fishing boats belonging to Sangabu Village were moored.

In the past, the natives ventured onto the Great Lake in canoes, but the small East African fishing boats were certainly not comparable to the natives’ canoes.

"The weather today is much cooler than yesterday; our village should work a bit more to complete this month’s task early so that we can have a longer rest," said Chief Reelas to the villagers.

"Chief, how many days can we rest this month?" someone asked.

"If the harvest is good these few days, you can rest for two more days at the end of the month. If we reach the highest target every day, you can rest for at least five days at the end of the month," Reelas responded.

Upon hearing this, the villagers were eager to start. Drifting on the water every day never matched the comfort of staying on land.

Before migrating to East Africa, the villagers of Sangabu were people who either lived by the water for years or simply lived on boats.

"Chief, enough talking, let’s just work a bit longer today; this way we can surely reach our target," someone said.

"Good, I’ve been waiting for that word. The Great Lake never lacks fish; with enough effort, we can definitely get it done," replied Reelas.

Watching the sun slowly climb from the horizon to the sky, Reelas said, "Set sail, move towards the lake!"

The fishing boats of Sangabu Village sailed towards the lake, their oars stirring waves in the water.

Soon, the fleet of small fishing boats reached a designated area. Under Reelas’s command, the villagers began to deploy nets in the lake.

The outermost small fishing boats wove freely across the lake’s surface, driving the schools of fish, and the frightened fish were herded towards the center by the surrounding boats.

"Haul the net!"

When the fish reached the intended position, the fishermen of Sangabu Village pulled hard on the nets to bring them onto the boats.

The small boats, barely large, appeared likely to capsize under the strain of the nets, but the skilled fishermen always found the critical point to stabilize the hull.

The process was somewhat difficult, but the harvest was still good; the fishery resources in the Great Lake are abundant, especially after East Africa drove away the surrounding natives.

The fishery resources of the entire Great Lake were entirely monopolized by East Africa, and with only so many people in East Africa, only about a hundred thousand were allocated near the Great Lakes Region.

Thus, the fishery resources accumulated over thousands of years in the Great Lake fell to East Africa’s advantage.

After working for several hours, the fishing boats of Sangabu Village were filled with their harvest.

The weather changed suddenly, the previously clear sky rapidly transformed with storms brewing, dense clouds gathering.

"Steady, maintain formation, don’t panic!" Reelas shouted to the boats around.

The wind began to pick up on the lake’s surface; for the villagers of Sangabu Village, who were accustomed to seeing gusty winds and crashing waves, it was not frightening.

Normally, when Sangabu Village encountered such weather, they would choose to return, but today they continued to work to catch more and rest more at the end of the month.

In the oppressive weather, the fish in the Great Lake also became more active, surfacing for air.

Consequently, Sangabu Village’s haul became even richer, the holds of their boats soon filled with fish.

Seeing the day’s catch, Reelas sensed that it was enough and shouted to the others, "That’s it for today, let’s head back."

As soon as he spoke, a torrential downpour fell from the sky, splashing onto the lake’s surface, rendering the whole Great Lake blurry with rising water mist.

Dense raindrops struck the fishermen, mixing with their sweat as they paddled against the wind and rain toward the direction of Mwanza.

It took more than an hour for Sangabu Village’s residents to finally see the southern shore, a journey that usually took half an hour became a double-time task.

Fortunately, with the help of the rainy day, the harvest was quite good; the rain wasn’t in vain.

...

"Reelas, today’s harvest was impressive!" The staff at Mwanza who collected the fish said to Reelas.

"Oh, don’t even mention it, the haul was good, but the weather was terrible, the rain was really heavy today," Reelas said, wiping the rainwater off his body with a burlap cloth.

"The rainy season is almost here again, and with the Great Lake already having plenty of rain, this kind of weather will certainly become more frequent," the staff member said.

"There’s nothing we can do about it; after all, it’s the weather, we can’t change it, and compared to when I was by the sea, this bit of rain and wind is nothing. The wind and rain on the sea are truly terrifying, especially since our fishing boats at sea were as small as those on the Great Lake now, much riskier," Reelas said casually.

"Indeed, these lakes in East Africa are ultimately not comparable to the sea, with much smaller waves," the staff member said while tallying today’s harvest from Sangabu Village and recording it on a form.

"Take a look, see if it’s correct, if there’s no disagreement, please sign," the staff member said.

Reelas took the form, checked the accounts, found no issues, and signed his name at the bottom of the form.

These data would be combined at the end of the month to determine the income for Sangabu Village, so carelessness was not an option.

Once the fish were unloaded, the fishermen of Sangabu Village rowed their empty boats back to Sangabu Village along Mwanza Bay.