After Aoxue left, Ye Hao continued walking. After two or three kilometers, he saw a small lake with rippling clear water.
The morning sun made the lake surface appear as if covered by a hazy mist, and the pervasive mist made the lake seem somewhat unreal. Ye Hao quickened his steps and arrived at the lakeside, where he could see many waterbirds swimming in the lake. With the ethereal mist, it was like a fairyland.
He never expected to see such a lake on this mountain; it was truly magical.
The lake was not large, only about a thousand square meters. However, it was full of life, with various aquatic plants occupying one-third of the lake's area.
There were many waterbirds on the lake that Ye Hao didn't recognize, with wild ducks being the most numerous. At a glance, there must have been dozens of them.
Ye Hao walked around the lake and found that the ecosystem within was very healthy, with plenty of fish and shrimp. It was a good place for fishing; he could come here to fish when he had free time in the future.
Ye Hao's Space contained professional fishing gear he had exchanged with someone in the Beijing Pigeon Market. Since acquiring this set of professional fishing gear, Ye Hao had never used it. While in Beijing, he was busy exchanging items at the Pigeon Market every day and simply had no time to fish.
Seeing that it was still early, Ye Hao took out his fishing gear from his Space, intending to try it out here and see whether the fish from the Northeast or Beijing tasted better.
After preparing the fishing rod, Ye Hao took out a small basin, extracted some 'flour' and cornmeal from his Space, and then mixed the dough with space spring water. Since the space spring water had such a strong attraction for fish, bait mixed with it would surely be snatched up by fish.
He baited the hook and cast the line. The first time was a bit unfamiliar, but it didn't matter as long as it was cast out. It was just cast too close. The lake water was very clear, and Ye Hao could even see the bait sinking. As soon as the bait sank a little, the small fish around it swarmed towards it like cats smelling fish. There were no large fish near the shore, only small ones, and these small fish began to eat the bait.
Seeing this, Ye Hao roughly understood the space spring water's attraction to fish. Because the fishhook was a bit large, and the fish eating the bait were very small, not a single fish managed to suck the hook into its mouth even after all the bait was gone.
Ye Hao reeled in the hook, put on new bait, and cast again. The second cast was good, landing in the deep water. Not long after the hook entered the water, the float instantly disappeared.
Upon seeing this, Ye Hao sharply raised the rod. The fishing rod instantly bent into a large bow, and the fishing line cut through the water with a whooshing sound. Ye Hao, imitating the fishing enthusiasts he had seen in videos, began to play the fish.
The fishing gear Ye Hao bought was indeed of good quality. A novice catching a big fish didn't result in a broken rod or a snapped line. Soon, the fish underwater lost its strength and was pulled to the shore by Ye Hao.
It was a fish that looked to be about ten catties, but Ye Hao didn't know what kind of fish it was.
Ye Hao took out a fine mesh net from his Space to use as a fish keeper and put the fish in it.
He put on bait and cast the line. Just a few seconds after the bait entered the water, the float instantly disappeared again. He lifted the rod to set the hook, and an even stronger force than before came from the fishing rod. Ye Hao, worried about the line snapping, took two steps forward to the water's edge.
Water was right in front of him, but the force from the fishing rod was still immense. Ye Hao could only forcefully try to change the fish's swimming direction, but unfortunately, his technique was not up to par. The fish didn't obey him and kept rushing forward. The fishing rod suddenly felt light—the line had snapped.
The fish in this lake were truly fierce. Ye Hao replaced the hook and line and continued fishing. For the next period, he would get a bite as soon as the bait entered the water. If fishing enthusiasts from later generations saw this, they would fly over to fish.
After fishing for half an hour, Ye Hao caught more than a dozen fish. The large ones were around ten catties, and the small ones were also two or three catties. This was enough to satisfy his craving for playing fish. Looking at such a large catch, Ye Hao kept one large fish outside and put all the others into his Space.
After putting away his fishing gear, Ye Hao threaded the large fish through its gills with a piece of thatch and carried it back.
Ye Hao returned to the camp, put the fish in a bucket, saw that Sun Chaoshu hadn't returned yet, and then walked towards the pine forest where Sun Chaoshu and the others were hunting squirrels.
"Bingsheng, help pick up the crossbow bolts. We're out of bolts again," he heard Sun Chaoshu's voice before even getting close.
As Ye Hao approached, he saw Sun Chaoshu and Lu Bingsheng searching for crossbow bolts on the ground.
"Bingsheng, why don't you go back and make more crossbow bolts? We have thirty, and now less than twenty are left."
"Chao Shu, how's the harvest? How many prey have you caught?" Ye Hao looked around and, seeing no catch, deliberately asked.
"Brother Hao, you're here! I was just practicing my accuracy, not hunting," Sun Chaoshu said, a little embarrassed.
"How's the practice going? Go catch a few squirrels, we'll eat them for lunch."
"Brother Hao, don't let Sun Chaoshu mess around anymore. Of the thirty crossbow bolts I made, only 17 are left. The others are all lost. As soon as Brother Chao arrives, it's a wild shooting spree. He doesn't care where the bolts fly and only looks for them after he's finished shooting. A few are lost after each round. Now there are only 17 left. If this continues, I doubt we'll bring back even one crossbow bolt today." It seemed Lu Bingsheng had a lot of resentment.
"Bingsheng, how can you say that? It's clearly the squirrels running around, and I lost the bolts because I was shooting at squirrels. Besides, we haven't been to any other places, so the crossbow bolts must be in this area; they won't get lost. Once I come a few more times, I'll definitely be able to hit a squirrel this round." Sun Chaoshu was still arguing.
Ye Hao watched Sun Chaoshu's performance from the side, saying nothing, just to see if Sun Chaoshu could catch any prey.
After a few more rounds, Sun Chaoshu caught nothing, but he lost 5 more crossbow bolts, leaving only 12. Lu Bingsheng looked conflicted, wondering if he should make crossbow bolts in the future. With Sun Chaoshu's usage, no matter how many he made, it wouldn't be enough for him to squander.
It was almost noon, and Sun Chaoshu still had no harvest. Ye Hao couldn't bear to watch anymore. "Chao Shu, I think you might not be suitable for hunting. Why don't you go fishing instead? I found a small lake to the south today with plenty of fish. You can go fishing from now on; don't waste these crossbow bolts. Look how many you can find now."
"Brother Hao, I'm just not used to using a crossbow. After a while, Captain Xu will apply for guns for us. I'll definitely be great with a gun; my dad's marksmanship is excellent, so I'm sure I inherited his shooting talent. Where is the lake you mentioned? Let's go see it now."
"You don't even look at what time it is now. I'm still waiting for the squirrels you caught for lunch, and this is your skill level."
"It's just that I didn't perform well today. I'll definitely let you eat fish tonight."
"Alright, I caught a fish this morning. Let's go back and steam it. After we eat, we'll go to the lake this afternoon."
"Brother Hao, aren't we looking for the crossbow bolts?" Lu Bingsheng asked weakly.
"Forget it, no need to look. The pine needles on the ground in this pine forest are too thick, and there are too many weeds; it's too much trouble. These few crossbow bolts are enough for now. Don't let Sun Chaoshu touch this crossbow again in the future." Ye Hao directly forbade Sun Chaoshu from touching the crossbow.
"Who cares about touching it anyway? I'll have a gun soon."
"It'll be the same with a gun, still just a stick for burning."
The three of them playfully returned to the camp. Ye Hao processed the fish and put it in the pot to steam.