"Brother Hao, so this is the lake you were talking about! I didn't expect to see such a large lake on this mountain. We can come here to fish in the future. It's a pity we don't have fishing rods." After eating, the three of them came to the lake where Ye Hao had been that morning. As soon as they arrived, Sun Chaoshu made a fuss.
"Fishing rods are easy to make; we can use trees from the mountain. But fishing lines and hooks are a problem. Next time we go to the City, we'll see if we can buy some. If not, we'll bend embroidery needles into fish hooks ourselves."
"Brother Hao, we've walked more than halfway around this place, and the shore is full of small fish. How did you catch that big fish this morning?" Sun Chaoshu couldn't stop thinking about catching fish.
"Some fish swam to the shore this morning. They're probably in deeper water now. Let's look around nearby."
"Brother Hao, I can make a ground cage. Let's go back and make one; maybe we can catch a few fish."
"Bingsheng, you can make a ground cage? Hurry, let's go back and make it now. Whether we can eat fish again tonight depends on you."
"Alright, Bingsheng, we'll go back first. You see what materials you need and if there are any materials near our camp."
"Brother Hao, bamboo is best for making a ground cage, but we don't have any here. I should be able to make a simple one with other wood."
The three of them didn't hesitate and walked directly back to the camp.
Upon arriving at the camp, the three of them took their tools and walked into the nearby woods. In the woods, they cut down a pile of finger-thick branches, all of which were very flexible.
Lu Bingsheng used these branches and the rope and wire he had bought earlier to make a one-meter diameter fishing trap.
Ye Hao, on the other hand, mixed some cornmeal with space spring water to use as fishing bait. This was to ensure they could catch fish today; otherwise, the trap might not catch any fish for a while.
The trap was completed; it was the kind that fish could enter but found it very difficult to exit. The opening of the trap was conical, and a circle of branches blocked the conical opening. Large fish could enter but found it very difficult to get out, making it the simplest fishing trap.
The three of them took the completed trap and walked towards the lake. When they arrived at the lake, they were conflicted again. The water near the shore was shallow, with few large fish, while the deeper water where large fish were found was too far from the shore.
If it was far from the shore, the trap would be difficult to place, and even if thrown into the lake, it would be hard to retrieve.
After much discussion, the few of them decided to tie a rope to the trap, then throw the trap into the deep water, and slowly pull it up with the rope later.
"Since we're going to throw it out and pull it back, I need to reinforce this trap, otherwise it'll fall apart after a few throws."
"Alright, then let's go back and find some rope. Bingsheng, you should also reinforce this trap."
Before long, the trap was reinforced, and the rope was tied to it.
"Let me throw it."
"Alright, you throw it. Wait, I'll put the bait in." Seeing Sun Chaoshu like this, Ye Hao gave Sun Chaoshu the first chance to place the trap.
Swish~
The trap was thrown into the lake by Sun Chaoshu.
"Chao Shu, where's the rope? Tie it to this tree, and let's go back for now. We'll come back to check later."
"Rope? What rope?" Sun Chaoshu looked bewildered when he heard Ye Hao's words.
"Oh my god, are you crazy? Why did you throw the rope in too? Didn't we say earlier to leave the other end of the rope on the shore so we could pull the trap back later? You threw the rope in too. You're really something!" Ye Hao looked into the lake and saw a section of rope floating on the surface, and he was speechless.
"Uh, I forgot. I just threw it out when I threw it. What do we do now?"
"I really don't know what to say. Your actions are going to kill me."
"What can we do? Find a way to retrieve the rope. What, are you going down to get it?"
"That's not impossible. It'll just be like taking a bath."
"That's right, Brother Hao, let's just go down for a swim! We can pick up the rope while we're at it."
"No, I'm not going down. I can't swim." Lu Bingsheng directly rejected the decision to go swimming.
"If you're not going down, I will. I've been playing in Shichahai since I was little, and I'm a great swimmer. Brother Hao, are you coming?"
"I won't go. You go play. First, retrieve the rope. The situation in this lake is unclear, so just play by the shore. Don't go into the deep water."
Sun Chaoshu quickly stripped off his clothes and jumped into the lake. He first swam above the trap to retrieve the rope. Ye Hao took the rope and tied it to a nearby tree.
Sun Chaoshu swam for a while and then came ashore.
"It's no fun alone. You guys aren't coming down to play together. We could even have a race to see who swims faster."
"Bingsheng, how about I teach you how to swim? You'll learn in a few days."
"No, I won't learn. I have a bit of a phobia of water. I fell into the water when I was a child, and also, there are leeches in the water, which are very scary."
"I remember when I was about ten, a few classmates and I went to play in the Hucheng River after school. One classmate felt his butt itching after getting out of the water, so he reached back to scratch it."
"We heard a scream, and he urgently asked us to see what it was. When we went over, we saw a leech burrowing into his butt, with half its body still outside. It scared us all. An uncle passing by helped get the leech out. Since then, I haven't dared to go into the water." (Author's personal experience)
"Haha, you had such an experience! No wonder you have a phobia of water. Luckily, it wasn't you who experienced the leech burrowing into your butt. Haha." Sun Chaoshu was still laughing heartlessly.
"You're still laughing? You're in the water right now. Be careful, a leech might come for you!"
"Alright, Chao Shu, come up. Let's go back and rest for a while. We'll come back to collect the trap later and see if we've caught anything today."
"Alright, Brother Hao. If we catch anything today, it'll definitely be because of me. I threw it in a good spot, and I was the one who went into the water to retrieve the rope!" Sun Chaoshu said as he came ashore and put on his clothes.
"Your credit? If Bingsheng hadn't made the trap, you would have thrown nothing. And you were the one who threw the rope into the lake, weren't you? If you hadn't thrown the rope in, would you have needed to go into the water to retrieve it?"
"That doesn't negate my contribution today. Bingsheng made the trap, but I helped cut a lot of the materials for it!"
"Alright, alright, stop bickering. Pack up and go back to rest for a bit. When Captain Xu and the others return, we'll go collect the trap."
The three of them returned to the camp and made their beds. Not long after they rested, Captain Xu and the others returned.
"Xiao Hao, have your houses down the mountain been repaired? Why did you come up today?"
"The houses were repaired yesterday, but it was too late to come up yesterday, so we came up this morning. We saw you had already gone on patrol, so we just walked around nearby."
"Oh, by the way, Captain Xu, we found a small lake to the south today, and there are many big fish in it! What kind of lake is that?"
"You mean that lake? We all call it Banshan Lake. The mountain streams all flow into that lake. Because no one fishes in this mountain, there are many big fish in it. We only occasionally break a hole in the ice and catch a few fish in winter."
"Captain Xu, this afternoon we made a trap and threw it into the lake. Let's go see if we caught anything. You guys come with us too, okay?"
"Alright, our dinner for tonight hasn't been settled yet. Let's go see if we can have fish tonight."