"How is it? Have any fish come over?"
One by one, the Beastmen poked their heads out, looking toward the hole, their eyes filled with anticipation.
They saw the ice hole, the size of a stone basin, with calm lake water below, not a ripple in sight, as if even the water had frozen to death, unmoving.
All the Beastmen held their breath, not daring to make a sound.
A minute passed, ten minutes passed, half an hour passed...
There was nothing.
A group of Beastmen eagerly waited near the hole, the falling snow almost turning them into snowmen.
One couldn't say there was nothing; through the hole, one could still see some shadows swimming leisurely beneath the surface, each fish about the size of a Kobold. However, the imagined scene of countless schools of fish rushing to the hole for oxygen did not occur.
The fish that gathered here basically didn't surface, any slight movement caused them to flee.
There was, however, a Goblin who, during this time, speared a half-pound fat fish, but that was it.
"It's not bad; having sharp-eyed Beastmen guard the hole daily can still yield some meat..."
The Kobold leader Vini felt a bit disappointed in his heart, but although the bountiful catch His Highness Austin described wasn't realized, it was at least a food source.
One must know, in the cold winter, being able to find any food is already very good.
Beastmen shouldn't be too greedy.
"Leader Vini, what next..."
All the Beastmen turned their gaze to Vini, waiting for his next idea.
"First, widen these holes and then get a few people to take turns spearing fish here."
This matter still needs to be reported to His Highness Austin, but to overcome the food scarcity crisis of the cold winter, His Highness Austin would likely not oppose it.
However, the ice hole appeared somewhat small, and it needed to be widened to operate smoothly; otherwise, it'd be inconvenient.
"Let's do it this way..."
Although this trip didn't completely solve the Dragon Nest Village's food crisis, being able to find a relatively stable food source in the cold winter was already great. His Highness Austin's knowledge was astonishingly profound, truly worthy of being born noble among the Dragon Race.
Just as Vini was preparing to lead the team back, he suddenly realized he had forgotten something.
Hot water,
Ah yes, hot water!
Earlier, he was so nervous that he even forgot about this.
The Blue Young Dragon had mentioned yesterday during a conversation that pouring hot water down might speed up the fish gathering.
But... does this work?
A trace of doubt crossed Vini's heart, but he quickly snuffed it out; His Highness Austin was absolutely correct, whatever His Highness believed was sure to be right.
"You guys go back to the village and boil a bucket of hot water."
Randomly pointing at a few Kobolds, Vini instructed.
While those Kobolds went back to the village to boil water, Vini led the Beastmen to widen the hole.
With a hole already there, smashing ice along the basin-sized opening's edge made it faster than before, no need for fire to melt it.
Shortly after, they had smashed the ice to create a hole about half a meter wide. Then Vini ordered that the rattan basket they brought be submerged into the lake water through the hole. The rattan basket was tied with rattan strings, so when fish swam in, a quick pull could catch them. It was much better than spearing fish.
However, the fish underwater were not fools; after catching them a few times with this method, it became very difficult to catch more fish.
Hopefully, the hot water method works, Vini felt a bit anxious.
Soon, a few Kobolds came hurriedly carrying a stone basin steaming with hot water.
"Alright, quickly come over and pour it down!"
Vini instructed the Beastmen nearby to make way, and the Kobolds lifted the steaming hot water and poured it down the ice hole.
Splash!
Vigorous waves surged up, shrouding everyone present in heavy mist.
"How is it? Any results?"
Clearing away the mist, the Beastmen eagerly craned their necks toward the hole.
The rippling waves gently settled, and the mist over the water gradually dissipated.
Yet, amid their hopeful gazes, nothing unusual happened in the lake water inside the hole.
"Sigh."
Vini sighed, and the Beastmen around him looked deflated.
It seemed the hot water method was unfeasible.
"Forget it, let's head back first."
Just at that moment,
Splash!
Suddenly, the sound of surging water erupted, and the lake water within the hole noticeably surged.
"What was that just now..."
Vini hadn't yet reacted when, simultaneously, the splashing water resounded again, but this time it didn't immediately settle; instead, the rippling waves continued to churn.
"Fish, fish!"
Shadows quickly rushed over from beneath the ice, gathering at the hole's edge.
The surrounding Beastmen excitedly pointed at the densely packed fish swarming the hole, shouting loudly.
The lake water beneath the ice hole was occupied by a dense school of fish appearing out of nowhere. Some even jumped out of the water, and one accidentally fell on the ice, quickly caught by a nearby Beastman.
"Successed!"
The Kobold leader Vini breathed a long sigh of relief; there was now hope for food this cold winter!
Though he didn't understand the principle, nor why pouring a bucket of hot water attracted so many fish, it didn't hinder Vini from following Austin's guidance and reaping unprecedented success.
"Raise the basket!"
Taking advantage of the mass of fish gathered, Vini quickly ordered the previously submerged rattan basket to be pulled up.
Splash!
A great amount of water flowed down through the basket's gaps, leaving a large number of fish flapping inside.
"Great!"
When the basket was pulled up, Kobold Vini looked inside, seeing it half-full with big and small fish bouncing at the bottom, and couldn't help but smile.
Meanwhile, the fish gathered at the hole seemed unaware of their kin disappearing, still eagerly swimming over, filling the gap left by the basket-caught fish, occasionally jumping out of the water.
Seeing this scene, all the Beastmen felt reassured, thinking they could now eat well and get through this cold winter.
An indescribable joy surged in the heart of every Beastman, a joy of harvest, an excitement of looking forward to better days.
Ever since their birth, cold winters in their memories were spent in hunger, but now seeing hope of eating meat daily made them thrilled beyond measure.
At the same time, in the hearts of many Beastmen, the respect for His Highness Austin, who suggested this method, increased once again, elevating his status further.