Became a salted fish pretend heiress and handed over the system
Chapter 914 - 903

Chapter 914: 903

"Quick, lower the net into the water." Seeing the ice layer opened, Xia Yue hurriedly searched through the bamboo basket for the net, took it out, and put it in.

"Should there be any fish?" The three of them stared at the hole in the ice, holding onto the fishing net.

"There are fish, it’s just a matter of whether we have the skill to catch them," Wei Se said, eyeing the opening in the ice.

"It’s been about a minute, should we pull it up and take a look?" Ziluo asked.

"Let’s pull it up for a look." Having never fished before, they didn’t know the proper technique and could only go on instinct when hauling in the net.

Seeing that they all agreed, Ziluo began to pull up the net.

"It feels heavy," Ziluo said after pulling for a while, suddenly feeling a bit of anticipation.

"There’s fish, there’s fish!" After pulling it halfway up, they could see that there indeed were fish in the net, and not small ones either. Xia Yue and Wei Se lent a hand and helped to pull.

In no time at all, they had hauled the entire fishing net up.

It was teeming with a good number of fish.

"These fish are huge; one of them is enough to feed us for a meal," Xia Yue observed the fish in the net, noting that one was as long as her arm.

After inspecting the fish, the three of them emptied the contents of the bamboo basket and placed the fish inside.

"Ah Mu, they’ve caught fish," a Little Beastman on the shore had been observing Xia Yue and the others for some time. They had wanted to play on the ice as well but were prohibited due to fear that the ice might crack while the Beastmen were drilling holes.

Since Xia Yue and her companions had been allowed on the ice, apart from the Beastmen, and she had spent over a month mingling with them, they were particularly attentive to her actions.

So as soon as the fishing net was pulled up, the Little Beastmen noticed immediately and shared the news with their own Ah Mu.

Yan Mo and Hu Ya were involved in large-scale fishing, needing to create a larger area. Since Yan Mo could not use Spiritual Power, their progress was not fast.

The Little Beastmen spoke too loudly, and many Beastmen overheard, pausing to look towards Xia Yue and her group.

They noticed that they had indeed caught fish.

"How did they manage to do it so quickly?" Hu Ya exclaimed in surprise.

"Their hole in the ice is small, which is why they were faster, but they also catch fewer fish at a time. It’s just for fun," Yan Mo commented.

"Right, let’s pick up the pace, we don’t want to be outdone by them," Hu Ya shouted to the other Beastmen.

"We definitely can’t be outdone. Once we break through the ice, one sweep of our net will catch more than they could in ten tries," other Beastmen quickly agreed.

But they also took Hu Ya’s words to heart and subsequently worked with unusual vigor.

It was only after Xia Yue and her group had already fished for the tenth time that the Beastmen finally managed to break through the ice.

The Beastmen cheered excitedly and inspected the surrounding ice to make sure there were no issues.

The Clan Leader then ordered the net to be spread.

After Xia Yue and her group had cast their own net, they ran over to watch the Beastmen cast theirs.

Their net was huge, and once it was cast into the water, several Beastmen held onto it, fearing that the fish might drag it under the ice.

"They must be going to haul in a good number of fish this time," Xia Yue said, standing to one side and watching them.

"Definitely more than we could in a hundred tries," Ziluo said.

"We’re just playing, it’s no comparison," Xia Yue added.

Once it was confirmed that the ice was safe, the Little Beastmen were released by the Sub-Beastmen to play on the ice, though they were instructed to keep their distance from where the nets were being cast.

They then focused their attention on the ice hole that Xia Yue and her friends had made.

"Teacher Xia, Teacher Zi, can we go play in your ice cave?" The little beastmen asked quite politely if they could play, making sure to ask for permission first.

"Sure, I’ll take you there." Xia Yue didn’t refuse and led them with a smile toward the direction of the ice cave.

Ziluo and Wei Se had no objections, as they had played there before and lost interest.

Half an hour after the large fishing net was cast, they began pulling it up.

After about ten minutes, they finally hauled the fish up, a lot of fish, and many of them were quite big too.

The beastmen quickly sorted out the fish and cast the net again.

The sub-beastmen nearby immediately gathered around and picked up the fish.

Then some beastmen transported them back to the tribe for the people to clean.

As for Xia Yue’s fish, the Clan Leader didn’t claim any, as there were only about a dozen or so when he checked.

The fishing operation continued for three days before stopping, and the tribe officially began preparing for winter.

The tribe’s fish were distributed one by one, and every beastmen household received a fair share of fish, which along with previously hunted game, would be their food for the winter. How they managed until the arrival of spring was up to them.

As the days grew colder, Xia Yue and the others didn’t go out every day. Every few days, Yan Mo would go to the tribe’s houses to help clear the snow.

The rest of the time they stayed indoors, roasting sweet potatoes, potatoes, peanuts, and the like.

In such cold weather, there were no concerns about people showing up unexpectedly, so they boldly took out their food to eat.

"Life is a bit too leisurely these days." Xia Yue says, sitting on a fur blanket and leaning against a soft chair.

"It’s decadent but oh so comfortable," Ziluo said, feeling the same way.

"Of course it’s good to have food and drink readily available. If we were like the people in the tribe, worrying about sustenance every day, we wouldn’t feel this way," Wei Se said, taking a sip of warm wine.

"That’s true. When spring comes, we’ll teach them how to grow potatoes and sweet potatoes. By this time next year, they won’t have to worry about food and drink," Xia Yue nodded and added.

"Will they learn, though? Haven’t the Clan Leader and the others started to doubt us?" Ziluo asked.

"As long as it benefits the tribe, they will certainly learn. We can take the lead in planting some," Wei Se said. To the ordinary beastmen, as long as it wasn’t an issue of racial extinction, they would usually choose to believe anyone who could genuinely provide them with enough to eat and drink.

During this time, they had already gained a significant amount of trust from many beastmen.

By the time they told them that with proper care, potatoes and sweet potatoes could fill their bellies, it would just require some effort.

There would definitely be many beastmen who agreed, as at most they would only lose some time and effort.

Time passed little by little as they cozily made it through the winter.

Some people in the tribe still froze to death, as firewood and food supplies ran low towards the end, but compared to previous years, the number of deaths was significantly fewer.

This left both the Clan Leader and the Priest very surprised and happy.

Winter ended and spring quietly arrived, with temperatures gradually increasing.

Xia Yue and others sprouted the previous sweet potatoes and potatoes, adding quite a few more. After all, since winter had passed, Hu Ya and his people didn’t quite remember how many potatoes and sweet potatoes had been brought back.

After the first rain, Xia Yue and the others started breaking ground on the wasteland, planting the potatoes and sweet potatoes.

As soon as they began their work, the Priest and Clan Leader were informed and secretly kept watch.

Seeing that they were truly not joking,

they promptly approached them after the planting to inquire about the cultivation of potatoes and sweet potatoes.