Waiting is always long, and waiting with a purpose is even longer.
Adelaide stood atop the castle, gazing longingly at the enchanting lake in the distance.
Ed, on the other hand, remained calm, seemingly observing the changing tides with amusement and accepting the inevitable rise and fall of fortunes.
"Adelaide, are you in a hurry?" Ed asked knowingly.
"Ah! No, I slept very well yesterday," Adelaide replied, seemingly unrelated to the question.
The morning sun cast countless golden rays, enveloping the men and women on the castle.
In the eyes of the villagers in the distance.
Ed looked down upon the earth like an angel, gazing at them and inspiring in them an urge to worship him.
"Adelaide, they're coming, let's go down."
"Yes, yes, Master." Adelaide waved happily into the distance.
It seems like he wanted to tell them, "I've been waiting for you for a long time."
Lakeside
"Everyone, pull up the small fish traps by the lake first," Ed instructed.
Adelaide quickly ran to a small tree with a rope tied to it, took the rope off, and then quickly pulled the fish trap towards the shore.
The moment the fish trap surfaced, it was filled with fish leaping and jumping, trying to escape its cage.
Most of them were small white fish, which Ed didn't recognize.
"Wow! So many fish!" Adelaide was even happier than during the last hunt.
Last time she was just an assistant on the hunt, but this time she's been involved in the entire fishing trip. Now she's even personally pulling up the fish trap, feeling a great sense of accomplishment.
When the others saw that a fish trap had caught so many fish, they all rushed forward to take the trap.
It did not disappoint; almost every fish trap contained fish, though the quantity varied.
As Ed had expected, the fishing ban in Dongting Lake had been in effect for some time, so the fish resources should be in good condition.
Next, it was time to retrieve the net. He hoped the gillnet would catch a big fish, and boats were already heading out onto the lake.
"Mother, look! There are so many big fish on the boat!" Some of the children had already spotted the big fish returning to the boat on the lake.
The villagers hadn't seen big fish in a long time, and this time the fishing net probably brought back dozens of larger fish.
But some fishing nets broke; the nets weren't strong enough! Big fish could easily tear them apart.
If the net is good, it should be quite good. There are quite a few big fish in this lake, but Ed is still a little disappointed.
However, while Ed was disappointed, the others were quite satisfied, as these fish were much bigger and more numerous than those in the small river by the village.
Fishing is permitted in the small river near the village, so there aren't many fish left.
Next, Ed prepared to take matters into his own hands and go retrieve the large fish traps. All the ships headed towards the fish traps.
Ed stood on the largest and finest boat, gazing at the calm lake. He hoped to catch a giant catfish, which he assumed was the monster itself.
Arriving at a fish trap, the group began to work together to pull it up.
Soon the fish trap surfaced, revealing large fish inside, including bass and eels. The fish were jumping and leaping inside the trap.
The group worked together, with some boats continuing to set up fish traps and others transporting the fish back to shore. Occasionally, shouts of surprise could be heard from afar.
Ed was a little worried about these fish traps. They were soaking in water every day, and even if they were soaked in oil, it wouldn't last long; they would all be ruined soon. Making these fish traps and nets was a huge undertaking.
"My lord... my lord, there's a broken fish trap here." The man's voice trembled slightly.
Ed quickly ordered his men to row the boat over, only to find that the fish trap had been torn open with a large hole, and the parts secured by ropes were in disarray.
"This is definitely a huge dried fish," Ed thought to himself.
Without hesitation, Ed instructed everyone, "Everyone go to the largest fish trap."
Ed hoped that this best custom-made item would be able to trap the behemoth.
The rope was rising little by little, but the swaying of the rope underwater was very obvious, and everyone was pulling with great difficulty.
"Stop! Don't pull anymore! Everyone, drag this fish trap to the shore!"
Since it's a custom-made item, it can't possibly have only one rope.
Then a group of small boats towed the fish trap toward the shore.