"Damn! Afraid of death, don't become a GCD!"
Han Qiang didn't know what had happened yet, but given his limited understanding of Zhang Yang, he knew Little Zhang wasn't the type to joke about this. He immediately became more cautious, naturally increasing his casting frequency.
The battle unfolded pretty much as Zhang Yang had anticipated. Wang Yan maintained a relatively fast frequency in luring fish with bait, managing his fishing spot noticeably better than Han Qiang next door.
Although he didn't reach the expected extreme of making the opponent lose his touch, just after eight o'clock, Han Qiang's fishing spot became quiet, forcing him to switch to a long rod. Meanwhile, Wang Yan could still leisurely catch a fish now and then.
By nine-thirty, when Zhang Yang was about to say goodbye and head home, today's fish battle between the two brothers had basically settled.
For the current fish haul, Wang Yan had a total of 24 fish, while Han Qiang had only 16. Wang Yan was leading by eight fish.
...
The next morning, just past six-thirty, Zhang Yang was in his shop eating fried dough sticks and drinking soy milk. The war-torn Wang Yan, Han Qiang, and Zhou Chu arrived at Zhang Yang's shop, eye bags swollen from staying up all night.
"Yo! Did you guys fish all night without reeling in early?" Zhang Yang glanced at their condition and was basically certain.
As Wang Yan deftly opened a box of unopened White Generals and tore the packaging, he said, "Of course! We paid a high price to fish, how could we reel in early before time's up? That would be a waste of money!"
"Smoke, smoke. We're out of Big Front Gate, have a White General! I won it in a bet thanks to your tips, had a complete victory last night!"
Han Qiang was a bit pained, grabbing two cigarettes at once, sticking one in his mouth and one behind his ear, cursing fiercely, "Damn it, Wang Yan drank like a mad dog yesterday, not only was he fierce at night, but around five in the morning, he caught several more while circling around! Among the three of us, Wang Yan caught the most!"
Zhang Yang lit a Fire General cigarette, smirked and asked, "How many did each of you catch?"
"I got 68 pounds, my mentor got 47 pounds, and Brother Qiang got 51 pounds! Your bait and fishing techniques had an obvious effect, but the bait consumption was a bit high!" Wang Yan enthusiastically reported last night's results.
"Congratulations, you all landed the fish! Not bad!" Zhang Yang nodded in congratulation after hearing about their fish haul.
Despite Zhou Chu having the smallest haul, he was satisfied with being able to land the fish. He puffed on a cigarette and asked, "I'm curious, what tips did you give him last night? This guy refused to tell us no matter how much I and Little Han asked!"
"It's nothing much! Just some tips on making a fishing spot and gathering fish, as well as details on adjusting the bait-to-water ratio!"
"Talk about it in detail, fishing here beats the reservoir rod ponds back home!"
"Alright..."
Seeing the three look at him with such eagerness, Zhang Yang didn't hold back. He pressed the boil water button, then started cleaning teacups while chatting.
These three, although different in character, were extremely earnest when faced with Zhang Yang's fishing knowledge sharing, like dry sponges encountering clear water, eagerly absorbing every bit.
From around six in the morning until close to ten o'clock, they still showed no signs of leaving.
However, Zhou Chu's wife called, threatening that if he didn't go home, the tiger at home would eat humans. Only then did the three reluctantly greet Zhang Yang and leave.
Watching the two departing cars, Zhang Yang mused on how these were true fishing enthusiasts. He too had been like this at a certain stage in his past life.
Despite Zhang Yang labeling this trio as enthusiasts, he still underestimated their passion.
The second day, the third day, the fourth day
...
For an entire week, every morning before seven o'clock, the three were promptly at the shop, sometimes bringing fruit, other times two bags of seeds, just chatting about fishing from all corners.
Drinking tea, chatting, sharing and summarizing at the shop, on fishing days they'd go fishing as a group. Under Zhang Yang's deliberate guidance, their fishing skills rapidly improved.
Through this high-intensity quest for knowledge, Zhang Yang's relationship with these comrades deepened quickly. Meanwhile, loyal customers like Old Zhao, Wang Jun, Meng Fan, also increased their contact with the trio, becoming good fishing friends from mere acquaintances.
Unbeknownst to Zhang Yang, half a month had passed. When Han Qiang and Zhou Chu switched back to day shifts, Zhang Yang was relieved not to see them at his shop during the day.
On Thursday, Zhang Yang was alone in the shop doing trivial tasks like tying hooks and lines when Zhao Bingguang called.
"Little Zhang, I just heard some news. Lang Junfeng is organizing a fishing competition at Meng Village Fishing Ground!"
"Fishing competition? What day?" Upon hearing this news, Zhang Yang's heart instinctively raced.
"This weekend! A notification has been sent in Lang Junfeng's fishing client group! Liu Shulin copied it into my QQ group chat, I'll forward it to you!"
"Okay!"
Quickly, Zhang Yang received a message on QQ and frowned as he looked at it.
Minglun Cup Fishing Friendship Competition!
The gist is that Junfeng Fishing Tackle is organizing, sponsored by Minglun Fishing Tackle Company for the competition prizes. Location is Meng Village Fishing Ground, happening this weekend, followed by various competition rules.
In terms of sponsoring competitions, Zhang Yang had a clear view.
Respected fishing tackle companies give major agents a certain sponsorship budget annually to support organizing competitions, conducting ground promotions, and expanding brand influence.
In general, for fishing tackle company-sponsored competitions, as long as the fee doesn't exceed usual fishing costs, it's usually a gain for regular fishing enthusiasts.
After all, prizes or bonuses are company-extra, hardly having significant interests involving the fishing ground or organizers. Done right, it can enhance the fishing ground's and tackle shop's reputation.
Minglun is among the top domestic fishing rod brands, with regional agency rights held by Lang Junfeng. It's normal for him to organize a fishing competition.
However, Lang Junfeng's details on the announcement are worth pondering.
He initially opened registration to his client QQ group, aiming to cut down outside registrations as much as possible. If his group fills up, outsiders wouldn't have a chance.
Old Lang, from the registration stage, aims to block other peers' participation and prioritize providing slots for his client group fishing friends.
In this situation, Zhang Yang weighs the pros and cons of whether to register and participate?
Why consider the pros and cons?
The positive side of such competitions: if Zhang Yang's people earn achievements, aside from prizes, it can further boost his shop's visibility and advertise his products.
The downside: Zhang Yang assumes he has a poor relationship with Old Lang, having had previous off-the-record clashes where the latter didn't gain advantages. In registering people, he didn't know if Old Lang would permit.
Considering he's the organizer, he could simply claim slots are full, leaving Zhang Yang helpless.
Just as Zhang Yang hesitated, Old Zhao called again.
"Seen the announcement? I just called Lang Junfeng, he said we're welcome to sign up and participate!"