Chapter 348: Chapter 215: A Kind of Passion
In the following days, Liu’Er naturally transformed into the logistics chef, utilizing the available ingredients to whip up some home-cooked dishes for everyone.
And I must say, the taste was quite good. The group of guys devoured the stir-fried dishes completely.
The next few days felt like a replay of the first day. Zhang Yang wasn’t in a hurry to teach Meng Fan more things but instead had him continue with the basic skills training.
No matter if the reservoir had south winds or north winds, regardless of wind strength, Meng Fan had to practice casting against the wind.
As his proficiency gradually increased, Meng Fan’s casting performance became more stable.
After a few days, the short rod casting training was temporarily halted, and the entire 5.4-meter-long rod was used for intensive training. Meng Fan understood his leader’s good intentions, getting tanned under the scorching sun without mentioning a word about being tired.
Meng Fan had no issues with the high-intensity basic skills training, but having nothing to do was driving Liu Zi crazy.
Zhang Yang and the others were either streaming or training, leaving Liu Zi with nothing to do.
The prefab house didn’t need daily cleaning. The only task that belonged to Liu Zi was cooking a little lunch sometimes, and sometimes Zhang Yang would go to the head of the village to buy ready-made cooked food without cooking.
On the fourth day’s lunch, Liu Zi finally couldn’t hold it in any longer.
"Brother Yang, Brother Fan, can I discuss something with you?" Liu Zi seized a careful chance to speak at the dining table.
"What’s up? What do you want to do?" Zhang Yang glanced up at Liu Zi without speaking first, but Meng Fan, sitting next to him, picked up the conversation.
"I usually have no other work besides cooking and cleaning, so can I, when there’s nothing to do, learn fishing with Brother Fan?" Liu Zi blurted out what he’d been holding back for several days.
"You’re bored at the reservoir and want to learn fishing for fun? Do you need permission for such a small thing? Aren’t my reservoir fishing equipment all in the room? Use them as you like! If you don’t understand something, I’ll briefly teach you later!"
Meng Fan thought Liu Zi was just too bored at the base and wanted to fish to pass the time, so he agreed without much consideration.
"No, it’s not just for fun. I want to seriously practice fishing like you do! I’ve learned a bit here and there, and just when Brother Yang is teaching you, I can practice along when I’m free! Why waste time doing nothing? If learned well, it’s also a skill!"
In Liu Zi’s simple understanding, being able to fish well is a skill. Now that there’s an opportunity, he doesn’t want to miss it.
This time, it was Zhang Yang who was surprised. This kid has quite high self-expectations and knows how to progress.
"You really want to seriously learn fishing together?" Zhang Yang didn’t hurriedly agree, but rather, asked soly.
"Yes! I want to give it a try, rest assured, I won’t delay regular cleaning and cooking commitments!" Liu Zi nodded firmly with a determined tone.
"Alright, let’s have a little test after lunch. If you pass, I’ll let you train with us!"
"Okay!" The young man’s eyes ignited with hope.
After lunch, the group, instead of taking the usual simple nap, followed Zhang Yang back to the waterfront.
Zhang Yang gestured to Meng Fan’s fishing box and the 5.4-meter rod on the rack: "Go ahead, cast a few rods for everyone to see! Don’t be nervous, just go with whatever feels comfortable!"
While saying this, Zhang Yang didn’t actually have high expectations of Liu Zi’s performance, since he had never seen Liu Zi fish before and thought of him as a novice who had never handled a rod.
Zhang Yang’s intention was to simply give a few pointers and see this guy’s aptitude and learning ability, but unexpectedly, Liu Zi’s casting performance was beyond everyone’s expectations.
The kid confidently sat on the fishing platform, naturally grabbed the rod with his left hand, separated the fishing lines with his right hand, then normally lured it. After setting the bait on the hook, he flicked his arm, effortlessly casting the fishing gear out!
The whole process wasn’t seamlessly smooth, but there were truly no significant flaws, and what surprised everyone even more was that Liu Zi was a left-handed caster.
"Wow, Liu Zi, you’re pretty good at casting left-handed!"
Meng Fan, who was closest to Liu Zi, brightened up at his performance. With little wind at noon, Liu Zi’s cast landed the double hooks almost directly in front of the fishing spot, which was very impressive.
"Don’t speak and distract him. Liu Zi, cast a few more rods!" An equally surprised sparkle appeared in Zhang Yang’s eyes, signaling Liu Zi to continue casting a few more.
Liu Zi nodded, then repeated the entire standard process from before. After separating the hooks and baiting again, he cast the rod.
After three consecutive casts, Zhang Yang nodded, forming an initial judgment of Liu Zi’s performance.
"Have you practiced before? Touched a rod?" Zhang Yang asked.
"When I was with Zhu Wu, occasionally when the black pit fish situation was good and he’d played enough, I got to handle the rod once or twice, but usually didn’t touch it much!
Also, in the past few days, with nothing to do by the reservoir at night, I used Brother Fan’s rod to get a feel for the handling without hooks!" Liu Zi explained truthfully.
"Damn! With so little rod-handling opportunities, you’ve managed to practice up to this level? You’re a damn genius!" Upon hearing this, Meng Fan’s perception was instantly challenged.
Afraid Meng Fan might get upset, Liu Zi specifically added, "I was seriously listening when Brother Yang was teaching you casting techniques. In my free time, I’d ponder over them in my mind, and then use the rod to get a feel, and gradually felt I was grasping a bit!"