Back to the Past to Become a Fishing King

Chapter 865 - 578: Battle for the Fishing Spot (2)

"Since Xu Cheng met Boss Old Zheng, he offered a cigarette, lit one for himself and asked, ’Old Zheng, how’s the fishing been at the reservoir these past few days? A friend wants some big fish, preferably the twenty or thirty pound bighead from the original reservoir area. Any chance of catching them lately?’

Old Zheng puffed out a smoke ring and said, ’There’s certainly a chance to catch some, but the reservoir has a lot of small silver carp, not many of the big ones!’

Master Xu is here to fish for silver carp this time? How long are you planning to stick around? I’ll have my wife prepare all the supplies for you, just like the usual. When you’re with me, you don’t need to worry about any logistics, I’ll handle everything for you!"

"Hard to say how many days, I’ve already bragged about it, can’t leave until I catch one!

I brought a lot of bait for bighead carp and silver carp in the trunk. Let’s head to the usual spot and set up first," Xu Cheng gestured toward his trunk.

"Alright, go ahead and set up first. Once we’ve eaten and refreshed this afternoon, it won’t be too late to start fishing! Other people aren’t allowed to fish at night, but you, Master Xu, have special privileges. Here at the reservoir, you can do as you please!" Old Zheng said obsequiously.

Just after saying that, Old Zheng suddenly remembered Zhang Yang and his group, clapped his head and said, "Oh, what a coincidence! The spot you liked fishing at before, some people came yesterday and took it. They started fishing at seven in the morning, still not time to pack up yet!"

Xu Cheng was quite pleased with Old Zheng’s flattery. Going out to play, it’s all about face; catching fish is not important—face and style are.

But hearing someone is now at his usual spot, Xu Cheng’s face darkened, feeling a bit disgruntled.

"Are they here to fish for bighead and silver carp too? Going to fish for half a day?" Xu Cheng asked.

Old Zheng nodded and continued, "Should be, two young guys with two female companions, even brought a camera. Looks like they’re doing it quite professionally, but I don’t think their skills are up to much.

Just this morning, I had my wife go take a few sneaky looks around. They’re only catching the small fry put in last year or the year before—nothing substantial!"

Hearing Old Zheng say Zhang Yang’s group could only catch small fish that weren’t sizable, Xu Cheng exchanged a glance with his sidekick, smiling knowingly.

Xu Cheng is a typical second generation rich kid, the sole heir of his family, raised in luxury, and pampered to the extreme. His father can’t control him, and his mother indulges him even more.

Used to be an over-the-top party guy, but after learning fishing from friends, he started drifting away from former clubbing pals. Though fishing expenses aren’t small, the family supports him quite well.

Especially his mother, who goes around bragging about her son being a fishing master. The demand for big fish now has stemmed from mom’s boastful claims.

Dong Jianbing is Xu Cheng’s sidekick, the pair frequently go fishing together. They know a bit about it but have a strong arrogance that they’re better than everyone else.

When they first came to play at East Lake Reservoir, they fell into the same trap as Xiaowei and YOYO, only catching the three to four pound small fish, but unable to catch the big ones.

Later, with guidance from a fellow fisher, they grew wiser, developing a deeper understanding of fishing for bighead and silver carp at reservoirs. Seeing anyone fishing for bighead and silver carp at East Lake, they’d approach to sneak a peek, and if circumstances suited, they’d enjoy playacting as instructors, satisfying their vanity and sense of presence.

Energetic young man Dong Jianbing laughed and said, "Brother Cheng, let’s first swing by the old spot to take a look before deciding, it’s still not lunchtime! Once they pack up, we can then take over the setup!"

"Let’s go!" Xu Cheng agreed readily, and the two of them headed toward Zhang Yang’s fishing spot.

At this moment, the fishing situation around Zhang Yang’s group was still pretty good, not nonstop but a steady slow catch. Each of the three had their eyes on their own rods, catching a fish every now and then.

With ideal fishing circumstances, Zhang Yang and his group were quite focused on fishing, only occasionally shouting out in surprise for a bigger catch, but mostly staying pretty quiet.

At this time, Xu Cheng and Dong Jianbing came strolling over with their hands behind their backs.

Once at the old fishing spot, Xu Cheng casually glanced around, without saying a word, and headed straight for Zhang Yang’s fish keep net on the rod holder.

Unaware of the commotion behind him, Zhang Yang was startled by the sudden clatter, turned around to see a strange man with a full beard, directly pulling his fish keep net out of the water.

"Damn! Quite a haul!" Xu Cheng muttered crudely.

Even slightly educated fishermen know one unwritten rule: whether you know someone or not, you shouldn’t easily pull up others’ fish nets.

Fish nets, when pulled from the water, stir the water’s flow; at best, disturbing the spot affecting the fish bite; at worst, may frighten the fish away completely.

"Hey, who are you? Why lifting our fish net?" Xiaoyi couldn’t stand it and stood up, his tone a bit ticked off.

Zhang Yang also checked Xu Cheng out and upon confirming not knowing him, asked, "Do we know each other?"

"Like hell we do! You’ve taken Master Xu’s fishing spot, pack it up when time’s up and leave!" Dong Jianbing said, arrogantly shooting a glance at Zhang Yang.

This one line claiming their fishing spot instantly made Zhang Yang laugh in anger.

"We came yesterday, surely checked with Old Zheng to make sure nobody was here before we settled in. How is it your spot now? Are you kidding?" Zhang Yang replied calmly.

"Stop babbling nonsense! If you know what’s good for you, pack it up and go, don’t cause trouble!"

Seeing Zhang Yang’s group was young and with two pretty girls, Dong Jianbing clearly spoke with personal flair.

If they had politely discussed, Zhang Yang wouldn’t care about the spot, anyway, he’d already gotten enough video material. Catching a few more or fewer wouldn’t make much difference.

Leaving on his own when he’s done is one thing; being chased away with loud orders is another.

Zhang Yang, though easy-going, isn’t a pushover. Obvious bullying won’t be ignored.

"We’re not leaving! Fishing conditions are good, we’ll continue after noon, even tomorrow if we haven’t had enough!" Zhang Yang refused without hesitation, clearly stating his stance.

"Oh dear! Damn it, you trying to act all big in front of Master Xu?"

Dong Jianbing, armed with his big brother being the local tough guy, wealth and brothers alongside, and allegedly even having connections with people in the mix, spoke very cheekily.

Hearing this, Zhang Yang didn’t even want to continue engaging, directly took his phone and called reservoir owner Old Zheng.

With a few words over the phone, the situation was explained, and soon Old Zheng came running over.

"Boss Zheng, what’s going on? We’ve paid to fish here, why are people coming to chase us off?" Zhang Yang, a bit upset, coldly faced Old Zheng, showing no kind face.

"Ah, misunderstanding! It’s all a misunderstanding! Master Xu wasn’t going to start fishing until the afternoon, weren’t you done by noon? Might have heard things wrong!" Old Zheng quickly explained smoothing things over.

After all, as the reservoir operator, even with bias, one can’t just sideshow publicly, or else who would come to fish here?

Hearing this, Zhang Yang sensed the implication, sternly said, "Who said we’d leave by noon? We’ve set up so many spots, fishing is good—leaving now will just benefit those who take over. We’re staying, continuing on the afternoon!"

"You..! Damnit!" The eager young man hearing this moved forward aggressively.

Instead of getting physical, Zhang Yang coldly shot a glance at Dong Jianbing.

Though Zhang Yang wore a hat and sun mask, the threat in his gaze couldn’t be concealed; just one look left Dong Jianbing feeling unsettled.

"Ice, don’t make trouble!" Xu Cheng pulled his sidekick back, walking up to Zhang Yang.

"Judging by your haul in the fish keep, buddy, your fishing skills must be decent, up for a challenge?"

Thinking he had Zhang Yang figured out, Xu Cheng suddenly offered this unexpected invitation.