"Young man, are you from a nearby village? How's the fishing been lately? Do you smoke? Let me light one for you."
Zhang Yang did smoke, but he wasn't heavily addicted. Since the man offered, he politely took the cigarette, helped shield the lighter flame, and thanked him repeatedly.
"My home is right up in Zhang Family Village. I come here to fish almost every day! I came late today because I had some things to do. How's your catch today?"
"Don't even mention it! I've only caught four fish since this morning. They're decent-sized, about half a pound each, but the fish are biting too sparingly. Haven't seen a nibble since noon! What's the length of your rod? You're fishing too close, right? Our six-meter-three rods aren't getting much action!"
The angler who offered the cigarette was quite chatty and couldn't help but complain once he started talking with Zhang Yang.
Zhang Yang replied, "It's three-point-six meters. When fishing here, a long rod isn't necessarily useful. The bottom is a sandy shallow area, and the fish hide near the clumps of grass! If you fish too deep, there's nothing to hide behind or eat, so it's normal for bites to be scarce!"
From the time he baited the area until now, it had only been about seven or eight minutes. Just as Zhang Yang was speaking, he saw the bobber gently wobble.
Seeing the bobber move, Zhang Yang knew his herbal rice was starting to attract fish. He lifted the rod, put on a fresh earthworm, and cast it to the fishing spot again.
"No way?! We used to come to this part of the Wen River every fall for the past couple of years, and it's known for big carp on long rods! If you fish too close, you make too much noise; would the fish dare to come to the bait?" The other man didn't quite agree with Zhang Yang's theory.
Zhang Yang didn't argue when he saw the man didn't believe him. Just then, the bobber made a gentle pull-down and then a lift indicating a fish bite, so he immediately lifted his rod to hook the fish!
The tip of the rod curved into a smooth arc, he had caught a fish!
The first fish was quite large, about half a pound of carp. Zhang Yang swiftly unhooked it and placed it into the fish basket.
"You see, I haven't been baiting the area for long, and I'm already getting bites. The carp here aren't as hard to catch as you said!" Zhang Yang exhaled a smoke ring and said kindly.
"Wow, that's incredible. Let me switch to a short rod and try!" The middle-aged man, having seen Zhang Yang catch a fish right from the start, immediately headed back to his fishing spot.
Once the chatty fellow left, Zhang Yang checked the hook and bait and cast his line into the fishing spot again.
To be honest, the practical effect of this herbal rice has always been consistently reliable. After Zhang Yang started catching, the fishing spot soon drew in schools of carp.
At first, it was slowly with a fish every few minutes, but then it quickly picked up speed.
Half an hour later, the area around the fishing spot was filled with fish bubbles, and as soon as the bait hit the spot, the bobber would immediately show feeding action.
The same middle-aged angler who had offered the cigarette earlier switched to a short rod to bait the grassy area and also caught a few carp, but in terms of speed, he was no match for Zhang Yang.
Soon enough, other anglers noticed Zhang Yang catching fish in quick succession.
The first to come over was still the cigarette-offering middle-aged man.
The second time around, Zhang Yang noticed the man's attire.
This angler appeared to be in his early forties, of medium build, wearing a Shimano-branded beige charcoal sun-shirt. He was tanned dark from frequent fishing, clearly an old smoker with nicotine-stained teeth.
"Wow, young man! What brand of bait are you using to attract fish so quickly? It's impressive you've got a succession of catches in such a short time!
The carp in the grassy areas here really are more than in the deep water. But my bait's only brought in four or five fish in total; the fishing here is nothing like yours!"
Hearing this inquiry, Zhang Yang felt a significant relaxation in his mood.
Pals, I was just waiting for you to ask that question!
The next second, Zhang Yang smiled, reached into the side pocket of his rod bag, and took out a sample pack of rice for making wine.
"I make my own specially formulated herbal rice for making wine! I'll give you a sample to try for free! Just mix it with a little dirt, find a flat, clean grassy area to bait, and you're good to go!"
"Haha, thanks! I'll take you up on that. Watching you catch fish like that makes me envious!"
"The fish are biting well today, you should try baiting a new spot!"
...
Soon, the middle-aged man left with a small sample pack of Zhang Yang's rice. After opening it and taking a sniff, the rice had a pleasant aroma, a little different from commercial products he had used before, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly why.
Not thinking too much of it, he decided to give it a try, roughly taking two ounces and mixing it with some Blue Carp commercial bait with a splash of water, forming a ball and tossing it into the fishing spot.
What happened next was a surprise for the middle-aged angler.
Five minutes later, the movements in the fishing spot started to increase significantly. In less than ten minutes, bites became more frequent,
The area was drawn in, and it consistently brought in many fish.
"Hey Zhao, what amazing bait are you using? It's brought in fish quickly and in succession!"
At this moment, the friend of the middle-aged angler Zhao from not far away noticed the situation and called out loudly.
Old Zhao simply waved at his friend, who immediately stood up and came over.
Old Zhao gave his friend Zhang Jinwei the remaining half sample pack of rice, whispered a few words of advice, to which his friend nodded repeatedly before returning to his spot to bait and fish again.
Not long after, Zhang Jinwei's new fishing spot also began to yield fish.
There were at least a dozen anglers fishing near the bend Zhang Yang had chosen. Initially, no one paid attention, but soon after, they noticed a few people catching fish in succession and a couple of more outgoing guys came over to Zhang Yang.
They offered cigarettes, greeted him, and then asked about the secret to his successive catches.
Zhang Yang didn't hold back when faced with these potential customers' inquiries, repeating what he had said earlier and giving each one a sample pack of rice.
Soon, the number of anglers catching fish in succession near the bend increased from just a couple to four or five, and then to seven or eight.
By around five in the evening, Zhang Yang noticed the fish in his fishing spot were mostly caught and decided to wrap up.
Although he arrived late today, the fishing conditions were excellent, and he caught around fourteen or fifteen pounds of fish, mostly large carp, which was very satisfying.
Seeing Zhang Yang prepare to leave, the earliest cigarette-offering angler Zhao couldn't wait any longer.
"Hey, buddy, what's your name? I'm Zhao, full name Zhao Bingguang. The rice you gave me really attracts fish like magic! How did you come by it? Can you help me get some? I'll pay!"
"Brother Zhao, my name is Zhang Yang! The rice is something I make myself! If you want some, I'll charge you 15 per pound. You can follow me home to get it, or I can bring it next time you come!"
"Great! Get me two pounds! I'll be back here tomorrow morning; bring it then! Should I pay now or when you bring it?"
"Tomorrow is fine!"
"Alright, deal. Little Zhang, do you have a phone? Leave me your number!"
"138…"
If it had been an ordinary peer, they might feel a bit embarrassed when discussing money with a stranger, but Zhang Yang named his price without hesitation.
Respect is something you earn, not something others give you. After experiencing the coldness of borrowing money from friends and family in his past life, Zhang Yang had matured in this life.
I have goods to sell, and you have money to spend, so everyone gets what they need. There's nothing embarrassing about discussing this openly. Adults are only embarrassed because they haven't truly experienced the feeling of being short on money!
After finalizing his first order, Zhang Yang packed his fishing gear, waved goodbye to Zhao Bingguang, and biked away from the Wen River with his catch. He still needed to head to town to sell the fish - if he arrived late, the good spots would be taken.
That evening, a restaurant owner scooped up all of his over ten pounds of fish, paying six per pound, earning Zhang Yang 72 yuan.