Chapter 102: Line Snagged on the Bottom

Zhao Zhiming, unfazed by the indifferent look of the person sitting beside him, seemed already accustomed, and continued calmly tidying his fishing line and gear.

"Uncle, we're over here, more spacious." Ye Cheng pointed to the other side of the platform; he didn't want to hang out with someone who called himself an idiot.

Hearing they wanted to fish on the other side, Zhao Zhiming didn't even lift his head, eyes down, and said disdainfully,

"You two are beginners; don't say I didn't warn you—there are no fish over there, you'd be fishing for nothing."

Ye Cheng poked his head out to have a look.

He nodded.

Then he deliberately raised his voice and said, "As long as there's water, why bother with all these fuss just to catch a fish?"

Chen Jinshui and Zhao You Tian exchanged a glance; they had originally wanted everyone to fish happily together and chat, but they didn't expect these two to be inherently at odds.

"Lao Er, they're from the Fishing Association, they know more than us—come over." Chen Jinshui still kindly advised.

"It's fine, Uncle, hurry up and fish—finish early and go back early; we still have to sell after we're done."

On this side, Zhao Zhiming had already prepared his fishhook and such, set it up, then opened his tackle box and brought out a big basin full of red bait.

Xiao Hu curiously nudged Ye Cheng and whispered, "Brother, look at him with that huge basin—what a show-off."

Ye Cheng glanced back and thought, "Indeed, what's he planning with all that bait? Is he intending to fish for a month straight?"

Before he could figure it out, Zhao Zhiming stood up, grabbed a handful of bait from the basin, and started scattering it into the sea.

Holy shit!

What a rich guy!

Sea fishing and still making a bait bed.

This is the open sea, after all.

Chen Jinshui and Zhao You Tian watched the bait scatter, eyes lighting up—having laid a bait bed before fishing would surely boost their success rate; today they might even score a big haul.

Zhao Zhiming dumped the whole basin, scattering it while showing off,

"This is a formula I learned from my master, a secret bait mix—this basin alone is worth several hundred, and later, if you just drop your line, you'll definitely get a bite."

"Wow, you really do—look at all those bubbles; the fish down there must be starving." Zhao You Tian pointed at the sea surface and said.

With several hundred worth of bait, the fish aren't stupid—how could they not come to eat?

Ye Cheng silently cursed him as a spendthrift.

After setting the bait bed, Zhao Zhiming picked up his rod, hooked the bait, and with a graceful cast sent the line flying smoothly to land precisely at the center of the baited area.

Chen Jinshui and Zhao You Tian weren't to be outdone; they cast their rods to the edge of the baited zone, and the three sat calmly.

Meanwhile, Ye Cheng was still slowly tidying his gear, while Xiao Hu had already cast his line—purely in terms of skill, Xiao Hu was far ahead of Ye Cheng by who knows how many times.

Seeing Ye Cheng's inexperienced look, Zhao Zhiming shook his head contemptuously and focused on his own float.

Zhao You Tian, perhaps trying to break the ice, struck up a conversation with Ye Cheng: "Little Ye, I heard from Chen Jinshui that you added MSG to your bait?"

Hearing the three words "added MSG," Zhao Zhiming turned his head with an astonished expression, exaggeratedly shaking his head to show he couldn't comprehend how such a ridiculous thing could happen.

Ye Cheng also wore a helpless expression; he had merely blurted it out casually, yet so many took it seriously, and when asked he could only give a casual brush‑off,

"I was just messing around; there's no secret formula—I figured it out myself."

That was a cue for Zhao Zhiming—of course he knew.

Ye Cheng hadn't even cast his line yet when Zhao Zhiming's float twitched—two quick dips testing the water—then got pulled under.

Zhao Zhiming grabbed the rod, his left hand began letting out line; after gauging the force, he gave a light tug and then started reeling in swiftly, the small motions remarkably smooth.

Soon, a small white fish broke the surface.

"A sardine—not bad."

Zhao You Tian and Chen Jinshui helped unhook the fish from the line.

Zhao Zhiming was quite pleased—just a short while and he already got a bite; although the sardine isn't valuable, it's the feeling that counts.

He glanced over to see what the novice was doing…

He was still trying to throw the hook—damn, he's worse than a kid.

And he claims to be an expert, dragging me out for a show—pure nonsense.

Ye Cheng had originally wanted to cast his rod, but…

As the saying goes, one day without practice makes the hand clumsy—he'd almost forgotten how to cast.

So he could only start with the simplest method: tossing the hook.

Tossing the hook may not look cool, but functionally it's no different, and since he hadn't laid a bait bed, it didn't matter where he threw it.

Zhao Zhiming couldn't be bothered to watch Ye Cheng, secured the sardine, swapped on fresh bait, and was ready to drop the hook.

Then he heard Chen Jinshui shout excitedly, "Yo, Lao Er, you got a bite?"

Saying that, he rose and went over to see the commotion, which made Zhao Zhiming unable to resist looking too.

All he saw was Ye Cheng's rod already lifted, a tiny red thing bobbing on the hook.

Xiao Hu was quick-eyed and quick-handed this time, grabbing the net before Chen Jinshui could and scooping it up—damn, that day everything was netted by Chen Jinshui, ruining his own fun.

"Stone Nine Elder, what a fine fish."

Stone Nine Elder is a common seaside fish, usually brown or reddish‑brown, relatively small—generally only 15‑20 centimeters.

Still, its taste is excellent—it's dubbed the "king of fish soup" and "false grouper," and it's far cheaper than true grouper.

Seeing Ye Cheng also hook a fish, Zhao Zhiming felt a bit annoyed, snorted, and cast his line again—still landing precisely in the baited spot.

Ye Cheng secured his fish, glanced at his bait—still there—and gave a light toss; the line landed gracefully in the sea, the float bobbing up and down.

Chen Jinshui was about to head back when he saw Ye Cheng's float suddenly dip; his eyes widened, he pointed and stammered for a moment before reacting.

Ye Cheng had already seen it; he grabbed the rod with a force that wasn't huge but still acceptable, yet the fish was clearly much bigger than the palm‑sized Stone Nine Elder.

He turned the rod, Ye Cheng stood in place and began to play the fish, but the fish was lively, so he could only let out line again, daring not to yank hard.

Just then, a somewhat dismissive voice came from behind: "If the fish isn't strong, don't let out line—we're in shallow water, let it out further and it'll sink to the bottom."

This is Zhao Zhiming's voice; he watched Ye Cheng letting out the line and really couldn't stand it, so he couldn't help but speak up to remind him.

Ye Cheng thought, yeah, that's right, his side really is shallow sea; just as he was about to reel in the line, "Pop!" a crisp sound, the line got stuck.

"Brother, it seems we've snagged the Sea Bottom." Xiao Hu said.