Chapter 140: East Sea City Fishing Association

Since the fish got away, Ye Cheng had nothing to say, changed bait and continued; if he wasn't satisfied, he kept going until he was.

He cast again, the fishing line flew, the hook entered the water, a new round began.

After waiting a few minutes with no movement, Ye Cheng gently tugged the line, simulating a small fish's motion.

With that motion, it actually worked.

The float moved; the colored float sank halfway in.

Ye Cheng felt a surge of excitement, didn't think much, and gave a strong upward jerk to set the hook.

Then he saw the water surface break, a small fish several centimeters long flew out, then with a plop fell back, leaving a few drops of blood on the surface.

He used too much force.

Ye Cheng took a deep breath, cast three times; this time the line flew off to the left front at a 45‑degree angle.

If someone else were there, their lines might have gotten tangled.

Since he was alone here, Ye Cheng didn't reel in, just sat quietly.

Mindset!

The mindset in fishing is also important; just now I was a little confused, which threw off all my rhythm.

He sat quietly for ten or so minutes, smoked two cigarettes, then Ye Cheng began to tug the line.

No movement, he reeled in and cast again.

This time, not long after, the float showed activity.

Ye Cheng watched the float, trying to feel that jumping sensation.

Sink!

Lift the rod!

To avoid repeating the earlier situation where the hook wasn't bitten, Ye Cheng deliberately lifted the rod forward to delay the hook set.

This time it really bit—a small fish seven or eight centimeters long; Ye Cheng tested the hook and pulled it up directly.

A black‑backed saury was pulled up.

Saury like this are more common opposite the little cherry blossoms; frankly, they're still relatively rare along China's coast.

Looking at its size, it was simply too small, so Ye Cheng threw it back into the sea.

Ye Cheng spent the whole afternoon fishing, just practicing a few things—casting and setting the hook; no matter what, after practicing he felt much better.

He checked the time; it was already past 5 p. m., so he packed up and went home.

He caught seven or eight fish that afternoon, all worthless little fish; he couldn't be bothered to sell them, so he took them to Jiang Yunxiang to make a mixed‑fish stew.

Mixed fish can't compare to the freshness of premium sea fish, but stewing different kinds makes the soft flesh melt in the mouth, giving it a unique flavor.

Jiang Yunxiang is now radiant; the last fish trap earned her a little over ten thousand, she has money, and her diet has improved.

Ye Guowei, when he comes home at night, basically gets meat at every meal.

These past two days he's felt a bit weak; Ye Cheng didn't drink, and after eating he hurried home.

The internet‑addicted teenager is still the same, but his skills have improved a lot; after all, Big Pineapple 2 isn't known for difficulty, so this guy is just grinding equipment.

He looked at today's luck value of 40, then he'd only caught a few fish, which logically shouldn't be so few.

"Let's go, collect the fish traps." Ye Cheng patted Xiao Hu; the traps he'd set yesterday were still not collected.

"Wait, wait, brother, I'm about to kill him—I finally made it to level 3 with great difficulty."

Helplessly waiting for Xiao Hu to finish chopping the last few worms, he reported a blue‑staff with a hole, and this guy was quite satisfied.

Xiao Hu's fish traps were on the beach in front of the village; with no tide, they walked half an hour and saw them.

The two collected the five fish traps in an hour; there wasn't much—about twenty‑odd crabs, and the high‑end whelks were gone.

There were also some small sea cucumbers, then white shrimp.

A small grouper got in; it was really too small and pitiful, so Ye Cheng released it directly.

Looking at this little amount, Ye Cheng had no desire to go to the city; he directly told Xiao Hu to go sell it at the dock tomorrow.

Over the next two days, Ye Cheng went alone with his fishing rod to practice, preparing for the competition.

Xiao Hu, who does nothing unless Ye Cheng calls him, made a total of 3000 yuan over three days—just enough to scrape by.

On the 14th, the police station called, telling Ye Cheng to come collect a bonus—10,000 yuan, which was the biggest income of those days.

On the 15th, Ye Cheng woke up early in the morning.

Because today is the competition day.

It's not just for that modest prize; a man strives to be the best—he may fall short in his career, but how could he concede in a hobby like fishing?

Luck Value: 70+20

Points: 1230

Savings: 340,000, loan 100,000.

Luck value of 90,90.

Ye Cheng clenched his fist; these two days he'd been worried about this.

Damn, last time with a luck value of 30 entering the competition was practically worse than death.

No fish would bite; if someone hadn't withdrawn, he wouldn't have made it to the finals.

Today's fine—luck value 90; I'd be sorry for these two days of hard practice if I didn't land a big fish today.

The only pitiful one today is Xiao Hu, who thought Ye Cheng would let him stay home and grind equipment while he competed, but Ye Cheng dragged him along to witness his glorious moment.

"Brother, I'm not saying this to you—you've only fished a few days, and you're already talking about glory? It's not that easy.

"Let's be clear—if you lose, it's got nothing to do with me; don't blame it on me.

"Shut your crow's mouth—I won't lose, how could I? Heh, today I'll take you to see that whatever Cui Shuran; damn, he's all stuck‑up, just looking at him annoys me.

Last time in the qualifying round Ye Cheng was already annoyed—that condescending gaze looking down on me; damn, I'm someone who made it from a top‑500 company to middle management, able to work seven straight days of overtime without dying, a true immortal, and he dares to look down on me.

Xiao Hu sat in the rear seat of the motorcycle, clicked his tongue twice, "Brother, is it because they're better‑looking and have more charm than you, so you're so angry? Or did they steal your girlfriend?"

"Get lost, my charm isn't something a little brat like him can compare to."

The two chatted nonsense as they sped along the country road.

This time it was the finals; there were fewer people than in the preliminaries, but they took it even more seriously.

The finals were held on a peninsula — an island surrounded on three sides by water — that you could drive to.

Those with cars drove there themselves; those without, the association arranged a bus for everyone.

As a motorbike rider, Ye Cheng simply rode up; when he arrived and saw the scene, it was quite lively — a tent had been set up, and there was a banner:

Donghai Shi Fishing Association's 7th Fishing Competition.

The two unloaded their things, then Xiao Hu pointed at a person on the stage and said, "Brother, is that the Cui Shuran you were talking about?"

Ye Cheng took a look — sure enough, they had a lofty, aloof Buddha‑like air on stage, really standing out from the crowd.

"Yeah, that's him — isn't he quite an idiot?"

"No, that's not it — I think they're definitely better‑looking than you, and you can tell they've got class, like a rich young master, you…"

Xiao Hu turned his head to look at Ye Cheng.