Chapter 174

Wow, what a big hairtail! How come you can catch such a big one as soon as you came?" Xiao Rou followed out curiously.

That's right, this is my rod; I'd definitely catch differently." Ye Cheng said solemnly.

Tch, it's not the same whoever uses it; I just caught four just now.

Hairtail isn't heavy; this one over a meter long probably weighs only a dozen or so jin, so it's not worth much money.

After Ye Cheng placed the fish properly, he continued fishing; I don't know why, maybe the hairtails came out after eating, and he caught three in a row, making Xiao Rou itchy to try, and he himself wanted one too.

She wanted to use Ye Cheng's rod, but Ye Cheng pointed at Xiao Hu and said, "Then use Xiao Hu's rod; he's eating anyway."

Xiao Hu now had two bottles of beer and was happily drinking with the middle-aged and elderly group.

His rod also enjoyed the luck bonus, so it's the same for Xiao Rou to use.

Xiao Rou, use mine; I'm catching fish quickly over here too," Cui Shuran shouted from across.

Xiao Rou responded with a sound, made a face at Ye Cheng, "Stingy, I'll go over there and fish the same, tch!"

After saying that, she turned and went to Cui Shuran's side.

Ye Cheng smiled faintly; making money is still important now, so if she goes, let her go.

Besides, women sometimes shouldn't be overly indulged, or it's easy to become a sycophant.

Now the one over there is exactly a sycophant.

The sycophant's script always ends badly.

Zhao Zhiming came out to take a leak, passed by Ye Cheng's side, lightly patted him, and said, "Brother, you're really a straight man; you won't even give the girl a fishing rod."

Without money, even breaking the heavens is useless; better to first earn money then talk." Ye Cheng answered while jerking the rod hard, and caught another fish.

This fish isn't big, a 3-jin peelskin fish.

The name "peelskin fish" sounds scary, but it also has a more vulgar name: horse-face fish, mainly because its head looks like a horse's face.

The name "peelskin fish" comes from its skin being as rough as sandpaper; you have to peel it to eat, hence the name.

Although the skin of the peelskin fish isn't tasty, the flesh certainly is, so it's also a common dish on the table, and the price is decent.

Xiao Hu had finished eating over there and came out to fish with Ye Cheng.

With the two of them together, the fishing speed increased a lot, making Xiao Rou, who had gone back to being airforce (i. e., not catching), stomp her feet in frustration.

Cui Shuran also looked helpless; he'd taught everything he could, but if there's no bite, he can't do anything.

This high-frequency fish-catching rhythm continued for an hour, letting Ye Cheng fill the water tank directly before he stopped.

Ye Cheng had had this line in the water for nearly ten minutes, but there was no fish.

Not even a tester came by; I don't know if they went for a nap.

Ye Cheng checked the time; it was already 2 p. m., he was a bit sleepy, and estimated they should head back in about an hour.

As he was dazed, a timid voice came from beside: "Xiao Hu Ge, could I borrow your rod for a while?"

Ye Cheng turned his head and saw Xiao Rou had somehow come over, asking Xiao Hu for his rod.

Xiao Hu didn't mind; besides, he didn't know how to refuse a girl, so he just raised his hand and handed over the rod.

Xiao Rou happily took it, then gave Ye Cheng a provocative look, meaning she didn't need his; naturally someone would give her one.

Ye Cheng yawned, "I already said to use Xiao Hu's; you don't need to."

It's none of your business; I'm happy to," Xiao Rou said, puffing her cheeks angrily.

Ye Cheng shook his head, "I'm too lazy to..."

Before his brain could react, Ye Cheng's hand instinctively jerked because the float moved.

That jerk wasn't a problem; it directly lunged Ye Cheng's body forward, but he reacted in time, and since he was on the boat with a rail, he braced himself with effort, barely holding on, then fell to the left.

The force coming from the fishing line was too great; although the line zipped out, Ye Cheng still couldn't stay steady and bumped headfirst into Xiao Rou.

Ow." Xiao Rou didn't even react before Ye Cheng bowled her over.

Sorry, I can't stand, I can't stand." Ye Cheng said apologetically, and only now managed to barely stand.

You did that on purpose." Xiao Rou sat on the ground, rubbing her body, glaring at Ye Cheng displeased.

Xiao Hu had already noticed something was wrong, went around Xiao Rou and came over to help Ye Cheng hold the rod.

With Xiao Hu's help, Ye Cheng finally felt much more relaxed. He gave the line a tug, and instantly a huge force came through; the fishing rod was pulled, letting out a sharp squeak, and Ye Cheng feared it would snap.

Fortunately, the fish below seemed tired as well; after a few seconds of stalemate, the impact force disappeared.

Xiao Rou could no longer care about the pain; she stood up and looked outward, the fishing line had been let out so far that she could see nothing.

It couldn't be another big catch like last time, could it?

Such a commotion here also drew the middle-aged and senior group and Cui Shuran over.

Cui Shuran glanced at the fishing line and rod, then shook her head directly, "Your rod can't take this; just give up—looks like it's even bigger than the last one."

"Damn, A Cheng, why do you always hook onto big catches? Next time change to a better rod before coming out—what a pity." Zhao Zhiming said with a face full of regret.

Lao Wang and Jiang Weiyang also kept clicking their tongues, feeling somewhat regretful.

Everyone agreed to give up; Xiao Hu's arms stood out with veins, and now he was the one bearing the strain,

"Brother, why not just give up and cut the line?"

Ye Cheng frowned, considering cutting the line, but he was unwilling to give up.

"Give it a try; we've only just started, and if it gets away there's nothing we can do." In the end Ye Cheng still decided to try again, mainly because big catches are rare, and he truly hated to let it go.

Since Ye Cheng insisted on holding on, Xiao Hu had nothing more to say; the two of them together gripped the rod, stabilizing the stalemate with the big fish—now reeling in the line was impossible, they couldn't pull it, so they could only wait, wait for the fish to exhaust its strength.

Thrusting the fish, thrusting the fish, pulling the rod, the two persisted for five minutes, after which Ye Cheng could barely hold on.

"Let me take over." Cui Shuran suddenly walked over from behind.

Ye Cheng looked at him in surprise, wondering how this guy could be so kind at this moment—could he be trying to take the chance to let my fish get away?

Seeing Ye Cheng's scrutinizing gaze, Cui Shuran knew what he was thinking, and said helplessly, "I'm purely helping from an angler's perspective; whether you want to accept it is up to you. Also, I'll state upfront that this thing is prone to coming unhooked—don't blame me if it does."

Since they've been so frank, if Ye Cheng refused it would seem a bit petty.

Ye Cheng nodded, the two smoothly took over what came before, and as soon as they let go, Ye Cheng quickly swung his arms; both arms were sore and painful, the muscles in his forearms had all swollen up, and he didn't know what big thing this was below.