Very soon, Ding Wen arrived at Zhang Yang’s spot to check the count.
"How’s it looking? Got a shot at beating Master Liu one-on-one?" Ding Wen asked with a seemingly concerned expression.
Zhang Yang scratched his head, looking slightly anxious, "Hard to say. The first half was pretty good, but in the last ten minutes, the bite slowed down and I lost quite a few fish!"
"Pull up the fish guard, even an ugly daughter-in-law has to et the in-laws! Let’s count how many you caught!"
"Alright!"
Zhang Yang decisively lifted the fish guard.
Drawn by the splashing water and the sound of small carp jumping, all eyes around focused on the bottom of Zhang Yang’s fish guard.
Liu Xiaoyun was most concerned about Zhang Yang’s catch. Seeing the approximate number at the bottom of the guard, he slightly frowned, feeling a bit uncertain inside.
Soone like Liu Xiaoyun, who spent all day competing in fishing contests, was very sensitive to catch counts. Even without a careful count, he could gauge pretty accurately just by eyeballing it.
Approaching the end of the second half, Liu Xiaoyun indeed caught quite a few, but seeing Zhang Yang’s actual number wasn’t small either. By estimation, it should be over 189.
"Wow, not bad at all! Pour it into the basin, let count!" Ding Wen exclaid and quickly got to work.
Counting by fives and tens, he quickly concluded with a final count—189 fish in total!
Catching 189 fish an hour at this pace was already quite impressive given the current fishing conditions, easily outpacing the five anglers ahead of Zhang Yang in line who had already been tallied.
Liu Xiaoyun frowned even more upon hearing the result.
Before starting, they had agreed to give a ten-fish lead, aning Liu Xiaoyun would need to catch at least 200 fish to win theoretically.
Did I catch 200 fish? Liu Xiaoyun felt unsure about himself inside.
"Co on, Brother Liu, it’s your turn! Zhang Yang caught 189, judging by how you were catching fish, 200 should be a breeze!"
Ding Wen thought Liu Xiaoyun had it in the bag and shalessly started flattering him right there.
"Let’s see, I feel like it’s not that many! I was slow in the first part, a bit rusty, didn’t perform well!"
While speaking, Liu Xiaoyun pulled his catch out of the water. At this mont, a hint of anxiety brewed within him, subconsciously preparing an excuse.
At first glance, Liu Xiaoyun’s catch looked about the sa size as Zhang Yang’s. Not settling on it, Ding Wen quickly poured it into the basin and began counting the number.
Five, ten, fifteen, twenty.
As the fish in the basin gradually decreased, the scoring numbers continued rising, and soon the basin was almost empty.
194, 195...
The final count stopped at 195.
Without the matter of giving fish, Liu Xiaoyun would have led Zhang Yang by six fish!
But after subtracting the ten due to their pre-agreent, Zhang Yang narrowly won by a margin of four fish.
"Oh wow! That was close! I thought I was dood to lose this ti!"
After finishing the count, Zhang Yang pretended to be in shock, relieved as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
At that mont, Zhang Yang’s eyes, his deanor, his psychological staging, were at an award-winning level.
"Damn! Lost!" Liu Xiaoyun muttered regretfully, but straightforwardly admitted.
"Thanks, thanks, Master Liu, I’m really sorry, luck let little brother win this round!
In the end, you had beat, I thought I was sure to lose, but luck let win by a few fish! Today my luck was just too good!"
Zhang Yang continued with a modest posture, claiming luck.
With Zhang Yang’s earnest performance, even though Liu Xiaoyun lost, it didn’t feel humiliating. At least Zhang Yang put up a decent front and left him with enough grace.
"Losing is losing! I accept the loss! Old Liu definitely pays up! I didn’t expect you to be so quick with your hands, you cornered in the first half!"
Liu Xiaoyun ’generously’ stated he accepted the loss, exchanging pleasantries about the last matchup with Zhang Yang.
"I fished too hastily, resulting in a weak finish! Your performance was consistent, I’m learning from you!"
Seeing Liu Xiaoyun admitting and accepting the loss, Zhang Yang promptly started a round of mutual flattery.
After so small talk, the result of this one-on-one match settled conclusively.
Ding Wen continued tallying the subsequent anglers’ catches, while Zhang Yang stood up from his fishing position, stretching his tensed and sore arms.
After letting things cool off a bit, Liu Xiaoyun smoked so cigarettes, mulling over the situation.
His face may have stayed intact, but ultimately, he lost in this fishing duel, and even the cheapest hard-pack would still cost four to five hundred bucks.
Being soone who usually made side earnings from fishing matches, Liu Xiaoyun rarely did deals at a loss, and losing by a small margin over a few fish to Zhang Yang left him feeling dissatisfied.
After Zhang Yang returned from the restroom, cigarette in mouth, Liu Xiaoyun gritted his teeth and approached Zhang Yang again.
"I lost to you last ti, I admit it, but I can’t quite settle with it! Are you down for a rematch? The prize is still a box of cigarettes!" Liu Xiaoyun said earnestly.
Zhang Yang heard him propose another one-on-one fishing contest, grinned, took a low stance but with a sly tone said, "Well, that seems a bit inappropriate?
Your skills are better than mine. I luckily won once, already pocketed a box, and you want to win it back? If I lose, I’d be working for nothing!"
"Then what do you suggest? Anyway, at least give a chance!"
Zhang Yang pondered for a few seconds, then widened his eyes and said, "Alright, why not make it a bigger ga, let’s bet two boxes on this round!
User Comments
0 comments from readers