Zhang Yang had already given a reminder once. Seeing Xiaobao in a pinch, he didn't speak again and just watched quietly.
Soon, Han Mocheng caught his third bitterling with a proper bite.
"Subject two is over! Three bitterlings in the bag! Ti for silver fish!"
While calling out, Han Mocheng quickly pulled the bobber down by at least a ter and a half, casually grabbed two large balls of dough bait, and cast them out.
When fishing for silver fish, fishing closer to the surface is much faster than fishing throughout the water column. Silver fish bite aggressively, and their mouths aren't as small as those of the bitterling, making them one of the easiest fish to catch.
Han Mocheng knew he hadn't gathered too many silver fish and other small fish before, so he used a strategy of scraping the bait ball's skin, making the bait balls large and crumbly to attract and gather fish.
The facts proved Han Mocheng's choice very correct. After just a few casts, the nearby silver fish were attracted.
The bobber hadn't even settled in the water before it was pulled sideways, and with a lift of the rod, two large silver fish over ten centiters were hooked, looking exceptionally plump.
While happily unhooking the fish, Han Mocheng glanced at the others and said: "Tut tut, two at a ti, and they're not small! Just need one more fish! Better hurry up, guys!"
Liu Zi and ng Fan both had two bitterlings each, and although they had plenty of bites, they were either silver fish or gobies. For so reason, the third bitterling just wouldn't bite.
The more anxious they got, the more disorganized their actions beca, and the less they achieved their desired results.
Going back and forth, neither could catch their third bitterling while Xiaobao next door managed to snag another bitterling, putting all three of them at two bitterlings each, leveling the field.
"Damn it! The gobies and silver fish in this spot are going crazy today! Where are the bitterlings? It's driving mad!"
Liu Zi, frustrated, scratched his head. Unable to catch his desired species left him sowhat unbalanced.
Zhang Yang glanced at Liu Zi's hook size and bait size and held his tongue.
He knew that for his team mbers to grow, they needed to experience things on their own and learn from those experiences. Reminding them too much could be counterproductive, robbing them of valuable lessons. Knowing this well, Zhang Yang chose to stay silent.
But then ng Fan reacted, removed his No. 4 sleeve hook, and replaced it with a No. 2 sleeve. He also made the bait balls deliberately smaller.
After this adjustnt, results ca in quickly. After catching two gobies and one silver fish, he finally hooked his third bitterling.
"Subject two complete, I'm on to subject three!" ng Fan announced quietly and quickly got busy.
At this point, Han Mocheng next to them caught his third silver fish, winning the competition first.
"Hahaha, subject three complete! Three subjects, one point each, total score three points! I win!"
Even though it was just a small fish competition, Han Mocheng was extrely delighted after winning, the wrinkles on his forehead smoothing out.
Zhang Yang nodded: "Not bad, finishing first. You three left, hurry up! There's still one last second-place spot!"
ng Fan, while casting his new hook, said: "You two needn't put up a last-ditch fight. My three silver fish will be up in no ti. Just fight for last place!"
While he was speaking, the bobber was flipped and intercepted, and ng Fan struck a fish with a lift of the rod.
"Hehe, say it, and there it is! That's the first silver fish for subject three!"
"Second silver fish for subject three!"
"Third silver fish for subject three!"
In three consecutive casts, ng Fan caught three silver fish, finishing Zhang Yang's test just half a minute later than Han Mocheng.
"Fan, what's going on? There's plenty of bites, so why can't I catch any bitterlings? It's driving crazy!" Liu Zi was still puzzled about what went wrong and looked to ng Fan for help.
Usually, Liu Zi and ng Fan were the closest, spending a long ti eating and living together, practically like real brothers.
ng Fan grinned and said: "Bitterlings have small mouths. If the hook is too big, they can't swallow! Gobies and silver fish are fast and aggressive eaters. Bitterlings can't compete and therefore don't get hooked!"
Like a revelation, Liu Zi smacked his forehead: "Oh! No wonder!"
As he spoke, Liu Zi roughly pulled off the leader line with his hand and replaced it with a smaller leader line.
Nearby, Xiaobao heard ng Fan's reminder and beca a bit anxious.
"Fan, give one of your small hook leaders. My smallest is a No. 3 sleeve hook, and it's a bit big!" Xiaobao pleaded.
ng Fan glanced at Zhang Yang, who shook his head, and then said: "Yang won't let give you one, and there's nothing I can do! Coming to a competition without preparing small hooks, who can you bla?"
"Oh... fine!"
Xiaobao realized he was at fault and stopped pleading, gritting his teeth and continuing to cast, hoping for better luck to snag another bitterling.
But he had already been lucky with big crucians and double tails, and snagged two bitterlings earlier.
Luck can't always be on his side, so moving forward, he only caught silver fish and gobies, not a single bitterling.
In contrast, after changing to a smaller hook, Liu Zi finally got the hang of it, successfully catching a bitterling, bringing subject two to an end.
With one bitterling's difference, it beca a chasm Xiaobao couldn't cross, watching helplessly as Liu Zi entered subject three and calmly caught three silver fish, finishing the competition.
"Alright! Competition over!! Xiaobao, put the rod down; stop fishing!"
Seeing Liu Zi complete the competition, Zhang Yang announced its end.
"No, damn it, I must catch this damned bitterling!"
Xiaobao's stubborn streak flared up. Even after Zhang Yang announced the end of the competition, he was reluctant, making it seem as if he wouldn't eat unless he caught the fish.
"I'm telling you to put down the rod, the competition is over. Don't you understand human language?"
Zhang Yang's tone suddenly beca serious, and his gaze at Xiaobao grew stern.
With a change in tone, Xiaobao saw Zhang Yang's stern expression and imdiately shrank his neck, putting down the rod.
"During regular training, you're supposed to experience and think about fish situations. Yet you can't handle even a small test without any thod, acting like you're fearless, huh? Obey orders, follow commands, and you've forgotten even the most basic requirents?" Zhang Yang continued to reprimand.
Honestly, out of the four of them, only Han Mocheng's performance sowhat satisfied Zhang Yang. He wasn't too pleased with the others.
Liu Zi and ng Fan, effectively going through a second round of retraining, still didn't grasp fish situations or react swiftly enough on the spot.
Xiaobao was even worse, fishing without thinking, absurdly relying on luck to snag three bitterlings.
That would have been fine, but he started showing a stubborn temper because of his poor results, greatly disappointing Zhang Yang.
"I'm sorry, boss; I wasn't directing it at you!" Xiaobao realized his attitude problem and hurriedly apologized.
Xiaobao had emotional intelligence; seeing things go awry, he quickly apologized.
"Alright, pack it up! I have a clear idea of your capabilities! Let's head back, and I'll summarize it for you at the company!"
Zhang Yang didn't press the issue, turned around, and headed for the car's driver's seat.
As Zhang Yang walked away, Xiaobao worriedly watched his departing back and muttered, "Oh no, my performance was poor, and the boss is upset!"
With a cigarette hanging from his mouth, Han Mocheng packed his gear and said, "Don't worry, it's no big deal!"
ng Fan added, "Poor performance is a skill issue, but not listening just now is an attitude issue! Just apologize properly later. The boss is reasonable! Once he calms down, it'll blow over!"
Liu Zi nodded: "Fan is right! I've never seen Yang get upset before! This is the first ti! When he tells you to stop, just stop. Why act tough? Now look, you've been scolded!"
The atmosphere was a bit tense, and the group quickly packed their equipnt, threw their fishing boxes in the car, and loaded up.
With the car's engine running, they quickly drove toward the company base.
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