When the two of them returned from the restroom after verbally agreeing on an alliance, more than half of the anglers had already had their catches checked.
Zhang Yang walked up to ng Fan and casually asked, "What's the highest count now?"
"54 fish, caught by that guy nad Huang Tao! And the last ones haven't been counted yet!"
"Okay, let's see!"
Soon, Liu Zi and Xiaobao ca over to Ma Yuhua: "Teacher Ma, could you please check our catches?"
Ma Yuhua had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and without moving his hands, he gave a glance, prompting Fisherman behind him to quickly help his ntor lift the fish basket and dump it into one of the plastic basins.
After counting so many people's catches, Xiaobao could roughly estimate the number of fish just by eyeing it.
Honestly, Ma Yuhua's level is indeed much higher than that of an average angler; his catches seed to be a bit more than that guy who had fifty-sothing fish earlier.
After a quick count, it turned out he wasn't wrong—exactly 60 fish, almost matching Da Ge's previous catch count.
"Teacher Ma, 60 fish!"
Xiaobao solemnly announced the result, and Liu Zi neatly recorded it in his mo.
"Wow, as expected of Teacher Ma. It's only the second round, and you're almost matching Da Ge's best record!"
"Indeed, a master is a master. You have to know, there are fifteen people fishing now, which ans the average density is naturally a third lower. Sixty fish might be enough for one point!"
"Ha, not just might be—it definitely is worth a point!"
Ma Yuhua's apprentices, along with so anglers who were with Da Ge but weren't particularly on anyone's side, whispered among themselves.
Those who felt they perford well were calculating what rank they could get, while those who didn't do so well were gossiping about who would end up winning the championship.
Upon hearing the 60 fish score, Ma Yuhua took a satisfied puff of his cigarette.
He savored it for a few seconds with his eyes closed before slowly exhaling the smoke, "Today's fish were actually simpler than I expected!"
When Master Ma started "teaching," his disciples imdiately gathered around respectfully.
Going fishing with Ma Yuhua usually didn't offer many learning opportunities since Old Ma kept his techniques tightly guarded. Only when he was in a particularly good mood would he reveal so tips.
"Today's fish bites were quick, so the bait can be a bit more coarse. It can both lure the fish and not miss a bite—two birds with one stone!
For the next round, add more of the flaky super attractant, throw in so fibers, and make the bait balls larger!"
"Heard you, Master!"
The apprentices responded in unison. Even though the bait techniques seed simple, they treated them like martial arts secrets.
The catch results were still being tallied, and soon, Da Ge's count also ca out.
58 fish, temporarily placing him in second.
Ma Yuhua also took Da Ge's result quite seriously. One could say, among the more than ten people, Da Ge was one of the few who could pose a threat to Old Ma's skills.
The other person was Zhang Yang.
"Not bad, Xiao Yan! Almost caught up to you!" Old Ma greeted with a half-joking tone.
"Hehe, two more fish make a big difference! My best round, catching double tails each cast, got only 61 fish! Your skills are far superior!" Da Ge said courteously.
Ma Yuhua: "Winter fishing in a warm shed is all about basic skills!"
"Right, what you say makes sense!"
...
Unnoticed, Xiaobao soon arrived at Zhang Yang's spot.
Liu Zi quickly lifted Zhang Yang's fish container, and even before it was emptied into the basin, the crowd gasped again.
"Wow, that's a lot!"
"Wow, how did that happen?"
"This is..."
Zhang Yang's catch was dumped into the basin, clearly more than Old Ma's sixty fish earlier. The size of the fish was about the sa, so you could estimate the amount just by the size they occupied in the basin.
One, two, three, four.
In less than a minute, Zhang Yang's count ca out.
Zhang Yang's total count: 76 fish!
Whoosh! Hearing this number, everyone looked at Zhang Yang in amazent.
Estimating that he might have a higher count was one thing, but having it verified was another.
"Boss, nice, nailed it! One point!!!" Xiaobao grinned. With the team leader earning a point, he spoke with much more confidence.
"Hehe, just luck! Don't make a big deal; if you were in my spot, you could have caught one point too!" Zhang Yang chuckled and waved his hands, playing it down.
Monts earlier, Ma Yuhua was full of spring and smiles, but now he couldn't help but show so discontent.
The battle for first and second, and whose gloat would claim the prize, were secondary to saving face. Old Ma was proud with sixty fish, then Zhang Yang showed up with nearly twenty more—it was an instant face-slap.
"Well done, Xiao Zhang, you've made great strides! It's been a while since we fished together, and your skills have shot up!" Old Ma couldn't help but sound a bit sarcastic.
"Haha, Teacher Ma, don't tease . My tricks are nothing compared to yours! Just lucky!" Zhang Yang waved it off, crediting the fish catch to luck.
You know how it goes: luck is the weak's excuse but the strong's humble brag.
Results sitting right there—being modest almost ends up being a kind of high profile.
And if your performance is lacking, no matter how impressive you try to seem, it's only dinner talk for amusent.
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