"Teacher Ma, it's your turn to tally the scores!" Xiaobao called out again, walking over to Ma Yuhua's side.
Behind them, the young apprentice smartly lifted the fish guard for the old Ma.
"Wow, Teacher Ma caught so many fish, it must be around sixty or seventy!"
"About right, give or take a few fish!"
"Looks like Teacher Ma is almost guaranteed to score a point with this round!"
The crowd whispered among themselves, while old Ma puffed on his cigarette, looking calm but secretly a bit anxious, wondering if he might have caught fewer fish than Zhang Yang again. Hopefully, he could win by a few fish this round!
"66, 68, a full 70! Congratulations Teacher Ma, you caught exactly seventy fish this round!" Xiaobao announced sweetly.
"Okay, not bad, that's about what I expected! Why don't you count the score for your team leader too? He probably isn't far behind!" Ma Yuhua visibly relaxed, speaking kindly for a change.
Xiaobao moved over to Zhang Yang, lifting the fish guard in the sa manner.
It seems indeed quite similar, as the two began to tally.
"Xiao Zhang, I never asked before, who taught you to fish? Your skills are quite polished, though I've never heard you ntion it!" old Ma casually started a conversation.
"I never had a ntor, I learned to fish by myself along the Wen River since I was a child!" Zhang Yang replied with a smile.
"No ntor? That's odd, have you considered finding a renowned teacher to learn from? You're still young, having a good ntor could save you from many detours!
I've been mingling in this circle for a long ti, know quite a few master anglers. If you're interested, I can help you find soone!"
Upon bringing up the subject of ntorship, Ma Yuhua's mind started to stir. Although he offered to help Zhang Yang find a ntor, his underlying intention was actually to take Zhang Yang as his apprentice.
In old Ma's heart, Zhang Yang is definitely talented, with excellent skills and even having founded his own sizable tackles company. To have the skills and the money, that's the most ideal apprentice candidate. If he could recruit him under his wing, the thought excited old Ma.
"Becoming an apprentice? I really haven't considered it! Maybe I'll think about it and let you know if I'm interested?"
Zhang Yang didn't reject outright, but responded vaguely. Keeping old Ma hanging, for dealing with veterans like him, the tactic of delay must be employed.
"Alright, contact if you have any thoughts later!"
Just as the two were chatting, Xiaobao's score counting reached its conclusion.
"66 fish, 68 fish, 70 fish, 71 fish! Yang Ge caught a total of 71 fish!"
"Whoa!"
"Overco Teacher Ma by one fish!"
"Impressive, 71 fish, looks like that's another point earned!!"
A few seconds ago, old Ma's expression was still quite natural, but after Xiaobao finished tallying the fish count and found Zhang Yang had one more fish, old Ma's smile froze imdiately.
Countless calculations couldn't predict that Zhang Yang had one more fish than himself! Earlier he said he had a slight advantage, and now, face-slapped again.
"Ah, my luck today is just too good! Teacher Ma, please don't mind this too much! One fish, I just happened to catch it!" Zhang Yang laughed loudly, showing off a slightly exaggerated look of mischievous joy.
Zhang Yang's skillful play, comforting old Ma, is actually ant to give him the illusion that Zhang Yang winning is purely by luck, not by skill.
After all, the fishing contest lasts all day, and to beat opponents you cannot just defeat them instantly, giving a bit of hope then slowly crushing it is the pinnacle of cunning. On this point, Zhang Yang is playing quite strategically.
Old Ma's stiff expression lasted only a second before quickly adjusting.
"Ah, that's a bit unfortunate!"
Zhang Yang scratched his head like a fool: "Haha, indeed a bit unfortunate, but the last cast caught a double tail that shined, lucky indeed, lucky indeed!"
This way, the round of competitive fishing with old Ma quickly concluded with the scores being totaled again.
Zhang Yang secured first place again, while old Ma ca in second, and Dage remained the perpetual third. The scores of the others fluctuated slightly, but overall the fish catches were about the sa level as the previous round.
With only two rounds of competitive fishing completed, Zhang Yang's team made nearly a thousand bucks in prize money, and after deducting their entry fees, they had at least six or seven hundred as a base, enough to pay for a hotpot al later.
The ti thereafter turned into a complete showcase for Zhang Yang's team, especially Zhang Yang himself, no matter where he drew, or who he was next to, his fish catches were consistently stable, either first or second, never falling out of the top three.
Normally in competitive fishing, such nearly one-sided matches would soon see people making excuses to withdraw, or request to handicap in order to add suspense to the ga.
Seeing no hope at all, who would still play with you? It would be like throwing money into the water just to watch it drift away.
But today was different, with Zhang Yang having laid enough groundwork in advance, none of Dage's buddies made a sound, even if their results were consistently in the lower half, still they had no regrets.
This turn of events left Ma Yuhua's apprentices feeling uncomfortable.
The teacher had bragged about having a showdown until evening, but after raising the stakes, hadn't even secured a single championship.
Though these apprentices had money, they weren't fools, they knew today they had hit a tough obstacle.
Even knowing this, there were no options left, as preserving the teacher's reputation was more important, and they could only grit their teeth and continue the round.
The morning flew by quickly, having competed in seven rounds of fishing altogether, Zhang Yang's side raked in over four thousand.
Lunch was takeout delivered by the greenhouse owner, as old Ma had announced earlier that morning they were his treat. So everyone indulged in a feast, the atmosphere was rather pleasant.
After lunch, with everyone feeling satisfied, they continued the contest, playing from 1:30 in the afternoon until 5:15 in the evening.
Another seven rounds of competitive fishing. Zhang Yang led his team, and they won thoroughly.
"It's getting dark, why don't we continue in the evening? Dinner on !!" Zhang Yang urged, while counting the prize money.
Old Ma didn't speak, but his eldest apprentice Liu Xiaodong shook his head: "Already arranged a eting with friends tonight, we have to reel in. Another day then, we'll play again!"
"Alright, another day then! Take it slow on the road!"
...
Under Zhang Yang's enthusiastic 'reminder,' old Ma and his group prematurely decided to reel in, leaving only Dage and his brothers.
"Dage, let's not compete anymore, pack up and go have hotpot tonight!" Zhang Yang cheerfully invited.
"Hotpot or whatever works, mostly it's about the prize money... you see!"
Dage showed a bit of embarrassnt, after all, losing the fishing contest and asking for the money back sounded a bit disgraceful.
"All the prize money is with ! Altogether it's a little less than eight thousand bucks, you can basically break even and make a small gain, and the remaining four of your brothers can each get back 700 bucks.
There's over two thousand pure profit left after deducting our costs; we can use this to have a splendid al at Haidilao! How does that sound?"
"Whoa! Full refund?" Dage was a bit surprised.
"Of course, we've won after all, total refund! Keep the money safe, our brotherhood is one thing, the transaction is another!"
As he spoke, Zhang Yang took out 2800 bucks in cash from his waist bag, handing it over to Dage.
That settled it, all the lost money was returned, and they were also invited for hotpot. In the chilly windy weather, enjoying a hearty hotpot and so bragging with fellow fishing buddies was simply perfect!
"It's often said you're a generous guy, Zhang Yang, and I was always unsure, but seeing it now, you really are! Let's go, we'll have so drinks together tonight, I happen to have two bottles of good wine in my car, we'll make it happen tonight!" Dage gratefully accepted the money and passed it to the fellow companions, then led the group to reel in and leave the Winter Fishing Hall.
A crowd packed up their gear, got into their cars, and confidently headed towards Haidilao.
No need to guess, tonight will be another intense battle!
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