Chapter 203 - 183: The Air Force’s Luck

Chapter 203: Chapter 183: The Air Force’s Luck

It’s like the old saying goes: when one person lands a fish, they’re happy. When one person loses a fish, the whole pond is happy.

Seeing the angler lose his fish after fighting it for less than two seconds, the surrounding fishermen couldn’t stop laughing.

He should have been able to reel it in under normal circumstances. But no, he just had to run over and join the crowd watching someone else fight their fish. It was hard not to laugh when he lost his own because of it.

"There’s a cautionary tale for you right there. Keep laughing, and the same thing might happen to you."

Chen Yuan reminded his dear Gods of Wealth.

"Not gonna happen. It’s just one Daqing. If it gets away, it gets away."

"Even if it was a hundred-pound giant, I wouldn’t care. What’s important is the joy of the fishing process."

"If one gets away, we’ll just catch another~"

The surrounding anglers waved their hands dismissively, but their bodies told a different story. They scrambled back to their own fishing spots, taking two or three steps at a time, terrified they’d miss a bite and lose a fish of their own.

Chen Yuan found it amusing. He tilted his head, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag. Seeing that the lucky angler was still fighting his fish and the Daqing hadn’t even broken the surface yet, he decided to take a stroll around the pond.

"How are the customers doing?"

Chen Yuan asked as he ran into Chen Yiheng and offered him a cigarette.

"They’re doing great! I’ve already recorded several dozen catches. Boss, take a look and see if there are any problems."

Chen Yiheng took the cigarette and stuck it between his lips. He lit it, then hopped off his tricycle, pulled out his phone, and opened the catch log for Chen Yuan to see.

"Spot 3, one Daqing, 29 pounds, time of catch 08:12."

"Spot 6, one Daqing, 35 pounds, time of catch 08:15."

"Spot 13..."

Chen Yiheng’s records were very detailed. The spot number, weight, quantity, and time were all recorded clearly, with almost no errors.

This would also make it easy to check the security footage if a customer raised a dispute later.

"The records look fine, but make sure to save them properly. If they suddenly get deleted, it’ll be a lot of extra work,"

Chen Yuan reminded him.

"Don’t worry, Boss. As a precaution, I take a screenshot every time. Even if the notepad data is lost, I can still find it in my photo album,"

Chen Yiheng said with a smile, taking a drag from his cigarette.

Taking a screenshot was easy enough. At worst, it just meant a few extra pictures in his album, which he could delete after cross-referencing. It didn’t slow him down.

"You’re recording the first half of the spots?"

Chen Yuan nodded, noticing that the spot numbers in Chen Yiheng’s log didn’t go past 60.

"Yeah, we’re each responsible for half. This way we don’t have to run around the whole pond, we can just circle the floating bridge. If one side gets a lot of action, we’ll definitely help each other out."

Just as Chen Yiheng was speaking, he saw an angler hook a fish. He gave a shout to Chen Yuan and rode off on his tricycle.

Chen Yuan then went to check on Chen Yikai.

The two brothers used the same format for their records, and they had logged a similar number of catches. Across the entire pond, he estimated that around a hundred fish had been caught so far.

’It’s 10:30. Fishing started at 8:00, so that’s a hundred fish in two and a half hours. At this rate, it’ll be over three hundred for the whole day, averaging nearly three fish per person. That’s about what I expected.’

After reviewing the brothers’ logs, Chen Yuan checked the time and estimated the day’s results.

It was all within his expectations.

Looking at the logs, he also saw that there were very few large-sized Daqing. Almost all of them were under 66 pounds, with at least eighty percent being under 44 pounds.

"It’s at the surface! It’s at the surface! Look at the size of it, it might be over sixty-five pounds!"

Chen Yuan ambled back over to the lucky angler. The Daqing had already broken the surface, and its struggles were growing weaker as it was pulled steadily toward the bank.

A crowd of other anglers had gathered around again, their faces full of envy.

"Can one of you guys help net the fish?"

Watching the Daqing draw closer to the bank, the lucky angler called out for help with the net.

"A free fish has to be netted by Boss Chen!"

The surrounding anglers pushed Chen Yuan forward.

This was a free fish, and by the looks of it, a big one. If the netting job failed, it wouldn’t be a simple matter of saying "oops." The lucky angler would probably fly into a rage and kick you.

"I can net it, but let’s get one thing straight: whoever does the netting, if the fish gets away, you can’t blame them."

Chen Yuan said with a chuckle as he picked up the large landing net.

It was the same back when they were landing the Fish King from the small pond; they had pushed him forward to net it then, too.

But netting was one thing; if you messed up and the fish got away, you had to take responsibility.

It was a warning to everyone.

SPLASH!

The Daqing on the water’s surface was still struggling, but the frequency and force were clearly diminishing. The splashes from its tail were small now, not even getting anyone wet.

When the fish was within reach of the net, Chen Yuan’s movements were swift. He plunged the net into the water, aiming straight for the fish’s head.

The moment it entered the net, the Daqing thrashed violently one last time. But as the angler slackened the line, Chen Yuan swept the large net in a graceful arc, scooping the entire fish inside.

"Lift it, lift it!"

The other anglers ran over to help. The lucky angler was the first to arrive, and together, several of them grabbed the net and hauled the massive Daqing onto the bank.

THWAP! THWAP!

The Daqing slapped its tail on the ground a couple of times, but it soon fell still.

"That’s a nice size. I bet it’s really over sixty-five pounds."

"Even if it’s not, it’s got to be in the high fifties."

"Where’s the electronic scale? Boss Chen, hurry up and weigh it!"

The anglers crowded around the Daqing, guessing its weight. Then, remembering the pond had an electronic scale, they quickly called for Chen Yuan to weigh it.

"Boss Chen, could you weigh it for us?"

The lucky angler was especially curious.

Most importantly, there was a huge price difference between a fish under and over 66 pounds. One might be sold by the pound, but the other would definitely be sold by the fish, with the price being at least two or three times higher.

And since this one looked to be right around 66 pounds, he was desperate to know its exact weight and how much it was worth.

"The scale is right here."

Chen Yiheng’s voice came from behind the crowd.

Several people worked together to lift the net onto the scale. The fish struggled a little, causing the numbers on the display to fluctuate as everyone stared intently.

"Whoa, 67 pounds! Now that’s some good luck!"

"A fish so big, one pot can’t hold it all! Add some pickled cabbage and tofu, and it would be delicious!"

"You want to cook a 65-plus-pound Daqing? What kind of rich family are you from, to be so extravagant?"

During the Old Pond’s grand opening event, fishmongers had come to buy fish on-site. For a Daqing over 66 pounds, the starting price was at least five thousand. This 67-pounder could probably sell for more than that.