Chapter 91 - 92: Playing the Fish Is Addictive

Chapter 91: Chapter 92: Playing the Fish Is Addictive

Back to fishing.

Only after the three sticks of incense were put away did things at the fishing ground return to normal. Chen Yuan didn’t head back — he grabbed his stool and settled down on the little slope.

The fishing ground’s group chat blew up.

Someone had posted the video of the skunked angler doing his prayer ritual, and it hit the chat like a rock thrown into a pond — instant chaos.

"Dude actually busted out three sticks of incense. Who is this legend?"

"I bow to no one, but I bow to the three-incense guy. Even Heavy Chummer can’t touch this level — now THIS is a true Immortal."

"I always thought I was the reigning king of getting skunked, but this guy’s got me beat. Bro, does that trick actually work?"

Heavy Chummer showed up in the chat.

Finding a kindred spirit in the world of perpetually skunked anglers wasn’t easy — the two hit it off immediately, chatting like old friends who’d known each other for years.

But the bizarre techniques they were swapping left everyone else in the group speechless, shaking their heads and muttering that they’d truly seen it all.

Eventually, the two just took it to private messages.

"What a pair of characters~"

Chen Yuan scrolled through the chat, shaking his head with a wry smile.

He’d heard about these kinds of people before, or seen them online — the fishing world’s endless parade of colorful personalities. He never expected that opening his own fishing ground would mean encountering them in the flesh.

Who knew what kinds of people might show up down the line.

"Oh, right~"

Looking at the videos in the chat, Chen Yuan figured Qin Fen wouldn’t want to miss out on content like this. He thought it over, walked over to the three-incense guy, and brought it up.

"Post it, post whatever you want, I don’t care~"

The three-incense guy didn’t mind at all having his video shared online — he was busy on his phone having a grand old time swapping skunk stories with Heavy Chummer.

As for actually fishing.

He was a regular skunk victim. Whether he caught anything was entirely up to fate~

"With that kind of attitude, I can’t be stingy either. I’ll make sure you get a real taste of what fishing’s all about in a bit~"

Chen Yuan let out a quiet laugh.

"What, is Boss Chen gonna jump in the pond and hand-hook one onto my line?"

The three-incense guy grinned and said it as a joke, not taking Chen Yuan’s words seriously at all.

Chen Yuan didn’t bother explaining. He just smiled, gave a wave, and headed back to his spot on the slope, making a mental note to remind Qin Fen that if he wanted to do anything with those videos, he should get the people in them to agree first.

It was still early. No rush to use the remote yet.

It wasn’t until around nine-thirty that Chen Yuan quietly pulled up the system.

"Let’s give the three-incense guy a little taste of something good first~"

It wasn’t the right time to send in the Fish King yet. Better to let the three-incense guy feel the joy of actually landing a fish first. The question was whether a guy with antics like his had any fellow anglers in his contacts.

If he did, that’d be another wave of free advertising~

Chen Yuan went with carp. The fish in Zhou Jianming’s pond were genuinely solid — the carp were the biggest in the small pond, easily starting at six or seven catties.

Time to let the three-incense guy have some real fun.

After selecting the swim order, Chen Yuan hit the trigger.

"Whoosh~"

Right on cue — the three-incense guy suddenly yanked his rod up, the line slicing through the air with a sharp whistle, like a beautiful chord, instantly drawing every eye at the pond.

"Holy shit, did I actually just get a full bobber dunk?!"

Just a moment ago, the three-incense guy had been slouched over his phone, barely glancing at his float. Then out of nowhere, the float bobbed once — and shot straight under the surface.

Full dunk.

A massive, unmistakable full dunk.

He nearly didn’t believe his own eyes. He rubbed them hard, confirmed it was real, then grabbed his rod and wrenched it upward with everything he had.

"Ha! Finally got one on the line!"

As a chronic skunk victim, he knew better than anyone what an empty hook felt like on the strike — but this was completely different. There was definitely a fish on there~

The weight pulsing through the rod sent him into pure elation. Adrenaline flooded his system, the thrill and excitement hitting him all at once, leaving him practically vibrating.

"No way — the three-incense guy actually hooked one?!"

"Looks like Boss Chen’s pond isn’t just a paradise for beginners — it’s a paradise for skunked anglers too~"

The other fishermen nearby looked over in disbelief.

First Heavy Chummer, now the three-incense guy — guys who almost never caught anything were landing fish at Boss Chen’s pond. This place had to be some kind of curse-breaker for the perpetually skunked.

Word like this was going to bring a flood of beginners and skunk veterans straight to Chen Yuan Fishing Ground.

"Holy shit, it’s a carp — looks like at least six or seven catties!"

When the carp broke the surface, the three-incense guy was so excited he actually jumped three times in a row.

Sure, any fish was a fish — he’d be happy landing a shrimp at this point — but every angler dreamed of pulling in a big one.

For someone like the three-incense guy who got skunked constantly, six or seven catties was a monster. Anything bigger wasn’t even worth imagining.

"Whirrrr~"

The line cutting through the water wasn’t loud, but to the three-incense guy, it was the most beautiful sound in the world.

He didn’t rush to bring the carp in. Instead, he deliberately let out some line — the carp dove its head back under and sank into the water, thrashing hard.

Playing a fish was addictive.

Especially for a chronic skunk victim like the three-incense guy. Landing a fish felt rarer than winning the lottery — and this was a six-or-seven-catty carp at that. Who knew when he’d get another bite? He had to milk this moment for everything it was worth.

"What the—"

A nearby angler had spotted the carp surfacing and heading toward the bank. He’d already grabbed his landing net, ready to scoop it up — and then the three-incense guy let the line go slack, and the carp dove back under.

It’s just a carp, man. Does it really need this much playing~

"Ha! Playing it, playing it — this is what playing a fish is all about~"

The three-incense guy paid zero attention to the other guy’s look of disdain, just laughed and lost himself completely in the thrill of it.

Chen Yuan watched and quietly bumped up the resistance a few notches — the pull through the rod grew noticeably stronger, which only made the three-incense guy whoop with delight.

"Oh yeah~"

The three-incense guy was completely gone, totally lost in the joy of playing the fish. A six-or-seven-catty carp, and he dragged it out for over twenty minutes.

Anyone who didn’t know better would’ve thought he had the Fish King on the line.

"Never realized a carp could be this beautiful~"

Once he’d finally had his fill, the three-incense guy called over a buddy to net it, then scrambled over and crouched down to admire it — with an expression that put even Heavy Chummer’s reaction to shame.

That wasn’t a carp. That was a mermaid~

"Congrats on finally breaking your skunk streak, man~"

The guy who netted it was pretty done with watching someone drag a modest carp around for twenty-plus minutes, but a skunk break was a skunk break — he still offered his congratulations.

"Ha, thanks, thanks all around~"

The three-incense guy burst out laughing, fished a cigarette out of his pocket and handed one over as thanks, then whipped out his phone and started snapping away. And then came the bragging.

"Fish are biting great at Chen Yuan Fishing Ground — reeled in a nice little carp without even trying~"

Caption and photos. Posted with maximum intent to show off.

Not just his Moments feed — he blasted it to every single fishing group chat he had on WeChat. Every place where the name Chen Yuan Fishing Ground could be dropped, he dropped it. No opportunity to brag left behind~

"What the hell — Fisherman’s Fishing Ground actually kicked me out~"

He’d barely finished sending everything when he realized a group admin had booted him from one of the chats.

"Ha! If you’d just been showing off your catch, nobody would’ve kicked you. But you were out there advertising that Chen Yuan Fishing Ground is killing it — you think the owners of other grounds wanted to see that? Of course they kicked you~"

Another angler laughed out loud.

He’d clearly been in the Fisherman’s Fishing Ground group chat and seen the post firsthand~

Chen Yuan caught that and glanced at the post the three-incense guy had made in his own group — his eyes went wide, dark irises practically gleaming.

The three-incense guy might not have had Heavy Chummer’s immediate impact — Heavy Chummer had pulled a bunch of anglers directly into the group on the spot — but the advertising effect here was something else entirely.

Heavy Chummer’s reach had been through Moments, pulling in fishing contacts from his own WeChat friends list. The three-incense guy had gone full broadcast — dropping the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground name directly into multiple fishing group chats.

Sure, with his unique approach to fishing, he might not have many angler contacts on WeChat — but he’d been around to enough fishing grounds that his name carried real weight, no less than Heavy Chummer’s.

The impact of him actually catching a fish was absolutely on par with Heavy Chummer’s.

Most importantly, the name Chen Yuan Fishing Ground had now appeared in a whole string of fishing group chats. Thanks to the three-incense guy, more and more people were going to hear about it.

As long as people in Chong City knew Chen Yuan Fishing Ground existed, even if nothing happened right away, they’d look into it eventually. And once they connected the dots — that even the three-incense guy had landed a fish there — how could anyone not be curious?

Get the name out there, and you’re already halfway to winning~

"For all the advertising you’ve done for Chen Yuan Fishing Ground, you’ve earned yourself another one~"

Chen Yuan checked the time — it was nearly ten. By the original plan, it was about time to deploy the Fish King, but the three-incense guy had earned a bonus. One more for him first.

Not another carp this time — a nice fat crucian would do~

"Holy shit, full dunk again~"

The three-incense guy contentedly slipped the carp into his keep net, tucked his phone away, and cast out again. He’d barely set the rod down and hadn’t even had time to wipe his hands when the float shot straight under.

He let out a shout on the spot, snatched up the rod, and hauled back with a massive strike, his whole face lit up with excitement.

The anglers around him stared over in disbelief.

What the hell — back-to-back fish?