Chapter 92 - 93: Catching the Fish King and Returning Home in Triumph

Chapter 92: Chapter 93: Catching the Fish King and Returning Home in Triumph

"Haha, fish on~"

Three Joss Sticks burst out laughing with excitement.

Years of blanking at the water had taught him to read a rod — he could tell from the bend alone whether something was on the hook. This one wasn’t nearly as heavy as the last, but it was definitely not a blank.

"Never thought I’d ever get back-to-back hookups. Today’s the day I finally stood up~"

He laughed and laughed, pulling a fat crucian carp out of the water in no time.

This time he didn’t bother playing it out on a loose line. He’d already fought a six- or seven-pound carp tonight — who still wanted to mess around with a Little Kalami after that?

Once you’ve watched an eagle soar, who’s going to get excited about a crow?

I’m not that desperate, prayer-offering blanker anymore. Chen Yuan Fishing Ground lets me fish the way I actually know how. Why would I ever blank here?

"Boss Chen, make sure you give me a heads-up when you open memberships. I’m making Chen Yuan Fishing Ground my permanent home~"

The thought hit him, and Three Joss Sticks turned to Chen Yuan with complete sincerity.

He felt exactly the same way Heavy Chummer had felt that time.

When someone who’s blanked for years suddenly starts hitting fish back-to-back at a spot, the excitement goes through the roof — they finally get to taste what fishing is really supposed to feel like. A place like that becomes sacred ground.

If the catches kept coming every time, it’d be nothing short of a holy site~

"Boss Chen, this pond’s got some kind of magic. Blankers don’t just catch fish here — they get back-to-back hookups~"

"I haven’t had back-to-back hookups all night. Makes me want to fake being a blanker and see if the magic works on me~"

The anglers around them shook their heads.

First Heavy Chummer went from blanking to back-to-back hits — and landed the Fish King on top of that. Now tonight’s praying angler had done the same streak, no Fish King, sure, but the back-to-back hits were real enough.

Damn, the envy~

"Haha, what goes around comes around — this is exactly what that means~"

Three Joss Sticks laughed his head off, cradling the crucian carp in one hand while whipping out his phone to snap photos with the other. He was loving every second of it, blasting the pics into every fishing group chat he was still in without missing a single one.

Kick me out if you want — those trash ponds aren’t worth my time anyway.

Chen Yuan Fishing Ground is my permanent spot now. The rest of them can do whatever they like~

Chen Yuan spotted Three Joss Sticks showing off in the fishing group chat and quietly gave him a mental thumbs-up.

If every angler went all-in promoting the place like this, how could Chen Yuan Fishing Ground not become the top dog among all the Chong City Fishing Ground scene?

"Alright, time to let the Fish King loose. After that, we’ll start wrapping things up~"

Chen Yuan checked the time, slipped his phone back into his pocket, closed Three Joss Sticks’ swim, and switched the Fish King to active. Let’s crank up the energy in this pond~

"Whoosh~"

The moment the Fish King was activated, a sharp cutting sound sliced through the air over the pond. Every angler’s head snapped toward it at once.

It was Three Joss Sticks again. No way he was going for another back-to-back, right?

"You’ve got to be kidding me~"

Chen Yuan stared in disbelief. He hadn’t manually assigned any swim — this was just a standard Fish King activation, a one-in-sixty shot for everyone, pure luck.

And it just had to land on Three Joss Sticks?

First Heavy Chummer, now Three Joss Sticks — both went from blanking to back-to-back hits, and now it seemed like both were about to land the Fish King too. Was this actually what he meant by "what goes around comes around"?

"Easy, easy — just testing my luck for a triple~"

Three Joss Sticks grinned sheepishly.

The back-to-back hookups had gone to his head a little. He cast again and yanked the rod up almost immediately, hoping to test whether his hot streak could make it three in a row~

Oh, come on~

The other anglers groaned, and Chen Yuan didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh. Everyone thought he was going for a genuine triple, but he just wanted to try his luck — who did he think he was, the fishing god himself?

"Whoosh~"

Just as the anglers were grumbling, another sharp sound ripped through the air — crisper this time, with a dull, heavy undertone. The color on several faces shifted.

"Haha, finally got you~"

A roar of pure triumph erupted across the pond — the kind of shout that comes from a man who’d been quietly waiting for his moment, who’d ground through the long wait, and struck the instant his chance arrived.

That triumphant cry dripped with self-assurance, as if he’d known all along this hookup was coming.

"Mmmm~"

On the heels of that shout, the raised rod went momentarily dead still — like it had snagged the bottom and couldn’t move — then the gorgeous whine of the line cutting through the air split the night sky above the pond, and the rod bent into a full bow in an instant.

"Holy shit, that’s the Fish King~"

The surrounding anglers erupted. They lifted their rods and shuffled back one by one, clearing space for the man to fight the Fish King. Every eye at the pond locked onto him.

"Holy shit, the Fish King’s on again~"

Chen Dequan yelped, had the good sense to hang the big landing net back where it belonged, then grabbed Liu Fang and retreated to the back of the crowd, standing on his tiptoes to see over everyone’s heads.

Chen Yuan nearly laughed out loud.

One reminder to Chen Dequan that he probably shouldn’t be the one netting the Fish King, and now the man had learned to hide behind the crowd all on his own.

People said Chen Dequan wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but when it came to keeping himself out of trouble, his instincts were pretty damn solid.

"Boss, the Fish King’s been active a lot tonight~"

Chen Dequan watched for a bit, figured the Fish King wasn’t coming out of the water anytime soon, and wandered over to the small slope where Chen Yuan was standing for a chat.

"That’s a good thing."

Chen Yuan patted his pocket, pulled out his cigarettes, and shook one out for Chen Dequan.

"How’s that a good thing? Every time someone lands the Fish King you’re handing out cash — isn’t that just burning money?"

Chen Dequan couldn’t wrap his head around it. He knew Chen Yuan had set up a catch-and-release bonus — a thousand yuan every time the Fish King hit the bank. If it were his money, he’d be sweating bullets.

"If you came specifically for the Fish King, but the whole night went by without a single sign of it — would you even bother coming back?"

Chen Yuan lit his cigarette with a grin.

"Hell no. If there’s no sign of the Fish King, that’d just be a scam — I’m not an idiot~"

Chen Dequan took a drag, then it clicked. He pointed a thumbs-up at Chen Yuan. "That’s our boss — reading customers like a book."

The two of them stood there smoking and chatting while Liu Fang kept craning up on her tiptoes to watch the action inside. When the Fish King finally broke the surface, Chen Dequan rushed over to join the crowd.

Chen Yuan had lost interest. He sat up on the high ground, watching the swarm of excited anglers below, a quiet smile on his face.

The Battle Fish King was a long haul. It took from just past ten all the way to after eleven before the angler finally wrestled it onto the bank. There was the usual round of admiring and photographing, and then it was released back into the pond.

"Congratulations, my friend — you tamed the Fish King, claimed your prize, and you’re going home with your head held high~"

Chen Yuan fanned the banknotes in his hand and strolled over to the pond with a grin to hand out the catch-and-release bonus.

"Heh, Boss Chen isn’t wrong. Tonight I’m going home and throwing this cash right in front of my girlfriend. Who says fishing is a waste of time? This beats a whole day of work."

The angler laughed and pocketed the bonus without a word of protest. True to Chen Yuan Fishing Ground tradition, cigarettes and drinks were handed out all around, drawing a round of cheers from everyone at the pond.

"This gig is pretty sweet~"

Chen Dequan tucked the cigarette behind his ear, cracked open a Coke, and chugged it down with a loud glug, then smacked his lips with satisfaction.

No need to leave the village for work, free smokes and drinks every day — that crumpled pack of cigarettes in his own pocket wasn’t even getting touched. He was practically saving money on smokes.

Construction work couldn’t touch this.

"Uncle Chen, come on — let’s go ride my uncle’s three-wheeler over~"

It was almost closing time. Chen Yuan waved Chen Dequan toward the three-wheeler. They’d ride back to fetch the other one from his uncle’s place; by the time they returned, the timing should be just about right.

"Coming~"

Chen Dequan trotted over, grabbed the side of the cargo bed, and hopped in.

By the time the two of them rode back, each on their own three-wheeler, some of the anglers had already started packing up.

"Time’s not up yet — how come you’re already packing, bro~"

Chen Yuan checked the time — barely twenty to midnight, still over ten minutes until closing.

For an angler, ten minutes was more than enough for another catch. Even right before leaving, most of them would itch to throw one last cast, always hoping for one more fish.

"The wife’s called a few times already. Better to head home a little early for the sake of next time~"

Everyone envied Emperor He Qiang, but not everyone could become Emperor He Qiang. That man was the one and only iron-eared angler in all of Sichuan and Chongqing — a rare species, truly one of a kind.

Knowing when to quit was the norm for most anglers.

Can’t let this be the last time — keeping the peace for the long run was the real play~

"Now that’s a man who knows how to live~"

Chen Yuan gave him a thumbs-up, helped carry the fish haul, and loaded it into the cargo bed, waving the guy onto the three-wheeler. If his wife was on his case, dropping him off personally was no trouble at all.

It wasn’t closing time yet, after all.

"Door-to-door service — the hospitality here is just something else~"

The angler didn’t stand on ceremony. Sure, the three-wheeler wasn’t much to look at, but right now it was saving him several minutes. At this rate, the pond might not even be fully cleared out by the time he pulled up to his front door.

Beat the closing rush, get home, make a good impression — and come next time, he could even sneak in a couple more casts~

"Alright, let’s wrap it up~"

Chen Yuan got back from the drop-off to find the whole pond packing down. He waved for Chen Dequan and Liu Fang to get to it — knock out these last few tasks and they could all call it a night.