CHAPTER 520: CHAPTER 302: A TEAM OF FIVE CARS_2

"Sorry, it wasn’t on purpose!" Wang Yan realized he had stepped on someone’s foot and quickly apologized.

"Damn it, I just got over an ingrown toenail, and now you’ve stepped on my toe again!" Xu Wenjie complained with a twisted expression of pain.

"I’m sorry, really! How about I take you to get it checked out later, and I’ll cover the medical expenses!"

Although Wang Yan is a bit of a hothead who doesn’t shy away from fights, he’s reasonable. Accidentally stepping on someone’s foot is a fact, and having an ingrown toenail is indeed quite painful. Offering an apology and even covering some costs is the right thing to do.

"Forget it, forget it! I’m in a good mood today; our Brother Flying caught a pickup truck! Four of us came as a team and got a pickup truck. Can you imagine that?

Let’s not worry about the stepping incident. I’ll just find a small clinic to get it handled later!"

Xu Wenjie waved his hand, indicating he accepted the apology and didn’t require compensation or medical expenses.

"Congratulations then!"

Wang Yan nodded, not wanting to dampen the spirits of this smug little guy.

Four people catching a car is indeed a good result, but compared to Zhang Yang’s team’s extraordinary performance, it’s small potatoes.

While Wang Yan hadn’t squeezed to the front of the scoreboard yet, the smallest among them, Liu Zi, had already wriggled up like a loach.

From left to right, each competition group had an A4-printed score sheet, ten sheets filling the entire bulletin board.

Liu Zi’s eyes scanned the score sheets, only looking at the top three of each sheet.

The more he looked, the wider Liu Zi’s mouth spread, and by the end, he was uncontrollably excited.

"Yang bro, we did it! We did it! Five, five!!"

Liu Zi himself also caught a car, and he was already so excited he was incoherent.

Regular anglers who heard "five, five" might not understand, but Zhang Yang’s team instantly knew.

Theoretically, the best performance really occurred!

Soon Zhang Yang squeezed to the front as well.

Group Three, Zhang Yang’s team ranked first!

Group Five, Meng Fan’s team ranked first.

Group Six, Wang Dazhi (Liu Zi)’s team ranked first!

Group Seven, Wang Yan’s team ranked first!

Group Nine, Zhou Chu’s team ranked first!

Goodness, simply amazing!

Except for Han Qiang, who was in the same group as Zhou Chu and got a secondary rank just twenty pounds short, the other five all scored first in their groups.

Especially Wang Yan, who even used Flying Kicking, topping the tournament with over 850 pounds of fish in a competition of over 600 people!

Besides the pickup truck prize, there was an additional 10,000 yuan in championship prize money, essentially making them rake in the profits.

"Damn it! You all got pickup trucks, and I only got second place! I’m so down!" Han Qiang rubbed his oily shiny face, feeling a little deflated.

Actually, a second place in the group is quite commendable, but once you start comparing, the gaps are evident!

"Haha, who told you to catch more fish? No worries, we’ll share the prize money with you! Didn’t we agree on the prize distribution before the competition, sticking to the old rules!" Zhou Chu couldn’t help but reassure him.

Zhang Yang’s team always competed together, sharing the net earnings among team members after deducting necessary expenses like registration and accommodation.

Normally, the competitions only offer a couple of thousand yuan in prizes, maybe a bit more in better ones. In some cases, up to ten thousand, which isn’t much when split among everyone.

But today was different, with five Isuzu pickup trucks. Even if the cheapest could be converted to cash for 60,000 yuan each, they’d be worth over 300,000 yuan together, a sizeable amount.

"I’m not upset about the money, I’m upset that I didn’t catch a car!

Sigh, when I drew lots with you in the same group, I didn’t feel much, but looking back, if I had been drawn into Groups One or Two, I could have gotten a pickup truck!" Han Qiang mumbled.

"What you’re saying makes some sense, but also not really! Being in Groups One or Two, the fish conditions would be different!"

"Whatever, not gonna talk about it! I’m not happy, and all I want tonight is to eat something good!" Han Qiang wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve, seizing the moment to act playfully.

Wang Yan gave him a look: "Eat, eat, eat, that’s all you ever think about. Look at your potbelly, you look five months pregnant, and if you get any fatter, it’ll really show!"

"Hahaha!" Everyone burst into laughter.

...

As they pulled away for some idle chat, Wei Song joined in the conversation.

"Did you win the big pickup truck at today’s competition? Congratulations!" Wei Song said, patting Zhang Yang on the shoulder.

Zhang Yang grinned: "Thanks, and same to you! We did exceptionally well, getting five pickup trucks! Stay tonight for some drinks, if you have time!"

"Five trucks? That’s impressive, definitely calls for a celebration! My fishing spot had a pretty good rate too, but I couldn’t pull out the fish as fast. I managed 215 pounds, that’s my current best, and I’m quite content with it!"

When Wei Song mentioned his spot having a good fish rate, Zhang Yang felt a twinge of emotion in his heart.

For most people, fishing might just be a leisure pastime, but for Wei Song and Zhang Yang, it’s become an indispensable part of their lives.

But the truth is, physical limitations post-injury are real, and you can’t pretend it never happened.

If it were possible, who would willingly face the fact that they’re less capable?

A four-hour competition, 215 pounds of catch, averaging over 50 pounds per hour, calculating an average weight of less than three pounds per fish, means roughly one fish every three minutes.

This rate is already impressive at other black pits or venues, but here at Jinghai Garden, China’s most renowned black pit venue, clearly, Wei Song’s speed doesn’t cut it.

"With more practice, achieving three or four hundred pounds is possible! Just a matter of time, don’t get discouraged!" Zhang Yang paused for a couple of seconds before encouraging him.

"Being able to fish is already satisfying enough! No big deal!

By the way, are your Flying rods company products or custom-made? Could you get one for me too? I’ll pay for it!" Wei Song purposefully changed the topic.

"No problem, I’ve got two extra rods in my bag that haven’t even touched the water yet, one is 3.9 meters and the other 4.2 meters. You can use them first!" Zhang Yang confidently agreed.

"Attention all competition anglers, attention all competition anglers! In ten minutes, the awards ceremony will commence on-site. Please line up in front of the stage!"

The announcement over the loudspeaker interrupted Wei Song and Zhang Yang’s conversation. The two exchanged knowing smiles and then, together with the others, made their way to the area below the stage for the awards ceremony.

Walking the several hundred meters, Zhang Yang felt quite reflective.

Those who performed well beamed with joy, while those with slightly less stellar results had visibly tense expressions. Even within their team, Han Qiang, someone you could trust with your life, reacted this way, let alone other participating anglers from outside teams.

The ten-minute gathering time quickly passed, and the area below the stage filled with people. Zhang Yang and his group found a quiet corner to chat softly while waiting for the ceremony to start.

Just then, a youthful and beautiful woman appeared on the awards podium. Wang Yan, upon recognizing her face, immediately lost interest in joking around with his teammates.

"Look, YOYO! She’s guest-hosting the awards ceremony!" Wang Yan excitedly exclaimed.

"Wow, the girl looks even prettier in a formal dress!" Han Qiang remarked after giving her a quick glance.

"What are you gawking at! That’s my future girlfriend! The boss promised to help me win her over! Is that the way you look at your buddy’s girl?" Wang Yan objected to Han Qiang’s scrutinizing gaze, responding with a bit of childishness.

"Oh, have you come to your senses? Are you serious?"

"None of your business, YOYO is my true love! I hope she presents my award later! Ranking first overall in a field of over 600; doesn’t that make me a black pit expert as well!"

"Definitely, definitely! Absolutely! You better act normal, if you go fanboy again, I’m not dealing with it!" Zhang Yang felt a little exasperated by Wang Yan’s obsessive condition; love-struck behavior is indeed a tricky ailment.

On the podium, after the initial warm-up, the relevant leaders finished their speeches, and the award presentation was about to begin.

Up till now, neither those on stage nor off had noticed that five out of the ten pickup trucks in this competition were snagged by a single team.

A few minutes later, as Zhang Yang’s team, all wearing matching sun-protection gear, stepped onto the stage, their impact was nothing short of a minor earthquake!