Chapter 28: Wholeheartedly Convinced
Quiet!
It was completely silent, the live room once again turned into a void, as if no one was there.
"Uh, where did everyone go? Did I get disconnected? After all that solid advice I gave, there should be applause."
"666666...."
"The host is the real deal, I got it!"
"Even though I don't understand what my hubby is talking about, it sounds impressive."
"Concise and to the point, easy to understand. If you listen to it like this, the concept isn't too difficult, and I've learned another technique. I'll have to try it out when I get the chance."
"Curious what you did before, Brother Yang. Did you professionally compete in competitions?"
"Also curious, why do you understand so much about the underwater conditions? After all, you can't see or touch them."
As if I can't see or touch, Bro watches those transparent pond shows on TV all the time, would I talk nonsense?
Lin Yang couldn't help but gripe internally.
"Haha, if you guys are interested in this stuff, you can buy a large float tube to understand most of it. And if you're still not sure, just put a few small fish in it. The more you fish, and the more you think about it, the more things you'll figure out naturally."
"Now that's some real advice. Those who left earlier thinking the tide had turned are probably kicking themselves now."
"+1, next time you share your wisdom, pick moments like this. Those fair-weather fans don't deserve to learn fishing with the host."
"Haha, no need to be so extreme, I was just being careless and had a little mishap. I'll pay more attention during the next live stream, no harm done. Didn't I also win a rocket launch?" While talking, Lin Yang glanced at the time, only fifteen minutes were left out of the two hours they had agreed on.
.....
Watching Lin Yang right in the midst of pulling in fish, constantly getting hits, teaching live on stream, and showing off to his fans made it clear he wasn't taking the competition seriously at all.
Zhang Qiang's composure totally shattered.
At first, he thought he had a sure win, but in less than thirty minutes, Lin Yang caught up to him. Then one blunder after another, trying to replenish his baits, led to a total disaster!
The two of them were so close, watching Lin Yang get continuous bites, grab twin tails, and interact with his fans in all sorts of showy and pompous ways.
Zhang Qiang not only embarrassed himself but also had to part with his money to give gifts, which felt like the ultimate stroke of bad luck.
The last fifteen minutes quickly passed, and the alarm Lin Yang had set went off.
He put down his fishing rod and stood up from his spot: "Time's up, Boss Zhang, let's weigh the fish."
Zhang Qiang's face looked a bit ugly. Weighing what? He had only managed to snatch a dozen or so fish at the start, which stood no chance of winning.
"Uh, let's not bother weighing the fish, you win," he said in a heavy tone.
"Come on, what do you mean 'you win'? Losing is losing, winning is winning. Let's speak with our catch. We're on live, and I don't like taking advantages of others."
Zhang Qiang's face turned even uglier. In war, there's surrender without killing but his opponent didn't seem to have any intention of letting him off the hook.
"Then let's weigh them!"
Zhang Qiang gritted his teeth, picked up his keepnet with only a dozen pitiful fish on the bottom, which probably weighed only two or three pounds.
Lin Yang took out a small hanging electronic scale from his fishing box and also lifted his keepnet out of the water.
After giving it his all, the catch over the two hours was substantial, reaching halfway up the keepnet.
He emptied the fish into a bucket, then hung the electronic scale on the bucket handle, and the weight of his catch was displayed.
In the end, Zhang Qiang's catch was 3.6 pounds, and Lin Yang's was 13.5 pounds! A total dominance in terms of catch weight.
"Hahaha, thanks for the match, Boss Zhang!" Lin Yang dumped the fish back into the keepnet and casually tossed it aside.
"There's something off about these fish today, it must have been my bad luck that made me lose to you. I got my spot baited earlier, but I fished out all the fish there before your spot even started. By the time you began, I had no bites left. Do you dare to have another go with me this afternoon? I won't accept this defeat!"
"Sure, we'll have another round this afternoon. But before that, shouldn't we settle today's bet first?" Lin Yang said with a smile.
"Wait while I top up virtual currency."
A few minutes later, Zhang Qiang turned off his own live stream, then appeared in Lin Yang's live room.
'Brother Qiang Fishing' has gifted a rocket!
"Uh, hahaha, Boss Zhang really showed up. Normally, I would thank you for the gift, but not for this rocket, since it was earned from our fishing challenge," said Lin Yang cheerily.
"Remember our agreement, a fair rematch at three in the afternoon!"
Having lost the live stream fishing challenge, Zhang Qiang had no heart to continue fishing, dropped a line, and started to pack up his equipment, preparing to leave before ten in the morning.
"The host is too amazing, right? How did you win the fishing challenge just now? Tell us brothers about it, share some insights?"
"Zhang Qiang ran into some tough competition this time, tsk tsk, losing face and still rewarding a rocket, that's 600 dollars there."
Lin Yang said, "Everyone heard it, Zhang Qiang may have lost, but he's not convinced. He thinks I beat him because I was lucky. I'll be live streaming again in the afternoon, and all the brothers who are free are welcome to support!"
"As for how I won, I'll share with everyone after the fish competition is over."
"Don't worry, the streamer knows a lot, and what I showed is just the tip of the iceberg. Watch closely, learn well, and you'll be able to put it into practice."
"Support the streamer, society Brother Yang, a man of few words but fierce deeds, continue to win in the afternoon, and that'll be the end of it."
"Watching the live stream is enjoyable and educational; this channel is definitely conscientious. Brothers in the channel, if anyone hasn't followed or shared yet, let's give it another push!"
Lin Yang glanced at the bullet comments and said with a smile, "Big brother doesn't need to send gifts, we've eaten our fill today. While the fish are still biting, I'll live stream a bit longer. Once the temperature rises and the bites slow, I'm going to start packing up."
Today's live stream not only shared a lot of valuable information with the fans but also had friendly chats, leaving a good impression on everyone.
With such a call to action, indeed many fans shared the live channel again.
For the next hour or so, Lin Yang's rate of catching fish remained very fast. It was unprecedentedly around eleven o'clock before the bites finally slowed down.
While interacting with fans in the live stream, Lin Yang also pondered on today's fish activity.
The catch of the other anglers around Hua Jian was pretty much the same as usual, but today, his spot had bites continuing almost an hour longer, indicating that his bait was indeed much stronger than the common baits available on the market.
By the time he packed up and returned home, it was already half past eleven.
After eating lunch, he, as usual, arranged for the courier delivery, sending out all the orders that came in before one o'clock.
At the same time.
Zhang Qiang had gone early to the fishing spot at Hua Jian from the morning.
It was now lunch break time, and the riverbanks that were crowded with anglers in the morning were now empty, not a single person in sight.
Zhang Qiang observed the surrounding area on the riverbank for a while and, making sure there were no anglers around, stealthily made his way to the spot with his gear.
Although his skills were mediocre, Zhang Qiang was quite quick-witted. After returning in the morning, he had been pondering where the problem lay.
Both had used the same type of bait, and apart from casting his line more frequently, Lin Yang didn't seem to employ any new techniques.
So he figured that as long as he could increase his casting frequency, he should not lose in the afternoon.
Still, to be on the safe side, he thought of a method to secure victory.
It was simple, namely to prepare the fishing spot in advance!
In the afternoon there was an agreed-upon fish-off, and with no one around the river at noon, he could create fishing spots in advance. Preparing the spots early would give him a considerable advantage over preparing them after the actual fishing started.
So that's what led to the previous scene.
To be extra careful, Zhang Qiang spaced out prepared spots among several fishing positions around Hua Jian and memorized their locations. If Lin Yang was even slightly careless, he would have the upper hand.
After preparing all the spots, he returned to his van, reclined the seat, set an alarm, and started to rest with his eyes closed.
At two fifty in the afternoon, Zhang Qiang woke up on time, took his tackle box out and placed it in a random spot, then waited a few more minutes. Lin Yang soon arrived on his electric scooter.
Lin Yang took a look and said, "Yo, Boss Zhang, you're here early. Waiting for me, eh?"
"Just got here myself. I haven't started fishing yet, waiting for you so you can't blame me for any tricks later," Zhang Qiang said with a sense of righteousness.
Lin Yang chuckled, "Heh, no worries, you can choose any adjacent fishing spot, I don't mind. Let's unload the gear, and once we find suitable spots, we'll start!"
Hearing Lin Yang say this, Zhang Qiang breathed a sigh of relief, afraid that his opponent might become cautious by noticing he had arrived early. Now, since Lin Yang wasn't taking it seriously, he couldn't be blamed for what came next.
"Then let's go back to the Hua Jian spot from this morning. After all, the fish activity might be better there."
"Sure."
Upon reaching the waterside, Lin Yang scanned the nearby fishing spots and naturally discovered something new.
With his ability to 'observe fish activity', he easily noticed the five or six fishing spots around Hua Jian were bright, whereas the shallow areas that usually didn't have much fish activity were grey.
It appeared that the areas around Hua Jian were all abundant with fish, suitable for fishing.
"I'm a bit older than you, so I'll let you pick the spot first," Zhang Qiang said, cunningly.
By giving Lin Yang the first choice, the rest was left to luck.
No matter which spot Lin Yang chose, there was at least a fifty-fifty chance of it being an empty spot. If Lin Yang picked an empty one, then Zhang Qiang would essentially have won in advance.
Even if Lin Yang picked one with a prepared spot, he could choose another one that was also prepared. Either way, it seemed like a sure win.
"Okay, I'll choose first, and I'll take the same spot I sat in this morning," said Lin Yang, who didn't stand on ceremony and picked his spot right away.
Seeing Lin Yang making his choice, Zhang Qiang's tense nerves relaxed.
He hadn't prepared that spot, and the spots to its left and right were both prepared with bait. This time, his gamble had paid off!