Chapter 381: Chapter 231: Secret Weapon
After being tense for the entire competition, the moment of weighing in brought a sense of relief.
Zhang Yang signed his name at the back of the score sheet, then started humming a tune as he packed up his fishing gear.
With two rounds done, the morning competition ended. There were two more rounds in the afternoon, starting at 1:30, allowing plenty of time to rest and eat in between.
Once he finished packing, Zhang Yang left the competition field with his fishing box on his back.
In the waiting area, after a few minutes, Meng Fan and Liu Zi came out one after another.
"How did you do, Brother Yang? The fishing at the entrance was tough, right? How much did you catch?" As soon as he came out, Meng Fan asked with concern.
After all, Zhang Yang was the core strength of their team, and the big spot at the entrance was the worst position. Meng Fan feared Zhang Yang might have faltered in the second round.
Zhang Yang grinned confidently and said, "Not bad, caught 12.8 kilograms! How about you guys? How did you do?"
"Whoa! Caught over 25 pounds of fish at such a terrible spot at the entrance? I thought the second round would be a bust! How did you pull it off?"
Hearing these results, Meng Fan’s eyes widened, completely unexpected to him.
"Increased the flavor and took a gamble, didn’t expect to win it! I’ll talk about the details over lunch! How about you and Liu Zi? How did you guys do?"
When asked about the results, Meng Fan scratched his head awkwardly and said, "I didn’t perform too well, caught 87 fish, probably outside the top five! Liu Zi did okay!"
As if to confirm Meng Fan’s words, Liu Zi chimed in, "I caught 144 fish at the big spot! Should be able to get a small score!"
"87 fish? What happened?" Hearing Meng Fan was outside the top five, Zhang Yang raised an eyebrow.
"Didn’t manage the fishing rhythm well, wasted a lot of time upfront! Shouldn’t have been so cocky, the fish conditions were clearly different between the first and second round, thought I’d take a risk but lost the bet!"
Meng Fan scratched his head, clearly understanding the reasons behind his second-round failure.
Zhang Yang nodded in understanding and comforted, "Alright, the competition is over, don’t dwell on it. Pack the gear into the car, let’s find a place to grab a quick lunch!
The noon break is quite long, eat your fill and come back early. It’s cool here at the parking lot, not too hot, come back and take a nap to recharge for the afternoon!"
"Alright!"
Meng Fan and Liu Zi had no objections to Zhang Yang’s decision. Soon, they packed their fishing boxes into the car, and the three of them got into Meng Fan’s car, slowly driving out the gate amidst the crowd.
With two more rounds in the afternoon, the three didn’t indulge much at lunch, finding a small restaurant on the next street, ordered a few simple home-cooked dishes for a quick meal, taking just over half an hour from entry to checkout, not even touching a bottle of alcohol.
After filling their stomachs, the three drove back to the Li Yuan Fishing Ground courtyard.
It was not yet noon, and many participants were still gathered in pairs or groups, the vast parking lot still had at least half of the vehicles yet to move.
As Meng Fan looked for a parking spot, Zhang Yang casually glanced out the window from the front passenger seat.
That’s when he spotted Wei Song’s little Antelope again.
The back door of the Antelope was open, Wei Song was sitting in the back, holding a large enamel takeaway cup, eating quickly and heartily!
Many might not have a clear concept of this takeaway cup. How to describe it—a short, thick cylindrical shape, made of iron with a thin layer of enamel coating inside and outside, no lid, convenient for instant noodles and meals.
This type of takeaway cup is rarely seen on the market now, Zhang Yang remembered using it to get meals in the cafeteria back in middle school.
Just a quick glance and Zhang Yang paused slightly, unable to help but sigh internally at the hardship Wei Song was enduring for the competition.
Zhang Yang had also gone through difficult times during his past competitions, where box lunches at the fishing grounds were too expensive to afford. To save money, he’d buy an extra bun or fried dough in the morning; it was manageable during cooler seasons to fill his belly, but in hot weather, the meals would spoil under the blazing sun before noon.
Unexpectedly, this Wei Song was also enduring such tough conditions for the competition.
Those who haven’t experienced the hardship of being away from home with no money wouldn’t understand this scene deeply. As someone who’s been through it, seeing this, Zhang Yang immediately felt differently.
There was a time when Zhang Yang ran out of money, asked so-called friends with whom he shared laughs before, but when he needed to borrow money, everyone made excuses not to lend.
The toughest time came when Zhang Yang couldn’t even afford a ticket home until a rarely contacted female classmate lent him a few hundred yuan to travel home.
Seeing the hardship Wei Song was enduring yet still competing, Zhang Yang could tell he genuinely loved this competitive sport.
With this thought, Zhang Yang decided to go over and say hello, offering help if needed.
"Xiao Meng, Liu Zi, stay in the car and don’t wander around, I have something to take care of!"
"Okay!"
With these words, Zhang Yang got out of the car and headed straight to Wei Song, who was about ten meters away.
Meanwhile, Wei Song was busy eating cold buns from his takeaway cup while talking on the phone to someone.
"Xiao Wang, it’s not that I’m complaining, but I really can’t make ends meet! I’m competing in W City right now and can’t even afford a hotel to save money. Can you repay some of the money you owe me?