"Master, how are we going to handle things the day after tomorrow? Didn't they invite judges from the City Fishing Association for this competition? Tell us what to watch out for!" One of the young men in his early twenties respectfully asked Old Ma.
Ma Yuhua nodded: "This competition was arranged by Old Sun from Da Yang Fishing Tackle at the wholesale market, sponsored and named by Marukyu Company, with a total sponsorship amount of thirty thousand yuan, divided into two parts!
The first part is a small package of imported Marukyu carp bait, given to you upon registration,
and the second part is cash rewards for the top five.
Ten thousand for first place, four thousand for second, two thousand for third. One thousand for fourth, and five hundred for fifth.
The judges are Old Li and Old Yang from the Fishing Association; they're familiar faces. As long as we don't go overboard, I don't even need to ask; they'll definitely look after us appropriately!
If you're free tomorrow, let's go practice fishing, and I'll tell you about the overall fish conditions! Let's aim for a good score the day after tomorrow!"
"What about the bait, Master? Are you going to prepare it or should we mix it ourselves?" the young disciple continued to ask.
"We'll talk about it after the trial fishing tomorrow! Li Yuan's two pits haven't stocked new fish, and there wasn't any competition in spring! The fish conditions shouldn't be too different from last year!"
Ma Yuhua's conversations with his disciples weren't as detailed as those when hanging out with Zhang Yang and the others; he kept talking about information easily found from the guidelines, but when it came to the key points, he was vague without offering anything useful.
"With Master leading the team this time, we're sure to win! Come on, let's go for a round!"
The young disciple raised his glass, and soon everyone was eating, drinking, and chatting leisurely.
During dinner, Ding Wen, who had first met Zhang Yang that afternoon, was noticeably quieter at the table, unlike his chatty demeanor earlier.
Dinner went on until after eight, and only after everyone was full and satisfied did they settle the bill and leave, heading straight to Old Ma's shop.
Everyone had already adapted to Old Ma's style of working; the main event begins only after being well-fed, with the real business discussed over tea at the shop.
Indeed, after bringing everyone to the shop, Old Ma quickly took out several light green medicine bottles from the back storeroom.
"These were imported goods my friend helped me get; see if you find them useful, you can give them a try!" Ma Yuhua said mysteriously.
"Master, what kind of medicine is this? What's it used for? Give me a bottle first!"
"New small medicine? I want a bottle too!"
This group of disciples of Ma Yuhua weren't the type to worry about money; they didn't even ask the price, feeling a strong urge to buy as soon as they saw the small medicine.
"German imported ultra-concentrated fruit acid! 380 a bottle, for you guys, it'll be 350! I've only got these, no more!" Ma Yuhua said very calmly.
"How do you use this thing? What's its effect? Give me a bottle as well!"
"And me too, this bottle is mine!"
Ma Yuhua casually opened a bottle, dropped a little green medicine on the table, and waved the scent with his palm: "Smell it! This stuff is amazing for crucian carp and carp! Just a few drops into the bait can vastly increase the feeding response!
Remember Old Dong won the championship last time? He secretly used this! I had to ask my master for a favor to get these few bottles; can't buy them even if you have money!"
The fruit acid, with a strong fruity aroma, was quite intense; even just a little on the table filled the air with its scent.
Hearing Old Ma mention Old Dong's championship victory outside last time, everyone believed him completely, quickly snatching up all six bottles of small medicine Ma Yuhua had taken out.
During the scramble for medicine, Ding Wen seemed a bit slow, drunk or not, and by the time he realized it, all six bottles were gone.
"What the heck, where's mine? All gone?" Ding Wen's eyes slightly reddened as he glanced around before finally looking at Old Ma, seemingly sober yet rubbing his eyes confusedly.
"That's it, nothing left!" Ma Yuhua spread his hands.
"Damn, can we still be buddies! Just while I was in a daze, you guys finished dividing it up!
I don't care; either spare me a bottle or you guys are responsible for my bait for the competition the day after tomorrow!" Ding Wen played the fool somewhat cheekily under the influence of alcohol.
Even though they often hung out together, nobody spared Ding Wen any medicine, and after a half-minute standoff, Old Ma said: "It's truly all gone, we'll see next time it arrives! Just use together when mixing bait! We're all friends, why be so petty!"
Ding Wen irritatedly rubbed his face: "Alright then, let's listen to Brother Ma, I'll let you guys have it first! This bunch of rascals, faster than anyone when grabbing stuff!"
Thus a "medicine scrabble" scandal died down, Ma Yuhua's sale of six small medicines quickly resulted in a turnover of 2100 yuan, with a cost of twenty or thirty yuan per bottle, netting nearly 2000 in profit.
Yet the bait, fishing strategy, and technical insights that the disciples were most concerned about went completely unmentioned by Ma Yuhua until they disbanded at half-past ten.
...
Before anyone realized, Saturday quickly passed.
Early Sunday morning at half-past four, Zhang Yang was awakened by the alarm clock. He got up, washed, and drove straight to Li Yuan Fishing Ground without even having breakfast.
By the time Zhang Yang's van arrived at the fishing ground, it was already after five in the morning.
Luckily, he arrived early, as there were still a few empty spots in the parking lot, with an official commercial competition hosting eighty people,
at least thirty to forty participants had already gathered, with the area outside the competition venue bustling with people carrying fishing boxes in groups of three or five.
Soon, Old Zhao and Meng Fan bumped into Zhang Yang.
"There's still some time, let's eat first! I brought meat buns for you!" Meng Fan took down two bags of breakfast from his car.
Zhang Yang took the breakfast, scanned the conditions around the fishing ground, and exclaimed with a grin: "This formal competition is definitely more lively than the black pit, feels like a fair with swarms of people!"
Old Zhao sneered: "This is just the start! Yesterday afternoon, I took a walk around here, and there were at least forty to fifty people who came for trial fishing; Old Ge can make thousands just by charging practice fees and selling pellet powder!"
"Pellet powder?" Zhang Yang immediately seized the keyword from Zhao Bingguang's words.
"Yeah, he claimed it was original pond pellet powder! I bought a bag, it's just Tongwei 111 feed powder crushed! Same as the one in your shop! It's in my fishing box!" Old Zhao casually replied.
At this, Zhang Yang stopped eating and urged: "Bring it over for me to check!"
"Alright!"
Quickly, Old Zhao retrieved a zipper bag from the fishing box.
The smell was primarily fishy, with a faint bean meal aroma, indeed Tongwei 111; Zhang Yang had previously used this stuff to mix many baits, could distinguish it immediately with a sniff.
"What is it, Brother Yang? Why such a big reaction?" Meng Fan curiously asked.
Zhang Yang shook his head: "Nothing! If it's Tongwei 111, then no need to buy extra; otherwise, it would be a waste! Original pond pellets sometimes have a miraculous effect in competitions!"
"So what about our bait today?" Meng Fan continued to ask.
"Bring it all out, I'll mix it up! Decided to target fish on the surface yet? This approach has high risk and high return, make sure you think it through! Botching it would mean total failure!" Zhang Yang emphasized particularly.
"Or maybe wait until after the draw to mix the bait? If in the first round we don't draw target fish, the second round might not need surface fishing!" Old Zhao also replied calmly.
Zhang Yang nodded: "Yes, if you draw Pit No.1 in the first round, there's a chance for surface fishing; if it's a release round, don't consider surface fishing for the second round!
However, mixing bait after entering the venue post-drawing is tight on time, so I might as well prepare in advance; if unused, just bring it back! Competition is different from usual, time is crucial, wasting some bait is no big deal, better than scrambling!"
"Alright!"
After strategizing, Zhang Yang took a large basin and busied himself with mixing the bait.
Competition isn't like wild fishing; preparation is crucial due to the short fishing duration.
Zhang Yang consecutively prepared small crucian carp pull bait, small crucian carp surface shot, carp dough bait, carp shot bait, finished four types of bait and packed them in convenient bags, ready for any draw outcome.
As Zhang Yang squatted in the corner preparing the last small yellow face shot bait, Ding Wen wandered over.
"Hey, what's that smell! Smells pretty good!"
Zhang Yang smiled: "Nothing fancy! Buddy, just arrived?"
"Yeah, arrived a while ago! Noticed you here, came over to say hello! What kind of small medicine are you using? Mind enlightening me?"
Ding Wen wasn't the least bit embarrassed, brazenly asking about Zhang Yang's formula.
Zhang Yang smiled and shook his head: "Really sorry, it's a friend's help, the formula is confidential!"