Five hundred yuan, at this point in 2012, wasn't a small amount—it was about the monthly salary of a regular person working a job, between two to three thousand yuan.
However, compared to the matter itself, this five hundred yuan bet seemed insignificant.
When Chen Xueqiang proposed this gentleman's bet, a few restless folks were quickly tempted to verify and check it out.
Among them, the most eager to verify was the current moderator of the black pit forum, Fishing Alone in the Cold River Snow.
Fishing Alone in the Cold River Snow, whose real name is Wu Tianming, just like Zhang Yang, is a seasoned angler himself.
Because of his love for fishing, Old Wu opened a medium-sized fishing gear shop in the neighboring Feng City.
Starting from the second half of last year, Old Wu gradually transitioned to black pits and enjoyed spending time on forums in his free time, on one hand, to make friends with fellow anglers and on the other hand, to promote some products through the forum's recognition to increase his shop's revenue.
After Chen Xueqiang posted about someone using the unheard-of method of Flying Copy to massively catch fish in a carp pond, Old Wu read the post, discussed it with friends, and studied it patiently.
However, a person's level of understanding grows with their experience and knowledge. After numerous discussions, Old Wu concluded that the fishing techniques and catches shared by this angler with the nickname Chen Xiaodao were likely greatly exaggerated.
Why did he feel it was exaggerated? The calculation is quite simple.
The two baskets of fish in the photo were estimated to weigh at least over two hundred jin. Calculating with a minimum average of 250 jin, each fish weighing 7 liang, the total number of fish exceeds 350.
In the description, it mentioned starting fishing before 7 am, rapidly catching fish until 9 am, then adjusting the gear and catching about twenty more fish after 10 am, gradually stopping and packing up.
Based on this calculation, during the peak two hours, at least 120 fish would have to be caught per hour to make sense logically.
Breaking it down further, two fish per minute, constant fishing, without any mistakes or slacking.
Under the condition of abundant fish, can anyone catch 120 large carp in an hour?
Even half a minute per fish, just the time for the bobber to reach the water, is close to twenty seconds, making it theoretically impossible.
Based on this rational calculation grounded in common understanding, Old Wu confidently commented on the post.
No one wants to bet with you? I'll do it! The moderator personally debunks!
W City, right? I'll drive to the fishing spot you mentioned before the third to personally verify! Buddy, send me your contact details and the fishing spot location in a private message! Think of it as a national holiday outing, time to broaden my horizons!
Seeing the moderator himself getting involved, many of Old Wu's customers and friends quickly responded and organized themselves.
So, in less than an hour, Old Wu assembled a team of four to descend on W City, just to respond to this post bet from Chen Xiaodao.
Seeing someone take on the bet, Chen Xueqiang felt a lot better—this was five hundred bucks after all!
A gentleman's bet, and the other party was a forum moderator; as long as Zhang Yang went fishing, repeating the operation the forum masses questioned, it could perfectly verify his description.
This was much better than the points gained from a featured post—five hundred yuan, enough for several fishing trips at a regular fishing pond.
...
While the forum was buzzing, on the other end, Zhang Yang, since returning to the shop, hadn't had a moment to relax.
Sales of formula bait and loose artillery need not be mentioned; at least a dozen new fishing friends came to compete at the same spot, and these people sought out bait, loose artillery, plus super-hard rods as their goals.
Fishing is one thing, how many fish you catch in a game is one thing; looking cool is a lifetime thing.
Now, anglers willing to spend three hundred yuan on such a big challenge pit have the economic security, at least over half of them wouldn't be average working-class anglers.
Aside from these regular store product sales, what surprised Zhang Yang the most was encountering several anglers who made him laugh and cry.
Their demands went beyond buying bait, rods, and fishing gear—they insisted on asking Zhang Yang to be their mentor!
Just like other hobbies, fishing as an outdoor activity also has this concept of mentorship.
Because some people hoard their knowledge and have a gatekeeping mentality, at that time, advanced fishing techniques were very limited in dissemination.
How to solve this problem? Mentorship was one way.
An expert's experience, often gained through competitions, training, or even spending money, wouldn't be freely taught to outsiders—it was this time that mentorship became a way to bridge the gap between two people.
With the title of mentor and apprentice, there was naturally a distinction between those who were close and those who were distant.
If the apprentice and the teacher got along well, a pointer or some advice from the teacher at critical moments would be enough for the apprentice to have a considerable edge among groups of regular folks.
Besides the desire to show off, there was also some real money to be gained from competition prizes and social status.
How to maintain a good relationship? It comes down to simple things—giving gifts, dining together, using certain resources to get things done, just like other industries.
However, in this so-called mentor-apprentice relationship, there is a very representative situation.
That is when this fishing expert owns a fishing gear brand or runs a fishing gear shop!
If the expert is a fishing gear shop owner, the apprenticeship path becomes clear—making purchases in the shop, maintaining the mentor's reputation and stance, responding to calls to participate in competitions or group activities together, etc.