When you're out, buddy, let me give you a piece of advice: watch your mouth! Don't carry a bunch of junk around; it's easy to get into trouble!"
Zhang Yang, instead of getting angry, grinned and nodded: "Okay, we got it!"
Seeing that Zhang Yang didn't retaliate, the young man seemed to have found a sense of existence, returned to the driver's seat, floored the accelerator, and the Cool Cruiser sped away!
"Damn! Boss, why'd you stop me? Look at that punk, he's been spoiled! Really deserves a lesson!"
Wang Yan angrily took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a fierce drag, feeling a bit emotional. As the king of being cool, Wang Yan hated it when someone tried to outshine him, as if his authority was being challenged.
Zhang Yang waved his hand, suppressing his temper: "Let it go! Just overtaking, why bother with a cocky guy? If a dog bites you, do you bite back? Not worth it!"
"Damn, driving a Cool Cruiser is really something! When the company gives the year-end bonus, I'll get one too!" Wang Yan still wasn't over it.
"Speaking of getting a Cool Cruiser, whether you can afford it or not, driving around all day, the maintenance cost is huge. Let me be clear, you can buy whatever car you want, but the company won't reimburse your fuel expenses!" Zhang Yang joked to change the subject.
"Damn!" Wang Yan scratched his head, speechless.
It was just a small incident on the road and quickly passed, Zhang Yang didn't mind it at all.
As the car kept going, they soon arrived at the parking lot. Under the guidance of the staff, Zhang Yang and Wang Yan parked their car and unloaded the fishing boxes, rod bags, and other equipment.
Soon, the three who had been ahead, led by Lao Zhao, caught up with them.
"What happened just now? We were following along fine, then suddenly you fell behind? After a turn, we couldn't see you anymore!" Zhao Bingguang took out cigarettes and handed them around, asking curiously.
Wang Yan waved his hand, still with a bit of emotion, said: "Damn it, don't bring it up, on this mountain road, a damn Cool Cruiser overtook us roughly, I cursed a bit, then a young thug got out of the car with a wild attitude. If the boss hadn't held me back, I'd have clobbered him!"
Zhang Yang grinned, took the cigarette, and lit it: "It's not that serious, just overtaking, no collisions, why make a big deal out of it?
We're here to compete in a fishing contest, not claiming territories in Causeway Bay. Even if you hit him with the government around, it's a wasted punch? Do you have a license to kill?
Alright, everyone stop fussing, let's sign up and get our souvenirs, prep in advance for the competition later!"
Seeing Zhang Yang's conciliatory attitude, Lao Zhao said no more. When you're out and about, indeed it's better to avoid unnecessary trouble, especially for trivial matters without real conflict of interest.
Soon, the five people unloaded their equipment and then sauntered towards the registration area.
The so-called registration table was actually quite basic, a temporary sunshade canopy, with a small table at the door. Anglers arriving showed their ID and signed, and could receive a souvenir claiming to be worth more than three hundred from a staff member.
Zhang Yang and the others each received one, opened it up for a look, it was a Tianwen Fish Bait gift pack, a sun-proof clothing, a fishing hat, and a salted duck egg with Dragon and Phoenix Manor's logo.
The stuff was worth little, but at least it was useful. After collecting, they casually tossed it back in the car. The competition today did not require a dress code, so everyone preferred wearing their company's logo ice silk sun-proof clothing.
According to the competition schedule, gather at seven, with a brief opening ceremony at the temporary podium, followed by the drawing of lots for entry. Zhang Yang and the rest had about twenty minutes of free time before the gathering.
While they had free time, Zhang Yang looked around and saw that besides their team of five from W City, a few other groups had also arrived, including Lao Ma's group of seven or eight, plus Chen Xiaodao and his brother, and two other familiar anglers whose names he couldn't recall.
Han Qiang, who also wandered around, soon came back: "I saw the prizes for the competition!
The Great Wall off-road vehicle is parked right next to the podium! The introduction panel says it's the top configuration! It costs over a hundred thousand!"
Zhao Bingguang's lips curled slightly: "Brothers, let's work hard today and aim to drive it home by evening! By the way, Zhang Yang! There's still some time, should we prepare the bait in advance?"
Zhang Yang scanned around and noticed that none of the anglers who had completed registration were preparing bait, and one angler heading to the waterside boardwalk to fetch water was stopped by a staff member.
Seeing this, Zhang Yang frowned and said: "Not allowed within the red line area to fetch water, can't prepare bait?
Anyway, everything was explained at yesterday's meeting, after the draw, just use the normal black pit bait method, don't make the flavor too strong, play it safe!"
"Okay then, everyone prepares their own! Oh, and one more thing, upfront! We're out here as a team, whomever gets lucky, spreads the wealth, okay?" Lao Zhao continued.
Zhao Bingguang's meaning was simple: five people competing as a team, meaning no matter who luckily wins a big prize, others would receive a share.
This is a common strategy for teams in competitions, as collective power increases the probability of winning.
"Sharing it is! As long as Old Zhao and our President Yang nod, the three of us are cool with it!" Wang Yan grinned.
After saying this, everyone turned their gaze to Zhang Yang.
Among the five, Zhang Yang was the most skilled. As long as he agreed, the proposal was good to go.
Zhang Yang didn't value the car worth ten or eighty thousand, and with his brothers, he certainly didn't mind sharing. Seeing everyone so enthusiastic, he also smiled and nodded: "Alright, then it's settled! Besides our five, the guard at the gate should also get something! I promised him!"
Han Qiang sneered and muttered: "Damn! The opening ceremony hasn't even started, why does it feel like we've already predetermined today's big prize?"
"Hahaha" everyone burst into laughter.
...
Outside the parking lot in the waiting area, they chatted for a short while. Soon a small peak in foot traffic occurred, with more and more anglers flocking up the mountain, quickly making the relatively spacious plaza bustling.
Many anglers ran into acquaintances, and various greetings and small talks were happening all around.
Just then, the loudspeaker sounded, calling everyone to gather in front of the podium, the opening ceremony was about to start!
The team was no stranger to large-scale competitions, being well-acquainted with such routine processes. Strolling over, they left Han Qiang behind to watch over the equipment!
Relevant leaders gave speeches, followed by an unfamiliar athlete taking the oath, then the referee's oath, completing the whole process in less than half an hour.
Subsequently, the chief referee announced that today's Great Wall Car Grand Prix was starting with the zoned draw lots for entry.
The commercial competition's rules were much broader than the official national competitions, with no requirements for ground bait and less stringent rod length restrictions.
Everyone proceeded to their designated zones according to their registration sequence number for the draw. Zhang Yang and his group registered together, so their sequence numbers were close and they leisurely went to the same zone's draw box.
Under the supervision of the referees, a hundred and twenty number sticks were scrambled on the spot, then distributed into different boxes, with the names of participants being announced to start the draw.
At this moment, Wang Yan tugged at Zhang Yang, nodding towards a position in the adjacent zone.
Zhang Yang took a glance and found that the person standing where Wang Yan pointed was the young fashionista who overtook them earlier.
Wang Yan still hadn't let this incident go.
"Don't show off, come to compete, dare to cause trouble intentionally, we'll really deal with you back there!" Zhang Yang smirked, speaking half-jokingly seriously.
"Damn, whoever draws a spot next to that guy, back me up, alright? The one in the neighboring line, wearing the big gold chain!" Wang Yan whispered to the group.
"Over a hundred people? Didn't you study probability? It's not so easy to end up next to him!" Zhou Chu said, annoyingly calm.
From a probability perspective, indeed the chances of ending up next to him weren't high, but reality doesn't always follow probability.
Zhang Yang drew number 55 in Zone B, and when he carried his fishing box over, he found that the person in spot 56 was none other than the Cool Cruiser young fashionista Wang Yan had his eyes on!