Back to the Past to Become a Fishing King

Chapter 874 - 584: Grand Gesture (Part 2)

We really did lose face, that’s true, but like you said, if we just pay up on the bet, pack up and leave, what do we get out of it?

My dad’s been teaching me since I was a kid: if you want to get things done, you learn from people who deliver results, because results don’t lie!

We’re playing the humble grandson now so we can cozy up and learn some real skills and craft. Once we’ve got the technique down, later on we can play the big boss too! I finally got my hands on this kind of opportunity; if I let go just for some so‑called pride, wouldn’t that make me a real idiot?

As for that busted rod, I’ve still got a brand‑new model at home, never even unwrapped; I’ll make it up to you later! You, man, your "bend or stretch" act is getting more and more polished; you did pretty well this time!"

Xu Cheng’s thinking was still very clear. Just like he said, it’s not easy to run into a master like Zhang Yang. After all, in East Lake Reservoir, there aren’t many chances where even Xu Cheng’s secret bait mix gets completely shut down, and Zhang Yang had actually pulled it off.

"Uh, I get it! So what do we do next? Need me to do anything? I’m slow in the head, you better plan it out for me in advance, I’ll just follow instructions!" Da Bing scratched his head and kept asking his boss.

Xu Cheng held a cigarette in his mouth and smiled: "What do we do? Easy. Setting up a meal isn’t just to fill our bellies; of course the point is to get them to drink a bit! Use the booze to break the ice and get the relationship in place, then show some sincerity and see if we can learn some real skills from Zhang Yang! If I can pick up the way he was fishing silver and bighead carp this morning, this little bit of money is nothing!!"

"Still you, Young Master Xu, see deeper than the rest. Got it, we’ll go with this policy!"

The two walked along, quietly talking through the next steps, and soon they arrived at the house of the reservoir boss, Old Zheng.

"Old Zheng, what good stuff have we got left here? Set up a nice table for lunch. Me and Zhang Yang, we only got to know each other after crossing swords, so we’ve gotta have ourselves a proper drink at noon!" Xu Cheng asked in a very familiar tone.

"Hard dishes?" Old Zheng gave Xu Cheng a look; he couldn’t quite figure this young rich kid out.

"Yeah, don’t worry about the money, I want the top‑tier stuff!"

"There’s still a wild soft‑shell turtle over four jin in the side room, there’s a free‑range walking rooster in the pen, then there’s some wild shepherd’s purse that’s just sprouted in the garden. Oh right, and two mandarin fish a little over a jin each, plus a few eels over half a jin! And we’ll get a three‑ to four‑jin snakehead from the reservoir and stew up a sauerkraut fish!"

Old Zheng knew Xu Cheng’s spending power, so when he heard the guy say he wanted hard dishes, he counted off all the in‑demand ingredients at home on his fingers.

They say people in any trade never lack what they trade in, and that’s really got some truth to it. Sitting by such a big reservoir, it wasn’t hard for Old Zheng to get his hands on top‑tier purely wild ingredients. Soft‑shell turtle, mandarin fish, eel and whatnot—aside from the river being frozen in winter, Old Zheng had them pretty much year‑round, just to treat the well‑heeled customers who came to the reservoir to have fun.

"Alright, everything you just mentioned, get some of each on the table. How should we do the wild shepherd’s purse? Why don’t we just wrap dumplings with it!"

"No problem, I’ll do everything for you to the highest standard!"

"Done!!"

After quickly settling the lunch lineup, Old Zheng got busy right away.

Xu Cheng and his crew showed up a little after eleven; lunch was ready a bit after twelve. Once the last dish was done, Old Zheng called out, and Xu Cheng personally went over to invite Zhang Yang and his people.

"Teacher Zhang Yang, Old Zheng’s got lunch ready; let’s go eat first!"

Zhang Yang put down the rod in his hand: "Alright! Everyone, let’s go eat first. Young Master Xu’s treating; it’d be rude to turn him down!"

Soon, under Xu Cheng’s lead, Zhang Yang and the rest came to a separate room Old Zheng had specially set up.

Man, the house was pretty plainly decorated, but the big dining table in the middle of the room was anything but cheap. The big rotating table was covered with a dozen or so hard dishes, all either freshwater river delicacies or home‑raised roosters and the like. If you tried to eat this spread in a big restaurant in the city, never mind if it was authentic or not, you wouldn’t get away with paying less than two thousand.

"Whoa! This is quite the standard! So much good stuff!" Zhang Yang put on a slightly exaggerated expression when he saw it.

"Heh, out here in the sticks there’s nothing much, just make do and eat! Teacher Zhang, don’t stand at the door, come on in and sit. We can count this as getting to know each other after a clash; we’ve gotta properly apologize to you this afternoon!"

Xu Cheng kept his posture very low the whole time, seating Zhang Yang at the main seat directly facing the door, then arranging everyone else.

When it came to fishing, maybe Xu Cheng wasn’t a pro, but when it came to eating, drinking, and running a table, he and Da Bing were definitely professional‑level.

Once everyone sat down, a bit of small talk quickly led into the main flow. With all sorts of jokes and banter to liven things up, before they knew it, the originally stiff relationship had eased up.

Once the atmosphere was in place, the next step was to come up with all kinds of ways to toast. Xu Cheng and Da Bing were both veterans at this; the toasting lines came one after another. Even Zhang Yang and YOYO, who’d seen their share of social drinking scenes, were having trouble parrying them.

No need to go into every detail of the meal; in short, the whole lunch was lively and pleasant, host and guests all happy. Even Xiao Wei and YOYO, who still had some resentment in their hearts, started feeling better under the constant shower of compliments.

Seeing the timing was right, Xu Cheng once again personally filled Zhang Yang’s glass to the brim.

"What are you doing? We’ve already had plenty, why’re you pouring again?" Zhang Yang was a bit tipsy, but his mind was still very clear. He looked at Xu Cheng, not sure what this guy was up to.

"Teacher Zhang Yang, let me toast you again! Drink this however you like, I’ll finish mine!"

"Uh, what’s the story behind this? You’ve gotta at least give it a name, right?" Zhang Yang didn’t rush to refuse; he just looked deeply at Xu Cheng.

"Heh, I won’t hide it anymore! I’ve loved fishing since I was a kid, and these last two years I’ve practically treated fishing like a serious business!

I’ve paid plenty of tuition along the way, and I’ve met a few so‑called masters and experts, but not a single one had the skills and level you do!

I want to take this drink as a chance to learn some real fishing from you, don’t know if you’ll give this student the opportunity!"

When he heard the guy calling himself "student," Zhang Yang’s hair practically stood on end. They say rich kids are smooth operators; Zhang Yang hadn’t really experienced that before, but today he truly got to see it.

"Hahahaha, that’s easy, that’s easy! I thought you were gonna pull something else! You just want to learn some fishing skills? After we finish eating, I’ll give you a live demo. I guarantee once I teach you, you’ll be able to learn it! And once you learn it, it’ll work in real fights!" Zhang Yang laughed and agreed without hesitation.

Zhang Yang was never the type to hoard his little broom, and besides, he had more than enough techniques and knowledge. Even if a bit leaked out from between his fingers, it’d be plenty for Xu Cheng to learn.

The guy had fed and watered them and laid the attitude on thick; to Zhang Yang this was nothing.

"Then I’m downing this!!" After getting Zhang Yang’s clear answer, Xu Cheng tipped back his glass and finished the more‑than‑two‑liang of liquor in one gulp.

After that drink, the dumplings soon came up, and lunch was drawing to a close. Once they were full and satisfied, Xu Cheng couldn’t wait to drag Zhang Yang back to the fishing spots.

Don’t be fooled: Zhang Yang had put away at least eight liang of white liquor at noon, but his mind was clear and his movements were fine. After taking Xu Cheng back to the water’s edge, he quickly pulled out the bait he’d packed up before the meal from his tackle box.

"I don’t know if anyone’s told you this before, but fishing is a system project. A lot of factors are linked; tug one and they all move. You asking me for some Divine Bait miracle medicine that works the instant you use it—that’s nonsense. It’s not that it doesn’t exist, but even if it did, it’s not something people would just casually hand out!

You like fishing for silver and bighead carp, right? I’ll teach you a bait‑mixing technique specifically for them. As long as you learn it, under the same conditions, you’ll definitely out‑fish those who don’t know it! So? Wanna learn or not?"

"Of course I’m learning, bring it on, I’ll learn whatever you teach!"

Listening to Zhang Yang’s explanation, Xu Cheng nodded like a pecking chick. He had thought about whether Zhang Yang could give him some Divine Bait miracle stuff, but Zhang Yang had made it very clear: it’s not that it doesn’t exist, but even if it did, nobody would easily take it out.

By comparison, getting taught some practical, usable fishing skills was also a pretty good deal.