Chapter 212 - 189: Something Happened

Chapter 212: Chapter 189: Something Happened

WHOOSH~

Provoked by the net, the giant black carp thrashed violently, actually leaping right over it. With a powerful dive, it tried to flee back into the depths.

"HOLY SHIT~"

Qin Fen trembled in fright. The surrounding anglers gasped, on the verge of crying out, ’It’s over!’

"Yuan, don’t you fucking scare me like that~"

Qin Fen was still shaken.

"Weren’t you complaining it was too small? I figured I’d help you swap it for a bigger one~"

Chen Yuan looked back with a smile.

Qin Fen suddenly had the urge to punch someone. Even though Chen Yuan was his best friend, if he had actually let the fish escape, Qin Fen would have definitely kicked him into the pond.

"Haha, this Boss Chen is pretty funny."

"That’s not a funny joke. An angler’s catch is his life. If anyone lost my fish like that, I’d definitely lose it on them."

"I saw a video once. A husband and wife went fishing, and because the wife messed up netting a small tilapia, they started arguing and even got physical right on the spot. They went to the civil affairs bureau to get a divorce that same day."

"Haha, I saw that one too! In the end, the guy used his divorce certificate as chum~"

"If a tiny tilapia can cause a divorce, then losing this hundred-plus-pound giant black carp? I’m afraid that’s enough to get your brother kicked into the pond to be used as chum."

"Absolutely. After he’s been used as chum, you’re not even brothers anymore."

"Even Liu, Guan, and Zhang would have to break their oath over that."

"The fatso would be mumbling about it on his deathbed, ’Oh, giant black carp, giant black carp, how I miss you~’"

The anglers bantered while the livestream chat buzzed with excitement, everyone joking about funny stories of losing a fish at the net.

Stories of brothers turning against each other, couples divorcing, even fathers and sons disowning one another—all sorts of tales were told. And those were over small fish. If this one had gotten away, it might have actually cost someone their life.

But banter was just banter.

And Chen Yuan hadn’t actually been joking.

A moment ago, the giant black carp still had some fight left, but it was just its last throes. The second time Chen Yuan scooped at its head, Qin Fen coordinated by giving it some slack, and the net was quickly filled.

The surrounding anglers came over to help. Qin Fen also grabbed his rod and ran over immediately. Working together, the group of them managed to haul the giant black carp onto the bank.

"Phew, I’m dead tired~"

After pulling the giant black carp ashore, Qin Fen plopped right down, not caring that the pebbles were scorching hot from the sun. He had battled it for over an hour and was truly about to collapse from exhaustion.

"Yuan, hurry and weigh this thing."

Without Qin Fen even needing to call, Chen Nan came rattling over on his three-wheeler, an electronic scale in the cargo bed.

Although they had fish grips, the electronic scale wasn’t used often. Still, it came in handy occasionally, like for those over ninety pounds that looked to be around a hundred. For those, the weight had to be confirmed.

Otherwise, if they just eyeballed it, customers were bound to be skeptical.

Anything they weren’t sure about had to be weighed.

"Whoa, this one’s a real monster."

Chen Nan slammed on the brakes so hard the back wheel lifted off the ground. Wearing sunglasses, he hopped off the three-wheeler, looking especially slick.

"Get the electronic scale down."

Chen Yuan was used to Chen Nan’s posturing. He told him to bring the scale over. The giant black carp was too big and would be a pain to lift into the cargo bed; it was easier to bring the scale to the fish.

Chen Nan took out the scale and also grabbed a large plastic basket. Some black carp would still flop around on the bank, so putting them in a basket made them easier to weigh.

Several of them worked together to stuff the giant black carp into the plastic basket. Its massive tail was still sticking out. After it flapped a couple of times, the numbers on the electronic scale finally stabilized.

"Whoa, it really is a giant~"

The surrounding anglers exclaimed in awe.

"Sigh, just as I thought. It’s the smallest of the giants."

At some point, Qin Fen had gotten to his feet. He was holding his phone, pointed at the electronic scale. The number 108 was clearly visible, yet he sighed in disdain.

The surrounding anglers continued to look at him with contempt.

The livestream chat erupted with curses.

The guy was being such a goddamn show-off.

"Congratulations, angler, on successfully landing a giant black carp."

"And you made a clean profit of over nine hundred yuan."

"Gotta say, the angler is incredible. In the beginning, I really thought the rod was going to snap and the line would break, but he managed to haul it back in."

"Truly amazing. He’s the first person to catch a giant black carp from both ponds."

Contempt was one thing, but congratulations were another.

The praise that followed made Qin Fen feel a little giddy. He actually got a bit embarrassed, humbly saying it was thanks to the quality of his rod and line, and that he only hooked the fish because his bait was effective.

He also added that there were several giant black carp in the pond and that he was sure he could catch them all.

In the end, he was so happy that he continued the fine tradition the God of Wealth had established at the small pond: he treated every single person present to cigarettes and drinks.

He earned a round of cheers.

"Oh man, I’m absolutely exhausted~"

After the giant black carp was returned to the pond, Qin Fen asked Chen Nan and Chen Hongjun to help pass out the cigarettes and drinks while they patrolled the grounds. He wiped the sweat from his body, then plopped down and reclined in his fishing chair.

"It’s much cooler under the sun umbrella."

Qin Fen was truly wiped out.

He had fought the Fish King before, but back then, there had been three of them. They had taken turns, which meant they all got to enjoy the thrill of fighting the fish without getting too tired.

But today, he had battled the giant black carp all by himself. This fish was bigger, the water was wider, and its struggles were more ferocious. Both of his arms were aching terribly.

He turned on the massage function and instantly felt much better.

"Yuan, this members-only fishing chair you’ve got is awesome. Getting a massage after fighting that giant black carp... you have no idea how good this feels."

Qin Fen said with a smile, tilting his head toward Chen Yuan.

"If it’s comfortable, then lie back for a while."

Chen Yuan sat on the three-wheeler, chugging a couple of mouthfuls of coke. Then he took the cigarette tucked behind his ear, put it in his mouth, and lit it.

"Haha, no can do. I have to hurry up and cast out my line of hope."

Qin Fen stretched his arms, then baited his hook and cast his line again. Only after securing the rod on its rest did he sit back down to enjoy the massage.

"If you hook another big one, will you be able to handle it?"

Chen Yuan said with a laugh, blowing a smoke ring.

"A man can never say he can’t. Besides, don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. You’re using this comfortable trap to make us forget our purpose here. For every fish we don’t catch, you make back more than enough to cover the electricity bill for this chair."

Qin Fen had an expression that said he saw right through Chen Yuan’s little scheme.

’But how could a veteran angler like me fall for such a comfortable trap? Unless, of course, you hired two pretty girls to give me a manual massage instead of this chair.’