Chapter 115 - 116: You Have Your Pride, I Have My Mission

Chapter 115: Chapter 116: You Have Your Pride, I Have My Mission

Wang Heng was being very serious, which actually made Chen Yuan breathe a sigh of relief.

’What’s the big deal? He really gave me a scare.’

"An expert is an expert. Aren’t you an expert too, Brother Wang?"

Chen Yuan wasn’t concerned.

"It’s different."

Wang Heng shook his head, his expression still grave. "That guy isn’t part of our circle. Plus, he’s competed in professional fishing master tournaments—national ones—and even earned the honorary title of ’Little Fish King’."

"Is he better than you, Brother Wang?"

Chen Yuan remained unruffled.

’All visitors are guests. If you’re here to have fun, I’ll be a good host. But if you’re here to clean me out, you’ll have to ask the remote in my hand for permission first.’

’Forget Little Fish King. Even if you were the great Fish King himself, I could still make you question your existence.’

"I’ve never competed, but we’re all in the same circle, making a living with our skills. As for who’s better... it’s really hard to say."

Wang Heng frowned and shook his head.

He was quite confident in his own abilities. Even against the Little Fish King, he wouldn’t say his technique was superior, but he believed he wasn’t far behind.

"Then why don’t you go compete, Brother Wang?"

Chen Yuan wasn’t interested in the expert himself, but the professional fishing master tournaments caught his attention.

In his development plan for the fishing ground, one pillar was recreational fishing, and the other was a Fishing Association. Only by establishing an association could he host tournaments.

The so-called "high-yield buyback" rewards could then be legitimately converted into tournament prize money.

After all, fishing is a sport, so rewards for athletes would be seen in a completely different light. As long as the prizes weren’t ridiculously exorbitant, they generally wouldn’t attract regulatory scrutiny.

"There are all sorts of reasons. Not everyone has the time to go compete."

Wang Heng didn’t elaborate, but it clearly wasn’t for a lack of skill or courage.

"Brother Wang, tell me about professional fishing."

Chen Yuan’s interest was piqued. He wasn’t in a hurry to head to the village committee; Uncle Bin wouldn’t be at work this early anyway.

"Boss Chen, you should be thinking about how to handle this expert. He’s not from our little circle, so my word might not carry any weight with him."

Wang Heng stared at Chen Yuan, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Any other owner who found out an expert had come to clean them out—and was already on-site—would be panicking, trying everything in their power to shut him down. Otherwise, they’d lose their shirt.

But Boss Chen was something else entirely. Not a hint of panic, just curiosity about professional fishing.

"Logically, this shouldn’t be happening. The two-mu pond hasn’t been restocked, and it’s not a dedicated crucian carp pond. Even if there were some crucian carp, after being open this long, there can’t be many left. There’s no reason for a pro like the Little Fish King to come here."

Wang Heng couldn’t quite figure it out.

"What do you mean?"

Chen Yuan was even more confused.

"For experts like us, the ideal spot isn’t a mixed-stock pond like yours, Boss Chen. It’s a crucian carp pond."

"Why’s that?"

Chen Yuan took out a cigarette.

"Crucian carp are easy to catch. Even a novice can land them. For pros like us who fish for a living, once you’ve spent the time to master fishing for them, they’re even easier."

Wang Heng took the cigarette and tapped the filter against his palm.

You could tell he was a seasoned smoker. A couple of taps packed the tobacco tighter, not only making the smoke richer and stronger but also causing it to burn slower when you weren’t puffing, letting you get an extra drag or two out of each cigarette.

"Plus, crucian carp aren’t big. Even a large one is only a few hundred grams. You can use a high-strength, stiff rod and just hoist them right out of the water, saving time on playing and controlling the fish. Just imagine the efficiency."

Wang Heng lit his cigarette and gave Chen Yuan a look that said, ’You get the picture.’

Chen Yuan got it. When experts cleaned out a pond of crucian carp, it was all about efficiency. Time is money, after all.

"With other fish, the catch rate is harder to predict. You know how anglers love to chum, right? Especially for big fish. If you don’t set up your bait spot properly, the fishing conditions are unpredictable. As for the Fish King, you can’t just catch it because you want to. There’s a definite element of luck involved with that one."

Wang Heng took a deep drag from his cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke as he spoke.

"So, it sounds like it won’t affect me that much. My pond might have a lot of crucian carp, but it’s not a dedicated carp pond, and the stock is running low anyway."

’There really isn’t much stock left in the pond. It’s been open for over half a month, and it’s been packed every session since. With so few fish in total, how many clean-outs could it even withstand?’

In fact, Chen Yuan had already been considering restocking the pond in the last couple of days.

Even with the Fish King drawing a crowd, and anglers’ enthusiasm running high, who ever heard of a fishing ground surviving on a single prize fish? What a joke.

"Have you forgotten how I cleaned you out?"

Wang Heng shot Chen Yuan a look, as if he were an idiot.

"Even if the number of fish in your pond has dropped, if the Little Fish King really wants to clean you out, he’ll have no problem taking a few hundred pounds of fish from you today."

Chen Yuan wasn’t the least bit flustered.

’If he’s really here to clean me out, we’ll see who cleans out whom.’

"When you run a fishing ground, you can’t get involved with these guys. Once they get a taste of an easy win, you’re in for a rough time."

Wang Heng reminded him between puffs, "The moment you restock, they’ll be here to snatch them all up. How much will be left for your regular customers? And if you don’t restock, those other customers won’t come at all. You won’t be able to do business. You’ll go bankrupt sooner or later."

"Thanks for the warning, Brother Wang. But he’s already set up at his spot. I can’t exactly forbid him from fishing now."

Chen Yuan nodded in thanks.

He might not be worried, but he appreciated Wang Heng’s good intentions.

"Sigh... I’ll go feel him out for you. If it really doesn’t work, we’ll figure it out after this session is over. Boss Chen, you should start thinking of a plan."

After finishing his cigarette, Wang Heng walked over to the Little Fish King.

He was also curious why the Little Fish King was here. It would have made sense right after the grand opening, but with the current fish population, it wasn’t worth his time to come and clean the place out.

’Could he be here for the Fish King?’

’Doesn’t seem like it.’

"Brother Little Fish King~"

Suppressing his speculation, Wang Heng ambled over with a smile and warmly offered the Little Fish King a cigarette.

"Well now, if it isn’t little brother Wang Heng. You were invited here too?"

The Little Fish King, who was in the middle of setting up his rod rest, looked up and seemed a little surprised to see Wang Heng.

Although they weren’t in the same immediate circle, there were only a handful of experts in Chong City, and they all knew each other. But wasn’t he supposed to be the only one from the Fishing King Arena?

’How did Wang Heng end up here too?’

"What do you mean by that, my friend?"

Wang Heng raised an eyebrow.

The Little Fish King paused for a moment, looked Wang Heng over, and then laughed. "Haha, it’s nothing, it’s nothing. Just came to have some fun."

He said that, but who would believe him?

Chen Yuan, who was standing a few steps behind Wang Heng, understood everything the moment he heard the word "invited." It seemed his fishing ground really had been targeted.

’He knew that for Chen Yuan Fishing Ground to grow, it would inevitably attract the attention of certain competitors. This kind of rivalry was the big leagues. He just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.’

"My friend, can you do me a favor and go easy on him today?"

Wang Heng didn’t beat around the bush and cut straight to the chase.

The Little Fish King grew even more puzzled.

"Is this pond under your protection, little brother Wang Heng?"

"The owner is a good guy. You could say we’re friends."

Wang Heng shook his head.

He understood what the Little Fish King meant by "under your protection." It was like his own relationship with the owner of the Fishing King Arena—being plied with good cigarettes and fine liquor to maintain a good relationship and ensure he wouldn’t be cleaned out.

And if another expert showed up, he could help put in a good word.

"Friends?"

The Little Fish King’s hands, which were unzipping his rod bag, paused for a fraction of a second.

The relationship implied by that single word was nothing like the transactional one he had with the Fishing King Arena.

"Normally, since you’re asking, little brother Wang Heng, I’d have to grant you this favor, no matter what. But... I’ve been paid to do a job. I’m sure you understand that, little brother Wang Heng."

The Little Fish King stood up, lit the cigarette Wang Heng had given him, took a long drag, and looked at Wang Heng with a thoughtful expression.

"No room for negotiation?"

Wang Heng asked with a frown.

There were many ways for an expert to make a living with his skills, and being hired by one owner to clean out a competitor was one of them. Asking the Little Fish King to back off now was essentially trying to smash his rice bowl.

"It’s not that we can’t negotiate."

The Little Fish King chuckled slyly.

"Let’s hear it, my friend. As long as it’s not too outrageous, I can agree on Boss Chen’s behalf."

An expert on a mission would surely cost them something. It all depended on how big the Little Fish King’s appetite was.

"I have to do something for the money I was paid, but I can’t disrespect you either, little brother Wang Heng. Thinking it over, there’s only one compromise: let’s have a match."

"A match?"

Wang Heng’s eyes widened slightly.

He’d thought the Little Fish King would demand some kind of payment. He never expected a proposal for a match. That was quite a leap in logic.

"To be honest, in the Chong City circle, you’re the one I respect most, little brother Wang Heng. I’ve always wanted a chance to test my skills against yours. Let’s use this opportunity today to have a little competition. If you win, I won’t take a single fish I catch. If you lose, I’ll take your catch. We’ll let our skills do the talking. That way, win or lose, I’ll have an answer for the person who hired me."

’You have your honor, and I can’t disrespect it.’

’But I have my job to do, and I need to make a living.’

’So, let’s let our skills decide.’