Back to the Past to Become a Fishing King

"Great! Thanks! I've got to go to the bathroom, I can't hold it anymore!" Zhang Yang quickly headed towards the restroom with his pants clamped.

Once he returned from the bathroom, Xie Tianhao and his apprentice had already prepared the meal for Zhang Yang.

A small thermos container held the meal, with rice and two dishes, one meat and one vegetable, untouched. Clearly, this lunch was reserved for Zhang Yang.

Seeing this, Zhang Yang felt warmth in his heart.

No matter if it's pure fandom or there's another motive, the attention to detail in serving others was spot on.

Although Zhang Yang now had some fame and capital, he essentially didn't consider himself superior, and he interacted equally with the rest of the team without any airs.

As for eating and drinking, it was even more casual, as long as it wasn't a business event with outsiders, nobody deliberately flattered Zhang Yang as the 'leader.' Their camaraderie was very comfortable.

If it were just Wang Yan and his crew, even if they called Zhang Yang not to eat, leaving some leftovers was considered good enough, leaving two untouched dishes? Impossible.

Humans are peculiar creatures, often saying no while their body is quite honest. Even Zhang Yang, who had lived two lives, was like this.

Receiving better-than-expected treatment inevitably raised Zhang Yang's fondness in his heart.

Now, Zhang Yang had a better impression of the master-apprentice pair of Xie Tianhao than he did in the morning, by at least two points.

"I don't know your food preferences or dislikes, so I left two dishes casually. Are they to your liking?" Xie Tianhao asked with a smile.

"Very good, very good. Brother Xie is considerate!" Zhang Yang thanked him repeatedly.

"Would you like some beer?"

"No need, I'll just eat casually! We're quite casual when fishing outside, an eight-yuan boxed meal can do. You're ordering and reserving meals, you're making me feel embarrassed!"

Zhang Yang scratched his head, feeling a bit unnatural.

"It's only right, it's only right. Young Bao is immature, he should apologize!

For a large company like yours, one meal doesn't make a difference, it's just showing some hospitality and leaving a good impression!" Xie Tianhao remained very courteous.

"Got it, let's not dwell on it, it was all small matters anyway!" Zhang Yang waved his hand, pulled over the fishing box to sit down, and started eating.

As Zhang Yang started eating, Xie Tianhao stopped speaking, quietly waiting for him to finish his meal.

Zhang Yang was very hungry, and while eating, he didn't engage in idle chatter, gulping down food without much pause.

When he was about done and looking up to drink water, Zhang Yang realized that Xie Tianhao was still watching from the side, seemingly waiting for something, appearing out of place amid the surrounding crowd.

"Brother Xie, do you have something on your mind?" Zhang Yang was confused by his peculiar posture.

"Uh, nothing, nothing!" Xie Tianhao waved his hand profusely in denial.

Yet the more he denied, the more Zhang Yang felt like there was something.

"Is it difficult to say? Or is there a concern? As I've said, the morning's matter is bygone, unintended mishap, we're all anglers, meeting at the Garden Fishing Ground is fate, you don't need to be so cautious!"

"Uh, if you put it that way, I do have a little favor to ask!" Seeing the timing was right, Xie Tianhao rubbed his hands and finally brought up the matter.

Hearing this, Zhang Yang's heart skipped a beat, asking calmly: "What is it? Let me hear, I'll do my best to help, but if I can't, please don't blame me!"

"Well, I saw that your team has members even younger than Little Bao! I wanted to ask, is your company recruiting team members?

Little Bao has a knack for fishing, driving for me isn't a long-term plan. If you're willing, I'd like him to apprentice under you, learn with your team for two years! If he truly has potential, he might achieve something in the future!"

"Apprentice under me? Uh, it's not about rejecting you, it's just that I'm so young, not even married, I don't take apprentices!" Zhang Yang habitually refused.

In fact, since Zhang Yang had established himself in the fishing circle, many people had contacted him implicitly or explicitly to apprentice him in fishing. But Zhang Yang politely declined them all.

In Zhang Yang's view, the mentor-apprentice relationship in the fishing circle was somewhat skewed; being in his early twenties and having others call him a mentor seemed odd.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's not necessary to have that title! Let Little Bao stay with your team for a few years, learn fishing along the way, during competitions do some driving, odd jobs, fishing tasks are fine too! No need to pay a salary, I'll cover his living expenses!"

Xie Tianhao, a skilled negotiator, seeing Zhang Yang's refusal, directly retreated to the second option, getting his nephew into the team would work too.

Actually, this idea was a spur-of-the-moment decision by Xie Tianhao at noon, Liu Zi and Meng Fan were both young, already formal team members here, especially Liu Zi, younger than Little Bao.

In Xie Tianhao's view, Famous Fishing Tackle Company had great development potential. If his nephew could join, it would be a good opportunity for the future.

This led to a series of follow-up efforts and displays.

In this light, Zhang Yang could understand why the other party did all this. When asking for a favor, lowering posture and showing proper attitude left Zhang Yang with no grounds for complaint.

"Uh..." At this point, Zhang Yang didn't know how else to refuse.

To outright say no? It seemed a bit unkind, since he'd eaten from them, Zhang Yang thought his face was still a bit thin in such matters.

But if he agreed now, he couldn't really treat the child like a worker; their ultimate goal was to learn fishing and interact for few contacts.

Furthermore, no matter what, at the very least, a salary should be paid.

"Is it too much trouble? Or is my nephew's impression too poor for you? Little Bao, come over and properly bow to Teacher Zhang Yang for forgiveness!" Xie Tianhao pulled his nephew over, intending for him to bow.

This left Zhang Yang helpless. He wasn't adept at handling interpersonal dynamics, especially in a situation where kindness was requested, he found it hard to refuse.

"Alright, alright, let the kid get up! Our company doesn't offer the best treatment, but if he truly wants to learn something, once we return, he can stay with us for a while!" Zhang Yang conceded.

"Hurry and thank Teacher Zhang Yang! After this competition ends, I'll have Little Bao report to your company!"

Xie Tianhao's eyes crinkled joyfully, clearly pleased with Zhang Yang's concession.

"Brother Xie, don't celebrate too soon, let me clarify upfront, our team has very high expectations for members' conduct, not everyone is accepted, and once accepted, doesn't mean continuous responsibility.

If, after a period of observation, Little Bao's performance doesn't meet our requirements, we'll still ask him to exit the team!"

Zhang Yang, after some cool-headed reflection, added a few more sentences.

"That's as it should be, that's as it should be, if he performs well, let him stay; if not, send him back immediately! I absolutely have no complaints!" Xie Tianhao nodded repeatedly.

...

After a full meal and chatting for a while, it soon reached three in the afternoon.

The loudspeaker announced the end of fishing, and aerators in the fishing ground began rumbling simultaneously.

Zhang Yang turned to pack up his fishing rods and other equipment, ready to weigh his catch and leave.

Speak of the fish returns at Jinghai Garden, they differed from the majority of northern black pits.

Fish return prices were over four yuan, notably higher; the manner particularly impressive. A professional fish lifting and weighing team followed by a fish truck weighed fish on site, loaded them onto the truck, while someone immediately counted cash on site, the entire process smooth and efficient.

Other anglers on the floating bridge, who reeled in early, had catches mostly between one and two hundred Jin, with slightly better ones reaching two hundred Jin or more.

But with Zhang Yang, it's different; the staff responsible for hauling his fish net, the two of them working together, couldn't lift it on their first attempt.