"Hey, if you don't want to go, that's fine. There are plenty of big fish around anyway. By the way, Xiang Ye, you like fishing for wild fish, right? Although the reservoirs nearby may not have many good wild fish, there's the lake!"
Hearing Xiang Ye say this, Qi Hongbo smiled and joined the conversation.
"Yeah, our skills probably aren't good enough for the lake, but Xiang Ye's level? Going to the lake is no problem at all." Zheng Jianping nodded in agreement.
"The lake? Around here… YueJing Lake?" Xiang Ye thought for a moment about local attractions. It seemed YueJing Lake was the only true natural lake nearby.
"Yeah, that's right, YueJing Lake." Seeing Xiang Ye understood, the others quickly confirmed. But hearing this, Xiang Ye scratched his head.
According to his memory, YueJing Lake was a no-fishing zone!
YueJing Lake is the largest lake around this city — there's no other comparable one. It covers about 120 square kilometers and is a nearby 5A-level tourist attraction. When Xiang Ye came to this city for university nine years ago, he already knew fishing there was prohibited. Not just fishing with nets or electric fishing, even angling was banned.
He had been there several times for fun and thought it was quite scenic.
"Uh, I think that lake is off-limits for fishing. How do you get in to fish there?" Xiang Ye hesitated as he looked at the others.
Though he didn't like using backdoor connections, thinking about today's rewards — a martial arts master level status, a car worth over three million yuan, plus 50,000 yuan in cash — Xiang Ye's standards weren't that high.
"No backdoors needed. What you're thinking of was years ago. After a decade-long fishing ban in YueJing Lake, the fish population grew so rapidly that it started to stress the ecosystem. So now, they've opened a designated fishing area in the southeast. You don't need a boat to get to an island to fish. It costs 500 yuan a day, and you can only fish from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. when the park closes."
Huang Kai explained this to Xiang Ye, who finally understood. No backdoors required was the best news. As for the 500 yuan fee — would Xiang Ye mind? Catching just five small whitefish would be worth that.
"Fishing in the lake is tricky, though. Unlike reservoirs, there aren't many small fish. The sizes are quite uniform. You've got big fish like the hundred-Jin big bluefish, mid-sized 50-60 Jin big grass carp, and tiny small whitefish as small as your pinky finger, even minuscule minnows the size of fingernails."
"So, if you use light tackle to catch small fish, big fish might come and snap your line. If you use heavy tackle for big fish, the small fish cause a ruckus and make it hard to fish."
After Huang Kai finished, the newcomer Yuan Guangtao sighed helplessly.
"But Xiang Ye's skill is something else. I've seen people fish for years and never met anyone like him. Today, Xiang Ye really impressed me. I think you could even compete professionally."
Liu Guangqing nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
Hearing this praise, Xiang Ye felt a bit embarrassed. He knew his fishing skill was average. The reason he caught fish was mostly due to his strong buff. But as they said, YueJing Lake was indeed a good spot. Whether to catch small fish or big fish, it was tempting.
"All right, are you guys going soon? If so, take me along to check it out!"
"That works. I happen to be free tomorrow. Zhao Lei and Zhang Tianyu are going too. Let's go together tomorrow!" Huang Kai laughed.
"Wait, aren't you supposed to be managing the Grand Theater at home? How can you keep going out every day?" Xiang Ye asked curiously.
"Hahaha, about that… I'm not really busy," Huang Kai said with a smile, while Liu Guangqing and the others chuckled knowingly. Clearly, there was some story behind it.
"Yeah, I was foolish back then," Huang Kai sighed. Seeing their smiles, he decided to tell Xiang Ye about his past.
About five or six years ago, he lived like a rich heir.
After graduating from college, he lived a wild life — every day either in a nightclub or on the way to one, never able to keep a girlfriend for more than three days.
That reckless lifestyle eventually caught up with him.
He got scammed in a honey trap demanding five million yuan. He refused to pay, so the woman accused him of something serious. The scandal became huge.
Although the evidence was insufficient and the woman's gang and past records were found, the police exposed the extortion scheme. Still, his reputation was ruined.
His family, to punish him and help him calm down, sent him to manage the Grand Theater. At first, it was hard for him.
Gradually, though, he grew to like fishing and stopped going to nightclubs — since waking up early to fish was impossible after a night out. For two or three years, his family saw he wasn't causing trouble and mostly left him alone.
So now he was truly free, with nothing tying him down.
Hearing Huang Kai's story, Xiang Ye laughed. Was this a prodigal son returning?
"All right, then tomorrow we go to YueJing Lake!" Xiang Ye raised his glass and clinked it. "Tomorrow, YueJing Lake!"
With the trip set, they drank more freely.
Indeed, drinking together was a great way to bond. After a round of drinks, Xiang Ye felt fully integrated into the group.
They ate until after nine p.m., and fearing it would affect tomorrow's fishing, everyone dispersed, taking taxis home.
When Xiang Ye and Ai Bai got back, they immediately went to sleep. They had both drunk quite a bit — nearly half a Jin each — which was more than usual. Though not drunk, both felt heavy-headed.
They fell asleep deeply and woke the next morning.
When Ai Bai got up, his face looked a bit awkward. After Xiang Ye finished washing up, Ai Bai tossed him the car keys.
"Xiang Ye, I'm not going today. You drive yourself."
"Huh? You love fishing so much — what's up?"
Xiang Ye asked, puzzled by Ai Bai's unusual mood.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。