35: Chapter 35 Laughing at the beginning isn't true laughter; the one who laughs last is the winner.

"Unhook! Snap the line! Break the rod! Snag the bottom..."

He threw out every curse he could think of.

However...

Heavens were not on his side this time.

It made sense; he couldn't have all the good luck to himself.

Relying on the fish-playing techniques he had simulated countless times in his mind over many nights, Old Yu alternated between loosening and tightening, reeling in and letting out the line. After more than ten minutes of playing the fish, he finally pulled it to the surface. As the fish gulped air and lost its strength, this battle of wits and strength between the two sides came to an end.

At the same time, Chen Sheng lost interest and withdrew his gaze.

There was no other reason! Looking at the fish's size, never mind eighteen catties, even ten catties seemed highly unlikely.

It really wasn't that big.

However, the fact that its petite body could pull the rod into such a deep arc caught Chen Sheng's attention.

"It seems the fish in this reservoir are quite strong. I wonder if it's natural or if the black-hearted boss put something in the water," Chen Sheng guessed that the latter was more likely.

After all, what wouldn't you expect from a boss who consistently feeds his fish special fodder?

Based on this, Chen Sheng further speculated that the boss did this because of the tag fish in the reservoir.

If someone accidentally stumbled upon the boss's secret recipe while mixing bait, the sheer strength of the tag fish could help reduce the boss's losses by snapping lines or rods.

Feeling like he had discovered a blind spot, Chen Sheng silently put away the rod in his hand and swapped it for a stiffer one, paired with a fishing line two sizes thicker than before.

With this setup, anywhere else, fish under ten catties could be yanked straight out of the water, those under twenty catties could be hauled in by force, and only those over twenty catties would even be worthy of being 'played'.

By the time Chen Sheng finished changing his gear, Old Yu had netted the fish and brought it ashore. Using a hook remover to take out the hook, he lifted it up to show off. "See that? A Silver Carp nearly ten catties. Who was it that just said I only know how to catch Hemiculter?"

As Chen Sheng had guessed, the fish was less than ten catties.

Chen Sheng cast his baited hook into the water and gave Old Yu a speechless thumbs-up. "Fine, you're the man, okay?"

"Isn't that just a fact?" Old Yu spread his hands with a smug expression, one foot tapping an irregular rhythm. In Chen Sheng's eyes, he looked incredibly punchable.

Chen Sheng took a deep breath, suppressing the irritation from the constant provocation, and replied with a forced smile, "The first to laugh isn't the winner; he who laughs last truly laughs."

"Just keep being jealous." Old Yu carefully tended to the Silver Carp, putting it into the right-side fish net. As he baited his hook, he said to Chen Sheng, "Even though Master Yu is very unhappy with what you said, Little Chen, Master Yu won't lower himself to the level of a 'Air Force' loser like you. Master Yu is just that..."

However, amidst Old Yu's incessant chatter, Chen Sheng suddenly grabbed his rod and lifted it with force. That familiar 'swish-swish' sound of the line slicing through water rang out again.

The difference was that Chen Sheng, having switched to a stiff rod and heavy line, applied direct force and hauled the fish straight out of the water in no time at all.

The fish tried to struggle, but how could Chen Sheng let it have its way? He propped the butt of the rod against his abdomen and gripped the handle with both hands, holding the rod high. No matter how unwilling the fish was, it couldn't get back into the water.

After a few struggles, the fish soon lost its strength from gulping air.

When Chen Sheng felt the pull on the rod weaken, he used his strength to drag the fish to the water's edge. He thrust the landing net in with precision, and no matter how reluctant the fish was, it could only be obediently hauled ashore by Chen Sheng.

He unhooked it and put it on the scale; the weight immediately appeared on the display—11.2 catties.

Chen Sheng pointed the digital display toward Old Yu, who was frozen in place, and asked with a look of feigned confusion, "Old Yu, how many catties did you say that Silver Carp you caught was?"

Old Yu's mouth opened and closed. He struggled for a long time but couldn't squeeze out a single word. Finally...

"Tch~ It's just one fish. Pure dog-shit luck!"

“Heh! Whether it's dog-shit luck or not isn't important. If I were you, I'd move that Silver Carp you just caught from your right fish net to your left one now, so you don't have to go through the trouble of clearing out all those trash fish later.”

"You..." Old Yu's face turned red, not knowing how to talk back.

What does it mean to hit where it hurts?

This was exactly what it meant.

He had worked hard catching trash fish for half the day and finally played a big fish to shore, only for someone else to surpass him with a single catch. Who could he even complain to?

"Hmph! I'm giving your own words back to you. The first to laugh isn't the winner; only he who laughs last wins," Old Yu said, still stubborn as a dead duck.

Chen Sheng put the fish into his net, re-baited, and cast back into the water. "If you don't want to move the fish net now, you could at least find a towel to wipe down that lure rod of yours. Don't let it get covered in fishy smells. I'm telling you, my wife is pregnant and can't stand weird odors."

"What? An Xiaonuan is pregnant?" Old Yu said in surprise. "Why didn't you say anything about this?"

First the job loss, and now his best friend's wife was pregnant. They used to tell each other everything, but now Chen Sheng had learned to keep secrets. Old Yu felt like he was gradually losing this 'open-hearted' best friend.

Chen Sheng rolled his eyes at Old Yu. "She just got pregnant. I haven't even notified our parents on either side yet; why would I tell you? Besides, is that the point? The point is, shouldn't you get your rod ready?"

"Tch~ You catch one fish with dog-shit luck and really think you're..."

The familiar pattern repeated. Before Old Yu could finish his sentence, Chen Sheng quickly grabbed his rod and yanked it upward. That familiar 'swish-swish' sound rang out once more.

Old Yu curled his lip and forced his gaze back to his own float, constantly urging in his mind, "Move, damn it! Just move!"

Perhaps the fish received Old Yu's 'telegram' because one took the bait in a single gulp and then flicked its tail...

On the water's surface, the float suddenly plunged down. A classic 'black float' strike appeared again.

"Holy crap!" Old Yu was overjoyed. He let out a strange cry and hurriedly grabbed his rod with both hands, pulling up hard... however, as he applied force, the smile on his face froze.

There was no other reason! There was absolutely no weight to speak of.

He easily pulled a Topmouth Culter about the size of a hand's span out of the water. It flew through the air in a beautiful arc and landed in the grass by the shore. It struggled, but unfortunately, it failed to attract even a single glance.

At this moment, all of Old Yu's attention was on Chen Sheng's side.

The two of them brought their fish ashore almost simultaneously, but Chen Sheng's catch was another Silver Carp. Although it was only 8.3 catties, compared to a hand-sized Topmouth Culter, wasn't this a difference between heaven and earth?

"Old Yu! Would you say this counts as 'back-to-back' catches?" Chen Sheng smugly shook the fish at Old Yu.

"Tch~" Old Yu remained stubborn. "You call this 'back-to-back'? You clearly haven't seen what real 'back-to-back' catches look like. At most, this can only be called dog-shit luck!"

"Oh? Then what counts as 'back-to-back'?" As Chen Sheng spoke, he had already tossed the fish into the net, re-baited his hook, and made a stylish cast, the hook landing accurately in the baited spot.

"At least three in a row... no, at least four in a row. Only then can it be called 'back-to-back' catches."

...