86: Chapter 86 The Fish Takes the Bait

Two hours later, Sun Yicheng limped along, arm-in-arm with Zhang Wei, as they went to the breakfast shop downstairs to grab a bite to eat.

"It's all your fault; I can't even go to work today," Sun Yicheng said with a hint of grievance.

Zhang Wei laughed heartily: "You're about to become a store manager, so you'll have plenty to be busy with soon. It's just as well to take a day off and adjust your schedule."

After finishing breakfast, he didn't delay and drove to Yanzhong Green Space. It was already past six in the morning; the gates to the green space had just opened, and quite a few elderly men and women were already there exercising.

A few aunties were even more excessive, already blaring loudspeakers and dancing square dances, completely disregarding the fact that it was only past six and whether it might be disturbing the residents.

Zhang Wei shook his head helplessly; he couldn't manage this nonsense. He had previously read news about a residential complex where square dancing could go on from six in the morning until past ten at night. Different groups, different dance styles. They could usually kill a wild boar, but once they got on a bus or subway, they became a vulnerable group.

Calling the police wouldn't solve the problem either. Once the Police Officers arrived, they would turn the volume down below the regulated limit. Once the Police Officers left, they would turn the volume back up and continue having fun. The worst that could happen was having their sound system confiscated. But that piece of junk was only worth a thousand or eight hundred. In a square dance group of ten, each person would pay less than a hundred, and they could scrape enough together to buy a new one.

Forget it, there was no use talking about it; Zhang Wei knew he couldn't afford to offend this group of elderly people. He went straight to the edge of the artificial lake.

Yanzhong Green Space, as a large-scale urban greening project in the City Name center, had specifically created an artificial lake. Willows and pines were planted along the banks, and there was a large lawn. If it weren't for the annoying music mixed in, it would be quite comfortable to come for a stroll or set up a tent on a day off.

Zhang Wei looked at the lake water and slapped his forehead. In his rush to come fishing, he hadn't brought a fishing rod, line, or anything of the sort. Just as he was at a loss, he caught sight of two elderly men fishing on the bank.

Zhang Wei walked over and took a few looks; the elderly men had probably arrived quite early, as there were already two carp, less than a palm's length, swimming in their bucket.

"Uncle, the harvest is pretty good today, huh? Your fishing skills are impressive," Zhang Wei said with a smile, trying to strike up a conversation.

One of the elderly men immediately perked up upon hearing this: "You young man have an eye for things. Let me tell you, what we caught today is considered little. When the baiting is done well, we catch them one after another without stopping."

A senior colleague Zhang Wei used to work with once said that anglers and chefs are the same. You can insult them for being ugly or having bad character, but never say their fishing skills are poor. Otherwise, you'll definitely make a deadly enemy of them. Conversely, it's the same; if you praise their fishing skills, they will immediately treat you like a brother.

Zhang Wei watched the two elderly men fish for a while, occasionally offering a few compliments from the sidelines, and even took a moment to go back to his car to get a pack of Huazi cigarettes to offer the men. The elderly men found him more and more pleasing to the eye; they were practically ready to become sworn brothers with Zhang Wei.

Seeing that the time was right, Zhang Wei smiled and said: "Uncle, do you think you could let me have a try? I've never fished before, and it's rare to run into experts like you, so I might as well learn a thing or two."

People of a certain age are just like old children. Being flattered like this by Zhang Wei made them feel as comfortable all over as drinking an ice-cold soda in the middle of summer.

"I'll let you use my rod; the baiting is already done," one of the elderly men stood up and gave his fishing rod and small stool to Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei didn't stand on ceremony; he took the fishing rod, attached the bait, and practiced fishing. The two elderly men beside him kept teaching him fishing techniques.

He opened the Intelligence System in his mind, found the real-time location of the Alligator Gar, and began tracking it.

Just then, one of the elderly men suddenly cursed: "This bunch of troublemakers is here again." While Zhang Wei was confused, he saw four or five elderly men and women in the distance, wearing swimsuits and trunks, walking toward them.

"Sigh, these people come wild swimming every day. As soon as they get in the water and splash around a few times, the fish all run away. It's truly annoying."

At this moment, those few wild swimmers arrived, pointed at the two fishing elderly men, and cursed: "It's you two old geezers fishing here again. You'd better be careful; if your fishhooks hurt us, we'll make sure the medical bills bankrupt you."

The two elderly men were so angry they were trembling. Pointing at a "No Swimming" sign hanging on the bank, they shouted: "You're the ones acting like you're in the right here. This place says no swimming, but it doesn't say no fishing. Aren't you just causing trouble? There are plenty of swimming pools in the City Name, why do you have to come here?"

One of the aunties shrieked: "None of your business! Are you going to pay for the expensive swimming pool tickets?" Having said that, she pressed toward the fishing elderly men.

With the auntie in her one-piece swimsuit pressing in, the momentum of the two fishing elderly men instantly withered away. They were stuck, unable to advance or retreat.

At this moment, the Alligator Gar hadn't eaten all night and had just woken up; it was exactly when it was hungry. Zhang Wei saw that its coordinates were just not far from him. Watching the elderly men and women still arguing incessantly, he prepared to make his move.

He took a finger-wide small fish out of the bucket, hooked it directly through the belly, and cast the line toward the coordinates of the Alligator Gar.

Underwater, the Alligator Gar was swimming slowly like a swift hunter. Suddenly, a faint scent of blood caught its attention. In the distance, a small fish was bleeding from its belly, swimming in the lake in a strange posture.

The fresh blood ignited the ferocity of the Alligator Gar. As the undisputed overlord of this lake, it had never known the cunning of humans.

It flicked its tail with force and darted over. It opened its large, sharp-toothed mouth and swallowed the small fish. A sharp pain struck, and the keen fishhook stuck firmly into its flesh. In pain, it began to struggle wildly.

Zhang Wei, on the bank, was fishing for the first time and had no experience. He only felt a great force come from the fishing rod in his hands. Caught off guard, he stumbled forward a few steps, nearly falling into the lake entirely.

"Two Uncles, stop arguing, hurry and come help!"

Fishing for the first time and catching a monster of this level, Zhang Wei felt a bit insecure and hurriedly called for reinforcements.

The elderly men turned their heads and saw that Zhang Wei was now just one step away from the lake water. His body was leaning backward, and the fishing rod in his hand had already bent into an exaggerated arc. They all became excited.

This was a big catch!

"Young man, hurry up and let out some line; if you keep going like this, the rod is going to break. Let out some line and then tighten it again; tire the fish out to exhaust its stamina." This fish had such great strength that the elderly man didn't dare to rashly take over the rod; otherwise, it would be hard to say who was catching whom. He could only stand on the side and guide Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei listened and quickly let out some line; the force on his hands indeed became much less, and the Alligator Gar, thinking it had been released, didn't struggle as hard. Zhang Wei then fiercely reeled in the line, shortening the distance between it and the bank.

They seesawed like this for more than ten minutes. Zhang Wei was already soaked in sweat, and his hands were gradually losing strength. Fortunately, the Alligator Gar was also nearing its limit; it was now a test of willpower between both sides.