Chapter 500: Chapter 292: First Arrival at Garden Fishing Ground_2
From the outside, the hotel didn’t seem too impressive, but once inside, it felt quite alright. The lobby was neat, and the staff had a nice attitude.
"Sister, is there a place for leisure and entertainment around here in the evening?"
Wang Yan, being his sociable self, reverted to his usual nature. Seeing that the lobby manager was pretty, he intentionally used some broken Tianjin dialect to tease her.
"There’s a night market just a street over, pretty lively at night. If you want to go sing, bathe, or anything else, you’ll need to drive about half an hour!"
"Alright, thank you, sister! What time do you get off work? How about I treat you to dinner tonight?" Wang Yan shamelessly continued flirting.
"Sure, I’ll just mention it to Old Zhang!"
"Who’s Old Zhang?"
"Old Zhang is my husband, this hotel is our family business!"
"Uh... I apologize for the intrusion!"
"Hahahahaha"
Flirting with the young lady, only to end up hitting on the boss lady, and she didn’t even get mad. Wang Yan’s gaffe sure was a big one, making everyone laugh out loud.
The group finished checking in and quickly took their bags and luggage into the rooms.
Except for their team assistant Xiao Guo, who was the only woman, the other eight were all guys. They had five rooms, two people in each, and the environment wasn’t as bad as imagined – standard double rooms.
Once settled, there wasn’t much for everyone to do. After driving all day, they gathered in the room to play landlord on their phones. Nearing evening, someone shouted to head down to the night market for dinner, forming a large band of sunburned men, drawing a fair share of glances.
The night market meals and drinks aside, everyone was no stranger to business trips and knew there was work to be done the next day, so they returned early to rest.
Early the next day, at 5:30, they were awakened by the alarm clock, washed up briskly, and without bothering with breakfast, headed straight to the fishing ground.
At Jinghai Garden Fishing Ground, instead of drawing lots, they used a spot-claiming system, so arriving early had its perks.
From the hotel to the fishing ground, it was about a ten-minute drive. They thought they were early enough, but upon arrival, they found at least a few hundred people had already beaten them there.
Can you imagine hundreds of cars parking in the designated area, greeted by a scene of countless fully-equipped anglers as far as the eye can see?
Compared to the usual small scale with fifty or sixty people filling the pond, the atmosphere here was indescribably different.
"Damn, so many people!"
Liu Zi got out of the car, his eyes overwhelmed. This scene was even livelier than when he and Meng Fan went to the competition practice pool.
"You can buy spot cards here and claim spots early. Should we get some spot cards?" Zhou Chu, staying steady, glanced at the crowd and turned to ask Zhang Yang.
Zhang Yang grinned: "With so many rods going in, do spot cards even matter? We’re mainly here to check the fish conditions and test the water. It’s our first time here, and we’re not sure where’s good, so let’s save the hundred bucks. We’ll watch for a bit and avoid buying them if we can!"
"Yeah, you’re right. Let’s pay the lady boss first and have her recommend some fishing spots!"
"Let’s go!"
The group got out of the car and headed straight to the mobile office for payment.
At 6:10, over an hour before entry time, the fishing ground ’office’ wasn’t too busy.
Zhang Yang led the group inside, meeting the famous garden lady boss, Da Meili, who was counting fees behind a table!
"Hello, ma’am! It’s our first time at your fishing ground. Please issue us a few cards!" Zhang Yang sweetly greeted.
Da Meili glanced up at Zhang Yang and the group with a slightly puzzled look.
This expression flashed briefly but was caught by Zhang Yang.
"Is there a problem?" Zhang Yang scratched his head and asked curiously.
"Are you all together? What’s your name again? I think I’ve seen you somewhere before! Oh right, Kuaishou, I’ve seen you on Kuaishou! You’re even more handsome in person than in your live streams, quite young!"
Da Meili was very cheerful, making the first-time interaction feel warm and comfortable.
"My name’s Zhang Yang! We registered for tomorrow’s Pika competition, bringing the team brothers to test the pond!" Zhang Yang introduced himself with a smile.
"Oh, right, Zhang Yang! I remember now, you guys are the ones behind the Hei Keng Jiang Hu! Old Ma was just talking about you guys a few days ago! Welcome, welcome!!!
Here in the Garden, you can always come to me or Old Ma if you need anything. Since you’ve come from far away to play, as long as you follow our rules, we’ll certainly treat you well!" Da Meili remembered.
"Uh, well, please issue six tickets! And please help pick out a few decent fishing spots!" Zhang Yang continued.
"Today, the fee is 880, six tickets cost 5280 bucks! Recently, the shore areas have been stable on the north bank, and the south side of East Bank is okay!
There are about twenty spot cards left, do you want to get a few?
If you’re from out of town, local anglers are quite familiar with the shore spots, and it’s tough to get a good place.
I suggest buying some spot cards to enter early and pick a spot. Fish tend to bite better on the pontoon!
It’s only a hundred bucks; with good fish conditions, you could catch a dozen fish! We’re paying 4.3 per pound today!"
Despite her enthusiasm, when it came to business, Da Meili transformed into a sharp and capable person.
The lady boss made a good point; newcomers from outside rarely overpower locals who know the best fishing spots well.
"Alright, then get six spot cards! Xiao Guo, come over and pay!"
After listening to the introduction, Zhang Yang changed his plan, opting to heed the lady boss’s advice.
Complete payment of 5880 bucks, not a cent less, and Da Meili handed out the tags and spot cards.
"Oh, we have pellet baits here too, five bucks a pound. You should prepare some; our pond allows hand-thrown baiting, and pellets mixed in yellow flour have great effects!" Da Meili displayed her astuteness again by promoting pellet baits.
"No need for now, we brought bait and pellets!"
"Alright, then that’ll be it for now. You can find me if you need anything! The rules are on signs by the shore. Violators will be penalized if caught.
Follow the rules and enjoy yourselves; other pits may worry about others catching too much, but not at the Garden. We have plenty of fish, have fun, and catch freely!"
"Alright, ma’am, you get busy. We’re off to get ready!" Zhang Yang nodded, leading the team out of the office.
"Damn, this lady boss is sharp!" Han Qiang couldn’t resist murmuring as soon as they stepped out.
"She sure is sharp. Talk about pits, she’s the pro. The ones we played with before are nothing!"
"So many people and no discounts, no face at all!" Wang Yan chimed in.
Zhang Yang waved it off: "Alright, stop grumbling! Equal treatment is the best service!
Didn’t you guys always brag about how good your pit skills were before? Now, fishing at the Garden, let’s see what you’ve got!
We have six tickets; we’ll check the catch results in the afternoon. Whoever catches the least treats to roast lamb leg tonight!"
Wang Yan: "Great! Just my thing!"
Han Qiang: "I don’t accept that!"
"Let’s get going, bait making time!"
The group laughed and made their way back, unloading equipment from the car, and then each started preparing their bait.
Six people gathered, each with a large basin for mixing bait, which would be quite striking at other fishing grounds.
But at Jinghai Garden Fishing Ground, everyone was already used to it.
Most who came here played in groups, and using ten to twenty pounds of bait for a session was standard.
Zhang Yang’s team weren’t shy either, starting with ten pounds of loose bait mixed with some pellet bait, each having a full basin of feed ready.
After preparing the fishing bait, everyone adjusted their floats, and upon finishing, saw many people already gathered near the entry area, dragging fishing boxes along too.
Even with spot cards, positions on the pontoon had to be competed for among those with cards, probably because it was nearly time to enter.
The tension in the air spread even before fishing began.
Zhang Yang glanced at the active fish in the water, having a hunch that today will be a good haul day!