60: Chapter 60 Black Pit Customer 60: Chapter 60 Black Pit Customer After chatting idly for a while, Yue Feng checked the time and realized it was already noon.
Since they had made money at Black Pit that day, Yue Feng generously beckoned everyone to stay, inviting them to the small restaurant across the street for lunch!
Liu Fengnian and the others were already well-acquainted with Yue Feng and had no qualms about taking advantage of his generosity.
However, Wang Meng was a bit hesitant and only reluctantly joined them at the restaurant after being invited multiple times.
Through casual conversation over the meal, Yue Feng learned that Wang Meng was a civil servant at the county government, with ample free time on weekends.
He was also a fishing enthusiast, having spent quite a bit of money on it, yet without making much progress in technique.
Now, it seemed he had found his group.
While Yue Feng and his buddies were eating and drinking in the small eatery, Wang Jian had returned to his own shop.
As soon as he entered, Wang Jian’s face turned sour, which was unsurprising considering that someone else had cleaned out Black Big Pit—hardly a situation that would leave anyone looking cheerful.
“Why didn’t you answer your phone?
Your senior brother came looking for you at the store, saying he couldn’t get through to your mobile!” the lady boss said to Wang Jian.
Wang Jian pulled out his phone and glanced at it, not knowing when he had accidentally switched it to silent mode.
There were four or five missed calls, all from Yu Qulong.
Yu Qulong and Wang Jian were fishing buddies who had learned to fish together.
With poorer family conditions, Wang Jian was more pragmatic, having opened this fishing gear shop.
On the other hand, Yu Qulong was from a well-off family and had always been active in competitive fishing, with his skills improving rapidly in recent years and winning several awards annually.
Senior brother looking for him meant that there was surely something up, so Wang Jian immediately called back.
A few seconds later, the phone rang.
“Senior brother, you were looking for me?”
“You back from Black Big Pit?
Why was no one answering the phone?”
“Accidentally put it on silent, didn’t hear it!”
“Come to Junyue for lunch, me, Xiaobo, Er Mao and a few others are here!
Hurry up, we’re waiting for you!”
“Okay,” Wang Jian replied, gave his wife a heads-up, and drove off.
Fifteen minutes later, Wang Jian arrived at the private room.
“How was the battle this morning?” Yu Qulong immediately asked as Wang Jian walked in.
Usually, Wang Jian was quite well known among the local fishing circles; in places like Black Pit, he often came out ahead, making it relatively easy to break even.
However, today had been an utter downfall for Wang Jian.
(Breaking even meant selling the caught fish to the owner, covering the cost of one’s fishing fees.)
“Man, don’t even bring it up.
Caught 25 pounds of fish in a complete mess, all for nothing!”
“Did the whole pit die off or what?
Your wife said you went to a grand opening event, right?”
For grand openings, pit owners usually aim for good luck by stocking the pond with a higher quantity and quality of fish.
This is almost an unwritten rule in the local Black Pit circles, with few exceptions.
Wang Jian massaged his cheeks, dejectedly saying, “It was weird today; some young guy totally put us out of business!”
“Let’s hear about it!” Yu Qulong’s interest was instantly piqued upon hearing these remarks.
With everyone present being quite close friends, Wang Jian didn’t hold back, detailing the events of the morning from start to finish.
“What bait were you using in the nest?” After listening, Yu Qulong frowned slightly and then asked.
“It’s the same set, but I think the fish will bite faster, you added a bit too much of the ‘Thousand-Mile Fragrance’!”
“The water temperature is unstable this season.
Using ‘Thousand-Mile Fragrance’ improperly can easily lead to trouble!
I reckon that’s where you went wrong!” Yu Qulong nodded in agreement with Wang Jian’s statement.
“How about this, I’ll give you a new recipe later.
For this season’s cultured big carp, it’s absolutely top-notch!”
“Stop standing around, let’s eat!” The waiter brought the last main dish to the table.
Yu Qulong called everyone to eat and drink, creating a really good atmosphere.
Before one in the afternoon, Yue Feng and Liu Fengnian had their fill and walked out of the small restaurant.
Before even reaching the fishing gear shop, Yue Feng was startled by the situation in front of him.
There were five or six cars parked on the not-so-spacious road in front of Yue Feng’s shop.
After a quick look, Liu Fengnian grinned at Yue Feng and said, “Here we go, business is coming, nine out of ten they’re here for you!”
Wei Liang also took out a cigarette and passed it around, saying, “Looks like Lei’s group.
They were all at the fishing ground this morning!
Big Brother Liu is right!”
As expected, as soon as Yue Feng reached the shop’s entrance, people started getting out of the cars.
Yue Feng recognized many of the guys; they had been fishing together that morning.
Having won the pond trophy in the morning, this bunch was now making a pilgrimage to his shop for a “lesson”!
When Yue Feng returned, Lei Lei and Ma Run got out of the car and greeted him from a distance, “Where have you been flaunting around, not answering your phone!
We’ve been waiting for you guys for almost an hour!”
Yue Feng felt his pocket—no phone.
He hurriedly opened the door: “Went to have a bite with Big Brother Liu at the small restaurant across the street!
Left in such a hurry I forgot my phone!
Come in, please, come in!”
Yue Feng’s small shop, spanning only dozens of square meters, was suddenly filled with over a dozen people and felt a bit crowded.
However, Liu Fengnian and the others didn’t need Yue Feng to ask; they found a corner by the small tea table as soon as they entered and started to drink tea.
Lei Lei stood at the counter closest to him and shouted, “It’s not our first deal.
The bait from this morning, the ‘Loose Powder’, give me some of that!
Seeing your catch was tantalizing, damn it, I only caught around ten pounds this morning!”
“Ten pounds is not bad at all, I only caught five fish!
Fuck, that’s practically 40 bucks per fish!” Little Ma muttered on the side, immediately making everyone burst into laughter.
Since it’s a business, the more customers, the better.
Yue Feng grinned without saying a word and took out the freshly prepared ‘Loose Bait’ from the shelf.
“This is a new ‘Loose Powder’ formula I just tested!
Two pounds per bag, 20 per pound!”
“Grab a few more bags, what’s this little amount good for!” Lei Lei wasn’t satisfied with the few bags of bait Yue Feng placed on the counter and with a sweep of his hand, gathered them in front of himself.
“Exactly, as long as it works well, price isn’t an issue.
Catch more fish, that covers everything, same cost for fishing fees.
If you don’t catch many fish, that’s a bigger loss!
Grab a few more bags for me, I’ll use them for baiting next time I fish!” Lei Lei’s companion Ma Run chimed in with the same sentiment, taking four or five bags of bait for himself, totaling nearly ten pounds.
With these two spendthrifts setting the trend, the rest of the group became much more eager to sweep the goods.
Yue Feng had prepared over thirty bags of bait and watched as these guys snatched them all up, not even leaving any samples behind!
As they were willing to spend money, after getting the bait they needed, they didn’t rush to leave.
They walked around Yue Feng’s shop and bought quite a few other items.
Yue Feng’s hand-tied sub-lines, known for their neatness and strength, were especially rounded up by several discerning customers.
“Hey, what brand are these floats?
They look pretty well-made!
Take them out for a look!” After wandering around a bit, Lei Lei’s eyes caught sight of a handful of reed floats stored in transparent plastic tubes, displayed below the counter.