120: Dafei

Li Shuai pulled a cigarette from his pocket, handed one to Gao Xiaofan first, and then lit one for himself.

Gao Xiaofan's craving for a smoke kicked in too. He set his rod on the stand and started puffing away.

"I've invested 800,000 yuan in total, and only then did I start to figure some things out."

"Sometimes when the fish aren't biting, I get even more anxious than the anglers. Running a fishing ground relies on reputation; as long as people are catching fish, they'll want to come and play. If they aren't, then people will slowly stop showing up."

"Anglers don't actually come for the fish; they're just looking for a good place to kill time. There's no reason for them to spend money here just to experience blanking. I love fishing myself, so I understand that better than anyone."

"Later, I realized that if the fish aren't biting, you can adjust the water quality. I went everywhere to ask for advice, but by the time I finally grasped the basics, the fishing ground's reputation had already tanked, and customers were slowly drifting away."

Speaking of this, Li Shuai sighed, took a deep drag, stubbed out the cigarette butt, and threw it into the nearby trash can.

Gao Xiaofan nodded, only half-understanding.

"Well, I don't know much about managing a fishing ground, but I think the environment here is great and the price isn't expensive. If it were me, I'd come here to play often, hahahaha."

Hearing Gao Xiaofan's words, Li Shuai's mood improved as well.

"Oh, Brother Wo Zi, your visit has really helped us out. My WeChat has been blowing up just now, with everyone saying they want to come here to see you. I hope things will get better after today."

Gao Xiaofan smiled, put two kernels of corn on the hook of his bait tray, and cast it out. He wiped his right hand on a wet towel, then turned to Li Shuai and said jokingly.

"During the livestream, I saw some comments saying that if people catch too many fish, your attitude turns sour."

Li Shuai was stunned for a moment. He sighed and was about to speak when he suddenly looked toward the water.

Gao Xiaofan also heard the commotion and looked toward the water in surprise.

In the short time he had turned his head to chat, his rod had been dragged into the water.

Because Li Shuai and Gao Xiaofan were far from the camera, the audience in the livestream room couldn't hear what they were saying at all. They were already getting bored, but seeing the rod dragged into the water, the room instantly became lively.

"Oho! The rod got dragged in~ That's what happens when you don't focus on fishing."

"It's no big deal. If it gets dragged in at a commercial pond, just use a casting rod to hook it back~"

"Hahahaha, that's what you get for chatting. Your rod's gone~"

Qiu Gu, who was nearby, didn't daze off. From the moment the rod was dragged into the water, he had already removed the Gimbal from the tripod, ready to capture the scene.

During these days spent with Gao Xiaofan, he had realized that this guy was either Creating Hype or on his way to Creating Hype. There would definitely be a follow-up to the rod being dragged into the water.

"Big Fly!!"

Li Shuai's loud shout startled Gao Xiaofan. Before he could react, a yellow figure streaked like lightning from the direction of the fishing ground's house.

A large Golden Retriever raced over. Before Gao Xiaofan could get a clear look, it lunged and leapt straight into the water. When Gao Xiaofan looked again, the Golden Retriever was already biting the rod, preparing to swim back to shore.

Gao Xiaofan swallowed hard, standing foolishly on the bank. Is this dog really that impressive?

Sure enough! There's always a follow-up. This is damn well metaphysical!

Qiu Gu steadily moved the Gimbal, aiming the lens at the Golden Retriever biting the rod and swimming back with all its might, while marveling in his heart.

I was lucky enough to experience it once.

The audience in the livestream room was also shocked by this scene.

"??? Is that dog a spirit??"

"?? That's so awesome!"

"What a smart dog. Why is my Husky like an idiot?"

"Stupid people raise stupid dogs~ *manual funny face*."

While Gao Xiaofan was still in a daze, the Golden Retriever named Big Fly had already swum to the shore. Li Shuai quickly took the rod from Big Fly's mouth and handed it to Gao Xiaofan.

"Brother Wo Zi, the fish is still on~"

As soon as Gao Xiaofan got the rod, he felt a surge of strength through his hand.

However, at this moment, he had no heart for playing the fish; most of his attention was on Big Fly.

With a few quick movements, he led the fish on the hook out of the water. Seeing the splashes on the surface, he finally understood why the rod had been dragged in.

"A double catch."

Nearby, Li Shuai patted Big Fly, who had just finished shaking himself dry, then picked up the Landing Net and scooped the two fish out of the water.

Gao Xiaofan set the rod down and moved closer to Big Fly, reaching out his right hand to stroke the dog's body repeatedly.

Li Shuai removed the hooks from the fish's mouths and tossed them into the keepnet.

"I've had Big Fly since I opened the fishing ground. He was just a tiny thing back then."

"When he was little, he'd wander around the fishing ground every day. He'd steal the anglers' bait whenever he could—hehehe—a ball the size of a fist, swallowed in one gulp."

As Li Shuai spoke, he started laughing, seemingly remembering something funny.

"So, did you teach him to go into the water to retrieve rods?"

Gao Xiaofan asked curiously.

Qiu Gu also moved closer because the comments were flooding in, asking for more shots of the dog.

"How could I have taught him? I'm usually so busy. The first time he went in to retrieve a rod, I was out, and only my wife was at the fishing ground. Then an angler's rod fell into the water."

"Our fishing ground is equipped with those hooks for snagging weeds. My wife tried a few times but couldn't hook it. As a result, Big Fly just jumped in and helped pull it back."

"After that, he got more and more skilled. So if you're asking if our fishing ground has any employees, it might just be Big Fly, hahaha."

After Li Shuai finished speaking, he looked at Big Fly, who was lying down obediently, with a face full of pride.

Gao Xiaofan was about to speak when Big Fly, who had been lying on the ground being petted by him, suddenly stood up and looked toward the entrance of the fishing ground.

"Looks like some anglers have arrived~" Li Shuai said with a smile upon seeing this.

Sensing the lack of concern in Li Shuai's voice, Big Fly slowly lay back down.

This scene felt incredibly magical to Gao Xiaofan, and even more so for the livestream room.

"This boss is so damn lucky!!! Not only does he have a fishing ground, but he also has a great wife!"

"It's one thing to have a good wife, but he even has a loyal dog!"

"This dog is smarter than me, damn it!"

"Let's go, Brother Wo Zi. Can't you see this boss has been humble-bragging this whole time?~"

Gao Xiaofan stood up and looked at Li Shuai.

"Customers are here. Aren't you going to take a look?~"

Li Shuai smiled. "They're all here for you, Brother Wo Zi."

"Let's go, let's take a look together."

...Two elderly people were whispering around a van.

"So this is a Wuling; it's not worth much." The old man said gloomily while smoking.

The woman beside him also looked anxious, her face full of sorrow.

"I told you, our son has been swindled again. Things on the internet are all intangible."

"I just heard Jingjing say she was going out to buy groceries to entertain someone. She couldn't be talking about that swindler, could she?"

"No, I have to talk to him and drive this swindler away."