182: Something big!

The three of them chatted for a while and finally understood why Little Orange didn't want to deal with that man just now.

Chen Cheng's older brother was named Chen Gang, and the young man from earlier was Wu Qiuqiu; all three were from the same village.

Two years ago, Chen Gang returned after being discharged from the military. He wasn't assigned a job but was given about 200,000 yuan. He returned to his hometown with the money, only for Wu Qiuqiu to borrow 100,000 of it to open a guesthouse.

After Wu Qiuqiu's guesthouse opened, Chen Gang had nothing to do. Having been in the cooking squad in the army, he started helping out. With his culinary skills and Wu Qiuqiu's knack for research, the business began to thrive.

However, their relationship grew worse and worse. In Little Orange's words, Wu Qiuqiu was treating her brother like a pack mule.

Chen Gang had an honest personality and didn't like to argue or fight. Although his salary never increased, he didn't say anything. The problem lay with the borrowed money.

Chen Gang and Chen Cheng's parents had been working away from home and had saved up some money. Seeing that their son was of age and it was time for him to marry, the elderly couple wanted to pool their money to fix up their old house and perhaps open a guesthouse of their own.

Seeing how good Wu Qiuqiu's business was, Chen Gang naturally mentioned that if he ever had spare money, he should pay him back. He was an adult now and couldn't keep letting his parents worry.

"My brother's intention was that even if we opened a guesthouse, it would just be so my parents didn't have to run around outside anymore. They could just host some tourists to make a living. He would still work for Wu Qiuqiu. But Wu Qiuqiu didn't believe him and blew up, saying my brother was being dishonorable and trying to steal his customers."

Little Orange curled her lip, her face full of disdain.

"He got angry right then and wanted to pick a fight with my brother. But could a scrawny monkey like him beat my brother? My brother sent him flying with one slap. After that, getting the money back was like squeezing toothpaste. It still hasn't been fully repaid, and I doubt we'll ever see the rest."

After hearing this, Gao Xiaofan and Li Yuer hadn't expected there to be such a story behind it.

"But what he said is true; Wu Qiuqiu does have some connections with certain leaders. Some elderly tour groups, like the 'Setting Sun' tours, are all directly arranged to stay at their place."

"Our guesthouse has been open for half a year, and we haven't even made back our initial investment. My parents have gone back out to work. I figured if we can't get tour groups, we'll just take individual travelers and list the place online."

Little Orange spoke while glaring fiercely at Wu Qiuqiu, who was moving things over there.

"That dog, he must have seen my big Yellowtail Fish and is now using it to suck up to some big official!"

Despite her fierce words, Gao Xiaofan and Li Yuer couldn't help but want to laugh.

"Alright, go fish. There's no need to get angry over this. Your brother's skills are indeed good. When I start my livestream tonight, I'll give you some good publicity."

Gao Xiaofan said with a smile, and only then did Little Orange climb back onto the fishing platform.

Li Yuer smiled at Gao Xiaofan, stepped over with her long legs, jumped onto the fishing platform, and started casting frequently again.

Gao Xiaofan stood up and glanced at Li Yuer, curling his lip. He didn't know how she could keep it up—not a single bite all morning, yet she was still casting so frequently.

Shaking his head, he walked toward Qiu Gu. Wu Qiuqiu had already moved the items off the boat and was jogging along with large bags and small bundles. Behind him were two middle-aged men with protruding bellies, just crossing paths with Gao Xiaofan.

"Xiao Wu, are you sure we can catch fish in this spot?"

One of the middle-aged men said with a smile. For some reason, Gao Xiaofan felt that the way these officials spoke was strangely intimidating. Even though he was smiling, he sounded like he was making a threat.

"Oh, definitely. Director Li, your fishing skills are so incredible. If it weren't for the fact that the people need you, what would that kid Deng Yuan even matter in the fishing world?"

Wu Qiuqiu's flattering words almost made Gao Xiaofan burst out laughing. Impressive, that was some high-level brown-nosing.

The middle-aged man didn't seem annoyed at all; it looked like he quite enjoyed the flattery.

Gao Xiaofan leaned back in his fishing chair, checked the comments on his phone, and then observed the three figures again.

The group paused behind Li Yuer for a moment before continuing forward. They set up their fishing spot just ten meters away from Little Orange, which made Gao Xiaofan frown.

There were many small islands like this on Taiping Lake. Since boat and raft fishing weren't allowed, if people could take a boat, they generally went to fish on the islands.

The island was actually quite large. Gao Xiaofan hadn't wanted to cause trouble for Little Orange's guesthouse business, but he hadn't expected these three to be so pushy. A distance of ten meters was basically right next to them.

However, seeing that Little Orange didn't explode, he breathed a sigh of relief. Worst case scenario, he'd just stop fishing later. There was no need to cause unnecessary trouble when away from home.

Thinking of this, Gao Xiaofan stood up and approached Qiu Gu to chat.

"How's it going? How many have you caught?"

"Four!"

"That's no good, Brother Gu. You're a bit of a noob."

"..."

"Why aren't you talking? I'm here to keep you company."

Qiu Gu squinted at him. "How about you fish instead?"

Gao Xiaofan gave a dry laugh. Boring. This guy was so addicted to fishing he wouldn't even chat. He'd been fishing for seven or eight years and wasn't this hooked.

*Splash! Whoosh!* The sound of the rod suddenly breaking the water, the sound of the line cutting through the air.

Gao Xiaofan snapped his head toward the side and saw Li Yuer gripping the Rebar tightly. She was crouching on the fishing platform, and the body of the Rebar rod was bent like a bow.

A big one was on! It really was!!!

Little Orange immediately jumped down from her platform, climbed onto Li Yuer's, and hugged her with an ecstatic expression.

Gao Xiaofan also hurried over. Halfway there, he remembered he hadn't taken his phone. Just as he was about to turn back, he saw Qiu Gu sprinting with the tripod, overtaking him in an instant while dismantling it as he ran.

A moment later, Qiu Gu tossed the tripod onto the path and began filming with the Gimbal on his shoulder.

Professional. This is what you call damn professional!

Gao Xiaofan marveled as he approached, but before he reached them, he heard Li Yuer's helpless voice.

"Little Orange, don't tickle me! I can control it."

"Oh, I was just afraid you'd get dragged into the water, Sister Yuer!"

Little Orange gave an embarrassed laugh and jumped off the platform.

Gao Xiaofan had a strange look on his face. Little Orange couldn't be into women, could she?

Looking at the float trembling in the air, Gao Xiaofan rubbed his chin. What kind of fish was it?

It was really hard to tell for a moment.

Could it be a Black Carp?

He wasn't too worried about Li Yuer, because she had already jumped onto the shore, even though the rod was still bent into a deep arc.

It had only been a few minutes, but Li Yuer was already panting heavily, her chest rising and falling with her movements.

Just then, an inappropriate sound came from nearby, shouting rhythmically.

"Oh-ho! Oh-ho!"