I'm a junior in college this year, and I've linked my fishing check-in system.

Jiang Qian packed his gear early the next morning.

For a 21-year-old, the first time is very important.

Although it was just a small, privately organized fishing competition, it attracted many influential figures.

Jiang Qian still hopes to make a name for himself through this match, so that he can better win the game.

"Let's try lure fishing..."

Jiang Qian thought for a moment and decided to bring some fishing rods for platform fishing as well.

At that time, with lure fishing in his left hand and platform fishing in his right, he'll play the role of a dual-headed dragon, somewhere between a lure fishing rod and a platform fishing rod—wouldn't that be amazing...?

Don't be smug.

Jiang Qian opened his phone to call a car, and upon seeing the model, thought, "A Wuling Hongguang?"

"Forehead……"

He thought to himself in the letter that this guy seemed to be fishing, and picking up the ride-hailing driver was just something he did on the side...

After waiting for about three minutes, a silver-gray Wuling Hongguang stopped in front of Jiang Qian.

The car window rolled down, revealing a dark, round face, looking to be around forty years old. Jiang Qian could tell at a glance that this man was also fishing…

"Young man, are you going to the dam and reservoir?"

"Yes, thank you for your trouble, Master."

Jiang Qian opened the passenger door, tossed the large bag into the back seat, and got in.

The driver glanced at the bag in the back seat, then looked at Jiang Qian, and chuckled, "Are you going fishing too?"

Jiang Qian fastened his seatbelt and nodded: "Yes, let's go fishing."

"Oh, what a coincidence!"

The driver slapped the steering wheel and laughed: "I'm going fishing too!"

"I wasn't planning on driving today, but when I saw your destination, it was on my way, so I gave you a ride."

Jiang Qian smiled and said, "That is quite a coincidence."

"Are you also going to participate in that competition?"

The driver waved his hand: "I wouldn't dare to compete. I'm just going to join in the fun. I heard there's an event over there today, lots of people, lots of fish too."

"I used to drive for Lalamove, and I also did some express delivery, but not much anymore. Today I'm going to take a day off."

"Moreover, Boss Ji said that those who don't participate in the competition can still go fishing for free, but they can't participate in the judging."

Jiang Qian nodded. Boss Ji's arrangement was quite clever. Those who participated gained fame, while those who didn't participate gained popularity. It was a win-win situation.

Once the car was on the ring road, the driver started talking non-stop.

"Young man, how long have you been fishing?"

"Not too long."

"Let me tell you, I've been fishing for fifteen years!"

The driver held up three fingers, then put them back on the steering wheel: "Fifteen years! I started fishing there the year my wife got pregnant, and my son is in his third year of junior high this year."

"sharp."

"Don't tell me you're so great. Let me tell you, fishing is all about patience."

The driver began to speak with great enthusiasm: "When I was young, I was impatient and couldn't sit still. But after fishing a lot, I became more calm and collected."

"My wife says I've become a different person."

Jiang Qian nodded in agreement.

The driver then asked, "Do you do platform fishing or lure fishing?"

"We'll play both, but today we'll mainly focus on lure fishing."

"Lua!"

The driver raised his voice by half an octave: "I've tried lure fishing too, but to be honest, I can't do it."

"I cast all afternoon and caught nothing. I was so angry."

"Later I went back to fishing with a platform and settled down. Platform fishing is reliable; you can just sit there and wait."

Jiang Qian said with a smile, "Taiwanese fishing is indeed very stable."

"you do not say!"

The driver perked up: "Let me tell you, last month I caught seventeen crucian carp in one afternoon at that wild pond in the south of the city, the biggest one weighed 1.2 jin!"

"I took a picture and posted it on my WeChat Moments, and all my fishing buddies were incredibly envious."

Jiang Qian leaned back in his seat and listened, occasionally offering a few words of response.

This man was indeed very talkative. He talked about crucian carp, then carp, then grass carp, and then about a big grass carp he had encountered in a reservoir.

"That bluefish, I'm telling you, it weighs at least twenty pounds!"

"I struggled with it for forty minutes, then the line snapped!"

As the driver spoke, his expression became pained, as if he were recalling a failed relationship.

"Forty minutes, all for nothing."

That's a real shame.

"What a pity? That's a real pity!"

The driver sighed, "I couldn't sleep for two days after I got back. Every time I closed my eyes, I could see that fish jumping out of the water and flicking its tail."

Jiang Qian couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing.

The driver feigned anger, cursing and swearing, "The wickedness of human nature! The world is going to the dogs, morality is corrupt!"

"Why does everyone want to laugh when they hear this?!"

The car exited the elevated road and turned onto a rural road leading to the dam and reservoir. On both sides were vast fields of farmland and scattered houses, and the air was filled with the smell of soil and grass.

After driving for another ten minutes or so, we could see the outline of the reservoir dam in the distance.

The parking lot below the dam was already quite full of cars; Jiang Qian roughly counted at least twenty or thirty.

Wow, there are quite a few people here today.

The driver parked the car, turned off the engine, and took out his equipment from the trunk—a complete set of platform fishing gear: a folding chair, a bait bucket, a fishing stand, and a landing net, all packed full.

The two walked towards the reservoir, one after the other.

Before we even reached the shore, we heard a burst of lively laughter and chatter.

A dozen or so people gathered in twos and threes, some adjusting equipment, some chatting, creating a lively atmosphere.

A middle-aged man wearing a fisherman's hat was talking to the person next to him: "Brother Li, I watched your video of the upturned lips. The technique was really beautiful, textbook-level."

The man called Brother Li laughed and waved his hand, "Not at all, I can't compare to you. Your meter-long bass is the real beast."

"Hey, what are you talking about? I was just lucky."

"You're being too modest. In our area, who doesn't admire your lure fishing skills?"

"No, no, no, that won't do. Brother Zhou is the real boss."

Another guy in a windbreaker chimed in, "Don't drag me into this, I'm just doing this for fun, you guys are the real experts."

As Jiang Qian listened to the mutual flattery, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

He was all too familiar with this scene; it was exactly the same as the atmosphere of mutual flattery in academia…

It's a bit disgusting.

Boss Ji spotted Jiang Qian from afar and quickly walked over: "Brother Jiang, you've arrived!"

People around him glanced at him, all looking at Jiang Qian.

After all, Boss Ji was the host, and he was the one who greeted almost all the big shots. But looking at Jiang Qian's youthful appearance, they felt that this person did not seem to be a big influencer.

Ignoring their stares, Jiang Qian looked at Boss Ji and nodded with a smile:

"Here you are, Brother Ji."

Boss Ji glanced at his equipment: "Lure fishing?"

"Um."

"Okay, okay, there are a few good spots over there, take your pick."

Boss Ji lowered his voice: "To be honest, the big influencers I invited have some fame, but their abilities vary greatly."

"If you can do something outstanding today, I'll have all the promotional material for later."

Jiang Qian smiled but didn't respond.

He wouldn't dare open the champagne halfway through the game.

He glanced at the terrain along the reservoir bank. Several so-called good spots had already been taken by those big V's and their photographers, with long lenses and tripods set up nearby, looking like they were there to shoot a documentary.

Jiang Qian didn't go that way. Instead, he turned around and walked to the east side of the reservoir, finding a relatively quiet corner.

The location is somewhat remote, with a patch of reeds on the side, so the view isn't very open. However, the water is relatively calm, and you can occasionally see tiny ripples.

He put down his bag and began assembling his lure rod.

I was getting dressed when a familiar voice came from beside me.

"Hey young man, you're here too?"

Jiang Qian looked up and saw that the rideshare driver was carrying his pile of fishing gear and had set up a folding chair about seven or eight meters away.

"Master, you've chosen this side too?"

The driver chuckled: "There are too many people over there, I don't like joining in the crowd."

"And don't be fooled by those good spots; once there are too many people, the fish will escape."

"On the contrary, in these more secluded places, the fish aren't startled, so they might bite even better."

Jiang Qian nodded: "What you said makes sense."

The driver sat down in the folding chair and began skillfully adjusting the float and baiting the bait, saying as he worked, "My name is Lao Chen, you can just call me Brother Chen."