Let's go back to 2008, starting with a recreational fishing park.

Below the stage at the fishing spot, Jiang Xia called out to the crowd, "Now, I'll explain the rules and time of the competition. Please be quiet and don't talk!"

After the crowd quieted down, Jiang Xia picked up a megaphone and began explaining the match time and rules.

This information is included in the competition handbook provided when you register.

However, Jiang Xia will definitely give his speech again on site before the competition begins.

According to the information gathered by Jiang Xia and Su Qing, the competition will last for three days.

The first morning consisted of the competition ceremony and a one-hour warm-up session.

In the afternoon, the main competition will begin, at which time 50 contestants will be eliminated.

The second day will be the most intense, eliminating a total of 100 contestants!

The third day will be the final.

The remaining 50 contestants (30 of whom are currently registered) will directly compete to determine the top 20, top 10, and top three.

Since this was the first time hosting the competition, Jiang Xia didn't want the rules to be too complicated.

The winning rule of the competition is that, regardless of the species or size of the fish, the contestant's ranking is determined directly by the total weight of the fish caught that day.

Jiang Xia and Su Qing both thought that using weight to determine rankings was simple and straightforward, and perfect for novices like themselves who were organizing a competition for the first time.

Secondly, there are the fishing rods, bait, and other fishing gear used by the contestants.

Jiangxia did not impose any restrictions because fishing competitions are not like other events.

The competition itself is a contest of the players' experience in bait preparation, selection of fishing rod length, and adjustment of floats with lead weights.

As long as there is no use of high technology or malicious disruption of other competitors' waters, the competition will definitely be more exciting under these less restrictive rules.

The only unfair aspect of this competition was...

My fishing spot is an irregularly shaped reservoir, so there will always be areas with lots of fish and areas with few fish.

After Qin Songnian arrived, Jiang Xia asked for his opinion.

The old man said directly, "You call your competition the Fishing Masters Tournament? How could a real master be defeated by a mere position?"

If someone isn't a master, giving them a good position doesn't guarantee a good ranking.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xia realized that it made sense, and the fishing spots were chosen by the contestants themselves through a lottery.

If you end up in a bad position, you can't blame anyone else.

After all, luck is also a part of ability!

……

After explaining the competition to the contestants, Jiang Xia did not disperse the crowd, but instead had several folk song and dance troupes he had invited come on stage to perform.

This folk song and dance troupe was really just something Jiang Xia randomly found to make the competition ceremony less monotonous.

It cost him less than a thousand yuan in total. The performance lasted for an hour and was mainly the kind of song and dance troupe that supermarkets or companies hire for their openings.

With prices so low now, Jiang Xia thinks it's quite a good deal.

The performances consisted of dancing troupes with heavy makeup and folk singers singing.

These performances, while not necessarily outstanding, were certainly lively enough for the competition in Jiangxia.

Soon, it was ten o'clock, and the lottery ceremony was about to begin.

This time, it wasn't Jiang Xia standing there with a megaphone shouting.

The fishing association had found a TV host who was already dressed in a formal suit and holding a microphone, ready to go on stage.

As the clock struck ten, the host put the microphone to his lips and began to shout with great emotion:

Good morning, distinguished guests and contestants!

"In this pleasant early autumn, we gather at the foot of the beautiful green mountains for a fierce competition..."

“…………”

After a rather formal opening speech, the young couple Jiang Xiaobo and Yang Xiaoyue walked to the center of the stage carrying a large red box.

Seeing this, the host raised the microphone and said:

"Now, the competition draw numbers have been moved to the center of the stage. All participants, please line up and come up to draw your numbers one by one!"

Below the stage, the contestants who had already lined up were all a little excited when they heard the host say this.

The first person in line was a man. He looked at the crowd behind him and curiously asked the host, "Miss, can I go up and draw lots now?"

Upon hearing this, the host smiled and said, "That's fine, please come up on stage!"

Upon hearing this, the older man walked towards the center of the stage, looking slightly excited.

He walked up to the red box with the lottery numbers and reached in to pull one out.

Then, he opened his fishing spot number and looked at it, his expression slightly dejected.

Before he could even think, he heard the host nearby call out, "Please welcome the next contestant!"

Upon hearing this, he quickly walked off the stage from the other side.

Once he got down there, many people asked him curiously:

"How's it going, bro? What number did you draw?"

"Bro, what happened? Did you get a bad draw?"

“…………”

Upon hearing this, the eldest brother could only helplessly show the label in his hand to everyone.

It says the number "56" on it.

Upon seeing this number, everyone understood why the man looked so dejected.

Many anglers from Linjiang are familiar with which fishing spots are good and which are not, as they frequently visit Jiangxia.

The number 56 that this guy drew is considered one of the worse ones.

Because it's a deep water area directly below the dam, almost no one chooses this spot to fish except for a few anglers who love catching big fish.

"It's alright, brother. This spot has lots of big fish, so it might not be any worse than other spots."

"Yeah, bro, I've seen you a few times when I come here to play, and I think you're pretty good. Don't be discouraged!"

Several fellow anglers nearby offered words of comfort to the man, who was feeling dejected.

What they said wasn't wrong; this guy's fishing skills are indeed quite good.

Originally, he participated in this competition not expecting to win the championship, but he felt that he still had a chance to get a ranking.

I just didn't expect...

Before the anglers on this side had even finished comforting the man, cheers erupted from the crowd on the other side.

It turns out that a fellow angler behind them had drawn fishing spot number 16.

This is one of the best spots in the Jiangxia fishing area.

If you draw this position, as long as your fishing skills aren't too bad, you should be able to reliably make it into the top 20.

Hearing the cheers from the other side, the older brother on this side looked even more dejected.

He looked at the number plate in his hand, and finally gritted his teeth, deciding to calm down and focus on fishing, and not let luck defeat him.

On the other side, Jiang Xia watched the lively scene from a distance without coming over to the stage.

There was a host for the ceremony, so he didn't offer much help here.

Moreover, he was also afraid that some anglers who drew bad spots would come and complain to him, so it was better to stay away.