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

Due to the weather, many athletes' results in the second half of the competition on the second day were still not optimistic.

Even until the end of the competition, no one had surpassed contestant number 56's weight of 29.8 jin (approximately 14.4 catties).

When it rains, the fish stop biting; there's nothing anyone can do about it.

After the results of today's competition were announced, Jiang Xia saw Li Dafu walking towards him with regret.

"What's wrong, Brother Li?" Jiang Xia asked with concern when he saw that the other party didn't look well.

"Sigh..." Li Dafu sighed and said, "I was eliminated by less than one point..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xia didn't know how to comfort his good older brother.

Today's second round of the competition was the most intense one he had planned, and it would directly eliminate 100 contestants.

Unexpectedly, a sudden storm disrupted his original plans.

Many contestants' performances were hampered by factors such as wind and waves, erratic fish feeding, and blurred vision, resulting in a very close race among all the players.

This made the already brutal elimination rounds even more intense, several times more so than I had imagined!

This situation was something Jiang Xia had never anticipated.

After all, who would have thought that a heavy rain would suddenly start during a match!

Even if we could only watch the weather forecast on TV now, and even in future generations we could see weather forecasts for a long time in the future, they wouldn't be accurate and could only be used as a simple reference.

However, despite the numerous unexpected events in this second match, the emergence of a player like number 56 in such severe weather gave the competition a deeper meaning.

As the organizer of the competition, Jiang Xia was quite satisfied with the result.

"Dude, it's just a game, why are you so concerned about the result?"

Jiang Xia handed Li Dafu a cigarette and said with a smile.

Li Dafu took the cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag:

"Mainly, I genuinely thought I was a pretty good fisherman!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xia quickly chimed in, "Brother Li, your skills are truly impressive! I think it's just that you got a mediocre fishing spot and it's been raining heavily today, otherwise you would definitely have made it to the finals!"

Upon hearing this, Li Dafu waved his hand and said with a wry smile:

"Brother, don't try to comfort me. If it weren't for that guy number 56 showing up, I might have believed what you're saying myself."

"But even though their position is so bad (number 56), they still managed to get such good results. I'm pretty sure of my own abilities now."

Jiang Xia could only sigh and tell Li Dafu to watch more online fishing tutorials, which would definitely improve his skills.

The two talked for a while and finished their cigarette.

Li Dafu casually tossed his cigarette butt into the rain and said to Jiang Xia, "It's raining, so I'll head back now and come watch the final tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xia invited, "No, brother, how about we go for a drink together later?"

Li Dafu waved his hand: "I won't drink today. You still have to entertain those judges and referees. After your competition is over, let's find a place to have a good drink."

Jiang Xia nodded upon hearing this: "Alright, it's raining, Brother Li, please drive carefully on the road."

…………

After seeing Li Dafu off, Jiang Xia found Ma Yuzhen from the fishing association and told her that it was still raining and it was inconvenient for the restaurant to deliver food, so she asked Ma Yuzhen to call the others to come with her to Fuyuan Restaurant for a meal.

Ma Yuzhen didn't object to this. She didn't care where they ate; it was raining, and she just wanted to finish her meal early and go back to the hotel to rest.

After coordinating with Ma Yuzhen, Jiang Xia called over the people at the fishing spot and had them take several cars from the fishing association to give directions to others.

Afterwards, Jiang Xia drove his van alone to Fuyuan Restaurant.

He needs to arrange things like rooms and food in advance.

……

Upon arriving at Fuyuan Restaurant, the owner, Sun Fuxing, hurriedly came out to greet us:

"Xia, is it still 9 tables today?"

Jiang Xia thought for a moment and declined, saying, "We'll see when the time comes; we probably won't need nine tables."

Because the tables at the fishing spot are small, each table can only seat six or seven people, so more tables will be booked.

You can come to Fuyuan Restaurant for a meal. Their private rooms can seat at least ten or twenty people, and there's definitely no problem seating ten people at a table.

That way, we won't need to order so many tables.

After Jiang Xia explained, Sun Fuxing realized what was happening and quickly led Jiang Xia to the hall:

"Calculate how many people are coming in total, and I'll arrange tables for you. I estimate five tables will be enough."

"Okay." Jiang Xia nodded and followed Sun Fuxing to order the dishes.

In the end, a total of six private rooms were used.

The six judges from the fishing association, along with Ma Yuzhen, sat at one table, while Jiang Xia and his father, Jiang Jianguo, also joined them.

There were 20 referees at two tables, and Jiang Jianjun brought along the uncles and elders from the village who came to help maintain order at another table.

Then came Wang Guifen, the mother, along with Zhao Dahai and his wife, Li Qiang, Jiang Xiaobo, and others, who sat at a table together.

The last table was occupied by assistants and staff from the fishing association who had come with the judges and referees.

Since we were eating at a restaurant, the waiters started serving the dishes not long after we arrived.

Jiang Xia sat down next to Qin Songnian, warmed a pot of wine for the old man, and poured it for him:

"Mr. Qin, how are you feeling today?"

Qin Songnian looked at the wine glass that Jiang Xia had poured so much that it was almost overflowing and laughed, "You little rascal, you really know how to pour wine without wasting it."

Then, he stroked his beard and sighed:

"You know what, even though it's raining today, it gives this old man a really special feeling!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jianguo, who was standing nearby, smiled and said, "Then, Mr. Qin, would you like to comment on today's match?"

"Yes, President, today's competition is quite special. Could you summarize it for us?"

“…………”

Soon, the other judges at the table also started urging Qin Songnian to give his comments.

When asked to comment on the match, Qin Songnian simply smiled and said:

"I won't comment on the old man's remarks, but Xiao Jiang's line, 'Let the storm rage, I'll remain calm and composed,' already made today's competition very meaningful."

After saying this, before anyone else could speak, Jin Qinsongnian asked Jiang Xia:

"Little guy, your Linjiang City doesn't have a fishing association yet, does it?"

Jiang Xia was puzzled by these words, wondering what the old man meant, but he nodded immediately.

Seeing Jiang Xia nod, Qin Songnian looked at him earnestly and smiled, "Little guy, how about I add a burden to your load?"

"What?" Jiang Xia was initially confused, but then he cautiously asked, "You mean?"

"Yes!" Qin Songnian nodded. "I see there are a lot of fishing enthusiasts in Linjiang, so I was thinking of having you, little guy, set up a fishing association in Linjiang City. Would you like to?"