The competition they organized this time, though not inviting professional anglers, was still filled with folk angling experts possessing rich experience.
"Mr. Lin Yang, your terms are not impossible, but have you thought this through? If it’s a team event, the performance of your teammates will also affect your overall score."
"Of course, I’ve thought it through. If you agree, then please register the three of us."
"Uh, okay!"
The beautiful host quickly nodded and agreed upon seeing his determination.
After she detailed the location and time of the day after tomorrow’s competition to Lin Yang and his group, and handed each of them a promotional flyer for the competition, she rushed back to the station ecstatically.
The fact that they managed to invite Lin Yang to their competition was completely unexpected and would definitely bring substantial traffic to the event.
After the other party left, Lin Yang and his two friends also packed up and left the shores of the Liuyang River.
The small fish they caught this time were all released back into the river, and as for the larger fish weighing more than half a pound, except for the big protruding-mouth fish, all were taken to the farmers’ market to be sold.
The large protruding-mouth fish naturally became their extra meal at noon.
In the afternoon, the trio stayed in the hotel, not venturing out. To prepare for the competition the day after next, Lin Yang imparted some fishing techniques to the two.
The next day, he specifically took them to the riverbank, letting them practice in real conditions.
...
Soon, the day of the competition arrived.
In Tansha City, between the Xiangjiang and the shores of the Liuyang River, a massive open-air stage was erected on the riverside, surrounded by barricades, with numerous cameras capturing the event from all angles.
Below the stage, Lin Yang and Yue’er were already seated early in the contestant area.
At that moment, Li Xiaopeng said, "Who would have thought? The spot where we fished before is quite close to here. Today’s competition is also in this area."
Lin Yang nodded, "That’s normal. The Xiangjiang represents Xiang Province, and the Liuyang River symbolizes Tansha City. Choosing this place for the opening ceremony is very meaningful."
The pair chatted for a while, and soon the hostess who had invited them to the competition took the stage again.
"Hello, everyone. Welcome to the live site of the third Tansha City leisure fishing competition. I am the host, Xu Ran. By the waters of Xiang, on the banks of the Liuyang, we meet here..."
The female host stood on the stage speaking fluently; after some preliminary remarks, she began to introduce the competition rules.
This competition’s format was based on teams, with a maximum of three people per team. Apart from the team members, other personnel could also be present but could not engage in any action directly related to the angling process, such as assisting with netting fish or fetching items.
The allowed actions included taking photos, fetching water, and fetching food—actions completely unrelated to the fishing process.
A total of 20 teams participated in this competition, comprising 60 people in total, and the total duration of the competition was four hours. For fishing spots, three spots made up one group, randomly drawn.
After the introduction of the rules, the host immediately announced the official start of the competition.
All participating teams chose a representative to come on stage and draw lots for their positions.
As each team representative took the stage, the host symbolically introduced their information, starting with the first to draw lots.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the team you see drawing lots first is a local internet-famous angler team from Tansha City, named ’Lotus Pond Triumvirate.’
Because all three are from a small village called Lotus Pond, originally just ordinary rural youths, but due to livestreaming their fishing, they became locally famous. They have drawn fishing spot number 14."
After the first team’s representative finished drawing lots, the host continued to introduce the next team.
About twenty to thirty minutes later, it was finally Lin Yang’s turn to take the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the team you now see as the twentieth and last to draw lots in this competition is represented by angler Lin Yang, who is also a fishing livestreamer and considered one of the most skilled anglers in this competition..."
Lin Yang casually drew, pulling out number 13. Since there were only 20 fishing spots, and they were the last to take the stage, they had already known where their spot was located.
The position at spot number 13 was not bad, but definitely could not compare to the adjacent Emperor’s spot.
As the draw concluded for all the groups, all participating teams had their fishing positions determined.
Each team’s reaction to their draw varied, showing both happiness and concern since the natural fishing spots by the river varied in quality.
Among the happiest were the first to appear, the Lotus Pond Triumvirate, who had drawn the universally acknowledged best spot number 14, also known as the Emperor’s spot, which was always highly sought after under normal circumstances.
After the drawing for spots concluded, Lin Yang, Yue’er, and Li Xiaopeng, grabbed their fishing gear and located their designated area at fishing spot number 13.
To their right, the Lotus Pond Triumvirate had already settled in.
The three were highly uniform in their preparation, all using 6.3-meter rods, with tender corn as their bait, and fermented corn for baiting the fish.
On Lin Yang’s side.