NOVPUB
Chapter 40: Chapter 40 Money "Master
A whole morning of effort brought three or four waves of newcomers buying formula fish bait.
Twenty bucks a pack, Zhang Yang sold over twenty packs in the morning, with over four hundred in revenue from just the black pond fish bait sales.
Alongside, some hand-tied hooks, hand-tied line sets, bobbers, and other products were sold. Another few hundred bucks were earned.
During the morning sales, Zhang Yang kept an eye out for the angler named Qian Wenbo, but he didn’t show.
Initially thinking it’d be hard for him to come, Qian Wenbo showed up at Zhang Yang’s shop around two in the afternoon along with Hou Xiaojun and two other anglers.
"Hey! It’s Master Hou! Such a rare guest, please come inside! Welcome, welcome!"
Zhang Yang saw Hou Xiaojun’s face and immediately greeted them with a smile, leading the four into the shop.
Zhang Yang’s attitude gave Hou Xiaojun some face, who smiled and whispered, "I’ve been hanging out with Lao Lang and haven’t visited since you opened. Happens to have some free time today, so I brought my friends along!"
"Feel free to look around, let me know if you need anything, I’ll make sure it’s arranged! How should I address these gentlemen? I’m Zhang Yang, you can call me Xiao Zhang!"
Hou Xiaojun introduced them one by one: "This is Qian Wenbo, this is Lou Jianye, and the last one who came in is Tang Xuebing. Unlike me, the three of them are top anglers in our W City District, they’ve won competitions!"
"I’ve heard of your great names for a long time! I’ve heard so much about you!!" Zhang Yang wore a smiling face, showing great respect to the group.
"Boss Zhang, what’s the best-selling black pond bait in the shop? Yesterday, I sat across from you, watching you and Lao Zhao constantly hooking fish, it made me green with envy!"
Qian Wenbo pretended to browse the shop, roughly getting an idea of Zhang Yang’s brands, then asked.
"You’re asking about the bait I use? Here it is! Famous Special Supply! I mixed it myself using Marukyu plus other ingredients! It’s great for breeding fish, feel free to try it!"
Zhang Yang took an unopened pack of bait from the shelf and handed it to Qian Wenbo to introduce.
"Mixed with Marukyu?" Qian Wenbo raised his eyebrows slightly after hearing it.
"Yes, is there a problem?"
"Can it be opened for a look?"
"Sure! I sealed it with a sealer, you can tear it open, even if you don’t buy it, it’s okay!"
"Then I’ll open it!" Qian Wenbo tore open the seal and poured the bait into his hands to observe.
The bait poured into his hands, besides the larger coarse food particles, the other powder particles like Super Attract are finely ground into powder form. What can you see with the naked eye?
"Indeed, it has components of Marukyu! Can you share the formula of this bait? The few of us will keep it confidential, I guarantee!"
The first half sounded normal, but Qian Wenbo abruptly asked Zhang Yang for the formula, catching Zhang Yang by surprise. Too abrupt, without any basic groundwork? They call him brother, but are they truly treating him like an ignorant kid?
"Hahaha, Master Qian, you’re joking! The bait is openly for sale, I can sell you as much as you want, but the formula is definitely not for sale! That’s our trade secret!" Zhang Yang firmly refused.
Meeting people without any acquaintance the first time and immediately asking for the bait formula, Zhang Yang didn’t know how to evaluate this type of individual.
"Look at you, I’m not asking for your formula for free! I’ll offer money to buy it from you, how about I give you a hundred bucks?"
Zhang Yang shook his head again: "It’s not about the money! Even if it’s a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand, no way! The formula isn’t originally mine, I have to be responsible to the person who told me, can’t just blurt it out!"
"You fellow, so uninteresting! We came all this way, and you give us no face at all!"
"Face must be given, a guest upon entering. If you like something, I’ll give everyone a discount. If there’s nothing appealing, sit down and have a cup of tea, it’s still showing support! But the formula, I truly can’t give!"
Zhang Yang appeared amiable and affable, but when it came to the refusal of what shouldn’t be given, he rejected without hesitation.
"Alright then, first give me five packs to try the saltiness! Aren’t you all also planning to buy bait? Let’s group together, so Zhang can give us a discount later!"
At Qian Wenbo’s invitation, the four collected a total of 11 packs of bait, 220 bucks, and after Zhang Yang finished billing them, he also added the bait he had just opened to Qian Wenbo’s convenient bag.
"Technically, bait pricing is uniform, but since it’s your first visit taking care of my business, I’ll count this pack as a gift! A small gift with deep sentiment, hope you don’t mind!
The water ratio and usage method are already written on the package, you’re all masters, I won’t play a trick before showing off. If you encounter any problem during use, feel free to ask me!
The water’s boiling, have a sip of tea!"
Throughout the process, Zhang Yang remained calm and composed, gracious and disciplined. He gave face but held his ground, no matter how much they praised, Zhang Yang poured tea when needed and added water when needed, rarely interjecting with comments. He patiently attended to the group for over an hour before they left the shop.
After leaving Zhang Yang’s shop, Qian Wenbo and his companions discussed in the group chat.
"Old Qian, where are we heading next? Market? Or Lao Gao’s shop?"
"Let’s go to the office at the market! If we take bait bought from other places to Lao Gao’s shop, surely he won’t show a good face. I haven’t seen this bait, so let’s study it ourselves!"
Qian Wenbo’s main business is trading second-hand cars, he has a dedicated office at the second-hand car market, which is their base, where they store their fishing gear next door.
Hou Xiaojun led them to Zhang Yang’s shop, obviously intending to learn by observation, and seeing their plan, he followed them to the market.
Qian Wenbo’s office had a bait bucket over a meter tall. The group opened the bait they just purchased according to the water ratio and then patiently tried and studied it.
Compared to beginners, loose cannon bait with a low water ratio opening method was quite novel, and the group used measuring cups to open the loose cannon, awkwardly pinching the bait onto hooks with brute force, casually tossing it into the tuning bucket.
At this point, an incredible scene unfolded before their eyes: the bait pinched onto hooks with force was hard and heavy, falling to the bottom like a stone lump except for a small portion of surface particles.
"Does this thing work? How come it feels a bit absurd? Such a small water ratio, opened bait should stick to hooks, it’s as hard as a stone lump, have we been fooled?"
Tang Xuebing, the youngest, couldn’t help but comment watching the first bait’s underwater state.
"I paid attention to Wang Jun’s method, the opened bait was indeed in this state! There shouldn’t be an issue; perhaps our baiting technique isn’t quite right?"
Qian Wenbo carefully recalled the scenes witnessed during angling last time and continued to study.
After a round of pondering, they finally discovered the proper baiting force for Triangle Cannon bait. This time, the two baits in water finally started normal dispersion.
"Yeah! That’s the state we’re looking for! Zhang Yang’s bait is impressive for its underwater dispersal state!"
"Master Qian is awesome!"
"When it comes to studying this thing, it’s Master Qian!"
"Next time, let’s head to the middle of the north shore early; I don’t believe they can keep getting big catches while we can’t!"
"Yes, Old Diao’s continuing the baiting game the day after tomorrow, we’ll go early to occupy the spot! I heard Zhang Yang caught over ninety pounds last time, earning over two hundred bucks!"
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