Zhang Yang crushed seven or eight packages of old corn with a steel grinder, then opened a basic yellow flour package. Besides adding herbal liquor, he didn't include anything else, mixing the bait for the next day's competition in front of the team brothers.

After crushing the old corn, the humidity was slightly high. Zhang Yang had a good sense of control, finishing the mixture without adding water, leaving it slightly moist and powdery. With a casual stir, you could vaguely see some incomplete corn bits.

Once evenly mixed in its dry state, Zhang Yang quickly added herbal liquor and clear water. After opening it up, a large basin of slightly damp bait came out.

The newly prepared bait emitted a rich aroma of liquor and fermentation. Grabbing it felt slightly sticky, unlike the fluffy pure yellow flour bait.

"Hey, today's morning damp groundbait! Take a bit for fishing, add some water, and make it into pinch bait! Use the rest as damp groundbait supplement. If the fish are biting well, you can mix in a bit of grains!" Zhang Yang distributed the bait among the brothers who were competing today.

Han Mocheng took a handful of the bait and smelled it, unable to help but exclaim, "Wow, this can be used like this? The flavor is quite authentic!"

Zhang Yang reminded again, "The natural fermentation flavor is gentler than those essential oil medicines! With herbal liquor, the groundbait will also activate quickly! I think it's enough, but pay attention to the water ratio when using it. If it dries out, it atomizes too well and attracts small fish!"

Each brother took a large package of the prepared bait, packed it in convenient bags, and stuffed them into their fishing boxes.

The next day's competition started at seven. Everyone patiently waited for a while, then began drawing lots for their seats on the event's social media account, quickly determining their spots.

Zhang Yang's luck with the draw was pretty good the next day. He was positioned near the middle of the East Bank. Section C, No. 14.

At 6:45, the head referee called out, allowing all participating anglers to enter early!

Upon hearing the call, Zhang Yang walked towards his fishing spot carrying his fishing box.

Compared to yesterday's fishing on the North Bank, where watching the float in the morning was a bit blinding, today's fishing on the East Bank was very comfortable! Add to that today's weather—a gentle second-level breeze that's neither too cold nor too hot—and Zhang Yang felt pretty good finding his fishing spot and sitting down.

However, this good mood didn't last long. Within less than a minute, a familiar figure slowly walked over carrying a fishing box.

"Wow, you're here? No. 14?" Liu Wenjun looked somewhat surprised upon seeing Zhang Yang, with a slight twitch in his eye.

Zhang Yang felt a bit frustrated upon seeing Liu Wenjun, "Yes, Brother Liu! Are you No. 13?"

"Oh no, oh no! My big prize that was halfway to being mine is going down the drain!" Liu Wenjun exaggeratedly said.

"Haha, didn't you finish at the top of your group yesterday? A champion angler and still afraid to be next to me? I'm just a mere disciple!" Zhang Yang said with a smile.

"Stop kidding! You had the highest catch in the whole group of eighty! Maybe we should team up? Regardless of who wins, split the prize half and half?" Liu Wenjun calmly suggested.

Zhang Yang smiled and shook his head, "I'm afraid not! I've got a lot of team brothers here! Besides, a competition is a competition; my team is essentially the organizer, so we can't do that!"

"No room for negotiation?"

"No negotiation!" Zhang Yang shook his head.

"Alright then! You're making sense!" Liu Wenjun reluctantly nodded, no longer pushing his luck.

"Business may not succeed, but there's respect! We can't collaborate, but I want to make one thing clear!" Zhang Yang continued.

"Alright, go ahead!"

"A competition is a competition, we're all straightforward people, and we achieve results based on ability. No shady tricks!"

"Of course! Fair is fair, all based on skill!" Liu Wenjun nodded, agreeing with Zhang Yang's sentiment.

"Good!"

...

Although the two settled on a so-called gentleman's agreement, the mood quickly changed after making those remarks.

Liu Wenjun set down his fishing box and began his pre-competition preparations.

From the corner of his eye, Zhang Yang clearly saw Liu Wenjun pouring his prepared bait and groundbait into the mixing basin again, then took out a bottle of brown-gray frosted glass liquid medicine from his fishing box.

Liu Wenjun's bait, judging by color and state, looked almost the same as Zhang Yang's team's small yellow face, also prepared as damp groundbait with soft sticky pinch bait.

But having determined no cooperation next to Zhang Yang, Old Liu added additional ingredients to his bait.

Goodness, a whole bowl of groundbait, at least four or five pounds, Old Liu opened the sprayer nozzle and poured the entire bottle of liquid into it.

The scent of the medicine quickly drifted into Zhang Yang's nose, who lightly sniffed with a slight furrow of his brows.

The scent was peculiar, a subtle fragrance without the characteristic of a heady aroma.

At first, he couldn't identify it, but after a few more seconds of smelling with furrowed brows, he finally realized.

This was a scent diluted with herbal liquor after adding floral fragrance.

Fragrances like floral scent are not widely used in fishing medicines, but Zhang Yang knows their efficacy is quite good.

Especially now, in May, during the spring season when everything grows, this scent is particularly suitable.

A champion indeed, Liu Wenjun still possesses genuine stuff, pulling out his trump card for today's competition—it seems the five pounds of groundbait went down with at least sixty or seventy milliliters of liquid. This was definitely a challenge against Zhang Yang.

"Good grief, Brother Liu, you went all out, such a strong scent!" Zhang Yang deliberately commented to Liu Wenjun.

Old Liu faked a sniff and asked, "Strong scent? Doesn't seem that way to me! This little thing has limited flavor!"

"Floral scent! Rose with a touch of magnolia!" Zhang Yang continued.

Upon hearing this, Liu Wenjun's face changed drastically, "Wow, your nose is sharp! You could pick that up? The specific one I'm using isn't on the market!"

"Haha! Happened to smell a test sample similar to yours before, got it right, huh!" Zhang Yang laughed innocently.

"Almost right! You don't plan to use some? If the scent is too mild, being next to me could be disadvantageous!"

Zhang Yang confidently shook his head, "I won't use it, when it comes to using medicine, I'm not on your level! Better to keep it steady! Whatever I can catch, I catch! Here's my bait and groundbait, small yellow face, rice for making wine, that's it!"

Liu Wenjun glanced at Zhang Yang's prepared bait, noting it had no prominent scent and was also a standard damp spread. The small portion of old crushed corn in the mix went unseen due to its small ratio and slight distance away.

"I can't fully trust what you say! I was casually chatting with some friends last night about your company. You've been expanding quite rapidly in the past two years!" Liu Wenjun continued.

"Haha, just riding the wave of self-media networks! Making videos, doing live broadcasts, earning hard cash! Our team is still in the integration stage, we don't even have a certified master!"

"At your level, steadily pursuing competitions for a few days, gaining a master title should be quite easy! How about teaming up and following a national competition for a year? Our team has quite a few people pursuing them, let's join up?" Liu Wenjun threw Zhang Yang a friendly offer.

"Sure, such good things are definitely no problem! Although I might not have the time, perhaps Han Mocheng can lead and have them learn with you guys!"

"Han Mocheng? The one who used to be in the Northwest Wolves?"

"Yes, now he's a signed angler with our company! He's also competing today, on the North Bank, towards the west!"

While speaking, Zhang Yang pointed in Han Mocheng's direction for the day.

Seeing Han Mocheng, Liu Wenjun, well-informed, couldn't help but start planning inwardly.