Back to the Past to Become a Fishing King-Chapter 561 - 322: Xiaobao’s Choice

"Oh? Becoming a professional angler? That surprises me a bit! I thought you would join the live streaming team instead!"

Zhang Yang glanced at Xiaobao again, whose eyes were firm and unshaken.

"In the future, I also want to be like the boss, honing my fishing skills and making a living from it!" Xiaobao repeated his choice again.

"Alright, then start training with Liu Zi! The cycle for cultivating this type of competitive angler is relatively long, at least measured in years!

During this time frame, you don't need to do any specific work; training is your job!

A basic salary and living expenses will be provided monthly, enough to cover your daily expenses. Any questions? Feel free to bring them up!"

"Uh, how much is the salary?" Xiaobao asked shamelessly.

"Three thousand yuan a month, and all training equipment and supplies are provided free by the company. The costs for attending competitions are also covered by the company!

If you achieve good results, the company won't charge any fees for the bonuses. After deducting the covered costs, the rest is yours to distribute as you wish! But one thing, the trophies and honors must stay with the company!

Additionally, the company will sign a five-year professional angler contract with you, with some basic restrictions."

When Xiaobao heard the term "basic salary and living expenses," he thought it would be just a thousand or so at most, considering that pursuing competitive fishing initially yields no output for a long time.

What he didn't expect was that Zhang Yang offered a starting salary of three thousand yuan a month.

This income might not be impressive to some high-income groups, but at that particular time, three thousand yuan a month was not a small amount.

Many old workers at the bait factory, performing heavy physical labor, only received a bit over four thousand yuan in hand.

"Alright, I'll sign! I have another question, where will I live? Do I need to rent a place myself?"

Xiaobao agreed without hesitation but quickly raised his own question.

"No need, the company has dormitories. You can share a room with Liu Zi! There's a cafeteria for meals, and the conditions are quite generous!

Later, head to the warehouse to pick up a new set of gear and start training with Liu Zi!

I'll find some time to test your basic skills and devise a personalized training plan!"

"Alright! Thanks, boss!" Finally integrating into a new team, Xiaobao smiled brightly, in a very good mood.

"Alright, that's all from my side, you can get moving now!

If there's anything in life or work, feel free to call me, my phone number is 139... Settle in first and adjust your life pace!"

The simple one-on-one talk ended, and Xiaobao got up and left the office, heading straight to the company warehouse.

With meals and accommodation provided and even equipped with a full set of fishing gear for free, Xiaobao felt a bit overwhelmed by the benefits. Suddenly, all the hard work during that half month at the factory felt worthwhile.

After finishing the conversation with Xie Xiaobao, the smile on Zhang Yang's face slowly faded as he looked at the summary report Old Liu had sent on his WeChat.

The report on Xiaobao's situation was quite comprehensive. This young guy was outgoing, emotionally intelligent, and handled people and matters appropriately, with a good eye for details.

However, after listing his strengths, several shortcomings were noted, such as lacking a certain sense of responsibility and being somewhat cunning and clever.

In some situations, he would even lie shamelessly, so his character could only barely pass, nowhere near as high as in other areas.

According to the initial plan by Zhang Yang and Old Liu, the two-week training test was something that Xie Xiaobao was unlikely to persist with, and eliminating him would have been straightforward.

Unexpectedly, Xie Xiaobao stubbornly persevered and gradually adapted to the high-intensity work at the bait factory.

This indirectly saved Xie Xiaobao's failing overall score, leading Zhang Yang to decide to give him a chance to join the team.

At the current company scale, supporting an idle person was no longer a burden for Zhang Yang.

Having him train with Liu Zi and Meng Fan and pursue competitions was a path too; who could say for sure which cloud brings rain?

What if Xiaobao applied the effort of working in the factory to his training? Achieving results wasn't impossible.

Once this young guy was settled, it was time to test his business level.

At 1:30 in the afternoon, Zhang Yang, who was resting on a small bed in the office, was awakened by the alarm clock.

After clearing his mind for a few seconds, Zhang Yang got up, stretched lazily, washed his face, and then leisurely went downstairs.

When Zhang Yang arrived at the practice pool behind the office building, Liu Zi and Xiaobao were enthusiastically practicing their casting.

The two young guys, barely into adulthood, weren't even using fishing umbrellas, completely engrossed with their straightened backs, holding the rods while catching fish.

They were fishing in a small crucian carp pond, and Zhang Yang didn't say a word, silently standing behind them, observing their performance.

The fact proved that systematic training could significantly enhance an angler's overall performance.

After extensive training, Liu Zi demonstrated a very solid level of basic skills while fishing. Each time he cast the line, the bait on the double hooks landed almost precisely in the same spot.

In contrast, though Xiaobao's casting seemed alright, the details couldn't withstand any scrutiny.

His casting force was incorrect, and control over the fishing gear's airborne posture was unstable, resulting in a wide scatter of bait landing points, with spots spread all over within a forty or fifty-centimeter radius in front of him.

The inconsistency in casting basics led to a substantial difference in the fish gathering and retention effect under the same fish conditions.

The bobber on Liu Zi's side showed a significantly higher rate of fish bites, whereas Xiaobao kept adjusting the bait, scratching his head, but still couldn't improve his fish-catching efficiency.

Zhang Yang silently observed their performance from behind, thoroughly noting Xiaobao's weaknesses in basic skills.

"Hey, no, no, no, no! Your side should be a bit shallower than mine! Liu Zi, you're not being fair, your spot's better than mine!"

Thirty minutes into the fish-catching competition, as it became evident Xiaobao had lost, he began to play tricks, deliberately finding issues to bluff his way through the loss.

"No way, you chose the spot first! Are you cheating?"

Liu Zi, not as slick-tongued as Xiaobao, explained while frowning to show his dissatisfaction.

"It's my first time here, how would I know which side is better or worse? You've been practicing here, you must know better than me! No way, this round doesn't count!"

Just as the duo argued over who was right and whether the fish-counting counted, Zhang Yang casually said, "Liu Zi, get up, and switch fishing spots with Xiaobao! Continue with the current fish situation and do another round, I'll be the judge!"

Upon hearing Zhang Yang speak, the pair almost simultaneously turned their heads back.

"Boss!"

"Chief!" They quickly greeted him.

Zhang Yang waved his hand: "Carry on with what you're doing, quickly do another round, and I'll judge you!"

Familiar as Liu Zi was with the fishing conditions, he nodded: "Fine, we'll switch spots, but no matter how you do it, you won't beat me!"

Xiaobao found himself in a bind. He had intended to bluff his way out, but now the boss had heard, it seemed like trouble.

"Tch, let's see!" Trembling inside, but with pride unyielding, Xiaobao still didn't concede and continued bluffing.

Quickly, the two got up and switched places. Zhang Yang set the alarm clock, and a new round of fish-catching began!

Thanks to the consolidated fish spots Liu Zi created in the last round, Xiaobao's side initially had a quick fish rise, whereas Liu Zi's area experienced fewer bites, fishing where Xiaobao had set up.

But this state didn't last long. A mature angler continually adjusts the fish situation in the fishing spot, a principle Liu Zi had thoroughly grasped.

As for Xiaobao? He managed to desolate a perfectly good spot.

In the last ten minutes, the fish bites became sparse again, while Liu Zi's current spot began yielding double fish again!

Needless to say, despite the change of position, Liu Zi still won handily by a large margin!