Chapter 67: Unlucky Jiang Seven!

"Achoo!"

Jiang Fan sneezed again, rubbed his nose, and continued fishing.

By this time, seventy or eighty fishing enthusiasts were already seated along the North Gate River near the paper mill.

As for the adjacent paper mill, it had ceased operations. Without the unbridled discharge of wastewater, the water in the North Gate River had become quite clear, and the foul odor had diminished significantly.

While Jiang Fan and the others were fishing for that massive creature, quite a few more anglers arrived, all drawn there after watching Jiang Fan's live stream.

At first, they didn't believe Jiang Fan would fish in a place like this.

Who would have thought that upon arrival, they would see so many fellow anglers and instantly get excited.

"Which one is Master Handsome Xia?"

"The master got banned during his live stream today, and it's pitch black here you can't even see your own hand in front of your face, who knows?"

"Should we go around and check one by one?"

"Don't disturb the master's fishing. I heard that massive monster carrying the official twenty-thousand-yuan bounty is right here. Let's hurry up and fish, if someone else beats us to it, we'll be kicking ourselves in regret."

Among the crowd of anglers, Liu Zhoucheng and He Qiang also cheerfully made their appearance.

He Qiang: "Hahaha, Director Liu, this is the place. I finally found it!"

Liu Zhoucheng: "Are you sure the brat is right here?"

He Qiang: "When I was watching the live stream today, there was a paper mill near the spot where Brother Jiang was fishing. Look, isn't this the paper mill? And look at all those anglers by the riverbank, it definitely has to be here!"

Liu Zhoucheng: "That little brat—after being hauled in for disturbing the peace, I bailed him out and he didn't even say a word of thanks, and now he sneaks off here to fish. The worst part is he didn't even tell me. Unforgivable, absolutely unforgivable!"

Soon, Liu Zhoucheng and He Qiang located Jiang Fan. Liu Zhoucheng was overjoyed, "Brat, why are you hiding in a corner?"

Jiang Fan turned his head, "Old man??? What are you doing here?"

"Fishing, of course!" Liu Zhoucheng pulled out his fishing rod and a small stool.

Hearing that the thousand-jin giant creature was around these parts, he and He Qiang had come to try their luck as well.

They had planned to come at night when there were fewer people, making it easier to reel it in, but who could have known it would be packed like a sea of people.

With that, Liu Zhoucheng sat down right next to Jiang Fan. But for some reason, it felt like a wooden stake was blocking the spot. It was pitch black all around and impossible to see clearly, so in a flash of annoyance, he suddenly gave it a kick!

"Aah!!"

The wooden stake let out a miserable shriek before plunging straight into the river!

Liu Zhoucheng: "??? Wait, did... did that wooden stake turn into a spirit?!"

Jiang Fan: "!! Old man, you just kicked a person."

A short while later, Jiang Seven swam back ashore, cursing up a storm, "Damn it, I was sitting there minding my own business, who the hell kicked me?!"

***

Jiang Fan: "Cousin, are you alright?"

Jiang Seven (▼皿▼#): "I almost choked on that sewage!"

"Who?! Exactly who did this?!"

Jiang Fan pointed at Liu Zhoucheng beside him, "It was my father-in-law..."

"Old man, let me introduce you, this is my cousin, Jiang Seven."

Liu Zhoucheng: "Oh boy! That wooden stake just now turned out to be a black guy?!"

Jiang Seven (▼ヘ▼#): "I am not a black guy!"

Liu Zhoucheng: "Then why are you so dark? If I'd known, I wouldn't have mistaken you for a wooden stake and kicked you into the river."

Jiang Seven: "I got tanned by the sun, damn it! You old bastard!"

Liu Zhoucheng cleared his throat, "Ahem, well, my sincere apologies. It was just too dark, didn't notice."

"Since you're the little brat's cousin, you must be the little-little brat. Come on, make some room for me to squeeze in."

With that, Liu Zhoucheng wedged himself right into the fishing spot shared by Jiang Fan and Jiang Seven.

Jiang Seven was depressed beyond belief. It seemed he really had gotten quite dark from the sun. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone unnoticed and gotten drop-kicked into the river.

"Say, brat, getting any bites?" Liu Zhoucheng asked while fiddling with his rod.

Jiang Fan: "There are no fish here, just a bunch of small tilapia. The main goal is to catch that thousand-jin giant catfish."

Liu Zhoucheng: "So, you've actually seen that thousand-jin monster?"

Jiang Fan: "Saw it, yes. Even took a video, see for yourself if you don't believe me."

Jiang Fan showed Liu Zhoucheng the video on his phone, and Liu Zhoucheng's eyes lit up with excitement, "Holy crap, that really is a massive fish! If I manage to hook this fish, I'm instantly throwing a banquet for the entire company so everyone can properly admire the big catch I hauled in!"

Jiang Fan: "Keep dreaming. I might not even be able to pull it up, let alone you."

"Old man, did you come here all by yourself?"

Liu Zhoucheng replied while staring at the video of the giant fish, "No way, He Qiang is here too. He just went to take a piss."

"Hahaha, I'm back, Brother Fan. Getting old means you can't hold your bladder." He Qiang walked over with a grin.

"Huh? Why is there a wooden stake right here???"

He Qiang suddenly lashed out with a kick!

"Aah!!"

Jiang Seven tumbled into the river for the second time.

He Qiang: "??? Can wooden stakes talk now?"

Jiang Fan: "..."

Liu Zhoucheng: "..."

Jiang Seven climbed back up, "Who? Who kicked me this time?!"

He Qiang: "Holy cow, it was a person!"

With that, He Qiang hurriedly stepped forward to grab Jiang Seven's hand, bowing his head in apology, "So sorry, so sorry, buddy. You're just too dark, I thought you were a wooden stake, so I naturally gave you a kick!"

Jiang Seven ( (〝▼皿▼) ): "Again?! I know I'm dark!"

"Aah! I'm bruised all over! If you weren't an old man, I'd kick you right back!"

He Qiang awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

Jiang Fan: "Cousin, if this keeps up, you might as well hang a sign on your back. Otherwise, someone else is bound to show up in a minute and you'll take a few more kicks."

Jiang Seven: "I won't write a damn thing! Murderers! I'm just going to stand here, surely nobody will mistake me for a wooden stake and knock me down again!"

He Qiang: "Standing doesn't look like a wooden stake, it looks like a tree."

Jiang Seven (╬◣д◢): "Shoo, shoo, get lost!"

He Qiang: "It's mainly because there are no lights, it's way too dark. And you're so dark yourself—if you don't look closely, you really can't see a thing."

Jiang Seven muttered curses under his breath and fell silent.

Since he couldn't be seen standing anyway, he might as well stay crouching.

He Qiang chuckled, "Come on, make room for me too."

Liu Zhoucheng: "There's no space left, go find somewhere else!"

He Qiang: "Hard to find, anglers are everywhere, and it's too dark. Just squeeze in a bit, let's squeeze..."

"Aah!!"

Suddenly, Jiang Seven let out another miserable shriek and tumbled into the river once more.

"..."

Jiang Fan, Liu Zhoucheng, and He Qiang stared at each other in silence.

Liu Zhoucheng: "Didn't I tell you not to squeeze? Look at that, you squeezed the little-little brat right into the river!"

He Qiang: "No I didn't, I didn't even touch him!"

Liu Zhoucheng: "Horseshit! You totally squeezed him!"

Jiang Fan: "...Cousin, what's the situation? Are you still alive?"

A moment later, several splashing sounds echoed from the river, followed by Jiang Seven's booming laughter, "Hahaha, it's a big fish, a huge fish! I just got dragged into the water by this big fish!"