The phone was right, these guys looked like they had battled by the river all day, fully equipped with bamboo charcoal sunscreen clothing and fishing hats.
"Yo, Brother Liu is here! Please come inside!" Yue Feng quickly called out.
Liu Fengnian chuckled as he glanced at Yue Feng, "You, my friend, are not being very honest. With the kind of relationship we brothers have, you still make these exclusive items that are not for sale but only for gifting!"
Yue Feng scratched his head, "Oh please, don't take it too hard, bro. It's just that business hasn't been good at the store. I have to pay the rent in another ten days, which is ten thousand a year, and I earn just a few bucks each day! The main reason is our internal version of bait, it has a few ingredients that are very hard to come by, so it's just not possible to openly sell them. That's why I had to resort to this!"
"The bait, let me see what kind of bait can help you catch sixty or seventy pounds of fish in Wangjiazhuang. Bring it out for us to see first!"
Yue Feng took out the prepared bait from a corner behind the counter and said, "It's really not as magical as you think. It just has a few precious enticing ingredients added to the commercially available version! Don't judge it by its ordinary appearance, the effect is definitely solid!"
"Alright, I trust what you say. Today all four of us brothers have met your demands and followed the rules to post on social media. Can we get our reward now?"
Yue Feng nodded, "No problem, one pack each, all prepared for you!" After saying this, Yue Feng took out the portions for the other three and placed them all on the counter.
"Okay then, we'll be going now, haven't had a proper lunch yet and we are already starving, let's go find somewhere to eat. We'll have a chance to try out that magical bait you mentioned!"
"Not in a hurry, are you? You can eat anywhere, it's been such a long time and I hardly got to really know you guys, let me treat you tonight. How about we go to the local restaurant across the street for a drink? Let's deepen our friendship!"
"This... might not be a good idea."
"Off we go, what's the harm! Leave the bait here, we'll come back for it after dinner!" Yue Feng greeted them warmly and pulled Liu Fengnian and the three others to go have dinner.
The party of five, Yue Feng reserved a private room and then warmly ordered the restaurant's signature dishes, six dishes and one soup, a fairly decent standard.
Originally, they just visited the store a few times for business, but now having the chance to sit together, Yue Feng really got to know these few friends.
Liu Fengnian, a deputy factory manager overseeing production at a machinery factory, an old angler with at least fifteen years of experience. Wealthy and skilled in fishing.
Wang Dong, worked at the same factory as Liu Fengnian, a workshop supervisor. He had been fishing for seven and a half years, had less time for fishing, but a strong addiction to it.
Wei Liang, self-employed, owning a car accessories shop, had been fishing for six years.
Ma Boqiang had been fishing for four and a half years, his grandfather the top official at the local government, barely qualified as a second-generation czar. This guy, with no regular job, was the most obsessed with fishing, always either on a fishing trip or on his way to one, meeting Yue Feng for the first time.
If it wasn't for their shared love of fishing, these folks likely wouldn't cross paths at all, but now, often fishing together, their relationship had grown quite strong.
Previously, Wang Dong was just a small team leader at the machinery factory workshop, promoted under Old Liu's wing.
The meal and pleasantries skipped over, after a fulfilling meal and drinks, Yue Feng and the group really got comfortable with each other..
In the eyes of Liu Fengnian and the others, Yue Feng's fishing skills were "excellent", he had plenty of sought-after items not found on the market, and with his cheerful and generous personality, it seemed they would be interacting a lot more.
Watching the four satisfied men drive away, Yue Feng's mind once again heard the system's settlement voice.
Ding! Interpersonal relationships are the primary productive force. Congratulations, your understanding of basic business management has deepened by one point! Reward Points +400!
A meal cost Yue Feng over two hundred yuan, but these four hundred points became an unexpected gain for Yue Feng.
Adding the newly gained 900 points from today and the additional six hundred or so points from the store's promotion over the past two days, along with the unused points saved from before, Yue Feng's points balance had risen to 2710. Another fishing promotion by the riverside tomorrow would undoubtedly break the 3000-point barrier.
Looking at the points balance in the system record, Yue Feng became impatient again. Why not use his two chances for a lucky draw right now?
Once the thought emerged, Yue Feng could no longer suppress it. After returning to the store and locking the door, Yue Feng silently wished to draw a prize.
Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained the Basic Taiwan Fishing Skill "Basic Casting".
"Basic Casting": A standard and stable casting method is essential in the sport of Taiwan Fishing,
Skill effect: Casting accuracy +60%, fish catch rate +5%,
In an instant, Yue Feng acquired some new knowledge in his mind.
Before receiving this reward, if someone talked to Yue Feng about casting, he might have been quite confident, especially since he hadn't caught much while fishing in Taiwan.
But after acquiring this knowledge, he realized how shallow his previous self-assessment had been.
The knowledge provided by the system detailed how to organize hooks and sub-lines, how to cast the line assembly with the right force, and how to adjust the landing points of the float and bait with subtle wrist movements.
After acquiring the Basic Casting skill, even the most critical Fishing Master could find no fault in Yue Feng's casting technique.
Knowledge-based rewards might be intangible, but Yue Feng didn't find them useless. After reviewing the content, he happily activated his second chance for a draw!
Ding! Congratulations, you have received "Handmade Reed Crucian Carp Floats" ×10
"Handmade Reed Crucian Carp Floats": Handmade reed floats that are available in the market, with a jujube-core shape, lead weight of 1.3g, and robust overall performance. The float's body uses high-tech light paint, making it lightweight and eye-catching. The float performs very crisp and tidy actions, making it a powerful tool for catching small-scale crucian carp in Taiwan Fishing.
In front of Yue Feng's counter, there suddenly appeared a small bundle of reed floats, each individually packaged in a clear tube, a total of ten.
These floats did not vary in size or have any manufacturer's logo. Other than slightly different reed patterns used in making the floats, the bodies were all identical in size.
Here's a bit of general knowledge: Reed has been used for making fishing floats for decades. Although they are called "reed floats," they are not the hollow reeds one might imagine.
The material used for making floats is a plant that grows wild in the south called Southern Rush. The stems of this plant are uniform in texture, flexible yet with very low density, perfect for making floats. Regardless of the price range, high or low, all reed floats are made from Southern Rush.
Currently, on the market, a high-quality handmade reed float can sell for a high price of one to two or three hundred yuan. For example, floats produced by leading float manufacturer Alu have regular prices over a hundred, and the prices for some rare commemorative collector's editions can multiply several times, even up to ten times or more.
Take the Dog Year commemorative limited edition as an example; a set of four floats, along with a beautifully crafted Float Box, is priced at 3000 yuan. That's nearly equivalent to a common person's monthly salary.