"Secret weapon?" Upon hearing this answer, Wei Song's curiosity was immediately piqued.

The jelly powder that Zhang Yang casually gave him earlier seemed unremarkable, yet in several key matches afterward, this item played a critical role.

In Wei Song's view, any bait Zhang Yang called a secret weapon must have its unique qualities.

Zhang Yang nodded: "The fish here are old hands. Regular commercial bait has limited effect. If you want to fish well, you have to switch to hard currency! Take it, and if you're interested, you can give it a try!"

"If you say it's good, then it must be good. Of course, I have to learn from you! Tsk tsk, arriving early doesn't beat arriving at the right time to snag some free bait!" Wei Song readily accepted Zhang Yang's suggestion without any hesitation.

Interestingly enough, Zhang Yang didn't have much of a friendship with this older man, but ever since they first drew lots and had a simple chat, they added each other as friends and felt a sense of camaraderie.

Later, when Zhang Yang found out the man was short on cash and lent him money, he didn't think much of it. It was purely due to a good first impression, and he found the person more and more pleasant afterward.

Afterward, Wei Song contacted Zhang Yang online a few more times, including exchanging New Year greetings. Although the two hadn't met, when they reunited, there wasn't an unfamiliar feeling; it was more like old friends reuniting.

Now, if it were someone else, Zhang Yang might have concealed the secret of the shrimp bait, but facing Wei Song, he didn't think this way and was willing to teach him his skills.

In Zhang Yang's subconscious, he has already considered this steady, solid middle-aged man as a good friend.

Soon, a group of teammates peeled the first batch of live shrimp prepared in the basin.

A box of fresh large shrimp turned into transparent shrimp meat in the hands of this group. Normally, they'd be reluctant to eat such stuff at home, but they didn't mind using it as fishing bait.

"Fresh shrimp is still the best! Leave the rest to me!"

Zhang Yang glanced at the shrimp meat, satisfied with its quality, and took out a large manual food processor from the trunk.

Many people might not know what a manual food processor is; actually, it's a kitchen tool used to mince garlic or process dumpling fillings.

The structure is a large bowl with a lid; inside is a sharp blade wheel that rotates to mash the shrimp meat when you pull the string.

Later, when shrimp bait became popular in the fishing community, this kitchen food processor got rebranded as a shrimp masher, selling for seventy to eighty when expensive, making another round of profits from fishermen. But that's a story for another time.

Zhang Yang placed the shrimp meat inside, pulling the string again and again. After about twenty pulls, he checked the mince to ensure it was finely processed, then poured it into the basin.

With the shrimp meat processed, the next step was to prepare the bait as before. Add water to dissolve it, then add expanding powder, adhering powder, and other state baits for fine-tuning, finally molding it into a ball for use!

Unlike yesterday, Zhang Yang added red food coloring to the bait, so when the bait was prepared, it appeared bright red, almost identical to commercial bait with a savory scent.

"Here, give this a shot! We've got plenty, don't worry about sparing any, just make sure to cherish it!" Zhang Yang first handed a ball of bait to Wei Song, then divided the remaining bait into six portions, one for each of the buddies.

"This... shrimp bait..."

Having watched the entire bait preparation process, Wei Song had basically grasped the idea and method, his eyes wide with an expression of undisguised puzzlement.

"This stuff is way better than frozen mackerel! What's that phrase, overwhelming force!" Zhang Yang said with a chuckle.

"Well, that's another trick learned today! Then I won't be polite!" Wei Song carefully stored the shrimp bait he received.

With the bait prepared, next came the anglers' gathering and the opening ceremony. During the waiting time, Wei Song and Zhang Yang chatted a lot about recent events, and the two enjoyed a pleasant conversation.

Before seven o'clock, Qian Wenjun, with whom Meng Fan had arranged a ten-thousand-yuan wager, arrived with Xiao Wei and the others.

"Hey! Meng Fan and Zhang Yang, the masters! Before the match starts, let's finalize the details of the wager, shall we? Among us all, you decide how we should play!"

Having lost two matches in a row yesterday, Qian Wenjun had regained his usual confidence after a night's rest. As he spoke, he tilted his head slightly, his tone and expression exuding a bit of a roguish vibe.

At this moment, Wei Song frowned and stepped forward to stand in front of Qian Wenjun.

"Erqiang, Xiao Wei, what are you up to? Zhang Yang is my friend!"

Wei Song knew Qian Wenjun and Xiao Wei well enough, and their relationship was relatively friendly; however, after experiencing a downturn in the latter half of the previous year, he gradually recognized the true nature of these so-called 'friends' and started reducing contact.

But at this crucial point, Wei Song certainly wouldn't just act as if he hadn't heard anything.

"Brother Song, you're here too! It's nothing, just a regular extra wager in our friendly fishing match! We already agreed on this at Jin Garden in the previous session!"

Qian Wenjun greeted Wei Song with a chuckling tone, clearly not treating Wei Song as an important figure.

Zhang Yang smiled broadly: "It's okay, we've agreed on it. It's just a side wager on the match!

Since the betting was your proposal, why don't you lay out the rules?

Is it based on overall performance or best score, or some other rule? As long as it's fair and reasonable, we can all accept it!

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