HLM – Chapter 879 Got It

The weather was a bit gloomy; it looked like it was about to rain. A gentle breeze brushed across the lake, rippling the surface. As the waves shimmered, a light mist rose and drifted above the water, making the scene look like a painting.

Fishing is extremely boring if you’re not the one actually doing it. So while Kaminsky was fishing, the others simply admired the scenery and chatted.

“Hāwea Lake is exactly the kind of lake I’ve dreamed of. This environment is truly pleasing.” 

“Looks like it’s getting foggy, but that makes the scenery even more interesting.”

“If New Zealand is the Land of the Long White Cloud, then Sunset Town should be called the Land of Mist. Look at the castle—it’s almost completely shrouded.”

“When will the lakeside villas go on sale? I’m seriously thinking of moving here.”

While they were talking, Zhuang Ding’s fishing line suddenly tightened, and the reel slowly began to turn as the line extended farther and farther.

The scene was like a sharp knife slicing clean through the group’s conversation.
Everyone’s eyes widened at Zhuang Ding’s fishing rod, and someone even rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

Zhuang Ding pressed a paw on the rod, sprang upright, opened his mouth, and bit down on the reel handle. Then, with his front paws bracing the rod, he agilely turned his head, turning the reel and retrieving the line.

Wang Bo didn’t help at all—he simply stood nearby, smiling as he watched.

Dozens of seconds later, the line came up, the hook broke the surface, and of course, a southern milkfish was dangling from it.

Wang Bo helped remove the fish and tossed it into the bucket. He patted Zhuang Ding’s head and praised, “Beautifully done, kid. You caught your first fish. Come on, I’ll cast the line again—keep fishing.”

Hearing the praise, Zhuang Ding wagged his tail happily, his butt swaying like an electric fan.

The Kaplan group began whispering among themselves:

“Shit, this dog really knows how to fish!”

“Uh… his mouth was really agile. He used his teeth to turn the reel. Buddy, tell me I didn’t hallucinate?”

“Damn it, I have a bad feeling about this bet…”

“Shut up! This is only just beginning. Kaminsky caught over a dozen fish earlier!”

Some family members took out camcorders and started recording, and kids were snapping pictures with their phones. None of them cared about the bet—they just thought it was fun and entertaining.

Not long after the hook was cast again, another fish bit—this time it was a common longfin eel.

Wang Bo removed the eel and showed it off to everyone. “How about eel rice for lunch? I bet you’ll eat till you break your teeth.”

No one dared to bet with him this time, even though he was joking.

While Zhuang Ding had already caught two fish, Kaminsky hadn’t caught a single one. Kaplan’s group became restless, pacing back and forth.

Kaminsky was a seasoned angler—very patient. He said, “Alright lads, the match just started ten minutes ago. Sit down and wait. Don’t panic.”

Kaplan laughed dryly. “We’re not panicking. I swear to God, man, we believe in you. But sitting here is too boring.”

Even Kaminsky, patient as he was, felt uneasy.

They had been fishing all morning, and practically every cast landed something. But now, over ten minutes had passed without so much as a nibble. This didn’t mean he couldn’t fish—there were simply no fish around him.

But he couldn’t use that as an excuse, because clearly fish were nearby—Zhuang Ding had caught two.

Seeing his companions pacing restlessly, he gave them a task: “Go get some bait and scatter it around. Attract more fish.”

Under Kaplan’s lead, a group of people grabbed small buckets and went to spread bait.

Wang Bo gave Kaminsky a surprised glance—this guy had some skill. From the sand table, he could see fish indeed being lured over.

The first to arrive was a New Zealand blackfish, which looked like a cross between a carp and a catfish. It had a big appetite and a greedy mouth. Once it arrived, it began gulping down bait.

Blackfish were energetic; when happy, they would leap out of the water.

Sure enough, when it leaped up twice, it immediately drew everyone’s attention.

“There’s a fish! Get it!”

Wang Bo smirked mischievously. When the blackfish dove back into the water and the water turned murky, he quickly grabbed it. More than two minutes later, he hooked it onto Zhuang Ding’s line.

Another catch.

The blackfish struggled violently. With the reel in his mouth, Zhuang Ding sometimes reeled in, sometimes let out the line. After five or six minutes, the blackfish exhausted itself and was lifted out of the water.

If earlier, seeing Zhuang Ding catch fish had left everyone dumbfounded, then this time—watching him duel a fish like a human—left them utterly crushed.

They realized the bet was not at all the sure-win scenario they had imagined.

It felt awful to have a fish they had lured over be caught by the opponent instead. Someone muttered gloomily, “Damn it… this shouldn’t be happening.”

The bait tactic worked well—more fish were drawn in.

Wang Bo had planned to drive them away, but if Kaminsky ended up catching nothing, that wouldn’t be reasonable either. So he let things unfold naturally.

And Kaminsky truly was an expert. Once the fish arrived, he began reeling them in one after another, quickly catching three.

But by then, Zhuang Ding had already reached five.

Wang Bo realized things couldn’t continue like this. Without doing anything directly to the hooks, he created an underwater current. The fish got spooked and fled, and Kaminsky’s side fell silent again.

Kaplan and the others had been cheering earlier, thinking they saw the dawn of victory.

Half an hour later, their faces went blank.

Kaminsky caught four fish in the first half hour. Only two in the latter half.

Meanwhile, Zhuang Ding—no one even needed to count—clearly had at least a dozen.

After one hour, the match ended.

Malop was grinning so hard his eyes were squinted shut. “Hey, gentlemen, who said earlier that I’m a bragging loudmouth? I’d like to hear that again.”

Wang Bo shrugged at Kaplan. “Sorry, General Manager. I think I’ve won this bet.”

Kaplan wasn’t the type who couldn’t handle losing. Besides, cars were cheap in New Zealand—luxury buses cost less than 50,000 NZD each. Ten buses were only forty-something thousand.

A skinny camel is still bigger than a horse. Horton Motors was in bad shape, but giving away forty grand worth of buses as an advertisement? No problem.

Yes—an advertisement. Sending these buses to Sunset Town didn’t feel like a loss at all.

Kaplan was rational. Before making the bet, he’d considered the consequences of losing, but he found them acceptable. After learning about Sunset Town, he already intended to accept Wang Bo’s proposal.

Buses in exchange for a promotional contract.