PCJ – Chapter 542 Fishing

“It’ll be fine. Teacher Wei, don’t worry.” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“I’ll take your word for it as a guarantee,” Wei Yunlong smiled. He could tell that Zhang Jiaohua had a maturity beyond his years. Moreover, there was an indescribable sense about him that made people feel very reassured.

Zhang Jiaohua nodded. There was no choice; he had to agree. Otherwise, this would be the first group activity for the whole class, and it would be ruined.

On Saturday morning, Wu Yuan rode a motorcycle, bringing Zhang Jiaohua to the school gate with a large pile of things. “These are all food supplies. The Xiyun Reservoir isn’t like your hometown, there aren’t that many wild animals to hunt. Now, hunting wild animals is prohibited, especially since the Xiyun Reservoir is under the Emperor’s jurisdiction. If you go hunting, someone might report you. I’ve prepared some food for you, just make something when you get there. Keep your phone with you and don’t lose it. Call me when you’re back, I’ll come pick you up.”

Wu Yuan treated himself like an older brother, continuously giving advice to Zhang Jiaohua.

“Alright, fatty, go take care of your stuff,” Zhang Jiaohua quickly interrupted the incessant talking.

“Zhang Jiaohua, everyone from the class is here. Will they really send a bus for us?” Wang Shibin asked with concern.

“Don’t worry. They should be arriving soon. I’ve arranged for them to arrive by 8. Tell everyone not to run off. We don’t want to miss the bus,” Zhang Jiaohua glanced at the time. He wasn’t worried about Tang Yan and the others breaking their word. If they couldn’t come, they would have notified him by yesterday.

“Beep beep.”

As they were talking, a large bus slowly pulled up to the school gate, honking its horn.

Tang Yan and Chen Cheng were standing by the window, waving at Zhang Jiaohua. Zhang Jiaohua turned to Wang Shibin and said, “They’re here, quickly get everyone on the bus.”

Zhang Jiaohua walked towards Tang Yan and Chen Cheng.

The bus door opened, and Tang Yan and Chen Cheng jumped down.

“Jiaohua, you’ve been waiting for a while, right? We ran into some traffic, but luckily we’re not late,” Tang Yan smiled and said.

“No, I just got here. Fatty was just talking my ear off, so I had to send him away,” Zhang Jiaohua said, bringing his things onto the bus.

Chen Haibo took the items at the door. “Leave this to me. We brought some supplies too, all packed in the luggage compartment. I’ll go put them away. There are also some tents in there. We’ve used them for filming, so they’re of very good quality. Perfect for camping.”

“Thanks for thinking of everything. We were planning to rent some,” Zhang Jiaohua replied.

“Renting? What’s the point of renting? After every shoot, the crew throws away a bunch of stuff,” Wang Yiwei came over and smiled at Zhang Jiaohua. “Director Lin actually wanted to come, but he didn’t want to spoil your fun, so he sent me as the logistics manager. With me here, no one will go hungry.”

“Please thank Director Lin for me,” Zhang Jiaohua nodded.

“Why thank me? I’m just afraid you won’t like it,” Wang Yiwei continued, ushering Zhang Jiaohua’s classmates onto the bus.

Many of the students were experiencing such a luxurious bus ride for the first time. In this day and age, even in Beijing, public buses were often old, white ones. It was rare to see imported luxury buses like the one the crew had bought after making a fortune from the movie Great Tomb Crisis.

“Wow! I’ve only seen such luxurious buses on TV in foreign professional clubs. These seats are so comfortable. I could sit here for hours without getting sore,” Zheng Wendong said, bouncing up and down on his seat.

Wang Shibin’s eyes were wide with surprise. He thought getting a long-distance bus would be a big deal, but he never expected to ride such a luxurious coach.

Tang Yan smiled and said to Zhang Jiaohua, “Last time, you said you’d bring a signed photo, but I didn’t bring any. Let your classmates take photos with us if they want a signed picture. Stinky Cat brought his old camera. We’ll take a few more pictures later.”

“That works,” Zhang Jiaohua smiled.

Chen Cheng smiled and said to Zhang Jiaohua, “Jiaohua, you must have a lot of influence in your class, right? Look at how all the girls are looking at you.”

“They’re looking at you, not me,” Zhang Jiaohua replied, not very pleased.

“But I’m sure that girl is definitely not looking at me. Every time she sees me getting close to you, her eyes could shoot fire,” Chen Cheng pointed at Xu Xiaoting, who was staring at Zhang Jiaohua.

“Stop making things up,” Zhang Jiaohua glanced at Xu Xiaoting, his heart tightening.

Everyone had boarded the bus, and someone started singing.

“…Come on, come on, let’s meet in ’98, meet under the silver moonlight…”

“The Xiyun Reservoir has a few good spots. One is at the foot of Xiyun Mountain, where there’s a stretch of marshland with great views. We brought fishing rods. We can fish and have a barbecue there. Another option is Xiyun Village, not far from Xiyun Mountain. We can experience rural life and buy fresh ingredients from the farmers to cook outside,” Chen Haibo explained. He had done his homework and knew the area around Xiyun Reservoir well.

“I’ll ask the classmates which one they prefer,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

As soon as Zhang Jiaohua spoke, Zheng Wendong shouted, “Let’s go fishing! I’m the best at fishing. Let me show you all.”

“Stop boasting. You’ll burst your own bubble,” Li Wenjuan said.

“Li Wenjuan, don’t be skeptical. When we get there, I’ll show you. Actually, besides Zhang Jiaohua, our class has a lot of talents. Don’t just focus on him. You can’t give up the whole forest for just one tree,” Zheng Wendong said, making an obvious reference.

“A pile of sand can’t compare to a piece of gold,” Li Wenjuan muttered.

“Uh,” Zheng Wendong smiled awkwardly.

The bus stopped, and all the students got off. The first thing they did was run toward the marshland, excited by the natural scenery after being surrounded by concrete every day. The joy of returning to nature was palpable.

“Jiaohua, go have fun. We’ve got this covered,” Wang Yiwei said as soon as he got off the bus, busy directing the driver to set up the camping tents.

“Thanks, Wang Ge. Let’s go, those who like fishing, follow me!” Zhang Jiaohua grabbed a few fishing rods from Chen Haibo.

“Jiaohua, you know how to fish?” Zheng Wendong asked.

“A little. I used to fish a lot when I was young,” Zhang Jiaohua replied.

“My dad used to take me fishing by the river. But since middle school, I’ve rarely gone,” Zheng Wendong said nostalgically.

“Really? My family was very poor when I was young, so I often hunted and fished to improve our lives,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“You hunted too? What kind of wild animals have you caught?” Zheng Wendong asked.

“The biggest was a wild boar. It weighed several hundred pounds. My dad used a wheelbarrow to drag it home. That’s several hundred pounds of meat,” Zhang Jiaohua recalled, remembering the time he was chased by a wild boar on Meishan Mountain.

“No way? You dared to hunt a wild boar? I’ve heard from my dad that wild boars are very dangerous. They used to destroy crops in the countryside,” Zheng Wendong was still doubtful.

“Believe it or not, we should focus on fishing. The fish we catch will be perfect for the barbecue later,” Zhang Jiaohua said, casually sitting down and preparing his bait before casting the fishing line far into the water.

“Haha, Jiaohua, you said you’ve been fishing since you were a kid, but you can’t even pick a good fishing spot. The place you chose isn’t great for fishing. The water’s too shallow, and you can see everything inside. Even if there are fish, they won’t be big,” Zheng Wendong laughed.

“Not necessarily. Who says fish won’t come here?” Zhang Jiaohua was unfazed, casually watching the water.

Chen Haibo walked over and sat beside Zhang Jiaohua. “Jiaohua, let me see if there are any fish here.”

“This spot is actually the best for fishing,” Zheng Wendong quickly waved at Chen Haibo.

Chen Haibo smiled and shook his head. “I’d rather trust Jiaohua.” He cast his own fishing line into the water.

“We’ll see if we go home empty-handed,” Zhang Jiaohua grinned.

“No problem. Old Wang definitely brought a lot of ingredients. If worse comes to worst, we can always use the ready-made ingredients for a barbecue,” Chen Haibo said, unbothered.

Zheng Wendong’s spot turned out to be quite good, and soon, a few small fish had been caught.

“Jiaohua, you haven’t even started fishing yet? Come over to my spot, there are plenty of fish,” Zheng Wendong called out.

“Don’t rush. I don’t want the small fish, just the big ones,” Zhang Jiaohua replied calmly.

“When are you going to catch a big one then?” Zheng Wendong asked.

“Soon, soon. Keep calm, little fish, no need to bother. Big fish, come and bite…” Zhang Jiaohua hummed. As soon as the song ended, his fishing rod arced beautifully through the air, and a three to four-pound carp leapt out of the water. Without missing a beat, Zhang Jiaohua grabbed a plastic bucket and caught the fish mid-air.

The bucket had some water in it, and the fish, now in the bucket, jumped around excitedly.

Zheng Wendong was stunned. “Jiaohua, what kind of fishing technique was that?”

“That’s how you catch big fish,” Zhang Jiaohua smiled.

“How did you know the fish was on the hook? I didn’t see anything,” Chen Haibo, sitting next to him, asked, puzzled.

“Instinct,” Zhang Jiaohua smiled mysteriously and didn’t elaborate further.