Back to the Past to Become a Fishing King-Chapter 55: Picking Up the Black Pit Business

Zhang Yang had a noticeable success counteracting their strategies, while on the other side, Junfeng Fishing Tackle’s owner, Lang Junfeng, wasn’t sitting idly either.

Customers from his store were lured away by Zhang Yang, with significant attrition, so he had to find a way to win them back.

Just then, the new model of Chi Hai Golden Eye Bobbers arrived at the store, so Old Lang took the opportunity to sell the old model stocks at a 20% discount and announced the news to his customer group.

Most anglers probably know the brand Golden Eye Bobber. Even if they haven’t used it, they’ve likely heard of it.

As a high-end flagship under Chi Hai Bobber, it boasts superior performance and high prices, comparable to Hong Kong Wuji Float, it’s always been a top-grade bobber, with single bobber prices exceeding a hundred yuan in the classic series.

For bobbers priced like this, an 80% discount is quite attractive to some customers. After all, it saves over twenty yuan per bobber.

Once the news spread, several customers came in on the same day to take away two sets of bobbers, but the clients Old Lang was most anticipating didn’t show up.

Just when he thought the opportunity had slipped away, Qian Wenbo came!

With Zhang Yang’s precise tactics, he brought Qian Wenbo to a halt, significantly impacting him.

After previously tasting the success of researching bait formulas, Qian Wenbo was back, bringing two packets of freshly purchased fish bait to Old Lang for "decoding."

"Xiao Qian, come on in and have a seat!" Lang Junfeng thought Qian Wenbo was here to buy discounted bobbers and greeted him with a smile.

"Mr. Lang, are you free? Your brother got schooled! I need your help!" Qian Wenbo, seeing no one else in the store, put on a downcast face, as if genuinely bullied.

"What happened?"

Lang Junfeng slightly frowned upon hearing this.

After Qian Wenbo explained the situation, adding how Tang Xuebing crushed it with new bait yesterday, Lang Junfeng suddenly got intrigued.

"Is it really that miraculous? It sounds kind of far-fetched to me."

"I bought two packs of the new bait. If you could help research it, I’d appreciate it.

If your store carries it, I’ll buy some to mix myself because Zhang Yang charges exorbitantly and never negotiates!"

"Sure, bring it over, let me take a look! I don’t have any bait with that flavor in my store, I refuse to believe it!"

Soon, the new formula bait was placed in front of Lang Junfeng.

Old Lang’s understanding of performance and flavors of numerous commercial baits in his store far exceeds that of ordinary anglers, usually able to detect standard flavors with a whiff.

But after smelling Zhang Yang’s bait, he was puzzled.

Jin Longxiang is a compound of several flavors. His store doesn’t sell this type, so how could he deduce it from thin air?

After sniffing it over and over for a long while, Lang Junfeng couldn’t figure it out. The scent was distinct, but absolutely absent from his store.

"Hmm, odd! I can confirm that this flavor isn’t in my stock! Did you see any particular brand or packaging he uses? Even a brand would help, I can ask around!"

Qian Wenbo shook his head: "His store sells the same commercial baits as yours! I didn’t see any special bait brands or types!"

"That is strange! How about this, leave a packet here. Consider it sold to me, and I’ll find someone to research it for you. I’ll call you when I have news!"

"Alright then, I’ll head out!"

"The Golden Eye is on discount. Won’t you take a set? Stocks are limited!"

"Next time. My bobber box is full, got plenty to use!"

"Alright..."

...

Watching Qian Wenbo leave, Lang Junfeng immediately took out his phone to call his senior brother, who happened to be at home and arrived at the store shortly afterward.

Only three or four days had passed since Li Chunsheng suggested undercutting, and unexpectedly, in such a short time, Zhang Yang had developed a new bait formula with an unfamiliar flavor to Lang Junfeng, arousing Li Chunsheng’s strong curiosity.

However, Li Chunsheng, participating mostly in northern city contests, hadn’t used Jin Longli before. The pair spent a while researching to no avail.

This Jin Longli, serving as the core flavor bait, thoroughly baffled the duo.

"The scent is intense but not pungent! If my judgment isn’t wrong, this should be a compound flavor. I detect grain and milk scents, along with a hard-to-describe fruity aroma!" Li Chunsheng remarked, furrowing his brows.

"The bait flavors you mentioned, we have them all. Why not try blending them?"

"Alright, let’s give it a try! Maybe we can create it!"

Soon, the two started mixing based on their preliminary judgment.

Ideals are rich, but reality is barren.

Human noses aren’t the most adept at distinguishing scents, not to mention the origin of store baits varies, along with distinct additives used.

Replicating the identical scent and manually decoding Jin Longxiang’s formula was far from easy.

After a busy session, tearing open dozens of bait packets from major brands, they found none close, and as night fell, they had no choice but to give up.

"Still not working!" Li Chunsheng shook his head.

"Why bother! Let’s just leave it be!" Lang Junfeng sounded a bit irritable.

"Although we can’t recreate this scent, we can bet it’s a flavor especially appealing to carp, particularly raw carp. Strong scents definitely have a large draw!

Zhang Yang brought out a new formula in such a short time. It seems he is quite talented, and our plan to cut off his supply has little effect!"

"What now? I even started discount promotions on the old Golden Eyes to attract customers back, but it hasn’t worked much!" Lang Junfeng continued.

"Didn’t you mention recently that the stocked ponds had poor fishing conditions? Why not reconsider grabbing the black pit market?" Li Chunsheng suggested.

This suggestion is arguably the most feasible and practical strategy.

As long as the team is gathered, expanding the black pit influence, coupled with some product uniqueness, retaining customers isn’t difficult.

The anglers’ concern is merely catching some fish, with most not having much else in mind.

"It would work, but I don’t have any valuable carp bait!"

After seeing Zhang Yang’s bait flavor firsthand, Lang Junfeng felt insecure about competing in the bait sector.

"No worries, I’ll think of something. A local friend recently got their hands on some Taiwanese import additives reportedly effective. I’ll get some for you!"

"That’d be great!"

...

Three days later, the weekend marks another fishing match at Oil House Fishing Ground. By four in the afternoon, Lang Junfeng organized four or five dedicated anglers from his store to pit their skills at the pit fishing grounds!

This time, the lineup surpasses the previous one, with five or six individuals driving rugged off-road vehicles, donning sun-protective clothing, fishing hats, and professional angler attires.

Zhang Yang and Old Zhao, who had secured their spots well in advance, drinking tea and chatting under the shade, glanced over.

"Tonight will be lively! Old Lang has brought his ironclad followers!" Zhao Bingguang commented in a low voice after a few glances.

"He dares to come again!"

Spotting Lang Junfeng, Zhang Yang instinctively squinted his eyes.