I am a local in North America

Chapter 71 Feels like I'm being watched
Su Jierui's seemingly sincere but evasive answer sounded like a standard fishing-themed motivational quote.

Regarding lures, he generously showed off his bait box.

Inside, a dazzling array of artificial lures shimmered under the dock lights, creating a mesmerizing display. I smiled wryly and said:
"I tried several different rigs depending on the water conditions and structure. I used Texas rigs, jigging lures, and spinners. The key is the lure's movement; it has to match the fish's bite intention at that moment. These are all basic skills. I'm just a newbie; you guys have more experience, so please don't ask me to teach you..."

These candid introductions won him a lot of goodwill. Although he kept the secret about "how to accurately find punctuation marks" to himself, his explanations were impeccable.

Just then, farmer Jose Quentin also finished weighing himself. His score was 40.13 pounds, temporarily placing him in 8th place, which is considered a solid place in the advancement zone.

"Jerry! Well done!"

Having just finished his own business, José Quentin enthusiastically pushed his way through the crowd, gave Su Jierui a tight hug, and leaned close, his body still damp with the smell of river water and sweat, excitedly shouting:

"I knew you were something special! You're a champion contender now! Absolutely!"

His loud voice was heard by everyone around him, and they all echoed him, their gazes toward Su Jierui beginning to change.

In this arena where strength speaks volumes, Su Jierui earned respect and the status of a "championship candidate" with his solid, massive loads.

José Quentin also added:
"Be careful, buddy. I reckon when you set off tomorrow, a long line of fishing boats will be following you."

Su Jierui leaned back slightly, overwhelmed by the mixture of fishy and sweaty smell emanating from him, and nodded to indicate that he understood.

He thought to himself, "The two aren't that close. I feel like José Quentin is just trying to ride my coattails and get on the news together..."

Not far away, Raoul Jefferson, aboard the A-03 fishing boat, stood with his arms crossed, watching this side with a gloomy face.

Before the competition, he approached Su Jierui, saying he wanted to help his uncle fulfill his last wish, but the results were a bit of a letdown... He only won a mere 30.45 pounds!
Even his chances of advancing are now in doubt, which is clearly a disappointment compared to his bold statements before the competition.

Su Jierui can understand this gap.

Many anglers mistake luck in a particular competition for their "true skill".

In fact, even some fishing enthusiasts are quite skilled at catching bigmouth bass. The key is who has better luck. Whoever catches a large bass that meets the standard has a chance to get a higher ranking.

Compared to sports and studying, it's not entirely the same thing; luck plays a large part.

Raoul Jefferson was clearly still basking in his past glories, feeling that having won third place, he should possess the skills to do so.

Right now, a string of profanities starting with "F" and "S" is running through my head. I thought that Su Jerry was just affected by the newbie aura and was just lucky today.

He even attributed part of the loss to "his uncle's death, which affected his performance," and during a separate interview, he kept making excuses for his poor result today.

When Su Jerry's gaze swept over, Raoul Jefferson seemed to be stung, snorted coldly, and quickly turned his head away.

The bald, muscular man, Kells Rivera, fared even worse, catching only a little over 25 pounds of fish in total.

As soon as he got ashore, he saw Su Jierui's splendid appearance. After hearing the results, he was too ashamed to stay any longer. He hurriedly weighed himself, then ran to his car with his head down and drove away.

If he hadn't come to compete, even if he was eliminated, he could still earn some points. Kells Rivera wouldn't have even wanted to participate in the weigh-in. He would have preferred to throw those small bass directly into the river to avoid making a fool of himself.

Because Kells Rivera is arrogant, has a sharp tongue, and likes to offend people everywhere, few contestants like him, but many hate him.

Soon, news of this guy's terrible grades, accompanied by gloating discussions, reached Su Jerry's ears.

The owner of a fishing rod brand, who reportedly sponsored Kells Rivera and came specifically to support him, turned ashen-faced and flew into a rage upon learning the results. He even broke a fishing rod with Kells Rivera's signature on it on the spot...

After dealing with the media and enthusiastic competitors, a strong sense of fatigue washed over me.

Su Jierui declined several invitations to dinners and drinks, citing the need to "organize his equipment and prepare for tomorrow's competition." He quickly packed his gear and left the still bustling dock.

Back at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, as soon as I entered the lobby, I was greeted by a buzz of chatter.

Many athletes and their entourages were discussing today's competition, and "Jerry Sue" and "56.94 pounds" were undoubtedly the most frequently mentioned words.

Despite the curious and envious glances coming from all directions, Su Jierui maintained a calm expression, but inwardly he was secretly delighted.

He returned to his room, took a long shower, changed into clean clothes, ordered steak and sausage pasta by phone, and then sent a message in the family group to report his good results for the day.

My younger sister, Arou, has already returned to school. She sent me a message saying—

"Dude! You're amazing! The official account for the Bass Bass Fishing Tournament has already posted your photo, and everyone's praising how incredible you are!!!"

My older sister, Ah Xin, also replied, writing—

"Go for it, Rui! Your brother-in-law also wants to learn to fish. Let's get together when we have time and find a nice place to camp."

Grandpa Su rarely chimed in, and only replied with one sentence—

"Has the loan been approved yet? We've found a construction team to renovate the holiday cabin. After they came to see it, they said they need to renovate the septic tank, which is quite a project..."

Su Jierui leaned against the headboard, smiling as he replied to each message.

He has had a dream start to the first day of competition.

If they can maintain their form in the upcoming competitions, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, such as a player accidentally catching a giant bigmouth bass with "obesity," they still have a very good chance of winning the $20 prize and the largest single-fish prize.

"I can't let my guard down..." Su Jierui told himself.

He got up, spread out the navigation map provided by the event organizers on his desk, and, based on what he had observed today, began to carefully plan the new areas he might explore tomorrow and the backup plans.

With our advantages in hand, we must now proceed with caution and prudence...

Dinner was served quickly, and after a short while he ate and drank his fill, he went to bed early to rest.

However, I had been sleeping quite late the past few days, and coupled with my somewhat excited state of mind, I couldn't fall asleep no matter how much I tossed and turned.

Su Jerry simply picked up his phone again and started searching for information about the characteristics of the giant bass.

He thought that if he knew in advance what diseases would cause the largemouth bass to become fat, it would be much easier to find them tomorrow and the day after.

According to the International Angling Association, the largest wild bigmouth bass on record is 10.09 kg, a record that has stood for more than half a century and has yet to be broken.

What makes that fish special is that it's roughly equivalent to a super-fat person weighing five or six hundred pounds.

Su Jerry also found some clues about what causes largemouth bass to become obese.

A university thesis on aquaculture mentioned that "nutritional fatty liver" can cause certain fish to become abnormally large, and their nutritional value and taste are not as good as those of healthy largemouth bass.

Su Jerry was pleasantly surprised after reading it, since he wouldn't eat the fish and didn't care whether the fish he caught were healthy or not; he just needed the prey to be a largemouth bass and very heavy.

With a more precise search target, he felt more confident and planned to go out and search carefully the next day. As for whether he would find anything, he would have to rely on luck.

Such enormous, bloated fish are rare; there might only be a handful in the entire local waterway. Due to the limited search area, encountering one is indeed quite difficult…

The next morning, Su Jierui was woken up by his alarm clock.

He quickly opened his eyes, and after only a moment of confusion, he hurriedly got out of bed, washed up, tidied up, and took his fishing gear to go out.

During breakfast at the hotel restaurant, many people came up to greet Su Jierui.

Several wealthy elderly men from California sat down next to him with their plates, subtly inquiring about the fishing spot from the previous day.

Su Jerry only said that he went fishing with Kells Rivera yesterday and had a minor argument over fishing spots. Rivera didn't catch any big fish and didn't even make it to the second round.

After listening, the wealthy Californians exchanged glances and didn't ask any more questions. They quickly started talking about recent stock market trends, international situations, and even topics like "AI," "interest rate hikes," and "tariffs."

As Su Jierui quietly ate his breakfast, he suddenly understood his grandfather. Living in such an affluent area, it was indeed impossible for him to connect with his neighbors.

However, the patients he has recently encountered around him have made him feel that some crises have been temporarily hidden, and it is only a matter of time before the cover-up fails.

Listening to their conversation, Su Jierui was slightly inspired.

Lost in thought, he realized that if he could win the $20 prize, he might be able to buy some pharmaceutical stocks in advance, and perhaps take the opportunity to "monetize" his abilities and make some money to subsidize the subsequent development of the beaver ranch.

The thought only flashed through his mind. After finishing his breakfast in a big gulp, Su Jierui packed his gear and drove the rented Jeep to the dock again.

The atmosphere at the dock was completely different from yesterday.

With 33 fewer competitors, the competition is even fiercer, and the remaining 47 are all experienced and highly skilled anglers.

Su Jierui, who is currently at the top of the rankings, is undoubtedly the focus of everyone's attention and the target they want to surpass.

He had just parked his rented Jeep when rancher José Quentin came over: "Good morning, champion contender! How's it going?"

Good morning. Not bad, just a little bit of a feeling of being watched.

Su Jierui jokingly looked around and could indeed feel many gazes, both overt and covert, falling on him.

"Mr. Quentin, do you know why 47 contestants advanced from the second round? Eliminating 50% and leaving 40 would make more sense, wouldn't it?"

José Quentin was taken aback by the question, and after a moment's thought, he answered him:

"This... seems to be a rule from the past, designed to balance the number of participants from different regions and the schedule of the finals. I'm not too sure about the specifics. Whatever, right now I just want to get going fishing. I'll try my luck at the tributary today, just like you!"

"I remember the first time I came to participate in the competition, I did very well and came in 6th place at the Lake Folk, Texas leg."

"So I know exactly what that's like. Every time you cast your line, a big fish bites the bait. Others might follow you, but I don't want to get too close. You'll steal all the big fish. It's like a newbie's bait has some kind of special magic; if you get too close, you might not even be able to smell the fish..."

Su Jierui was both amused and exasperated. Remembering the crucial information he'd found last night about "nutritional fatty liver" causing abnormally large sea bass, he already had a vague plan in mind. He deliberately gave a vague answer:
"We probably won't encounter them. I studied the waterway map last night, and today I might go to... those small lakes and inlets downstream. The structure there seems complicated, and there might be big fish hiding there."

Jose nodded thoughtfully:
"The lake inlets... lots of weeds and complicated obstacles, it's definitely a good place to try your luck. Thanks, buddy, good luck! I'll stick to my own plan."

After saying that, he patted Su Jierui on the shoulder and walked towards his fishing boat.

The starting order was determined by another draw. Su Jierui drew a later order today, which gave him more time to observe the course chosen by the first departing athletes.

Sure enough, several fishing boats, including Raoul Jefferson's conspicuous A-03, slowed down intentionally or unintentionally after setting off, or simply lingered nearby, seemingly wanting to see which direction Su Jerry would choose...

(End of this chapter)