The night market, a bustling night market.
There wasn't much that was novel or interesting; it was just the same old things back and forth, like goldfish scooping, darts, shooting games, pitch-pot, and other such small games.
Even for someone like Lin Yi who hadn't really strolled through night markets much, it was hard to get interested.
For Lin Yi, only two things were attractive.
The bustling atmosphere of the crowd and the various kinds of snacks.
Listening to them brag, eating grilled beef tongue and chicken skewers, paired with Japanese shochu, made Lin Yi feel as if he had returned to a street food stall back in China.
"Ah! It broke again! Why?!"
Ran held the paper net specially made by the shady shop, having tried over a dozen times, and every single one had broken without exception. She was furious at her own incompetence and started shouting.
"Lin Yi! Lin Yi! Come and help me!"
Ran tugged hurriedly at Lin Yi's sleeve, asking for his help.
"You're so lucky and you still can't do it, yet you expect me to?"
Lin Yi muttered silently to himself.
But he knew that what Ran needed wasn't for him to actually scoop up the goldfish for her; if she wanted goldfish, she could just pay for them.
What she wanted was Lin Yi's concern and reaction.
It was just like the claw machine; when a girl couldn't grab a prize, she would ask you to help.
This was a signal of acting coy, and whether you actually caught the prize wasn't important; what mattered was how you reacted.
"Alright, watch me!"
Lin Yi immediately gave Ran an excellent reaction.
He crouched down, took some paper nets from Ran's hand, and began his great goldfish-scooping undertaking.
Everyone knows how fragile paper nets are, and with the goldfish being large and heavy, basically every time you scooped one, it would tear.
Lin Yi tried a few, and they all broke without exception.
As expected, not many businessmen these days lack intelligence.
He looked at the sign hanging next to them that read "Century-Old Shop."
What did that imply?
It meant they had a hundred-year history of scamming people.
Over those hundred years, they had tampered with the paper nets, making them much more fragile than standard ones.
Therefore, the boss appeared generous and enthusiastic, frequently gifting tourists extra paper nets, but in reality, he was a dirty, underhanded scumbag.
Since the nets broke easily and the probability of catching a goldfish was low, giving tourists extra nets was fine; giving one or two more wouldn't increase the success rate.
On the contrary, because of the gifts, it attracted a large number of customers who liked to take advantage of small perks.
Look, this unicorn girl right here was one of the customers who had been lured in—a little silly girl.
"Ah! It broke again!"
As Ran watched Lin Yi scoop up a goldfish with the paper net, just as she was getting excited, the wet net had barely left the water surface by two centimeters when the goldfish gave a wiggle of its tail, and the net couldn't bear the weight and tore.
"I've already mastered the technique."
Lin Yi threw away the broken net and took a new one.
The black-hearted shopkeeper heard Lin Yi's words and smiled happily; he loved fleecing these suckers.
He scoffed at the idea of mastering the technique; if it were that easy to master, he would have closed up shop long ago.
However, the black-hearted shopkeeper soon couldn't smile anymore.
Because Lin Yi had really mastered the technique.
He used a single net, scooping fish rapidly—whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—it was just like catching them with his hand; every scoop was a success.
The most crucial part was that the paper net hadn't broken!
This made the black-hearted shopkeeper feel a chill in his heart; he hadn't expected this young man to have actually mastered the technique.
Watching the previously empty bowl fill up instantly, to the point where it couldn't hold any more and several fish even jumped out.
"Shopkeeper, get me another bowl."
Lin Yi shouted to the black-hearted shopkeeper with a smile.
"Oh... oh."
The black-hearted shopkeeper was sweating profusely; he really didn't want to give Lin Yi a bowl, and even wanted to offer him some money to just get lost and stop ruining his business.
But with so many tourists watching, he couldn't refuse. In business, especially for merchants in small places like this, reputation was paramount.
There was no other choice; the black-hearted shopkeeper had to bite the bullet and give Lin Yi a bowl.
Lin Yi wasn't satisfied and said, "Give me a few more. With so many goldfish, one bowl just isn't enough."
With trembling hands, the black-hearted shopkeeper had to give Lin Yi a few more bowls, casting a pleading look at him to show some mercy.
Lin Yi smiled and continued his great goldfish-scooping undertaking.
Watching him scoop the fish whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, filling a bowl with goldfish at lightning speed.
The black-hearted shopkeeper felt like his heart was giving out.
Ran was glowing with excitement, unable to even speak from happiness.
The tourists nearby were so envious their eyes turned red, and one couldn't help but ask: "Handsome Guy, do you have some unique technique for scooping fish?"
Lin Yi replied generously: "Actually, the technique is very simple. Look, when I put the net in, I don't put it in flat, but vertically."
The tourist asked humbly: "So... what's the difference between the two?"
Lin Yi said while scooping fish: "The difference is huge. If you put it in flat, the paper net will get completely soaked, and once it's wet, it breaks easily."
"But if you put it in vertically, only half of the paper net gets wet, while the other half stays dry. This keeps its structural integrity higher, so the paper net doesn't tear as easily."
"Oh, oh~ I see... Thanks."
After hearing this, the tourists nearby immediately had an epiphany. So that was the little trick! To think he could come up with that—he really was a clever little guy.
With the strategy in hand, the tourists immediately started paying and trying it out for themselves.
Sure enough, by following the method Lin Yi described, the tourists' catch rate improved significantly.
However, they weren't as exaggerated as Lin Yi, who was basically scooping them as fast as if he were catching them with his hands.
The black-hearted shopkeeper saw that more people were buying paper nets, so his mood improved slightly. As for Lin Yi's side, he simply stopped looking to avoid annoyance.
After scooping a few times, the tourist nearby found that his catch rate had indeed improved, but it wasn't as monstrous as Lin Yi's, so he couldn't help but ask again: "What do I need to do to become a goldfish-scooping master like you?"
"Nothing special, just practice makes perfect."
Lin Yi replied calmly, instantly filling that tourist with admiration.
Indeed, technique is certainly important, but repeated practice is the golden rule!
I have learned the technique, yet I am still not satisfied. Looking at his skillful posture and calm expression, it is clear that he has practiced for many years!
The tourist was deeply moved and decided to take Lin Yi as his role model.
Consequently, he took out his wallet, pulled out several ten-thousand-yen bills, and handed them to the shopkeeper.
The greedy shopkeeper's face regained its smile.
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