PETALING JAYA, July 16 — It isn’t every day that the age-old barter system is used in modern transactions. 

But desperate times call for desperate measures, as a young aspiring fisherman in Klang recently proved when he offered to pay for a new fishing rod with what might have been his catch of the day.

 

 

Uploaded onto Twitter two days ago, social media user, and avid fisherman himself, Roob Ganesan told the quirky story of how a young boy came down to his fishing shop, Drave Fishing Sdn Bhd, to get his new gear. 

"I just finished having my lunch, then a staff member called me. ‘Boss there’s a chubby kid here looking for you’, he said. 

"Turns out it was just a kid who wanted to get a new fishing rod because his old one broke.”

Once he got back to his shop, it seemed as though the kid was trying to explain his plight to Roob,

He held up his broken fishing rod, seemingly trying to explain what happened to it. 

Roob, who is also a fishing content creator, added in the Twitter thread that the kid did face some sort of dilemma, however, as he did not have the necessary funds to get a brand new fishing rod. 

 

 

"The kid said he had no money, but he had some ikan haruan (snakehead murrel). I looked down in his bucket and I saw four cute little snakeheads,” said Roob. 

"It was the first time I ever made a sale using fish. But since he didn’t steal and worked hard to catch those fish. I gave him the fishing rod. 

"Is anyone looking for 300-gram snakeheads?” he joked. 

And he wasn’t the only one who was impressed with the kid’s street smarts as many social media users reacted to Roob’s post, with it garnering more than 6,000 shares and 8,000 likes on Twitter. 

Social media users loved the fact that the kid thought of trading his fish for a new rod. — Screengrab via Twitter/@RoobGanesan

Many users praised the kid for his hard work and the fact that he didn’t just ask for a handout, but sought to "pay” for the rod instead. 

"The kid had no money, but he used the barter system to get what he needed. Smart kid!” wrote one user. 

"Hold on. I’m on my way to trade 12 tilapia fish to get a gaming chair,” joked another user. 

Some also said that the kid could sell off his catch to the wet markets, as they often give a good price for snakeheads. 

Other users praised Roob for making the kid happy and potentially helping him to keep doing what he loves, while one playfully warned him that more people might start coming down to his shop to trade items with fish.