I Build a Top-tier Fishing Destination

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: System Activated, Triple Grand Gifts

Chen Yuan walked out of the village committee office with a grin that could outshine the sun.

Contract in hand, Uncle Bin could get the business license sorted out today — all that was left was to activate the fishing ground system and officially open for business.

”Host, please activate the system...”

He’d barely stepped out of the building when the system’s voice rang in his head. Damn thing was sharp — it knew the moment the contract was signed?

Chen Yuan was curious, though. He wanted to see what happened once it came online.

He made his way over to the small pond — or rather, Chen Yuan Fishing Ground, as he’d named it on the application forms.

Chen Yuan. Chén Yuān — deep abyss. The fish here would drag you right down into the depths, which meant they pulled hard.

Hard pull meant big fish.

And what man doesn’t love big?

”System, how do I activate it?”

He stood at the edge of the pond with no idea what to do — but the moment the words left his mouth, a bird’s-eye view materialized in his mind, the entire area imprinting itself into his consciousness like a brand.

”Host, please confirm the fishing ground location.”

Following the prompt, Chen Yuan mentally traced the outline of the pond. The whole thing lit up green, the activation chime sounded in his head, and an information panel appeared before him.

Host: Chen Yuan.

Fishing Ground: Chen Yuan Fishing Ground (Level 0 — Upgrade Progress: 0%)

Fish Stock: Silver Carp ×400, Bighead Carp ×400, Bream ×300, Grass Carp ×300, Crucian Carp ×1024, Soft-shell Turtle ×3.

Facilities: None.

Behind the main panel, there was a second one.

Chen Yuan swiped his hand through the air and the display shifted to the next section. At the top were four characters.

Shop Points — followed by a string of asterisks, then a search icon.

Below that was an entire storefront packed with goods.

”Ding — it has been detected that the host’s initial fishing ground setup was completed without system assistance. The startup costs have been converted into Shop Points, which can be spent in the Shop for fishing ground development.”

”This system’s mission: let the system carry the host to greatness.”

As the voice faded, the asterisks after Shop Points began spinning, then resolved into a number: 55,000.

”Finally activated.”

Chen Yuan was buzzing. The shop full of goods, that line about the system carrying him to the top, all of it blew past his expectations — and on top of that, every yuan he’d spent on fish and the lease had been converted into points.

All Chen Yuan could think was: this damn system is actually pretty solid.

”Initiating Beginner’s Gift Pack. Reward One of Three: every fishing ground needs a showstopper. A hundred-jin Fish King will be installed in the pond on your behalf — no effort required from the host. Points deducted: 20,000.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

He’d been grinning ear to ear right up until he saw his points drop to 35,000. His face went pale.

You said this was a gift pack — so why are you charging me?

And here I was thinking this damn system was actually decent.

”Reward Two of Three: a great fishing ground requires a great customer experience. Fish activity naturally varies, and a slow day with no bites kills customer enthusiasm and drives them away for good. To eliminate blanks, a remote control for managing fish activity will be provided for the fishing ground. Points deducted: 25,000.”

Chen Yuan felt like crying.

That cost more than the Fish King.

But when he saw the remote control appear in the Facilities slot, he figured it was worth it.

Being able to switch fish activity on and off at will — that alone guaranteed the fishing ground would never have a bad day.

”Reward Three of Three: every journey starts with a first step. The system will locate the host’s first premium customer. Points deducted: 10,000.”

Okay, at least that one wasn’t too bad.

But watching his points hit zero still made him want to burst into tears.

”You piece of garbage — how do I earn points back?”

Chen Yuan flicked away his cigarette butt and exhaled a cloud of smoke. If the system were a person standing in front of him right now, his fist would’ve followed that butt straight into its face.

”Points are generated from the fishing ground’s revenue, converted at a one-to-one ratio with yuan.”

Chen Yuan smiled again.

Real-world earnings feeding directly into the system shop — that was genuinely brilliant.

He’d caught a glimpse of it earlier: among all those goods in the shop, there were countless types of fish listed. And what did that mean?

His fishing ground could restock at zero cost.

Honestly, how was he supposed to lose?

”Issuing initial quest for Level 0 Fishing Ground: the host must upgrade Chen Yuan Fishing Ground to Level 1 within three months. Rewards for success will be substantial. Failure will result in system detonation.”

”Time is limited. The host is advised to begin promoting Chen Yuan Fishing Ground and attracting customers as soon as possible. This system wishes the host every success.”

The back-to-back announcements sent a chill straight down Chen Yuan’s spine.

What the hell.

The system blows up?

And what happens to the host?

He tried to ask follow-up questions, but the damn system had gone read-and-ignored. Even a two-faced person wouldn’t mess with someone like this.

Still shaken, Chen Yuan snapped himself out of it and jogged home to grab a hoe.

Technically, Chen Yuan Fishing Ground could open right now — but every proper fishing ground had designated fishing spots. Three sides of this pond were nothing but bare earthen banks, with only a road along one edge. It looked nothing like a real operation.

With no points left to spend in the shop, he’d have to dig the fishing spots by hand for now and upgrade things once the money started coming in.

”Isn’t that Chen Jun’s boy? I thought someone was out here stealing fish.”

Chen Yuan was drenched in sweat when a village woman walked past carrying a bucket of laundry.

”Aunt Liu.”

Chen Yuan looked up, took a second to place her, then called out a greeting.

”What are you doing back in the village?”

Aunt Liu gave a nod as she asked.

”Just graduated from university. Came back to find something to do.” Chen Yuan didn’t see the point in hiding it — the fishing ground would be open soon enough and the whole village would find out anyway.

”Already graduated? Time really flies.”

Aunt Liu’s eyes lit up like she’d stumbled onto something interesting. She set her bucket down on the ground and sidled over.

”Why not find work in the city? You’re a university graduate — good jobs should be practically falling into your lap. What’s a young person supposed to do back in the village?”

”Fish farming?”

”What’s the difference between a fishing ground and fish farming, really.”

”Yuan, your parents and sister worked so hard to put you through school — you can’t just go throwing that away on something like this...”

Chen Yuan gave half-hearted responses here and there, then eventually just put his head down and got back to work.

Seeing there was nothing more to pry out of him, Aunt Liu picked up her bucket and headed over to the big pond to do her laundry. Other villagers trickled over as well, and Aunt Liu fell into easy conversation with them, occasionally glancing back at Chen Yuan by the small pond.

Chen Yuan paid them no mind and stayed focused on the work.

The small pond had one real advantage: it was nearly perfectly square, with wide enough banks that laying out the fishing spots wasn’t much trouble at all. Spacing them a little over two meters apart, Chen Yuan had all of them dug out before long.

”Sixty spots. That’s a lucky number.”

Chen Yuan pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and walked a slow lap around the pond, counting the spots under his breath.

It was a good thing the fish in this pond weren’t monsters — otherwise he wouldn’t dare leave only two meters between spots. Even so, he’d left the four corners empty; rods would inevitably clash otherwise.

Sixty spots was more than enough for him.

If they were ever all filled, that would be something else entirely.

At a hundred yuan a spot, sixty spots meant six thousand yuan — and that was just one session. Plenty of fishing grounds ran on timed sessions, two to four hours a pop.

Getting every spot filled was another matter, though, and a hundred yuan for three or four hours probably wasn’t realistic either.

This was the suburbs, after all. Anglers watched their wallets.

Then there was the fact that this was a mixed-species pond. Sure, the stocking density wasn’t lower than some of the dedicated competition pools out there, and the bait requirements weren’t as strict — but he couldn’t price it like one of those, especially not early on.

And there was the question of catch-and-release versus keep to sort out as well.

”I need to sit down and figure out the business model.”

Chen Yuan finished his cigarette, hoisted the hoe onto his shoulder, and headed home. He wasn’t too worried about any of it, honestly. With the system backing him, even a pig could take flight.