I Build a Top-tier Fishing Destination

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: A Request to Stay

”Holy cow, since when did so many people get into fishing?”

When Chen Yuan confirmed there were over thirty people, Tang Ying’s jaw nearly dropped. Chen Jun beside her was equally baffled — were people really this obsessed with fishing these days?

”Son, how much are you charging for entry?”

Surprise aside, Tang Ying was more curious about the pricing.

”A hundred yuan per person right now. They get to fish from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon.”

Chen Yuan picked up a chicken foot and munched on it happily, washing it down with a long swig of ice-cold beer.

One word: bliss.

”How much?”

Tang Ying’s voice suddenly shot up an octave, startling Chen Yuan so badly he nearly choked.

Good lord, woman — do you have to do that?

”A hundred a head, thirty-plus people — that’s over three thousand a day. I can’t believe a fishing pond makes this kind of money.”

Tang Ying’s shock was wrapped in pure, disbelieving joy.

When she’d backed Chen Yuan’s idea of opening a fishing pond, she hadn’t expected to get rich. She just wanted her son close to home. If the pond could put food on the table, that was more than enough.

But this — this was way beyond anything she’d imagined.

Over three thousand a day. That was nearly a hundred thousand a month.

Nobody in the countryside pulled in that kind of money. You couldn’t earn that much doing odd jobs in town. Some people couldn’t even make that in a whole year.

Her son had made something of himself.

Hmph!

Let’s see which one of those gossipy women in the village dares say my son is useless now.

”Isn’t a hundred yuan a bit steep?”

Chen Jun wasn’t as openly thrilled as Tang Ying, but he’d still been caught off guard. They’d genuinely turned fish into gold here.

But almost immediately, his worry shifted to the pricing.

A hundred yuan wasn’t cheap. If customers came once and felt it wasn’t worth it, they’d never come back, and the business would never gain traction.

The pond had just opened. His instinct was to keep it affordable, build a loyal customer base first, and worry about profits later.

”Dad, do you know why Mr. Qin and the others are coming back tomorrow?”

Chen Yuan popped a slice of cured pork into his mouth. He knew exactly what his father was worrying about.

”Isn’t it because of the Fish King?”

”That’s part of it. The Fish King is a big draw, sure — but a gimmick alone wouldn’t get those fishing guys this fired up. The bigger reason is the reward I set up.”

Chen Yuan took a swig of beer.

”What reward?” Tang Ying asked, eyes bright with curiosity.

”A thousand-yuan buyback.”

Chen Yuan scooped rice into his mouth and held up one finger. ”Whoever catches the Fish King, I’ll buy it back from them for a thousand yuan and put it right back in the pond. Rinse and repeat.”

Chen Jun put down his chopsticks, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and turned the idea over in his head.

”Is the Fish King easy to catch? If everyone keeps pulling it out, won’t you bleed money?”

Chen Yuan gave a silent thumbs-up in his mind.

Old Chen Jun’s brain was sharp — he’d spotted the flaw instantly.

Without the system, Chen Yuan never would’ve dared to offer such a generous reward. He’d have lowered the amount and tacked on restrictions, like one buyback per day.

But he had the remote control. Whether the Fish King bit or not was entirely up to him. What was there to lose?

”Don’t worry. The Fish King isn’t something just anyone can catch, let alone reel in.”

Thinking about the functions on the remote he hadn’t even tried yet, Chen Yuan felt rock solid in his confidence.

He didn’t explain his real reasons, but that unshakable self-assurance was enough to put Chen Jun’s mind at ease. His biggest fear was watching his son crash and burn — turning a profit into a loss.

”On top of the Fish King reward, there’s no limit on how many fish people can take home. Catch as much as you want and walk out with it — that alone is more than enough to keep those fishing fanatics coming back.”

Chen Yuan finished his bowl and went back for seconds. ”Bottom line — trust me. I’ve run the numbers, scientifically and rigorously.” (Well, system-assisted, anyway.) ”This business model will not lose money.”

”As long as we’re not losing money.”

Chen Jun finished his cigarette and reached for the beer on the table, draining the bottle in one long go. It was as if only now, in this moment, could he finally let himself feel the happiness he’d been holding back.

”What do you need us to do tomorrow?”

He set the empty bottle down, looking at Chen Yuan with barely contained excitement.

Never mind the fact that business on only the second day of opening was already this good — the future was almost too good to think about. Three thousand-plus in revenue alone was reason enough to take this seriously.

Selling vegetables? That was chump change.

Chen Yuan laid out his idea.

”You want us to cook lunch and sell it to the fishermen?”

”The pond runs all day, and those guys still need to eat. If it were just Mr. Qin and his crew, throwing in an extra pair of chopsticks is no big deal. But with this many people, we can’t be feeding everyone for free.” Chen Yuan nodded.

”Not a bad idea. Even if they don’t take us up on it at first, we should make sure they know the service is there. Someone will always need it eventually.”

Chen Jun was on board.

”Actually, we didn’t harvest that much today, and we gave some to Mr. Qin, so whatever’s left we can save for lunch tomorrow — saves us a trip into town to sell it anyway.”

Chen Ying said that worked perfectly fine for her.

Qin Fen falling into the water that afternoon had given them all a scare and eaten up a good chunk of time. On top of giving some produce away, they hadn’t gathered nearly as much as usual.

They’d thought about heading out again after dinner before it got dark, but now there was no need.

...

After dinner, Chen Jun and Tang Ying got straight to work sorting through the vegetables, getting everything ready for the busy day ahead. They even made a special trip to the uncle’s place to grab two chickens to have on standby.

Chen Yuan sank back into the recliner, mulling over whether to post the footage he’d shot today through whatever channels he could find to keep promoting the pond.

But he thought better of it.

His reach was limited, and the first shot had already been fired. Word-of-mouth from the fishing crowd spreading the news through their own circles would do the job well enough on its own.

”Oh right, I almost forgot something.”

Thinking about the video had nearly made Chen Yuan forget about his best friend Qin Fen’s situation.

In his past life, Qin Fen never got to pursue the career he actually wanted. He never even got a chance to try. In the end, it wore him down into depression.

Back then, Chen Yuan had been too caught up in his own mess to do anything about it. But now that he’d been given a second chance, there was no way he was going to sit back and watch his best friend suffer through all that again.

Buzz buzz buzz.

Just as Chen Yuan was about to reach out to Qin Fen, the fishing pond group chat suddenly flooded with a wave of new members, and a WeChat notification rang out right after.

Qin Fen was video calling him.

”You poor ghost, see all the action in the group? I posted the Battle Fish King video in a bunch of fishing group chats to spread the word about your pond. Got myself kicked out of a few in the process, but I pulled in a few dozen fishermen for you. Pretty loyal of me, right?”

The call connected, and Qin Fen’s chubby face filled the entire screen.

”You’re the man.”

Chen Yuan gave a thumbs-up to the camera.

He’d considered posing as a regular angler and slipping into fishing group chats to promote the place himself, but he’d shot the idea down.

For one, it felt shady. And for another, you’d never get added to those groups unless you’d actually been to the pond and could prove you were a real customer.

Qin Fen had been a real customer — just not anymore.

”I’m this loyal to you, and you’re not going to do something for me in return?”

Qin Fen grinned through the screen, all sly smiles and barely disguised mischief.

”I’m not interested in men.”

”Get lost.”

Qin Fen spat out a curse, then got down to business. ”Alright, seriously — my grandpa wants to bring a few of his old colleagues tomorrow. You know how it is with old folks, they barely sleep, so they’ll probably show up early.”

”Tell them to cast their lines the moment they get there. You and I don’t stand on ceremony.” Chen Yuan said without a second thought.

Any other fishing pond would charge by the clock, but between the two of them, it was never going to be like that. Besides, Qin Fen had gone above and beyond — getting himself kicked out of groups just to pull in a few dozen customers for him.

That was a top-tier patron right there.

And then there was Mr. Qin.

The man was bringing a whole senior crew.

Equally top-tier.

”That’s my brother right there.”

Qin Fen gave a thumbs-up, then scratched the back of his head a little awkwardly. ”There’s one more thing — any chance you’ve got somewhere for them to stay? My grandpa and his friends are dead set on staking out the Fish King. If they don’t catch it tomorrow, they don’t want to bother making the trip back and forth.”

Chen Yuan was stunned.

These guys were serious?