I Build a Top-tier Fishing Destination

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Yo, There’s a Girl Too

Figuring out what sides to include in the boxed meals was easy enough.

A one-third profit margin would do just fine.

It wasn’t a high margin by any means — after all, they were working out of their own home with no rent to worry about. A restaurant in the city charging the same prices would barely break even. The food they were putting out was genuinely great value.

”Alright, got it. Go on, I’ve got this.”

Chen Ying didn’t even look up from what she was doing. Then something suddenly occurred to her, and she called out to Chen Yuan. ”Oh right — we don’t have any takeout containers, and we’re short on bowls for the sides too. Should you run to town and grab some?”

The night before, the two of them had figured twenty customers for lunch would be a good day. Between what they had at home, they could scrape together enough dishes and bowls. Nobody expected every single angler to want a meal.

”Ying, if you’re short on containers, just use ours for now. And honestly, one stove probably isn’t going to cut it — how about I head back and help stir-fry the sides for the boxed meals?”

The auntie had finished lighting the fire and was already helping with the food prep. She made the suggestion offhandedly. ℯ

”Sounds good to me. Auntie, sorry to put you through the trouble — we’ll split the profits with you later.”

A typical rural stove had two fireboxes. One side held a large wok, mainly used for heavy dishes and steaming. The other side fit two smaller pots, used for stir-frying, cooking rice, and simmering soups.

But right now the big wok was being used to steam rice — with the anglers and the family combined, they were feeding close to forty people, and the small pots simply weren’t up to the job.

The small-pot side was already completely overwhelmed.

”Listen to you, talking like a stranger,” the auntie said with an amused laugh. They were family — of course you helped each other out. What was all this talk about splitting profits?

Chen Yuan just smiled and didn’t say anything, but he was dead serious about it.

Sure, they were close with his uncle’s family, and pitching in here and there was no big deal — that’s what village life was all about. But the fishing ground wasn’t going to be a one-time thing.

He wanted to hand off the cooking operation to his parents and his uncle’s family on a permanent basis.

That conversation needed to happen properly though — it couldn’t be sorted out in a sentence or two. He’d bring it up later that evening.

For now, the priority was getting some water out to the anglers. It was blazing hot, and even with the life vests and parasols helping to keep things cool, having something cold to drink would make a real difference.

”I just filled up two thermoses — want me to take them out to the anglers?”

He’d barely stepped into the main room when he spotted his dad standing there with two full thermoses.

”There are too many people — two thermoses won’t be enough. And boiling water’s too hot to drink when you’re really thirsty. Let me grab some bottled water for them instead.”

Chen Yuan thought it over and decided bottled water made more sense.

The boiled water would still come in handy though — some people liked tea, and they could come refill whenever they needed.

”We’re low on bottled water.”

Chen Jun hadn’t stocked up much. Nobody had expected business to blow up like this right out of the gate — there just hadn’t been time to prepare.

”Ring ring ring.”

Chen Yuan was about to say something when his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was Qin Fen calling.

”Where are you, man? Check the group chat! No matter how busy you are, you’ve gotta keep an eye on things over here at the fishing ground.”

The moment the call connected, Qin Fen was already pushing him. Chen Yuan’s heart jumped — had something gone wrong at the fishing ground?

He hung up quickly and pulled up the WeChat group, rapidly scanning through hundreds of messages.

”Yeah right, I’ll believe it when I see it. A life vest that keeps you cool? And those parasols don’t look anything special — how are you guys making them sound like personal fans?”

”I’ll admit the water looks nice and the vibe is good, but you guys are seriously overselling it.”

”Oh nice, there are girls at the fishing ground! Hey Boss Chen, are the ladies anglers? Any chance you could pass along their WeChat? I’ll make it worth your while.”

”I’ll make it double worth your while.”

Things had started off normal enough in the group chat. Qin Fen, who was no great shakes as a fisherman, had been killing time by hyping up the life vests and parasols, posting photos and videos of the fun scene at the fishing ground.

He’d also snapped some shots of three girls framed against the lotus flowers on the pond — instantly gorgeous — and that was all it took to get the whole group buzzing with activity.

”Those are all somebody’s moms, boys. Any brave souls up for the full package — a woman, a kid, the whole family moving in with you?”

”Shut it, God of Wealth.”

”Fellow anglers, don’t listen to God of Wealth’s nonsense. Two of those girls are taken. But the one in the white dress? That’s God of Wealth’s own little sister — and she’s single, boys~”

”Hey there, God of Wealth.”

”Future brother-in-law~”

Ye Huan had pulled his friends into the group and was having a great time chatting away — right up until he shot himself in the foot, with the whole group lining up to call him brother-in-law in unison.

Chen Yuan had to wonder whether Ye Zhi would smack him if she ever saw this.

Chen Yuan read it all with a satisfied grin. Quietly, he gave Qin Fen a mental thumbs-up. He hadn’t even had a chance to post the photos he’d taken earlier, and Qin Fen had already done all the advertising for him.

The effect on the group’s energy was obvious too — the anglers weren’t just chatting more, they were pulling in new members. The group was about to hit a hundred people.

He kept scrolling, and it didn’t take long to figure out why Qin Fen had called him.

”Hey Boss Chen, do you sell cigarettes? Left mine at home this morning, I was in such a rush.”

”I’m down to my last two — Boss Chen, can I grab a pack off you?”

”+1.”

”You got sunflower seeds, peanuts, bottled water? I like having something to snack on while I fish — otherwise something just feels off.”

”I could use a bottle of water.”

”Boss Chen, where are you?”

A whole string of @mentions, and Chen Yuan had missed every single one. He could only hope the anglers weren’t too annoyed.

Fortunately, someone in the group had already explained.

”Stop tagging him — I just went to Boss Chen’s place to use the restroom. The whole family’s flat-out cooking right now, and Boss Chen’s in the kitchen too.”

And there was evidence to back it up.

A photo of Chen Yuan in the kitchen, clearly taken from the courtyard, along with a video of his uncle butchering a chicken — followed by a caption.

”I asked the uncle — these are grain-fed, genuine free-range chickens. Taste is going to be off the charts. Brothers, we are eating well today.”

The group, already lively, erupted again once the photos and videos hit — especially when word spread about the boxed meals, the sides, and the prices.

”Holy shit, Boss Chen’s cooking it himself and charging that little?”

”That is a proper free-range village chicken. Look at those feet. Look at that size. That bird’s got some age on it — you couldn’t buy one like that in the city for twenty yuan a pound.”

”Exactly — those so-called free-range chickens at the market aren’t half as real as the ones from the village, and they charge an arm and a leg for them. You guys are so lucky. Today is a good eating day.”

”Why didn’t I go today?”

”Because you’re broke and you’ve got a soul-crushing shift to get through.”

”You’ve got money though — question is, did the big shot actually show up today?”

”I’m talking about myself — broke and chained to a job I hate, too scared to even take a sick day in case the boss figures out the company runs just fine without me.”

”Brother, I feel that deep in my soul. Weekend trip together?”

Reaching the end of the messages, Chen Yuan let out a quiet sigh of relief. Good — judging by the mood in the group, the anglers weren’t upset. But he absolutely had to get supplies sorted, and the service had to be on point.

Yesterday was the opening shot for the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground. Today was the battle that would decide whether it actually took off. The anglers’ experience here was everything — if they left unhappy and never came back, forget about word-of-mouth promotion; the whole operation would be dead in the water.

”So what’s going on?”

Chen Jun had seen Chen Yuan put his phone away and asked anxiously.

He’d caught enough of Qin Fen’s words on the call to worry something had gone sideways at the fishing ground.

”The anglers want to buy stuff — sunflower seeds, peanuts, bottled water, cigarettes, that kind of thing.”

”We’re out of cigarettes, almost out of water, and we never stocked up on seeds or peanuts at all.”

Chen Jun breathed out in relief — at least nothing was wrong — but the supply shortage was still a problem. ”Should I ride into town? I can be back within the hour.”

”I’ll handle it. You go help with the cooking.” Chen Yuan shook his head. ”Auntie’s gone back to prep the sides for the boxed meals. Uncle’s going to have to head back soon to help her, and then Mom would be alone in the kitchen — she can’t manage all that by herself.”

”Alright.”

Chen Jun nodded. Getting lunch ready was the priority, and it was already nearly ten o’clock. Time was tight and there was a lot to do — Tang Ying couldn’t handle the kitchen on her own.

”I’m going to add you both to the WeChat group. More eyes on the chat means we can catch what the anglers need right away,” Chen Yuan called back to his dad as he turned to leave.

Qin Fen’s call had been a wake-up call in more ways than one.

When the fishing ground got busy, he couldn’t possibly keep on top of everything alone. Someone needed to be monitoring things specifically, so any requests could be handled immediately.

He hadn’t prepared well enough.

”System, is there any way to speed up delivery from the store?”

He dropped a quick message in the group saying he’d sort everything out, then immediately pulled up the system in his mind.

He needed supplies, but the system had its own shop where he could spend the points converted from revenue — no need to waste actual cash, especially when the system shop’s prices were so low.

More importantly, everything he bought would be going to the anglers, which should also count toward the fishing ground’s upgrade progress. Improving the service was its own kind of development, after all.

That was why he’d turned Chen Jun down on the town run — he needed to check whether the system could get this sorted in time.

”The host may select express delivery. A certain number of points will be deducted. These deducted points do not contribute to the fishing ground in any way and will not count toward upgrade progress.”

Classic highway robbery.

Chen Yuan was pretty damn sure the system was doing this on purpose.

”How many points will it cost?”

”There is no fixed rate. The system will calculate the amount based on comprehensive factors including the items purchased, the degree of urgency, and other relevant conditions.”

Chen Yuan relayed his request mentally — he needed it within half an hour at the latest. The system calculated the express fee: one hundred points.

”Not bad. That’s actually reasonable.”

Chen Yuan exhaled. He’d been half-expecting the damn system to bleed him dry.

Maybe even the system knew that riding to town and back only took about an hour — charge too much for a half-hour express and Chen Yuan would just say no.

Without hesitating, he pulled up the shop and started searching.

For cigarettes, he picked a wide variety of brands — two cartons each of the popular ones.

A hundred cases of bottled water. A hundred cases of cola.

And alcohol.

Beer and baijiu both needed stocking. Mr. Qin was fond of a good baijiu — he couldn’t drink too much, sure, but he’d definitely want a glass or two in the evening. Worth buying the good stuff.

After two rounds of shopping, Chen Yuan had a pretty solid read on how the system shop worked. Everything was roughly five times cheaper than in the real world.

Which meant his 4,200 points gave him the equivalent of about 21,000 yuan in purchasing power inside the system shop.

Time to go all in.

He paid quickly, stuffed his phone in his pocket, and jogged out of the main room. Just as he stepped outside, his uncle had finished chopping up a chicken, rinsed it clean, and was carrying it into the kitchen.

”Uncle, save the giblets — we can stir-fry them tonight as a drinking snack.”

”Already set them aside.”

His uncle grinned.

Back in the day, throwing away chicken giblets always felt like a waste, so people would cook them up as a side dish — then realized they were absolutely delicious. Chen Yuan especially loved them.

”Uncle, can you chop up another half chicken? Keep the pieces small — make a spicy diced chicken for the boxed meals. That way we won’t need as many other meat dishes.”

Chen Yuan had already stepped into the kitchen, but the thought hit him and he turned around, calling after his uncle who was heading home.

The anglers had all been watching that chicken-butchering video in the group and talking about how much they were looking forward to the free-range flavor. He had to deliver on that — otherwise all that anticipation would turn to disappointment.

”Sure thing.”

Chen Kingdom turned back around and picked up the chicken again.

”So how’d it go?”

The kitchen had been brought under control. Chen Jun was pulling out his phone every now and then to check the group chat.

”I’ve got a delivery coming to the door. Half an hour, tops. Saves us a trip.”

Chen Yuan stepped in to help stir the pot. His mom had decided to start braising the free-range chicken first — old birds had tough, dense meat and needed a long simmer. Two hours might not even be enough.

”That’s pretty fast.”

Chen Jun pocketed his phone, fed two large logs into the firebox, then stood up and took the spatula out of Chen Yuan’s hand, waving him off.

”Go handle your stuff. Once you’ve got the cigarettes and water sorted, stay out by the pond and keep an eye on things. We’ve got the cooking covered here.”

”Let me at least go splash some water on my face first.”

He’d been woken up by a phone call just after five and gone straight to the pond — he hadn’t had a single moment to wash up since.

Before long, Chen Yuan’s phone rang. The delivery had arrived.

He told the driver to turn the corner and stop there — too many vehicles on this stretch, no room to turn around later.

”Hey — wait, it’s you again?”