I Build a Top-tier Fishing Destination

Chen Yuan had barely finished ferrying the first customers to the Old Pond when another wave of arrivals showed up. At first, Chen Jun didn’t think much of it — there were always a few die-hard fishing addicts who’d show up no matter what.

But car after car kept pulling in, and that gave him pause.

This many people in a torrential downpour? These guys were out of their minds.

“Stop standing there gawking. I’ll take the small pond, you handle the Old Pond.”

Chen Jun didn’t waste a second. He hopped on his three-wheeler, squeezed two customers onto the front seat — leaving the cargo bed empty — and headed off toward the small pond.

“Anyone else heading to the small pond?”

By then, Chen Kingdom had rolled up on his own three-wheeler, and the auntie had ridden over on hers too.

Chen Li had come out to help as well, while Tang Ying was busy in the kitchen putting breakfast together.

“Boss, we’re here~”

Chen Dequan and the rest of the staff arrived — every single one of them on a three-wheeler. Liu Fang and Xu Juan had both ridden their own over.

They were all in the fishing ground’s group chat. Someone had spotted the messages, realized customers were showing up despite the storm, and quickly got word out to everyone else. They’d all rushed over.

“Old Pond customers, follow us.”

No one needed to be told what to do — everyone already knew the drill inside and out.

“It’s a mess out here in the rain. Tell the customers to leave their tackle boxes and gear behind for now — just get them there. Nobody rides in the cargo bed. Squeeze two up front, make more trips if you have to, but keep it safe.”

Chen Yuan called out the reminder quickly.

The cargo beds were soaking wet, and trying to ride back there holding an umbrella would be a nightmare. This was arrival, not departure — once they left, they could go home and shower, but right now they still had hours ahead of them at the pond.

On top of that, the roads were slippery in the rain. No rushing. Safety first.

The staff all understood. They’d ridden their three-wheelers over not just to stay dry themselves, but because they knew rainy days meant chaos — you needed as many vehicles as possible.

And rainy days really were a lot more trouble. Even with more vehicles than usual this morning, everything took longer than normal. It was nearly seven-thirty before the morning rush finally settled down.

“These fishing nuts are something else — not even a thunderstorm can keep them away~”

“You have no idea. When I opened WeChat this morning, my jaw hit the floor. I genuinely started questioning whether fishing people and the rest of us even live under the same sky.”

“One word — respect~”

Once the rush was over, everyone except Chen Yiheng and his brother — who stayed posted at the Old Pond — had gathered at Chen Yuan’s place, smoking and shaking their heads in disbelief.

Today’s turnout at the fishing ground was genuinely beyond all expectations.

Sure, the pond wasn’t packed to capacity — maybe eighty percent full, the lowest occupancy rate in recent memory — but just look at the sky.

It was pouring buckets.

You had to hand it to these fishing fanatics. They were on another level.

“When the alarm went off, I told you we should get up. And you said there wouldn’t be anyone today, turned it off, and went back to sleep. Look how that turned out — completely blindsided.”

Tang Ying came in carrying a big tray of egg pancakes, shot Chen Jun a sharp look, then called everyone into the main room for breakfast.

Chen Jun scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed, and said nothing.

Though honestly, you couldn’t really blame him.

Nobody had expected fishing people to be this crazy. Even Chen Yuan, who knew the crowd better than most, had figured there was no way anyone would head out in weather like this — he hadn’t bothered getting up when his own alarm went off, either.

They’d all been caught completely off guard, running on empty stomachs right up until now.

“Dad, head over to the small pond in a bit and keep an eye on things. Rainy days aren’t like normal days — you’ve got to be extra careful.”

Chen Yuan was wolfing down pancakes and milk between breaths, sorting out the day’s tasks as he ate.

He’d expected a handful of customers at most. This many showing up was a surprise — but since they were here, there was no reason not to keep the business running.

“Sure thing~”

Chen Jun nodded.

“Sis, stay home and help Mom with the cooking. Keep an eye out for any late arrivals too. I’m guessing a few more fishing folk will still be trickling in — if they show up, take them over to the pond.”

Based on the group chat, some customers had left pretty late. Between seven-thirty and eight, there’d probably be a few more coming through.

“I’ll stay here and handle it.”

Chen Kingdom volunteered right away to stay back and receive any stragglers.

“Uncle, keep an eye on the aquaculture plots over in Hou Village. Mr. Liang’s getting on in years — don’t let him go climbing those slopes in this rain.”

Chen Yuan shook his head. With a downpour this heavy, the aquaculture land needed watching too.

“I’ll take care of the late arrivals. It’s not like there’s any farm work to do in this weather anyway.”

Chen Dequan was quick to jump in.

Chen Nan and the rest of the staff were just as eager.

Chen Yuan had been about to send the night-shift crew home to rest — they’d been at it until one in the morning last night, hadn’t gotten much sleep, and a thunderstorm on top of that was bound to make everything harder.

But Chen Nan pointed out there probably wouldn’t be many more customers coming, and once they were dealt with, everyone could head home and crash.

“Alright, I’m heading over to the Old Pond.”

He finished breakfast quickly, rinsed up, grabbed a few pancakes and some milk to take along, and was heading out the door when something occurred to him. He turned back and grabbed the digital scale.

They’d be weighing fish returns at the Old Pond — he couldn’t forget the scale.

“That fish-gripper with the built-in scale from Du Luming is pretty slick, really handy — only downside is it tops out at sixty jin. Anything heavier and you’re out of luck.”

Not that it mattered much. A fish that heavy would be hard to hold up with a gripper anyway — you’d still need a proper scale for those. Still, Chen Yuan made a mental note to order a few. For anything under sixty jin, the gripper was way more convenient.

“And canopies for the three-wheelers — get those fitted on. They’d make ferrying customers in the rain a lot easier, and once winter rolls around they’ll help block the wind too.”

Chen Yuan rode toward the Old Pond, mentally going through his shopping list. Once he’d sorted out the food orders, he could place everything online.

He also needed the lottery machine for the draw.

His plan was to use one of those bingo-style ball blowers — load in all 112 fishing spot numbers, hit the switch, let it spin, and whatever ball popped out first would be the lucky number.

“Uncle Heng, Uncle Kai — here, eat something~”

Chen Yuan arrived at the pond and rode along the bank until he found Chen Yiheng and Chen Yikai on their patrol rounds. He handed each of them milk and a pancake.

The rain was so loud you could barely hear yourself think, and visibility had dropped as well. Because of that, the two of them were doing laps far more frequently than usual — practically circling the floating walkway nonstop.

Chen Yuan reminded the customers to get their meal orders in early. With weather this bad, everything would take longer, and food delivery was bound to be delayed.

“Boss Chen, these fishing chairs are no joke.”

“Seriously top-tier. Maximum comfort — I nearly dozed off~”

“Ha! I’m starting to think Boss Chen did this on purpose. Get everyone so relaxed with those massage chairs that they fall asleep and go home empty-handed~”

“Oh damn, now that you mention it — Boss Chen is playing the long game~”

“Right?! I came here to fish and spent the first half hour just vibing in the chair. Completely forgot to prep my bait or cast a single line. Boss Chen is sneaky~”

Over in the members-only section, the anglers were having a good laugh at their own expense.

A few of them were frantically rigging their lines, bait still untouched — only now remembering why they’d come in the first place.

“Boss Chen, when are you doing the lucky angler draw?”

“How’s it going to work?”

The lucky prize was all anyone really cared about.

Everyone wanted to be the first winner — and land themselves a monster grass carp.

Even a sixty-plus jin fish would be an absolute steal~

“Once everything’s set up, we’ll do the draw.”

That was Chen Yuan’s answer every time, and it never changed.

After doing a full lap around the pond, Chen Yuan parked his three-wheeler off to the side, lit a cigarette, and quietly pulled up the system. He checked his points balance, saw there was enough, and put in his order.

Then he called Wang Tao and asked him to bring everything over as soon as possible.

“Looks like the rain’s letting up a bit~”

He hung up and stood there smoking, watching the rain. Compared to earlier that morning, it had definitely eased off — and the trend was pointing toward clearing up altogether.

The dark, heavy sky was slowly beginning to brighten, with hints of sunlight starting to break through.

That was summer thunderstorms for you — they blew in fast, but they cleared out just as fast. Nothing like the slow, endless drizzle of spring rain that seemed like it’d never stop.

“Boss Chen, I left the canopies outside your place. Got one of the staff there — just ride your three-wheelers over and they’ll get them fitted on the spot. Saves you having to track each one down separately.”

About half an hour later, Wang Tao rolled up on his three-wheeler, already fitted with a fresh canopy.

“Got it. What about the lottery machine?”

Chen Yuan hopped off his three-wheeler and walked over.

The downpour had eased off considerably by now — just a light, scattered drizzle. A rain jacket was more than enough. At this rate, it’d probably stop entirely before long.

“It’s in the back. Here, take this first.”

Wang Tao, also in a rain jacket, climbed down and handed Chen Yuan a clear document bag.

“What’s this?”

Chen Yuan took it with a puzzled look.

“The membership cards. They were ready a couple days ago, but I got caught up with the construction work and forgot all about them. And you never followed up with me either, Boss Chen.”

Chen Yuan smacked his forehead. He’d completely forgotten about that too.

There had just been so much going on these past few days.

Between the Old Pond event, helping Zhou Lin with the wedding escort, and all the groundwork for the Fishing Association, nobody in the members’ group chat had brought up the membership cards either — and so the whole thing had slipped through the cracks entirely.