Chapter 103 - 104: Taste-Testing

Chapter 103: Chapter 104: Taste-Testing

The table was packed with about ten dishes. Besides the ones Tang Ying and the others had prepared, three more had been cooked by villagers handpicked by Chen Wenbin.

All proper, hearty dishes.

Dry-fried pork intestines, chopped chili fish, and glass noodles with shrimp.

The ingredients had all been supplied by Chen Yuan, of course.

He didn’t mind the cost — what mattered was finding dishes that looked good, smelled great, and tasted even better.

"Wow, just look at the presentation — Aunt Juan’s cooking has got to be something else."

Chen Yuan tossed the compliment toward a woman around Tang Ying’s age.

Her name was Xu Juan, a fellow villager.

"Go on, give it a taste."

Xu Juan smiled at the praise. Nobody dislikes a compliment, especially from a potential employer during a job trial.

Chen Yuan picked up his chopsticks and worked his way through each dish one by one.

His eyes lit up more with every bite.

"Mmm. Really impressive."

He gave a genuine thumbs-up — this wasn’t just flattery. Xu Juan’s cooking was nearly on par with his mom’s.

After Chen Yuan finished tasting, Chen Jun, Tang Ying, and the others each took their turns. Their reactions were much the same — all three dishes were genuinely good.

"You’ve really come a long way. Next time the village has a banquet, you could easily be the head cook."

That was Lin Cuiju’s verdict.

And it was the one that meant the most to Xu Juan.

Everyone in the village knew Lin Cuiju was in a league of her own in the kitchen. For the past ten or twenty years, she had been the go-to chef for every village event — anyone without serious skills didn’t even qualify as a kitchen helper.

Getting praised by Lin Cuiju was the highest stamp of approval a cook could get.

"I pulled out all the stops for this job. I picked my three best signature dishes — I didn’t dare bring anything else to the table."

Xu Juan beamed.

When Chen Wenbin had gone around recruiting, he’d mentioned the same pay as Liu Fang’s. The women in the village had practically lit up on the spot, rushing home to practice with their woks, giving it everything they had.

Three thousand yuan a month.

And the work wasn’t even that hard — there’d still be time to tend to the farm on the side. What village could offer a deal like that?

Plenty of the men wanted in too, but their cooking just didn’t cut it. Some of the dishes they brought were so bad Chen Yuan couldn’t choke them down even out of politeness. Those guys would have to be considered for other roles.

"Let’s eat first — sit down and join us, Aunt Juan."

Chen Yuan waved her over.

"I’ll pass on dinner, I’ve still got some farm work waiting at home."

Xu Juan shook her head.

Chen Yuan understood what she really meant — she wanted to know the outcome, yes or no, so she could stop worrying about it.

"Aunt Juan, I’m not one to beat around the bush, so I’ll just say it straight."

Chen Yuan set down his chopsticks and looked at her.

"Go ahead."

Xu Juan rubbed her hands together, a mix of anticipation and nerves.

"Uncle Bin probably gave you the rundown already. I can’t promise anything just yet, but what I can say is — if this thing comes together, we’ll definitely need you here."

Xu Juan’s cooking was genuinely solid. All three of her signature dishes could easily make the cut on his mom’s menu, and the supporting dishes would be no problem at all.

Out of everyone who’d come for a tasting these past few days, Xu Juan was the best of the lot.

If things worked out, she’d absolutely be needed.

"I understand. Whatever you need, I’m behind you."

Xu Juan was practically over the moon — the only thing she held back was pumping her fist in the air.

"Thanks a lot, Aunt Juan."

Chen Yuan laughed as he thanked her, then pulled out a red envelope and held it out to her.

"That said, you’ve got to plan for the worst before you hope for the best. If this doesn’t pan out, please don’t go thinking I was stringing you all along."

"What’s this for? I can’t take that."

Xu Juan pushed the envelope back.

"Take it. If this falls through and you’ve all put in the work for nothing, I’d feel terrible about it. And if you think it’s too little, just pretend I never said any of this."

At that point, there was nothing left to politely refuse. Xu Juan took the red envelope, said her thanks, and headed home.

Chen Yuan had given red envelopes to everyone who’d come for a tasting or tried out working at the pond these past few days — nothing huge, just a few dozen yuan, fair compensation for their time.

After all, whether they’d cooked a few dishes or helped shuttle customers around, they’d given up their time. If things didn’t work out later, at least no one could say he’d taken advantage of them.

"The whole village is buzzing, so how the hell is Zhou Jianming still keeping his cool?"

After Xu Juan left, Chen Jun muttered to himself as he dropped back into his seat.

From the outside, all the hiring activity — the fish farming, the pond work, finding someone who could cook — made it look like they were genuinely gearing up for the big pond.

But Zhou Jianming was just sitting there like a turtle with his head pulled in, not reacting at all.

How was he not taking the bait?

And the real problem was, landing the big pond was never going to be that simple. If this dragged on too long, people like Xu Juan might end up losing faith in them.

"If he wants to play it cool, let him. If we get the big pond, I won’t even need his Old Pond anymore."

Chen Yuan was as calm as ever.

Sure, most of what they were doing was aimed at securing the Old Pond, but it was also laying groundwork for the big pond at the same time. That stretch of water was tens of acres wide — next to it, the Old Pond was Little Kalami.

"Yuan handles things with real care. Giving every villager who came out a red envelope — no matter how this ends, nobody’s going to have a bad word to say."

Chen Kingdom said as he settled into his seat.

These little things mattered more than people realized. A small red envelope didn’t cost much, but it told the villagers that Chen Yuan was straight with people and wasn’t out to exploit anyone.

That goodwill went a long way — especially when it came to the big pond negotiations.

"Come on, let’s eat. We’ve got a proper spread tonight."

Tang Ying called everyone to the table.

After dinner, once the kitchen was cleaned up, his dad and the others headed back out to the vegetable patch. Chen Yuan rested for a bit, then hopped on his three-wheeler and rode out to the fishing pond.

The pond was as steady as always, the night lights casting a bright glow over the water — clear enough that nobody even needed a glow-in-the-dark float.

Chen Dequan had a cigarette hanging from his lip and a landing net slung over his shoulder, making slow laps around the pond and occasionally jogging over to help a customer net their catch. Liu Fang tidied up the food containers and checked on the cleanliness around the area.

"Boss Chen, the restroom’s gotta be almost done by now, right?"

The moment Chen Yuan showed up, one of the anglers called out with a grin, and the whole atmosphere around the pond seemed to lighten up instantly.

Over the past few days, most of the newcomers from the fishing ground’s group chat had made their way here at least once. They were practically regulars by now, all on familiar terms with Chen Yuan.

"Just a few finishing touches left. Should wrap up tonight — barring anything unexpected, it’ll be open for use tomorrow. Officially."

Chen Yuan hopped off the three-wheeler, cigarette between his lips, and strolled toward the pond.

"That’s great news — no more having to run over to Boss Chen’s house~"

"Right? Daytime’s fine, but night fishing’s a whole different story. Coming to your place at this hour, I’d feel bad waking anyone up, but when nature calls, you can’t exactly argue with it."

"Can’t hold it? Man, I can’t even clench it~"

The whole group burst out laughing.

It was a real problem. Night fishing ran until midnight, and once the lights went out at Chen Yuan’s house around ten, the anglers didn’t want to cause a disturbance.

If it had just been guys, no one would care — they’d find a corner and handle it. But Liu Fang was still around, and nobody wanted to embarrass themselves in front of her.

So they held it.

Now that problem was solved. The restroom would be finished tonight and open tomorrow — no more bladder anxiety during late-night sessions.

"I’m honestly more curious what this restroom is actually going to look like."

"Just seeing the outline under the tarp is wild enough. And when you factor in Boss Chen’s vision and his, uh, pressing financial obligations — it’s not going to be anything ordinary."

"Ever heard of a five-star toilet?"

The anglers stared at the tarp-wrapped structure with genuine curiosity, joking but also genuinely looking forward to it.

It wasn’t just them — the group chat had also lit up once word spread that the restroom would be ready tomorrow. Everyone was curious to see what kind of bathroom had come out of a project like this.

"The higher the expectations, the bigger the impact. This might actually turn into some great word-of-mouth on its own."

The corner of Chen Yuan’s mouth curved up slightly.

Between managing the fishing ground and handling the hiring these past few days, Chen Yuan had also been thinking about how to create a real buzz for the place — something to draw in more customers while the Old Pond deal was still in the air.

Better service?

Stock more fish?

Neither was a bad idea, but the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground was already doing well on both fronts. The service was beyond reproach — the group chat was full of glowing reviews every single day, and every customer who’d visited gave it a perfect score.

As for fish stock.

The small pond had plenty, and with the Fish King lurking in the depths, it was already an irresistible draw. No amount of extra fish could compete with that kind of pull.

After turning it over and over, Chen Yuan figured the facilities might just be the thing that set off a spark.

He was genuinely curious to see what Wang Tao had built.

He hoped it would deliver.

"Time to let the Fish King put on a show~"

After doing a lap around the pond and chatting with the regulars, Chen Yuan headed back under the shade umbrella. Seeing it was nearly ten o’clock, he made the call without hesitation — time to activate the Fish King.

Let’s get wild~