Chapter 133 - 134: A Great Beauty

Chapter 133: Chapter 134: A Great Beauty

The next morning.

Chen Yuan was up before his alarm even had the chance to go off. His right arm ached worse than the day before, but the moment he thought about the hundredfold multiplier and the rewards from the Anglers’ Carnival, it barely registered.

He washed up and headed downstairs, only to find Chen Jun planted squarely in the living room, waiting.

The second Chen Jun spotted him on the stairs, he shot to his feet.

"What the — you nearly gave me a heart attack. It’s the crack of dawn, old man."

Chen Yuan stumbled back a step.

"What’s all this about an Anglers’ Carnival?"

Chen Jun didn’t give him a second to breathe, closing the distance in two strides and grabbing him by the arm.

The look on his face — sheer panic and worry — was even more intense than when he’d watched Wang Tao blast through that hillside not long ago.

"Weren’t you in the group chat? Didn’t you see it last night?"

Chen Yuan dug out a cigarette and held one out to him.

Relax, relax. Have a smoke and calm down.

"Do whatever you want, but you’re talking about dumping twelve thousand jin of fish into a two-acre pond, guaranteeing no less than ten thousand jin per session, bringing in pros to coach and fish on behalf of guests — if you actually run this thing for ten days, do you have any idea how much you’d be throwing away?"

Chen Jun had no interest in the cigarette.

When he’d seen the post in the group chat last night, he’d nearly exploded on the spot. The only reason he hadn’t charged straight upstairs was Tang Ying holding him back, telling him their son must have a plan.

What on earth was the kid thinking?

Had the easy money gone to his head? Was he trying to burn it all down?

Like the guys in the group had said, if you actually delivered on every promise in that event announcement, you’d be burning through hundreds of thousands of yuan at minimum. Even stripping out the fishing fees from ten days and twenty sessions, the losses alone would run into the hundreds of thousands.

They’d barely made a few bucks — and he wanted to blow it like this?

"Do I look like an idiot to you?"

Chen Yuan didn’t bother explaining himself. He just asked.

Chen Jun desperately wanted to say yes, you absolutely are an idiot — but cursing out his own son didn’t exactly do him any favors. He just glared, jaw tight, and said nothing.

But if Chen Yuan didn’t give him a straight answer, he’d shut the whole fishing pond down before he’d ever agree to this event.

Hundreds of thousands of yuan.

Who could afford to eat a loss like that?

Even rich people didn’t throw money around like this.

"Relax. You really think I’d run a deal that loses me money? Spending cash just to make noise — that’s not my style."

Chen Yuan tucked the cigarette between his own lips and gave the pack a little shake toward Chen Jun — you want one or not?

"You’re seriously doing this?"

Chen Jun snatched a cigarette and lit it himself.

"The guys in the group aren’t wrong, but they’re working off retail fish prices. You think I’m paying market rate for that volume?"

Chen Yuan lit his cigarette, took a long, slow drag, and spoke without any urgency. "I’ve run the numbers. Even if every single session fished the pond completely dry, the most I’d lose is twenty or thirty thousand. And there’s no way that happens every time — on the whole, it should about break even."

"But if the event lands well and actually builds buzz for the Old Pond before it opens, the moment that place is packed on opening day, we’ll make back everything we lost here in no time. After that, it’s all profit."

Hearing that, some of the tension drained from Chen Jun’s face.

He was still skeptical, though.

"You’re sure it’ll break even?"

"Do I look like someone who’s sitting on hundreds of thousands of yuan?"

Chen Yuan shot back.

Well... fair point.

Business had been good lately — packed sessions twice a day, every day — and they had made decent money. But they’d just taken on the lease for the Old Pond, so there wasn’t much left over.

It’s not like he had that kind of cash to throw around.

That thought finally put Chen Jun’s mind at ease, though he still fixed Chen Yuan with a stern look. "You can run it however you like, but you have to keep this ship steady. Your sister might come back one day — the whole family’s on board, you understand?"

"Don’t worry about it. This ship isn’t going under. We’re setting sail, and the scenery only gets better from here."

Chen Yuan smiled, all confidence.

"See? I knew our son had it handled. You’re just stressing yourself out over nothing."

Tang Ying came in carrying breakfast, shaking her head. It had already been decided that Chen Yuan was the one steering this ship — this old man just couldn’t resist creeping up to the helm for a look, even though he didn’t understand a thing. Pure, pointless worrying.

"Come and eat, both of you. It’s going to be a busy morning — the fish delivery might already be on its way."

Tang Ying waved the two of them over.

The ten-day carnival was bound to draw a crowd, and the fish needed to go in early. There was going to be a lot more to handle than usual, so she’d gotten up half an hour earlier than normal.

His uncle and aunt had gotten up even earlier.

They showed up before the family had even finished breakfast.

"Yuan, you sure about this event?"

Just like Chen Jun, Chen Kingdom was worried about the losses getting out of hand. By any normal logic, a ten-day carnival like this was a guaranteed money pit.

"Don’t worry, Uncle. I talked the fish supplier down — way lower than you’d expect. Think of them as a sponsor for this carnival. If it goes well, I’ll be buying all my fish from them going forward."

Chen Yuan slurped up a mouthful of noodles.

It wasn’t exactly a lie — he just needed a cover story. And the supplier’s price really was absurdly low: tens of thousands of jin in exchange for a few hundred yuan in fishing fees.

"Well, that’s a relief. That’s a real relief."

Chen Kingdom let out a long breath, and the whole family finally relaxed.

With a sponsor in the picture, they weren’t carrying the whole load themselves — the risk dropped considerably.

"Dad, I’m going to head down to the village entrance. If any customers show up, just welcome them in. If the fish supplier gets here first, ask them to wait — I want the fish stocked after the guests are settled in."

Chen Yuan wolfed down his breakfast, handed out cigarettes to his dad and uncle, said his goodbyes, and headed for the village entrance.

Wang Heng and the others usually took the bus, so he wanted to get down there early and meet them.

As for stocking the pond, Chen Yuan planned to do it after the guests had arrived. For one thing, the downhill path to the pond was narrow — a fish delivery truck would clog it up and make it impossible for guests to get through.

For another, he wanted to stock the fish right in front of everyone, so every angler there could see the quantity with their own eyes.

He’d even gotten a scale ready for the occasion.

"Beep beep."

He’d barely said his goodbyes when a car horn sounded outside.

Already? This early?

Chen Yuan was a little surprised. It was earlier than usual — barely past six in the morning.

"Oh, Brother Wang — what are you doing here so early?"

He jogged outside and spotted Wang Heng climbing out of a car. Chen Yuan grinned and trotted over, while Hua was already pulling out a cigarette to offer.

"Boss Chen put out the call — had to show up early and show some support."

Wang Heng stepped out of the car, laughing as he accepted the cigarette.

"Ha! For the next few days, we’re all Boss Chen’s employees. A good worker shows up on time — otherwise you might just find yourself out of a job."

Blond Punk climbed out behind him, grinning.

"I’d advise you to stay out of the workforce entirely. You think the job market’s brutal now? You’re literally part of the problem."

Chen Yuan shook his head, handing out cigarettes.

Showing up forty-five minutes early to earn some brownie points — good for you. But where does that leave everyone else?

Just how cutthroat had things gotten out there?

There was a saying that summed it up pretty well: back in 2014, earning three thousand a month was something people laughed at you for — and by 2024, you couldn’t even land that job.

That’s how bad it had gotten.

"Young blood, full of energy — pulling all-nighters is nothing for you."

Xu Bai stepped out of the car.

"Brother Xu!"

Chen Yuan smiled and held out a cigarette. He had two in his hand — planning to pass the second to the last person getting out of the car. But his hand froze halfway through the gesture.

It was a woman.

And not just any woman — an absolute knockout.

"Thank you, Boss Chen, but I don’t smoke."

Dongfang Qingyang caught Chen Yuan’s stunned expression and pressed her lips together, hiding a smile.

"Didn’t expect a gorgeous lady, did you, Boss Chen? Don’t go getting any ideas though — this is my shifu’s wife."

Blond Punk took a drag of his cigarette and smirked.

"You’ve got way too much to say."

Wang Heng swung a kick at him. Blond Punk sidestepped it without breaking a sweat.

"Come here. I promise I won’t hit you."

Dongfang Qingyang beckoned to Blond Punk with a smile. He flinched like he’d been electrocuted, darted behind Chen Yuan, and wouldn’t stop babbling apologies.

"Hahaha!"

Chen Yuan and Xu Bai both burst out laughing.

Chen Yuan had it figured out — Wang Heng and Dongfang Qingyang clearly had feelings for each other, but neither of them had made a move yet. If they were already together, they wouldn’t be acting like this.

"Boss Chen, are you serious about the carnival?"

Xu Bai stepped closer, the laughter fading from his face.

Wang Heng and the others dropped the jokes too, all of them watching Chen Yuan with genuine concern.

"Boss Chen, you’re going to bleed yourself dry doing this. Even if we tried to go easy — intentionally giving bad advice, missing fish on purpose — you’ve still got over ten thousand jin packed into a two-acre pond. You’d hook two fish just casting blind."

Blond Punk was the type who said what he meant and didn’t dance around it. He laid it out plain: the way Chen Yuan was running this, he’d be lucky to have pants left by the end of it.

"The carnival’s a great idea, but ten days is overkill," Wang Heng said.

"I agree with Wang Heng. Just run two sessions today, stock ten or twenty thousand jin of fish — that’s already more than enough of a party. There isn’t a fishing pond in all of Chong City that’s ever been this generous."

Dongfang Qingyang added her voice to the conversation — it was less of a suggestion and more of a plea.

She’d only just met Chen Yuan, but she’d already formed a solid impression of him — from what she’d read in the group chat, and from the way all three of her friends couldn’t stop singing his praises.

Besides, if Wang Heng and the other two considered Boss Chen a friend, then as far as she was concerned, that made him her friend too.

A friend of a friend is a friend.