Chapter 139 - 140: Landing a Fish is Just the Beginning, a Full Net is the Goal

Chapter 139: Chapter 140: Landing a Fish is Just the Beginning, a Full Net is the Goal

"Boss Chen, you’re a really interesting guy."

The restaurant owner said with a laugh as he packed up the fish and glanced at Chen Yuan.

"Interesting how?"

Chen Yuan asked curiously, rubbing his arm.

"I heard from the anglers over at your place that you’re running an Anglers’ Carnival. You let the anglers clean you out at home, and then you run off to clean out other bosses. Don’t you think that’s interesting?"

The restaurant owner couldn’t make heads or tails of Chen Yuan’s moves.

’If he wanted to fish, he owns a fishing ground himself, so how could he possibly not have fish to catch?’

’And if he’s trying to recoup his losses, he’s already lost several thousand catties of fish at home. What good are these two or three hundred catties of big crucian carp going to do? He could just set a few limits at his own fishing ground and easily get that much fish back.’

’It’s completely unnecessary.’

’And he’s making himself so tired.’

"You said it yourself, I got cleaned out at home. I had to come out and restock a bit."

Chen Yuan wasn’t kidding, but the restaurant owner definitely didn’t believe him. He’d sooner believe Qin Shi Huang was asking for money than believe a few hundred catties of crucian carp could make up for a loss of several thousand.

"Boss Chen, are you really going to run this carnival for ten days?"

The restaurant owner finished packing all the crucian carp and started pulling his cart outside.

"The event announcement is already out. You think it could be fake?"

Chen Yuan walked out with him, dragging his tackle box. He glanced toward the payment booth and saw Old Wang smoking and looking their way. When he saw Chen Yuan looking back, he actually smiled and nodded.

Chen Yuan nodded back in response.

"There’s something I want to say, but I’m not sure if I should."

The restaurant owner said hesitantly.

"Then don’t say it~"

Chen Yuan chuckled.

Whenever he encountered this kind of situation, Chen Yuan’s principle was to just keep quiet. As the saying goes, the more you talk, the more you’re likely to slip up. ’If you don’t even know if you should say it, then what’s the point of saying it at all?’

"Huh? Haha~"

The restaurant owner was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing, remarking that Boss Chen really didn’t play by the book.

Still, he offered a piece of advice.

"Although I’ve never run a fishing ground, I’ve been to plenty of them to buy fish, so I know a thing or two. I don’t think you need to do a ten-day carnival, Boss Chen. Just based on today’s event, I believe the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground is already popular enough with the anglers."

Even though he didn’t understand Boss Chen’s thinking, the restaurant owner still offered his advice from his own perspective.

He had just come from the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground after collecting a batch of fish, and he had seen with his own eyes how wild the anglers there were. Most of them were catching one or two hundred catties.

’If this really goes on for ten days, Boss Chen will definitely lose so much money he’ll be spitting blood.’

"The carnival is a great gimmick. We restaurant owners also run all sorts of promotions, but there’s no need to make it last this long. Boss Chen, you could totally spread out the carnival events over time. That would be better for building customer loyalty."

Once outside, the restaurant owner made the suggestion as he weighed the fish.

"Thanks for the advice, brother."

Chen Yuan said with a chuckle, offering him a cigarette.

’As expected of a businessman. Just one trip to the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground to buy fish, and he’s already figured out a good way to increase customer loyalty. And it’s a pretty good idea, too.’

But Chen Yuan’s expectations for the carnival were much higher.

He planned to continue using the carnival, turning it into a unique trademark for the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground—a true brand identity. He wanted customers to immediately think of the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground whenever they heard the word "carnival."

It was just like how events like Double Eleven and 618 were deliberately created by businesses.

’If you want to build an event and create a brand identity, you can’t be stingy.’

"Haha, Boss Chen, you’re truly incredible. You actually caught 243 catties! I’ve never seen anyone so good at catching crucian carp."

The restaurant owner took the cigarette and gave Chen Yuan a thumbs-up. He didn’t mention the carnival again. He’d said what he needed to say; what Boss Chen chose to do was his own business.

"It came at a pretty high price."

Chen Yuan squeezed his arm. The soreness was intense. ’All just to make a living.’

"What money-making venture doesn’t have a price? If I had your skills, why would I even run a restaurant? I’d just go around cleaning out other bosses every day."

The restaurant owner was genuinely envious. He opened WeChat and transferred 1,700 yuan to Chen Yuan on the spot. ’Look at that, earning so much in a single day. Isn’t that easier than running a restaurant?’

’Plus, the costs are low, the risk isn’t high, it’s practically a guaranteed profit.’

"Every trade has its own hardships."

Chen Yuan chuckled, mentally calculating the unit price. ’He paid seven yuan per catty. I guess he gave me a slightly better price because of the big order he has over at the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground.’

"That’s true."

Pocketing his phone, the owner loaded the crucian carp into his vehicle, then looked at Chen Yuan and asked, "Boss Chen, why don’t you ride with me? I have to go back to my shop, but then I’m heading to your fishing ground anyway."

’No need to ask. He’s going to buy more fish.’

’He miscalculated this afternoon and a competitor snatched up a lot of the fish. He has to be prepared for the night fishing session, seize the initiative, and buy up as much as he can.’

"I borrowed a car today. Brother, when you come over, you can drive it right up to the edge of the pond."

Chen Yuan took out his car keys. The car was parked just outside.

"Oh, thanks a lot!"

The restaurant owner’s face lit up with joy.

Usually, when they went to a fishing ground to buy fish, they definitely couldn’t drive their vehicles in. At best, they could pull a cart inside. If not, they had to wait outside.

Driving the car directly to the pond’s edge would not only save time and effort but also give him a decisive advantage. As long as his price was right, he was sure to have a bountiful haul.

"We’re all just doing business."

During the carnival, the fish were biting like crazy and the anglers were hauling in huge catches. Many of them couldn’t take all their fish home, so they’d definitely want to sell them for cash on the spot. Having a restaurant owner there to buy fish was convenient for everyone.

"See you later then, Boss Chen~"

Without much more small talk, the two waved goodbye and went their separate ways.

Chen Yuan wasn’t in a hurry. He first turned on the car’s AC and let it air out for a bit. He took the opportunity to check his appointments and then handled the friend requests he’d received.

"Uncle Bin is really efficient."

After dealing with those things, Chen Yuan saw a message from Uncle Bin. He had compiled a list of all the land plots available for lease, with the prices listed after them.

Chen Yuan took a look. There were over a hundred households, and the prices were quite fair.

’But on second thought, it’s pretty normal. The trend of moving to the city has been growing for years. Especially as his generation grew up, there aren’t many people left in the countryside.’

After people settled in the cities, their land back home was left fallow. In many places, the village committee would step in to lease out the land to contractors, which not only put the land to use but also generated some income.

He replied to Uncle Bin’s message, then got in the car and drove straight to Yu City Village. He went directly to the village committee office to get the contracts sorted out, then went home to park the car properly, grabbed his keys, and headed to the fishing pond.

"SWISH SWISH SWISH~"

As soon as he reached the edge of the pond, he was met with the spectacular scene of anglers frantically lifting their rods. The SWISH SWISH sound rose and fell, one after another, like a pianist playing a concerto.

"Yo, Boss Chen is finally back."

"The host of the Anglers’ Carnival disappears all day. I thought you’d run off crying~"

An angler saw Chen Yuan arrive and started joking with a smile.

"Haha, if I were really going to run off, I’d definitely have charged you all a hefty entrance fee for this event."

Chen Yuan hopped off his three-wheeler, playing along with the angler’s joke.

"I wouldn’t have paid a single cent more for an entrance fee. In fact, Boss Chen should be refunding me some of my fishing fee."

"Haha, not only did I not get an entrance fee, but I also have to cough some money back up."

The anglers were in high spirits.

"Oh? Looks like you’ve already broken even."

Chen Yuan’s eyes lit up. It was just past six o’clock; breaking even this early was excellent. He loved customers like these.

Scanning the entire pond, Chen Yuan chuckled and asked: "So how are the other ’bosses’ doing? Tell me all about your battle results, let me share in the joy."

"I suggest Boss Chen grab a pack of tissues first. Otherwise, when you hear about our results, you won’t be able to stop the tears."

"Sorry, Boss Chen, but I’ve already caught two grass carp and two black carp. Based on the price the restaurant owner is paying, I broke even a long time ago."

"Haha, I’ve only caught three black carp so far, haven’t run into any grass carp yet. But they’re a good size, all six or seven catties each."

"Breaking even is just the basic operation. The real goal is to fill the keepnet!"

The ones who were laughing and gloating now had definitely all broken even, their moods couldn’t be better. As for the silent ones, it seemed they still had a ways to go.

But at least everyone had caught a fish.

And from the looks of it, more than half of them had already broken even. With Wang Heng and the others on site, getting the entire pond to break even certainly wouldn’t be difficult.

’But that’s definitely not enough.’

"This is pathetic, ’bosses’. Excluding the time it took to release the fish, you’ve been fishing for at least an hour and a half. Each of you has only caught a few fish at most, and some of you haven’t even broken even yet. Are you even worthy of the high density of fish in this pond?"

Chen Yuan said, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He wasn’t looking down on any one person—he was looking down on every single angler present.

"Holy shit, Boss Chen is still gloating!"

"Brothers, it looks like we need to step it up! We can’t let Boss Chen gloat like this!"

"He actually dares to mock us! Anglers’ Legion, full-scale attack! Let’s teach Boss Chen a proper lesson!"

"Master, I need you to fish for me~"