Chapter 145 - 146: Grand Closure

Chapter 145: Chapter 146: Grand Closure

"A fish supplier who doesn’t want to work with a fishing ground?"

Lone Angler on the River was a little bewildered.

To a fish supplier, a fishing ground was a hen that lays golden eggs. They should be taking good care of it.

But they’d practically delivered themselves to his door only to be rejected. Who was the fish supplier and who was the fishing ground owner here?

"Is there any room for us to survive in the Chong City fishing scene?"

Leisurely Angler’s face was full of bitterness, a look of complete despair. With Chen Yuan Fishing Ground backed by such a powerful fish supplier, who could possibly compete?

The two of them left in a daze, dejected and lost.

"What took you so long?"

The fish truck arrived at the pond, and Chen Yuan asked, glancing at the time.

"Ran into a couple of idiots who run fishing grounds. They wanted my fish."

Wang Tao said with a laugh as he jumped out of the truck. He then hopped up next to the fish tank and tossed Chen Yuan a landing net.

"What do you mean, ’idiots who run fishing grounds’? Are you trying to insult me indirectly?"

Chen Yuan smacked Wang Tao with the landing net.

Wang Tao dodged with a smile.

"Let’s get these fish netted!"

Knowing Wang Tao didn’t mean anything by it, Chen Yuan got back to netting and weighing the fish. They were already a few minutes late and needed to make up for lost time.

As for the two idiots, he thought about it for a moment and figured it out. They must have been competitors who heard he had a fish supplier’s backing and wanted to poach them. ’They really are idiots,’ he thought.

"Oh, there are silver and bighead carp, too."

"Even though silver and bighead carp are cheaper, they’re known as ’stupid fish.’ They’ll bite at anything, so we’re guaranteed to get a full keepnet today."

"Silver carp are pretty much the same. As long as the bite is good, the price doesn’t matter."

The anglers watched the fish being released as they mixed their bait.

Although silver carp and bighead carp were much cheaper than Daqing, many anglers called them "stupid fish" because they bit much more readily than other species.

If the price per fish was low, you made up for it with quantity.

Besides, the quality of the fish Boss Chen sourced was impeccable. You could sell them for no less than market price, and even restaurant owners would pay more for them than for fish from other grounds.

"Cast the lines, cast the lines! I can’t wait anymore!"

Having set up their rigs and mixed their bait, many anglers immediately baited their hooks and cast their lines.

The anglers next to the fish truck were getting antsy. They wanted to cast their lines too, but the commotion from stocking the fish made it impossible. They had no choice but to shift to the side and try to fish in the chummed spots of other anglers.

"Boss Chen, take the truck keys. You hold onto them for the next few days to save us the trouble of passing them back and forth."

Taking advantage of the lull while they were switching fish trucks, Wang Heng came over and handed the keys to Chen Yuan.

"Alright, then I won’t stand on ceremony."

Chen Yuan chuckled.

He pocketed the keys and continued scooping fish.

Once both truckloads of fish were in the pond, Chen Yuan called Wang Tao over.

"Two things. First, install some air conditioners at my uncle’s place; I’ll place the order in a bit. Second, add the pilot guesthouse project to the schedule. Use my second aunt’s house for it—the dilapidated one next to mine."

Chen Yuan said as he took out a cigarette.

"No problem."

Wang Tao grinned.

’The more projects, the more points,’ he thought.

"Don’t just stand there grinning. There are a lot of projects, so don’t make any mistakes in the rush. I want you to push the progress to the max. After the carnival, the Old Pond must be activated and opened for business."

’With the help of the mission and the warm-up event, I’m getting both a rewarded upgrade progress and tons of points. If I still can’t manage the upgrade with all this, it’ll be pretty damn frustrating.’

"Leave the construction part to me, don’t you worry. I’ll send you the list of materials in a bit."

Wang Tao guaranteed, patting his chest.

He wasn’t afraid of having too many projects, only of having none at all.

Chen Yuan nodded, waved for Wang Tao to get busy, and then went to find Chen Guo.

"Uncle, I spoke with Wang Tao. We can get the employee price for the air conditioners. Someone will come to install them this morning."

Chen Yuan took out a cigarette for himself and also gave one to his dad and Chen Dequan.

"Haha, that’s great. How much is it? I’ll transfer you the money."

Chen Guo said with a laugh, about to pull out his phone.

"No rush. It’s not much money anyway. Besides, it’s almost the end of the month. We can just deduct it from the box lunch profits then."

Chen Yuan quoted an extremely low price.

This way, there was no need to pay upfront. The cost would just be deducted when his parents and uncle split the profits, which was more convenient and easier for his uncle to accept.

After settling these matters, Chen Yuan said his goodbyes and drove off.

’Stock up, stock up. I have to stock up like crazy.’

...

Over the next few days, the Angler’s Carnival continued in full swing. Nearly every session saw all the anglers "get ashore," and with three new experts now regulars, the rate of full keepnets increased significantly.

The anglers were fired up, and the total catch per session increased. While not so exaggerated as to clear out the pond, the haul was at least nine thousand jin each time.

On a crazy day, it could be close to ten thousand jin.

The anglers were getting full keepnets like crazy, and Chen Yuan was stocking fish like crazy. Although he was so exhausted that his arms didn’t feel like his own each day, every time the system notification chimed, he was instantly restored to full health.

Whether it was the increased fish volume from the mission’s boost or the value conversion from the event, it was all incredibly encouraging—especially seeing the system’s upgrade progress.

’Wang Tao’s efficiency is really something. He’s burned through hundreds of thousands of my points in just a few days. The upgrade progress bar is still less than two-thirds full, but it will definitely skyrocket once the guesthouse is completed.’

’The guesthouse is a huge investment, no less than the project over at the small slope. Once it’s finished and the progress is converted, it should boost the bar by at least twenty-something points, bringing the total upgrade progress to nearly ninety percent.’

’I wonder how much upgrade progress the system will reward me with when the mission ends tomorrow.’

Today was the ninth day of the mission. After a hard day’s work, Chen Yuan waited for the restaurant owner to come collect the fish, murmuring to himself as he checked the system.

’If the reward is ten percentage points, I might be able to upgrade as soon as the mission is over.’

’The Old Pond could be put into use immediately.’

’Even if not, with so many construction projects, it’ll be activated soon enough.’

"I’ve probably devoured most of the Chong City fishing ground’s market share by now."

Chen Yuan wasn’t worried about the Old Pond. He took out his phone to check the group chat messages, taking the opportunity to handle friend requests and other things.

The fishing ground’s group chat had already surpassed 2,500 members. The "carnival" bomb had truly shaken the Chong City fishing scene. It was the talk of the local angling world, and he had absorbed resources to the absolute limit. Further growth would be difficult.

The influx of new members into the group had been limited for the past two days.

"After the Old Pond opens, I’ll need to think about how to expand my territory."

Chen Yuan wasn’t satisfied with just the Chong City fishing scene. This customer base might not be enough to keep both the small pond and the Old Pond packed every session, not to mention he still had his eye on the big pond.

"Sorry, sorry, traffic was a bit heavy today. I’m a little late."

Just as he finished dealing with these things, the restaurant owner arrived, looking a bit sheepish. He apologized with a smile and offered Chen Yuan a cigarette.

Chen Yuan Fishing Ground’s carnival drove not only the anglers wild, but also restaurant owners like him, who were making a fortune. There were too many fish for them to use, so they could sell the excess to their peers or haul it to the market to earn a bit on the price difference.

It all added up, and they earned a tidy sum.

But where some rejoiced, others despaired. The owner of Leisurely Angler watched as a few hundred jin of his fish were hauled away, his heart bleeding. He was especially speechless when he saw Chen Yuan’s figure.

’The carnival has already stolen the entire Chong City fishing market, and you still come to clear me out personally? Is it because we tried to clear you out before, or because we thought about poaching your fish supplier? Is that why you’re doing this to me?’

"What the hell is this?"

Gazing at Chen Yuan’s departing figure, then at the three or five scattered people in his own fishing ground, the owner sighed deeply. The thought of closing down instantly sprouted in his mind.

He smoked a cigarette and thought for a while, then took out his phone. In the Chong City Fishing Ground group chat, he first sent out a small red packet, followed by a message.

"Fellow Daoists, I’m planning to leave the group. Let’s meet again if fate allows."

The red packet bombed out the lurkers.

People started asking one after another.

"What’s going on? Why are you leaving the group?"

"Are you unhappy in the group? Or did you have a fight with someone?"

"I didn’t see any arguments in the chat."

Leisurely Angler: "Nothing unpleasant, I just can’t keep the fishing ground open anymore. Chen Yuan Fishing Ground’s damn carnival stole all the customers. I only get three or five people a day. Not only do I not make a dime, but I’m losing money. And that son of a bitch owner even came over to clean me out of a few hundred jin. What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"I’m not holding on anymore. Closing up shop for good."

After a couple of complaints, he decisively left the group.

The group fell silent instantly. His words had undoubtedly hit a sore spot for everyone.

"Leisurely Angler really left. Looks like he’s actually closing down."

The group was silent for a long time before someone finally surfaced.

"Sigh, I get it. To be honest, I’ve had thoughts of closing down too. Being in the same area as Chen Yuan Fishing Ground is just... sad and pathetic."

"He’s completely ruined the Chong City fishing ground market."

"The worst part is, he came to my place yesterday and cleaned me out of a few hundred jin of fish too."

"He got me too~"

As soon as the owner of Leisurely Angler mentioned being cleaned out by Chen Yuan, the other owners in the group started chiming in about their own depressing experiences. One person speaking up revealed that surprisingly, all of them had been targeted.

It instantly sparked public outrage.