Chapter 155 - 154: Older Sister’s Advice

Chapter 155: Chapter 154: Older Sister’s Advice

"Leisure Fishing just announced they’re shutting down, and both Fisherman and Jiangyuan Fishing Ground are up for sale. Boss Chen made one lap around town and took out three fishing grounds in one go."

Blond Punk’s face was full of admiration.

They called themselves the big spenders — guys who’d made the rounds at every fishing ground in Chong City — and yet not one of them had ever managed to drive a place out of business. Boss Chen, though? He’d wiped out three without breaking a sweat.

A record like that would make him a legend in their circles.

"Already closed down?"

Chen Yuan was a little surprised. He genuinely hadn’t been keeping tabs on any of this.

Between restocking inventory, keeping an eye on the construction progress, and the occasional summons from Uncle Bin, he’d been run ragged these past few days. He simply hadn’t had the bandwidth to pay attention to what was happening around town.

"Boss Chen truly single-handedly took over the Chong City fishing scene. But he needs to expand fast — one small pond can’t hold up a reputation this big."

Blond Punk was pushing for the Old Pond to open as soon as possible.

Plenty of fishing grounds in Chong City had quietly folded under the pressure of the fishing festival. Even well-regarded spots like Leisure Fishing and Fisherman couldn’t hold on.

Chen Yuan Fishing Ground had already cemented its grip on the Chong City market, with the group membership pushing past two thousand five hundred. One small pond had no business trying to support a customer base that size.

"The Old Pond is all set. It’ll open right after the Anglers’ Festival wraps up — the day after tomorrow."

Chen Yuan knew everyone had been waiting on the Old Pond, so he wasn’t about to drag his feet.

"The Old Pond is seriously opening the day after tomorrow?"

Blond Punk lit up.

Wang Heng and the anglers nearby all turned to look at Chen Yuan, eyes wide with excitement.

"Barring any surprises, yes — the day after tomorrow. And if something does come up, I’ll deal with it. I’ll work out the opening promotions tonight. If I finish early enough, I’ll post the announcement tonight; otherwise it’ll go up tomorrow."

Chen Yuan gave a nod.

"Finally! The Old Pond’s been a long time coming. Spots won’t be nearly as hard to get now."

The news that the Old Pond would open the day after tomorrow sent a wave of excitement through the crowd. Cheers erupted across the entire pond, and several anglers immediately started sharing the news in the group chat.

News this big had to reach every angler as fast as possible.

The group chat exploded — everyone buzzing about the opening, and even more so about what promotions might come with it.

"What kind of opening event do you think would work best?"

Chen Yuan asked, genuinely wanting to hear what his customers thought.

"Whatever Boss Chen decides, I’m in. I trust his vision. Honestly, my only question is — once the Old Pond opens, can I actually snag a spot?"

Blond Punk was practically bouncing with anticipation.

Sure, they’d worked the Anglers’ Festival from start to finish and been paid well for it, but that was fishing on someone else’s behalf. It wasn’t the same feeling.

And this was the Old Pond — wide open water.

Who wouldn’t want a crack at that?

"Absolutely. Everyone who missed out on the festival will get to enjoy the Old Pond opening event. I just need to figure out what to actually do."

Chen Yuan agreed without hesitation.

Blond Punk gave a thumbs up. That’s Boss Chen for you.

"Just run the festival for another two days."

"Keep that going and Boss Chen’s going to bleed money."

"There’s fish supplier sponsorship, isn’t there? And besides, Boss Chen already said anyone who missed the festival gets to enjoy the Old Pond event. If it ends up being underwhelming, what are the other anglers going to think?"

The anglers around them threw out their suggestions.

Chen Yuan found himself nodding along to that last point.

With the Anglers’ Festival setting the bar so high, if the Old Pond opening event fell flat by comparison, the backlash would be immediate. Whatever he put together had to be at least as good as the festival.

"Free fishing — no entry fee, fish to your heart’s content."

"Free fishing but do you keep your catch? I think half-price sounds more reasonable."

"What about a top-of-the-pond prize or something~"

The suggestions came pouring in, but none of them really had the punch needed — nowhere close to what the festival had delivered.

Some ideas were outright ridiculous, like marking certain fish so anglers could compete for them under some rebranded gimmick — "Lucky Fish" draws and the like. Plenty of fishing grounds ran that kind of scheme.

But strictly speaking, that was still a gray-area racket, and it invited regulatory trouble.

Chen Yuan didn’t care what other fishing grounds got up to, but Chen Yuan Fishing Ground had worked hard to get where it was — it had real scale and a solid reputation. He wasn’t going to touch anything that could torch what he’d built. ℯℯ𝑙.

As for the top-of-the-pond prizes.

That was purely a private reward setup with no official backing.

On the lighter end, it meant any outcome was completely unprotected. On the heavier end, it could get you slapped with charges of illegal fundraising or unlawful gambling.

That was exactly why Chen Yuan had been pushing the competitive sports angle and aligning with the Fishing Association.

Organized competitions with sanctioned prizes — that was the only way to do it above board.

"The Old Pond opening is a big deal. With the Anglers’ Festival setting the tone, a run-of-the-mill event just won’t cut it. Take our suggestions for what they’re worth, but at the end of the day, it’s your call."

Wang Heng couldn’t offer a better idea either.

The problem was that the festival had set the starting point way too high.

"Fair enough. I’ll go home and think it through properly."

Chen Yuan nodded, watching as his sister finished her lap around the pond and came back from checking out the construction up on the small slope. He let the conversation drop there.

Truthfully, the Old Pond opening event was tricky — but also not really.

It all came down to matching the festival. As long as the anglers walked away with hauls that stacked up favorably against what the festival delivered, there’d be no letdown. If anything, the reputation boost would just keep climbing.

"I took a look around. Every keep net at every spot is loaded. And that restroom you built — judging by the layout and the materials, that didn’t come cheap."

Chen Li walked over to Chen Yuan, a smile on her face that carried a distinctly appraising edge.

The festival could be explained away by fish supplier sponsorships. But these structures were physically standing right there — no amount of handwaving could account for them without serious money. She was starting to have her doubts about her little brother.

"Let’s walk and talk."

Chen Yuan let out a quiet, internal sigh.

Sure enough, his sharp-eyed sister wasn’t going to be easy to brush off.

Not that he hadn’t seen this coming. The guesthouse was finished now, the sheer number of credits he’d burned on everything made it obvious this wasn’t small change, and there were still other projects under construction with more on the way.

All of it this upscale — where was he supposed to have gotten that kind of money?