Chapter 182 - 169: One Cast Opens the Heavenly Gate

Chapter 182: Chapter 169: One Cast Opens the Heavenly Gate

"Thanks for the support, everyone — honestly, the response has been way beyond what I expected. I’m going to make some last-minute changes to how memberships are handled, so please bear with me."

Chen Yuan said it out loud and typed the same message into the group chat simultaneously.

"What kind of changes, Boss Chen?"

People were asking both in person and in the chat.

"You’re all way too enthusiastic — and that’s the problem. If I just sign everyone up, having a membership card means absolutely nothing. Everyone and their grandmother would have one, and what’s the point of that?"

At the current rate, if Chen Yuan just processed applications as they came in, he’d easily clear a thousand members — and hitting two thousand within a few days was practically guaranteed.

But if everyone was a member, what was the point of being one?

The exclusive member fishing spots alone would be a nightmare.

Between the two ponds, there were only thirty member-exclusive spots. With two thousand-plus members scrambling for them, how was that any different from the regular booking system? Even on a rotation, you might go a whole month without landing one.

Would anyone actually think it was worth it?

Rarity creates value — that was just basic logic. A membership had to mean something, or it wasn’t worth the card it was printed on.

Since when did anyone see a bank’s black card handed out like flyers?

Chen Yuan had real ambitions to build a brand here. He wasn’t about to water it down.

"I’ve decided to cap the first batch at fifty memberships, with a ten-thousand-yuan entry threshold. If demand is still through the roof, the threshold goes up. If uptake is slow, we’ll bring it down."

Originally, Chen Yuan had lowered the membership threshold to make sure there’d be enough members to apply for an association. He hadn’t counted on this level of enthusiasm — now he had no choice but to push it back up.

Fifty spots was more than enough to get an association off the ground, and it would make that first batch of memberships genuinely prestigious.

Even so, the response was still wild.

Most anglers hesitated, sure — but there were more than enough big spenders willing to go for it without blinking, and Chen Yuan had to keep raising the bar.

"Haha, gotta support my boy’s fishing ground no matter what — count me in for one, doesn’t matter how high it goes."

"What a day, what an absolute day — that Daqing was something else. I’m getting a membership, full stop."

"Fifteen grand? Done. I landed a monster Daqing today and cleared six figures — fifteen thousand is nothing. And Boss Chen’s membership card never expires, so it’s not like I’m losing anything."

"Haha, love this — watch the competition drop off a cliff~"

Once the threshold hit fifteen thousand yuan, the enthusiasm in the group cooled off sharply. Only a handful held firm without a moment’s hesitation — Qin Fen, God of Wealth, Heavy Chummer, and a few others.

Some of them had a personal connection, some just had deep pockets, and others had made serious money during the event — like the guy who’d landed that monster Daqing.

Fifteen thousand? They could handle it.

But almost everyone else went quiet.

A three-thousand-yuan threshold was basically a monthly pass between the Old Pond and the small pond — most anglers could swing that. But fifteen thousand was more than a quarterly card. That was a different league entirely.

Sure, the money stayed on the card — but not everyone could drop that kind of cash all at once just to go fishing, especially the guys with families. Where were they supposed to find that much fun money?

Even a bumper haul on carnival day wouldn’t cut it.

In the end, all fifty memberships were filled at the fifteen-thousand-yuan threshold.

"Holy shit, there are way too many whales in this group."

"I thought I was pretty loaded, but apparently not — so many people dropped fifteen grand without even flinching~"

"I think I might be the poorest angler alive."

"I’m a disgrace to the fishing community. I can’t even~"

The moment Chen Yuan announced memberships were sold out, the group exploded again — everyone piling on to roast how filthy rich the members were.

They all wanted one. Too bad their wallets had other ideas.

"If only I’d grabbed a spot at Old Pond today — one monster Daqing and I could’ve done what that guy did, thrown down fifteen grand without thinking twice."

"Boss Chen, when’s the second batch dropping?"

"Go easy on us, man — my nickname’s Wu Dalang for a reason, I can’t clear a bar that high~"

All anyone in the group could do now was hold out hope for a second batch.

And pray the threshold would be a little kinder.

There was no shortage of whales in the group — plenty of people would’ve jumped at ten thousand in a heartbeat.

Chen Yuan exchanged a few more messages, then stepped out of the group chat. He went through his WeChat one by one, declining the transfers from people who’d sent money but hadn’t ended up getting a membership, then set about collecting member information.

"The booking mini-program needs an upgrade too."

Now that the membership system was live, the booking process needed to reflect that — members had to actually feel the difference.

Physical membership cards were a must as well.

Before, he could’ve just had them knocked up at any print shop. But now that the mini-program had become part of the brand’s identity, the cards needed to match.

Member profiles would need to be linked in too, so the perks could be applied automatically at check-in.

"No wonder every industry under the sun loves a membership scheme — the cash comes back fast."

Once he’d wrapped everything up, Chen Yuan glanced at the total amount received and broke into a wide grin.

He pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a satisfied air.

Fifty memberships, over seven hundred thousand yuan back in his pocket, just like that. The speed was genuinely something else.

If he hadn’t raised the threshold, a conservative estimate would’ve put him at two thousand members. The numbers would’ve been absolutely insane.

"Hahaha, nothing like a fresh membership to get the blood pumping — come on, give me a Daqing to celebrate!"

Qin Fen’s voice rang out from the edge of the pond, buzzing with excitement. Chen Yuan looked over just in time to see him heave back hard on the rod — it bent into a deep arc instantly, and the line let out a gorgeous, shrieking cry.

The line screamed like a wild animal, the tip of the rod bending so violently it looked ready to snap — and yet that was exactly what made it so thrilling.

That electric, singing sound of the line under tension seemed to carry some primal force, something that reached straight into an angler’s blood and lit it on fire.

"This is definitely a Daqing — come to papa, you beauty~"

Qin Fen laughed out loud and rose to his feet, planting his right foot back for leverage, both hands locked on the rod as he wrenched it with everything he had. The pose was an exact mirror of the logo on the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground’s signage.

Chen Yuan didn’t know whether to laugh or shake his head.