Chapter 188 - 173: Pressing for Installation

Chapter 188: Chapter 173: Pressing for Installation

He finished getting ready, grabbed his bag, and headed downstairs.

Chen Jun and Chen Li were hauling drinks and cigarettes.

Back when there was only the small pond, Chen Jun had taken charge of restocking the vending machines — he’d swing by on his early morning rounds and top everything up on the way.

But now that there were two ponds, there was no way to get it all done first thing in the morning, so they’d taken to restocking after the first guests had been seen to.

"I’ll handle the restocking — you two take care of everything else."

Chen Yuan set his bag down on the table and headed out with an armful of drinks.

"It’s not that busy yet. I’ll take the small pond — keep an eye on things over there while I’m at it. You go restock the Old Pond side. Li, head back and give the kitchen a hand."

Truth be told, Tang Ying had it the hardest when it came to feeding all four groups.

Chen Jun sometimes had to watch the small pond, which left Tang Ying running the kitchen alone.

Going forward, when there wasn’t anything else on, restocking and minding the small pond would fall back to him — and it was all shift-based anyway. He only needed to cover the day shift at the small pond. ℯℓ.

By the time Chen Yuan finished restocking and rode back, he found Chen Li loading up meat and vegetables.

"Did the customers already place their orders?"

Chen Yuan glanced at the time, surprised — he thought it wasn’t even nine yet.

"Just send it over anyway. It’ll all get used up one way or another. Whatever’s left over goes in the fridge — the night fishing crowd can use it later."

Chen Li kept moving things as she talked.

"Here, let me take it."

Chen Yuan took the load from his sister’s hands.

"I’ve got it — once I drop it off, I’m staying over at Aunt Zhang’s anyway."

Xu Juan had already headed over to Zhou Jianming’s place. For the next couple of days, Chen Li would be working alongside Zhang Youfen in the kitchen, so dropping off the groceries just meant staying there to get to work.

"Alright then."

Chen Yuan nodded and turned to head back inside.

Chen Li suddenly called after him.

"I think we need to get the food operation properly sorted out. For one thing, using employees’ homes as kitchens isn’t great. And on top of that, those are residential properties — not zoned for commercial use."

"Right now it’s fine since we’re just feeding anglers, but once the leisure side of things takes off, tourists are going to need somewhere proper to eat too."

Chen Yuan was a little surprised to hear Chen Li bring this up.

"Didn’t you and Wang Tao already plan for that over at the Old Pond?"

They’d already laid out a dining area at the small pond, so he’d assumed the Old Pond had one too. Were Wang Tao and his sister really just thinking about the hot spring water park and the indoor kids’ zone?

"We’ve got a dining area, sure. What I mean is, we should design a proper kitchen right into the complex from the start. That way we sidestep a lot of headaches, it’s easier to cook, and it’s more convenient for guests."

Think of it like a shopping mall — not just the shops, but a whole food court built in.

"Sure, bring it up with Wang Tao. I’d imagine he’s already got something in mind."

Chen Yuan had no objection.

Honestly, he’d thought the same thing. Back when they were planning the small pond, the space just wasn’t there for it, and they didn’t have many customers at the time anyway.

Now that things were scaling up, plenty of stuff was going to need to be done properly.

He trusted Wang Tao had a plan.

"Alright, go on then — get to it."

Chen Li hopped onto the three-wheeler.

"Call me if anything comes up."

Chen Yuan called out after her.

Chen Li gave a wave in reply.

Chen Yuan parked his bike and went back inside, stopping by the kitchen to lend a hand. Once he got word from Zhou Lin, he grabbed his bag from the main room and went to find Wang Tao so they could head over to the village square together.

"What’s the setup here?"

When they arrived at the village square, the wedding crew was already on-site, with Zhou Lin directing things.

"There’ll be a walkway down the middle, flowers along both sides, and the ceremony stage up front. The stage is pretty involved — the wedding company’s handling all of that."

Zhou Lin walked over, offered them cigarettes, and pointed around the site as he talked.

"Simple enough. One canopy covers the whole thing."

Wang Tao had a cigarette hanging from his lip, completely unfazed. And he meant it — just putting up a canopy, nothing he’d even call a real job.

After a quick word with the wedding crew, Wang Tao got his guys moving, and in under half an hour the canopy was up.

It wasn’t the tallest structure — nothing like the airy, open feel of the small pond buildings — but at over four meters, it was roughly the ceiling height of a decent hotel, more than enough for the wedding stage to be set up underneath.

And Wang Tao hadn’t skimped on materials. The canopy covered almost the entire two-plus-acre square, leaving plenty of open space even after accounting for the wedding banquet.

When it came time for guests to sign the gift registry, they’d be able to do it right there in the shade.

"Nice, nice — a canopy really does make a difference. So much cooler."

The moment the canopy went up, Zhou Lin stepped underneath and felt the difference instantly. Even the wedding company’s crew were murmuring in surprise.

It was past ten by now, and the sun was climbing steadily. The light it threw down was fierce — the kind that hit your skin and actually stung.

Everyone had figured a canopy would block some sun and take the edge off, but nobody had expected it to work this well. Standing under it felt like being in front of a fan.

"Your crew’s pretty good, huh."

Zhou Lin wandered over and bummed a cigarette.

He’d felt the effect of the shade umbrellas before and figured borrowing that idea would at least keep things from getting unbearable during the banquet. He hadn’t expected the canopy to blow that out of the water entirely.

The effect was beyond anything he’d anticipated. Honestly, they probably wouldn’t even need electric fans.

"It’s a bit bare like this though — might want to get the wedding company to dress it up a little."

Chen Yuan lit his cigarette and looked around the space.

"Yeah, with the canopy up it’s practically indoors. Could definitely use some decorating."

The canopy Chen Yuan had helped put up was genuinely impressive. Pair it with the air coolers, and the effect was on par with running the AC inside — which meant there was no need to rush the wedding preparations anymore. They could take their time and do it right.

"Boss Chen, if there’s nothing else you need me for, I’ll head off."

With the canopy done, Wang Tao said his goodbyes and made to leave.

"Go ahead."

Chen Yuan nodded. He stayed behind to help Zhou Lin with a few things, and it wasn’t until past eleven that the two of them headed back together for lunch.

"Yuan, you’re here — come sit in the main room for a bit."

Zhou Jianming pulled out a pack of cigarettes and waved Chen Yuan over to take a seat.

The main room had been cleared out. Apart from the fixed furniture — the TV wall and the liquor cabinet — everything else had been moved to other rooms.