Chapter 198 - 179: Rainstorm Warning

Chapter 198: Chapter 179: Rainstorm Warning

He closed out of WeChat and killed time on his phone, then the moment his number was called, he stuffed the phone back in his pocket and handed over his documents.

More forms to fill out. Half an hour later, he finally walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau.

As always, he sent Zuo Xianyun a message the second he stepped outside.

"The Civil Affairs Bureau side is going to take a little time — roughly fifteen business days. You’ll want to get the member assembly or delegate conference organized as soon as possible, get the bylaws passed, and lock down department personnel. That way if the bureau needs anything, we can get it to them right away."

Zuo Xianyun replied almost instantly.

He also promised to follow up on things from his end.

"Thanks, bro~"

Chen Yuan sent back a quick acknowledgment, said his thanks, and headed away from the Civil Affairs Bureau.

He wasn’t in any rush to get home. It was nearly five o’clock, so he checked the reservation situation first — still looking good. Both ponds were fully booked.

Two consecutive events and both ponds were still packed to capacity. The business had found its footing.

"Time to head home~"

He pocketed his phone and got in the car.

Rush hour traffic in the city was brutal. A trip that should’ve taken an hour and a half ended up taking two full hours, and by the time he pulled in, it was already past seven.

"Come eat, dinner’s ready."

They’d just finished delivering the last of the meal boxes. Tang Ying was carrying the food out to the main hall and waved him over the moment she spotted him.

"Go ahead and start without me. Let me wash up first."

Chen Yuan waved her off, grabbed the basin, and filled it with some warm water. He felt sticky all over — a quick wash would sort him out.

After dinner, he darted upstairs for a shower and immediately felt like a new person.

"To get the Association running properly, we still need to nail down the staff positions."

He wasn’t in a hurry to head back downstairs. Chen Yuan lay on his bed and posted an update in the members’ group chat about the Association’s registration progress, then set about organizing the first online meeting to hash out a few key matters and iron out the staffing arrangements.

First up: the legal representative.

No debate there — it had to be Chen Yuan. All the preparatory filings and registration paperwork were under his name, and he was the head of the Chong City Fishing Association.

In plain terms: President.

Next were the two Vice President slots. Members volunteered themselves, and after an online vote, two were confirmed — Little Fish King and Wang Heng.

The board of directors had more seats to fill.

Qin Fen, God of Wealth, Heavy Chummer, Three-Second Guy — the early crew who’d made names for themselves at the small pond were all pretty enthusiastic about it. Ten board members were confirmed in the end.

The Secretary-General position wasn’t put to a vote. Chen Yuan simply appointed Chen Li as Honorary Secretary-General. The treasurer wasn’t elected either — or rather, Chen Yuan just took that role himself.

After all, he wasn’t collecting any membership fees, so all future event and competition expenses would be coming out of his own pocket.

The online meeting was straightforward enough, but it still ate up over an hour from start to finish. By the time Chen Yuan tucked his phone away and headed downstairs, it was already past nine.

"Whoa — looks like the weather’s about to turn."

He’d barely reached the main hall when he noticed the door curtain swinging and slapping around with a loud rattling sound. The wind was howling outside, and the leaves were hissing and rustling in the gusts.

"Feels like rain’s on the way."

Chen Jun was sweeping up a pile of rotting vegetable scraps.

"About time, honestly. It’s been clear for over a month. I saw the forecast — there are thunderstorms coming over the next few days. The storm warnings are already out."

Tang Ying came out hauling the kitchen trash.

Normally the two of them would still be prepping tomorrow’s vegetables at this hour, but with the weather looking the way it did — and the real possibility of a thunderstorm tonight ruining tomorrow’s business — they didn’t dare prepare too much.

"If a thunderstorm hits, it’s definitely going to hurt the fishing pond business. Any session fees that need to be refunded, we refund them."

Chen Jun finished clearing away the vegetable scraps and handed Chen Yuan a cigarette as he spoke.

"Understood."

Chen Yuan took it, lit up, drew a long drag, and let the smoke out slowly as he replied.

Under normal circumstances, booking fees were non-refundable. Otherwise, you’d end up with people deliberately stirring up trouble — snagging a spot and never showing up, then demanding their money back, wasting the slot entirely.

But when it was an act of God, of course you gave the refund.

"I’m going to swing by the fishing pond."

He finished his cigarette, hopped on the three-wheeler, and rode out to the ponds — first a loop around the small pond, then over to Old Pond to return the keys to Wang Heng.

After that, he tracked down Wang Tao.

"I’ve already placed the order for the fishing chairs. Get them installed tonight after everyone clears out."

"No problem. It’s a small job — I’ll just send one of the guys to handle it."

Wang Tao came over and offered him a cigarette.

"For the small pond, put them along the road-side row. Over here at Old Pond, plan them out along this stretch."

Chen Yuan tucked the cigarette behind his ear and traced his finger along the waterfront edge near the building. Once construction wrapped up back there, that stretch would be the closest to the new facility — most convenient spot by far.

"Got it."

Wang Tao nodded.

The members-only fishing spots had been agreed on a long time ago. Without planning it out in advance, there was no way they could’ve managed the reservations.

"How much longer does the construction here need?"

With the fishing spot discussion wrapped up, Chen Yuan looked toward the building behind the hoarding.

"If it were just the hot spring pool, we’d pretty much be in the home stretch. But with the indoor section on top of that, it’s probably another ten-odd days — two weeks at the most before it’s ready to open."

Wang Tao laid out the timeline.

"Should just barely catch the tail end of summer."

Chen Yuan nodded.

Today was already the 7th. Based on Wang Tao’s estimate, they’d finish somewhere just past the 20th — roughly a twenty-day build window all told.

That was an insane pace. Rocket-ship speed.

Any regular crew on the market would’ve needed months to pull this off.

"We’re pushing hard. I’ve shifted the whole crew’s focus over here — twenty-four hours a day, flat out. We’ll get it done and open as fast as humanly possible."

Wang Tao lit his cigarette with a cocky grin.

Chen Yuan had no doubts about Wang Tao’s ability. Whether it was the small pond or the guesthouse, he’d knocked those out in a week. This was a bigger job, sure — but at this pace, tripling the normal build time seemed about right.

"What else do you need in terms of materials?"

"Time to put in an order. How many points does Boss Chen have in the account right now?"

"Only a few hundred thousand~"

Chen Yuan couldn’t help but feel a little helpless about it.

The Old Pond opening event had been pretty solid, but the massive grass carp — the most points-valuable catch — had only been pulled once. Everything else had returned relatively few points.

Five days of accumulation only went so far, and between the session fees, boxed meals, cigarettes, drinks, and everything else across both ponds, his balance was now less than half of what it had been at its peak.

"I’ll start drawing from it now and we’ll sort the rest as we go."

Wang Tao drew up the materials list on the spot and had Chen Yuan purchase everything right then and there. Chen Yuan made sure to set some aside for bait, cigarettes, drinks, meat, and other food supplies — the essentials for day-to-day operations had to be covered.

By the time they wrapped everything up, it was past eleven.

The pre-storm wind was picking up fast, occasionally broken by flashes of lightning and cracks of thunder.

"Looks like a real downpour’s coming."

"I already got the storm warning on my phone. Starting tonight, it’s going to be thunderstorms for the next few days straight — they’re saying rainfall could hit record levels."

"Let it come. It’s been sunny for ages. Could really use some rain to cool things down."

"No kidding, it’s been absolutely brutal out here~"

"Ha, I’ll say this though — Boss Chen’s fishing pond is something else. Not too hot, no mosquitoes, fish are biting well. It’s basically a paradise for anglers."

The anglers had started chatting among themselves the moment the thunder rolled in.

Soon the staff began trickling in one by one. Sure enough, Zhou Jianming and his son came pedaling over on their three-wheeler — and this time Zhang Guiying had tagged along too.

"Uncle Zhou, we’ve got plenty of hands at the pond. You really don’t need to come help out every single time."

Chen Yuan stepped forward and offered him a cigarette.

The two families used to barely say two words to each other, but now that the old tension had been sorted out, Zhou Jianming’s family had become remarkably warm — they’d been pitching in for several days running now.

"Ha, well, with rain looking like it could hit any minute, we wanted to get things wrapped up quick so the customers don’t get soaked."

The weather was changing fast and a storm could break at any moment. Besides, the relatives had all gone home by now and there wasn’t much else going on, so the whole family came to lend a hand — except for Liang Xueling, who was pregnant and couldn’t manage it.

"And after today we won’t be able to make it anyway — it’s back to the city for work."

His son’s wedding was all wrapped up, so it was time to get back to earning a living. They’d just bought a new place, and now with a grandchild on the way, the money had to keep coming in.

"I’ve only got a couple more days myself before I have to head back — honeymoon leave’s almost up~"

Zhou Lin sighed at how fast the break had flown by.

"Is your wife going with you?"

"She’s not coming. The new place isn’t renovated yet, and the countryside’s a better environment anyway. Besides, once I’m at work there’s no one to look after her — it’s easier for her to stay in the village."

Zhou Lin shook his head.

Pitter-patter~

Right in the middle of their conversation, raindrops began to fall — and they were coming down harder by the second. Before long, the soft pitter-patter swelled into a roaring rush, like water pouring from a tap.