Chapter 209 - 187: The Route to Datang

Chapter 209: Chapter 187: The Route to Datang

Chen Yuan and Chen Wenbin talked for a long time.

It wasn’t until the office phone rang that Chen Wenbin wrapped things up and waved Chen Yuan off.

"If there’s nothing else, head back and get to work. Watch your step — you’ve got a lot riding on this."

Chen Yuan figured it had to be someone from the county office. He stood up, gave a cooperative nod, set two packs of Hua cigarettes on the desk, and walked out.

"Clear skies after the rain — doesn’t get much better than this~"

Stepping out of the village committee office and into the sunlight, Chen Yuan felt on top of the world.

The biggest win today was Chen Wenbin accepting the envelope. Whether it was because the money was legitimately earned and he felt entitled to take it, or for some other reason entirely — it didn’t matter. They were truly on the same side now.

On top of that, the Big Pond was looking promising.

And the guesthouse was showing signs of life too.

Three good pieces of news before the morning was even over. If that wasn’t a sign of better days ahead, he didn’t know what was.

He rode his three-wheeler back to the Small Pond.

Pushing open the office door, Chen Yuan asked right away, "Sis, how’d your chat with Liang Chunping go?"

"Really well. The Old Pond is still under construction, so Sister Chunping probably needs another week before she can come over. By then it should be close to finished, and we can start bringing equipment in."

Chen Li looked up and answered.

She was already calling her Sister Chunping — clearly the conversation had gone well.

"I just stopped by Uncle Bin’s place. The guesthouse is going to need staff, and the Old Pond will definitely need extra hands too. When the time comes, you’re in charge of interviews."

Chen Yuan handed that responsibility off to Chen Li.

It was her area to begin with — she was the right person to handle it.

"No problem."

Chen Li nodded and got to her feet. "Now that you’re back, I’ll get moving. Once the Old Pond’s recreational area opens, Flower Sea Fruit Forest and the guesthouse all need to launch at the same time."

"Got it."

Chen Yuan didn’t sit down to rest. He stood by the glass window, cigarette dangling from his lips, staring out at the Small Pond.

"So once I lock down the Big Pond, what direction do I take it?"

He lit the cigarette and took a long drag.

Right now, the Small Pond ran a mixed-species model — grass carp, silver carp, bighead carp, common carp, crucian carp, bream — all standard varieties.

But since the Small Pond didn’t return fish, with a guaranteed minimum of five thousand jin stocked and the hundred-jin giant Daqing as the centerpiece attraction, business stayed steady.

The Old Pond was positioned as a giant Daqing pond. It had three Daqing topping a hundred jin each, the biggest pushing a hundred and twenty. In terms of both fish density and size, it was genuinely elite among trophy ponds.

Add in the strong catch-back bonuses and lucky prize incentives, and business there was booming too.

Both ponds were well and truly on track.

But what about the Big Pond?

Once he secured the Big Pond, what was the right path forward?

"Phew~"

He finished the cigarette and walked out of the office. Sitting around racking his brain alone wasn’t going to cut it — better to hear what the customers thought.

"Whoa, Boss Chen actually snagged that Big Pond across the way?"

"That thing’s massive — got to be a hundred mu at least. If he pulls it off, no one’s ever going to have to worry about a spot again."

"Don’t be so sure. We all thought the Old Pond would fix the spot shortage, and look how that turned out — still hard to get a place."

"With an area that size, you could lay out over a thousand fishing spots easy. That’s more than enough."

The regulars gazed over at the Big Pond like they’d spotted a rare beauty, eyes practically glowing as they pictured themselves fishing there.

"Hey, Boss Chen — how about throwing in some mermaids~"

"Ha! So what do you actually want — the maidens, or the fish?"

"Only kids think that’s an either-or question~"

The crowd bantered and tossed out plenty of suggestions, but everything was pretty run-of-the-mill — nothing that really jumped out.

Not that it was surprising.

The fishing ground industry was still in its early days. From the Fishing Association down to individual venues, everyone was just getting started. Even in his past life, the range of ways to run a fishing ground creatively was pretty limited.

In terms of pond types, the main categories were large-specimen and trophy ponds, single-species setups like crucian carp ponds, and a handful of custom formats.

In terms of business models, it basically came down to timed sessions versus open-ended day ponds, with various black pit variations layered on top.

Finding something genuinely new was no easy task.

"The Big Pond isn’t going to be a simple call."

Chen Yuan wandered around and came back with nothing.

The fishing ground model really was tough to reinvent.

Even Jinghai Garden, which became famous in his past life — billed as North China’s number one pit, the largest black pit in the country, a mecca for anglers, a pilgrimage destination for fishing gear influencers — even that place ran a pretty conventional operation.

Then there was Dayuan Pond in Jiangsu, which went all-in on competitive fishing tournaments with prize pools in the millions — a serious draw.

Those two were the pinnacle of what the industry had achieved, and yet even they couldn’t fully break free from the market’s constraints.

"But pushing a proven model to its absolute limit is, in itself, how you set the standard."

Chen Yuan walked back into the office, cigarette still between his lips.

An idea was slowly taking shape.

Neither Jinghai Garden nor Dayuan Pond existed yet in this era. Combining the two most iconic venues from his past life might be exactly the direction the Big Pond needed.

And he was already in the process of building the Fishing Association — that path was set. The goal was to turn Chen Yuan Fishing Ground into a true national destination for anglers.

"Keep that as a backup plan for now. See what the customers think first — if nothing fresh comes up, it’s worth seriously looking at the Jinghai and Dayuan models."

As the most legendary black pit of his past life, he had visited it himself — not as an angler, but accompanying clients who happened to be fishing enthusiasts.

"They’ve really done something special out here in the countryside. This is exactly what rural resources should be used for. Look at the crowd — no other village comes close."

Just as Chen Yuan was mulling over the Big Pond’s direction, voices drifted in from outside.

He stepped out to look. Chen Wenbin was escorting a group of people in formal attire toward the pond. Leading them was a man in his forties, surveying the fishing grounds with a look of obvious satisfaction.

"It’s all thanks to the policies from above — strong leadership makes all the difference."

Chen Wenbin smiled along obligingly.

The man at the front nodded and strolled around the pond, occasionally stopping to ask the regulars how their catch was, what the fishing experience was like, whether they had any thoughts on Yu City Village’s environment, or any other suggestions.