Chapter 30 - 31: Increased Reward

Chapter 30: Chapter 31: Increased Reward

Chen Yuan hadn’t turned off the remote; the Fish King was still set to bite.

’I’m giving you all a chance. Don’t be so damn useless.’

"God of Wealth, why don’t you come to my place to wash up? I can find you a change of clothes."

Chen Yuan didn’t linger at the fishing ground. He planned to take Ye Huan back to his place for a shower. It was easy to get heatstroke or catch a cold when you were soaked on a day this hot.

"No need. I have spare clothes in my car. I’ll just change."

Ye Huan declined and looked over at Ye Zhi and the others.

"It’s almost four o’clock. Are you guys going to fish a little longer, or head back to buy new gear and take on the Fish King tomorrow?"

The feeling of having your rod snap was a complicated one.

It was a mix of excitement and regret, coupled with an eagerness to get a better rod and land that monster.

That was exactly how Ye Huan felt right now. He wished he could go back to the city, buy a new set of high-end gear, and instantly teleport back to the fishing ground to continue.

"Let’s head back. My rod isn’t even as good as yours was. Even if I hooked the Fish King, it would just end with my rod snapping too."

After a brief discussion, the group decided to head back and re-equip. They asked Chen Yuan to save a few spots for them, as they would be back tomorrow.

"Sure thing. I’ll bring your gear and your catch over for you."

Chen Yuan readily agreed.

’This is great news.’

’Six people means six hundred in fishing fees, plus what they spent on lunch. Hehe, things are looking good.’

Ye Huan went back to his car to change while Chen Yuan helped Ye Zhi and the others pack up their gear. His parents lifted the keepnet out of the water. The six of them hadn’t caught much, only seven or eight fish in total.

"I’ll bring your things over first."

After loading their catch and gear onto his three-wheeler, Chen Yuan twisted the throttle and drove toward his house. He helped them transfer everything into their car’s trunk before finally leaning back to light a cigarette.

"Boss Chen, we’re going to head out now."

Ye Huan took the cigarette, gave a nod, and then opened his car door and got in.

"Drive safe."

Chen Yuan waved them off.

Not until the three cars had disappeared around the bend did Chen Yuan retract his gaze, light his cigarette, and leisurely ride his three-wheeler back toward the fishing ground. He wasn’t even there yet when he heard a series of groans and shouts from the fishermen.

"What happened?"

Chen Yuan hopped off his ride and walked over to his parents, who couldn’t stop laughing.

"Someone’s line snapped. They said the Fish King got away."

"That young fella was even unluckier than the last one. He fought it for less than five minutes. The battle was over before he even broke a sweat."

"The unluckiest was the other one. He only fought it for two minutes and got chewed out by someone else, who said something like, ’A 10+8 setup snapped, and you dare go after the Fish King with an 8+6? What a damn waste of a chance!’"

The couple mimicked the fishermen’s tones. It was the first time they’d found watching other people fish to be so entertaining.

Chen Yuan was pretty bummed out.

’The rod didn’t snap, but the damn line did.’

’It snapped twice in a row.’

’I give them a chance and they can’t even take it.’

"Come on, gentlemen, are you even up for this?"

Damn!

Arrogance. Provocation. Humiliation!

Seeing the smug look on Chen Yuan’s face, the fishermen felt an inexplicable, intense sense of humiliation—not as people, but for their skills as anglers.

They couldn’t stand for it.

But the damn fish had gotten away three times in a row. How could they possibly argue?

All they could do was keep fishing.

And defend their honor by catching the Fish King.

But for the rest of the day, the Fish King showed no more signs of activity. Chen Yuan had already turned off the remote. After all, it had taken the bait three times in a row; any more would seem unnatural.

’The anglers just weren’t good enough.’

’Is that my fault?’

CLAP CLAP CLAP.

Seeing that it was now five o’clock, Chen Yuan clapped his hands and cleared his throat.

"Gentlemen, your skills just aren’t cutting it."

Here he goes again. The fishermen’s faces were turning green.

If the Fish King hadn’t been biting, they could have argued that their skills weren’t the problem and that something was up with the fish. But it had taken the bait three times in a row, and they had failed to land it every single time.

They deserved to be ridiculed by Boss Chen.

"Don’t get too cocky, Boss Chen! Just wait till I get home and change my line setup. I’ll definitely land the Fish King tomorrow!"

"We’ll definitely get it tomorrow!"

"You two, be quiet! If it wasn’t for your crappy gear, we wouldn’t be getting chewed out by Boss Chen like this."

"At least we hooked it."

A fatal blow!

The ones who never got a bite had no right to mock those who did.

Hahaha.

Watching the group of anglers bicker with each other while packing up their rods, Chen Yuan found it hilarious.

He waved a wad of cash in the air.

"Gentlemen! To motivate you all to show your real skills, I’ve decided to increase the reward!"

In an instant, every fisherman stopped what they were doing and looked over.

"What kind of reward?"

"Don’t tell me Boss Chen is increasing the buy-back prize."

"I knew it! Boss Chen is trying to launder money. We couldn’t help him meet his quota today, so he’s being forced to up the ante."

"We’ve let you down, Boss Chen! Just tell us how much you need to launder. I’ll bring my entire family, young and old, to help you hit your target!"

’Heh, that’s the spirit.’

Chen Yuan looked at the "ashamed" fisherman and gave him a mental thumbs-up. This was exactly the effect he was going for.

"The first person to successfully land the Fish King will get double the buy-back prize! One thousand becomes two thousand, paid out in cold, hard cash! This reward is only for the first person. After that, the prize goes back to one thousand."

"On top of that, if the first person to catch the Fish King was invited to our group chat by another member, the person who invited them gets a 500 bonus. If it’s someone I invited to the group personally, they get the 500 bonus themselves. That’s a total of 2,500 for one fish!"

"The money is right here. If you want it, you’d better bring your A-game."

Holy crap!

The fishermen were floored.

One thousand becomes two thousand, plus five hundred for the referral.

Twenty-five hundred in cash, just waiting for someone to come and catch it.

That’s just insane.

"Boss Chen, you’re a legend!"

"I love it when Boss Chen insults us with money! That twenty-five hundred is mine, and nobody can stop me!"

"Sorry we couldn’t help you meet your quota today, Boss Chen. We won’t let you down tomorrow!"

"I swear on my ten years of honor as an angler, I’ll land that Fish King tomorrow and give Boss Chen a real show!"

"Boss Chen, I’m reserving my spot!"

The fishermen were fired up. Nearly all of them reserved a spot for the next day.

Chen Yuan was very satisfied. At this rate, he might just have a full house tomorrow.

CREAK~

Just then, Chen Guo arrived at the edge of the pond on the three-wheeler with Lin Cuiju.

"We’re not late, are we?"

The fishing ground’s hours were from nine in the morning to five in the evening. Seeing it was five o’clock, Chen Guo had come over with Lin Cuiju. The morning rush was one kind of busy, but closing time was busy in its own way.

"Perfect timing. Help them finish packing up and bring their stuff up."

A few people helped lift the keepnets, with Qin Fen pitching in as well.

"Brother Wang, how are you getting home? I can give you a ride to the bus stop on my three-wheeler if you want."

Chen Yuan walked over to Wang Heng, who was on the opposite bank. He knew Wang Heng had come by bus, and with such a huge catch, walking back wouldn’t be easy.

"Uh, actually... I already contacted a restaurant owner to come pick up the fish."

Wang Heng said haltingly, looking very sheepish.

"Whoa, holy cow! Brother, you’re really here to stock up, aren’t you? Look at that keepnet! You must’ve bled Boss Chen dry today."

"What are you talking about? Boss Chen is already annoyed that we couldn’t help him meet his ’quota,’ forcing him to increase the rewards. He must be thrilled to have someone as capable as Brother Wang here."

A nearby fisherman chimed in jokingly.

This made Wang Heng even more embarrassed.

"I didn’t care for the first half of that sentence, but I liked the second half. Here at Chen Yuan Fishing Ground, I’m happy no matter how many fish you catch."

Chen Yuan took out a cigarette for himself and offered one to Wang Heng, clapping him on the shoulder.

"We’re grown men, don’t be so bashful. How much you catch is a testament to your skill. Come on, give me a hand. Let’s get this catch into the fish container. I’ll drive you to the village entrance; you can just have the driver wait for you there."

The surrounding fishermen all praised Boss Chen for his generosity.

The haul in that keepnet had to be at least a hundred and twenty or thirty pounds. Selling it to a restaurant owner would fetch at least a thousand yuan—not much less than the prize for the Fish King.

Yet Boss Chen didn’t even bat an eye. In fact, he was the one consoling the fisherman.

He really earned their respect.

This fishing ground was a great place to be.

"Whoa, what a haul! Brother Wang, if you really let loose, how much do you think you could catch in a day?"

The two of them heaved the keepnet up together.

"Boss Chen, your pond is well-stocked. If I were really trying, three hundred pounds wouldn’t be a problem."

Wang Heng said with a chuckle.

"Impressive. Thanks for going easy on me, then."

The two of them slowly loaded the catch into the fish container, filling the large box to the brim. Then, after Chen Jun and the others had seen off most of the customers, Chen Yuan finally got on his three-wheeler and drove Wang Heng to the village entrance.