Chapter 31 - 32: Fully Booked

Chapter 31: Chapter 32: Fully Booked

Chen Yuan strolled home humming a little tune.

Chen Jun was sweeping up the trash in the courtyard while Tang Ying was working through the main room and bathroom with a mop.

With so many people coming and going all day, and anglers tracking mud along the pond’s edge, the place was bound to be a mess.

Tang Ying was known throughout the village for being a clean freak. Wherever things got dirty or cluttered, she’d quietly take care of it — and she always did it without saying a word to either of them.

She never once lost her temper over the mess they made.

"Looks like the pond still needs some work. At the very least, I should pave those embankment paths with concrete — the house is going to be filthy every single day otherwise. Ideally, I’d move the restroom facilities over to the pond side too."

Chen Yuan mulled it over to himself, his eyes already drifting toward the small slope beside the pond.

"You’re back. Qin and the others headed back to the pond again — said they want to take another shot while the Fish King’s feeding. If they land it, they don’t want the prize money. They’ll transfer the fishing fee when they get back."

Chen Jun shook open a large garbage bag.

"Let them fish. They’re not strangers — forget about the fee."

Chen Yuan stepped over to help hold the bag open.

"That’s what I told them too."

Chen Jun finished stuffing the bag, hoisted it up, and headed outside.

"Your uncle and the others are cleaning up the trash over by the pond. I’m going to go check on them. Your mom will get dinner going once she’s done with the house. You go ahead and take care of whatever you need to."

Chen Yuan nodded. After such a hectic day, there really were a lot of details he needed to sort through.

He turned and headed inside, pulling out his phone to scroll through the group chat. The anglers’ enthusiasm hadn’t let up one bit — they were still buzzing about the Fish King, and reviews of the fishing ground kept popping up. Every single one was glowing.

Life jackets and parasols keeping everyone cool, a hearty lunch at a bargain price, fish to take home freely, double rewards for the Fish King catch, and a five-hundred-yuan referral bonus for bringing new members in.

With a combo like that, the hype practically wrote itself.

After processing some friend requests and handling spot reservations, Chen Yuan was surprised to find that nearly all sixty fishing spots were already booked.

"Most of these guys are still on their way home. Once it spreads a bit more tonight, tomorrow will definitely sell out completely."

Chen Yuan lit a cigarette, feeling thoroughly pleased with himself.

After a moment’s thought, he typed up a message in the group chat’s announcement box, gave it a quick once-over, and posted it.

"Chen Yuan Fishing Ground has sixty spots total. Forty-nine have already been reserved. Book now — first come, first served."

It was like tossing a stone into a calm lake. The group, which had been winding down, erupted all over again.

"Holy shit, that fast? Boss Chen, I already reserved mine — don’t forget my spot!"

"Nope, I’m sending tomorrow’s fee right now. I can skip work, but I am not losing my spot."

"Yes, exactly — just transfer the fee directly. That’s the safest move."

A flurry of WeChat payment notifications followed, and Chen Yuan was absolutely delighted.

In just two minutes, over thirty people had sent transfers. Ye Huan alone had covered the fees for six people. Nearly four thousand yuan had already landed in his account.

Four thousand in two minutes — who else could pull that off?

"Can’t wait a second longer — my car’s right here on the side of the road. Let me drag all the anglers I know into the group so they can grab a spot. A place this good needs to be shared."

"Buddy, I can already hear you counting out that five-hundred referral fee in your head."

"Haha, everyone’s running the same calculation."

The anglers were having a great time with it.

This was exactly the effect Chen Yuan had been going for.

Sure, after everything he’d pulled off today, the anglers were already singing the praises of Chen Yuan Fishing Ground — they’d practically evangelize for it on their own.

But throw a five-hundred-yuan referral bonus into the mix, and they’d go all out. They’d be pulling in anglers they hadn’t spoken to in years, people barely more than a name in their contacts.

The double Fish King reward would drive them to come back and fish like crazy. The referral bonus would drive them to recruit like crazy.

That was the engine behind sustainable growth.

That five hundred yuan was money well spent, no question about it.

Chen Yuan watched the messages roll in until he’d finished his cigarette, then set his phone down with a satisfied nod, opened his laptop, and got to work reviewing the day and ironing out the rough edges.

"Honestly, the main problem was just not being prepared enough. But we’re stocked up on cigarettes, drinks, snacks, and water now. Mom, Dad, Uncle, and Auntie are all in the group chat too, so someone can keep an eye on messages throughout the day."

"And with them handling lunch, and Auntie putting a menu together, things should run smoothly by tomorrow. Everything else is just fine-tuning."

Chen Yuan opened a document and decided to draft a proper group announcement while he was at it.

First, operating hours: daytime sessions only for now, nine in the morning to five in the evening, one hundred yuan per session. He added a note that evening sessions and membership plans were to be determined.

Next, the rules. Chen Yuan Fishing Ground placed no restrictions on bait — all additives and secret formulas were welcome. Anglers could pull out every trick in the book. Since the ground didn’t return fish anyway, there was nothing to worry about.

Rod length, however, was restricted. The pond was only about two acres, with fishing spots all around the perimeter — rods that were too long or too many would easily cause problems for the people nearby.

One rod per person, maximum length 6.3 meters.

Barbed hooks were also banned. With spots spaced just over two meters apart at Chen Yuan Fishing Ground, a stray barbed hook catching someone would be a serious headache.

Next he noted the no-fish-return policy and the Fish King force-return bonus. This was the headline feature — it needed to be in bold, especially the number 1000.

Finally, safety. Life jackets were mandatory for everyone. Anyone who refused would not be admitted to Chen Yuan Fishing Ground. Entering the water without permission was also strictly prohibited, and anyone caught doing so would be asked to leave.

On the life jacket rule, Chen Yuan wasn’t worried in the slightest. Given that refreshing, cooling sensation the jackets provided, the anglers would probably come after him if he stopped supplying them.

"That should about cover the ground rules."

He rat-a-tat-tatted away on the keyboard, then reached for a cigarette out of habit, lit it, and leaned back to think through whether he’d missed anything — when his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Right — I need to number the spots. That way reservations go in order, and when anglers need something, Mom and Dad can just go by spot number. No need to match faces to names. Saves everyone a ton of trouble."

Chen Yuan kept typing. With numbered spots, coordinating lunch orders would be a lot smoother too.

The only thing left was the reservation system.

He thought it over for a moment, then resumed typing.

"Reservations for the following day’s spots open every day at 5:00 PM — first come, first served, until fully booked. Lunch orders open at 9:00 AM daily and close at 9:30 AM."

He added a note that a menu would be provided for lunch selections.

After nearly half an hour of typing away, the full group announcement was finally done. Chen Yuan read back through it carefully, satisfied that nothing had been left out, then got ready to post it to the WeChat group.

Whoa.

The moment he picked up his phone and opened WeChat, Chen Yuan’s jaw nearly dropped. There were at least thirty-odd pending friend requests — and the number was still climbing.

He worked his way up from the bottom, accepting them one by one. Every single person was an angler. They all led with a red packet, followed immediately by a voice message.

"Boss Chen, I’d like to reserve a spot for tomorrow."

Not a single greeting. Nobody even bothered to type — they just fired off a voice message as fast as humanly possible to lock in their reservation. Some had only said two words: "reserve spot." That alone said everything about how desperate these guys were.

But it was easy to understand.

Two thousand yuan in prizes was nothing to sneeze at.

Was there any other fishing ground in all of Chong City this generous?

Chen Yuan grinned from ear to ear, but he didn’t rush to confirm anything. First, he needed to verify how many spots had been reserved and flag the anglers who had booked but hadn’t yet sent their fee.

Once he had a clear picture, he went through the list in order, accepted the transfers, and locked in the spots.

All sixty spots were snapped up in no time. Friend requests kept pouring in after that, along with a steady stream of red packets and transfers.

Chen Yuan was tempted — God, was he tempted. He wanted to take every last one.

But reason crushed that flicker of greed, and he went through each one, apologizing individually.