Chapter 32 - 33: A Surge in Group Members

Chapter 32: Chapter 33: A Surge in Group Members

The bookings selling out was no surprise.

With everything they’d pulled off today, it would’ve been stranger if they hadn’t.

Even so, Chen Yuan couldn’t help but feel a rush of excitement. Chen Yuan Fishing Ground was on a roll, and nothing was going to stop it now.

He opened the fishing ground’s group chat and his eyes lit up again — the member count had shot up from the ninety-something it had been that afternoon all the way to 213, and it was still climbing.

The chat was absolutely buzzing, with a bold 99+ notification glowing on the screen.

Chen Yuan tapped it and scrolled all the way to the top, skimming through the messages at a quick pace.

"Holy shit, two thousand guaranteed cash-back? I’ve been fishing for years and I’ve never seen a boss this generous."

"Gotta be honest though — the Fish King can’t be that easy to catch, right?"

"Bet the Fish King won’t even bite."

The newcomers were blown away by the guaranteed refund reward, but plenty of them were skeptical about landing the Fish King. A prize that big just didn’t seem real to most people.

There had to be a catch.

Chen Yuan was about to chime in and set the record straight, but what came next made him put his phone down and let it play out.

Several videos appeared in a row — all clips from that afternoon of anglers going head-to-head with the Fish King. They were even more thrilling than the ones Chen Yuan had filmed himself, raw and pulse-pounding.

"Just this afternoon, the Fish King struck three times. Shame nobody managed to reel it in."

"I remember that grandfather and grandson yesterday hooked it too, and still couldn’t land it."

"Landing it aside, it’s bitten two days in a row, and multiple times today on top of that. So tell me — is the Fish King hard to hook or not?"

The evidence spoke for itself.

It wasn’t that the Fish King wouldn’t bite — the anglers just kept losing it on the way in.

"No way, it’s been biting consistently this whole time?"

"I used to sit at natural reservoirs waiting on big fish — sometimes it’d take days before you got a single bite. Never expected this Fish King to be so eager."

"It’s a two-acre pond, man. Barely any room to hide. Toss a few dozen casts in there and where’s the Fish King gonna go?"

"Bro, Chen Yuan Fishing Ground is legit. Boss Chen has a serious money-laundering quota to hit — all that cash is just sitting there waiting for us to come take it."

"Ohhh, that makes sense~"

"On top of that, the service and quality at Chen Yuan Fishing Ground are beyond anything you’d expect. Go once and I guarantee you’ll never want to fish anywhere else."

"Say no more — that Fish King is mine. Boss Chen, I need a spot booked."

Chen Yuan grinned reading through all the banter. These guys were a good bunch. He didn’t even need to post videos or explain anything anymore.

The member count was doubling by the minute, and any concerns got sorted out on their own.

Job done.

Effortless, stress-free, and making money.

"Nooo, the spots are fully booked already — I missed out!"

"Same, didn’t get one either. I could cry."

"I know this is terrible of me to say, but I’m gonna say it anyway — I hope everyone who snagged a spot tomorrow goes home empty-handed and leaves the Fish King for me."

"+1."

A perfectly synchronized chorus of +1s, all from the anglers who’d missed out.

Nobody liked going home empty-handed, but the ones who’d gotten spots were quietly smirking to themselves and didn’t bother rising to the salty jabs.

"Wait, is Chen Yuan Fishing Ground actually a new place? How are spots this hard to grab?"

"In this heat, every other fishing ground is only running early morning, evening, or night sessions — nobody can operate in the middle of the day. And even then, they’re barely getting any business. Meanwhile Chen Yuan Fishing Ground is running nine to five and still can’t keep spots available. What’s going on over there?"

"Dude, you really gotta ask if the Fish King prize money is tempting?"

"You guys might not believe this, but it doesn’t even feel like summer at Chen Yuan Fishing Ground. Trust me — go once and every other place will seem like a downgrade."

The regulars who’d been before all chimed in with their agreement, their cryptic comments only fanning the curiosity of those who hadn’t managed to snag a spot.

Chen Yuan scrolled to the bottom of the chat, thought for a moment, then opened a red envelope, set it to random split, divided a hundred yuan into a hundred packets, entered his password, and sent it to the group.

"Thanks for the support, everyone. From now on, every time the group hits a new hundred-member milestone, there’ll be a little red envelope waiting for you."

The five hundred yuan he’d budgeted for referrals hadn’t even been paid out yet, and the group had already more than doubled in size. Money well spent — but the momentum from that initial push was probably peaking, and it wouldn’t carry as much weight going forward.

Time to let the new members do the heavy lifting.

"Oh, red envelopes!"

"Quick, grab them!"

"Boss Chen showed up — get him!"

"Stick ’em up! Hand over the fishing spots!"

A flood of members tagged Chen Yuan, and several quoted his message to play along with the "robbery."

Chen Yuan smiled, then posted the group announcement he’d already drafted. The moment it went live, someone immediately jumped on it.

"Night sessions TBD — does that mean Boss Chen is thinking about opening night sessions?"

"Strongly urging Boss Chen to add night sessions!"

"It’s light out by five in the morning in summer — Boss Chen could easily start at seven, run until three in the afternoon, leave an hour for clearing out, then kick off the next session at four and run it until midnight."

"I am one hundred percent on board with this."

"Seconded +1."

The suggestion got a wave of support almost instantly, and even Chen Yuan had to admit it didn’t sound half bad.

But in the end, he didn’t commit.

"I’ll take it under consideration, but Chen Yuan Fishing Ground is still in its early stages and hasn’t fully found its footing yet. Once we’re ready to look at memberships, additional sessions, and things like that, I’ll make sure to keep everyone posted."

Given the tasks the system had issued and how much the fishing ground’s revenue was contributing to his upgrade progress, adding more sessions might genuinely be on the cards — but they simply didn’t have the manpower to pull it off right now.

One step at a time. Better to wait until things were running smoothly before looking for the right moment.

Damn that stupid system.

Nine to five was perfectly manageable, but no — it had to go and throw out tasks, and threaten him with explosions on top of it.

What a load of crap.

After a bit more back-and-forth in the chat, Chen Yuan closed his laptop and headed downstairs. It was past six — his mom was probably cooking by now, and he figured he’d see if there was anything he could do to help.

"Mom, what’s got you so happy?"

He heard her humming before he even reached the kitchen. She was clearly in a great mood.

"Your mom just got back from picking vegetables and ran into a bunch of villagers singing your praises. Oh, and she bumped into Liu Fang too — I’ll let you fill in the rest yourself. All I know is she hasn’t stopped smiling since she walked back through the door."

Chen Jun was perched on a little stool, sorting through the vegetables.

"Don’t listen to your father. I’m happy about the fishing ground’s business — I just checked the group and tomorrow’s spots are completely booked. Why wouldn’t I be smiling?"

Tang Ying shot Chen Jun a look, though the grin on her face refused to budge.

"Sure, Mom."

Chen Yuan gave a sly smile.

"What would you know."

Tang Ying rolled her eyes at him.

"Come on, Mom — Aunt Liu’s face must’ve been priceless, right?" Chen Yuan pressed, leaning in.

"Oh, absolutely. Two or three sentences and she was making a face like she was constipated, then turned tail and ran. And she calls herself the village’s information hub — she folded so fast it wasn’t even funny~"

Tang Ying was beaming with satisfaction, then she suddenly caught herself and turned a sharp glare on the two of them.

"Hahaha~"

Chen Jun and Chen Yuan both burst out laughing, but the moment they caught Tang Ying’s warning look, they choked it back hard, faces going red from the effort.

"If you want to laugh, just laugh. Doesn’t it hurt to hold it in like that?"

Both father and son looked up at the same time, trying their best to keep straight faces.

"Suit yourselves. I’m in too good a mood today to bother with you two."

Tang Ying turned back to the vegetables, and the moment she did, the two of them burst out laughing all over again like they’d just been given permission.

Even their mom had her petty little moments.

But hey, as long as she was happy.

"Alright, go check on Qin and the others down by the pond. It’s about time for them to come in for dinner."

Chen Jun didn’t dare keep laughing too long — he’d be sleeping on the couch otherwise.

"What about Uncle and Auntie?"

Chen Yuan nodded and asked.

"Your uncle and aunt are feeding the chickens and pigs. They’ll come over on their own when they’re done — no need to go get them."

Chen Jun gathered the sorted vegetables, rinsed them at the tap, and handed them to Tang Ying before taking a seat by the stove to tend the fire.

Chen Yuan headed out, hopped onto the three-wheeler, and rode off toward the fish pond, humming a cheerful little tune he’d picked up from his mom, Tang Ying.

Their whole family was riding high.

But somewhere out there, someone was too miserable to eat~