Chapter 47 - 49: Chen Dequan Used to Be with You Guys?

Chapter 47: Chapter 49: Chen Dequan Used to Be with You Guys?

"Thanks for your support, everyone. We’re celebrating hitting over three hundred members in the group."

First, he kicked things off with a red packet, as promised for breaking a hundred-member milestone.

Next was his announcement about night fishing.

"I’ve seen how much you all want us to open for night fishing, so I’ve decided to put it on the agenda. Once preparations are complete, we’ll pick a date to open."

The moment he sent the message, the group, which had been gradually quieting down, instantly erupted again.

"We’re getting night fishing?"

"Boss Chen really listens to feedback, huh?"

"Haha, it’s about time! Why pick a date when you can just do it now? Tonight would be best. My fishing rod is practically begging for some action."

Why did these anglers join the group in the first place?

It was for the Fish King.

But spots were limited. Each session only had sixty spots, which were never enough. If they added a night session, it would be like adding another sixty spots.

That should be enough to meet the demand.

"Boss Chen, when are you planning to open for night fishing?"

After the excitement died down, the anglers started asking about the timing.

"If everything goes smoothly, we could have a trial run as early as tomorrow."

Chen Yuan thought for a moment before replying in the group.

"Why a trial run?"

"First, I need to prepare for two full sessions. Second, our group has a limited number of members. After accounting for work and daily commitments, there’s no telling how many anglers can actually make it. So, if the night session doesn’t do well, we’ll end the trial run."

Anglers are people too, and people have lives. They can’t just spend every day at the fishing ground.

Even someone like Wang Heng, who was basically a professional angler, couldn’t fish every single day.

All the anglers envied Emperor He Qiang, but there was only one Emperor He Qiang in the whole country. Rumor was he still hadn’t returned, so they could only envy him, not dare to imitate him.

And how many people were in the fishing ground’s group right now?

Not even three hundred and sixty.

With such a small base, trying to fill one hundred and twenty spots across two sessions... what did that entail?

It meant that one out of every three anglers in the group would have to show up. Achieving that kind of turnout was practically impossible.

So if the results of running two sessions weren’t ideal, there was no need to force it. It would be better to focus on doing one session well and plan the night session more slowly.

"Got it. So Boss Chen thinks we don’t have enough people."

"Leave the recruiting to us, Boss Chen. You just focus on getting the night session ready."

"Brothers, for the sake of night fishing, it’s time to show off our connections in the angling world!"

Whether they misunderstood Chen Yuan’s meaning or perfectly understood his intention, the anglers sprang into action. Both the lurkers and the active members started pulling people into the group, and the member count began to shoot up.

"Holy crap, take it easy, you guys! The people you’re inviting are our competition!"

"Haha, you’re a real jokester. I saw you invite like six or seven people yourself. Looks like they’re all friends from the Fisherman’s side. Are you trying to poach all their members?"

"Don’t even start. The Fisherman doesn’t treat us anglers like human beings. Chen Yuan Fishing Ground is the real deal."

"I agree with that. We anglers are all one big family. A place this great has to be shared."

Watching the messages scroll by endlessly, Chen Yuan was stunned at first. He hadn’t expected the anglers to suddenly put in so much effort to recruit new members.

When he came to his senses, a huge grin spread across his face.

In the blink of an eye, the group’s member count broke four hundred.

"I’ll skip the sappy thank-yous. Here’s a small red packet. Please look forward to the night session."

Chen Yuan sent a red packet directly into the group.

Then he ran out of the main hall and headed for the kitchen.

The anglers had come through for him, so he had to keep his word. The night session was a must.

"You’re going to open for night fishing?"

He had just run into the kitchen when he saw Chen Jun looking up from his phone in surprise.

"That’s the plan."

Chen Yuan nodded.

"With such a small staff, can we really handle a night session?"

Chen Jun was a little worried.

Just like Chen Yuan’s earlier concern, their staff was just too limited. He wasn’t sure they could handle two sessions even if they worked around the clock.

"That’s what I’m here to discuss."

Chen Yuan grabbed a small stool and sat down in front of the stove opening. He handed his dad a cigarette, stuck one in his own mouth, and instead of using a lighter, he picked a burning piece of firewood from the stove, lit his cigarette with it, and put it back.

"Dad, did Chen Dequan used to run with you guys?"

Chen Yuan asked, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"That was all back when we were young."

Chen Jun lit his cigarette with a piece of firewood, put it back, and exhaled a puff of smoke before continuing,

"Back then, your uncle and I left home to learn a trade, and Chen Dequan came along to learn from us. The thing about him is, you can’t say he’s lazy, just a bit slow. He couldn’t learn the trade no matter how hard he tried, so he ended up just doing manual labor."

"But I’ll tell you what, when it came to simple labor that didn’t require much thinking, he was actually pretty good. He had no trouble at all being an assistant for both me and your uncle."

A bright smile appeared on Chen Jun’s face as if he were reminiscing about some amusing old stories.

Chen Yuan nodded. He was starting to get the picture.

So Chen Dequan wasn’t lazy, he just couldn’t learn the trade. But he was quite capable at other tasks, which was clear from how he’d been running errands and delivering cigarettes and water this morning.

’Guess you could call that finding his niche.’

"Why are you asking about this?"

Chen Jun suddenly caught on and stared at Chen Yuan questioningly.

"Well, we’re short on staff, aren’t we?"

Chen Yuan chuckled.

"You want them to run the night session?"

Tang Ying, who had been busy stir-frying, suddenly stopped and looked over.

Chen Yuan didn’t deny it. He was here to discuss it with his parents, after all. If they had a problem with it, his only other option was to ask Uncle Bin to help find a couple of people.

"You can decide."

Tang Ying thought for a moment and said she had no objection.

Although Liu Fang had a sharp tongue and liked to play petty tricks for small gains, she wasn’t a bad person. And Chen Dequan was the type with no real desires or ambitions—incredibly level-headed.

Besides, a few years ago when Chen Jun ran into danger and Chen Kingdom broke his leg, Chen Dequan was on the scene and helped out a lot. If not for him, the outcome would have been far worse.

If she hadn’t been mindful of that, she wouldn’t have let this morning’s matter go so easily.

After getting his parents’ approval, Chen Yuan asked about some other details, like the wages for manual labor in the city, and got a good sense of things.

"I’m almost done over here. Go see if your aunt is ready. If there are no problems, you can start serving the food."

With the last dish out of the wok, the boxed lunches were ready.

Chen Jun tossed his cigarette butt into the stove opening, stood up, and started packing the lunch boxes.

Chen Yuan threw away his cigarette butt too and headed outside.

"Sister Tang Ying, are you guys ready over there? Sister-in-law Lin has finished cooking the side dishes."

Before he even stepped outside, he heard Liu Fang’s loud voice. She was carrying two large bags of food. Chen Dequan, who had just returned on his tricycle, came running into the courtyard, taking two or three steps at a time.

"Let me take those. I’ll put them in the vehicle. Are there still dishes over at Old Brother Chen Kingdom’s place?" 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Chen Dequan asked as he took the food.

"The side dishes are all here."

"Then go help Younger Brother Chen Jun and the others."

Chen Dequan jogged over to put away the side dishes, then ran back to grab the boxed lunches.

Then he ran to the main hall, grabbed two packs of cigarettes and a few bottles of water, and showed them to Chen Jun.

"Two packs of cigarettes, eight bottles of water. The bosses all sent you the money on WeChat. Remember to accept the transfers."

He moved with a practiced ease.

Clearly, he had been doing this all morning.

Chen Dequan was helping out by the pond. Whenever the bosses needed something, they would just call out to him. He wouldn’t take any money himself; he’d watch them transfer the payment to Chen Jun, then come back to get the items. He always checked with Chen Jun and never took more than what was paid for.

"We’ll deliver the food. We’ll watch over the fishpond, so you all can eat in peace."

After grabbing the items, Chen Dequan called to Liu Fang, and they headed toward the fishpond.

Their enthusiasm was almost comical to watch.

"Wait a second."

Tang Ying shouted from the kitchen.

The couple, Chen Dequan and his wife, were already on the tricycle. Hearing her shout, they grew nervous, afraid that Tang Ying was stopping them to kick them out, which would really complicate things after what happened this morning.

"It’s the middle of the day. Aren’t you two going to eat?"

Tang Ying came out with two boxed lunches she had packed, placing them directly into the tricycle’s cargo bed. Her tone was still a bit stiff, but Chen Dequan and Liu Fang smiled with relief.

They felt a new surge of energy for their work. Twisting the electric throttle, they sped off toward the fishpond.

Watching this scene, Chen Yuan and his father looked at each other and smiled.