Chapter 48 - 50: Booking Mini Program

Chapter 48: Chapter 50: Booking Mini Program

"Come on, let’s eat too."

Tang Ying came back and called everyone over.

With Chen Dequan and his wife keeping an eye on the fish pond, the rest of them could finally sit down and eat in peace.

Chen Kingdom and his wife carried some dishes into the main hall and called out to Mr. Qin and the others on the way, while Chen Jun and Tang Ying headed to the kitchen to dish up the food.

Having customers order from a menu in advance made everything so much easier — not only was it less hectic, but the portions could be planned out properly, letting them sort out their own meals at the same time and saving a whole lot of hassle.

"Oi, Shitspray! Get your ass down here, food’s ready!"

Chen Yuan jogged to the foot of the stairs and hollered up.

That guy Qin Fen had been up there forever — no telling what he’d been fiddling around with.

"Coming!"

Qin Fen’s voice drifted down from above, followed by the thudding of footsteps — and then, before he’d even made it downstairs, a surprised shout.

"Whoa, you poor soul — what a morning you’ve missed! Someone already caught the Fish King, and your group chat actually hit the member cap! You’d better expand it fast."

Chen Yuan immediately pulled out his phone and opened WeChat, and what he saw made his eyes light up — aside from a string of friend request notifications, the fishing ground group had genuinely hit five hundred members.

Damn, these anglers really didn’t mess around.

They were going all out for the night session.

The earlier surge in members — that could be chalked up to the anglers posting on their Moments, which was expected. But hitting the cap entirely? That was a pleasant surprise he hadn’t seen coming.

"Eat first."

The new members could wait. With the group now full, his chances of pulling off the night session looked even better. Just thinking about it put Chen Yuan in a great mood — good enough for a drink.

"Mr. Qin, let’s have a toast."

Feeling cheerful, Chen Yuan cracked open a good bottle and poured for Mr. Qin and his crew, then topped up Chen Jun’s and his uncle’s glasses too.

"So the night sessions are happening?"

Qin Fen had caught wind of the announcement and looked over at Chen Yuan in surprise.

"We’re working on it. Any thoughts?"

Chen Yuan set the bottle down and took his seat.

"What do I know — honestly, with the group you’ve got right now, you’ve already got more than enough to make night sessions work. Expand it further and you’ll be shooting straight to the moon."

Qin Fen tucked his phone away and burst out laughing.

Then he raised his glass and proposed: "I say we drink to Chen Yuan Fishing Ground taking off — everyone, bottoms up."

"Definitely worth celebrating."

Mr. Qin raised his glass toward Chen Yuan. "Come on, Chen, this one’s from me — here’s to your business going from strength to strength."

"You’re all too kind."

Chen Yuan quickly rose to his feet.

Chen Jun and Chen Kingdom raised their glasses, and Tang Ying grabbed a couple more cups and poured a little for the aunt too. The fishing ground really was heading in the right direction.

This was a toast worth drinking.

After the meal, his mom and aunt cleared the table, and Mr. Qin and the others went off for a nap — Qin Fen couldn’t hold out either.

Up at the crack of dawn, then rattled by watching Ye Zhi land the Fish King — he needed to rest up and save his energy for a shot at the Fish King himself that evening.

Chen Yuan sat outside the main hall with a cigarette dangling from his lips, first firing a red packet into the group chat to thank the anglers for their support.

Then he started working through the friend requests and messages.

It took the better part of half an hour to get through them all, and he was in great spirits by the end — just in time for the system to chime in.

"Booking mini-program construction complete. Please check your inventory, Host."

That was fast.

Chen Yuan pulled up the system, found the booking mini-program in the add-ons tab, and tapped to activate it — and just like that, it appeared like magic in WeChat under his recently used mini-programs.

"Chen Yuan Fishing Ground."

Chen Yuan grinned. The mini-program was named after Chen Yuan Fishing Ground. He tapped in to have a look — it was clean and straightforward: just set the spot order and switch on booking mode.

Anglers could log in with WeChat, pick a spot, and pay, all in one go.

Once he’d gotten familiar with the program, Chen Yuan upgraded to a WeChat Business group, then pushed the mini-program out to the fishing ground chat.

He tagged everyone.

"This group has been upgraded to a WeChat Business group — feel free to keep inviting people."

"The Chen Yuan Fishing Ground mini-program is now live. All future spot bookings will be handled through the mini-program — please add it and log in with WeChat."

The anglers had only just finished eating, and the first-timers were still buzzing in the chat, praising the food for being great value and delicious.

Then Chen Yuan’s messages popped up, and the chat went into overdrive.

"Ooh, upgraded to a Business group — Boss Chen is going places."

"Even got a mini-program now, with online booking and everything — clean, professional, proper workflow. Boss Chen’s practically gunning for an IPO."

"Boss Chen, I want in as a tech investor."

"Tech investor just means freeloading. Besides, you’re not a girl — why would Boss Chen let you play?"

"I’m not a girl, but I’ve got a sister."

"Is she as pretty as Ye Zhi?"

"Less talk, more pics~"

Jokes aside, the anglers went ahead and opened the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground mini-program anyway — and honestly, it was exactly what they said it wasn’t: clean, dead simple, no clutter whatsoever. The group was won over.

Ring ring ring.

He’d barely finished sorting out the group when his phone rang — a familiar number, a familiar voice.

"Boss Chen, your stuff’s arrived. Where do you want it dropped off this time?"

The delivery driver — and he’d made good time, showing up just past two o’clock.

Chen Yuan told him to hold on, jumped up, and headed outside.

"You bought more stuff again?"

He’d barely made it out of the courtyard when he ran into his dad and uncle, both standing outside peering down the road.

"Yeah, picked up a few things."

Chen Yuan jogged over and followed their gaze — and got a bit of a shock himself.

Three full trucks were parked around the bend, loaded with cement, sand, and gravel.

"What do you need all this for — you building a house or something?"

Chen Jun fell in behind Chen Yuan, with his uncle alongside him.

"If you want to get rich, fix the road first."

Chen Yuan spoke as he walked. "I’m planning to pack down and cement the embankments on three sides of the pond, and flatten that little slope above the pond to put in a toilet or something. Makes it easier for customers, and keeps the house from getting too filthy."

Not a bad idea at all.

Both Chen Jun and Chen Kingdom thought it made sense.

"You want to do all that — will the village committee actually sign off on it?"

It wasn’t something you could just go ahead and do, especially leveling a slope and putting up a structure. That wasn’t something to take lightly.

"Don’t worry, I already went to the village committee this morning. Uncle Bin’s got it covered."

The two brothers relaxed when they heard that.

Then again, if Chen Yuan had thought to draw up contracts, he wasn’t going to be careless about something like this.

They’d worried for nothing.

"You’re early today, boss," Chen Yuan said when he reached the bend, casually handing a Hua to the lead driver and offering one to each of the other two he didn’t recognize.

"Gotta hustle to get by."

The lead driver was an old acquaintance. He took the cigarette, climbed up into the truck, pulled out a courier package containing the security camera, handed it to Chen Yuan, then gestured at the three trucks behind him.

"So where do you want all this?"

Other deliveries were easy enough to store — cigarettes, liquor, water, you could just pile them anywhere. But this stuff was different; if they stacked it in the wrong spot, moving it when the time came would be a real pain.

Chen Yuan mulled it over.

"Best to put it near the pond — easier to work with from there."

Chen Jun suggested.

"That makes sense, but there’s not much open space by the pond. Can’t just dump it in the middle of the road — how are the anglers and villagers supposed to get through?"

Chen Yuan frowned, cigarette between his lips.

"Doesn’t have to all be in one spot. Stack some in the corners, then line the rest along the edge of the village road, keeping it narrow — should fit, and still leave enough room for people to pass."

Chen Kingdom sized up the three trucks as he spoke.

Chen Yuan’s eyes brightened.

That could actually work.

"Honestly, where we put it doesn’t matter as much — the main thing is getting it used up quickly."

Chen Kingdom glanced at Chen Yuan, the unspoken question being whether he’d found a construction crew yet.

"Let’s get it unloaded first and figure the rest out later."

He finished his cigarette and called out to the lead driver: "Hey boss, do us a favor and take it all to the pond — the road’s narrow over there and it’s busy, so you’ll have to go one truck at a time."

The driver looked like he wanted to say something, but under Chen Yuan’s steady gaze, he just nodded and said fine.