Chapter 55 - 57: Boss Chen Is Here to Supervise Instead of Sleeping?

Chapter 55: Chapter 57: Boss Chen Is Here to Supervise Instead of Sleeping?

"Done."

Chen Yuan fired off a few messages in the group chat, then slipped his phone back into his pocket.

The original plan had been to soft-open as early as tomorrow, and he’d even toyed with the idea of running a six-hour trial session to satisfy the restless anglers blowing up the group chat.

But in the end, Chen Yuan decided to drop the idea.

For one thing, once you set the rules, you shouldn’t keep changing them if you can help it. Constant revisions were a hassle, and customers would lose track of what was what — not a great look for the business.

For another, it would give Wang Tao some breathing room.

After collecting the booking fees tomorrow, once the permit costs were covered, there should be enough left to continue developing the fish pond. As for the slope area, that would have to wait its turn.

That way, the anglers would get the best experience possible.

"Done chatting? Food’s almost ready — come eat!"

Right on cue, Tang Ying stepped out of the kitchen and called out toward the main room.

"Haha, let’s eat!"

Chen Jun headed happily toward the kitchen, and Chen Dequan followed to lend a hand.

"Qin Fen! Get down here, dinner’s ready — where’s Mr. Qin and the others, still out strolling around?"

Chen Yuan hollered up the stairs.

"Coming down in a sec — I’ll call Grandpa!"

Qin Fen called back from upstairs.

It had cooled down by now, and whether you were in the city or out in the countryside, an after-dinner stroll to catch the evening breeze was just what people did. Mr. Qin and the others were no different — they’d been enjoying the rural scenery on their walk.

"Yuan, go holler for your uncle."

After calling up to Qin Fen, Chen Yuan made his way toward the kitchen and nearly walked into Tang Ying, who was coming out carrying dishes.

"No need — he’s almost done with the chores over there. He should be heading this way soon."

Lin Cuiju followed behind her with a cheerful laugh.

The chickens and pigs still needed to be fed, so his aunt had finished up her share and come over to help, leaving just a bit left for his uncle to handle on his own.

"Here I am, here I am."

Sure enough, as they were saying this, his uncle came around from the back of the yard.

"Uncle, go sit in the main room — I’ll go check on Mr. Qin and the others."

Chen Yuan waved him in and headed outside. The moment he stepped out of the yard, he spotted Mr. Qin and his companions ambling back, the three old men chatting and laughing as they came down the road.

"Mr. Qin! We’ve been waiting on you — the good stuff is already on the table!"

Chen Yuan called out with a grin.

"Haha, on our way!"

"Good liquor deserves to be savored — but tonight, three full cups minimum!"

"Haha, gotta make the most of it while we’re out — no way the wife lets me drink like this back home!"

The moment they heard the good liquor was on the table, all three old men picked up the pace, and within moments they were back at the house, following Chen Yuan straight into the main room.

"Elders, take the seats of honor."

A large round lazy susan had been placed over the square table in the main room, effectively turning it into a round table. With eleven people tonight, the square table alone never would have worked, but a round table meant everyone could squeeze in.

The surface was already covered with several stir-fried dishes and a few stews — chicken, fish, and pork — a genuinely hearty spread by rural standards.

"I’ll pour."

Chen Yuan grabbed the baijiu, uncapped it, and started with the three elders, filling their glasses to the brim, then went around to Chen Jun, Chen Kingdom, and Chen Dequan. The women all said they’d have a little too.

Country women — most of them could hold their own with a drink.

"I’ll pass — driving tomorrow morning, don’t want a headache."

When it came to Qin Fen, he waved it off.

Chen Yuan didn’t push it.

It was already half past eight, and Mr. Qin and the others were heading back tomorrow morning. The last thing anyone needed was for Qin Fen to still be half-drunk behind the wheel.

"Have a soda then."

Chen Yuan turned and grabbed a chilled Coke.

"I’m already a certified couch potato, you know!"

Qin Fen shot him a long-suffering glare, but his hands told a different story — he took it and twisted it open without a second thought.

The mood around the table was great. Everyone drank and chatted, and the main room was filled with laughter and lively talk — the kind of night you just didn’t find anywhere else in the village at this hour.

The meal stretched past ten o’clock, and everyone left the table satisfied.

With his aunt and Liu Fang handling the cleanup, Chen Yuan didn’t need to lift a finger. He brewed a few cups of tea, set them on the table, said his goodbyes, and headed over to check on the fish pond.

"Still not sleeping, Boss Chen? Coming to supervise the workers?"

Wang Tao looked up from what he was doing and teased him with a grin.

"Had a few drinks, came out for some fresh air. Figured I’d check on how things are going while I’m at it."

Chen Yuan lit a cigarette.

"Relax, the construction side of things is solid — no issues whatsoever."

Wang Tao set down his tools, took the cigarette Chen Yuan offered, lit it, and took a long, satisfied drag, looking utterly confident.

"Listen to yourself — if I don’t relax, what am I supposed to do, rip my heart out and show it to you?"

Chen Yuan gave him a sideways glance.

Wang Tao burst out laughing.

"Huh — you filled in that ditch?"

Chen Yuan’s eyes drifted over toward the slope.

Between the slope and the embankment in front of it, there had originally been a small drainage ditch. When the village road was built, the ditch got cut off, and over the years it had collected all kinds of rubble and debris, with weeds growing thick inside it.

The excavator had now dumped the loose rubble from the slope right into it, filling it up flush with the embankment. Looking across from where he stood, the base of the slope now appeared to be a good meter and a half wide or more.

"Your embankments are decent, but if you’re serious about building this place up, they’re still on the narrow side. I’m planning to widen the other two embankments a bit as well."

Wang Tao explained, cigarette in hand.

Chen Yuan pressed his lips together and gave a nod.

They say a generous amount of space is what gives a place that grand, open feel — doubling the width of the embankments made a noticeable difference just at a glance.

Get all three embankments done like that, and the whole place would feel a lot more comfortable.

"If you pushed the slope further back, you’d have over four meters of space on this side."

Chen Yuan suddenly pointed toward the slope and the embankment running alongside it.

It was more of a flat stretch now, really — already leveled off — though it still sat nearly a meter lower than the embankment.

"A fishing ground needs different levels — it gives it depth. And besides, you don’t have to push outward; you can push inward instead. There’s plenty of room to work with."

Wang Tao tilted his chin up slightly, a hint of excitement spreading across his face.

"You’re thinking of pushing further inward?"

Chen Yuan was caught off guard.

The slope wasn’t huge, but it was over two meters wide — more than enough for Wang Tao to work with. And with Chen Wenbin backing the project, there was no reason to hold back on that front.

But pushing further inward was a whole different matter entirely.

Judging by the look on Wang Tao’s face, it seemed like he genuinely had that in mind.

"All I’m talking about is clearing the loose rubble off the surface — and honestly, if you leave that rubble on the slope, it’s just going to keep rolling down anyway."

Wang Tao kept his cool.

"I know you’ve got big ideas for this build, but keep it within reason. Don’t go off the rails on me with some wild, pie-in-the-sky scheme."

Chen Yuan let out a breath of relief, then made sure to say it plainly.

He thought it over and decided that wasn’t enough, so he added,

"Get me a set of construction drawings for the slope area."

The guy was clearly a skilled builder, but he didn’t seem to have much of a grasp on regulations. Chen Yuan needed to see the plans with his own eyes before he could rest easy.

"Sure."

Wang Tao wasn’t going to refuse — and honestly, he didn’t dare.

Chen Yuan gave him a few more firm reminders, and once he was satisfied that the fish pond construction wasn’t going off in any reckless direction, he finally headed back.

"How’s it looking over there — won’t cause any problems for tomorrow, will it?"

Chen Jun was out in the yard having a smoke. He looked up when Chen Yuan came back and asked, casually pulling out a cigarette and holding it out to him.

"The cement’s mostly down. It’ll cure overnight."

Chen Yuan waved it off.

He’d been smoking too much lately. Time to show some restraint.

"Good to hear."

Chen Jun tucked the cigarette back into the pack. "Go wash up and get some rest — it’s past eleven already."

"Alright, you guys turn in early too."

Chen Yuan nodded and headed upstairs at a brisk pace. It had been a packed day, and he’d been running on fumes for a while now. He just hoped things would ease up once the fishing ground was finished.

Upstairs, he switched on the air conditioning first, then ducked into the bathroom to wash up. When he came out, he dropped face-first onto the bed and didn’t feel like moving a single muscle.

He rolled onto his back and, out of habit, pulled up the system panel to take a look, focusing mainly on the fish stock levels. The numbers had dipped a bit since the start, but not by much.

Most of the anglers were coming specifically for the Fish King, which had taken a lot of pressure off the other species.

"Looks like it’ll hold for a while longer."

Chen Yuan figured there was no need to restock just yet.

Then he scrolled over to the amenities section and tapped through each entry one by one — and to his surprise, every single one had a row of annotations, just like the Fish King’s entry. That woke him right up.

The next second, he couldn’t help himself — he let out a string of curses.