Chapter 63 - 64: Fishing Ground Direction

Chapter 63: Chapter 64: Fishing Ground Direction

How should the fishing ground develop?

How could it become the industry benchmark?

To be honest, Chen Yuan hadn’t thought about this question at first. The moment he was reborn, all he wanted was to go home and spend time with his parents.

With the system’s help, opening a fishing ground to make a living should have been easy, which was why he initially set his business hours from nine to five.

He had worked himself to death in his past life.

This time, he wanted to take it easy.

But as more and more anglers arrived, the system’s upgrades became slow and difficult. That, combined with Wang Tao’s construction suggestions, gave him pause for thought.

How should he build his fishing ground?

Or rather, what was his goal, his direction?

Should he just guard the village pond and live a comfortable life, or should he build a truly great fishing ground?

The answer was obvious.

If he was going to do it, he might as well do it right.

He had made a point to research the fishing ground industry. Strictly speaking, the business had been around for many years, but to this day, it lacked a true leader.

Almost every industry has a leader. This is about brand influence. So-called "famous brands" are this very thing; they give consumers a different kind of feeling, a unique purchasing experience.

Others in the industry would see it as a goal, visiting it, studying it, even imitating it.

A leader is a mecca for its industry.

But where was the mecca of fishing grounds?

There wasn’t one.

Why was that the case?

Were fishing grounds losing money and unable to develop? Or were their limits plain to see?

It was neither.

Since there were so many fishing grounds across the country, someone must be making money, or the industry wouldn’t exist. Therefore, the key question was how to break the current developmental shackles.

Whoever could figure that out could become the leader.

"When you mentioned becoming the Hermès of the Fishing Realm just now, you meant you want to build the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground into a brand?"

Chen Wenbin figured out what Chen Yuan was getting at.

’Brand effect drives development.’

"As long as anglers recognize the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground brand, its development will have diverse possibilities. Its potential will no longer be limited to just being a ’fishing ground.’"

Chen Yuan stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

He pulled out another, handing one to Chen Wenbin first before lighting one for himself.

He had been so caught up in talking that his previous cigarette had burned down on its own.

"Explain in detail."

Chen Wenbin took the cigarette, sipped his strong tea, then lit up and looked at Chen Yuan.

"I believe there are two types of brands. The first is all about fame—it focuses on reputation but neglects product quality. This approach is relatively easy to pull off."

To use a slightly inappropriate analogy...

It’s like the "pretty-boy celebrities" of later years. Not all of them, of course, but many were certainly more famous than they were talented. They couldn’t act, couldn’t sing, and couldn’t even dance well.

But their so-called "traffic"—their popularity—could overshadow many veteran actors, talented singers, and skilled dancers.

The veteran actors had the skill, but the pretty boys had the fame and fortune.

If I had to use a product as an example...

Chen Yuan felt that a certain health supplement from his childhood was a fitting comparison.

It was clearly just a health product, but it was aggressively marketed into a standard gift-giving item, creating a huge craze at the time.

That wasn’t a brand; it was just fame.

"If you were to choose this method, what would you do?"

Chen Wenbin leaned his right elbow on the desk, smoking with great interest.

"Simple. Continuously raise the rewards for high-value returns."

Chen Yuan was calm and confident. If all he wanted was fame, this one move would be enough.

Fishing grounds have something called a "prize fish," also known as a "little backpack." The idea is to put a special tag on a fish and invite anglers to catch it. If someone lands the prize fish, they get a reward.

The rewards for these prize fish can be quite interesting.

It could be a few hundred yuan, or it could be several hundred thousand.

In his past life, while accompanying clients and bosses on fishing trips, Chen Yuan had heard about a fishing ground that offered a sky-high prize for a "little backpack"—a single tagged fish worth six hundred thousand yuan.

The news not only spread like wildfire among anglers but was even reported by some media outlets.

That fishing ground made a name for itself right then and there.

But a sky-high prize naturally meant a sky-high fishing fee—at least five thousand to start. And herein lay a major flaw.

A six-hundred-thousand-yuan prize fish—that wasn’t fishing, it was gambling on fish. It had elements of gambling, and so this practice was quickly rectified by the authorities.

Chen Yuan currently had the high-return Fish King, which wasn’t a huge problem. But if he were to really jack up the rewards, he might also receive a rectification notice from certain departments.

You’d get the fame, but you couldn’t build a brand. It was a short-term development strategy, and the drawbacks might even outweigh the benefits.

"Since you want a brand, you obviously wouldn’t choose that path. Tell me about your understanding of the second type of brand."

Chen Wenbin gestured for Chen Yuan to continue.

"Uncle Bin, you must have a lot of social obligations during holidays and festivals, right?"

Chen Yuan said with a sly smile, deliberately keeping him in suspense.

"Who doesn’t have a few social ties to maintain?"

Chen Wenbin laughed heartily.

"You can’t go empty-handed, right? You have to bring some liquor or other gifts."

Chen Yuan said with a chuckle.

’Liquor?’

’Gifts?’

Chen Wenbin was a sharp man. He quickly caught on and seemed to understand.

He looked at Chen Yuan.

"The combination of liquor and gifts... that’s a type of brand?"

"Liquor you buy for yourself isn’t for drinking, it’s for giving as a gift. The fish in the pond aren’t for fishing, but for a form of gambling. But if you turn both of these into a brand, the meaning becomes completely different."

Chen Yuan got up, went to the water cooler, and poured himself some water to wet his throat.

He’d been talking so much that his throat was getting a little dry.

"A brand, besides fame, must have an incredibly solid selling point."

After drinking, Chen Yuan sat down again. "Take Maotai or Guojiao, for example. They themselves place great emphasis on craftsmanship, so their quality is guaranteed. Add their prestige to the mix, and they’re no longer just simple liquors; they’ve extended their value into the realm of gift-giving."

Liquor is no longer limited to just being liquor; it has extended to become a gift.

By the same token, if a fishing ground can establish a brand, it will no longer be limited to just being a fishing ground.

Chen Wenbin was silent, mulling over Chen Yuan’s words.

He pulled out a cigarette and nodded slowly.

He clearly approved of what Chen Yuan was saying.

"Liquor was given the value of a gift. What value can a fishing ground be given?"

Chen Wenbin asked as he pulled out a cigarette and handed it to Chen Yuan.

"Based on my current thinking, I’m leaning toward a two-pronged approach: sports and leisure."

Chen Yuan leaned forward, taking the cigarette with one hand and lighting Chen Wenbin’s with the other. He then sat down, lit his own, and continued speaking.

"Fishing is already a sport. In that case, rewards for athletes carry a different meaning than high-return prizes for a Fish King. After all, the prize-fish route is too easily regulated."

Chen Wenbin nodded to himself.

’This kid, Chen Yuan, really has a sharp mind. He’s already thought of a way to replace the prize-fish model so quickly. This approach might just work.’

"As for leisure... well, there’s so much you can do with that. With more and more anglers flocking to Yu City Village, we’ll have to develop our village, won’t we? It’s not impossible to create a 5A-level scenic area."

Chen Yuan looked at Chen Wenbin with a broad grin.

These last words were the grand vision he was painting for Chen Wenbin.

Building up Yu City Village, developing Yu City Village... whether in terms of economy or employment, it would absolutely be a major political achievement.

Of course, it wasn’t just an empty promise. Chen Yuan genuinely had this in mind.

Chen Wenbin’s eyes lit up, and he even paused his smoking for a moment.

"You little rascal. Are you just blowing smoke and making grand promises to me?"

A man as shrewd as Chen Wenbin wasn’t about to start daydreaming about some far-off fantasy before anything had even gotten off the ground.

What was that line from Han Xin? Don’t dream impossible dreams.

The dream Chen Yuan was building wasn’t necessarily impossible, but the difficulty level was immense. He was a middle-aged man; he couldn’t afford to indulge in naive fantasies.

"Uncle Bin, you and I are family, so let’s skip the pleasantries. All development is just about aspiring to a future blueprint. No one can guarantee it can be realized. What I can do is pour my heart and soul into moving toward that goal."

Chen Yuan’s expression was calm, yet it conveyed a solemn gravity.

This was his promise.

To himself, and to Chen Wenbin.

HISS—

Chen Wenbin took a fierce drag on his cigarette, burning through at least a third of it in one go. Chen Yuan was a little surprised by his lung capacity.

WHOOSH—

He exhaled the smoke heavily, flicked the ash, and asked a question that took Chen Yuan by surprise.

"What do you think about the Old Pond in the village?"

Chen Yuan’s smoking hand froze as he stared at Chen Wenbin in astonishment.

"That’s the pond Zhou Jianming has the contract for. It doesn’t matter what I say."

Beyond his surprise, Chen Yuan’s heart began to pound.

’What is Uncle Bin getting at? Don’t tell me he’s planning to do something about the Old Pond?’ℴ