Chapter 70 - 71: Providing a Fishing Rod Service

Chapter 70: Chapter 71: Providing a Fishing Rod Service

"I figured you did it on purpose."

That was Qin Fen’s reply the moment he got Chen Yuan’s message.

Landing a hundred-pound Fish King on a 6.3-meter rod wasn’t completely out of the question, but the odds were pretty slim. He’d assumed Chen Yuan had deliberately imposed the restriction to make it harder for the Fish King to get hauled in.

"On purpose my ass. Where’d you get that rod of yours?"

Chen Yuan asked.

Since even Qin Fen said so, it really did seem like a 6.3-meter rod just wasn’t practical for landing the Fish King.

"My grandpa’s been fishing his whole life — he’s got his connections. But don’t even think about it. Custom rods like that are way too expensive. Your average angler could never afford one."

Qin Fen shot down the idea of Chen Yuan sourcing a batch right away.

God of Wealth was clearly a rich kid — money was no object for him. Qin Fen’s family was pretty well-off too, otherwise there was no way they’d be funding his passion project.

But not every angler out there was rolling in cash like that.

The ideal solution was to find rods that were reasonably priced without sacrificing quality. Otherwise, the only option was to loosen the rod restrictions altogether.

But working with a two-acre pond made that tricky. Fewer spots meant a sharp drop in revenue, and then how would the fishing ground ever level up?

"Damn system."

Thinking about upgrades reminded Chen Yuan of his system. The system was nothing if not precise — if it had dared to stock a hundred-pound Fish King, it must have anticipated this problem.

He pulled up the system right away and navigated to the shop, typing in keywords like fishing rod, 6.3 meters, and Fishing King. Sure enough, rods from all kinds of brands popped up almost immediately.

"Hey system, can any of these actually land the Fish King without snapping?"

Chen Yuan asked silently, barely containing his excitement.

"Yes."

One word. Clean and clear. Chen Yuan was over the moon — he nearly jumped out of his skin on the spot.

The anglers around the pond all looked over curiously.

What’s gotten into Boss Chen today? He keeps startling himself.

Chen Yuan ignored the stares, scrolled through the point prices for the rods, and got a rough idea of what he was looking at.

He pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and messaged Qin Fen first.

"How much do you think is reasonable?"

Qin Fen sent a string of shocked emojis.

"A 6.3-meter rod guaranteed not to snap on the Fish King, priced between five hundred and a thousand — I’ll take as many of those as you can get."

The last line was a bit of an exaggeration, but it wasn’t hard to see that price range was seriously attractive.

The 6.3-meter rods in the system shop were listed at roughly a hundred to two hundred points each, which, converted by purchasing power, came out to about five hundred to a thousand yuan.

Since even Qin Fen was stunned by how low the price was, sourcing a batch was completely doable.

It would let the anglers go after the Fish King without having to change the rules or cut down on spots.

"If you actually manage to get rods like that, I wouldn’t recommend selling them outright. Having gear available at a fishing ground is normal, but stocking a Fish King and then selling rods at the same time — some anglers are going to put two and two together and start running their mouths."

Qin Fen laid out his thinking,

"You could do a rental model instead. Better yet, offer free trials. Let the anglers use the ground’s rods and see for themselves. The results will speak louder than anything you say."

Chen Yuan gave a slow nod.

That was exactly what he’d been thinking.

Anyone who’s ever worked in sales knows — launch a new product before customers have had a chance to learn anything about it or try it, and no matter how much you hype it up, you’re not going to move them.

The best pitch is always a hands-on trial.

After finishing the chat with Qin Fen, Chen Yuan had made up his mind. He stamped out his cigarette, tossed it in the bin, stood up, and clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.

"Gentlemen, I just placed an order for a special batch of custom rods — guaranteed not to snap when you’re fighting the Fish King."

The anglers lit up at the news. Some clapped, others gave Chen Yuan a thumbs up.

Same old Boss Chen — always going all out. They’d barely mentioned that the 6.3-meter rods kept snapping, and he’d already turned around and ordered a custom batch.

Not letting a single complaint go to waste. That’s some serious hustle.

"Boss Chen, how much are these custom rods gonna run us?"

But most of the anglers were thinking about price, and their faces weren’t exactly lighting up.

Looked like Qin Fen had read the room perfectly.

Stocking a Fish King and selling rods in the same breath — it was hard not to wonder if the whole thing was just a setup to push rod sales. Even if the price was great, people would still hesitate.

Hesitation was the best-case scenario. The more suspicious ones might start stirring the pot.

"I’m not planning to sell these rods at all. Once they arrive, they’ll be free to use. Come fish, and you won’t need to bring your own rod — easy and hassle-free."

He paused, then added,

"And don’t worry — if a rod snaps, you won’t owe us a thing. Chen Yuan Fishing Ground is all about service. Happy customers, happy us."

The rods weren’t going to make him rich anyway, so he might as well go all the way. That kind of generosity would earn some serious goodwill.

If Chen Yuan Fishing Ground was going to grow and build a real brand, it needed to stand out.

Service was one way to do exactly that.

If you’re going to do it, go all the way.

"Holy shit~"

"You serious, Boss Chen?"

"That’s insanely generous~"

Every single angler was floored.

Honestly, the moment they heard "custom rods," their first thought was the price — and yeah, some of them had wondered whether Boss Chen was just using the Fish King as a hook to sell gear.

Stock a monster fish, watch everyone’s rods snap, then swoop in with rods for sale.

But what he just said blew all of that out of the water.

Free to use, no liability if they snap, and you don’t even need to bring your own rod next time — what fishing ground anywhere does all that?

"Keep nets, landing nets, sun umbrellas, mosquito coils, life vests, life rings — and now you’re throwing in rods too. Boss Chen, does that mean all we need to bring is our fish box?"

One of the anglers laughed.

But the respect behind the joke was unmistakable.

"I’m working toward getting you guys here completely empty-handed."

Chen Yuan let out a laugh.

"No fish box either? So Boss Chen wants us to show up with nothing and leave with nothing~"

"Boss Chen, you’re such a crook~"

The anglers ribbed him, laughter carrying all across the pond.

What a great bunch.

Chen Yuan smiled and shook his head, posted the news about the free rods and Fish King in the group chat, and pinned it as an announcement — good service had to be seen by everyone.

Sure enough, the group blew up almost instantly, nothing but glowing praise across the board.

"You ordered a batch of custom rods?"

A little while later, Chen Jun and the others rolled up on their three-wheelers. His dad hopped up onto the small embankment and called out.

Huh.

Nearly five o’clock already. Time really flies.

"Regular rods can’t handle the Fish King, so I ordered a custom batch. The ground will provide them for free — on-site use only, can’t be taken home."

Chen Yuan pulled out his cigarettes and passed them around. Chen Kingdom and Chen Dequan both climbed up onto the embankment.

Four old chimneys, all puffing away.

"If you’re already providing rods, might as well throw in bait too. Make things even easier."

Chen Jun brought it up between drags.

When they picked up and dropped off clients, they often needed a separate vehicle just for all the gear — bait buckets, assorted baits, the works. Guys like Heavy Chummer were a real headache.

If the fishing ground had everything ready to go, they’d just need to pick people up. Save a lot of trouble.

"That’s actually not a bad idea."

An angler had joked earlier about just needing a fish box, and while it was said in jest, Chen Yuan had actually been thinking along those lines. Lightening the load for customers wasn’t just a service bonus — it would make life easier for everyone on his end too.

The one thing he couldn’t cut was the fish box itself — customers still needed something to carry their catch home in, or they’d be leaving too light.

"Alright, let’s start packing up the catch. Time to wrap up."

By the time the cigarettes were finished, some anglers had already started reeling in. Chen Yuan clapped his hands and everyone got moving.

"Get ready to book your spots, everyone."

He pulled up the mini app and switched on the five o’clock booking mode, sending a reminder both to the crowd and in the group chat.

"Boss Chen, is there night fishing tomorrow?"

"That’s right — the night session officially opens for a trial run tomorrow. Come show your support, everyone."

Chen Yuan replied with a grin.

"I’d love to, but I’m worried I won’t even be able to snag a spot."

The anglers all gave a helpless laugh. It wasn’t a matter of wanting to show up — it was whether they could even get a spot. Booking a slot at Chen Yuan Fishing Ground was no easy feat.

The group had over six hundred members. Sixty spots per session. One in ten odds.

Even with a night session added, that was still no guarantee.

"Given how hard spots are to come by, I’d suggest anyone who’s already booked a daytime session not book the night one too — leave some room for other anglers."

Chen Yuan put it out there as a gentle reminder.

He figured he’d have the system add that as a feature — no double-booking on the same day, and anyone who’d already secured a session would have lower priority when trying to grab another one.

Six hundred members wasn’t a massive pool, but there were still plenty of people who hadn’t managed to get in yet. Keep losing the booking battle long enough, and the enthusiasm starts to fade.

How things developed from here — he’d adapt as he went.