Chapter 75 - 76: Smilingly Asking Hei Wa, "Who Do You Seek?

Chapter 75: Chapter 76: Smilingly Asking Hei Wa, "Who Do You Seek?

At eleven o’clock, Chen Yuan activated the Fish King’s feeding frenzy.

Now that the day was split into two sessions, it was best if the Fish King made an appearance in each. After all, many of the anglers were here for the first time, specifically for the Fish King.

He had to meet their expectations.

As for whether they could land it, that was up to their skill.

The result was expected: it ended with a snapped rod. But, to be fair, the angler’s technique was pretty good. He managed to fight it for over twenty minutes and even saw a glimpse of the Fish King.

"What a shame. His technique was flawless. If his gear had been up to snuff, he definitely would have landed it."

The surrounding anglers all felt it was a pity.

"Boss Chen, when are your fishing rods going to arrive?"

The angler whose rod had snapped stomped his foot in frustration and looked at Chen Yuan.

All the anglers turned to look.

They were all regular fishing enthusiasts, and their rods were more or less the same. A 6.3-meter rod was hardly enough to successfully land the Fish King. Their only hope was Chen Yuan’s custom-made super rods.

"They could be here as early as tonight."

Having seen rods snap yesterday and today, Chen Yuan was more determined than ever to buy a batch of super rods from the system’s shop. He would place the order after taking reservations in the afternoon.

He had to provide the anglers with the hardware they needed to take on the Fish King.

"Sigh, what a shame. I’m looking forward to Boss Chen’s custom super rods~"

The angler was still lamenting his loss.

Only after the Fish King broke free did he retrieve the broken half of his rod. Then, he switched to a new one and continued fishing.

Chen Yuan figured it would be too difficult for these anglers to land the Fish King, so he simply turned off the feeding frenzy. A snapped rod was exciting, but replacing it cost money.

’Just fish for the other stuff. I’ll get them biting a little for you guys later as compensation.’

At twelve o’clock, Tang Ying’s call came right on time. The boxed lunches were ready. It was time to eat.

Since they started taking lunch orders at nine, the meal process had been sorted out. Whether there were a few more or a few less orders, the timing was more or less consistent, with everything ready around noon.

"Alright bosses, time to eat!~"

Chen Yuan clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention, then called the anglers over at the Old Pond.

He waited for Chen Dequan and Liu Fang to arrive on their three-wheeler to help distribute the lunches. After a quick word with them, he hopped on his own three-wheeler and rode home.

"Boss Chen, I’ll take a bottle of water, and an ice-cold Coke!~"

"Me too, and a pack of cigarettes!~"

He had just gotten home when the anglers from the other pond arrived. They got out of their cars and immediately started shopping. The other place didn’t sell these things; smokes and drinks were in short supply.

Especially water. On a hot day like this, a few bottles weren’t even enough to last the day.

Although many of the guys kept a case of mineral water in their cars, it would get boiling hot under the sun. Nothing was as refreshing as an ice-cold Coke.

"Whoa~"

Chen Yuan looked at the huge crowd—at least twenty people. ’Dad’s going to start cussing again if he sees this,’ he thought. ’That son of a bitch Zhou Jianming stole so many customers.’

’There were a dozen yesterday, and over twenty today. Don’t you dare catch up to us!~’

"Come on inside!~"

Chen Yuan jumped off his vehicle and ushered everyone into the main hall.

He didn’t really mind. Zhou Jianming’s pond definitely wouldn’t last long. ’He’s just helping me handle the overflow of customers for now. Chen Yuan Fishing Ground can’t accommodate this many people anyway.’

"Ahh, refreshing!~"

Once inside the main hall, the anglers took their drinks, twisted the caps off, and drank right away, exclaiming how good it felt.

"Is there anyone still over there?"

Chen Yuan turned on the fan, letting it oscillate back and forth.

"Yeah, there’s an expert over there keeping an eye out for us. Even though your village chief came and chewed them out, who’s to say it won’t happen again?"

After someone’s fish were released into the water yesterday, they had to be careful today. They had all agreed when they came over to have someone watch their spots.

Besides, that expert was the real deal. His technique was incredible, no worse than that master-apprentice duo from yesterday. This morning alone, he had pulled in at least a hundred catties of fish.

Chen Yuan understood as soon as he heard this.

’It must be someone from Wang Heng’s little circle.’

’I’ll pack up a boxed lunch and a bottle of water for someone to take over to him later.’

"The boxed lunches are here."

Tang Ying and Lin Cuiju came over, carrying the lunches.

"It’s a little crowded in the main hall, so you’ll have to make do!~"

Chen Jun and Chen Guo brought out all the small stools from the house, but even that wasn’t enough for all the anglers. They had to squeeze together, and some even sat on the threshold.

"Let’s just hold our bowls and eat."

Chen Yuan and his family left the main hall, dished up their food in the kitchen, and squatted outside to eat.

Although they were under the eaves and out of the sun, it was still unbearably hot. Sweat beaded on their foreheads and trickled down their cheeks.

"We really need to install an air conditioner at home~"

Chen Yuan mentioned while shoveling rice into his mouth.

"What do we need to install that thing for? It’s not like the summers in the village are unbearable. If you’re hot, you can go to your own room and turn on your AC."

Chen Jun mumbled, his mouth full of rice.

"What’s the point of earning money if not to spend it? It would be so much more comfortable with an air conditioner. We could enjoy ourselves a little."

’Dad just can’t bear to part with the money.’

He knew to install an AC in his son’s room, but he was too frugal for himself. He couldn’t even bear to leave a fan on all night. At the slightest hint of heat, he’d just use a cattail fan.

"We’ve barely gotten started and you’re already thinking about enjoying life?"

Chen Jun shot him a fierce glare.

The fishing ground has only been open for a few days! How much have we even made? After all the miscellaneous expenses and replacing the fish that have been caught, how much profit is left?

Besides, what if business gets worse after a while, or when winter comes? What’ll we do if we’re not making money?

Don’t start thinking about splurging just because you’ve earned a little cash.

You can only be at ease when you have savings to fall back on.

"We should at least get one for the main hall. It’s so uncomfortable for the customers when they come here to eat without any AC."

Chen Yuan had to settle for the next best thing.

’I’ll wait a while for the other ACs. Once the business is stable, I doubt Mom and Dad will still object.’

Chen Jun didn’t refuse outright.

He was mulling it over.

"Didn’t they say in the group chat that your sun umbrellas are high-tech and it’s pretty cool underneath them? Why don’t you just get some more of those? It’ll be more comfortable than this, anyway," Chen Guo spoke up.

"That thing’s not bad. Sometimes when I’m under the one on the small slope, it feels just like a fan is blowing on me."

Chen Jun’s eyes lit up, as if he’d found a replacement for an air conditioner.

’That’s money saved.’

"But you can’t open a sun umbrella inside the house~"

Chen Yuan was rather speechless. He definitely had to buy more sun umbrellas. Setting them up outside the main hall would make eating under them better than this, but no matter how good they were, they couldn’t replace an air conditioner.

"We’ll talk about this later. Just get the sun umbrellas first."

Chen Jun waved his hand dismissively, buried his head in his food, and ignored the matter.

’Fine.’

’Looks like the air conditioner will have to wait. Summer will probably be over by then~’

"That was a satisfying meal. Boss Chen, where do we throw the lunch boxes?"

An angler in the main hall had finished his meal and, holding the empty box, didn’t know where to put it. He couldn’t just throw it on the ground.

"Just leave it on the table. We’ll collect them later," Chen Yuan shouted toward the hall.

"Oh, we couldn’t possibly."

’We’re fishing at another pond, came here for lunch, took over their hall and table, and now we’re just going to leave our trash behind? That feels a bit much.’

"Well, how about you help me with the dishes then?~"

Chen Yuan, having finished the last bite of his rice, deliberately held out his empty bowl.

"Haha, if you let me in the kitchen, it’ll be like a war zone. There won’t be many dishes left in one piece!~"

The angler laughed heartily. Knowing Chen Yuan was joking, he didn’t say anything more and just put the lid back on his lunch box and placed it on the table.

The other anglers did the same, stacking the boxes neatly. They even wiped down the table, picking up any stray grains of rice.

Then they walked out of the main hall and looked at the sun outside, their faces scrunching up like bitter melons.

"Sigh, I really don’t want to be out in the sun on such a hot day."

"It’s enough to roast a person to a crisp.~"

"I leave with the dew and return at dusk, / My accent’s the same but my skin’s turned to rust. / My own wife sees me, but she knows me no more, / And asks with a smile, ’Hey, dark stranger, who are you looking for?’"

PFFT~

An angler recited the doggerel with a sigh, nearly making Tang Ying and the others spit out their food from laughing.

And looking at that angler, he was dark as can be—he really did look the part.~

"That son-of-a-bitch boss is so cheap. We ask him to get a sun umbrella, and he says if you’re hot, just go home and rest. You want to fish but you’re afraid of the sun? Life isn’t that comfortable!~"

The anglers started complaining about Zhou Jianming.

Chen Yuan’s mouth twitched as he listened.

’Doing business like that... it’ll be a miracle if he lasts half a month.’

"If it weren’t for the decent fishing in that pond, who the hell would put up with his crap?"

"Let’s clean him out! Since he won’t spend a dime to improve the fishing spot, we’ll just have to reel in enough to pay for our own gear!~"

"We have to clean him out. Fish him into bankruptcy."

The anglers mustered their courage and stepped out into the blazing sun. Chen Yuan immediately called out to them—there was still an angler back at the pond, and they hadn’t taken his food and water yet.

"Oh right, Boss Chen, your sun umbrellas and life jackets are great. Do you have any spares we could borrow? We’d be willing to buy them, too."

An angler who had been to Chen Yuan Fishing Ground before suddenly thought of this. His eyes lit up. He wanted to get a sun umbrella, but a life jacket would also do.

That thing was high-tech; just wearing it made you feel cool.~