Chapter 77 - 78: One Man, One Rod, Roaming the Martial World

Chapter 77: Chapter 78: One Man, One Rod, Roaming the Martial World

Time flew by, and before long it was nearly three o’clock.

Chen Dequan and his wife, along with Chen Yuan’s parents and his uncle and aunt, had all made their way to the pond. Three three-wheelers were lined up and ready to ferry the day session anglers out.

"Ha, great haul today! Landed three big crucian carp — gonna have the missus make some chopped-chili crucian when I get home, crack open a few ice-cold beers. Life is good~"

"Taking the crucian home to make soup for the kids, doing a sauerkraut fish with the grass carp, and frying up a plate of peanuts. Perfect way to wrap up the weekend."

"I caught a ton of bream — better steamed or braised?"

"Only kids pick one. Adults take both — one plate of each~"

The anglers were packing up one by one, chatting happily about the day’s catch and how they were going to cook everything up. The mood was fantastic all around.

A solid haul, and it was still early. Plenty of time to head home and put together a proper meal — life didn’t get much better than this.

"Boss Chen, the fish in your pond went absolutely nuts today. Those big crucian were hitting non-stop, like they were staging a revolt and couldn’t wait to get out of the water."

"Ha! Boss Chen’s not gonna cry over his losses, is he~"

Riding high on their catches, the anglers were in a teasing mood, poking fun at Chen Yuan.

"Not even close. The day you guys actually drain my pond clean — that’s the day Mr. Chen tips his hat to you~"

Chen Yuan flashed a deliberately dismissive smirk.

As if a bunch of amateurs like you could ever put a dent in my profits.

If I hadn’t secretly stacked the odds in your favor, you wouldn’t have had anywhere near this kind of haul — and even then, it looked like barely half the fish that bit actually made it to the bank.

Overall? Not one of you cleaned out a single section.

So what exactly are you going to do to me?

And that was just based on the real-world math. Factor in the system store’s prices — where he was buying fish for a fraction of market rate — and they didn’t stand a chance.

"Don’t get too cocky, Boss Chen. One day we’ll bleed you dry~"

"Making Boss Chen cry uncle — that’s officially my number one fishing goal from here on out."

"Bro, that’s a tough goal. You know who Boss Chen is — the man who jumps at any chance to launder money. He’s loaded. You really think you’re gonna make him cry?"

"Exactly. The more fish you pull out, the happier he probably gets~"

"You still don’t get it, do you? This guy’s real plan isn’t about cleaning out the pond — he wants a permanent spot at Chen Yuan Fishing Ground. That’s the only way he ever gets a shot at Boss Chen. He’s angling for a membership~"

"Holy shit~"

The other anglers burst out in surprise.

Damn, man. You’re too shrewd for your own good — what hope does that leave for the rest of us honest folk?

"Alright, time to pack it up~"

After a few more rounds of banter, Chen Yuan glanced at his phone — right at three. The anglers had mostly finished packing their gear, so he waved everyone over to start hauling in keepnets and carrying equipment out.

Everyone knew the drill. They moved through it like clockwork.

Chen Dequan and his wife took the first shift, handling the anglers whose cars were parked at their place.

His parents handled the ones parked on this side of the village, his uncle and aunt covered their end, and then there were the ones parked outside his second aunt’s house.

"Could really use another three-wheeler."

Chen Yuan muttered to himself as he lugged a keepnet along.

Some anglers had driven themselves and some had come on motorcycles, but there were always a few who took the rural bus — those ones had to wait until the very end to get a ride.

If there was one more vehicle, he could dedicate it to shuttling those folks.

"Actually worth thinking about. If the Old Pond deal goes through, ten acres of water means a whole different scale of customers — three three-wheelers definitely wouldn’t cut it."

Chen Yuan muttered it to himself and left it at that for now.

One step at a time. The fishing ground’s group chat had stabilized at over six hundred members, and keeping both day and night sessions at Chen Yuan Fishing Ground full was already a stretch.

There was no way they could support the volume a place like the Old Pond would need.

Besides, Zhou Jianming was still hanging on by his teeth over there.

For now, the priority was building up a bigger customer base — only then would he have the leverage to take over the Old Pond.

"I’ll take the first group out to the village entrance. When the next customers show up, just get them settled in."

With the day session mostly wrapped up, Chen Yuan hopped on his dad’s three-wheeler and ferried the last of the anglers toward the village entrance.

On the way, he passed a car heading in — the driver rolled down the window and gave a cheerful wave before continuing on toward the pond.

Night session regulars. They had a good feel for the timing.

"Next time you come, just call me when you hit the village entrance. I’ll be there in no time."

Chen Yuan helped carry the gear to the bus stop, watched the departing anglers until they were out of sight, then rode across to the stop on the other side to wait for the night session customers.

"Whoa, Boss Chen, you’re here already."

Not even two minutes later, a bus rolled up and came to a smooth stop. Wang Heng was first off, rod bag on his back, visibly surprised to find Chen Yuan waiting at the stop.

"The owner of a fishing ground coming to meet you at the bus stop — now that’s what I call full-service."

A few more anglers stepped off right behind Wang Heng. They looked like newcomers, but the moment they heard Wang Heng call out "Boss Chen," they figured out who Chen Yuan was well enough.

"Throw your gear in the back."

Chen Yuan greeted them with a smile and started helping with the equipment right away.

Wang Heng had just the one rod bag — gave off the vibe of a lone wanderer traveling light. The anglers who got off after him, though, were a different story entirely.

They were loaded down with bags of every size, a tackle box slung across one shoulder — the moment it all went into the cargo bed, you could see the tension leave their bodies.

"Head over now?"

Once the gear was loaded, Chen Yuan pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to each of them. He caught Wang Heng glancing at the angler beside him and gave a subtle look — silently asking, did this guy come with you, is he good?

Wang Heng caught the meaning immediately, gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head, then took the cigarette and said,

"Let’s wait a bit. It’s still early — might be more anglers on the next bus. Save yourself another trip."

"No rush at all."

The angler beside him wasn’t in any hurry either. He took the cigarette, lit up, and settled in for a smoke and some chat at the stop.

Sure enough, two more anglers got off the next bus. Chen Yuan helped load their gear into the cargo bed and handed out Hua cigarettes like it was second nature.

"That should do it — squeeze in, everyone. Let’s head to the pond."

It was nearly ten to four, and plenty of cars had already rolled into the village. Chances were slim that any more anglers would be coming by bus. Chen Yuan waved everyone onto the three-wheeler.

"Hold on tight — buckle up for the ride of your life~"

Chen Yuan twisted the throttle all the way, and the anglers braced themselves for something wild — only to watch the speedometer barely nudge past fifty kilometers an hour. The spirit was willing, but the horsepower sure wasn’t.

By the time they got back to the pond, most of the night session anglers had already settled in. Some had already cast their lines, others were mixing bait and prepping their spots, and the latecomers were still tying rigs.

Chen Dequan and Liu Fang were making the rounds along the bank, ready to step in and help anyone who needed a hand.

Chen Jun and the others were nowhere to be seen — probably headed back to start on dinner after dropping off their last passengers. It was already past four, and evening meals didn’t make themselves.

"Hey everyone, the custom rods should arrive around six. Feel free to fish with whatever you’ve got in the meantime."

Chen Yuan hopped off the three-wheeler, clapped his hands, and called out to the group.

"Can’t wait to try Boss Chen’s super rods."

"Boss Chen really does go all out — with custom rods on-site, we won’t even need to bring our own next time~"

The anglers laughed and joked among themselves.

"One more thing — if you want dinner, get your orders in before four-thirty. Just go to the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground ordering channel in the group chat. Dinner should be ready around seven."

Chen Yuan reminded everyone about the meal orders.

Four o’clock to midnight — eight solid hours. And lunch was long gone. No angler was going to last that long on an empty stomach.

"Word is the food at Chen Yuan Fishing Ground isn’t just cheap — it’s actually delicious. Honestly, the meal is half the reason I showed up today."

One angler was already pulling out his phone to place an order on the spot.

Two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes. Non-negotiable. ℴ

"Couldn’t agree more. First time at Chen Yuan Fishing Ground, you’ve got to try the food."

"I want to go for the à la carte menu — heard the side dishes here are something else. Anyone want to go in on a group order?"

"Count me in."

"Under fifty per person? Put me down too."

Chen Yuan watched the whole scene unfold with a grin so wide it nearly split his face.

These guys were something else — organizing a group order on the spot. That was going to run a lot more than a basic boxed meal.

He’d been stressing about points running low, and customers like these were exactly what he needed. The more the merrier~

Not to brag, but the edge really did speak for itself when you compared.

Sure, the food here couldn’t compete with a fancy restaurant — but his mom’s cooking was genuinely solid, and his aunt could crank out a full banquet spread without breaking a sweat. Stacked up against every other fishing ground in the area, it wasn’t even a contest.

These anglers had all been to other spots. They knew what fishing ground food usually tasted like. Which was exactly why word about Chen Yuan Fishing Ground’s meals had spread through the group chat like wildfire.

First-timers were naturally curious. They had to see what the fuss was about.

And once they tried it — not that it was mind-blowing, but it was enough to make them think back to every sad boxed meal they’d choked down at other ponds and feel the resentment all over again.

The choice was obvious.

"Whoooosh~"

Not long after the anglers had put in their food orders, just as Chen Yuan was about to ride Liu Fang back to help with dinner, a gorgeous whistling sound suddenly cut through the air — followed by an explosion of shouting from the anglers.

"Holy shit, is that the Fish King?!"

Chen Yuan froze.

He hadn’t touched the remote.

Could the Fish King actually bite on its own?