Chapter 83 - 84: Catching a Fish Makes One Person Happy, Losing a Fish Makes the Whole Pond Happy

Chapter 83: Chapter 84: Catching a Fish Makes One Person Happy, Losing a Fish Makes the Whole Pond Happy

Messages were constantly popping up in the fishing ground’s group chat, creating a lively buzz. Chen Yuan watched the rapidly scrolling feed, in high spirits.

As the saying goes, the details determine success or failure.

Before Chen Yuan Fishing Ground could create a truly explosive selling point, simply mastering these details—turning the weaknesses of other fishing grounds into his own strengths—was enough to dominate the competition.

Establishing a foothold in the industry, or even making a name for himself, wasn’t that difficult.

Don’t underestimate these details. You might think that mosquitoes are just a part of summer, that they’re everywhere, so it’s no big deal if your fishing ground has them too.

After all, every fishing ground is the same. Anglers might complain, but they can’t really blame the establishment.

But nobody likes getting bitten by mosquitoes, and anglers are no exception. Just because they’re obsessed with fishing doesn’t mean they don’t care about the pests. But what if there were none?

An unexpected pleasure like that has a much greater impact than an anticipated one.

"A night fishing haven like this in Chong City has to be shared~"

Someone he didn’t recognize posted in the chat, and Chen Yuan’s eyes lit up with delight.

The fishing ground’s growth depended on promotion from these anglers. All he could do was work hard to build up his service and reputation; the customers themselves had to come from word-of-mouth.

Even so, the group’s membership was still growing slowly, a far cry from the explosive surge of the past two days.

But that couldn’t be helped. After all, Chong City was just a county-level city. Though it was said to have three districts and eight counties, these were really just former towns. The area wasn’t that big, and the number of anglers was limited.

Even if he became the leading fishing ground in Chong City and attracted every angler in the area, the total number wouldn’t increase by that much.

If Chen Yuan Fishing Ground was to truly grow and thrive, it had to expand beyond Chong City.

’One step at a time. First, I’ll become the top fishing ground in Chong City, then I’ll figure out what’s next.’

Chen Yuan set a small goal for himself.

He had to conquer the Chong City fishing scene; otherwise, the Old Pond would remain a pipe dream.

That was the Ten Mu Pond, a huge body of water. Even if he doubled the spacing between fishing spots compared to the small pond, he could still fit over a hundred. And with a large surface area, he could even build floating bridges to add more.

With proper planning, he could create at least two hundred spots.

If he ran two sessions a day like he did for the small pond, the two ponds combined would have over five hundred spots. The current number of people in his group chat wasn’t nearly enough to support that.

"Thanks for the support, everyone. We’ve just passed seven hundred members! Here’s a little something to show my appreciation."

Chen Yuan didn’t let his thoughts stray too far. Seeing that the group had finally broken the seven-hundred-member mark, he sent out a red envelope as per tradition to show his thanks. After a moment’s thought, he added another message.

When the group breaks one thousand members, I’ll make it rain red envelopes, with a total value of no less than two thousand.

The moment the message went out, the fishing ground’s group chat erupted, everyone praising Boss Chen’s generosity.

Grabbing red envelopes wasn’t just about the money; it was about the exciting atmosphere. As long as it wasn’t one of those insulting one-cent-per-person deals, everyone could have a bit of fun.

Besides, Chen Yuan wasn’t being stingy. A two-thousand-yuan red envelope shower—how could that not be considered generous?

It was a small incentive and a little bonus for the members. Of course, tonight’s perks didn’t stop at a red envelope. It was time for the main event.

’Fish King, time to bite.’

Seeing it was past ten o’clock, Chen Yuan put his phone away and summoned the system. He selected the ’Fish King Bite’ option without any other modifiers. It was a one-in-sixty chance—pure luck.

The Fish King hadn’t been biting on its own. It seemed the natural frequency was low, perhaps only happening occasionally. He’d have to keep observing it later, of course, but tonight, it was time to take remote control.

After all, his custom fishing rods were making their debut tonight. The anglers were undoubtedly curious and eager to see the quality of the rods. What could be more convincing than someone landing the Fish King with one?

Besides, by the time the Fish King was caught, it would be around eleven. The small pond was at the entrance of the village, an area with more fields than houses, and most of the villagers lived deeper inside.

Still, too much noise would inevitably be a disturbance.

WHIRRR~

In less than a minute, the familiar, wonderful sound of a line screaming off a reel echoed across the pond. Perhaps because the night was so quiet, the sound was even crisper and more thrilling.

"It’s the Fish King!"

Along with the screaming line came an angler’s excited cry. By the side of the road, an angler shot to his feet, body arching back desperately as he tried to lift his rod.

Even so, the tip of his rod was dragged into the water by immense force. The angler staggered, nearly tumbling into the pond, and was forced to move along with the Fish King.

"Holy shit, someone hooked the Fish King again?"

Chen Dequan, still on the opposite bank, looked over in astonishment. He grabbed a large landing net and started running over. The other anglers sprang into action, either clearing a path or rushing over to watch.

The atmosphere around the pond was electric once more.

"Uncle Chen."

Chen Yuan waved Chen Dequan over.

"What’s up, Boss?"

Chen Dequan trotted over eagerly, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Two things."

Chen Yuan jumped off the small slope and held up two fingers.

"From now on, if I’m not here for the night session and a customer lands the Fish King, I need you to help record videos and take photos to post in the group chat. The anglers love seeing that stuff. It fires them up and makes them want to fish even more."

"Heh heh, I get it. Just this afternoon, seeing that huge, dark fish darting around underwater made me want to cast a line or two myself. Landing the Fish King must be a hell of a thrill!"

If even Chen Dequan, who barely fishes, felt the urge, then seeing it would surely make the die-hard anglers rush over, even in the middle of the night.

"Remember to send me a copy of the photo and tell me the fishing spot number as well, so I can process the Buyback Reward."

Chen Yuan added.

Once both the day and night sessions were running smoothly, he wouldn’t always be on-site for the night fishing. He’d have to entrust this to Chen Dequan and his wife. Photos were essential, both for promotion and for processing the rewards.

"One more thing. You can help net the Little Kalami, but it’s best you don’t try to net the Fish King. The Fish King is tied to the Buyback Reward. If you try to net it and it gets away, the customer will definitely be pissed."

Chen Yuan reminded him.

They say brothers fight side-by-side in battle, but when it comes to fishing, all bets are off—even between father and son. If you mess up netting a small, several-pound Little Kalami, a father and son would get into an argument, let alone a hundred-plus-pound Fish King with a thousand-yuan Buyback Reward on the line.

"Understood, Boss."

Chen Dequan took a deep drag from his cigarette and his smile faded.

He had originally thought netting fish was no big deal—just part of customer service. But Chen Yuan’s words made him see things differently.

The Fish King was no Little Kalami. If he let a hundred-plus-pound monster get away, the customer would flip out. And that’s not even mentioning the thousand-yuan reward. If he were in their shoes, he’d be furious too.

He quietly hung the large landing net back on its hook, having made up his mind. From now on, whenever a customer hooked the Fish King, he would just hide in the back of the crowd.

After settling those two things, Chen Yuan mused to himself, ’I should probably ride back and get some cash. A bank transfer is just a cold number. Even though everyone knows it’s real money, it just doesn’t have the same visual impact as a wad of red bills.’

’Looks like I need to keep more cash on hand.’

Chen Yuan made a mental note to withdraw more cash when he had the chance. As soon as he got home, he asked his mom for some.

"Someone’s hooked the Fish King?"

Tang Ying came out of the room drying her hair, holding a stack of cash in her hand.

His parents had actually listened to him this time. They had already showered and were getting ready for bed instead of insisting on waiting for the night session to end.

Chen Yuan’s point about paying for help had worked. Chen Dequan and his wife were on salary; they weren’t working for free. The night session was their responsibility.

Besides, they needed to be well-rested to handle the daytime shift.

So, after sorting the vegetables, the couple had washed up and would probably be heading to bed soon.

"There’s a good chance they’ll land it."

Chen Yuan nodded. With one of the super rods, there was no risk of the line snapping, the hook coming loose, or the rod breaking. They should be able to bring it in.

"This is all the cash we have at home. If you need more in the future, find some time to withdraw some."

Tang Ying handed the stack of cash to Chen Yuan.

"Did Uncle deposit the cash I gave him last time?"

Chen Yuan asked as he took the money.

"Of course he did. Who keeps tens of thousands in cash lying around the house?"

’That’s true,’ Chen Yuan thought. ’No one would keep that much cash at home. Besides, with all the farm work and people coming and going in the village, who could rest easy?’

After getting the money and telling his parents to get some rest, Chen Yuan rode his bike back to the pond. He could hear the excited shouts of the anglers from a distance.

Chen Yuan parked his bike, sat down for a smoke, and handed a cigarette to Chen Dequan. The two of them chatted while they waited for the angler to finish his battle.

"It’s coming up! It’s coming up! Get ready to net it!"

After a long wait, the fight was finally nearing its end. Chen Yuan, Chen Dequan, and Liu Fang headed over as well.

"One, two, three, heave!"

With the Fish King successfully netted, several anglers worked together to haul it onto the bank. The other fishermen immediately swarmed around it.

"Worthy of the name Fish King. It’s a real beauty."

"Gotta say, Boss Chen’s custom ’super rods’ are the real deal!"

The anglers excitedly admired the Fish King, making sure to praise the quality of the rod.

Chen Yuan felt a warm glow of satisfaction as he listened.

Now that a super rod had successfully bested the Fish King, the anglers in the group chat couldn’t accuse him of using it as an impossible gimmick anymore. As long as you could get a hook in it, the rod wouldn’t be the issue.

Whether you could actually land it was all down to your own skill.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, be careful!"

Before he could get any closer, the anglers suddenly cried out in alarm. The fisherman who had caught the Fish King was squatting down, about to remove the hook to take a good photo.

But this seemed to provoke the Fish King. It began to struggle violently, slapping its tail, its massive body arching and leaping into the air.

SPLASH!

The crowd of anglers scrambled in a panic, but they couldn’t hold it down. All they heard was that heavy splash as the Fish King escaped back into the pond.

"Holy shit..."

The angler who’d hooked the Fish King was sprawled on the ground, his hand still reaching out toward the pond as if to grab it, a look of utter agony on his face.

The surrounding anglers were just as disappointed.

But then, an inappropriate chuckle broke the silence, and soon, laughter spread throughout the entire pond.

It’s like the old fishing saying: when one person lands a fish, that person is happy. When a fish gets away, *everyone* is happy.

This wasn’t taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune.

It was a special kind of joy known only to anglers.