Chapter 88 - 89: The Desire to Conquer Is Customer Stickiness

Chapter 88: Chapter 89: The Desire to Conquer Is Customer Stickiness

Chen Yuan had long since lost the initial rush of excitement over the Fish King.

He hadn’t bothered joining the crowd. He just sat back on his three-wheeler and waited while the anglers snapped their photos and released the Fish King back into the pond before he finally sauntered over.

Ten hundred-yuan bills fanned out in his hand, and he waved them like a little breeze as he walked.

The picture of a nouveau riche show-off.

"Holy shit~"

The anglers had half a mind to smack him, though none of them could honestly say they wouldn’t love to feel a thick wad of cash in their own hands.

"Get a photo of this~"

Chen Yuan handed the ten bills over to the angler who’d landed the Fish King, and made sure to remind everyone around them to snap a picture — a moment this visually striking wasn’t one to let slip by undocumented.

"Thanks a lot, Boss Chen."

The angler took the money with a face-splitting grin.

All those years fishing, all those places he’d been — he’d never pulled off anything like this.

And the Battle Fish King itself — the sheer rush of it was beyond words. That incredible high was unlike anything he’d ever felt in his entire fishing career.

And on top of it all, he walked away with cash in hand.

With all that good fortune piling up at once, how could he not be over the moon?

"Come on — drinks and smokes for everyone at the pond, on me! Nobody gets left out~"

Carrying on the fine tradition started by the God of Wealth, he waved his cash in the air and made a beeline for the vending machine. Cheers of gratitude broke out from the anglers all around.

"Whoa, we’re included too? Thanks, man!"

"Now that’s what I call generous~"

Especially the anglers who’d come over from the Old Pond just to take a break and catch the excitement — they hadn’t expected to be included at all, and their cheers were the loudest of the lot.

Chen Yuan watched it all with a smile.

The catch-back prize was already generous on its own, but the one-two punch of the Fish King plus the reward had hit these anglers where it hurt, and now the winner was turning around and spending several hundred of it right back.

The God of Wealth had set the bar high — Hua cigarettes from the start, at least three packs minimum, plus dozens of bottles of drinks. That was easily three or four hundred right there.

And it wasn’t just money — every purchase converted to points.

Then again, Chen Yuan had been the generous one to begin with. He’d handed out a thousand-yuan prize, the winner spent three or four hundred, and still pocketed a good chunk. Without that cushion, the angler wouldn’t have dared to be this lavish either~

"Alright everyone, it’s past noon — time to eat~"

Once the cigarettes and drinks were more or less handed out, Chen Yuan glanced at his wrist and called out, even though there was no watch on it — the gesture got the point across just fine.

The Fish King had been hauled ashore right around noon. Tang Ying had called to ask whether to start serving the meal, and Chen Yuan had told her to go ahead and pack the boxes.

By the time the photos were done and the cigarettes and drinks distributed, it was already twenty past twelve. Time to eat.

"Heading back for lunch~"

"Thanks a lot, man~"

The anglers who’d wandered over from the Old Pond headed back with cigarettes dangling from their lips and bottles of water in hand, still buzzing with excitement as they talked.

"The Fish King is goddamn gorgeous."

"A hundred-jin beast is something else entirely. Hope my luck is better tonight during the night session — I want to feel that rush for myself~"

"The Fish King is mine. I’m not leaving this hobby without landing a monster like that at least once~"

Chen Yuan couldn’t help the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Landing a giant fish was a goal every serious angler had to check off their list. Now that a Fish King had shown up at Chen Yuan Fishing Ground, these guys were already burning with the urge to conquer it.

Until they did, they’d keep coming back.

The desire to conquer — that was customer loyalty.

Chen Yuan didn’t follow the anglers back. Chen Dequan and Liu Fang had already ridden over, so he helped them finish distributing the bento boxes before hopping back on his three-wheeler and heading home for lunch.

"It’s still early — you all want to take a rest for a bit?"

After eating, Chen Yuan came into the main room to pass out cigarettes.

Those with reservations for the night session were sitting at the tables scrolling through their phones. Those without reservations had said their goodbyes to Chen Yuan right after the meal and headed out.

The main room wasn’t so packed anymore.

But it was barely one o’clock, with two more hours to go before the session changeover — which made for a pretty dull stretch for any angler.

"Ha, no need — the time flies once you get a game going~"

"Don’t worry about us, Boss Chen. If we get sleepy, we’ll just put our heads down on the table~"

No fuss, no formalities.

Chen Yuan didn’t stand on ceremony either. The fans were already on full blast, and no one seemed to be running short on water, so there didn’t appear to be anything missing. He figured he’d head out to the pond.

He’d relieve Chen Dequan and Liu Fang, and if nothing came up, maybe catch a bit of rest himself~

"Ring ring ring~"

He’d barely stepped out of the courtyard and settled onto the three-wheeler — hadn’t even turned the key yet — when his phone went off in his pocket.

He glanced at the screen, and his eyes lit up.

Uncle Bin. Almost certainly news about the Old Pond.

"Hello, Uncle Bin~"

Chen Yuan answered, keeping his voice calm and easy despite the anticipation stirring inside him.

"You free right now? Come by the village committee if you’ve got a moment~"

He was absolutely free.

Chen Yuan agreed on the spot. He hung up, ducked back inside to grab two packs of Hua, told Chen Jun to cover for him and head out to relieve Chen Dequan and Liu Fang at the pond.

Then he jogged back to the three-wheeler, turned the key, and rode straight for the village committee.

"Uncle Bin."

He made his way to Chen Wenbin’s office without needing directions. The Hua cigarettes were out and offered before he’d even finished the greeting — he hadn’t forgotten them this time.

"Ha, sit down~"

Chen Wenbin took the cigarettes with a laugh.

"What do you need from me, Uncle Bin?"

Chen Yuan stuck a cigarette in his own mouth and asked with an easy grin.

"The hell do I ’need’ from you~"

Chen Wenbin looked at him and shook his head with a chuckle. This kid always had to put on a whole act — but damn if it wasn’t pleasant to listen to.

"Zhou Jianming came to see me."

He pulled out his phone and lit his Hua, speaking in a casual tone.

"Mm."

Chen Yuan lit his own cigarette and gave a single nod, saying nothing.

"You got enough cash on hand?"

Chen Wenbin shot a glance toward the doorway, leaned forward slightly, and lowered his voice.

Chen Yuan’s heart leapt the moment he heard that. The meaning was obvious — Zhou Jianming wanted to void the contract. To put it plainly, he wanted his eighty thousand yuan lease payment back.

With the Old Pond fishing ground declared closed, continuing to spend money raising fish made no sense at all. Once you factored in labor, stocking costs, and fish losses, there wasn’t much left at the end of the year.

More to the point, he’d never paid that money upfront before. Now he’d handed over eighty thousand in one shot, and with no way to keep the business going, that kind of loss would sting anyone.

Things were unfolding exactly as they’d anticipated.

All that was needed now was someone to take over the Old Pond.

"Give me two more days, Uncle Bin."

Chen Yuan thought it over. The lease on the Old Pond was eighty thousand yuan, and he didn’t have that much liquid at the moment — especially since he’d made a withdrawal just that morning to cover the catch-back prizes.

Even counting his reserves, it would probably take two or three days to pull together.

"Time isn’t the issue. And once you take over the Old Pond, I can work some subsidies and support your way. Bottom line — I won’t let you come out on the losing end, kid."

"With you handling things, Uncle Bin, I can sit back and be a hands-off boss~"

Chen Yuan leaned back in his chair, looking completely relaxed and unbothered.

Chen Wenbin pointed a finger at him, shook his head with a grin, then asked,

"How’s the hillside project coming along?"

On the surface it sounded like a question about construction progress — but what he really wanted to know was why nothing had started yet.

Uncle Bin kept a close eye on everything happening in the village, and there hadn’t been a single sign of activity over the past couple of days.

"A bit short on materials. Probably won’t be ready until tomorrow evening."

Chen Yuan obviously wasn’t about to mention he was grinding for points, so he made up a vague excuse — though the second half of what he said was actually true.

Between today and tomorrow’s reservations, plus sales from bento boxes, cigarettes, and drinks, along with the few thousand points already sitting in his account, he’d have around thirty-five thousand altogether, give or take.

Enough to get the project off the ground.

And he’d be able to keep it funded steadily after that.

"Alright. If you need anything, just say the word — the village committee will back you up, no question~"

Chen Wenbin said his piece, then leaned back in his chair and tilted his phone sideways — probably about to play another round of Landlord.

Chen Yuan read the room and got up to leave. On his way out, he pulled the two packs of Hua from his pocket and set them on the desk. Chen Wenbin shook his head and laughed at the sight.

But the hand that pulled open the drawer and dropped the cigarettes inside moved with practiced ease.

"Phew~"

Chen Yuan stepped out of the village committee building, settled onto his three-wheeler, and lit a cigarette, drawing a long drag and letting the smoke drift out slowly.

Uncle Bin had called him over under the pretense of discussing the Old Pond takeover from Zhou Jianming — but the real point had come at the end, when he asked about the hillside construction.

The mountain had already been dug into, and yet nothing had happened since. Chen Wenbin was probably more than a little anxious about it — Chen Yuan’s own father had been shocked half out of his wits when he’d seen it.

Chen Wenbin was a steady man, but with a gaping hole sitting right there and no safety measures in place, if anything went wrong, no one would be able to answer for it.

"Looks like the other pond facilities will have to be pushed back a bit. Getting the restrooms built first — that’s the priority. Once it actually passes inspection, everyone can breathe easy."

Chen Yuan murmured to himself. He finished his cigarette, turned the key, and rode off toward the pond.

No point trying to sleep at this hour anyway — the session changeover wasn’t far off.