Chapter 93 - 94: A Bit Too Many Little Kalamis

Chapter 93: Chapter 94: A Bit Too Many Little Kalamis

Breaking down the session was a busy affair, but Chen Yuan and the crew were old hands at it by now — they had everything wrapped up in under half an hour, then everyone headed home to get some rest.

Chen Yuan got back, took a quick shower, set his alarm, and was out cold the moment his head hit the pillow.

He’d figured he’d sleep until after six like the day before, but he woke up naturally before six without the alarm even going off.

"Guess that nap in the afternoon actually helped — I feel way more awake than I did yesterday."

Chen Yuan stretched with a long, satisfying groan. The light outside the window was already bright. He didn’t linger in bed — just slipped on his sandals and shuffled off to the bathroom.

That was the one good thing about summer: getting out of bed wasn’t a battle. Winter was a whole different story — the world split into exactly two places, inside the blanket and outside it, and for most people, getting out was a genuine ordeal.

After washing up, Chen Yuan headed downstairs, humming a little tune to himself.

"You’re up early today," said Chen Jun, glancing up from the crates of drinks he was moving around.

Chen Jun had figured out the vending machine the day before, and now restocking it on his morning walk around the pond had become his thing to handle.

"I slept after the session changeover yesterday, so I wasn’t as wiped out last night."

Chen Yuan went over to give him a hand.

"You’re running the late-night sessions, so you need to grab rest during the day when you can. Everything else around the house, we’ve got covered — aside from the pond, don’t worry about any of it."

Chen Jun passed two cases of drinks to Chen Yuan, then stacked a few more into his own arms with several cartons of cigarettes balanced on top, and hauled it all out to the three-wheeled cart parked outside.

They loaded up the cargo bed and headed to the pond together.

By the time they got back from restocking, Tang Ying had breakfast on the table — congee paired with hand-grabbed flatbreads, the kind of meal that was both appetizing and filling.

"So what’s the hold-up with that bathroom of yours?" Chen Jun asked, lighting a cigarette and passing one to Chen Yuan after they finished eating.

"Should be able to break ground tonight, I reckon."

Even his old man was asking about it now — clearly the bathroom had to be the first priority.

Though his dad and Chen Wenbin were probably nagging him for different reasons. His dad just didn’t trust Wang Tao to stick around — he was worried the guy would chisel out a hole in the rock and then disappear on them.

"Ding-ling-ling~"

While they were still smoking, Chen Yuan’s phone rang.

Unknown number, no name saved.

"Hello?"

Anyone calling at this hour was probably a fishing regular, so he kept his tone friendly and polite.

"Boss Chen, I’m at the village entrance."

The voice on the other end sounded vaguely familiar, but Chen Yuan couldn’t place it right away.

Then it clicked — it was Xu Bai.

"Brother Xu, hang tight — I’ll come get you right now!"

Chen Yuan jumped to his feet and bolted for the three-wheeler.

Sure, he had the remote and didn’t need to worry about any angler getting the better of him, but when a serious pro showed up at the grounds, you rolled out the proper welcome. Besides, he and Xu Bai had already crossed paths before, and the guy had made a solid impression.

And anyway, pickup and drop-off service was a cornerstone of the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground experience.

He fired up the cart and twisted the throttle all the way, vanishing around the corner in seconds. Two or three minutes later he pulled up smoothly right beside Xu Bai, who was crouched down smoking at the village entrance.

"When it comes to service, nobody beats you, Boss Chen."

Xu Bai stood up and pulled out his pack, offering Chen Yuan a cigarette.

"Honestly, it’s only possible because the grounds are out in the middle of nowhere — if we were in the city center, there’d be no way to do pickups."

Chen Yuan took the cigarette and waved for Xu Bai to hop on.

The fishing ground provided rods — custom ones built to handle the Fish King — so anglers didn’t need to bring their own, and Xu Bai hadn’t bothered.

He hadn’t even brought a tackle box. All he was carrying was a small bag, which looked like bait. No help needed from Chen Yuan.

"That’s keeping it real, Boss Chen."

Xu Bai pushed off the side of the cargo bed and swung himself up in one smooth move — looked pretty cool, actually.

A few anglers had already arrived in their cars by then, rolling down their windows to say hello to Chen Yuan as they passed. Chen Yuan grinned and waved back at each of them, then gunned it straight for the pond with Xu Bai in tow.

"Brother Xu, here to take on the Fish King today?"

Chen Yuan made conversation on the way.

"What if I told you I was here to buy in bulk?" Xu Bai leaned back against the cargo bed and tossed out the joke casually.

"The official answer? The Chen Yuan Fishing Ground exists to make sure every guest leaves happy — fish as much as your skills allow, have fun, enjoy yourself, and walk away satisfied."

"Ha! And the honest answer?"

"Honestly? I’m two seconds away from slamming the brakes and booting you out with my foot."

Chen Yuan dropped the crude line out of nowhere, and Xu Bai actually did a double take — then burst out laughing.

Now that was entertaining. That was genuinely entertaining.

This Boss Chen really was something else. Totally his kind of guy.

"Relax, Boss Chen — none of us in the crew are here to clean you out. Wang Heng would never let us hear the end of it. But the Fish King? That’s a different story. I’m landing that thing."

Xu Bai flicked his cigarette butt away with a snap of his finger, his expression brimming with confidence and barely contained excitement.

He’d been fishing for years. Big catches weren’t new to him — he’d staked out natural reservoirs more times than he could count, landed fish in the fifty- or sixty-pound range without blinking.

But a hundred-pound monster? That was still uncharted territory.

A top-tier angler couldn’t leave that box unchecked.

It had to be conquered.

"How many people are in this crew of yours, anyway?" Chen Yuan asked, genuinely curious.

"There are a few serious anglers in Chong City, but there’s only three of us who really click. Oh, and now Blond Punk’s joined the mix — goes around chanting this slogan about ’Wang Heng in the North, Blond Punk in the South,’ and he’s come up with ridiculous nicknames for the rest of us too."

Just thinking about the nicknames Blond Punk had cooked up made him want to laugh.

Wang Heng in the North, Blond Punk in the South.

Shortened to: Northern King, Southern Emperor.

And for the other two, he’d gone with: Undefeated in the East, Xu Shen in the West.

Shortened to: Undefeated Xu Shen.

Xu Shen was Xu Bai, and "Undefeated" referred to another close friend of theirs — a guy named Dongfang Qingyang. Dongfang was one of those rare compound surnames you almost never came across.

"Blond Punk’s a riot," Chen Yuan said, chuckling as he heard the names.

Only someone like Blond Punk could come up with that kind of stuff.

"Alright, Brother Xu, go get settled — give me a shout if you need anything."

Chen Yuan had Xu Bai at the pond in three minutes flat. He didn’t linger on the pleasantries — he was busy getting everyone else checked in.

Xu Bai gave a wave and headed off to pick his spot.

The morning check-in and mid-session changeover were actually pretty low-key compared to the late-night wrap-up — more than enough hands on deck, and everything went smoothly. Once it was done, everyone took a breather and drifted off.

Chen Yuan settled back into his usual spot under the shade umbrella on the small slope.

"Once today’s reservations come in, we should have enough to kick off construction — the points will keep rolling in from there, and Wang Tao will have plenty to work with."

He was running through the day’s plan in his head, and figured he might as well call Wang Tao now to nail down the points estimate and find out what materials he’d need.

Better to sort it out now so he could place the order that afternoon.

"Holy hell — these points don’t come cheap, do they?"

Chen Yuan went through the shop picking out materials based on Wang Tao’s list, and the prices kept catching him off guard. Half the stuff was absurdly expensive — and this was in points, not market prices.

By the time it was all done, he couldn’t even imagine how lavish this bathroom was going to turn out.

It stung a little, but Chen Yuan didn’t hesitate. The standard he wanted for Chen Yuan Fishing Ground was exactly the standard he was willing to pay for.

"Night fishing is still running, so construction can only start after midnight — come by later tonight."

That was his parting instruction before hanging up.

With guests fishing down below, having people banging away up top would absolutely be a problem. The construction would have to wait until after the night session wrapped up.

"Boss Chen, you’re finally starting on it?" one of the anglers called out from below, turning around with a grin after Chen Yuan ended the call.

"Foundation’s already done — of course we’re starting. The sooner it’s finished, the more convenient it’ll be for everyone, and it takes a load off us too."

These past few days, anglers who needed to use the bathroom still had to trudge all the way back to the house. It ate into their fishing time, and his mom had to keep cleaning up after them.

The footpath had been cemented over, so it wasn’t as muddy as before — but with so many people coming and going, it still added up.

"Sure, sure — ’convenient for everyone.’ Nothing to do with the money, right?"

Jokes aside, the anglers were genuinely curious about what Boss Chen’s bathroom was going to look like.

A foundation over a hundred square meters, and they’d blasted a cavity into the hillside at the back — who builds a bathroom that size?

Chen Yuan just smiled and let it go, lighting a cigarette and gazing out over the pond. Every angler had their eyes locked on their floats, and every so often someone would strike — some hooked up, some didn’t.

Xu Bai lived up to his reputation. In the time it took Chen Yuan to smoke one cigarette, the man had already pulled up two big slab crucians — and released both of them back into the water without a second thought.

"Boss Chen, you’ve got a lot of Little Kalamis in this pond. How about you throw a net in and clear some of them out — give the Fish King a little more room to breathe?"

Xu Bai caught Chen Yuan looking over and couldn’t help saying something.

What the—

Every angler nearby was stunned into silence.

No matter where you went fishing, every angler wanted more fish in the water — more fish meant better odds of getting a bite.

Nobody complained about there being too many fish.

"That’s the gap right there — I haven’t even had a single bite yet, and this guy is already complaining he’s catching too many."

"Different skill level, different priorities. We’re just out here hoping to hook a Little Kalami or two — the Fish King is pure luck for us. A true pro has his sights set on the Fish King, and the Little Kalamis just get in the way."

The anglers shook their heads and laughed at themselves.

What could you do? The man was on another level. They just weren’t there yet.

All you could do was be jealous.