Chapter 101 - 102: Who Do You Think You’re Scaring?

Chapter 101: Chapter 102: Who Do You Think You’re Scaring?

Chen Yuan walked out of the village committee building in a pretty good mood.

Although there were some hiccups with the Old Pond, with that idiot Zhou Jianming holding it hostage like a bomb, he wasn’t the least bit flustered.

It was a perfect opportunity to gauge the village’s reaction to the Big Pond. Plus, Uncle Bin was as supportive as ever, approving the land for him just as he’d promised.

No worries, no hassle.

’My customer base isn’t large enough anyway. I can use this time to see if I can attract more people.’

Muttering to himself, Chen Yuan hopped on his electric tricycle, twisted the throttle, and sped home.

"How did the talk go?"

As soon as he got home, he saw his dad and uncle sitting in the courtyard with cigarettes dangling from their lips.

His mom and aunt were chatting while fanning themselves with cattail-leaf fans. When they saw Chen Yuan return, they headed to the kitchen and started bringing dishes to the table.

"What talk are you talking about?"

He hadn’t noticed the time at the village committee office. Now he realized it was almost 7:30. They would have already started dinner over at the fishpond; his parents, uncle, and aunt were all waiting for him.

"The breeding project, and the Old Pond. Don’t tell me you just went to the village committee to enjoy the air conditioning."

Chen Jun stood up, carried a tall stool into the main room, and shot Chen Yuan a look.

They knew about both the breeding project and the Old Pond, so when Chen Yuan went to the village committee and was gone for over two hours, they were sure he was discussing those matters.

"About the breeding project, Uncle Bin said he’d help me find a plot of land in Hou Village."

Chen Yuan went to put his laptop down first, then ran back downstairs.

"The land over in Hou Village is all wasteland. In some spots, there’s a layer of rock and sand several centimeters thick."

Chen Jun opened a beer and handed it to Chen Yuan.

He was a little surprised that Chen Wenbin had approved the land, but raising stock on that rocky, sandy ground in Hou Village wouldn’t be as easy or cheap as fencing off farmland. Farmland had insects and grass, but what did Hou Village have?

The feeding costs would increase significantly.

"Getting a plot of wasteland approved is good enough. We can just hire a couple of people to handle the feeding, so we won’t have to worry about it."

Chen Yuan took the beer, took a big swig, then sat down and started digging into his food.

"I don’t think we need to hire anyone. I can be in charge of the feeding. I’m the one who feeds the chickens and pigs at home, anyway."

Chen Guo chimed in, raising his beer to clink glasses with Chen Jun and Chen Yuan.

"We should at least hire one person,"

Chen Yuan said, putting down his beer bottle.

He wasn’t planning on a massive operation, but since Uncle Bin was willing to fence off a plot of wasteland for him, he couldn’t let it go to waste. It would have to be on the scale of hundreds, if not thousands, of birds.

His uncle had to manage the small pond and also help with the cooking. How could he possibly handle it all?

"What about the Old Pond?"

Chen Jun agreed, then asked about the Old Pond.

"We might have to wait a while for the Old Pond."

After a moment’s thought, Chen Yuan decided not to hide anything and briefly explained how Zhou Jianming was holding onto the Old Pond and demanding a transfer fee. The atmosphere at the table instantly soured.

"That son of a bitch wants a transfer fee? He can go eat shit."

Chen Jun slammed his hand on the table, his eyes glaring like he was ready for a fight.

Tang Ying, sitting beside him, gave him a swat. "Just eat your dinner. Why are you slamming the table?"

"Actually, we don’t lose anything if we don’t take over the Old Pond. But Zhou Jianming is guaranteed to lose big. The time for him to cry will be when he’s stuck with it."

Chen Guo thought it over and understood the situation.

’Zhou Jianming must have a screw loose. Does he really think he can use the Old Pond as a bargaining chip to threaten us? He’s holding a ticking bomb. If he doesn’t back off, it’s going to blow up in his face.’

"If he won’t give it up, then forget it. We can still earn plenty by running the small pond well. Just let him hold onto the Old Pond and cry about it,"

Tang Ying said calmly as she ate.

She supported the "two ponds, two legs" approach, but if Zhou Jianming was going to play games like this, she rather looked forward to seeing him regret it to death.

"We still want the Old Pond. But when the time comes, it won’t be at this price,"

Chen Yuan chuckled and mentioned his plan to test the waters with the Big Pond. They’d just see how long Zhou Jianming could hold out. If he didn’t want to lose money, he’d have to come begging Chen Yuan to take it off his hands.

"Chen Wenbin is willing to help you with the Big Pond?"

Chen Jun and the others looked up in surprise, their movements perfectly synchronized.

They all knew the situation with the Big Pond. No one in the entire village had ever considered privatizing it. Even the village committee lacked the authority and the nerve. Yet, Chen Wenbin was actually willing to help Chen Yuan give it a shot.

"It’s just a probe to break down Zhou Jianming’s defenses."

Chen Yuan didn’t elaborate. Just letting the rumor get out was enough. The Big Pond wasn’t his immediate goal anyway, and with the resources he had now, he couldn’t possibly take it on.

It was eight o’clock by the time they finished dinner. Chen Yuan helped clear the table and was about to help with the dishes, but Tang Ying pushed him away.

"Go get some rest. You didn’t sleep at all during the day. If you’re too tired, just have your dad handle the closing shift tonight."

Chen Yuan smiled and declined. He returned to the main room, where his dad and uncle were enjoying their after-dinner cigarettes, still muttering about the Old Pond and the Big Pond, lost in thought.

"Dad, Uncle, I’m going to get some rest."

After saying goodbye, Chen Yuan headed upstairs.

"Go on. If you fall asleep and don’t feel like getting up, I’ll just go handle the closing shift tonight."

Chen Yuan waved, bounded up the stairs, turned on the air conditioner, and grabbed his clothes to take a shower. On such a hot day, he was covered in sweat; he couldn’t possibly sleep comfortably without washing up.

He washed the clothes he had changed out of before finally flopping onto his bed.

’8:30.’

He checked WeChat on his phone. There were no messages that needed his attention, and his eyelids were getting heavy. He set an alarm for ten and fell asleep.

When Chen Yuan woke up, he didn’t get up right away. He just lay in bed and summoned the system. ’I can use the Fish King’s Bite.’

He was already tired of watching the Fish King anyway, so he waited until almost eleven before getting out of bed and slowly heading downstairs. The house was quiet and the lights were off; he figured his parents were already asleep.

"Whoa, who are you trying to scare over there?"

Chen Yuan tiptoed out of the main room and saw the glowing ember of a cigarette in the pitch-black courtyard. Someone was squatting there smoking, looking like a little statue of a local deity.

Suddenly hearing Chen Yuan’s voice, the person shot to their feet, which in turn startled Chen Yuan. For a second, he thought the deity was about to ascend to the heavens.

"You scared me too! Why didn’t you make any noise coming out?"

Chen Jun dropped his cigarette, then picked it up and continued smoking.

"I thought you were all asleep, so I had to be quiet."

Chen Yuan walked out with his hands spread, feeling rather helpless.

"You slept this late, why are you even getting up? It’s not like we can’t handle the closing shift."

Chen Jun took out a cigarette and offered it to Chen Yuan.

"I’ve been awake for a while, I just waited until now to get up. Anyway, you should go get some sleep. I’m heading over to the fishpond."

Chen Yuan took the cigarette and lit it. He waved to Chen Jun, walked over to the tricycle, and headed straight for the fishpond. He figured the Battle Fish King event was probably over by now.

Chen Jun didn’t insist. He finished his cigarette and went back inside.

He had been waiting because Chen Yuan hadn’t woken up, and he was worried they’d be short-staffed at the fishery if his son overslept. Now that Chen Yuan was up, it was his turn to rest, since he had to wake up early every day.

"So which lucky angler caught the Fish King?"

Chen Yuan arrived at the fishpond, parked his tricycle, and smiled at a group of anglers who were still buzzing with excitement. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"Boss Chen is here!"

"We were just talking about whether we should call you, and here you are, delivering the prize money! Looks like you just rolled out of bed, huh?"

"Roused from a sweet dream only to lose a thousand yuan. I bet Boss Chen won’t be able to get back to sleep tonight!"

The anglers all bantered naturally.

Even though it was the first time for many of them, they were used to shooting the breeze in the group chat and knew Boss Chen’s personality. This kind of joking was nothing.

"You shouldn’t have, Boss Chen."

An angler stepped forward. Behind the crowd, Chen Dequan nodded at Chen Yuan, holding up his phone.

He had strictly followed Chen Yuan’s instructions: if Chen Yuan wasn’t at the pond when someone caught the Fish King, he was to take photos and videos to post in the group, and also note down the fishing spot to make it easy to redeem the prize.

"Don’t mention it. You earned this prize with your skill, so it’s rightfully yours."

Chen Yuan chuckled and stuffed the cash into the angler’s hand.

"Same as always, drinks and smokes are on me!"

The angler waved the cash in his hand and ran toward the vending machine. After receiving a cigarette and a bottle of water, Chen Yuan didn’t sit under the sunshade but leaned against his tricycle and lit up.

He took out his phone and scrolled through the group messages.

As usual, everyone was envious of the person who caught the fish and won the prize. They all wanted to experience the grand feeling of treating every angler at the pond to smokes and drinks, itching to shout that legendary line: "Everything for everyone at the pond today is on my tab!"

"Gotta say, the Fish King’s bite rate is great. Feels like we get a bite every session."

"It bites more easily when it’s cool in the mornings and evenings. Didn’t see many bites in the afternoon, but the bite rate is still really good. You have a chance whether you’re fishing during the day or at night."

"Goin’ to sleep, goin’ to sleep. I snagged a reservation for tomorrow. My turn to battle the Fish King!"

The frequency of the Fish King’s bites was maintained at a good level—not so high as to be unbelievable, but enough to give the anglers hope. If the Fish King never bit, he was sure the anglers would stop coming after just a few sessions.