Chapter 219 - 193: Chen Yuan’s Ambition

Chapter 219: Chapter 193: Chen Yuan’s Ambition

"Well, with your Uncle Dong’s abilities and connections, he was on track to join the county leadership. The higher-ups were definitely planning to groom him. But at a critical moment, Chong City was upgraded to a county-level city, breaking away from its previous administration."

Chen Wenbin shook his head and sighed softly.

Chen Yuan thought about it for a moment and understood.

Chong City used to be just a county, but now it was a city. The old county leadership naturally rose with the tide to become the new city leadership, which was a completely different ball game.

If some of the old towns had simply been upgraded to counties, Uncle Dong would have risen along with them. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it onto the original county leadership team in time. Trying to jump from a township position directly to a city one is almost impossible.

This meant he had to stay in the county and continue to grind. Although he had now been promoted to the top position, that single step he missed back then had cost him too much time.

"Fortune and misfortune are two sides of the same coin, and a crisis can be a blessing in disguise. I believe the transformation of Yu City Village will give Uncle Dong the boost he needs for a meteoric rise."

Chen Yuan took a deep drag from his cigarette and said with a smile.

Chen Wenbin pointed at Chen Yuan several times, shaking his head with a chuckle. "Alright, go on back and get to work. Get that detailed proposal and everything else ready as soon as you can."

"Okay," Chen Yuan replied. He stubbed out his cigarette, picked up his laptop, and headed out.

After leaving the village committee office, Chen Yuan was in a great mood.

’It really is a blessing in disguise. Now that I have policy support from the county, it’s like a fish in water. I can go all out in Yu City Village—be bold and decisive, and just charge full steam ahead.’

’Uncle Bin is pretty impressive. Uncle Dong was only in Yu City Village for a few months, but he was able to form such a friendship. And from the way Uncle Dong respects him, calling him ’Brother Bin’ all the time...’

That relationship was incredibly solid. There definitely wouldn’t be any problems on the policy front.

But Chen Yuan didn’t ask about any of this. Some things didn’t need to be spelled out; it was enough to know the relationship was solid.

Hopping on his three-wheeler, Chen Yuan happily hummed a little tune on his way home.

"How did it go at the village committee office?"

As soon as he got home, he saw Chen Jun sitting outside the main hall, fanning himself with a straw hat.

Tang Ying and Chen Li came out of the main hall, carrying glasses of herbal tea.

It was a little after four, so they must have just gotten back from handling the angler changeover.

"Haha, you can rest easy now. Uncle Bin helped us secure the county’s support. Yu City Village is going to be a key development project!"

Chen Yuan let out a loud laugh.

As the recreational sports initiative moved forward, Chen Dong would only place more and more importance on Yu City Village. He might even develop it into a model village, and the entire Silver Horse County would benefit.

"The county is going to support us, too?"

Chen Jun was instantly overjoyed. He pulled out a cigarette for himself and offered one to Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan waved it away. He’d smoked too much at the village committee office.

He briefly explained the current situation and also mentioned Chen Dong. Since Chen Dong had spent a few months in Yu City Village as a university student village official, his parents should have some memory of him.

"So the leader who came today was Chen Dong, huh? I didn’t even recognize him."

Chen Jun was quite surprised.

It was obvious he hadn’t known Chen Dong well back then; it would be strange if he could still recognize him after so many years. It was only because Chen Yuan mentioned Chen Dong had stayed in Yu City Village that he even recalled such a person existed.

His parents didn’t know much about Chen Dong, only that he used to follow the old village chief around back then and was on very good terms with Chen Wenbin.

"I don’t care if he’s Chen Dong or Chen Nan. As long as everything’s fine, I’m relieved."

Tang Ying didn’t care who Chen Dong was or what kind of leader he was now. As long as there were no problems, she could rest easy.

"Well, Chen Nan doesn’t have this kind of pull."

Chen Yuan chuckled at her words.

There was a Chen Nan in the village. It seemed he’d picked the wrong cardinal direction. Heading East (Dong) made you a secretary, while heading South (Nan) just made you a commoner.

"Oh right, Dad, has the lucky prize for the Old Pond been drawn yet?"

Chen Yuan suddenly remembered this. He had left the ’strong return’ prize redemption to his dad, and the changeover was fine, but the Old Pond also had a lucky prize.

"It’s been drawn. Your fishing buddies were really anxious. I figured you’d be at the village committee office for who knows how long, so I just drew it for you. It’s number 98."

’Good, as long as it’s been drawn.’

The family chatted for a while longer, then started to get busy.

The evening meals had already been ordered, so it was time to get busy with dinner preparations.

Chen Li was fiddling with her phone, her expression a fascinating sight. One moment, she’d be pouting as if she were a little angry; the next, her lips would break into a blooming smile.

"Who are you talking to that’s making you so happy?"

Chen Yuan leaned in to take a peek.

"None of your business."

Chen Li quickly covered her phone, hiding it like a thief.

"Ooh, something’s up~"

Chen Yuan grinned, understanding the situation perfectly.

"Oh, get outta here!"

Chen Li raised her hand to bop Chen Yuan on the head, but he dodged it nimbly. The two siblings horsed around for a bit, just like when they were kids.

"Go on, get back to your chat."

After their brief tussle, Chen Yuan sped towards the staircase, ready to head upstairs and get to work.

’Might as well let my big sis get back to flirting with my future brother-in-law.’

"Wait a sec, little brother. I need to discuss something with you."

Chen Li called out to stop Chen Yuan.

"What’s up? Just say the word, sis."

Seeing that Chen Li wasn’t joking, Chen Yuan walked back into the main hall.

"It’s about Sister Chunping."

"What’s wrong? Does Sister Chunping not want to lease the venue anymore?"

Yu City Village was a suburb, after all. For now, there was no guaranteed foot traffic. If Liang Chunping wanted to back out last minute, it would be understandable.

"It’s not that. It’s about pricing. Since all the new projects are tied to the fishing ground’s membership, members get a 20% discount. How should we negotiate this discount with Sister Chunping?"

Chen Li raised the issue.

"Have you talked to Sister Chunping about it?"

"Not yet."

They had been busy finalizing the projects and personnel recently and hadn’t discussed the specific pricing issues. But it was best to sort it out beforehand; it wouldn’t be good if Liang Chunping came and had objections.

"That’s simple. The membership benefits can’t change."

Chen Yuan’s tone was decisive.

"Then do we need to cover the difference for the discount?"

This was what Chen Li was thinking about. After all, the membership benefit was their discount to offer, which seemed a bit unfair to Liang Chunping.

"No need."

Chen Yuan shook his head. "We’ll try to avoid overlapping projects. Sister Chunping can set her own prices, but the membership benefits are non-negotiable. Also, she can’t offer a separate membership. You have to make this point crystal clear to her."

"The Chen Yuan Fishing Ground membership has to maintain the prestige of being a one-card-for-everything system. If there’s one membership here and another one there, it’s not just a hassle—it cheapens the brand."

"Okay, I’ll talk to Sister Chunping."

Chen Li nodded.

"Right. And it doesn’t matter if there are some overlapping projects, but the pricing has to be consistent. All the rules and benefits have to be the same. If Sister Chunping can’t accept that, don’t force it."

"Understood. There’s one more thing."

Chen Li said with a nod.

"Go ahead."

Chen Yuan went ahead and put his laptop on the table. He grabbed two popsicles from the freezer and gestured for Chen Li to sit down and chat.

"I think the fishing ground could also add some more amenities, like milk tea, other drinks, and various snacks. After all, food, drink, and fun all go together. And tourists are definitely different from anglers."

Chen Li said as she unwrapped her popsicle.

"That’s a good suggestion."

Chen Yuan’s eyes lit up; he wholeheartedly agreed with his sister’s suggestion.

Anglers came to fish. The vast majority didn’t have time to enjoy snacks; they were content just to fill their stomachs at mealtime.

But tourists were different. They came specifically to relax and have fun. Having drinks and snacks available at such times would definitely make the experience more pleasant. If there were other tasty treats, that would be even better.

This was especially true for those staying at the B&B. Enjoying a delicious meal while resting after a day of fun would surely be comfortable and satisfying.

Even anglers need to drink water.

If milk tea were an option, they might just grab one to treat themselves. Besides, some anglers already liked to snack while fishing.

It all came back to that same idea: when you don’t have a choice, it’s useless to even think about it. But when the option is there, who doesn’t want to be more comfortable? Who doesn’t want to indulge a little?

It was just like the fishing chairs. If you just described the idea, everyone would surely think putting a sofa at a fishing spot was completely unnecessary, maybe even a bit out of place.

But once they actually felt how comfortable it was, who would want to go back to sitting on a hard tackle box that bruised their butt?

"What about the building plans for the area by the big pond?"

It was a great idea. If there were already plans for that area, they could act on it immediately.

"There’s a dining area planned for one of the floors over there, but it hasn’t been decorated yet. If we want, we can start recruiting vendors now and decorate according to their needs."

Chen Li said.

"Then let’s recruit vendors as soon as possible."

Wang Tao was pushing the construction schedule to the max, so progress was extremely fast. Since they were adopting this suggestion, vendor recruitment had to keep pace.

"I’ve already found one."

Chen Li said, waving her phone with a huge smile on her face.

’Oho~’

A flood of memories instantly surfaced in Chen Yuan’s mind, and his smile slowly turned into a knowing grin.