Chen Yuan walked over to the fish pond and found Mr. Qin still staring at the water, completely locked in. He had to hand it to the old man.
Even after ten years of grinding it out in sales in his past life, out in the wind and sun day after day, Chen Yuan still dreaded the brutal midday heat of summer.
He genuinely admired the sheer stubbornness of fishing fanatics. Nothing, it seemed, could come between them and their rods.
Qin Fen, on the other hand, looked absolutely miserable — like an eggplant left out in the frost, wilted and utterly defeated.
"Mr. Qin, any sign of the Fish King yet?"
Chen Yuan walked up and called out a greeting.
"It’s only been a few hours. Back when I used to fish the natural reservoirs, I’d camp out for days at a time." Mr. Qin’s mood hadn’t budged an inch. The man had nerves of steel.
That was exactly why Chen Yuan hadn’t triggered the Fish King in the morning. Mr. Qin had the patience for it — and besides, something handed to you too easily never felt as good as something you’d worked for.
"You’re absolutely right, Mr. Qin. No rush on the Fish King. Let’s eat first."
"Finally! Food!"
Qin Fen had been watching for Chen Yuan the moment he spotted him coming over, and now his eyes practically lit up at the mention of lunch. He’d been baking out there so long he was practically dripping.
"Come on, come on, Grandpa — let’s eat first. Can’t catch the Fish King on an empty stomach."
Qin Fen scrambled to his feet and jogged over, not even bothering to reel in his rod. He’d be back at it in the afternoon anyway.
"Sorry for the trouble, Chen."
"What trouble? It’s just a couple extra pairs of chopsticks. Qin Fen and I go way back, so don’t even think about standing on ceremony, Mr. Qin. Besides, you’re a paying customer — you pay, I deliver."
Chen Yuan laughed and waved them toward the house.
Mr. Qin liked that about Chen Yuan — the way he made everything sound so natural, so easy, like nobody owed anybody anything.
"Come on in and sit down, sir. Cool off in front of the fan for a bit."
Chen Jun came out to meet them the moment they got back, already extending a cigarette in a well-practiced gesture of hospitality.
"No, no thank you, I don’t smoke."
Mr. Qin waved both hands in polite refusal. Chen Jun pivoted smoothly and offered it to Qin Fen instead.
"Thanks, Uncle."
"Don’t mention it — make yourself at home. Here, wash up first and wipe off some of that sweat."
Tang Ying came out carrying a basin of warm water along with two fresh towels. Coming in from the heat at noon, a good wash-up felt like pure relief.
The uncle had already arranged the stools and headed to the kitchen to help his wife bring the dishes out to the table.
"Please, sit at the head of the table, sir."
Chen Jun guided Mr. Qin to the seat of honor at the top. Mr. Qin tried to decline, but there was no getting out of it.
Chen Jun and Tang Ying sat on the left, the uncle and his wife on the right, and Chen Yuan and Qin Fen took the outer seats.
There weren’t many formalities out here in the countryside — just this one at the dinner table.
"Can I pour you a drink, sir?"
Chen Jun opened a bottle of baijiu and moved to fill Mr. Qin’s glass.
"Uncle, we’ve still got fishing to do this afternoon."
Mr. Qin’s eyes had clearly brightened at the sight of the baijiu, but before he could say a word, Qin Fen jumped in and cut him off — leaving Chen Jun at a complete loss.
Around the village, a drink or two after a hard day’s work was perfectly normal — every man young and old knew how to press a glass on someone. But this situation was different.
Mr. Qin was a customer. Getting your customer drunk on the first day of business would look bad — people might even think he was too stingy to spare a couple of fish.
Chen Yuan could see exactly what his father was worried about — nothing more than not wanting to damage his son’s fishing ground reputation. He gave Chen Jun a quick smile, stood up, took the bottle, and poured Mr. Qin a full glass himself.
"Don’t think I’m being stingy, Mr. Qin — just the one glass. A little something to warm you up before you go after the Fish King this afternoon."
Mr. Qin clearly had a taste for it, but at his age — well into his sixties — he had his share of minor health issues. His family obviously had reservations, otherwise Qin Fen would never have dared speak up for him like that.
"Alright, alright — just the one. Just one glass."
Mr. Qin grabbed his glass with both hands, grinning from ear to ear. The moment he saw that Qin Fen wasn’t going to stop him, he looked absolutely delighted — like a sixty-something-year-old kid on Christmas morning.
"Mr. Qin, this one’s for you. Thank you for coming out and supporting us."
Chen Yuan went around and filled everyone’s glass, then raised his own.
"I’ll drink with you too, sir."
Chen Jun and the others rose to their feet as well.
...
The meal was a lively, warm affair. Mr. Qin thanked everyone several times before pushing back from the table and heading back toward the fish pond.
Qin Fen squinted up at the sun, let out a quiet sigh, and followed after his grandfather. The two of them walked out into the blazing heat, chatting about who knows what — and every so often, the sound of easy laughter drifted back.
"It’s the middle of the day and it’s absolutely sweltering out there. It’s not like we don’t have a cool mat they could rest on — why didn’t we just tell them to take a break first?"
Tang Ying said as she got up to clear the table.
"The madness of a fisherman is something we’ll never understand."
Chen Yuan smiled and helped his mother tidy up. He was going to pitch in with the dishes too, but his aunt shooed him out of the kitchen.
"Yuan, go rest. We’ve got this."
Country folk, when they were genuine, were genuinely so. Even among relatives, eating at someone’s table for nothing felt like a debt — there was always the urge to help out somehow and make it right.
Chen Yuan smiled and said sure, then went to the main room and brewed two cups of tea to bring out to his father and uncle.
Tea after drinking helped clear the head.
The two brothers both lived in the village, but it was rare for them to actually sit down and share a proper drink together. Today they’d taken the opportunity and had a few good rounds.
"Yuan didn’t waste those years in college — the kid’s got real ability."
Whatever the two brothers had been talking about, the uncle had apparently started singing Chen Yuan’s praises. Chen Jun waved it off, but the grin on his face gave his mood away completely.
"Uncle, your tea."
Chen Yuan set the cups on the table.
"Ah, good, good."
The uncle accepted the cup with a smile, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a red envelope. "Here, Yuan — take this."
"Brother, what is this — why are you pulling out a red envelope? Put it away, put it away." Chen Jun sobered up almost instantly, already moving to press down on Chen Kingdom’s hand.
"It’s not for you — it’s for Yuan."
Chen Kingdom was faster. He pressed the red envelope firmly into Chen Yuan’s hand. "The fishing ground’s open for business now. Your uncle’s wishing you smooth sailing and a booming trade."
"Thank you, Uncle."
Chen Yuan paused for a moment, then accepted it without any fuss.
He hadn’t even thought about the whole grand opening thing, so he certainly hadn’t expected his uncle to mark the occasion. But this kind of red envelope wasn’t something you turned down — and in a world of give and take, you had to be able to receive as well as give.
"See? What did I tell you — the kid’s got it. More backbone than you, that’s for sure."
Far from being put out by how smoothly Chen Yuan had accepted it, Chen Kingdom’s smile only widened. No awkwardness, no hemming and hawing — that was the kind of easy confidence it took to do big things.
"Keep at it."
The uncle gave Chen Yuan a firm pat on the shoulder.
The two brothers chatted a while longer, and once the kitchen was wrapped up, the uncle and his wife headed home. Chen Yuan said his goodbyes to his parents and went to lie down as well.
He didn’t sleep long — there was still business to take care of in the afternoon.
Chen Yuan was up before three o’clock. First thing he did was create a group chat and name it Chen Yuan Fishing Ground, then added every fishing fanatic who’d sent him a friend request.
Qin Fen was in there too — that kid had even added his grandfather to the group.
Then Chen Yuan tossed in a lucky red envelope — not huge, not tiny — mainly just to get things moving and keep the fishing crowd from quietly slipping out.
"Hey Pond Boss, where’s the Fish King?"
"Boss Chen, bring that Fish King out and let it show off a little."
Sure enough, once those fishing fanatics grabbed their share of the red envelope, they couldn’t very well go silent again. They all popped up to say something, and the Fish King was front and center — whether they were joking around or genuinely curious, at least it was on their minds.
And the fact that the pond owner had gone and made a group chat? That probably meant he was about to put up some proof.
There was definitely some anticipation brewing.
"Someone’s already fishing at the ground right now — whether they’ll land the Fish King, though, that’s anyone’s guess."
Chen Yuan dropped that line in the chat, and the fishing fanatics immediately started pestering him to show them what the pond actually looked like.
For a fishing fanatic, an unfamiliar stretch of water was like a buddy telling you there’s a stunning girl just around the corner — you just couldn’t help wanting to see for yourself.
Chen Yuan smiled.
That was exactly the effect he was going for.
He pulled up the system. It was time to let the Fish King put on a show.