Chen Yuan knew fishing fanatics were a breed apart — absolutely unstoppable when it came to their hobby, willing to go anywhere and do anything for a good catch.
Rain couldn’t deter them, rocks couldn’t block them. Mountains? They’d carve a path through. Water? They’d swing a rod into it.
Half of them would probably cast a line on Yellow Springs Road if they could.
But even by those standards, Mr. Qin’s level of obsession still left Chen Yuan speechless. The old man didn’t even want to go home — all for the sake of landing the Fish King. He wouldn’t quit until he had it.
"How many people are we talking about?"
His family’s house was a modest two-story place with four bedrooms total — one for his parents, one for him, one kept for his sister, and a spare for when relatives visited.
If too many people showed up, it could get complicated.
"Four, including me."
Four wasn’t too bad.
Setting aside his parents’ room, Qin Fen could bunk with him — two grown men sharing a room was no big deal.
But that still left three people, and one room couldn’t fit all of them.
And there was no way he was touching his sister’s room.
Never mind the whole men-and-women thing — his sister’s room was her room. No matter what, that room would always be hers in this house. It was the least she deserved.
The storage room could work after a cleanup. Summer was way easier to deal with than winter for that kind of thing.
"Sure, no problem."
Chen Yuan thought it over for a moment and agreed.
"See, Grandpa? I told you he’d say yes. What did I tell you?"
On the video call, Qin Fen turned and called out to someone off-screen. A moment later, Mr. Qin appeared in the frame.
"Chen, sorry to keep putting you out like this."
Mr. Qin looked a little embarrassed.
"Mr. Qin, don’t even mention it. Honestly, having you come fish here makes me happy."
Chen Yuan grinned and waved it off.
They chatted for another minute or two before Qin Fen ended the call. Everything was sorted on this end, and they’d need time to pack up over there. As for Qin Fen’s situation — well, he’d be staying over anyway, so they could catch up properly over drinks that evening.
"Mom, Dad — Mr. Qin’s bringing two people over to fish. They’d like to stay the night tomorrow. Four of them total."
Chen Yuan headed toward the backyard.
"No problem at all. The guest room and your sister’s room are both free. In summer you just throw down a straw mat and you’re set."
Tang Ying answered without looking up, her hands moving quickly as she picked vegetables.
Now that she understood how the fishing pond made money, Tang Ying was practically hoping for more guests — every person through the door was a hundred yuan.
"What I mean is, let’s clean out the storage room instead. Leave my sister’s room alone. I can sleep in the storage room myself if I have to."
Chen Yuan crouched down to help with the vegetables.
"Why go through all that trouble? We’ve got plenty of rooms."
Chen Jun wasn’t one for subtlety. The way he saw it, there were enough beds — cleaning out the storage room was just pointless extra work.
"I think Yuan’s right. I’ll handle the vegetables — you two go clear out that storage room."
Tang Ying shot Chen Jun a look.
Such a blockhead. His own son had more thoughtfulness than he did.
A son that considerate — he’d have no trouble finding a girlfriend someday, that was for sure. The thought made Mrs. Tang’s face break into a wide smile.
She worked with even more energy after that.
"There’s no air conditioning in the storage room, so remember to bring the living room fan in when they go to sleep." Chen Jun said as he tidied up the room.
"The guest room doesn’t have AC either."
The only room in the house with air conditioning was Chen Yuan’s. His sister had left for work right after high school and only came back for the holidays, so there’d never been much point installing one in her room.
Same story with the guest room — it barely got used more than a handful of times a year.
And his parents’ room? They wouldn’t spend the money on it.
"Take the fan from our room then."
"What about you two?"
The room was mostly sorted. Chen Yuan passed Chen Jun a cigarette.
"We’ll use a palm-leaf fan."
Chen Jun took it, lit up, then grabbed a broom and swept the dust off the floor.
"That’s not gonna cut it — it’s the hottest stretch of summer now. A palm-leaf fan’s useless. You’ll both wake up sweating in the middle of the night. Let’s just borrow a fan from Uncle’s place."
Chen Yuan followed behind with a mop.
One sweeping, one mopping — the two of them had the room sorted in no time.
"We’ll figure it out tomorrow. It’s getting late — go wash up and get some rest."
Chen Yuan nodded.
It was almost ten o’clock already. He really did need to wind down — tomorrow would be the first time hosting this many fishing regulars at once, and it was bound to be a full day.
On top of that, Mr. Qin and the others were coming first thing in the morning, so he’d need to be ready to receive them properly.
And then there were the supplies he’d ordered — no telling when those would arrive.
By the time he showered and got into bed, it was past eleven. Chen Yuan set an alarm for six in the morning, turned over, and was out almost immediately.
He figured six o’clock was early enough — but before it even went off, a phone call dragged him awake.
"Hello? Who’s this?"
It was an unknown number. Chen Yuan had no idea who it could be.
"Hi, your delivery is here."
Delivery?
What delivery?
I didn’t order anything. What’s going on?
He was about to say they had the wrong number when something clicked and he snapped fully awake.
"Is this the fishing pond equipment?"
"That’s right. We’re at the pond now — come sign for it."
"Be right there."
Chen Yuan was wide awake in an instant. He shot out of bed, shoved his feet into his sandals, and sprinted downstairs toward the pond.
"Where are you running off to?"
Tang Ying was mid-yawn on her way to the kitchen when Chen Yuan suddenly tore past her from behind, nearly giving her a fright.
"The equipment I ordered got delivered to the pond. Going to sign for it."
Chen Yuan called back as he ran.
"Old man, get up! The equipment your son ordered is here!"
Tang Ying had tried to say something else to Chen Yuan, but he was already gone in a flash. She turned and hollered into the bedroom instead.
"Who the hell delivers at this hour? Don’t people need sleep?"
Chen Jun shuffled out, grumbling.
"It’s nearly six — that’s not early. We’d normally be out the door by now."
Tang Ying rolled her eyes and went to start breakfast.
On a regular day, they’d both be heading into town to sell vegetables before six. Today they’d stayed home and slept in a little, and somehow that left them feeling more groggy than usual. Funny how that worked.
Chen Jun rinsed his mouth and splashed some water on his face at the sink, then shook himself awake and headed briskly toward the pond.
Chen Yuan rounded the bend and spotted a truck parked along the road beside the small pond. The driver stood nearby, cigarette dangling from his lips, waiting with no particular urgency and occasionally glancing over at the pond with mild curiosity.
"This damn system really commits to the bit, doesn’t it — even hired an actual truck driver. Who would ever guess any of this stuff came from a system."
Chen Yuan muttered to himself and walked over, pulling out a cigarette to offer as a friendly opener.
"Need your signature here."
The driver took the cigarette and tucked it behind his ear, then produced a delivery slip for Chen Yuan to sign.
"Everything goes to you, then."
He climbed up into the truck bed and started unloading.
"Just leave it all right here."
Chen Yuan nodded and helped receive the goods. Most of it needed to be installed anyway — no point hauling it indoors. Besides, it was still early, and he wanted to get everything set up before the anglers arrived.
"Dad, head back and grab a hoe and a shovel, and bring the three-wheeler while you’re at it."
He spotted Chen Jun making his way over and shouted across to him.
"Got it."
Chen Jun turned and jogged back. By the time he returned with the three-wheeler, the truck had just finished unloading. The driver swung the truck around and drove off.
"Why’d you buy so much stuff?"
Chen Jun hopped off the three-wheeler, picked up the shovel and hoe, and looked at Chen Yuan with a "so what’s the plan?" expression.
"It’s all stuff the fishing pond needs."
Chen Yuan took the hoe and started digging. "Dad, let’s get these sun umbrellas set up first."
That was the priority.
Anglers were still human beings — if someone got heatstroke out in the blazing sun, that was a real problem. Even if you didn’t lose the customer for good, they’d be out of commission for days at the very least.
"Hey, Jun — you’re still going ahead with this fishing pond thing?"
They hadn’t been at it long before a villager passed by, hoe over one shoulder, eyeing the pile of goods spread across the ground with open curiosity.
In summer, villagers always headed out to the fields early — get the work done before the heat set in, then wrap up and head home once the sun was high around ten or so.
So this was peak foot-traffic hour for locals heading out to work.
A steady stream of people passed by, each one pausing to ask what was going on.
Then they’d wander off, muttering under their breath.
"Running a fishing pond isn’t as easy as you think, you know."
"Someone fell in the water just yesterday, and instead of learning your lesson, you’re out here buying more stuff. You’ll be crying over the losses soon enough."
"Not even going to sell vegetables anymore — who knows what they’re thinking."
The two of them paid no attention and kept their heads down.
Talk all you want today. We’ll see what you have to say later.