"Mom, where’s Dad?"
Chen Yuan had only managed about half an hour of sleep before dragging himself out of bed. He’d been reborn and somehow ended up with a system — he figured he’d better take it seriously, or who knew what would happen if he let it go to waste.
"Over there."
Tang Ying, who was sorting through a pile of vegetables, tilted her chin toward the front room doorway.
The two of them farmed a few acres of vegetables, picking them regularly and hauling them into the city to sell. Since they were field-grown — better taste, higher nutrition, solid quality — they always sold well.
It was one of the family’s main sources of income.
"What’s going on?"
Chen Yuan looked out toward the front room and saw Chen Jun sitting on a low stool, puffing away at a cigarette with a long face, not saying a word.
"Yuan, maybe you should think the fishing pond idea over a bit more?"
Tang Ying paused what she was doing and, after a moment’s hesitation, offered the suggestion.
"Come on, Mom, this is solid. I know what I’m doing."
Chen Yuan hurried over to her.
Chen Jun’s stance on the whole thing had already been shaky. If Tang Ying switched sides too, getting any family support for the fishing pond was going to be an uphill battle.
"Solid my ass."
Chen Jun turned and snorted. "I just came back from your uncle’s place. You know what he told me? He hauls the fish in once a year, and by the time you subtract the cost of fingerlings, die-off losses, feed, and everything else, he’s left with a few thousand yuan. He’d make more money just going out to work."
Chen Yuan understood now.
Looks like Dad got an earful from Uncle.
"Dad, you’re still not getting it. A fishing pond and a fish farm are completely different things. You’re not making money by selling fish."
Chen Yuan brewed a cup of tea and carried it over to Chen Jun.
"How different can they be? Either way you’re living off fish. What, you gonna sell them for the price of gold?"
Chen Jun took the cup, blew on it, had a couple of sips, and continued, "Your uncle actually considered the exact model you’re talking about, but nobody around these parts is going to pay money to go fishing."
"A recreational fishing pond is an entertainment business — you can’t target the locals. The whole point is to go after anglers from the city. Uncle had the wrong audience from the start. Of course it wasn’t going to work."
People around here who wanted to fish could do so without spending a dime.
And villagers didn’t have much money to begin with — paying to fish would just feel like throwing cash away.
But city anglers were a different story. Plenty of them were happy to pay for a day out on the water.
And worst case, he had the system. There was no way he’d come out losing.
"Dad, trust me on this. I know what I’m doing."
Chen Yuan pulled out a pack of cigarettes, handed one to Chen Jun, and lit one for himself.
He could probably make it work on his own, but without his dad on board it’d be a lot harder. And when it came to things like securing land in the village, his dad’s connections and standing were worth far more than his own.
"The hell you do."
Chen Jun shot him a sideways glance.
"Look, I’m doing this either way," Chen Yuan said, blowing a smoke ring casually. "If you two won’t help, I’ll find a spot on my own. I’ve got money."
Six months of interning hadn’t paid much, but he’d scraped together nearly twenty thousand yuan. It was nowhere near enough to start a fishing pond properly — probably not even enough to buy the fish — but with the system backing him, he had all the confidence he needed.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Chen Jun smacked him on the back of the head.
"Talk to him properly. Keep your hands to yourself."
Tang Ying shot Chen Jun a sharp glare, then turned to Chen Yuan with a warm, motherly smile. "You too — our village has everything you need to raise fish. Why on earth would you go look somewhere else?"
Chen Yuan grabbed a small stool and sat down beside Chen Jun, his tone serious. "Dad, how about this — give me six months to try. If I’m actually losing money by the end of the year, I’ll drop it and do whatever you two say. Deal?"
"You really want to go through with this?"
Seeing his son’s determined expression, Chen Jun softened despite himself.
Chen Yuan gave a firm nod.
"There are three ponds in the village right now. Forget about the Old Pond — Zhou Jianming’s got the lease on that one, and that guy’s never gotten along with us. He won’t give it to you."
"The big pond’s out too. There’s a lot of politics wrapped up in that one. The village committee won’t hand it over easily."
"That leaves the small pond your uncle leases. It’s only two acres, so check if that’s big enough for what you have in mind. If you think it’ll work, I’ll go talk to him tonight."
Chen Jun smoked in silence for a moment, then laid it all out slowly.
Chen Yuan’s heart jumped.
His dad was actually on board. He was really backing the fishing pond plan.
"Two acres should be plenty," Chen Yuan said with a grin.
The fishing pond system hadn’t activated yet, so he had no idea what requirements it had, but two acres felt like enough to get started. As for what came next, he’d figure that out once the pond was up and running and the system came online.
"Alright. I’ll go find your uncle later."
Chen Jun ground out his cigarette with his foot, went inside to change, then headed out on his three-wheeled scooter.
"Yuan, now that you’ve made up your mind, give it everything you’ve got. Mom’s behind you."
Tang Ying smiled as she said it.
"Thanks, Mom." Chen Yuan nodded with a smile.
"Silly kid, don’t thank me for something like that."
Tang Ying finished tidying the vegetables, then hoisted a hoe onto her shoulder and headed for the door. "The pond will probably be sorted out tonight. Use the time to start planning things out — your dad and I don’t know much about this stuff, so just tell us what you need."
She was right — he did need to start planning.
Chen Yuan thought it over for a moment, pulled the front room door shut behind him, and headed outside for a stroll.
Yu City Village was big — over five hundred households. He still remembered how it used to be during the holidays when he was a kid, absolutely packed with people, louder and livelier than anything in the city.
But as the times changed, the generation born in the eighties and nineties grew up, got married, and needed homes in the city. The rural exodus never let up, and the village had long since lost that old energy.
Most of the people who’d stayed behind were the older generation. Father Chen and Mrs. Chen were among the few exceptions.
On top of that, summer afternoons were brutal out here. Chen Yuan walked along the village road without spotting a single soul.
Before long, he arrived at his uncle’s fish pond, just over two hundred meters from home.
"Good shape on this one. Nice square layout, decent bank space on all four sides. Marking out the fishing spots should be easy enough."
Chen Yuan looked the pond over carefully, scoping out the surroundings, thinking through any potential hazards for anglers and how he’d divide up the fishing positions.
After walking a full lap around the small pond, he had a pretty clear picture in his head. He glanced up at the large pond sitting right next to it, and a flicker of envy crossed his face.
Dozens of acres — now that would make one hell of a fishing spot. But his dad had said there was a lot of complicated business tied up in that one, and it wasn’t going to be easy to get his hands on it.
"Gotta walk before you can run. Start with the small pond and go from there."
After wandering around for a bit, Chen Yuan was soaked through with sweat. He headed straight home, gulped down several mouthfuls of cool boiled water, and then took a cold shower — after which he finally felt like a human being again.
He washed his sweat-soaked clothes, then boiled a fresh kettle of water and poured it into a large thermos mug to cool down, so it’d be ready for his parents when they got back.
Coming home on a scorching summer day with nothing to drink — that was just miserable.
About two hours later, Tang Ying came back with a hoe over her shoulder and a large basket of vegetables on her back.
"How’d the pond look?"
"Pretty good, actually. Here, Mom, have some water first."
Chen Yuan felt the side of the mug. Temperature was just right.
Tang Ying’s face broke into a warm smile.
Her kid had grown up. He actually looked after people now.
"Mom, why are you out working the fields in this heat?"
Chen Yuan wrung out a warm damp towel and handed it to Tang Ying to wipe off the sweat.
"We’ve got to eat, haven’t we? There’s not much food stockpiled at home."
The fishing pond was going to cost money, and a family that wasn’t exactly rolling in it couldn’t afford many mistakes. Their kid wanted to start something — the best they could do as parents was take on as much of the other work themselves as possible.
"Mom, seriously, don’t worry. This is as sure a thing as it gets."
"Alright. Mom believes you."
Tang Ying smiled and passed the towel back to Chen Yuan, then walked toward the kitchen. "I’m going to start dinner. You do what you need to do — watch some TV if you’ve got nothing on."
"I’ll give you a hand."
By the time dinner was ready and the family had finished eating, Chen Jun was just about to head over to his brother’s place — when his brother showed up first.