"We’ve got two meal options at the fishing ground right now. The first is a set menu — you give me a rough budget and we’ll put together dishes based on that."
Chen Yuan turned to address everyone by the pond. "The second option is a lunch box deal. Something like one meat dish and one veggie for ten yuan, one meat and two veggies for twelve, or two meat and two veggies for fifteen."
He’d come up with this system the night before. The fishing ground had to set the options themselves — otherwise, with everyone asking for something different, they’d never keep up.
If someone wanted a fully custom meal, that was a separate price entirely.
"That cheap for a lunch box?"
"Seriously, that’s way too cheap. Every other fishing spot I’ve been to charges at least twenty for a box meal, and the food is absolute garbage — take it or leave it."
"You got off easy. At least yours was edible. I went to that Fisherman’s Fishing Ground over in Chong City and their lunch boxes nearly made me puke — and they had the nerve to charge twenty-five."
The moment fishing spot food came up, the anglers started venting, trading horror stories about every rip-off they’d ever experienced.
It all came down to the same two things: overpriced and disgusting.
So when Chen Yuan laid out his meal options, the shock on their faces was entirely understandable.
Fifteen yuan tops for a lunch box, and the food was all homemade — ingredients straight from their own place, clean, hygienic, and actually nutritious.
"Boss Chen, I’ll take two meat two veggie."
"Same for me, two meat two veggie."
"Boss Chen, make mine two meat two veggie as well — I’ll send you the fishing fee and meal payment together."
Nearly every angler went with the two meat, two veggie option. Fifteen yuan was a steal, and a proper wood-fire country meal was something to look forward to.
"And what about you, God of Wealth? What’ll it be?"
Chen Yuan made his way over to Ye Huan last, and that was the first thing out of his mouth.
"God of Wealth?"
Ye Huan froze. He didn’t even notice Chen Yuan holding out a cigarette for him. His sister Ye Zhi and his buddies all turned to look, equally confused.
Ahem.
Chen Yuan gave a small cough, unbothered, and laughed it off. "I thought you were coming alone. Didn’t expect you to bring five people with you. That’s a lot of money walking through my gate — you’re basically my personal God of Wealth."
"Hahaha."
Ye Huan cracked up.
Ye Zhi burst into a bright smile beside him and couldn’t help glancing over at Chen Yuan. This guy was actually pretty fun.
"Boss Chen, that is so shameless."
Ye Huan snapped back to it and took the cigarette, giving Chen Yuan a look of mock indignation — though the grin tugging at his lips was impossible to hold back.
"Haha, Boss Chen, you’re a character. Old Ye, didn’t think you’d be picking up a nickname today."
"Can’t deny it though — it suits him. Well played, Boss Chen."
The friends beside him burst out laughing.
Chen Yuan stepped over and handed out cigarettes like they were old pals.
"So, God of Wealth, what are you having?"
The two guys took their cigarettes, lit up, and kept ribbing Ye Huan.
Ye Huan was utterly speechless.
He rolled his eyes, then looked at Chen Yuan with a grin. "Let’s do the set menu. Boss Chen, make it good — there are six of us. Put together something worth three hundred yuan."
"No problem. I’ll make sure you’re all happy with it."
Chen Yuan agreed without hesitation.
"Deal. I’ll transfer the fishing fees and the meal together."
Ye Huan pulled out his phone and paid.
"Much appreciated, God of Wealth."
"God of Wealth is buying lunch — you eat whether you’re hungry or not. Can’t let that generosity go to waste."
"God of Wealth is literally chasing you down to feed you. Open wide."
"What are you, a fish?"
His friends kept on teasing, and even the anglers nearby couldn’t help but laugh along. The whole fishing ground was buzzing with good cheer. Chen Yuan quickly pulled out his phone and captured the moment.
"Boss Chen, is that pond across the way yours too?"
Ye Zhi, dressed in a white skirt, suddenly pointed toward the large pond on the other side.
"Ah, not yet."
Chen Yuan looked over and shook his head.
"’Not yet’ — so it could be someday. Sounds like Boss Chen is thinking big." Ye Huan caught the hint and joined in the teasing.
Chen Yuan just smiled and didn’t deny it.
The moment he’d come back to the village and laid eyes on that big pond, he’d made up his mind. He wasn’t leaving without it.
He had to have it.
"Did you want to go over to the big pond?"
Chen Yuan looked at Ye Zhi, curious.
"Not exactly — it’s just that the lotus flowers over there are gorgeous. I wanted to go take a look and get some photos. And if it’s okay... maybe pick a couple."
Ye Zhi sounded a little bashful at that last part, but she kept her eyes on Chen Yuan, full of quiet hope. The other two girls beside her wore the exact same expression.
Chen Yuan got it immediately.
The three of them clearly weren’t here to fish. They’d tagged along for a day out in the countryside, just soaking up the scenery.
As the old saying goes — lotus leaves stretch endlessly to meet the sky, and lotus blossoms glow vivid red against the summer sun. There’s no more honest way to describe the beauty of a lotus flower, and midsummer is when they’re at their most spectacular.
This was their season.
Country folk who’d grown up around them might not give them a second glance anymore, but city people couldn’t get enough of it.
"Easy. Go look, take all the photos you want, and pick as many as you like — my say-so covers it."
Chen Yuan waved a hand generously, drawing a burst of laughter from all three girls. They thanked him repeatedly, then linked arms and headed off toward the big pond together.
Three graceful figures walking along the ridge path, framed by the lotus blooms in the distance — another beautiful picture worth keeping. Chen Yuan raised his phone and captured it.
"Alright gentlemen, enjoy yourselves. I’m heading back to get the food started. Give us a call if you need anything — and if you need the toilet, you’re welcome to use the one at my place."
With that, he hopped onto the three-wheeler and headed home. The moment he turned away, the grin he’d been holding back spread all the way across his face.
This bunch of fishing fanatics — they were just too lovable.
He was really starting to like them.
He pulled the three-wheeler up to the side of the road outside the yard. Cars had filled the courtyard completely — there was no squeezing in.
"Oh, right."
Just as he was about to climb off, Chen Yuan suddenly remembered something. He stayed in his seat and pulled up the system. With everything that had been going on, he hadn’t had a chance to check whether the fishing ground’s upgrade progress had moved at all.
"Zero point one six percent?"
With the equipment now in place, the upgrade progress had finally ticked up — but only by a measly 0.16%.
"At this rate, does the fishing ground need a million yuan in revenue to upgrade?"
Chen Yuan ran the numbers in his head, and his face fell. Then another thought hit him and he quickly swiped to the second panel. The shop points that had been sitting at zero now read 4,300, and he let out a small breath of relief.
His biggest fear had been that this damn system would track profit instead of revenue.
Thank god. It just needed a million in total revenue.
But a million yuan in three months.
How the hell was he supposed to pull that off?
The small pond had sixty fishing spots total. At absolute maximum capacity, that was six thousand a day, one hundred and eighty thousand a month, maybe a little over five hundred thousand in three months — still short by nearly half.
"This lousy system is trying to force me to run a night session, isn’t it."
Chen Yuan cursed under his breath.
He’d come back to the village to enjoy life, not to be worked to the bone chasing money. Hadn’t he literally set his business hours to a nine-to-five like a normal person?
Give me a break.
"Yuan! How’d it go? What do they want to eat?"
Just as Chen Yuan was stewing in his frustration, quietly smoking by himself, Tang Ying stuck her head out and hollered the moment she spotted him across the road.
It was clear Tang Ying had been anxious — this wasn’t the first time she’d poked her head out to see if he was back yet. Chen Jun and his aunt and uncle appeared right behind her, all of them staring at Chen Yuan with eager eyes.
"Big order incoming!"
Chen Yuan tossed his cigarette butt, jumped off the three-wheeler, and called out as he jogged over. "Twenty lunch boxes — all two meat, two veggie. Mr. Qin’s group wants a set menu for two hundred, and there’s a God of Wealth who wants one for three hundred."
"Old man, get moving!"
Tang Ying’s eyes lit up. Everyone was eating — this really was a big order.
"I’ll help."
His aunt fell in alongside Tang Ying.
"I’ll grab the sausages and cured pork."
Chen Jun took off at a sprint.
"I’ll handle the chicken."
Chen Kingdom grabbed a knife and, without another word, turned and headed straight for the washing basin.
All four of them had clearly been ready and waiting — they just needed Chen Yuan to come back with the numbers.