After saying goodbye to Mr. Qin, Chen Yuan headed back home — he still hadn’t eaten breakfast.
He’d barely stepped through the gate when he spotted his uncle at the washing basin, slaughtering a chicken.
"Uncle, what are you doing?"
Chen Yuan walked over.
"Your dad called and said one of your classmates was coming to show support, and he was worried they’d get held up in the city, so he asked me to help get some food ready. I figured there’s not much to work with out here in the village, so I decided to kill a chicken."
Chen Kingdom kept plucking feathers, glancing toward the car parked outside the gate. "Your classmate’s already here?"
"Yeah, came with his grandfather." Chen Yuan nodded.
"Two people? Then we’ll need a couple more dishes."
That was just the way village folk were — warm and hospitable to a fault, always worried about leaving guests feeling unwelcome, especially since this was Chen Yuan’s classmate who’d made the trip specifically to support the fishing pond.
Chen Yuan almost said it wasn’t necessary, but he thought better of it. Qin Fen could get by with simple home cooking just fine, but Mr. Qin was another matter.
"Uncle, sorry to trouble you. I’ll grab some tea and bring it out to them after I eat."
Chen Yuan pulled out a cigarette and was about to light up.
"What are you apologizing for, kid? Go handle your business. And remember to grab two straw hats — it’s scorching out there in summer. City folks won’t last long without them."
Chen Kingdom waved him off and got back to the chicken.
Chen Yuan didn’t bother with formalities. He checked the kitchen and found his mom had left a pot of rice porridge and some eggs.
After eating, he washed up the dishes, boiled a kettle of water, filled a thermos, grabbed two disposable paper cups, and plucked two straw hats off the hook on his way out.
"Uncle, I’m heading to the pond."
"Go on."
Chen Kingdom was already elbow-deep in the gutting.
When Chen Yuan arrived at the pond, Mr. Qin was seated at his fishing spot without a care, looking so intensely focused that Chen Yuan almost hated to interrupt. He made a mental note to bring out a couple of small stools.
Qin Fen was doing a decent job of it too — he was in the middle of switching out his bait.
"Mr. Qin, put this on — it’s way too hot out here." Chen Yuan smiled and held out one of the straw hats.
"Thanks, Chen."
Mr. Qin looked a little surprised, then smiled and took the hat, setting it on his head. It did make things noticeably cooler.
"What kind of tea would you like, Mr. Qin? The water’s fresh off the boil."
Chen Yuan set down a paper cup and started to prepare some tea.
"Don’t go to all that trouble, Chen. Plain water’s fine — just leave it there, we’ll pour our own when we’re thirsty." Mr. Qin waved his hands as Chen Yuan started pouring.
"It’s still pretty hot right now, so I’ll pour a cup to cool down. Help yourself whenever you’re ready, Mr. Qin." Chen Yuan said with a smile.
He then carried a cup over and set it next to Qin Fen, sliding the other straw hat over to him as well.
"Oh, I get the VIP treatment too? Nice service, man." Qin Fen grinned.
"Good service is non-negotiable."
Chen Yuan crouched down nearby, lit a Hua, and asked, "So? Caught anything yet?"
"I’m here for the Fish King. The Little Kalamis aren’t even worth my time."
Qin Fen blew on his water and took a small sip, then tilted his head in Mr. Qin’s direction. "My grandpa caught two, but he threw them back for you."
"Why would he throw them back? There’s plenty of fish in this pond."
With the system shop at his disposal, Chen Yuan had no shortage of confidence. People could fish and take home whatever they caught — he wouldn’t bat an eye.
"That’s exactly the problem. There are so many of them they’re just getting in the way of the Fish King."
Qin Fen set down his cup, fished out a lighter, and clicked it with a snap. He took a long, satisfied drag. "Bro, if you could figure out how to get all those Little Kalamis to take a nap for a bit and let the Fish King come out for a swim, that’d be perfect."
"Easy. I’ll sort it out this afternoon."
That made Qin Fen roll his eyes.
Look at him, agreeing to everything without missing a beat.
Chen Yuan found it funny. You were the one begging to control the Fish King yourself, and now that he agreed, you don’t even believe him.
Sure, blame me.
"Alright, but real talk — this fishing spot of yours is pretty bare-bones," Qin Fen said.
He smoked and pointed across at the embankment. "The road side isn’t bad — cement, plenty of space. But those field ridges over there are a problem. Muddy ground gets slippery when it’s wet. If someone actually hooks the Fish King over there, they could easily end up in the water. You need to do something about that."
Chen Yuan nodded. "Any other suggestions?"
"Plenty."
Qin Fen warmed to the topic, pointing up at the sky. "Look at this sun — it’s brutal. A straw hat only goes so far. You should get some of those big patio umbrellas."
"And in summer, the mosquitoes near the water are insane. Get some bug repellent going."
"You also need gear rentals — rods, lines, bait, all of it. You’ve got a hundred-pound Fish King in this pond, so people are going to be snapping lines and breaking rods left and right."
"And your operating hours could be a lot more flexible."
"Like, in summer, early morning and evening are the cool parts of the day — serious anglers all want to fish at dawn or do night sessions. You could open earlier and add an evening or night slot."
"In winter, early morning and evening are too cold and nobody wants to crawl out of bed, so nine-to-five works fine then."
Qin Fen rattled all that off rapid-fire — most of it probably picked up from tagging along with Mr. Qin to other fishing spots over the years.
Some of it was genuinely useful, and Chen Yuan listened carefully, filing it all away.
The nine-to-five hours, though — that he wasn’t looking to change. At least not anytime soon.
"Alright, I’ve got all of that. I’m going to head back and help with lunch. Come eat at my place at noon — if the heat gets to you, come inside and cool off."
Chen Yuan checked the time, stood up, brushed off his backside, and started heading back.
Qin Fen was hardly going to turn that down.
The midday sun was merciless. Chen Yuan half-jogged back home and was just reaching the gate when his parents pulled up on their three-wheeler.
"Your uncle called and said your classmate came with his grandfather?"
Chen Jun parked the three-wheeler and asked about the situation at the pond.
"Yeah, just the two of them."
Chen Yuan spotted several cases of beer in the back of the three-wheeler, along with two cases of bottled water and cola. He grabbed them and carried everything inside.
"I picked up some braised meat from the deli. We’ll call your classmate and his grandpa over to eat. Oh, and I got you some chicken feet — boneless."
Tang Ying set down her bags, peeled one open to show him, eyes squinting into a big smile, the crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes deepening.
"Oh, now we’re talking. Thanks, Mom."
Chen Yuan glanced over and couldn’t help grabbing one and popping it in his mouth.
He was a sucker for these things, especially the garlic-flavored ones. One after another on a summer day, knocked back with a couple of cold beers — didn’t get much better than that.
"Don’t ’thanks Mom’ me. If you really want to thank me, bring home a wife."
Tang Ying still had all that village gossip fresh on her mind.
Chen Yuan quietly slipped inside, leaving the kitchen to his parents and his uncle, who was already lending a hand.
He pulled out his phone and scrolled through it. Not a single new WeChat friend request. But he wasn’t worried — he’d added over a dozen anglers yesterday. He’d make a group chat soon and pull them all in.
Once he got the Fish King to take the bait this afternoon, he’d post the live footage of Mr. Qin’s Battle Fish King in real time. Those fishing fanatics wouldn’t be able to sit still after seeing that.
"Come on, don’t go — stay and eat with us."
"Nah, it’s not like there’s nobody home. Your sister-in-law’s cooking."
Outside, his dad and his uncle were going back and forth.
Now that Chen Jun and Tang Ying were back, the uncle figured it was time to head home — after all, the youngest brother’s family had guests.
"Uncle, let me go get Auntie."
Chen Yuan dashed out, and together with his dad they pulled the uncle toward the main room. Then Chen Yuan slipped away, flip-flops slapping against the ground as he trotted off toward his uncle’s house.
Tang Ying came out of the kitchen untying her apron, caught a glimpse of Chen Yuan disappearing at full speed, smiled to herself, and tied the apron back on as she returned to the kitchen.
His uncle’s place was just a short walk behind theirs.
"Auntie! Auntie!"
Chen Yuan headed straight for the kitchen out back and found Lin Cuiju already crouching down, about to start a fire in the stove.
"Auntie, don’t bother cooking — you’re eating with us today."
Chen Yuan stepped forward, snuffed out the kindling in the stove, and took Lin Cuiju by the arm, steering her out before she could get a word in. She couldn’t win against him, so she gave in and went along.
Once they got to Chen Yuan’s place, she went straight to the kitchen to help out.
Not long after, Tang Ying poked her head out and called over.
"Yuan, food’s ready — why don’t you go get your classmate?"
"On it!"
Chen Yuan bolted off toward the pond.