"It’s just that these days they’re planning to catch fish to sell from their pond. Minmin, why don’t you and Ling Qi take your parents there to hang out?"

"We have a guesthouse at home, I’ll book two rooms for you all. There’s a place to stay, and it won’t cost you anything to go have fun."

The elder aunt had a plan in mind; things at Tan Tan’s house are so expensive anyway, she wasn’t about to push people to buy anything. For now, she just mentioned eating, drinking, and accommodation.

Yet she couldn’t help but feel a pang of distress: Once they get there, who could resist buying something?

This money definitely shouldn’t be coming from them; Ling Qi ought to cover it.

Oh dear, just the thought of it made her heart ache again.

But luckily, the heatstroke was genuinely gone, so she wasn’t suffering terribly; she just bit into a bun, thinking of her future daughter-in-law, and gritted her teeth to endure it.

Yet her expression of strong, suppressed pain was seen by both Minmin and Minmin’s mother.

And thus, somehow, the bad mood Minmin’s mother had been in all morning seemed to dissipate!

Looking again at Zhu Lingqi, who although frugal was very hardworking and won the family’s unanimous praise, she now found him more pleasing to the eye. She then said with a smile:

"Alright, going there for fun is not a bad idea... When should we go? Tomorrow?"

Zhu Lingqi, having received the directive, enthusiastically planned:

"Tomorrow! I’ll work today, and tomorrow morning we’ll set off bright and early. But it’s hot now; the villagers stop working after nine. If we want to enjoy it fully, we need to get up real early—"

...

At the elder aunt’s house, meticulous arrangements had been made, and on this side, Song Tan, after seeing off Brother Xiaozhang, also received the news and mentioned to Boss Chang: "Tomorrow I’ll get some fish from the pond for you first."

Currently, there are three ponds at home, one every day in rotation, whereas the river ones aren’t as urgent.

Boss Chang was already fully prepared—

Including, but not limited to, getting the news the previous day and informing the employees to have a meeting, followed by all the client managers messaging every client they could contact.

Small programs, public accounts, various links were arranged.

Local articles—well, local articles didn’t need money to gain attention.

In short, many members woke up to find that Changleju was hosting an exclusive fish feast!

Of course, in their usual style, this whole fish feast wasn’t called a whole fish feast; it was named—

[Pondside Fun, Inviting You to Enjoy Together]

Only details were provided below.

The members, mostly from Shan City with considerable assets or willing to lavish on gourmet experiences, now stared at their phones repeatedly—

Oh my goodness!

That penny-pinching Chang Letian with his scarcity tactics has changed!

There’s something about some pond—oh, it’s a mouthful! It’s this whole fish feast!

Is this the same fish that before you had to snag as if it were a limited edition? Has Old Chang gone mad?

Everyone murmured and speculated:

With a move like this, is Chang Letian looking for a big haul and then planning to run off?

Otherwise, why such extravagance?

Previously, even getting a side of greens was limited, a simple tomato scrambled egg was limited, a salted duck egg nearly needed a reservation... and now they announce a whole fish feast all at once?

While spiritedly discussing, everyone unhesitatingly hit the reservation button.

What? You say the deposit for ordinary members joining the whole fish feast is 1999?

Kidding, they’re already members and not willing to shell out now, why save up money at all!

Watching the reservation numbers climbing, the client manager finally began to worry:

"Boss, perhaps we should set tiered levels? Limit the number for ordinary VIPs, otherwise at this rate, we won’t be able to meet demand."

Old Chang was rarely this bold, emboldened by Song Tan’s assurance, and was initially about to wave it off and generously ride the wave.

But then suddenly thought—

Lao Song’s family only intended to reduce the fish in the ponds by half or so, not sell them all!

Plus, the river fish.

Despite the large area, if they weren’t caught in a day, it technically wasn’t really his yet.

After pondering this, he quickly changed his tune: "Limit them! Limit them! Let’s discuss the specific VIP quotas!"

Since a meeting was to be held, Master Qian along with the chefs from the kitchen marched aggressively over:

"We can’t treat good ingredients like this!"

"Exactly! While the whole fish feast can be showy and lucrative, what about next time?"

"Slow and steady is the way to go. With this whole fish feast, everyone would eat like pigs rooting around and wouldn’t savor the flavor. How could they appreciate the taste?"

Boss Chang immediately struggled to defend: "It’s not that I don’t want to sell them one by one, but can you raise them well enough?!"

He tried; the fish, with Lao Song’s water and aerators, large tanks prepared, wouldn’t die there.

But after two days, the flavor would lose a level.

After two more, another level down.

In the end, not only did the taste change, but the weight decreased. Who would listen to his reasoning?

If it weren’t for this, why would he make such a big fuss! 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Master Qian also had experience raising fish in the kitchen and felt a bit guilty now, shrinking back with guilt.

After pausing, he added: "Our river fish have tiny bones, rushing to eat isn’t good, they might choke on the bones. How about coming up with a way to slow their eating, then?"

Before he could finish, Boss Chang’s resentful gaze trailed over—

He’s been so busy he hasn’t had time for these small details, right?

Master Qian immediately fell silent, leading the group back down in a huff.

Until someone in the kitchen carefully asked:

"If there are so many fish, would the boss allow us to buy a few to take home?"

"I eat well here daily, but the elders, kids, and wives at home haven’t tasted the good stuff properly yet."

With these words, Master Qian regained his confidence:

Right, since there are so many fish, surely allowing each chef to have a quota of ten fish would be feasible, right?