Chapter 35 Children's Playground
It's summer vacation, and where to go for children becomes a problem. Older children can still attend tutoring classes, but younger ones can't sit still. Furthermore, with the current policy of reducing both education and training costs, all publicly available tutoring classes have closed. In smaller cities, the competition is less intense, and most parents are more relaxed, figuring it's okay if they don't want to attend tutoring! But children can't be without a place to play! Otherwise, they'll either be making a fuss at home or running around, causing their parents no peace of mind.
Aunt Liu is such a lady who is tripped by her children and cannot get away, but she is not the children's mother, but the children's grandmother. What's more terrible is that she has to take care of the four children in her two sons' families, from four to seven years old, the most hated age. The noise gives her a headache. Aunt Liu wakes up every day to face these four children, and the first thought in her mind is why am I not dead yet.
One day, a neighbor took her child out and saw her looking haggard. She said to her, "She's making a fuss at home, and I'm worried about her outside. Why don't you take her to the park? Once she's burned off some energy, she won't bother you so much at night."
Aunt Liu sighed. "Where are the good parks in the old city?"
Aunt Liu had taken her children to a children's playground in the square before. It was a very small inflatable foam pool with some inflatable slides and electric dinosaurs in the middle. It cost 57 yuan to enter. The old lady was used to being frugal, and she didn't think there was anything fun to do in the inflatable playground, so she didn't take her children there.
A neighbor exclaimed in surprise, "That Fantasy Park on Taoyuan Street! It's been open for about two weeks now, and it's been getting rave reviews! Old men, young men, and young women all love to go." She held the little girl's hand as she locked the door and said, "The children's area at Fantasy Park opened today, and the ticket price is half off. You see, it's not easy for four children. The older one is playing with his phone all day! That's not good. If they're nearsighted at such a young age, they'll develop it later. Sending them to the park gives you some peace of mind."
Aunt Liu was moved by what she said, but she was a little hesitant. "From what you said, it seems like it's a big park! Will there be any dangerous facilities?"
The neighbor waved his hand. "Don't worry! That's high-tech, it's even on TV. I saw the park's promotion said there were 32 staff members on standby in the children's area. Where else can you find a park with that many staff members just for the children's area?"
Aunt Liu has no time for herself because she has to take care of the children, let alone watch TV. She didn't even know when a fantasy park opened nearby. When she heard that there were 32 employees, she was very excited. This is more than the number of people in those nurseries. She nodded, packed up her things with the children, and went to the fantasy park.
Because they left quite late, when Aunt Liu and her child got off the bus, they noticed a long line at the entrance of the park. She squinted her eyes and looked over again, becoming more and more surprised. "Why are there so many people in this park?"
"Grandma, I want to eat that!"
The children were unaware of the hardships of adults, and their attention was completely attracted by the row of snack carts next to the park.
Aunt Liu hurriedly said, "The street stalls are not clean. Be good, let's go to the park. There are better foods in the park."
The children made a fuss for a while, and were then pulled by Aunt Liu to line up, staring at the snack cart with one eye.
At this moment, Aunt Liu suddenly heard a gentle voice coming from beside her, "You are here with your child, you can use the children's passage next to you."
Aunt Liu turned her head and her eyes lit up. Wow, this girl is so beautiful, her skin is so tender that she doesn't know how to describe it. The four noisy kids around her stopped making noise when they saw this beautiful sister, and hid behind Aunt Liu shyly, but still secretly looked at her with their eyes.
Under Chi Xiaozhen's guidance, Aunt Liu found the children's passage next to it. It was actually not far away, just on the left side of the long queue, and there were fewer people in line.
As soon as Aunt Liu stood still with the children, several people came over and asked if they could borrow two of their children.
Aunt Liu was stunned for a moment, and before she could come to her senses, a ticket seller shouted, "Those without children, please line up in an orderly manner. Our machines are very smart. Children who use other people's children to go through the children's channel will be identified." The ticket seller repeated the call several times with a loud speaker, and those people walked away in disappointment.
"This park is doing really good business!"
Aunt Liu sighed.
At this time, a tourist holding a child in front of him said, "That's right. Taoyuan Street used to be very deserted. Only the night market was a little lively. There were few people during the day. Ever since the Fantasy Park opened, there have been more and more stalls nearby."
Parents with children are particularly good at chatting. While waiting in line, they talked about the changes in the neighborhood. "Ten years ago, my family was tricked by a real estate agent into buying a store across from Taoyuan Street. After all these years, we couldn't rent it out, and we had few customers when we ran our own business. It's been closed and gathering dust for years. Not long after Fantasy Park opened, someone came to ask if I wanted to sell the store. I hesitated for a few days, and then Fantasy Park suddenly became popular. Many tourists came, and people from other places rushed to come. Now the rent has increased several times, and people are still scrambling to rent it!"
"This area has been getting busier and busier lately. My neighbor works for the city government, and she said they're going to add two more bus lines, both going to Taoyuan Street, and even open a special 'Fantasy Park Station'!"
Aunt Liu usually walks around the old city and seldom comes to Taoyuan Street. Now after hearing what they said and seeing that the park is indeed very lively, she can't help but feel excited and no longer feels bad about the ticket price.
There are a lot of people in the park, but those with children don’t have to worry, because there is a children’s passage separated by a fence, and there are staff on hand to maintain order. You don’t have to worry about being squeezed or bumped into other tourists when you take your children through the special passage.
There is also a broadcast overhead that keeps reminding tourists of the following:
Parents with children, please note: The children's area currently features a maternity room, children's restrooms, a children's clinic, and a children's swimming area. Emergency supplies of formula, diapers, and high chairs are available in the maternity room, all of which require coins. The maternity rooms are divided into gender-specific sections. Fathers with children are advised not to use the women's maternity area. The children's restrooms are also gender-separated. If you experience any inconvenience, please consult staff. Please do not bring boys into the girls' restroom.
Aunt Liu is not very educated, but she has spent a long time taking care of children. Even though the four children are no longer babies, there are still inconveniences when taking them outside. Now when she heard this on the broadcast, she nodded in her heart, thinking that this park was well arranged.
The children's area is behind the purple lake, and the children's special passage also passes through the purple lake. During this period, many parents and children were attracted by the purple lake, but most people were more interested in the newly opened children's area.
Aunt Liu originally thought that the children's area would just be some inflatable castles, slides, carousels and the like, but when she got there and saw what they were like, she was surprised.
Other tourists also expressed their admiration, some loud and some low, because this children's area was truly as beautiful as a fairy tale.
The children were not the only ones who were fascinated by the sight. The gate was entwined with vines, and on it bloomed a riot of colourful, unknown flowers, yet there was no sign of artificial carving. Beauties dressed in leaf costumes and wearing flower crowns were scattered throughout the children's area. Some held clay basins, from which clear spring water gurgled, pouring into the children's swimming pool surrounded by pebbles. The water shone with a shredded light, but today was a cloudy day, and the light was neither the phosphorescence of sunlight nor the glaring artificial light; it was quite pleasant to look at. Some were sitting on swings woven from vines, weaving garlands. Every After she finished weaving a garland, the vines nearby would quickly sprout branches and flowers for her to use. The flowers were varieties she had never seen before, as translucent as if carved from crystal. Some people sat cross-legged together under a large tree, beating small drums and singing ballads so beautiful that crying children miraculously fell asleep with happy smiles on their faces when the singing drifted in. Others sat under pink and purple blossoms, rubbing fallen petals into little elves with flapping wings. The elves flew around the children, leaving them stunned and amused...
Chi Xiaozhen, who had earlier guided Aunt Liu to buy her tickets, was also there. She smiled and said to the parents who were frozen in place, "This is a new technology our park has developed. These leaf-adorned beauties in the children's area are created using real people combined with holographic technology. You're welcome to interact with them, but please be polite."
Aunt Liu was confused as she listened. Old people don’t absorb new things as quickly as young people. After entering the park, her head was full of holograms, but she still didn’t understand what holograms were!
But the tourists around accepted all this as a matter of course and started talking about it.
"So it's a hologram! No wonder it's so beautiful and strange. I thought I'd traveled through time, hahaha!"
"It's so beautiful! I need to take a picture and post it on WeChat Moments!"
Some parents even forgot about their children and were only focused on marveling at the sights. After all, there are supposedly 32 staff members here, and they only saw a few! There's plenty to see further down the road!
…
Unsurprisingly, the newly opened children's area of Fantasy Park has become a hot topic again.
The cloud tourists were screaming with excitement, even more excited than when they first learned that holograms were real.
"Oh my god, oh my god, I don't know how to describe it anymore! I can only roar, "Everyone, go to Fantasy Land! Go! It's definitely worth it!"
"I cried, I cried. I just thought I was dreaming. Although I knew the children's area of Fantasy Park would be good, I never thought it would be so good. As a Jinan person, I am really proud!"
"After entering the children's area, I started to regret growing up so fast. Is there any high-tech way to turn me into a child? I'm waiting online and it's urgent."
"Everything in the children's area is so dreamy. The leaf-adorned beauties smell so good, the special effects smell so good, and the elves smell so good..."
"Hello everyone, Xiao Zhou is here again today to bring you the latest news from the Fantasy Park. Although Xiao Zhou isn't married yet, he borrowed a child from his aunt's house so he could explore the children's area first. Once you're in the children's area, don't be too fussy. First, go to the center of the area and find the tree spirit who can make little elves out of flower petals. These elves will follow you around the entire time. Yes, you guessed it right, those little elves with little wings and princess dresses—so adorable. Attached are a few photos. Next, find the tree spirit sitting on the swing making garlands. Her garlands are limited edition, and only the first fifty people each day get one... Once you've got your garlands and your little elves, you can play freely. We can go under the trees and listen to the tree spirits play music, have them push us on the swings, or have them carry us down the slide... Please don't ask if the tree spirits can carry a 100-pound child; as of now, these services are only available to children under 14."
"The service in the children's area of Fantasy Park is really good. My child has had poor health since childhood, and he almost choked in the water while in the swimming area. The staff immediately sent him to the children's clinic. The children's clinic was also greeted by a beautiful doctor dressed in a leaf. I don't know how he did it, but his technique was different from other doctors, but it was effective. My child suddenly became full of energy."
"Oh my God, I can't help it. I want to take a plane to go to Fantasyland..."
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