"Yes, that's right. It's basically the same situation. Nowadays, any office or public place like a school will definitely have central heating."
"Are there a lot of public facilities here? When I interviewed people before, they mentioned there was an entertainment center."
"Yes, we have an entertainment center here. It's like a teahouse. You can eat, drink tea, eat snacks, play cards, and watch TV shows and movies. They're shown there every day. It's like moving an activity that was originally held in the square indoors."
"Then I'll go over there and take a look later. So, may I ask, besides the recreation center and the school, are there any other public facilities here?"
"That's really too many." Aunt Li counted on her fingers, then talked about the public facilities. "There's a library with books you can subscribe to, and there's also a hospital Cainiao Station. No, this isn't the grain production station, it's called the supply and marketing cooperative now. There's also a coal center and a wood testing center. Anyway, the basic office facilities are all there. These are all public facilities, so they all have central heating."
"So, how does time travel feel to you? Is it good or bad?"
"For me personally, there are actually quite contradictory aspects. There are both good and bad aspects. That's all I can say."
"Auntie, can you tell me in detail?"
"Of course, don't look at me as young as I am now. I am actually quite old, so there is nothing I can't say."
"Then go ahead, Auntie. I'm listening."
"Let's talk about the bad things first. There's not much to do here. We all know that there are beautiful mountains and rivers here, but the safety and convenience are definitely not as good as before. If you get hurt, you won't be able to find a place to see a doctor. If you want to buy some souvenirs, or experience the local customs and eat some delicious food, it's impossible. Everyone knows why. We haven't reached that point yet. Don't even think about traveling abroad. If you go out, you might be plucked out of the water. So you have to be extremely careful. There is definitely no way to do this. So our activity area is basically limited to this village. You will always have the same experience when you play around, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes." The young man was only responsible for nodding. Otherwise, what else could he say? He couldn't feel this, but after listening to the other party's explanation, he felt that it made sense, so he nodded in agreement: "Auntie, please continue."
"And then there's the issue of visiting relatives during the holidays. There's no way around that anymore. We can only chat via video. Before I traveled through time, I spent my days taking care of the kids and playing mahjong. Life was so happy. I'd practice Tai Chi in the morning and square dance in the evening. It was a carefree life, and I had so many good friends. Now, you see, I have to make new friends. Many of the friends I've built up over the past few decades are gone."
"It doesn't matter to the children now, but when they grow up they'll understand how annoying it is not being able to go out and play. This is indeed a huge restriction, but there's no other way at the moment. We can only maintain this for the time being."
"And more."
"There are so many more. Online shopping is convenient, but it's definitely not as convenient as ordering in person and choosing everything. Returning items here isn't as easy either, after all, there's a time lag. More importantly, there's no shopping. If you wanted to go shopping with your girlfriends, that's simply out of the question. And there's no going to the park or a restaurant for morning tea and chanting sutras."
"You spend your whole life planning for retirement and traveling around to have fun, and that's the easiest life, right? But now, aren't those opportunities gone?"
Aunt Li sighed at this point. Her happiness before her time travel was incredibly high. Not only did she have a generous pension, but her children were also very filial, giving her a generous monthly allowance. She also had a carefree life, with elderly sisters by her side, and good health. She could travel wherever she pleased. This life was like a paradise. Compared to the hardships they endured as children, the gap now was truly enormous.
To be honest, even a god wouldn't want to change his life like that, but who knew... that community would suddenly... travel through time?
The young man asked again: "Now that we have discussed some of the regrets, let's talk about the things you think are really good. I believe everyone is very interested in this."
"That's really too much." Aunt Li clapped her hands happily and said cheerfully, "First and foremost, I think everyone can guess that it's getting younger. That's really not an easy thing to do."
"Although I feel a little awkward leaving that world, being younger is incredibly exciting, especially for old people like us. Being able to return to our youth, with extra money and good health, isn't that more important than anything else?"
The young man nodded frantically. Not to mention the elderly, even people of his age felt that this was indeed a super good thing: "That's right, this is really enviable. Otherwise, how can you say that you are a very lucky person, Auntie?"
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