Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1174 Lu Garden and Lu Academy

Xiaowei's mother said, "That's right. In the past, we had nothing. We had to save up and wait for everything. If we had anything good, we would hang it up for the kids or hide it away. Who would be willing to spend it?"

"Traveling? Even going to the city takes days of deliberation, to see if it's absolutely necessary. It's a lifelong habit, you get used to it. Your dad isn't stupid. Doesn't he want to eat and drink well, have money to spend? Doesn't he want to take advantage of his mobility to travel and see the world?"

Xia Maosheng stared at Xiaowei's mother blinking for a long time, while Beibei waved her little hand, "Daddy Xia, are you stupid?"

Xia Maosheng said, "I feel that what you said makes a lot of sense, Auntie. I had never thought of it that way. I've been afraid of my dad since I was a child, and I'm used to it."

Geng Hui said, "I'll talk to them tomorrow. We don't need to ask if they agree or not, just let them know. We'll leave the day after tomorrow and come back on the seventh day of the new year."

Xiao Hong wiped Bei Bei's mouth, and Bei Bei pouted, enjoying being pampered. She glanced at Xia Maosheng and said, "Then you'd better confirm the number of people and book the plane tickets by tomorrow during the day, lest you run out of time."

Xia Maosheng said, "Okay, I'll go to the airport as soon as I get up tomorrow. I'll get my ID card, and what else do I need?"

Xiao Wei said, "An ID card is fine, or a household registration booklet is also acceptable."

Chen Hui said, "Have you decided where you want to go? Hainan has two airports, Dayingshan and Fenghuang. Dayingshan is in Haikou, and Fenghuang is in Sanya. Which one are you going to?"

Xia Maosheng was taken aback for a moment and said, "There's an airport? I thought we had to fly to Yangcheng and then take a boat. Then we'll go to Sanya, and that's where we'll set up our place."

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Okay. Do you have enough money on you? Bring extra just in case we don't have enough."

Xia Maosheng subconsciously touched his clothes and said, "Then give me some, I only have a few thousand yuan on me."

Geng Hui glanced at Xia Maosheng: "Why are you carrying so much on you?"

Xia Maosheng said, "It's for backup. Sometimes when the leaders need it, it's to cover the cost of things the government buys. We're too low-ranking now, but when we're promoted, we'll be like Uncle Wang, where we won't need to carry a single penny."

Uncle Wang chuckled a few times; he really didn't have any money on him. It was useless.

Chen Hui said, "I have over ten thousand yuan in my bag, is that enough?"

Xiao Wei said, "I'll take it. Carrying tens of thousands on me is too much trouble if it's not enough. If only it were like what Xiao Hui said, where you can just carry a card and withdraw cash anywhere, that would be great. I guess the tourism industry would boom then, and large wholesale markets would thrive too. Carrying cash right now is just too restrictive."

Geng Hui said, "Now, many people are afraid of bringing too much and it's not safe, so they bring less and then send money through the post office after arriving at their destination. It's that safe, it's just slow."

Chen Xiao said, "That's terrible! It'll take a week to get the money. By then, it'll be too late."

Xiao Wei said, "Actually, I think it would be nice to take a boat from here. Drifting across the sea, the feeling would definitely be different."

Uncle Wang said, "Then we have to go to Beihai first. Beihai has quite a few attractions, which is worth a visit. It's right next to Haikou."

Xia Maosheng asked, "Uncle, have you been there?"

Uncle Wang said, "It turns out it was a government-sponsored trip, so I just took a stroll around."

Aunt Wang pouted and said, "They've been to so many places, all over the country, and they're so proud of themselves, but they've never mentioned taking me and the kids with them."

Xiao Hong said, "That's right. The farthest she's ever taken me is Garden Mountain, and that's only a handful of times since I was little. I've never even been to a children's amusement park."

Beibei's eyes lit up: "Mommy, where is Erdong Paradise? Mommy. Mommy, I want to go to Mommy's."

Xiao Hong turned to Xiao Wei and asked, "Are there any children's playgrounds in Fengtian?"

Chen Hui said, "No, there's only Lu Xun Children's Park, but that's long since become a garbage dump. They built a labor market there, which has ruined the entire area, including the children's park. People are doing all sorts of things there, from defecating to urinating, and they've demolished all the sculptures and buildings. It's better not to go there."

Xiao Hong turned to Bei Bei and said, "No, what should we do?"

Beibei blinked: "Then, Mom, where is that thing you were talking about earlier?"

Xiaohong said, "It's in Beixi, which is far from here, not even in the same city anymore. It's the place we used to live in. And it's not fun there, not as fun as the zoo. Don't zoos have play areas for kids? You went to all those places, have you forgotten?"

Beibei shook her head: "I haven't forgotten. We can go again when the tree grows leaves."

Xiao Hong said to Xiao Wei, "Couldn't we add a special play area for children in the Hunhe River park?"

Xiao Wei said, "Sure, is there a fee? Our kindergarten usually has everything, including places to play. We don't have time to set it up now, we can talk about it later."

Chen Hui said, "The Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts moved here later. It was originally in Yan'an, then moved to Heilongjiang, and eventually settled in Fengtian. As for the name Lu Xun, it's just because Lu Xun is famous; it doesn't have any real connection. There's also a Lu Xun Academy in Beijing, which is for writing."

Uncle Wang said, "I know that. It was renamed in the 1980s. It used to be called the Writers' Association Training Base or something. I had a comrade-in-arms who studied there. It had nothing to do with Lu Xun."

Chen Hui laughed and said, "That's not even as good as Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts. At least it was founded around the same time, more than 30 years ago."

One day, a cold wind blew in, and everyone turned to look. Xiao Wei's dad walked in, holding a hat: "Eating now? What are we eating today? I'm hungry."

Xiao Wei's mother said, "How come you don't starve to death? Look at the time! Don't you have a phone at home, or have you lost your appetite?"

Xiao Wei's dad changed his shoes, arranged his bag and hat, and came over. Bei Bei waved her chopsticks and said, "Grandpa."

Uncle Wang nudged to the side: "Here, have a warm drink. Where have you been?"

Xiao Wei's dad said, "We went far today. My eldest son and I went to Tiexi. Wow, I didn't know until I saw it. It's so much worse there than here. Those guys are so poor. I can't even imagine living in that kind of house. It's so tough for them."

Xiao Wei said, "Dad, you didn't go out of town to Yu Hong, did you?"

Xiao Wei's dad popped a dumpling into his mouth, took a sip of wine, and shook his head: "No, but we're on the outskirts of town now. It's all big, flat houses, all dark and gloomy, just like our old county town. Most of the factories there have shut down and gone bankrupt, and people can't find work; life is too tiring."

Xiaowei's mother said, "Are you planning to give them some financial assistance?"

Xiaowei's dad said, "Why would I offer any relief? I just felt sorry for them, seeing how difficult it is. Xiaowei, you can try to find workers over there. It doesn't matter where you hire them, they're really struggling there."

Xiao Wei said, "They're building that square to recruit people there. Zhang Shi was already recruiting in Tiexi."

(End of this chapter)