I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

There was a dazzling array of items, row upon row, but each item required an additional fee.

Places like this are outsourced projects of amusement parks. They rent out their spare space, and the owners who rent the space use the popularity of the amusement park to run their own projects and make money. It's a lease relationship with the amusement park.

"What is this for?"

"Just for fun."

How do you play?

"It depends on what you want to play. For example, this one is about shooting balloons with a gun. Look over there, there's a sign explaining how to play."

Chen Shuo pointed to a nearby shop with a small sign outside that listed the game rules.

Ten dollars for ten bullets.

You can win rewards by popping a certain number of balloons. The rewards range from low to high, and they are all plush toys. The more balloons you pop, the bigger the plush toy you get.

Want to play?

"No, I don't know how to shoot."

"You can buy ten yuan's worth to try; the important thing is to participate."

"Then I won't play either."

Bai Xiaoqi glanced at the prizes in the store. Although she was quite envious, she didn't know how to play the game, so she knew she wouldn't win any prizes and would just waste her money.

"Let's not play anymore, let's go look around somewhere else... Hey, look, there's one of those hammer swingers up ahead, let's go check it out."

The hammer Chen Shuo was talking about was one of those strongman machines where you take a rubber mallet and smash it against a force-bearing device underneath; the harder you hit, the higher your score.

But the vendors here are a bit cunning. Instead of using a points system, they hung a weight-like object on the rising pillar, with a row of small balloons on top. If you hit it hard, the weight would rise higher and higher, and the force of the rapid ascent would pop the balloons on top.

The more you destroy, the more rewards you get.

As usual, there was a sign next to it explaining the game rules.

1. Pop five balloons to receive a small toy worth fifty.

2. Pop ten balloons to receive a life-size doll worth 500.

3. Pop all the balloons and you'll win a cell phone worth 5,000 yuan.

cell phone?

Chen Shuo had an idea and turned his head to ask in a low voice, "Why don't you go play this? Look at the rules of the game over there. If you pop all the balloons, you can get a cell phone to take home. You can use it."

“I have a cell phone.”

“Your phone is an old model from several years ago, the one I used before. This phone is new, a brand-name phone, and worth five thousand yuan.”

"How do we play?"

"Just smash it with a hammer."

"If you pop all the balloons, the phone will be mine?"

“Yes, it’s yours.” Chen Shuo laughed. “Let’s see how strong you are.”

Bai Xiaoqi clenched her little fist. "I'm very strong."

"I know you're strong, so try your best to win that phone later."

"Yes!" She nodded emphatically.

Chen Shuo pulled her over, where a crowd had already gathered. It seemed that the phone was indeed very attractive. They lined up one by one to try, but few had good results. Most of them only managed to pop two or three balloons, and some couldn't even pop a single one.

The climbing pole was quite long, about two meters high. The first meter was empty, and the remaining meter was fixed with a row of balloons. Chen Shuo roughly counted them; there were eighteen.

Most young people nowadays don't exercise much, suffer from severe sub-health, haven't done any heavy work, and don't know any power generation techniques.

When the weight was raised to one meter, it had already lost its strength and was at its limit. The eighteen balloons above it were also providing resistance, making it impossible to break all the balloons with a single blow.

It was the turn of a rather burly man, tall and strong, with his girlfriend standing next to him. He said he wanted the life-size doll.

The man confidently declared that with his size, he could win the phone from the phone. However, his first attempt was unsuccessful, only managing to pop two balloons. He then paid another thirty yuan to try again, this time popping seven balloons. The man then paid again and swung the hammer a third time, popping four more.

I spent ninety yuan and only won a small toy. My girlfriend was fuming with the toy. What a load of bull!

Chen Shuo and Bai Xiaoqi didn't rush forward. The shop owner chuckled as he inflated the balloons and hung them back up. Turning around, he noticed the two of them and habitually asked, "Handsome, want to play?"

"If we pop all the balloons on this, will we really be able to give away a cell phone?" Chen Shuo asked.

The boss turned around and glanced at the gift boxes containing cell phones on the table. He almost burst out laughing. These cell phones had been sitting there for more than three months, and he hadn't given away a single one. Not to mention cell phones, he had only given away one life-size doll, a burly man who looked to be over two meters tall and had an intimidating presence.

He smashed fourteen balloons with a hammer, setting a new record for his shop. But after that, the man's photo spread throughout the industry, and he was blacklisted by all his peers.

"Yes, as long as you destroy them all, the phone is yours."

"Okay, let's play once."

Chen Shuo readily scanned the code to pay, then patted Bai Xiaoqi on the shoulder, "Go ahead, it's up to you now."

The shop owner stared wide-eyed in surprise, as did the people in line around him. Some asked incredulously, "You weren't playing?"

"I don't play, but my girlfriend wants to give it a try."

The boss almost burst out laughing this time. Look at Bai Xiaoqi, how much strength could such a delicate little girl have? And she came up to ask if it was really a free phone.

He waved his hand generously, "Beautiful lady, if you can pop all the balloons, I'll give you two cell phones."

"Really?"

"it is true."

Among the crowd queuing behind, some nosy individuals were egging them on, saying, "If I were the boss, I'd give you three of these."

"If I were the boss, I'd give away four of them."

"I'll give you five."

A group of people joined in the commotion, and the boss was all smiles.

Bai Xiaoqi knew she was being underestimated. She turned to look at Chen Shuo, then lifted the brim of her baseball cap, rolled up her sleeves, raised the rubber sledgehammer high above her head, took a deep breath, and slammed it down on the load-bearing device with all her might.

The next instant was followed by a series of crisp sounds, "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

Everyone who was laughing froze. The boss stared wide-eyed at the weight rapidly rising with a series of thumping sounds.

Then, to everyone's stunned gaze, all the balloons were popped, and the iron bell at the very top was struck. The sound was not loud, but it seemed to strike the hearts of everyone.

Time seemed to stand still, and two words flashed through everyone's minds simultaneously—Holy crap?!

The boss pinched his thigh hard, and the phones were gone—two of them, no less!

Chapter 203 Just a fart

With so many people watching, the boss couldn't renege on his debt even if he wanted to, and reluctantly handed over the two gift boxes containing cell phones with a long face.

"Thank you, boss!"

"No...you're welcome." The boss forced a smile that looked more like a grimace. He'd been hunting geese all day, only to be pecked in the eye by one himself. Today, he'd run into someone with cheat codes.

This time I've really messed up. Most of my work, no, a whole month of it, was for nothing. The dumplings weren't dumplings, and the glutinous rice balls weren't glutinous rice balls. It was all a complete waste of time.

Bai Xiaoqi held two phones, then looked over at the other phones. After hesitating for a moment, she asked somewhat embarrassedly, "Uncle, can I play one more time? I only need one this time."

Upon hearing this, the boss's face immediately darkened. "You've come to buy goods from me, you bastard?!"

He glanced at the crowd, pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took two steps forward, and whispered to Chen Shuo:

"Brother, it's not easy to do business these days. I work myself to the bone all day and I don't make much money. Most of it goes to the rent for the park. Do you think you could ask your girlfriend to be lenient?"

As he spoke, the shopkeeper stuffed the cigarettes in his hand into Chen Shuo's pocket, "Take this pack of cigarettes and smoke it, consider it a small token of my appreciation."

Chen Shuo blocked the cigarette with his hand, saying, "Brother, I don't smoke."

"Take it, take it."

"No, I really don't smoke."

"Brother, are you really not going to leave your brother a way out?"

The shopkeeper glanced at Bai Xiaoqi beside him, gritted his teeth, and said, "How about this, you take the cigarettes, and you can pick two more plush toys from here? Can you let this brother off the hook?"

Seeing that the boss had gone this far, Chen Shuo had no choice but to accept the cigarettes and have Bai Xiaoqi pick out a large, life-size doll. Then, amidst the awe-inspiring yet envious gazes of the group, he left.

Holding a large husky plush toy, Bai Xiaoqi excitedly suggested, "Why don't we go look around elsewhere and see if there are any other vendors offering hammer-smashing games, and then win a few more phones to take home?"

"Where would you find a phone to win with?"

"Winning anything else is fine too." Bai Xiaoqi wasn't picky at all; she just wanted to get something for free.

"Nothing else. Your deeds have probably spread throughout the entire park by now. Even if we approach another company, they won't dare to do business with you. At most, they'll give you a couple of small gifts and a pack of cigarettes."

Chen Shuo felt the cigarette in his pocket through his pants and sighed. These days, no one believes you if you say you don't smoke.

Bai Xiaoqi also sighed. She had finally found a way to get rich, but it was blocked right at the beginning. It was a pity that she had so much strength, but had no place to use it.

"My strength could uproot mountains, my spirit could cover the world, but the times are against me, and my horse cannot go." She suddenly recited a line of poetry she had just learned some time ago.

This poem is said to have been written by an ancient king, who was also incredibly strong.

The poem roughly means that someone is very strong but unlucky, and Bai Xiaoqi felt that this line of poetry perfectly described her.

"That's Zhui Bu Shi, it's Zhui, not Ma," Chen Shuo corrected.

"Unforgettable..." Bai Xiaoqi murmured softly, in her understanding...

"马不逝" means "the horse will not die".

But the thought of chasing after something she couldn't grasp felt awkward, and she couldn't understand its meaning. "Why isn't it 'can't catch up'?"

"What do you mean you can't catch up? It's a steed called 'Zhui'. The 'Zhui' here is 'Wuzhui,' which is the name of Xiang Yu's prized horse, Wuzhui."

"Isn't that still a horse?"

“…”

After thinking about it carefully, Chen Shuo realized that it made sense.

.......

After storing their winnings at the amusement park's storage area, the two tried out the drop tower. After enduring the torture, they casually played a few more rides and eventually ended up at the Ferris wheel.

The cabin slowly lifted off the ground. At its highest point, the Ferris wheel is about 100 meters high. When it rises to a few dozen meters, you can take in the entire amusement park and even vaguely see the skyscrapers in the city.