Chapter 580: Chapter 580
The weather is really nice, calm and sunny.
For the Gu Nuan family, in Gu Nuan’s memory, the chance for such a family to all travel together could only happen before her younger brother Xiaosheng left.
The past is like smoke, and recalling it inevitably brings a sense of sadness. The so-called Zhou Jin tourist spots, in the era before the tourism industry boomed like today, were nothing but deserted mountains with nothing else.
Children used to climb the hills, pick wildflowers, gather wild fruits, and catch insects. Everywhere was full of natural charm. Now, coming back, looking around, the resting paths up the mountain seem neat and beautiful, yet surrounded by an artificial framework, glorified as a scenic area.
Fees, fees, and more fees.
It is said that once human society develops to a certain stage, it’s bound to infringe upon nature unalterably. Children who once played in the mountains or villagers who went up to cut wood never thought of claiming the hills as their own kingdom like the Monkey King.
It’s only the drive for profit, the greed for money, that prompts some to feel it a waste not to claim a mountaintop.
Since nature belongs to all of humanity, even if it’s supposedly for public service, who would think of increasing the price of scenic area tickets again and again if there was no profit to be made? ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⚑𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⚑𝕟𝕖𝕥
When Gu Nuan’s father took his son-in-law to buy tickets, he was shocked. When had it happened that entering a mountain he used to play on as a child now required at least thirty yuan per person for admission? And that thirty was considered cheap. If you took a cable car or bought a full-price package for entering the mountain, it would be over two hundred yuan per person.
Near the ticket booth, there were often scalpers lingering, offering Gu Nuan’s father a full-price ticket at half off.
Gu Nuan’s father felt that even at half off, one hundred yuan per person was expensive—it was the daily living expenses for his family of several people.
So expensive, incomprehensible. He genuinely felt baffled. Of course, if he were someone who traveled often in recent years, he probably would have thought nothing of it, seeing it as normal. But Gu Nuan’s father wasn’t like that; it had been many years since he last traveled.
No, in Gu Nuan’s father’s life, this was the first time he had bought a ticket to enter a scenic spot.
Speaking of how small the county town was, it really was small. There used to be no scenic spots to speak of, especially for someone Gu Nuan’s father’s age. As a child, he had been sent down to the countryside as an educated youth, but he hadn’t even finished primary school, let alone had the experience of visiting scenic spots in his childhood. When his two children were young, there weren’t even any parks nearby in the county town, just temple fairs and festivals organized by rural people, which all were free.
Gu Nuan’s father no longer wanted to go in; he felt it wasn’t worth it. But his son-in-law and friends had come over, wanting to see the local scenery, hadn’t they? So what were they to do, just turn back home?
A hill that they used to play on as children now bore the title of the county town’s outstanding tourist attraction, turning a natural playground for kids into a revenue-generating project.
Scratching his head, Gu Nuan’s father mused: it’s hard to say who is greedy for money. Because this place, to bear this plaque and charge this fee, can’t be anyone’s decision but the approval of someone specific.
The common people cannot contend with certain matters. Gu Nuan’s father was very clear on this.
Turning back, Gu Nuan’s father found Gu Nuan’s mother to discuss whether they should pay for the tickets to let their son-in-law and friends enter the scenic spot. Otherwise, as hosts, it was uncomfortable to watch their guests being fleeced by their hometown.
Xiao Yebai and Zhang Sanfeng had been watching from the side, having anticipated this outcome.
Zhang Sanfeng’s elegant eyebrows lightly knitted together.
Paying a few hundred yuan was, of course, a drop in the bucket for them, hardly worth mentioning. However, they needed to take into account the feelings of Gu Nuan’s parents, who clearly could not accept this kind of blatant exploitation.