Chapter 228: Nanhe Park

Chapter 228 Nanhe Park

Although the 20,000 yuan membership fee kept most people out, the village’s Nanhe Park didn’t need a membership at all!

Outside Nanhe Park, there were two shops: one was a flower shop selling Spiritual Flowers and their seeds, and the other was a Spiritual Plant food shop, selling cookies, candies, tea, and other items made from Spiritual Plants.

Both shops were partnerships between the village committee and Jiang Yingxue, staffed by Spiritual Pets and regular folks.

Nanhe Park officially opened the day after Xuehe Mall opened. Everyone in Taoxi Town, including Nanhe Village locals, as well as residents of nearby housing developments, got in free. Others needed to purchase tickets, which cost only 5 yuan.

Tickets were paper-only and sold at the staff entrance.

When buying tickets, visitors were also required to sign a pledge promising not to harm any flowers or plants in the park. Violating the pledge would result in a fine; those who refused to pay would lose years of their life based on the damage.

Nanhe Park was a park themed around Spiritual Flowers and Plants. The park was circular, and it took about ten minutes to jog around it. Upon entering the main gate, to the left was a Spiritual Plant museum featuring life-size models and info on all the plants in the park, so visitors get the full picture.

Fifty meters opposite the main entrance of Nanhe Park were twelve zodiac-shaped Spiritual Flowers, each two meters tall. The zodiacs were designed in a cute, chibi-style, giving them a friendly and approachable feel, making it the first must-see photo spot.

Continuing forward, there was a field of Spiritual Flowers, where flowers of all colors gathered, swaying in the breeze, incredibly beautiful.

In the center of the flower sea was an open area with a small playground—a kid’s paradise. It had clean sandboxes, slides, swings, a merry-go-round, teeter-totters, and more.

At the very center of the park was a shimmering, multicolored lake called Honey Heart Lake. The lake sparkled, a gorgeous sight.

Behind Honey Heart Lake stood a tower named Nanhe Tower. Climbing Nanhe Tower gave you a panoramic view of the entire Nanhe Village.

Xia Die and Kou Hanxiao were sitting on a bench by Honey Heart Lake, with a bag of snacks between them from the park’s convenience store.

Kou Hanxiao was sorting through photos in her album; they’d taken tons of pictures along the way—some in front of the zodiac Spiritual Flowers, some in the flower sea, some on the green grass, and some by Honey Heart Lake. Xia Die pulled out an ice cream from the bag.

Looking at the beautiful scenery, Xia Die smiled and said, “That security guy’s recommendation was on point; we didn’t waste our time coming here.”

Kou Hanxiao replied, “Right? Who knew a village park could be this gorgeous? It’s seriously amazing!”

“Wow, this ice cream is so good!” Xia Die reached down and grabbed a new box of ice cream from the bag. “Hanxiao, try it now. You can edit your pics later.”

Kou Hanxiao took the Spiritual Flower ice cream, took a spoonful, and the next moment, her eyes lit up. It was really good—sweet but not too sweet, just her taste.

A soft breeze hit their faces, lifting their hair in happy waves.

They posted their park pics on social media, and some netizens asked where it was. Not wanting to hog it, they just dropped the address in the comments.

Thanks to its beautiful scenery and great experience, Nanhe Park became another popular online check-in spot, with a steady flow of visitors on weekends.

Having many visitors had both advantages and disadvantages. Even with signed pledges, some trashy people still broke Nanhe Park’s rules.

Cao Wenbin was a local from J City. He’d been stressing about how to propose. After seeing a coworker’s post about how beautiful Nanhe Park was, he got an idea.

On Saturday evening, he strolled through Nanhe Park with his girlfriend, Peng Xingzhi, and a group of friends.

A full moon hung in the sky, and the lights by the lake were bright. At night, Honey Heart Lake had a quieter, more elegant beauty than during the day.

Suddenly, Cao Wenbin knelt on one knee, pulled a ring from his pocket, and gazed at Peng Xingzhi with loving eyes. “Xingzhi, from the first day I was with you, I knew I was yours for life. Through wind and rain, I’ll be with you. Darling, will you marry me?”

Peng Xingzhi’s eyes showed surprise and joy. Looking at her kneeling boyfriend, she was so moved that her eyes instantly misted over.

Cheers from their friends rose around them.

“Say yes!”

“Say yes!”

Peng Xingzhi nodded tearfully. “I do!”

Amid applause and joyful whistles, Cao Wenbin stood up and slipped the ring onto her finger. Then he signaled to his friend behind him, who handed him a large, beautiful bouquet of flowers, which he then gave to Peng Xingzhi.

“Flowers for you.”

Peng Xingzhi said happily, “So beautiful! I love them!”

…

As their group was leaving the park, two uniformed park staff stopped them.

Bai Xu said, “Excuse me, please pay for damaging the Spiritual Flowers.”

Peng Xingzhi looked confused. “Damaging Spiritual Flowers? Are you mistaken?”

Among the group, two men’s eyes flickered with guilt. How did the security know they had picked flowers?

Cao Wenbin stepped forward, his expression unpleasant. “Without evidence, you’re slandering us! We bought these flowers!”

Bai Xu, expressionless, pulled out a stack of half-tickets from his handbag. (Tickets were split in half: one half held by the visitor, the other by the park, with the park’s half containing the pledge details.)

“You all signed the pledge. Our park has the right to demand compensation for our losses. Please cooperate.”

Cao Wenbin sneered. “You’re ridiculous. Seeing someone holding flowers and claiming they’re stolen? That’s such shameless bullying!”

Just then, a woman holding a bouquet came out of the garden. Cao Wenbin pointed at her and said, “That woman has flowers too. She must have stolen them too. Go stop her!”

The man beside the woman glared at Cao Wenbin. “Can’t you talk properly? These flowers were bought! From the store!”

Cao Wenbin smirked. “Brother, don’t get mad. I bought a bouquet too, but I got bitten by a dog.”

The argument drew the attention of nearby villagers and tourists.

Tourist A: “Security, isn’t this a misunderstanding? The flowers are nicely wrapped; they don’t look like they were picked from the park.”

Tourist B: “Yeah, if you’re this pushy with fees, who would dare come here in the future?”

Villager: “Hmph! Our park’s security wouldn’t wrong anyone. That visitor is definitely up to something!”