Chen Shengfei was confident he'd tried every kind of imported and specialty strawberry there was, but none of the strawberries priced at 200 yuan per jin had ever tasted or felt as good as the one he was eating now.
At this rate, 200 yuan per jin seemed cheap.
They were unbelievably delicious!
As he thought this, he picked up another strawberry and ate them one after another.
Suddenly, Chen Shengfei noticed movement in one of the fishing rods. He hurriedly grabbed it and reeled in the line, immediately pulling up a fish.
"It really is a wild fish." Chen Shengfei examined it and looked surprised.
Before long, he'd caught several more fish, all of them wild. He was gradually beginning to believe what the waiter had told him.
However, he tossed them all back. He was after a big catch.
As time went by, the villa gradually grew livelier.
Several groups of people arrived one after another. They'd seen the promotional video for Oriental Commercial Plaza in Youcheng and been drawn here.
Gao Yaoyao had just welcomed two groups of visitors with the staff when another two groups arrived.
"Welcome to Qinglin Villa, everyone..."
Gao Yaoyao greeted the guests with a bright smile and led them to the ticket booth for the sea of flowers.
The final ticket price had been set at 50 yuan per person. The purpose of the sea of flowers was to attract visitors, and 100 yuan was still too expensive.
In the lobby, Lin Fen watched the growing number of visitors with delight. All she knew was that more customers meant her son's business was sure to do well.
"There are already 37 people." Zhao Moqing was keeping count. She turned to Qin Lin and said, "At 50 yuan each, the tickets alone bring in 1,850 yuan. Some of them are sure to eat here and buy fruit, so we'll make even more."
Of course, she had no idea it would be more than she imagined. After all, the okra, strawberries, and other things he'd brought out had cost him nothing.
"This is only the beginning. More people will come today." Qin Lin smiled. "People from Shacheng will come later, too. After that, we'll figure out a way to advertise in the city and promote the place online. We'll get even more visitors. Maybe my sea of flowers will even become a popular tourist attraction."
"Hmph, wasn't my idea to create a sea of Bougainvillea a good one?" Seeing Qin Lin's confident expression, Zhao Moqing suddenly felt like acting a little smug herself.
"Of course. Here's a kiss as your reward." Qin Lin grinned and kissed Zhao Moqing on the lips.
"Woof, woof!" The dog barked beside them, bouncing around their feet. Watching them flirt, it seemed to want in on the action.
Gao Yaoyao had already brought another group of visitors to the ticket booth. "You can line up at the ticket hall to buy your tickets, then enter the sea of flowers."
The visitors heard her and lined up outside the ticket hall.
Chen Xue was a university student studying photography. She loved traveling around and filming fun, interesting videos. She'd taken some time off to come home and had been drawn here by the promotional video for Oriental Commercial Plaza.
She hadn't expected to find such a beautiful sea of flowers in her hometown's small county town, so she'd decided to come see it for herself.
While buying her ticket, Chen Xue noticed that the ticket hall also sold pine nuts. Remembering the squirrels in the promotional video, she immediately bought a bag. There weren't many in it, and it cost 10 yuan, but she bought it anyway because of the squirrels.
Chen Xue entered the sea of flowers with the other visitors. A staff member at the entrance took her ticket and solemnly reminded her not to harm the small animals.
At first, the sea of flowers didn't impress her much. The surrounding varieties of Bougainvillea weren't particularly different from the ones she'd seen before.
But soon, she was surprised. The Bougainvillea around her began to fill her with delight. They were so bright and beautiful, so captivating that she couldn't help taking out her phone to film them.
As she walked farther in, the surprises kept coming. Before long, Chen Xue was drawn to the ornamental Bougainvillea with seven colors growing together before her.
The sight was even more pleasing, giving her an indescribably wonderful feeling as she looked at it.
This was, of course, the effect of the attributes: Vibrancy +2, Ornamental Appeal +2, Attraction +2, and Cheerfulness +2.
A whole stretch of ornamental Bougainvillea with seven colors growing together had an effect that made it impossible to look away.
Exclamations of surprise rang out all around her.
"So pretty! It's even more beautiful than the outer area."
"That's right. This section of Bougainvillea is clearly prettier than the ones outside."
"..."
Chen Xue agreed with the comments she heard nearby. This was already beyond any sea of Bougainvillea she'd seen before. She couldn't help taking out her phone and filming again.
"So beautiful!" Chen Xue adjusted her phone to get the best angle and began filming.
She was certain that this scene was more beautiful than any sea of Bougainvillea in the country. Even places with far larger displays couldn't compare when it came to the close-up view and the feeling of being right there among the flowers.
Chen Xue wasn't the only one captivated. The visitors who'd entered with her, as well as those who'd come in earlier, were all filming with their phones or asking their companions to take pictures of them. They were completely immersed in the scenery.
After filming two videos, Chen Xue was even more surprised to find that her videos seemed much better than before. They had a certain artistic quality, the kind of skill her teacher said only masters possessed.
Clearly, the In-Frame +2 attribute had made the already stunning footage even more impressive.
She knew what her skills were like. If her videos looked this beautiful now, it had to be because the sea of flowers before her was truly breathtaking.
When a scene was perfect enough, even without much skill, anyone could take pleasing videos and photos.
It was like taking a picture of a truly beautiful woman. Even a casual shot would look stunning. There was no need to find the right angle, use a beauty filter, or edit it.
Chen Xue couldn't resist sending the videos to a WeChat group and writing, "Girls, sharing a beautiful view."
It was her university dorm group.
"Ah, Xuexue, where is this? It's so beautiful!"
"Wow, it's gorgeous! So you took time off to see somewhere beautiful, Xuexue."
"Xuexue, you're so mean. I want to go too."
"..."
Chen Xue watched her roommates' reactions and knew they'd been drawn in. They were stunned, weren't they?
But when she reached the central area, she was the one who was stunned.
The three Bougainvillea in the middle stood over four meters tall. The moment she saw them, she was completely captivated and couldn't look away.
She couldn't describe their beauty. She could only raise her phone and start filming.
Their attributes—Vibrancy +3, Ornamental Appeal +3, and Attraction +3—were clearly even more stunning.
Chen Xue could hardly believe it. The flowers weren't the only amazing thing. What amazed her most were the butterflies fluttering around the three Bougainvillea.
Birds chirped on the branches, and she could even see several squirrels darting along them, peeking out now and then.
The harmonious scene was truly beautiful, as if this were a paradise hidden away from the world.
Chen Xue remembered something and hurried beneath the three Bougainvillea. She took out the pine nuts she'd bought earlier and placed them on the flowerbed. A squirrel immediately darted down and picked one up.
The squirrel didn't leave. It kept watching the other pine nuts in her hand.
She quickly put down another, and the squirrel picked that one up too.
It was such a delightful surprise. The squirrel wasn't afraid of people.
Chen Xue tried placing a pine nut on her shoulder. To her astonishment, another squirrel leaped from the tree onto her shoulder and grabbed it.
She held another pine nut out to the squirrel. To her surprise, it really did reach out and take it with its paw.
The sight made her heart melt. She took the opportunity to film it, too.
The scene attracted the other visitors, and one after another they took out their phones to snap pictures.
Many people regretted not buying pine nuts and immediately hurried back out to get some. But security had clipped the corners of their tickets, so they had to buy new ones to get back in.
At that point, no one cared about the 50-yuan ticket price.
Chen Xue sent the new videos to the WeChat group as well. The group immediately came alive again.
"Xuexue, you're taking this too far. Tell me right now where this is."
"Exactly! I want to go too. I'm taking time off!"
"It's October, and there are still so many butterflies! And the little squirrels are adorable."
"Xuexue, hurry up and tell us where this is!"
"It's a sea of flowers in my hometown's county town," Chen Xue wrote proudly.
The place was so beautiful that she'd be proud to tell her friends about it and invite them to visit.
Her message only made them complain more.
"Xuexue, that's so mean. We've known each other for two years, and you never told us your hometown had such a beautiful place."
"Exactly! And you never even said you'd take us to see it. We're not friends anymore."
"..."
Chen Xue smiled at the messages. This sea of flowers hadn't existed before. Next time, she'd bring her friends along.
Before you continue