CHAPTER 241: CHAPTER 241 ORIGINAL SIN 50

The villagers have a rather simplistic mindset; many of them don’t overthink things when they happen. They mostly just focus on their own little plots of land, but the leaders have keenly noticed that this place with nothing but beautiful scenery is about to become popular!

The leaders initially thought about whether they could use this opportunity to bring some prosperity to the surrounding villages. But before they could figure it out, Shuangshuang had already come up with the solution and presented it to them. This was not just a pillow for their drowsiness! How could the leaders not be excited!

After finishing the presentation on the plan to enrich the nearby villagers, Shuangshuang emphasized one thing she considered most important: all recreational activities must have clear pricing, and arbitrary fees should not occur.

For example, when renting rowboats, you can’t just raise prices arbitrarily because there are more tourists. You shouldn’t let someone board the boat and then suddenly charge them extra for a song. Similarly, parking lots can’t arbitrarily set prices or raise them; parking fees must be uniformly planned.

As for horse riding, you can’t expect people to pay hundreds simply because you lead them around for a lap. Prices should be standardized and charged by time. Restaurants open in the area could be a bit pricier than the ones outside, but should not be excessively expensive. Farm stays must meet sanitary standards, with clean toilets equipped with flushing systems.

With more tourists, there will be a lot of human-generated litter, requiring many villagers to clean up. This is not something Shuangshuang should worry about anymore. Once a scenic spot becomes popular, they will surely charge an entrance fee, and the entrance fees naturally belong to the government. Thus, the salaries of those maintaining cleanliness should also be handled by the government.

The leaders were very much in agreement with Shuangshuang’s suggestion for planning fees and strictly avoiding arbitrary charges, truly valuing her proposal.

Many beautiful scenic spots have terrible reviews due to rampant arbitrary charging, which often affects the number of tourists. The leaders certainly didn’t want the local scenic spots to end up like that.

Shuangshuang and Feng Jinyan spent most of the day explaining their plan to the leaders, including some detailed problems. The leaders did not stop until they thoroughly understood every single point.

By the time the mother and daughter returned to Red Dust, it was already late. Shuangshuang surprisingly saw Wan Yan sitting in the lobby of Red Dust, talking happily with Professor Zhang, while Qiangqiang, shyly hugging Professor Zhang’s neck, was lying in her arms.

Facing the door, Qiangqiang was the first to notice Shuangshuang entering. His big, shiny eyes lit up immediately. He slid down from Professor Zhang’s arms, ran up to Shuangshuang, and hugged her leg, looking up at her with a face that had plumped up a lot and no longer resembled a skeleton!

When Shuangshuang saw Qiangqiang’s big eyes like that, she was instantly charmed and bent down to lift him up. Qiangqiang obediently wrapped his arms around Shuangshuang’s neck and nestled quietly in her embrace without fussing or causing trouble.

For some unknown reason, Shuangshuang shared a special bond with Qiangqiang. Every time she saw him looking at her with that trusting little gaze, something soft stirred in her heart, making her want to treat him better and better.

Honestly, despite Shuangshuang not being that young mentally, she never developed that fondness for children one might expect at her age. In fact, she increasingly disliked noisy children, especially spoiled ones!

Perhaps Shuangshuang’s fondness for Qiangqiang was because he was particularly well-behaved, understanding, and never cried or fussed, being so good that it made her feel tenderly protective.

Seeing Shuangshuang enter, Wan Yan had already stood up and proactively walked over to her, saying, "Shuangshuang, I’m here today to thank you for saving my life last time. If it weren’t for you, I would have died in the mountains. Thank you so much! I should have come sooner, but my wounds were a bit infected, and I’ve been hospitalized for observation without a moment to spare."

Shuangshuang also smiled warmly and politely, "Oh, it’s no big deal, really. Even if I hadn’t found you, with so many people searching the mountains, you’d have been found anyway. No need to repeatedly thank me; it hardly counts as saving a life."

Indeed, Shuangshuang was downplaying the matter. Since the other party feared she might hold it over them, she showed her attitude by not regarding herself as a savior.

Actually, Shuangshuang was a bit surprised by Wan Yan’s way of addressing her. He used to call her Miss Yun or Miss Shuangshuang, and as she grew older, he should have addressed her as Boss Yun, but now he was calling her Shuangshuang! Since when did their relationship become close enough for first-name terms? Was it just because she saved him once? Didn’t he and his two friends avoid acknowledging it lest she use it against them?

Thinking about this, Shuangshuang felt frustrated. To someone with a background like his, life-saving acts seemed akin to how ancient emperors treated those who saved their lives. Saving me was your duty; if I reward you with silver and gold, you should be grateful but shouldn’t assume you’re my savior!

It was like how Li Ming and Feng Jing tried to brush her off with money before. Yes, Shuangshuang was that petty and still felt aggrieved by how they had tried to buy her off with money!

Wan Yan had heard his two friends talk about offending Shuangshuang in the past. At that time, Li Ming and Feng Jing claimed the matter had been explained and Shuangshuang wasn’t holding a grudge, but Wan Yan felt it wasn’t something that could be easily brushed aside.

Seeing Shuangshuang smile but not very warmly and sensing the distance in her words, Wan Yan understood that the issue wasn’t resolved on Shuangshuang’s part.

Wan Yan smiled wryly; it wasn’t Shuangshuang’s fault. Li Ming and Feng Jing hadn’t personally experienced it themselves and didn’t know that when Shuangshuang saved him, she truly took risks and raced against time.

A young girl carrying an unknown weight of a man climbing a gorge’s cliff, whether it was Shuangshuang’s strength not withstanding the burden of two people or the rope not holding both their weights, both could lead to them falling into the gorge together.

That gorge was full of stones. Once they fell, they were nine out of ten likely to get injured. By then, Wan Yan definitely couldn’t survive, and Shuangshuang wouldn’t escape unscathed either.

If Shuangshuang had been self-preserving and unwilling to take risks, she could have simply done nothing and waited for rescuers. Wan Yan couldn’t blame her and probably wouldn’t have known of Shuangshuang’s ability to carry him out of the gorge!

Ultimately, whether he lived or died, his family could not blame Shuangshuang. She would have done a good deed without the risk, but if she hadn’t taken action, there was a 90% chance Wan Yan wouldn’t have survived.

You could say Shuangshuang didn’t need to take risks yet chose to for his life, not to mention that after climbing out of the gorge, she continuously carried him at breakneck speed, giving him precious time necessary to save his life. This was indeed a life-saving act!