The Domineering Cultivator Farmer

Chapter 16: The Tourist Craze

Just after breakfast, the village welcomed a group of tourists. Upon asking around, it turned out they were all from the same city and had driven over early in the morning. “Why did you come so early?” Fang Yun, carrying Niuniu, went out to greet them. “We all set out first thing this morning. Scenery this beautiful is hard to come by these days—once we found a place like this, there was no way we were going to sit around,” said one of the more outgoing tourists loudly. “Exactly, exactly,” the group chimed in in unison. “Wow, Niuniu! It’s Niuniu!” Several young women in the crowd exclaimed with delight upon seeing Niuniu, who was holding Fang Yun’s hand and blinking her big eyes at everyone. The moment they saw Niuniu in the video, they’d fallen head over heels for this adorable little girl. “She’s so cute!” A few of them picked Niu Niu up in a flurry and showered her with kisses, leaving her face covered in drool. “Big sisters, can I take you to see Big Red?” The little girl loved being praised more than anything; she was grinning from ear to ear. The group marveled at the enormous lotus flowers in the pond. When Niuniu called for the big carp to surface, they all couldn’t help but gasp—seeing it in person was completely different from watching it in the video; a carp that big was truly awe-inspiring. While everyone was gathered around watching the giant carp, Fang Yun hurried over to find her uncle, Fang Zhong. “Uncle, a lot of people are coming to visit today. Please make sure everything is arranged for their reception—meals and lodging need to be taken care of.” “That’s great!” Fang Zhong was overjoyed—he hadn’t expected that, just as Fang Yun had said, people would actually come to this small mountain village to visit. “Meals and lodging won’t be a problem at all; we’ve got plenty of spare rooms.” That was certainly true. Houses in the countryside were built quite large; a typical two-story, four-courtyard home had as many as eight rooms. Meals wouldn’t be a problem either—tourists had tasted all kinds of fine cuisine, so serving up some simple country dishes might actually be more popular. “Well then, Uncle, have everyone give the place a good cleaning. I’ll go greet the guests.” With the village populated by the elderly and the very young, Fang Yun was the only one left to welcome the tourists. By noon, several more groups of tourists had arrived, bringing the total to nearly two hundred people. Fortunately, the village’s grain-drying yard was large enough; otherwise, there wouldn’t have been anywhere to park the cars. Fang Yun had the villagers take the tourists to their homes to rest and eat, and it took quite a while to get everything organized. After lunch, the tourists gathered by the pond in front of Fang Yun’s house. Fang Yun spent the entire afternoon guiding them on a tour of the entire village. The beautiful scenery left everyone spellbound, especially Niuniu’s grand finale—riding a giant fish and feeding the water birds—which had everyone cheering with delight. After soaking in the herbal bath that evening, the tourists, led by the village children, went out to dig for cicadas. Cheers from tourists who’d found them rang out from time to time. At that moment, everyone had forgotten the pressures of work and the various worries of daily life, playing, laughing, and shouting like children. The next day, tourists from afar continued to arrive in a steady stream, though Fang Yun didn’t tag along anymore. The tourists scattered in small groups; some found a shady spot with thick grass to lie down and sleep, while others wandered around the village, snapping photos nonstop. On the riverbank, some tourists were flying kites with their children. Most, however, hired the village’s rambunctious kids as guides to venture into the mountains to pick wild berries, forage for mushrooms, and take in the scenic beauty of the mountains. Some visitors who enjoyed fishing, upon hearing that the fish in the reservoir were free to catch, were eager to show off their fishing skills. In the afternoon, everyone gathered at the reservoir to fish and watch the water buffalo named Niuniu dance with the waterfowl. After dinner, they headed up the mountain together for a medicinal bath to wash away the day’s fatigue. Fang Yun divided the bathing area into two sections, one for men and one for women. The fee is five yuan per person per soak, and children bathe for free. Tourists love coming here every day for a soak. Especially a few of the elderly visitors—after soaking twice, they felt noticeably healthier than before, and each of them wanted to rent a house in the village to settle down long-term. They’re currently discussing this with Fang Zhong. It took several days for the number of tourists to gradually decrease; now there are only a few dozen people each day. Everyone has finally been able to catch their breath. “Come on, Niuniu, eat a little more.” With so many tourists these past few days, everyone has been running around nonstop—even Fang Yun is starting to feel a bit tired. Niu Niu, on the other hand, has been running wild these past few days, with a group of kids trailing right behind her everywhere she goes. Thanks to her cuteness and her knack for getting along with animals, Niuniu had become the undisputed leader among the children in the village and among the tourists. Every day, she led a group of little ones digging for cicadas, roasting sweet potatoes, and feeding waterfowl—having so much fun that she didn’t even want to go home. Each time, Feng Xiuer had to drag her home by the ears. “This little girl is turning into a wild child,” Feng Xiuer said, now at her wits’ end with Niuniu. As soon as the little girl saw her mother getting angry, she’d immediately run to Fang Changsheng and Wang Jiu, calling out “Grandpa!” and “Grandma!” in a flurry. The two elders would immediately scoop up their precious little darling and shower her with affection. “Hehe, she’s just a kid—it’s good for her to be a little mischievous.” Fang Yun didn’t think much of it; after all, what child in the countryside isn’t like that? Back in the day, he’d disappear before nightfall too. Still, this little girl was pretty sharp—she knew how to find someone to rely on. She took after him in that regard, Fang Yun thought to himself with a smug smile. When Fang Yun got into trouble as a child, all she had to do was find her grandmother to get off scot-free. The old lady doted on her grandson—as soon as Fang Yun tattled, without a moment’s hesitation, she’d launch into a scolding that left Fang Changsheng reeling. With his head spinning, how could he possibly think about disciplining Fang Yun? “Never mind. There’s nothing I can do about it now. You, just spoil her. Be careful—one of these days she’ll get completely out of hand.” Feng Xiu’er turned around and began serving food for Wang Jiu. Watching Niuniu, with her sweet little mouth, coaxing her own parents into grinning from ear to ear, Fang Yun’s heart swelled with deep paternal love. Even if his precious daughter wanted to fly to the heavens, he could make it happen—with his current cultivation level, a brief flight was well within his reach. After dinner, Niuniu pestered Fang Yun to let her sleep with him. Since Niuniu was always clinging to Fang Yun, Feng Xiu’er even felt a bit jealous, leaving Fang Yun both amused and exasperated. After the father and daughter played around on the bed for a while, Fang Yun tucked Niu Niu into the covers. “Go to sleep now, sweetie.” “But Niu Niu still wants Daddy to tell her a story,” the little girl protested. “Okay, okay, Daddy will tell my little Niuniu a story.” Seeing Niuniu looking at him with such anticipation, Fang Yun instantly threw in the towel, hugged her, and planted a big kiss on her. After tucking Niuniu back in—she’d kicked off her little blanket in her sleep—Fang Yun drifted off to sleep as well. Fang Yun, who had been dreaming he was drowning, opened his eyes to find—as expected—Niu Niu, that chubby little girl, plugging his nostrils with her chubby little hands, her plump little face beaming with a grin like a fox that had just stolen a chicken. “Wow, Daddy’s awake!” Seeing that Fang Yun was awake, Niuniu squealed with delight, jumped out of bed, and scampered out of the room. Fang Yun glanced at the clock—it was already 7:30. No wonder Niuniu was already up; it seemed he’d really been running on fumes these past few days. After getting dressed, Fang Yun stepped out and couldn’t help but chuckle. Even though he’d taught the little girl so many times, she still ended up with her face covered in white foam every time she brushed her teeth. When Niuniu saw Fang Yun laughing at her, she refused to go along with it, rolled her eyes at him, and turned her little bottom toward him.