Chapter 93: The First Group Photo

Lu Qingqiang took everyone to a theme park in Jiang City called Happy Valley.

This amusement park was massive, filled with all kinds of attractions—bumper cars, roller coasters, giant pendulums, carousels, Ferris wheels, and more.

There was also a leisure area.

In the leisure zone, there were activities like children’s fishing, sand sliding, a 3D art world for kids, an arcade, outdoor play areas, trampolines, a 4D movie experience center, a maze, and even a children’s tea culture experience center.

Of course, popular attractions like haunted houses and escape rooms were also available.

In addition, the park had a designated area with a snack street, a performance stage, and various vendor stalls.

In short, anything Lu Qingqiang could think of was here.

Even the things she couldn’t think of were here.

Forget the kids—even she couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy the moment she stepped inside.

In her previous life, she had spent so much time bedridden that she had nearly forgotten what it felt like to visit an amusement park.

As for the tickets, she had already booked them in advance when she decided to bring everyone here.

So when the orphanage bus pulled into the parking lot near the entrance, everyone got off in an orderly line.

After checking in under Lu Qingqiang’s lead, they entered the enormous and exciting amusement park.

Even though it was a weekday, the park was still bustling with visitors.

Normally, there would be a line just to get through the entrance.

But this was Lu Qingqiang—the beloved daughter of the richest family in town.

She had called her second brother, Lu Jianshen, ahead of time.

Less than ten minutes after she hung up, he called back and told her they could just use the VIP entrance with their tickets.

Honestly, if she had called even earlier, they wouldn’t have needed to buy tickets at all.

After all, the Lu Family had invested in this amusement park.

But now that Lu Qingqiang had money of her own, she wanted to enjoy the freedom of spending it.

If no one gave her the chance to splurge, how could she experience the joy of watching her money disappear?

“Mama Lu, this place is so big and beautiful!”

“Look, there’s a giant wizard over there!”

“Ooh, a little train!”

“Ahhh, is that a Ferris wheel in the distance? It’s so tall!”

The little ones, visiting an amusement park for the first time, were beyond excited.

Even Song Li, who was usually quiet and reserved, had a curious and expectant look on his face.

“Alright, kiddos, let’s take a big group photo at the entrance first.”

“Once we’ve got our picture, we’ll head in and have fun!” Lu Qingqiang called out.

“Yeah, let’s do it!”

Lu Qingqiang asked a staff member to help take the photo.

With a countdown of “Three, two, one,” she, the seventeen children, and all the orphanage staff stood together.

They captured their very first group photo.

After thanking the staff member, Lu Qingqiang led everyone into the park.

First stop: getting everyone a cute headband.

There were princess-themed ones, ones with little pandas, and even ones with red devil horns.

Lu Qingqiang let the kids pick their own, and the adults each chose one too.

Of course, she wasn’t going to miss out.

“Uncle, that big shark on your headband looks kinda goofy. Everyone’s staring at you,” said Liu Xiang, whose own headband read “Get Rich.”

“What do you mean goofy? Weren’t you the one who picked this for me?”

“I told you I’m too old to wear kiddie stuff like this.”

“But you insisted I wear one.”

“And now you’re calling it goofy?”

“Xiangzi, are you asking for trouble?”

Master Zhao glared at Liu Xiang and reached up to take off the shark headband.

“Don’t take it off, man. I think it looks great on you,” Zhang Haiping quickly said.

After all, he was wearing the same shark headband. If Master Zhao took his off, he’d be the only one left looking ridiculous.

“Really?”

“Really, really,” Yuan Yuan chimed in while recording a video.

“I think it looks great too, Grandpa Zhao. Don’t take it off,” said Su Tao, who was wearing a giant peach on her head.

“Alright, alright, I’ll keep it on if you all say so.”

The group followed the main path into the park. When they reached the little train station, Lu Qingqiang bought everyone a ticket.

Then they all boarded the train and began their tour of the park.

The little train chugged along—not too fast, but not too slow either.

The kids, riding a little train for the first time, were thrilled.

They pointed at the changing scenery outside, chatting and squealing with excitement.

Lu Qingqiang and Yuan Yuan pulled out their cameras and started snapping photos like crazy.

“Master Zhao, let me take a picture of you and Little Master Liu.”

“Sure, sure.”

“Uncle, stop doing the peace sign. Do this instead—make a heart like me.”

After taking photos of Master Zhao and Liu Xiang, Yuan Yuan snapped a shot of Zhang Haiping and Liu Shufen together.

Then she took pictures of Doctor Feng, Zhang Qiang and Yan Fang, Lu Qingqiang, Driver Xiao Zhang, Aunt Liu, and everyone else.

Fair and square—no one left out.

Of course, the majority of the photos were of the kids and their moments with the adults.

Those bright, carefree smiles were what she and Lu Qingqiang captured the most.

As adults, they all understood.

Only at this age are children so pure, their laughter so innocent and free of worry.

Once they start school and begin to grow up, their happiness will slowly diminish.

So they hoped to preserve these beautiful moments through photographs.

Yes, once they got back, they would create a “Wall of Smiles” at the orphanage.

When the little train reached its final stop, the Little Radish Heads got off reluctantly.

They were clearly not ready for the ride to end and wanted to go again.

But once they got on the carousel, they completely forgot about the train.

Because the kids were still quite young overall, they couldn’t go on the more thrilling rides.

Even something like the carousel required an adult to supervise the three-year-olds.

Lu Qingqiang had originally intended for the orphanage staff to come along and enjoy the park with the kids.

But in reality, they spent most of their time helping to look after the Little Radish Heads.

She was just trying to figure out a solution when she heard her second brother Lu Jianshen’s voice behind her.

“Hey, sis, what a coincidence! You’re here too~”

Everyone from the orphanage was familiar with Lu Jianshen and his tree-planting buddies.

When they saw them approaching, they all greeted them warmly.

Some of the kids even cheered at the sight of them.

It was clear that the Little Radish Heads were quite fond of these big brothers.

Of course, Mo Chenjing was the least familiar face among the handsome newcomers.

That was because he hadn’t been around during the tree-planting days.

e=(′o｀*))) Sigh

“Second Brother, yeah, what a coincidence.”

“Since fate brought us together like this, how about… heh heh.” Lu Qingqiang grinned mischievously.

— Translator’s Notes —

– Happy Valley: Happy Valley is a well-known chain of amusement parks in China, with several locations in major cities.

– Wall of Smiles: A ‘Wall of Smiles’ (often called ‘笑脸墙’ xiàoliǎn qiáng in Chinese) is a photo display wall featuring happy photos, common in schools and orphanages for encouragement and memory.