"What is a real amusement park like? Let Daddy tell you all about it!"
In a private room of a small restaurant, Xixi sat in a high child's chair, her tiny hands gripping the white-cut chicken drumstick her father had placed before her. She nibbled away diligently, her long lashes fluttering as she gazed at him with bright, sparkling eyes, listening with rapt attention.
Earlier, Xixi had cried and refused to leave the amusement park, but Yang Yi had eventually found a way to coax her out. He painted a picture for her: "Want to know what the most fun amusement park in the world is like?" Driven by intense curiosity, Xixi followed her father out of the park.
It was already evening. Yang Yi found a small restaurant called "Cantonese Royal Cuisine" nearby, and while they had dinner, he began describing what he called the ultimate amusement park!
"That park should be as big as a small town!" Seeing that Xixi struggled to grasp the concept of a town, Yang Yi rephrased it. "Imagine if Daddy took you there to play—you couldn't even finish all the rides in two whole days and nights!"
Xixi's eyes lit up instantly. Two days and nights of fun! How amazing would that be?
Yang Yi continued, "It shouldn't be called an amusement park anymore. It should be called a theme park, or even a huge resort! It would have many theme parks as fun as this one, and lots of different themed hotels..."
Indeed, what Yang Yi was describing was the world-famous Disneyland from his past life. He hadn't been particularly interested in Disneyland before, but during a mission, he had tailed a target inside and gained some familiarity.
"For example, a Frozen-themed park. In that park, Xixi could see so many scenes from the story Daddy told you yesterday."
Xixi put down the chicken drumstick, her little mouth shiny with grease, and couldn't help asking, "Will Sister Elsa be there too?"
Though Anna was also a main character in Daddy's story, Xixi preferred Sister Elsa, who had magic and could fling snowflakes into the air with a wave of her hand.
"Of course!" Yang Yi smiled gently. "Elsa is in her ice castle."
"Wow! An ice castle!" Xixi's big eyes sparkled with longing.
Yang Yi kept describing, "The Frozen-themed park is just one of them. There are many other fun theme parks—like one with a clever, cute Mickey Mouse with big round ears, or Donald Duck in his sailor suit with a good temper, and many, many more cartoon characters making up all kinds of parks..."
Though Xixi had never heard of these, she was awed without fully understanding, her face filled with envy.
"And there's a little train that chugs through the whole resort, letting you see all sorts of amazing sights." Yang Yi laughed. "Some areas have oceans, ships, and pirates; others have mountains, active volcanoes that actually erupt fire!"
The little girl was completely hooked by her father's words. She wiggled excitedly in her seat, unable to sit still.
"Daddy, will you take Xixi to play there, please?" she wheedled sweetly.
Okay... Wait.
Uh, this...
Yang Yi suddenly realized that describing Disneyland to Xixi might have been digging a hole for himself.
In this life, the original Yang Yi had traveled far and wide after retiring, staying in many big cities. But in his memory, there was no amusement park as grand or as fun as Disneyland.
The biggest amusement park in the country was in Hong Kong, but it was just an upgraded, deluxe version of the one in Jiang City, with similar rides!
"That's just Daddy's idea. There's no such amusement park in the world yet!" Yang Yi confessed honestly to Xixi.
The excited little girl froze.
Soon, disappointment spread across Xixi's face. She pouted, and though she didn't cry, her mood plummeted.
Yang Yi felt terrible. Seeing Xixi's disappointed expression made him uneasy. For some reason, he couldn't bear to let her down—not in anything!
A father should be his daughter's hope, her Santa Claus, fulfilling everything she wants!
How could he let his daughter be disappointed?
Yang Yi couldn't help reaching out and pulling Xixi into his arms, gently patting her back. The grease from her little paws smeared onto his clothes.
Yang Yi felt a bit uncomfortable—in his past life, he was a Virgo with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder! But for Xixi, he suppressed his inner turmoil, tolerating her making a mess of the house (he'd clean up after she fell asleep) and now letting her dirty his clothes.
What could he do? No dad raising a kid could stay spotless!
"Daddy, Xixi wants to play..." the little girl mumbled pitifully.
Hearing this, Yang Yi impulsively thumped his chest and said, "Xixi, don't worry. Daddy will build you an amusement park—the best one in the world!"
Maybe a more worldly woman would scoff at such a promise, thinking Yang Yi was bragging.
But Xixi, who was still a few months shy of turning four, was innocent. She looked at her father with surprise and asked, "Really?"
Yang Yi wasn't just talking idly. He nodded seriously and said, "Really. Daddy will definitely build an amusement park for Xixi!"
"Will Sister Elsa be there?" Xixi stared intently into her father's eyes, a little nervous.
"Of course!" Yang Yi smiled. "Everything Xixi loves will be there!"
The little girl's mood instantly brightened, her clear eyes curving into crescent moons as she laughed joyfully.
"Daddy, pinky promise!" Xixi held out her little finger sweetly. "No lying!"
Yang Yi couldn't help but chuckle. He extended his right pinky and linked it with his daughter's slender finger.
"Pinky swear, a hundred years no changing!" Xixi recited devoutly.
Yang Yi smiled faintly, watching his daughter happily gnaw on her chicken drumstick. In his heart, a quiet voice urged him.
"Don't forget! In the future, you're going to build Xixi an amusement park—a Disney-level park!"
This was a promise to his daughter! He had to fulfill it!
...
That said, this goal seemed a bit hard to achieve!
How much would it cost to build a Disneyland from scratch? Taking a recent example, the newly completed Shanghai Disneyland in Yang Yi's past life reportedly cost over 34 billion yuan!
Of course, Shanghai, where land was worth its weight in gold, couldn't be compared directly.
But even without the land cost, building a Disneyland for his daughter would still require an investment of no less than 10 billion...
Even if he could partner with the government or other investors, this Disneyland dream was still a pipe dream!
Besides, without the successful precedent of Disneyland from his past life, who would be willing to invest in Yang Yi?
However, Yang Yi wasn't one to give up easily. And having experienced rebirth and transmigration, he didn't believe anything was impossible.
What's a few tens of billions?
For now, he'd set a small goal: make his first hundred million!
(Don't worry—this is a literary life, not a financial one. There will be some mentions of making money and business, but very little, glossed over. Remember, Yang Yi is the mastermind behind the scenes!)