Chapter 177

Early on Saturday morning, Xia Yu woke up early as usual to practice Tai Chi. After an hour of practice, he finished and stood up, exhaling a long breath of stale air.

When he entered the living room, he was surprised to find that Xia Ming and the other two kids were already up. Looking at the time, it was only just past seven in the morning. According to their usual weekend habits, they would normally sleep until at least eight.

It seemed they were so excited about going to the Ocean Park today that they skipped their lie-in. As expected, kids are always so eager when there's fun to be had.

Xia Yu smiled and said, "You guys getting up this early is pointless. The Ocean Park opens at ten in the morning, and there are still a few hours before that. Even after having breakfast, it won't be eight yet. So you'll still have to wait."

Hearing Xia Yu's words, the three kids were a bit dumbfounded. Xia Xiaomei gave Xia Ming an annoyed look and muttered, "It's all because of you, second brother, waking me up so early."

Upon hearing his sister's complaint, Xia Ming looked confused. He innocently said to Xia Xiaomei, "Didn't you tell me before going to bed last night that you were worried about not waking up and asked me to make sure to wake you up at seven? Now you blame me!"

"Yan Hong, help me out here. Didn't she say that I had to wake her up? Otherwise, why would I have set an alarm so early? I was also really tired!" Xia Ming looked towards Yan Hong, hoping he would confirm his side.

Yan Hong was about to speak but noticed Xia Xiaomei giving him a lingering, reproachful look. He swallowed nervously, retracting his words, and said evasively, "I don't remember clearly."

Seeing Yan Hong not backing him up, Xia Ming was at a loss. He looked at his smug sister and felt a wave of helplessness rise in his heart. He gave up resisting, shrugged, and said with a resigned look, "Fine, it's all my fault."

"It's all your fault!" Xia Xiaomei huffed triumphantly, her little face full of delight, seemingly proud of winning another round against Xia Ming.

"Women are always unreasonable…" Xia Ming muttered quietly.

"What did you say, second brother?" Xia Xiaomei's sharp ears caught Xia Ming's complaint. She glared at him with wide eyes and asked.

"Nothing, I said you're very pretty!" Xia Ming quickly responded with a serious expression, driven by his strong survival instinct.

"That's more like it. I am indeed very pretty," Xia Xiaomei said with a satisfied smile.

Xia Ming rolled his eyes helplessly.

Yan Hong, who had been silently observing, couldn't help but laugh, but when Xia Ming and Xia Xiaomei looked his way, he quickly stifled his laughter, focusing on the ceiling as if it were fascinating.

Having witnessed the amusing scene with Xia Ming and Xia Xiaomei, Xia Yu couldn't help but smile. It was always entertaining to see these clever little kids at play. He knew their playful bickering had limits and would not lead to a real fight. It was a recurring scene where Xia Ming often ended up defeated while Xia Xiaomei emerged victorious.

Yet Xia Ming couldn't help himself. Even though he knew he'd lose, he still persisted in resisting.

"Stop playing around, come over and have breakfast," Xia Yu said.

At that moment, their mother, Chen Mei, came out of the kitchen with two plates of dumplings and called out to Xia Yu and the others.

"Wow, dumplings!"

The kids' faces lit up with delight at the sight of dumplings, and they eagerly gathered around the table.

Indeed, the carefree age of childhood meant that happiness could be found anywhere!

Xia Yu smiled, called Yan Shining, and they all sat down to enjoy breakfast together.

After breakfast, they rested for a while, and then a middle-aged man with a honest appearance entered.

"Good morning, sir, young master!" He greeted Xia Yu and the others with a nod.

His name was Xie Ping'an, 40 years old. He was Xia Yu's newly hired full-time driver, who previously worked driving and transporting goods, demonstrating excellent driving skills and a steady hand.

Xia Yu had investigated Xie Ping'an's background and found no issues.

Recently, Xia Yu bought a car specifically for transporting his younger siblings to school and for taking his parents out. After buying the car, Xia Yu hired Xie Ping'an.

Given the good pay and easy job, driving only during the day, and Xia Yu's family being friendly and easygoing, Xie Ping'an greatly appreciated the job. He wasn't used to addressing Xia Ming and Xia Xiaomei as "young master" and "young miss" and didn't quite know how to address Xia Yu's father, Xia Dahai, but Xia Yu had no objections. In the end, the family got used to it.

Xia Yu didn't oppose this arrangement either, as he planned to eventually turn the Xia family into a prominent family, and having such staff would be inevitable. It was better to let his parents and others get accustomed to it first.

After breakfast and a couple of hours of television at home, the time finally reached 9:40. Realizing it was getting late, Xia Yu prepared to head out.

"Mom and Dad, why don't you come along too?" Xia Yu suggested to Xia Dahai and the others.

"I'm not going. I've struggled at sea for decades and seen everything. There's nothing new for me, so I won't go," Xia Dahai shook his head.

"I won't go either. I'll stay home with your father. You all go have fun, and be sure to stay safe," Chen Mei said, looking kindly at Xia Yu and the others, giving them her advice.

Xia Yu nodded in understanding. After all, having lived a lifetime working at sea, the Ocean Park didn't hold much appeal for his parents. Despite other amusement facilities, adults often have less interest in them.

"We probably won't be home for lunch today. If you want to cook, you can, but if not, there's a phone book on the table, and you can call for takeout," Xia Yu said.

"Okay, don't worry about the food. Go and have a good time," Xia Dahai replied.

"Goodbye, Mom and Dad!"

"Goodbye!"

…

At the door, after bidding farewell to his parents, the kids got into Xia Yu's car. Xia Yu took the front passenger seat, while the three kids sat in the back.

If his parents had been going, Xie Ping'an would have driven them. Since they weren't going, there was no need for him to accompany them.

The car started and headed out.

Hong Kong Ocean Park is not in Kowloon but on the smaller Hong Kong Island, located in Wong Chuk Hang in the southern district of the island.

The park was built with donations from the Hong Kong Jockey Club and is managed by them. It opened on January 10, 1977, and is a theme park featuring marine and land animals, amusement rides, and large-scale performances.

In the first half of its opening year, Ocean Park attracted over 1.31 million visitors.

One significant reason for this high turnout was the lack of entertainment venues and facilities in Hong Kong during that era, especially for children.

Previously, there was a Lychee Garden, but it had become outdated and worn out. The opening of the more luxurious Ocean Park naturally drew people in for a visit.

This success was a blow to Far East Group's tycoon Qiu Degan, whose Lychee Garden was Hong Kong's first amusement park, built in 1949. It featured not only a children's playground and zoo but also a large theater with acrobatics, magic shows, singing, and more. The first Hong Kong super diva, Mei Yanfang, had emerged from the singing theater at Lychee Garden.

Qiu Degan, who knew how profitable this market could be, was naturally reluctant to see his business overtaken by Ocean Park. Thus, during the early construction of Ocean Park, he expanded a 500,000-square-foot piece of land behind Lychee Garden to build a historical culture city, which would later become Songcheng.

Unfortunately, Qiu Degan's resources were no match for the Hong Kong Jockey Club's, and while Ocean Park had opened, Songcheng was still under construction. According to history, it wouldn't open until 1979.

Just a year later, Lychee Garden's business had already been significantly impacted by Ocean Park, and Qiu Degan would have to wait another year. At this point, he must be feeling quite distressed!

As Xia Yu pondered, the car finally arrived at the parking lot of Hong Kong Ocean Park.