This was a great value-for-money service for regular travelers. However, my mother-in-law's family was not so easygoing. When it came to covering their daily expenses, they all conveniently ignored the issue, leaving me to pay the bill.
For this week-long vacation, they were aware that the village guide charged $300 for a seven-day guided tour but pretended to be too busy to handle it. I deliberately rummaged through my small pack and other bags, feigning guilt.
“I left my cell phone and wallet at the lodging, I guess it's true what they say about pregnancy making you forgetful.”
Hearing that I didn't have any money with me, they were not in a good position to reprimand me in front of outsiders and the live camera of my sister-in-law.
Instead, they pointed the finger at the village guide as an illegal tour guide and angrily slandered the village guide as a scammer organization that preys on foreign tourists.
My sister-in-law picked up her livestreaming and pointed at the village guide's face, aggressively said, “Everyone see, the local Cultural and Tourism Bureau are doing nothing. Is this the way to rip off tourists?”
“Scammer tour guide, scammer charges,” she continued.
Things got so heated that only after the village leader condescendingly apologized and offered to waive our first night's lodging fee and my sister-in-law went silent.
Seeing this, other village guides in the village would no longer be willing to be our tour guide at a later stage, no matter how much we offered.
Before the village leader left, I, who was silent beside him, apparently heard him say coldly after compensating for his smile.
“They are going to die. We can not stop.”
Part 4
As we climbed the mountain, I saw that the path had long since disappeared and my heart knew that we wouldn't find any good experience at this point. My aunt complained about the rugged terrain, unaware that this was actually the best-developed path on the mountain.
I could have led them to an undeveloped area to pick mushrooms, but I knew that the more familiar I seemed, the more they would rely on me. Acting as if this was though, I tried to look like I was struggling. I took my husband's hand and pretended to move slowly and with difficulty.