Leaving the parking space, the shop in front of me was piled with a pyramid of jack-o-lanterns, and the hollowed-out grimaces seemed to be squeezing their eyebrows and making all kinds of expressions, and the sign at the door hung with cobwebs that hung down mightily, covering the entire window, and the witch models in the windows could be faintly seen, and the boxes stuffed with strange items were faintly visible, and next to the door was a table with a solemn shelf on it, and a messy broom was placed, and the sign in front read, " Smooth Wheel 2000". Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Any reader familiar with "Harry Potter" will be able to capture this joke right away. In the details, you can see the black humor and bad taste of the owner of this shop.

There are a lot of such shops in the United States, even in small towns like New Braunfels, which shows their dedication to masquerade, even in the story of Cinderella, where Cinderella and the prince meet. It's part of their culture.

When Lu Li participated in Halloween for the first time, it was a sophomore, and he received an invitation from his classmates to attend a masquerade party. Before that, he had only seen a masquerade ball in a movie, and suddenly he was going to participate in it, and he didn't know how to prepare, or even where to buy costumes, and he was completely at a loss.

Even if I asked the fellows, everyone was confused. In the end, Fred helped him and took him to the prop shop.

He still remembers that when he entered the store for the first time, the excitement was surging as if Grandma Liu had entered the Grand View Garden, which was really eye-opening. In the end, he rented a Frankenstein costume and not only changed into the costume, but also asked his classmates in the department to help him put on the makeup and dress up for the masquerade. It was an unforgettable experience.

Thinking of the special Halloween this time, Lu Li's steps couldn't help but become brisk, and he walked forward quickly, eager to start purchasing.

Pushing open the door, the bell hanging above the door frame rang, "Welcome." A muddy, warm voice came from behind the layers of clothing, "If you need anything, just shout." ”

Lu Li's eyes took a rough look around, and the dazzling array of costumes, colorful props, and strange objects made people dazzled and overwhelmed. It can be seen that different objects are placed in different areas, but there is no way to start for a while, let alone find the items you need.

"Actually, I need a little help. Lu Li was not polite and made a request directly.

"Of course no problem, dear. After the words fell, I waited for a while, and I could hear the trivial sound of the clothes on the gantry constantly being rubbed and collided, getting closer and closer, and finally appeared in sight, "Aha, welcome to the 'Clown House', what can I help with?"

Standing in front of her was a middle-aged woman in her fifties, with long silver-white slightly curly hair, which naturally hung down, and the length had reached the waist; wearing a flaxen-colored robe, she looked like a monk in religion, but Lu Li felt more like a wizard in the "Lord of the Rings", just like Gandalf; she was wearing a pair of cloth shoes under her feet, even in late autumn, she still showed her ankles and did not wear socks; her sleeves were rolled up, and there were bracelets hanging on her wrists, at least a dozen of them......

If that's all there is, it's not unusual, some bohemians choose to dress like this, but the point is that she wears a hat, a huge, exaggerated hat that looks like the one worn by Captain Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean".

Not only is it exaggerated, but it also doesn't match, and there is a strong tearing feeling between the hat and the costume, which is out of place, and even looks a little weird.

The woman seemed to notice Lu Li's eyes, looked down at her outfit, and then showed puzzlement, but then she reacted, "Ah, hat!" She took it off, "Gandalf's hat has been borrowed." I just arrived at this pirate hat yesterday, I tried the size, and now it seems that it is a little too big, and if it is a child, it is estimated that the whole little head will be covered. ”

Her speaking rhythm has always maintained a casual and free style, with a kind smile on her face all the time, although the corners of her eyes are full of wrinkles, telling the traces left by the years, but those bright eyes have a childlike innocence, the kind of vigor and vitality that does not match her age, and even Lu Li can't help but outline the corners of her mouth.

After saying that, the woman finally came to her senses, "Ah, I'm sorry, I was thinking about it just now. She looked at Lu Li again and said with a smile, "I'm Melanie, how about it, do you like this outfit of mine?

Lu Li couldn't help but ask, "If I'm not mistaken, Gandalf?"

Melanie herself had already said it just now, so it was naturally not difficult to guess. But as if she hadn't noticed, she clapped her hands in surprise, "Yes, it's Gandalf! Melanie gestured up and down her costume, "How could this be a mistake? How could this be Dumbledore? It's outrageous, isn't it?"

Lu Li pursed the corners of his mouth, so as to avoid laughing out loud, the childlike Melanie, is really funny, no wonder she would run such a prop shop, in a remote town like New Bronfels.

"I'm fourteen and I'm trying to find some Halloween decorations. Lu Li had to take the initiative to change the topic, otherwise with Melanie's style, it is estimated that the two of them would not be able to get to the point after going around for half an hour.

Sure enough, Melanie was muttering about her belt again, and when she heard this, she raised her head, "I know who you are, young man from Cloud Peak Ranch. She winked playfully, revealing a smug look, as if to say, "How could I not know you?" This made Lu Li laugh again, "Say, what do you need?" I will definitely do my best to help. If you don't have it in the store, I can also go to Amazon and help you shop online. ”

Online shopping.

Lu Li finally didn't hold back, and after laughing for the third time, he laughed directly, originally he was worried that he was too rude, but when he raised his head, he saw Melanie also smiling, and said with bright eyes, "Amazon, the greatest invention of the twenty-first century, it saved everyone, didn't it?"

Lu Li nodded seriously, "Of course." Of course. The smile on his face lingered, "Here's the thing, I'm going to make the ranch an adventure park, I mean, a real paradise." The blueprint in my mind right now is that the cave in Raiders of the Lost Ark has a passage with traps, props with human skeletons, a large cobweb, yes, yes, preferably a dry ice sprayer......"

After Lu Li's brain hole was opened, he couldn't stop, for the first time, he could arrange the park according to his own ideas, he had all kinds of ideas to try, "I don't know if there is a prop that can create the effect of quicksand, in fact, I originally wanted to create a swamp, but the swamp is wet and slimy, which doesn't seem to be good...... Also, is there a mechanism that bounces like a slingshot? I'm thinking about it, either a water balloon, or a marshmallow, or a spider's web......."

"And then ......" Lu Li gushed and wanted to continue, but realized that he had said too much, Melanie had no room to interject at all, and there was no room for reaction, so he had to interrupt his words and show an apologetic look, "Sorry, I seem to have said too much." Shouldn't I make a list, write down all my ideas, and give them to you, that would be a little more reliable?"

"No, no. Melanie waved her hand and smiled no, "Why do you want to keep it in the book? Staying imaginative and flexible is the best thing about the park." Think about it, wouldn't it be wonderful if even you couldn't predict what would happen in the park?"

Lu Li opened his mouth and wanted to refute, but when the words came to his mouth, they turned into a smile, "That's true." So, do you have any better suggestions?"

Melanie patted her chest and took a big breath, "Let me calm my excitement first." Melanie's whole body exuded vitality, grabbed Lu Li's shoulders, narrowed the distance between them, and said excitedly, "Paradise, are you going to build a park? It's just for Halloween, it's like a Halloween version of Disneyland, right? It's amazing!"

"Well, I don't have that much budget. But the shrunken version, yes. Lu Li also made a joke, which caused Melanie to laugh out loud.

"Wait, it's supposed to be just a paradise, right?" Melanie suddenly remembered something, and directly changed the subject, her mind jumping at a speed comparable to Lu Li's, "I mean, it's not just a horror paradise. Because of Hollywood, Halloween has now become synonymous with vulgar horror films. The only thought that comes to everyone's mind is scary. This is not the essence of Halloween. ”

Lu Li laughed loudly, "No, of course not. If I want to go to a horror park, I'll go to Japan, which I envision as more of an adventure park. I even thought that by creating some obstacles, I could find candy every time I beat a level, and if I beat all the levels, I could find the final treasure. ”

"Adventures and treasures, parks and games, who can say no?" Melanie raised her hands, "By the way, is there an age limit? ”

"Welcome. Lu Li spread his hands and said with a smile, "However, before that, you need to help me complete the layout of the park." It's a daunting task. I now think of a garden, three houses, a storehouse, and a sheepfold, all laid out to form a whole chain. What do you think?"

"Phew, that's a huge undertaking. Melanie not only did not worry, but became more and more excited, "Let's get to work." I'll take a look......" Melanie spun around, "where should we start?"