As these large trucks appeared, Yang Lin's heart immediately stirred.
"Are they sending me more animals?"
"The leaders really understand me."
However, as he watched, he began to sense something was amiss.
By the time the trucks were close enough, his face finally wore a peculiar expression.
As he had anticipated, there were indeed animals in the trucks.
But they were not wild animals, nor were they protected species.
"Baa!"
"Moo!"
"Oink!"
"Cluck..."
Listening to the varied sounds, Yang Lin was momentarily at a loss for words to describe his feelings.
"Did they bring an entire farm here? This is quite a gift."
As Yang Lin struggled to find humor in the situation, the middle-aged leader spoke with a proud demeanor:
"There are a total of 100 sheep, 100 cattle, and 100 pigs in these trucks."
"We acquired them from farms around Ningnan, as a token of our appreciation."
Hearing this, Yang Lin could only offer his thanks repeatedly.
Yet, after all the leaders had departed, he immediately found himself in a predicament.
If he had received an equivalent amount of raw meat, he could have rented cold storage. But now, he was faced with live animals.
He ran a zoo, not a slaughterhouse.
More importantly, if he wasn't mistaken, the pigs, sheep, and cattle on the trucks were all young, not yet ready for slaughter.
Considering the daily cost of feeding them, Yang Lin felt a strange sense of being repaid with enmity by the Ningnan officials.
While Yang Lin was unsure how to proceed, the visiting tourists had already gathered around the large trucks.
"Wow! So many little pigs, calves, and lambs!"
"Yeah, so many little roast suckling pigs, beef steaks, and lamb skewers."
"Are you trying to make us hungry?"
"Mom, can I keep this little pig? It looks so polite."
"So, lamb skewers are this cute when they're little? They look like they could be pets too."
"Right, why doesn't anyone keep sheep as pets?"
"This little calf looks so adorable."
"Can I buy one to take home? Don't misunderstand, I just want to prepare for my child. If he doesn't study well, I'll let him herd cattle."
"Son, did you hear that? Someone's coming for your future job."
"Then you children better not steal our cows when you grow up."
...
Listening to the chatter of the tourists, Yang Lin's face suddenly showed surprise.
He had never expected these tourists to be so interested in a group of livestock.
"Perhaps I should sell them?"
An idea unexpectedly struck Yang Lin.
With this thought, he immediately grabbed a loudspeaker and announced loudly:
"Dear visitors, to show our appreciation for your support of Xihong Zoo, I have decided to launch a limited-time adoption program."
Upon hearing Yang Lin's voice, everyone's attention was immediately drawn, their eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"All visitors who have purchased a ticket to Xihong Zoo can adopt the animals on the trucks by presenting their ticket stub and paying a certain deposit."
"The adoption period is one year. During this year, you can take them home to raise. After one year, you can return them, and we will buy them back at market price. Alternatively, you can forfeit the deposit and gain full ownership of the animal."
As soon as Yang Lin finished speaking, a flicker of astonishment crossed the tourists' faces.
"They do it like this?"
"So, as long as we pay, we can take them home to raise?"
"I think it's a good deal. Meat prices are rising so fast. Adopting a calf and not letting it die means a guaranteed profit."
"Is this called 'chicken money'?"
"Zoo Director Yang is a genius businessman! He even thought of this. Isn't this equivalent to us raising cattle and sheep for him?"
"If you don't sell them, then you don't lose money, right?"
"You make a good point."
"That's great. Now my son will have something to do after school every day."
"Wait, aren't you considering whether you have space to raise them at home?"
"No space? Why wouldn't there be space? My villa has such a large garden, even raising cattle is fine. Don't you have a garden?"
"Exactly, my small courtyard can accommodate them. My father raised us brothers with ten pig farms. I really miss those tough times."
"Perfect timing. I just brought my father over from my hometown. He's bored every day. I'll buy him a couple of pigs to raise."
"You guys..."
...
At that moment, countless tourists were captivated.
Seeing this scene, Yang Lin immediately called for park staff to begin processing adoption procedures.
In less than an hour, all the livestock on the large trucks had been adopted.
Soon, a peculiar sight appeared in front of Xihong Zoo.
Tourists were seen leading pigs, sheep, and cattle.
Their faces were beaming with excitement.
When this scene fell into the eyes of tourists who had just exited the zoo, they were utterly bewildered.
"What's going on? Why are there so many pigs, cows, and sheep?"
"Are these pets?"
"I can understand pet pigs, but what kind of pets are pet cows and pet sheep?"
"As expected of the City of Animals, Ningnan people's love for animals is beyond my imagination."
"In terms of pets, Ningnan has reached the international forefront."
"Good heavens, they truly love animals."
.....
As Yang Lin watched the tourists lead away the pigs, cows, and sheep, a sense of satisfaction washed over him.
In his opinion, this move was a win-win situation.
Whether the tourists returned the animals to Xihong Zoo for repurchase after a year or kept them by forfeiting the deposit, Xihong Zoo would profit.
Of course, he believed that most tourists would choose to keep the animals.
Especially those with young children at home, who would likely develop some emotional attachment over the course of a year.
At most, they would sadly eat three large bowls of rice.
Seeing a troublesome problem resolved and even making a small profit, Yang Lin's heart became instantly light.
"Right, Lunar New Year is approaching. I need to quickly release some New Year limited edition merchandise."
"Whether we have a prosperous year depends on this."
As he spoke, Yang Lin returned to his office. The aquarium and animal city operations were now on track, and the next task was to await the arrival of New Year's Day.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, New Year's Day would be another peak visitor period for Xihong Zoo.
However, just as Yang Lin was actively preparing for the upcoming holiday, a piece of news arrived from the construction site of Dolphin Island.