"You've really broken my heart. My salary is even less than a dog's."
"Does the police force still need police dogs? I'd like to join for a few months."
"Can a person even apply to become a police dog?"
"A single dog is still a dog. I think I can handle the job. Please believe in me, organization."
"Give up, brothers. The standards for becoming a police dog are very high. Many are eliminated each year."
"High? I don't think it's high. Police dogs do extremely dangerous work: bomb disposal, drug interdiction, search and rescue. They risk their lives on the job."
"Indeed. And I heard that the lifespan of ordinary police dogs is much shorter than that of regular dogs, and they rarely die of old age."
"Then forget it. I won't become a police dog. But I can let my dog apply for the police dog program."
"If the Paw Patrol are all police dogs now, then if any tourist foolishly causes trouble with them in the future, will it count as assaulting an officer?"
"Isn't that obvious? Of course, it will."
...
While the onlookers were chattering, the Paw Patrol, already wearing their police dog uniforms, lined up and shook hands with Lin Feng one by one.
They looked even more professional than actual police dogs.
After the Paw Patrol collectively received their commendations, two large trucks arrived at the zoo entrance.
"Director Yang, the rewards for the animals you were promised earlier have all been approved."
"This truck is loaded with 5,000 jin of fresh beef, sponsored by Guangming Meat Processing Plant."
"This truck contains 1,000 live chickens and 5,000 jin of dog food. How was it? Were the great heroes not treated unfairly?"
Hearing Lin Feng's explanation, Yang Lin's eyes lit up.
Putting aside everything else, the cost of these meats alone was a considerable sum, easily hundreds of thousands.
"That's more than enough. This will feed the animals in my zoo for several months."
"Good. Everything I promised is delivered today."
As he spoke, Lin Feng beckoned over the television reporters.
After the photo session, Yang Lin thought that was the end of it.
But as Lin Feng was leaving, he quietly leaned in and whispered to Yang Lin.
"Director Yang, you'd better be prepared. Your Xihong Zoo is about to become quite lively."
Before Yang Lin could figure out what he meant, Lin Feng turned and left with a mysterious smile.
"What does he mean? What does he mean by 'about to become lively'?"
Unable to fathom Lin Feng's words, Yang Lin decided to stop thinking about it.
The awards had been received, but there was still much to do.
After all the supplies were put away, Yang Lin's gaze fell upon the official award check.
It was merely a voucher; the actual prize money had already been transferred to his bank account through the Ningnan City financial system.
In other words, in just a short while, his savings had directly increased by five million.
He already had a clear idea of how to spend this five million.
The next second, he took out his phone and made a call.
"Hello, is this Tianyuan Architectural Design Company? I'd like to commission a design."
"What type?"
"A zoo, if possible. About 50 hectares."
...
Just as Yang Lin was preparing to renovate the old park, an unexpected piece of news suddenly spread throughout Ningnan.
The Ningnan City Zoo, built nearly 40 years ago, had declared bankruptcy.
The announcement sent shockwaves through the entire city.
No one could have imagined that the state-run zoo, which was in good operating condition in the first half of the year, would collapse so suddenly.
This was also the first zoo in China to declare bankruptcy.
Not only were the ordinary citizens bewildered, but Yang Lin was equally stunned when he received the news.
"What the heck? It can't be that bad, can it? Did I cause its downfall?"
"It was state-run, after all. How could it just collapse like that?"
If the news hadn't come from an internal source, Yang Lin would have suspected someone was spreading rumors.
As he was filled with doubt, a city official in charge of such matters suddenly approached him.
After the official's explanation, Yang Lin finally understood the reason.
It turned out that since its establishment, the Ningnan City Zoo had only been profitable for the first few years.
After that, it had barely made any money, surviving each year on government subsidies. When it was restructured into a self-sufficient operation in recent years, its already difficult management became even more precarious.
Before, the employees were supported by the animals; now, it was the animals supporting the employees.
Furthermore, with the recent incident leading to the arrest of the zoo's entire senior management, the authorities had decided to close the zoo altogether.
They would then sell the zoo's land, turning a loss into a profit.
The only troublesome issue was the fate of the animals.
The Ningnan City Zoo housed over 2,500 animals of more than 250 species.
It was impossible to simply release all these animals into the wild.
Therefore, the authorities' final decision was to distribute these over 2,500 animals to zoos across the country.
As the only remaining zoo in Ningnan, Xihong Zoo would also have to take in a portion.
With this realization, Yang Lin finally understood the meaning of Lin Feng's earlier words.
His eyes lit up.
"What a stroke of luck!"
While these animals might be a burden to other zoos, for Yang Lin, this was an opportunity that could not be missed.
He knew how much money and time it would take to acquire animals through official channels.
What made him even happier was that, due to his previous contributions to Ningnan, he had priority in selecting animals.
Only the ones he rejected would be distributed nationwide.
Images of countless precious animals immediately flooded Yang Lin's mind.
Giant pandas, golden monkeys, giraffes, zebras... all the animals that Xihong Zoo did not currently possess, Yang Lin wanted to bring them in.
He could imagine that once Xihong Zoo acquired these new animals, the visitor distribution within the park would no longer be so uneven.
Of course, he was just thinking about it for now. In reality, each new animal would significantly increase the park's expenses.
The requirements for the park would also become higher. For example, raising a giant panda would cost at least a million yuan per year, and a dedicated area would be needed for their habitat.
They needed heating in winter and air conditioning and ice packs in summer.
They were national treasures and treated as such.
Just as Yang Lin was about to carefully consider his options, an unwelcome piece of news suddenly arrived from the city zoo.