Outside the cages, looking at the tigers that had all been retrieved, Nie Feng first expressed his gratitude. Then, under Yang Lin's astonished gaze, he spoke:
“Director Yang, since you’re here today, I have an idea I’d like to get your opinion on.”
“Oh? What idea? As long as it’s not asking me for money, go ahead and say it.”
“It’s like this, Director Yang, you’ve seen the current operating situation of Xiong Hu Manor. To be honest, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to sustain, and even the animals’ food expenses are becoming a problem.”
Before Nie Feng could finish speaking, Yang Lin quickly retreated.
“No, Director Nie, we are friends. Please don’t drag me into this. I really can’t handle such a large undertaking.”
It was no joke; he understood Nie Feng’s intentions perfectly. He clearly wanted to hand over Xiong Hu Manor to him.
If he hadn’t raised tigers before, he might have considered taking it on. But after raising a group of tigers, he truly realized how expensive it was to keep them.
Taking the most ordinary adult Siberian tigers at Xihong Zoo as an example, they alone consumed over 50 jin of meat daily, and it had to be beef, venison, or similar.
Adding vitamins and offal for trace element supplementation, and occasionally a few cans of cat food, the total daily cost was around 2,000 yuan.
For tigers like Hua Dajie, who had awakened their talent, the food expenses alone could reach over ten thousand yuan a day.
Bears ate less than tigers, but their daily food expenses were still over a thousand yuan.
Lions and tigers had similar costs.
This meant that with so many animals at Xiong Hu Manor, even if they only ate seventy percent full each day, the daily food expenses would easily run into the millions. If it weren’t for the state treasury supporting them, the manor would have collapsed long ago under the burden of these animals.
While Xihong Zoo was profitable, it couldn’t possibly support hundreds or thousands of tigers and lions.
Besides, what use would he have for so many tigers and lions?
“No, no, no, Director Yang, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not asking you to take over Xiong Hu Manor directly. I was hoping you could replicate the successful operating experience of Xihong Zoo here and build this place into a second Xihong Zoo.”
Seeing Yang Lin repeatedly shaking his head, Nie Feng quickly explained.
“Build a second Xihong Zoo?”
Yang Lin frowned at Nie Feng’s idea at first, then showed a look of interest.
“This is our proposal: Xiong Hu Manor will be restructured into a branch of Xihong Zoo, with you serving as the director of the zoo. For the first five years, all the expenses within the park will be covered by the Forestry Bureau.”
“You will not bear any responsibility for the park’s profits or losses. After five years, it will be entirely yours.”
After speaking, Nie Feng looked at Yang Lin with trepidation.
He was most afraid that Yang Lin would not agree to his proposal.
However, he had no other options at the moment.
Xiong Hu Manor was a hot potato for the entire Guilin region and even for western Guangxi.
It occupied a portion of the Forestry Department’s budget every year, yet they couldn’t simply abandon the animals within.
Releasing them all was unrealistic, and selling them was even less permissible. Even donating them to other zoos for free, those zoos couldn’t absorb so many large predators, leading to years of losses.
Now that they had finally seen a glimmer of hope in Yang Lin, how could they not seize this opportunity?
As Nie Feng waited for Yang Lin’s response, Yang Lin suddenly asked a question.
“What is the current total number of wild animals here, and what are their species?”
Hearing this question, Nie Feng was taken aback for a moment, then a flicker of joy appeared in his eyes.
“Please wait a moment, I’ll arrange for someone to bring the specific data.”
He then made a phone call.
A few minutes later, he received a document on his phone.
“As of now, Xiong Hu Manor has 1128 tigers, 327 lions, 459 bears, 45 alpacas, 12 rhinos, 26 pythons, 89 horses, 34 golden eagles…”
Listening to the data Nie Feng reported, Yang Lin’s expression was incredibly complex.
Xiong Hu Manor might not have as many animal species as Xihong Zoo, but the sheer numbers were comparable.
The total number of animals across all species exceeded two thousand, and more importantly, all their animals were large predators. There wasn’t a single small animal.
It was only because they had the support of the state treasury. Any other zoo would go bankrupt trying to manage them.
He strongly suspected that the previous managers of the manor had come from the pig farming industry.
“So many? It seems your breeding program is quite successful here.”
After hearing the data, Yang Lin said with emotion.
“The survival rate was ninety-three percent. At that time, animal experts from across the province and even the country gathered here. It’s shameful to say, but at the time, we simply didn’t consider the consequences of over-breeding.”
“Ninety-three percent, that’s indeed a good figure, but it’s still not as good as our Xihong Zoo. We have a hundred percent.”
At this moment, Yang Lin’s strange competitive spirit kicked in.
“Director Yang, regarding the proposal I made earlier, have you considered it?”
At this point, Nie Feng again observed Yang Lin’s expression.
Yang Lin’s final response allowed him to heave a long sigh of relief.
“If the expenses for the first five years are indeed all covered by the Forestry Bureau, then I think I can consider it.”
“However, since this place will be under my management, all arrangements must follow my lead.”
“That’s naturally not a problem.”
Hearing Yang Lin agree, Nie Feng’s anxious face once again lit up with joy.
“Alright, I’ll take Hua Dajie and the others back today. I’ll come back tomorrow to finalize the development plans for this place.”
After saying this, Yang Lin picked up the two small tigers that were currently acting spoiled on the ground, and then instructed Hua Dajie on the side.
“Hua Dajie, warn them not to run around anymore.”
“Understood!”
After conversing with Yang Lin, Hua Dajie’s previously gentle gaze instantly turned fierce.
As it turned its head towards the cages, it immediately let out a threatening roar.
“Behave yourselves! Anyone who dares to escape again, I’ll break their legs!”
After the roar, the tigers, who had just recovered their senses, were once again so frightened that they dared not move.
Now, even if the cage doors were opened and they were allowed to run, they wouldn’t dare to.
“Should I find one to break a leg to establish dominance?”
“Ah? I don’t think that’s necessary.”
Faced with Hua Dajie’s sudden idea, Yang Lin quickly dissuaded her.
These would be his tigers in the future, and any injuries would result in his own losses.
“Alright, let’s go back first. Oh, and please feed the two little ones in the car later.”
After speaking, Yang Lin and Hua Dajie left Xiong Hu Manor under the fearful gaze of a multitude of ferocious beasts.