Inside the nature reserve, after the forest police confirmed they had lost track of the poachers, Teacher Xiaoliang sighed repeatedly.
"Alas, what can we do? These people are so wicked, they'll surely seek revenge on Director Yang."
When these words reached Yang Lin, he merely let out a soft chuckle.
"What's there to fear? Didn't there just be an avalanche? Chances are they're buried underneath. Revenge on me? Maybe in their next life."
"You're just so optimistic. What if they escaped? I'm telling you, poachers are incredibly cruel."
Teacher Xiaoliang wanted to continue, but Yang Lin interrupted him.
"Alright, alright, let's not worry about them for now. We should head back quickly and aim to depart for Ningnan tomorrow."
"We'll be safe once we get back?"
"Huh? What if they intercept us on the way?"
"What are you thinking? Poaching is at most a life sentence, but murder is punishable by death."
.....
By the time the group returned to Moduo County, it was already afternoon.
Taking advantage of the time, Yang Lin brought Xiaobaihu to visit its parents, who were undergoing treatment.
After the bullets were removed, their injuries were mostly healed; they only needed a period of recovery before they could be released back into the wild.
This presented Xiaobaihu with a new choice.
"Do you want to stay in the reserve with your parents, or do you want to come back with me?"
Faced with Yang Lin's question, Xiaobaihu was momentarily torn.
On one hand, it was reluctant to part with its biological parents. After all, they had only just reunited, and to separate so soon left a sense of longing.
On the other hand, it had grown accustomed to life at Xihong Zoo. Staying in the reserve would be even more boring than the zoo.
After careful consideration, Xiaobaihu voiced its idea.
"Director, why don't you let my parents come with me? Bring them to Xihong Zoo too."
"Huh? You want me to abduct them to Xihong Zoo as well?"
Yang Lin clearly hadn't expected Xiaobaihu to come up with a third option.
"That might not be impossible. Hold on a moment, I'll go ask the reserve for their opinion. If it's possible, I'll bring them along."
With that, Yang Lin found the leaders of the nature reserve and relevant officials of Moduo.
To his surprise, when he proposed his idea, the leaders agreed without a second thought.
"Director Yang, you have no idea. These two new tigers have killed over 20 yaks belonging to our herdsmen in the past few months."
"Each yak costs us tens of thousands of yuan in compensation. One of them was even a white yak. They nearly attacked us to death!"
"The reserve was doing fine with only 7 Bengal tigers. Their arrival completely disrupted the balance. Ebei Zoo is still under reconstruction, so we can't even return them."
Listening to the complaints of the reserve leaders, Yang Lin realized that sometimes, having too many animals wasn't a good thing.
Especially exotic animals.
"If that's the case, then I'll take them back."
"Please, don't hesitate. We can arrange a vehicle to transport them."
After some discussion, it was finally decided that once the two tigers' injuries had healed, the reserve would arrange for a vehicle to deliver them directly to Xihong Zoo.
As for himself, Yang Lin would drive away from Moduo with Teacher Xiaoliang and the others the very next morning.
When Xiaobaihu learned that its parents would also be living at Xihong Zoo in the future, it was overjoyed.
"Alright, everything is settled. Now, let's get a good night's sleep and then head home."
In the hotel, Yang Lin said to everyone with a relaxed expression.
And as everyone awaited the arrival of the next day, the popularity of "Xiaohu's Homecoming" continued to soar online.
The livestream had ended, but the story was far from over.
Niu and Ma, along with the program crew, who were also in Moduo, spent the night editing all the livestream content into a documentary lasting over five hours.
They had originally intended to show this documentary to Yang Lin, but just as Ma Chaoqun was about to look for him, a phone call came in.
After the call ended, Ma Chaoqun's spirits soared.
"Old Niu, we're about to take off! The person in charge of Yida Cinema just called me, asking if I'd consider releasing the 'Xiaohu's Homecoming' documentary in their theaters."
Upon hearing Ma Chaoqun's words, Niu Feifan was stunned.
"Are you kidding me? They want to release a documentary in cinemas?"
"Did you tell them our documentary is over 5 hours long?"
"I did. After hearing that, they seemed even more interested," Ma Chaoqun said, utterly bewildered.
"And they said the box office revenue would be split three-seven, with them taking three and us seven."
"What are these capitalists thinking? Who would be willing to spend money to watch this in a cinema?"
"Never mind, let's ask Old Yang first and see what he says."
After some deliberation, the two finally decided to seek Yang Lin's opinion.
When they explained Yida Cinema's request in detail over the phone, Yang Lin, who was taking a bath in the hotel, was also taken aback.
"If they're willing to buy it, let them. Anyway, the proceeds from our livestream have already been quite substantial. Coupled with the anime adaptation rights, we've already made a fortune."
With Yang Lin's response, the two immediately reached an agreement with Yida Cinema.
Not long after, Yida Cinema announced the news that the complete documentary "Xiaohu's Homecoming" would be screened in cinemas.
When the netizens who had felt a sense of loss after "Xiaohu's Homecoming" reached its grand finale saw this news, they were ecstatic.
"Finally, there's a film to look forward to in the first half of the year."
"I missed a few livestreams. Now that there's a cinema version, I can finally make up for it."
"I heard CCTV has already acquired the anime rights. It seems like the anime version will be out soon."
"I hereby declare 'Xiaohu's Homecoming' the Chinese version of The Lion King."
"It has the realism of a documentary and the drama of a film, and the main process is very inspiring. I feel like I can bring the kids to watch it."
"No, no, don't bring the kids. It's 5 hours long, kids won't be able to sit still. We adults want to watch it ourselves."
"Director Yang worked so hard this time, traveling all the way to Moduo. I have to support this with a movie ticket."
"I'll buy if you throw in a zoo ticket with the movie ticket."
.....
With Yida Cinema's promotion, this documentary, which took only a few hours to edit, already had the momentum of being a hit before its release.