As the miraculous sight of birds flocking into the forest outside Xihong Zoo was widely shared by netizens present, the news quickly made it to major news outlets.
Even the Longguo Daily dedicated a special feature to commend Ningnan's exemplary work in ecological restoration.
It also advocated for other cities to learn from Ningnan.
Ningnan's reputation as an ecological civilization city was thus solidified, attracting a large number of tourists from outside the city.
Undoubtedly, it secured the top spot on the list of popular tourist cities for 2023.
As the biggest beneficiary, the leaders in charge of Ningnan were overjoyed.
This was like a gift from heaven, a windfall. For the next year, as long as they didn't make any major mistakes, their ranks could be elevated.
However, they were well aware that all of this was inextricably linked to Xihong Zoo.
In return, they came up with a plan to give back to Xihong Zoo.
...
"What? This area of ours is going to become a nature reserve, and the surrounding wetland park will also be incorporated?"
In the Xihong Zoo office, when Yang Lin received this news early in the morning, his eyes went blank.
It took him a full two seconds to process the news, and at the same time, a question arose in his mind.
"So, according to the higher-ups, does Xihong Zoo belong to this newly established nature reserve, or does the nature reserve belong to Xihong Zoo?"
"The nature reserve belongs to Xihong Zoo, right? Then never mind, I roughly understand what it means."
...
As soon as the phone call ended, Yang Lin quickly opened his phone's map.
After a series of operations, an area centered around Xihong Zoo was circled.
The next second, he grinned.
If what the person on the phone had said was true, then the area of this future nature reserve would be second only to the adjacent Daming Mountain Nature Reserve.
Of course, calling it a nature reserve was just the official term; it was essentially assigning these areas to Xihong Zoo.
How to develop and arrange everything depended on Yang Lin's actions.
If all of it were utilized, Xihong Zoo would become the largest wildlife park in the world.
But just as Yang Lin was about to burst into laughter, he suddenly realized something.
"That's not right, these areas are all wastelands with little value for use, and developing them costs money. What am I happy about?"
"Such a large area, even if it were all planted with trees, it would still cost a lot of money."
"Oh no, I've taken on another burden."
However, the establishment of the nature reserve was a foregone conclusion. Within a month, the Xihong Nature Reserve should pass the review.
At that time, in addition to being the director of Xihong Zoo, he would also hold the position of reserve manager.
He could only hope that the government would provide some financial support.
Just as Yang Lin had this thought, another surprise arrived.
"Director Yang, we just received news that the city will invest a large amount of financial and material resources into the construction of the Xihong Nature Reserve this year, and the province is also said to provide some support."
When Director Nie on the other end of the phone delivered this news, Yang Lin was so excited that he wished he could go to Director Nie's house immediately to offer his belated New Year's greetings.
"However, there is a problem now. If we want to establish a nature reserve, there are requirements for the number and variety of rare animals and plants within the reserve. This is a problem that is difficult for us to solve, and now it all depends on you, Director Yang."
"There's such a thing?" Yang Lin, who had been excited moments ago, was taken aback.
"Yes, besides national-level nature reserves, our country has provincial, municipal, and county levels. We intend to build the Xihong Nature Reserve to a national level, so it must meet a certain number of grade one and two protected animals and plants."
After Director Nie's explanation, Yang Lin finally understood.
The next second, a smile returned to his face.
If it were other indicators, he might not have been able to handle them, but with animal and plant indicators, it was too easy for him.
The park already had a large number of grade one and two protected animals, along with rare birds among the migratory flocks. It was more than enough to qualify for a provincial level.
But to qualify for a national level, more would need to be added.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but think of Director Song in Diannan.
Director Song had agreed to donate a batch of animals last year.
However, the park was too full at the time, so they didn't receive them.
Now, Xihong Zoo had no shortage of space. The areas outside could easily be designated for accommodating animals, and he could take in as many as possible.
Immediately, he dialed Director Song's number.
After explaining his intentions, Director Song readily agreed.
But Yang Lin still felt it wasn't quite enough.
"Should I contact the Shenlongjia Forest District and Qinling Zoo and ask them to contribute as well?"
Of course, he just briefly considered it and finally abandoned this tempting idea.
"We have the animals now, but what about the plants..."
At this point, Yang Lin's gaze fell upon the Blood Orchid that he had been growing on his balcony.
All the few Blood Orchids brought back from Dolphin Island had survived.
Due to the recent warming weather, some of them had already bloomed with vibrant flowers.
With blood-red stems and blood-red petals, they possessed a captivating beauty under the sunlight.
A gentle breeze filled the room with the clear fragrance of the orchids.
"Heh heh, here are the rare plants, aren't they? I don't believe there are any other places in the world with Blood Orchids besides here and Dolphin Island."
As he spoke, Yang Lin prepared to take out his phone to take a picture of the Blood Orchid and post it.
But as he raised his phone to take a photo, he suddenly remembered something.
"No, no, this won't do. This won't make them seem rare enough."
"Even the most precious things lack a certain appeal without a supporting story. The Blood Orchid is so unique; with a bit more mystery, its value would certainly increase."
At this moment, the image of Teacher Xiaoliang instantly appeared in Yang Lin's mind.
As an expert in botany, the recognition from Teacher Xiaoliang would undoubtedly carry significant weight.
"He mentioned he would come over after the New Year. Why don't I contact him now and invite him over? Then, we can have an 'accidental discovery' of the rare Blood Orchid. By then..."
"Reliable, it's settled."
After muttering to himself, Yang Lin took out his phone again.
After the call connected, he invited Teacher Xiaoliang under the guise of visiting Bear Ridge.