As the phone connected, a familiar voice soon came from the other end.
"Director Yang, it's Qian Tu. I've delivered the seedlings and flowers you wanted. Do you want to send someone to receive them now?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Lin, who had been feeling a bit down, suddenly brightened up.
"Boss Qian is so efficient! They're already delivered right after the New Year."
"Hehe, of course. Director Yang, you're a major client now. Your needs are my mission."
"Alright, I'll go take a look now."
The call ended, and Yang Lin immediately walked out of the zoo gate again.
As soon as he stepped out, he saw large trucks loaded with seedlings and flowers.
At a glance, the entire zoo avenue seemed to be occupied by these large trucks.
To others, these were just trees and flowers, but only Yang Lin knew they were bought with his hard-earned money.
These fifty trucks of seedlings cost him over ten million yuan. His heart had bled when he placed the order.
But to achieve the overall effect he desired for the zoo, he had no choice but to bear the pain.
"After these trees are planted, it shouldn't be so desolate around here anymore."
While looking at the parked trucks, Yang Lin's gaze swept across the surroundings of the zoo.
Since the Ningnan authorities had designated this entire area to him, he had only utilized the city zoo, Plot 1, Bear Ridge, and part of Animal City.
Even so, two-thirds of the entire large area remained blank. Most of it was filled with slag transported from the city, and a small part was in its original, undeveloped state.
An uninformed person might think it was a mass grave, which somewhat affected the overall impression of Xihong Zoo.
After much consideration, Yang Lin chose the most cost-effective and quickest renovation plan.
That was to plant vegetation in the remaining areas, completely turning them into a forest.
At that time, Xihong Zoo would be completely enveloped by a vast forest.
It would become Ningnan's green lung.
Yang Lin had initially thought this project would be very simple, merely planting trees in his opinion.
But when he saw the piles of seedlings being unloaded from the large trucks, his brow gradually furrowed.
"Oh wow, why are there so many? How long will it take to plant them all?"
With that thought, he quickly dialed Qian Tu's number again.
"Boss Qian, have all the seedlings arrived?"
"Yes, Director Yang. The fifty trucks you ordered have all arrived. However, the municipal landscaping department heard about your situation and donated another 30 trucks. Those 30 trucks are still on their way from Diannan."
"What? Another 30 trucks?"
Upon hearing that number, Yang Lin was dumbfounded.
After the shock, Yang Lin immediately asked his second most pressing question.
"How many people will you be assigning to this task from your end?"
As soon as he asked, Qian Tu on the other end of the line suddenly became embarrassed.
"Well, Director Yang, it's just after the New Year, and many workers haven't returned yet. We might not be able to send as many people as we'd like for now."
"Perhaps you could mobilize your own staff?"
"Have the zoo staff plant trees? They might be willing, but wouldn't that require overtime pay?"
Yang Lin dismissed this idea after a moment's thought.
But at that moment, a sudden spark of inspiration flashed through his mind.
"Right, staff need overtime pay, but tourists don't. Why not let the tourists help plant trees?"
The more Yang Lin thought about it, the more he felt this idea was feasible.
He even wished university hadn't started yet, as he would have invited a group of college students to help plant trees, just needing to issue an internship certificate.
"It's decided then. I'll go post the activity announcement now."
He excitedly hung up the phone, and before long, a draft was published through his hands on Xihong Zoo's official account.
"To celebrate the 45th Arbor Day in Longguo, our park has prepared a large number of seedlings and flowers for our esteemed visitors during this festive New Year period. Visitors can collect them with their ticket stubs outside the ticket office."
"Visitors can then plant these trees in designated areas. The park will hang the names and New Year wishes of each visitor on the trees, hoping that these trees will grow alongside their New Year aspirations."
"This activity is completely free, with only a small charge for tool rental. Seedlings are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Let us use this special method to conclude our New Year festivities."
As soon as the announcement was posted, it immediately attracted the attention of many fans and tourists.
After reading the content of the announcement, they were in an uproar.
"Arbor Day isn't until March 12th, why is Xihong Zoo already welcoming it?"
"What's that? Haven't New Year's countdowns for 2024 already appeared on Douyin?"
"Ah? It's still over 300 days until New Year? Then I won't go to work this year."
"This is a great activity. Planting trees is so meaningful. Director Yang's vision is always on point."
"Letting New Year wishes grow with the trees, that's a wonderful idea. Too bad I lost my ticket stub yesterday. But it's okay, I'll go again today. I want to take my child."
"I want to, too! I want to, too. Xihong Zoo's wish-granting has always been so effective. Maybe hanging wishes on trees will really make them come true."
"Let's consider it a contribution to Blue Star's ecology. Enough said, I'm heading to Xihong Zoo now."
"Speaking of conscience, it has to be Director Yang. Planting trees for free. Some ant app makes you water daily and grab energy, and I haven't seen a single tree sprout yet."
"Envious of our friends in Ningnan! You always get to participate in all the activities. When will Director Yang open branches in other cities?"
"No need to think about it. Let Director Yang earn a few more small fortunes first."
...
As the news spread, many netizens from Ningnan or nearby areas were already on the move.
On the same day Yang Lin posted the announcement, thousands of visitors participated in the tree-planting event.
In less than a day, a small patch of wasteland was covered with vast numbers of trees.
Each tree had a small card attached, carrying the New Year wishes of the visitors.
On the second day of the activity, the number of participating visitors increased significantly, breaking through ten thousand.
The entire Xihong Zoo was buzzing with activity, and even many people from the city spontaneously came.
They didn't even bother entering the park, just to personally plant a tree outside Xihong Zoo.
This resulted in the trees, which would have taken over a week to plant, being replanted in less than three days.
The most absurd part was that after all the trees were used up, tourists started buying trees themselves and bringing them over to plant.
This grand scene continued for more than a week, until there was simply no more space to plant around Xihong Zoo, and they finally stopped.
By the time a week had passed, the area outside Xihong Zoo had undergone a drastic transformation.