According to the statements from several leaders, the city's promotional video would be entirely handled by Yang Lin.
The expenses would be paid to him in advance, and whatever was left would be his.
Hearing this, Yang Lin realized that the Ningnan government still remembered his contributions.
Otherwise, how could he possibly be entrusted with such an official project?
After another round of pleasantries, the leaders quickly departed from the Ecological Research Institute.
Only Yang Lin and Mr. Xiao Liang, along with several staff members from National Geographic magazine, remained on site.
Just as Yang Lin thought Mr. Xiao Liang and his team would find a place to settle down first, Mr. Xiao Liang suddenly said with great enthusiasm,
"Director Yang, since you're in Ningnan today, I've long been eager to visit the Xihong Zoo. Won't you invite me to take a look?"
Upon hearing Mr. Xiao Liang's words, Yang Lin was first stunned, then quickly replied,
"Of course, no problem, you're always welcome."
"You didn't drive here, did you? You can ride with me. My car is just outside."
With that, he prepared to lead Mr. Xiao Liang and the others towards the small van parked outside.
However, just as they were about to leave, a staff member from the Ecological Research Institute suddenly rushed out of the office building.
"Director Yang, please wait a moment. We might need your help with something."
Hearing the shout from behind, Yang Lin stopped immediately.
Soon, a young man in an institute uniform walked up to him.
Behind him, he was pulling a small cart.
"What is it?" Yang Lin asked, looking at the panting researcher with confusion.
"It's like this, a couple of days ago, Ningnan customs found a suspicious package during an incoming inspection, and then they discovered this fellow."
"Since they didn't recognize it at the time, they sent it to us."
"We took it in after identifying it, but since this is just a research institute, it's not suitable for its long-term survival. So, we'd like to send it to the Xihong Zoo."
As he spoke, the researcher pulled aside the cover on the small cart behind him.
As the cover fell away, a rather peculiar-looking creature appeared before Yang Lin and Mr. Xiao Liang.
The unknown creature was covered in long fur, with a naive and simple face, and had long claws on its limbs.
From a distance, it resembled some kind of ape.
If thrown into water, it would likely be mistaken for a water sprite.
With a touch of uncertainty, Yang Lin raised his hand and cast a 'Glimpse' ability on it.
The next second, its name appeared above the talent list.
[Pygmy Three-toed Sloth]
Seeing the name, Yang Lin suddenly understood.
At the same time, he couldn't help but murmur,
"Pygmy Three-toed Sloth? Isn't this creature from South America? How was it intercepted by Ningnan customs?"
Mr. Xiao Liang, hearing his murmuring, immediately offered a compliment.
"As expected of Director Yang, you recognized it at a glance. Unless one has a very deep understanding, it's truly difficult to distinguish between a Pygmy Three-toed Sloth and a Pale-throated Three-toed Sloth."
"However, it's not uncommon for such creatures to be intercepted by customs. Every year, countless smuggled animals are apprehended by customs in our country."
"All sorts of strange and peculiar things, there are always people with peculiar collecting habits, but it's truly rare to specifically buy this kind of creature to raise."
After speaking, Mr. Xiao Liang couldn't help but shake his head in exasperation.
Hearing his words, Yang Lin looked at the sloth's appearance again and nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, it's quite ugly. I wonder which rich person bought this thing as a pet."
"Oh well, let's take it to the Xihong Zoo. It has a few other South American folks there."
With that, Yang Lin pushed the cart to his van, then opened the cage and took out the sloth.
Seeing this, Mr. Xiao Liang couldn't help but ask,
"Aren't you afraid it will run away if you let it out?"
Yang Lin, upon hearing this, replied dismissively,
"What's there to be afraid of? Even if I let it go now, it might not even crawl to the other side of the road by the time I wake up from a nap."
Hearing Yang Lin's answer, Mr. Xiao Liang was first stunned, then slapped his forehead.
"Look at me, I almost forgot about that."
As Yang Lin placed the sloth in the van, he then spoke to Mr. Xiao Liang and the others again,
"You guys can come along too."
"Alright!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. Xiao Liang and the others were about to get into the van to follow Yang Lin back to the Xihong Zoo.
However, when Yang Lin opened the car door, the three of them were collectively dumbfounded.
Looking inside, apart from Yang Lin's driver's seat, all other spaces in the small van were empty. Even the passenger seat had been removed.
And there was an indescribable smell emanating from the car.
Seeing the expressions of Mr. Xiao Liang and the others, Yang Lin said somewhat sheepishly,
"Heh heh, this car is usually used to transport animals, so we removed all the unnecessary things."
"Don't underestimate this car, it's only been driven for 8 years."
Mr. Xiao Liang: ...
After a moment of speechless silence, Mr. Xiao Liang looked at Yang Lin with a newfound sense of admiration.
"The conditions in your zoo are so difficult, yet you still manage to care for the animals so well. Director Yang truly treats those animals like family."
With that, he beckoned to his two companions.
"Let's go, let's get in the car."
As he spoke, the three of them sat in the back of the van, with the sloth lying in the middle.
As the car started, the sloth's limbs began to crawl at an extremely slow pace, looking like it was preparing to escape.
But even so, no one in the car paid it any mind.
By the time they entered the gates of Xihong Zoo, it hadn't crawled half a meter.
When the car stopped, Yang Lin, along with Mr. Xiao Liang, lifted the sloth by its two front limbs, one on each side.
This scene naturally attracted the attention of a large number of tourists.
The tourists immediately erupted in a frenzy.
"Wow, did the director go shopping for supplies?"
"As expected of Xihong Zoo, even their procurement methods are so simple and unpretentious."
"By the way, what kind of animal is this? It's so ugly."
"I must say, it really is quite ugly."
"It's probably not a native creature of China, so it's an imported good then?"
"Don't you think the man next to the director looks a bit familiar?"
"His face does look a bit familiar, sort of like an animal."
"Tibetan fox, I remember now, it's the Tibetan fox."
"Holy cow, it's Mr. Xiao Liang!"
As tourists gradually recognized Mr. Xiao Liang's identity, news of his visit to Xihong Zoo quickly spread online.
Netizens were also very curious about his purpose for visiting Xihong Zoo.