Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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After Wei Xi contacted the director of the Forest Zoo, the group rushed over as soon as they arrived in Beijing. After learning about the nature of the zoo on Qinglong Road, they were still very reluctant: “What kind of talk is it for me, a divine beast, to squeeze with ordinary animals? Wouldn’t that be beneath me?”
But Tuan Tuanyi advised it, “You haven’t taken human form yet, and you don’t want to be under house arrest. If you don’t stay here, you can only stay in the aquarium that the country has secretly built.”
Wei Xi also found it annoying and thought that the place it should be in was actually its belly. He looked down on its arrogance and said, “Even a wild boar can’t get into this place. What kind of status do you have? Don’t be so self-important.”
Even though Qinglong was afraid, he was still very annoyed: “Can you please stop comparing me to a wild boar?”
Wei Xi nodded: “How can you compare to a wild boar? At least a wild boar is a Class II protected wild animal in China.”
Azure Dragon: “…”
Qinglong felt humiliated after being compared with protected animals, and felt that there was nothing to talk about with him. However, he was still confident in his social status. Who knew that he would be disliked by others again so soon.
Zhi Lixuan, who was greeting people at the door, examined the Azure Dragon and laughed, “I thought it was something else. Its scales are very shiny and it looks quite energetic, but it seems to be just a mutated water snake.”
After much consideration, Xia Shouren finally allowed the Azure Dragon to revert to its original form. Before transforming into a dragon, this newly ascended Azure Dragon was indeed just a small water snake in a ditch. Such a common species was nothing special in the eyes of Zhi Lixuan, the zoo director who had seen it all: “Is this even worth sending to the zoo? It has no commercial exhibition value.”
Azure Dragon: “!!!”
“Are you blind? What do you mean by ‘no commercial exhibition value’?!” The Azure Dragon was furious, but it didn’t dare to act recklessly next to Shuo Zong and Wei Xi. It could only desperately whip Zhi Lixuan with its tail, wishing it could immediately reveal its true form and blind the other party.
Zhi Lixuan laughed and dodged, “Oh dear, you have quite a temper.”
Mr. Gu and the other Taoist priests were at a loss for words and could only awkwardly say, “For certain reasons, it may be necessary to temporarily place it in the zoo. Rest assured, Director Zhi, all its expenses and resettlement costs will be covered by government funding.”
Recently, there had been many news reports of citizens secretly raising snakes, only to eventually have to ask the forestry bureau to take them over when they could no longer keep them. Upon hearing this, Zhi Lixuan guessed that this water snake was probably kept at home by some high-ranking official for fun. No wonder he didn’t mind the trouble after abandoning it and even found a zoo to take care of it. It seems he was not short of money at all.
As a businessman, he naturally understood basic social etiquette, so he didn’t waste any more words: “Okay, okay, although the species is just average, since all the leaders and Master Wei have spoken, I will definitely take good care of this snake.”
The Azure Dragon was depressed. Before it could even voice its dissatisfaction, it had already been preemptively criticized twice. It felt extremely humiliated, and its initial sense of superiority seemed to have vanished.
What was even more embarrassing was that when they were going through the formalities, Director Zhi suggested as if it were perfectly normal: “We happen to have a few empty exhibit areas in the corner of our aquarium. What do you all think about putting it there?”
When Qinglong saw where he pointed, he almost couldn’t resist scratching him with his claws— what did he mean? Using that godforsaken, godforsaken place as his nest? Who did he think he was!
Mr. Gu and the others also felt it was inappropriate: “Isn’t this a bit too cramped and remote?”
Zhi Lixuan felt that their care for the snake seemed a bit excessive, and scratched his head in bewilderment: “It’s just an ordinary water snake, it doesn’t have any selling points, and no one would want to see it if it were placed in the main exhibition area.”
The Azure Dragon was furious, slapping Mr. Gu’s arm repeatedly with its tail. Under its coercion, Mr. Gu could only helplessly say, “Director Zhi, our relevant departments have allocated a batch of expansion funds to your aquarium to help you expand this exhibition area of the zoo. This… snake will be placed in the largest free-range exhibition area in the very center. What do you think of this?”
Zhi Lixuan was a little dumbfounded: “This… can we not say that? The free-range area is for marine species, but this snake of yours is a freshwater snake.”
Mr. Gu quickly said, “It’s alright, it’s alright. It’s amphibious, it likes to soak in seawater.”
Zhi Lixuan: “…Amphibious in freshwater and seawater? Is that even a thing? Aren’t we usually talking about amphibious in the sea, land, and air?”
Mr. Gu: “Pretty much, pretty much.”
The other Taoist priests nodded in agreement; it was indeed about the same.
Zhi Lixuan felt that this leader seemed to have some mental problems, so he quietly went to ask Wei Xi. Wei Xi was too lazy to care about how to settle the dragon and waved his hand, saying, “Just believe whatever they say.”
Although Zhi Lixuan hesitated, he was ultimately tempted by the funding Mr. Gu had mentioned. After thinking it over, he agreed to give it a try. In any case, there were sea snakes in the free-range area, and this one was non-venomous. Since the leader was so sure about releasing it, he might as well release it.
The Azure Dragon was still resentful about being rejected. It was just so unreasonable. It was a dignified Azure Dragon that was willing to condescend to enter the aquarium, and the director not only felt honored, but also picked and chose, even refusing to give it a prime exhibition area. It was really hard for it to swallow this insult.
As they were talking, Mr. Gu finally remembered something and, while signing his name, said to the zoo director, “I was wondering why the Forest Zoo sounded so familiar. Wasn’t it your zoo that was trending on social media a while ago? Because they said your pandas could bow?”
Director Zhi: “…”
Director Zhi glanced at Wei Xi and said, “This is a long story.”
However, most of the people present had never seen a panda that could bow, but since it was mentioned, they still made a special trip to see it.
There were even more visitors outside the panda exhibit than during the last team-building event in Taicang. Everyone was there to see this extraordinary giant panda, and the group almost couldn’t squeeze in.
The giant panda was still lazily leaning against the shelf eating bamboo as usual, but this time its performance attitude was much more sincere, and it never used its buttocks to face the audience.
The audience held their breath and aimed their cameras at it. As the panda ate, it kept glancing at the crowd. When it found that there were enough people in front of the exhibition area, it put down the bamboo, sat up, put its front paws together, and bowed to the crowd.
Audience: “Wow!!!!”
“It’s bowed! It’s bowed!”
“So cute!!!”
Mr. Gu and the others stared in disbelief: “This…this couldn’t be something you trained!”
Director Zhi: “Absolutely not.”
Mr. Gu: “Then…then what is this…”
The zoo director found it hard to explain: “Perhaps it’s trying to solidify its position. Ever since it started bowing, the number of visitors to our zoo specifically to see it has increased by more than 30%. It can be considered the undisputed ace.”
Mr. Gu: “…???”
What’s going on with this zoo’s “ranking cancer” phenomenon?
….
Wei Xi nodded and said, “That’s right. Only when employees have a competitive spirit and don’t just coast along can the company have a chance to develop. You have to actively promote this competitive spirit. In addition to the panda pavilion, in all the other exhibition areas, encourage the Siberian tigers and cougars to develop their own specialties. Whichever exhibition area has the highest visitor traffic should be moved to the center.”
Director Zhi: “…”
The rest of the group: “…”
Tuan Tuanyi felt that something was not quite right, but what his master said seemed to be the business development rules that he had specifically listed back then, so it didn’t seem abnormal.
Looking at the panda struggling to make a living, Xia Shouren felt a chill run down his spine and asked his friend beside him, trembling, “…Is this how he usually runs a business?”
Shuo Zong calmly looked at Wei Xi, who was speaking eloquently in front of him, and narrowed his eyes slightly: “Very serious, isn’t he?”
Xia Shouren: “…………”
Are you crazy?! Do I look like I’m praising his intelligence?! And what’s with your smug attitude?!
The azure dragon clinging to Xia Shouren seemed lost in thought, deeply impressed by the throngs of visitors and the enthusiastic fans in front of the panda enclosure. The chubby panda’s every move was clumsy and simple, yet the fans’ reactions were incredibly enthusiastic; even when it was just leaning there eating bamboo, they watched with undivided attention.
The Azure Dragon trembled with rage. What right did this panda have to receive such treatment? It was the Azure Dragon himself who should be receiving such adoration!
However, reality was so harsh. When it followed Xia Shouren back to the aquarium where it was about to live, there were only a few cats and dogs left among the visitors.
Actually, saying there were only two or three kittens was a bit of an exaggeration, but compared to the bustling panda pavilion just now, the deserted state of the aquarium needed no further explanation.
Azure Dragon gritted his teeth inwardly, thinking, “Why is this happening?”
Xia Shouren felt a toothache when he heard its complaints: “Can you please stop thinking about these strange things?”
Azure Dragon: “How can this be something strange? We dragons are the totem of humanity, worshipped for thousands of years. Why should we be overshadowed by pandas in this socialist era?”
Xia Shouren: “…”
Wei Xi sneered: “I think you’re becoming less and less self-aware. Before, you compared yourself to a wild boar, a second-class protected animal, and now you dare to compare yourself to a panda, a first-class protected animal.”
Xia Shouren: “…”
Azure Dragon: “…”
Taoist priests: “…”
Mr. Gu: “…”
Seeing the crowd fall silent, Tuan Tuanyi awkwardly pulled his master aside and offered Qinglong some psychological counseling: “Don’t think so much. Fame doesn’t come overnight. Wasn’t the panda pavilion’s visitor flow gradually built up by the pandas? The dragon clan has been dormant for so many years, so it’s normal that without exposure, there are no fans. Besides, your aquarium isn’t as fun as the panda pavilion. Pandas are furry and can even bow, while fish just swim around in the water. Ordinary people will definitely find watching pandas more interesting than watching fish. Take it easy, take it easy.”
Upon hearing this, Qinglong’s eyes widened immediately. He struggled to climb from Xia Shouren’s arm onto Tuan Tuanyi’s arm. This guy is an expert!
Xia Shouren’s hands were suddenly empty, and he stared blankly at Shuo Zong: “…I feel like something’s not right, buddy.”
Shuo Zong had been trying to communicate with him at cross purposes, but now he finally sneered in unison, “You weren’t wrong, this guy is a moron.”
Xia Shouren was taken aback by the response, his gaze seemingly saying, “You didn’t say that about Wei Xi just now.”
Shuo Zong glanced at him.
What do you mean? What’s wrong with Wei Xi? Wei Xi is so serious.
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