Chapter 136: The Provincial Zoo: Were We Played?

Chapter 136: The Provincial Zoo: Were We Played?

Zhao Han hurried to County Liu's office to report the incident involving the panda.

"How could this happen?" County Liu's face darkened when he heard the news.

He had been planning to support Liyuan Farm as a showcase project, intending to present the theme of "Agricultural Production and Landscape Development Prospects" at the year-end report in the city.

If this theme could make it to the provincial level, its significance would far surpass Zhao Han's simple intentions.

Therefore, he did not want Luyuan Farm to face such a situation.

"It must be the allure of the national treasure that's too great," Zhao Han sighed and suggested, "County Liu, we should use our authority to have the other party take the panda back."

County Liu shook his head slightly, "No rush. Let's first go to Luyuan Farm and check the situation."

He knew that Mr. Zhang, the farm owner, was a very steady person and wouldn't act rashly over a panda.

The allure of a national treasure was strong, but it shouldn't make Mr. Zhang lose his wits.

So, he felt it was best to visit Luyuan Farm first.

Zhao Han nodded and followed County Liu out of the city, heading to Luyuan Farm.

As soon as they arrived at the Luyuan Farm office, they encountered Lin Muxue, who was returning with three people.

"President Lin!" Zhao Han greeted her with a smile.

"Director Zhao!" Lin Muxue responded warmly.

Zhao Han introduced, "President Lin, this is County Liu. We're here today specifically about the panda."

"County Liu!" Lin Muxue greeted him promptly.

She hadn't expected him to come so soon, which showed how much he valued Luyuan Farm.

County Liu turned to the three people behind her, who were carrying medical kits and equipment, and asked, "Are you here for the panda?"

Lin Muxue didn't hide anything, "Yes, we invited them to examine the panda. When they delivered it, they included a medical record stating that the panda has anorexia and depression and requires ongoing treatment, which they hid from President Zhang."

"Unacceptable, truly unacceptable, how could they do this?" Zhao Han said angrily.

"Let's go in and see first," County Liu said.

Lin Muxue led the group to the panda's temporary quarters.

Zhang Lin, knowing that County Liu and Zhao Han were here, rushed over to greet them, "County Liu, Director Zhao."

Zhao Han said to Zhang Lin, "President Zhang, rest assured, we will definitely get the panda back for you. We won't let them get away with this."

"..." Zhang Lin was taken aback by this statement.

Director Zhao, please don't do this.

If this happens, he would be devastated, while the Fujian Provincial Zoo would be laughing their heads off.

Lin Muxue had already led the three people into the panda's residence.

The older one was a veterinary expert named Chen Nan, and the other two were his assistants, one male and one female.

Chen Nan looked at the panda, which was happily munching on a bamboo shoot, with a pile of bamboo husks beside it.

"Miss Lin, it's anorexic and depressed?"

Lin Muxue, looking at the pile of husks, said awkwardly, "Doctor Chen, the medical record they provided said so. I apologize for the trouble."

Chen Nan, hearing this, could only have his assistants prepare and start the examination.

After all, they were paid to do the job.

He began to observe the panda, checking its fur, eyes, nose, and other aspects.

Externally, the panda showed no signs of any illness.

He took out his phone, intending to take a photo of the panda and connect it to a computer to create a medical record.

But as soon as he raised his phone, the panda grinned at him and posed for the camera, holding a bamboo shoot in its hand, looking both amusing and endearing.

Chen Nan was momentarily stunned, and the two assistants were also drawn in.

Not just them, but even County Liu and Zhao Han outside were surprised by this scene.

"President Zhang, it's posing?" Zhao Han asked instinctively.

Zhang Lin nodded, "It seems so. It's a bit vain; whenever someone takes its picture, it poses for the camera. Our operations staff even joked that it must have been a selfie addict in its previous life and didn't drink enough Mengpo Soup."

"The posing skills, I think it's possible!" Zhao Han found this very reasonable.

Chen Nan, regaining his composure, created the medical record. The assistants had already prepared the testing equipment.

Next was the blood draw, which was no easy task, as pandas can be resistant and strong.

There have been cases of veterinarians being knocked down by a panda's slap.

But when Chen Nan was about to draw blood, he was surprised to see the panda extend its paw to him.

"???" Chen Nan was a bit dazed but took the opportunity to prick the panda and draw a bit of blood.

The panda then nonchalantly started peeling another bamboo shoot.

This scene left Liu Xian and Zhao Han outside, completely stunned.

"Mr. Zhang, maybe the potion it drank really did expire," Zhao Han said, incredulous.

Who had ever seen a panda that would cooperate with blood draws and pose for photos? If it weren't for its condition, he would have loved it. He might have even suggested that the bureau allocate special funds to Liyuan Farm for panda breeding.

What a pity.

Zhang Lin smiled, knowing the truth.

With an increased Intelligence attribute, the panda's IQ was certainly no worse than those internet sensation pets with millions of followers.

Chen Nan had already resumed the panda's examination.

The process lasted the entire afternoon, and it wasn't until evening that they got the results.

During this time, Zhao Han and Liu Xian went back to handle county affairs, but they returned after work, clearly very concerned about the panda.

...

In Zhang Lin's office.

Lin Muxue, Liu Xian, and Zhao Han were all present, and they were surprised when they heard the conclusion from the veterinary expert, Chen Nan.

"Doctor Chen, you mean this panda has no illness?" Zhao Han was taken aback when he heard the result.

His friend wouldn't have made a mistake, and neither would the panda veterinary expert hired by Liyuan Farm.

There must be another reason.

Lin Muxue also asked, "Doctor Chen, what about the medical records from the Fujian Zoo? Yuan Yuan definitely has a long history of treatment, and it was transferred between two zoos, presumably because of its condition."

Chen Nan thought for a moment and replied, "Conditions like panda depression and loss of appetite don't always manifest in physical ailments. They can be caused by environmental factors, food, water, climate, and so on."

"It might be that it likes the environment and climate here in Youcheng, which could have improved its condition. While the probability is very low, there are cases where this has happened. There's a famous internet panda that was like this."

"At first, its condition couldn't be treated no matter what, and the zoo in Sichuan tried everything. But when it was transferred to a zoo in Shandong, it quickly got better."

Hearing this, Lin Muxue and Zhao Han both heaved a sigh of relief, even smiling.

In other words, they had a healthy panda. Moreover, it seemed to have drunk an expired potion, making it capable of performing tasks, which was like finding a treasure.

Zhang Lin had known this result from the beginning and said calmly, "Liu County, Director Zhao, Doctor Chen, I've already had someone prepare dinner in the restaurant. It's getting dark, let's eat and talk!"

Hearing this, everyone realized they were hungry.

As they left the office, Lin Muxue suddenly pulled aside one of Chen Nan's female assistants and started chatting happily. Though she was just an assistant, she was still a highly skilled veterinarian, being the assistant of a panda veterinary expert.

During dinner, Chen Nan found the farm's food delicious. He didn't think much of it when he saw Lin Muxue chatting happily with his assistant. However, when the assistant mentioned she might stay at Liyuan Farm, he was taken aback.

He then realized that Lin Muxue had been trying to poach his assistant.

How could such a beautiful woman do something like this?

Zhang Lin, on the other hand, was seeing Liu Xian and Zhao Han off.

Before getting into the car, Liu Xian said, "Mr. Zhang, we'll find a way to get you another panda for breeding."

"???" Zhang Lin was taken aback.

What was going on?

After getting into the car, Liu Xian started thinking about how to make it happen.

Youcheng was known for its bamboo, which would be a perfect match for pandas. He wouldn't have thought about this before, as Youcheng had no qualifications for breeding pandas.

But now Liyuan Farm did, so it was worth a try.

If they could get more pandas, it would have significant benefits for the county's overall tourism, economic development, and ecological construction. Many counties were already thinking along these lines.

For example, Shuishui County in Fujian had successfully introduced two pandas and gambled on establishing a panda research center. After three years, they successfully bred a pair of panda cubs, obtained national qualifications, and then introduced 35 more pandas to the county, setting up a zoo.

Now, the Shuishui Zoo was very famous, even at the national level, and the entire county had seen significant economic growth, even gaining the qualifications to apply for county-level city status. Even if the application wasn't approved in three years, it would still be a major achievement.

Youcheng now had the opportunity to follow this path. Even if they didn't succeed, it was worth a try.

If the panda plan succeeded, and Liyuan Farm continued to develop, it could significantly boost Youcheng's economy, potentially advancing it to city or provincial status.

Naturally, if they could reach the level of Shuishui County, Youcheng might regain the qualifications to apply for county-level city status.

Indeed, Youcheng had applied once before, based on the experimental county in the Soviet area, but it failed.

That administration took the wrong path and missed the opportunity, leaving Youcheng with over 100 billion in debt.

This meant he would have to stay in Youcheng for at least eight years before moving up to the next level.

If he got lucky and Liyuan Farm stabilized and continued to grow, that would be another guaranteed step forward.

If the Panda Project succeeded, then...

People shouldn’t be content with mediocrity. Some things require ambition, especially when opportunities present themselves.

"County Secretary Liu, do you think the zoo will want to take the panda back if they find out it’s fine?" Zhao Han frowned, adding that the panda was very smart and could pose for the camera, potentially becoming an animal internet sensation under the popularity of Liyuan Farm.

At that point, the zoo would likely be envious.

Human nature, profit, and other factors would make them want to take action.

"Let them decide? I’ll contact my connections in the provincial capital!" County Secretary Liu said irritably.

Anyone who had designs on the panda would have to deal with him.

Liyuan Farm

After Lin Muxue learned that Yuan Yuan the panda was fine, she hired another veterinarian and was in a great mood, immediately diving into work with Liu Qian.

Since the panda was healthy, she naturally wanted to introduce this handsome guy to his fans. After all, the videos taken by tourists had gone viral, and many people were eagerly waiting to see him.

The panda’s living area and viewing grounds weren’t ready yet, so she decided to let it stay with Heihei at the black bear’s fruit stand for now.

Heihei was so rich now, earning over 4,000 in profit every day by working just four hours, so taking care of one panda was no problem.

Lin Muxue had Liu Qian start filming the panda. As soon as the camera was on, Yuan Yuan began posing for the camera again.

Such a model, truly delightful.

After filming, Lin Muxue immediately had the video uploaded.

...

The Next Day

Zhang Lin woke up and was just finishing his morning routine when he saw his mother’s face light up with excitement. "Xiao Lin, our farm has a panda now?"

"Yep!" Zhang Lin smiled and nodded.

"I’ll go see it later. I’ve never seen a panda before! And from the farm videos, it’s so smart!" Lin Yan was visibly excited, despite her age, she still had a deep love for the national treasure.

Zhang Lin nodded, understanding from his mother’s reaction that the national treasure lived up to its name—it was indeed very popular.

During breakfast, he checked the farm’s account on his phone and saw that the number of followers had increased significantly overnight, and the growth rate had clearly picked up.

He knew the reason when he saw the latest video with over 700,000 likes. It was Yuan Yuan the panda, posing in front of the camera no matter what it was doing—whether eating bamboo shoots, playing, or walking around. As soon as the camera appeared, it would start posing.

The comments section showed just how captivating it was:

"Damn, my panda is more vain than my girlfriend!"

"It poses better than I do. I suspect it loved taking photos in its past life and forgot to drink the River Styx!"

"Do animals drink the River Styx too?"

"Haha, I visited Liyuan Farm yesterday, and today I got a big surprise—I’ve never seen a panda!"

"..."

The video was posted by Lin Muxue last night but had gone viral, reaching many people.

At the Min Province Zoo, Liu Shan, the head of the department, arrived early to inspect the zoo. Walking through the panda enclosure, he nodded in satisfaction at the healthy pandas moving around inside.

The zoo director was right—healthy pandas were valuable.

Fortunately, they had passed the buck with Yuan Yuan.

The young owner of Liyuan Farm must be regretting his eagerness to take the panda now.

Their zoo wouldn’t take Yuan Yuan back, and they would be just as stubborn as the last zoo that refused to return it.

Just as he was thinking this, a keeper suddenly ran over. "Director Liu, Yuan Yuan has gone viral! It’s on the hot list."

"What?" Liu Shan asked, puzzled.

"Look at Liyuan Farm’s video." The keeper handed him a phone, showing a video of a panda happily posing in front of the camera, looking like a sunny, cheerful young man.

Where was the depressed, listless panda?

"After taking care of Yuan Yuan for so long, we only just discovered its talent. It seems to be completely different now, and its condition has improved," the keeper said with a mix of emotion. "This video has gone viral, and Yuan Yuan might become a famous panda like Bendi Lingyan, Yu Ke, Xiang Yun, Aida Fubao, Xizhimen San Taizi Menglan, and Niuguluo Huahua. It will surely attract many visitors to Liyuan Farm."

Liu Shan’s face twitched at the keeper’s words, especially when he heard about the panda becoming famous and attracting many visitors.

Were they being played?

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end