With the staff all hired, Duan Jiaze didn't have to be so busy himself anymore. He began to plan his next steps.

Lingyou Zoo had opened and started to generate visitor income, but the pace was still relatively slow for now. A portion of the enclosures in the zoo were still empty, and the variety of animals was still quite limited. Duan Jiaze thought it over and decided that with the system's increasingly difficult tasks, he should start introducing more animals.

But where could he get them from? The Flower and Bird Market again?

Duan Jiaze had absolutely no experience in this area. After thinking for a long time, he decided to go to the Forestry Bureau to try his luck.

The Forestry Bureau could be considered Lingyou Zoo's supervisory department. Duan Jiaze sat in the Wildlife Protection Office, staring blankly at their office director.

Just a moment ago, he had cluelessly run over to ask what procedures were needed to take in abandoned wild animals.

The office director adjusted his glasses. “Oh...you’re the person in charge of that zoo, and you hope to adopt some animals that cannot return to the wild for various reasons?”

Duan Jiaze nodded. “Yes, yes! Is that possible?”

He had come up with this idea on a whim, thinking of this method that wouldn't cost money, so he came to give it a try.

The office director said, “Well...technically, you meet all the qualifications, but it’s standard practice in our city to hand them over to the City Zoo for adoption. There’s no precedent for giving them to a private zoo.”

Duan Jiaze asked hopefully, “Can I apply then?”

The office director scratched his head. “I’ll have to ask my superiors about this. Why don’t you leave your contact information?”

“Okay, thank you.” Duan Jiaze felt there was still a glimmer of hope. If it worked out, he could get new animals without spending money. If not, there was no loss.

After leaving his contact information, Duan Jiaze left the office. As he walked into the main hall, he suddenly heard a voice call out from above, “Xiao Duan!”

There weren't many people at the Forestry Bureau, and the hall was very quiet, but Duan Jiaze didn't think for a second that someone was calling him, so he paid it no mind and continued walking out.

The voice called out again, “Director Duan?”

Only then did Duan Jiaze realize someone really was calling him. He turned his head and saw an uncle standing on the second floor. It was the same man he had run into twice at the Flower and Bird Market. He was holding a teacup and said with a chuckle, “Still remember me?”

“Uncle, it's you,” Duan Jiaze greeted him in pleasant surprise. “You work here?”

“That’s right. Come up to my office for a bit.” The uncle beckoned for Duan Jiaze to come up.

Duan Jiaze had nothing else to do, and since this uncle worked at the Forestry Bureau, he thought he could ask him about the situation. So, he quickly went up to the second floor.

......

The uncle led Duan Jiaze to his office, which was a private room. Inside was a fish tank with three or four goldfish, but the one the uncle had taken to be treated last time was not among them.

Seeing Duan Jiaze looking, he said with a laugh, “Most of my fish are at home. Let me tell you, I moved the TV out of the living room and put in a huge aquarium. I’m raising dozens of fish. You’ll have to come and appraise them for me next time.”

“Sure.” Duan Jiaze said with a smile, “These few fish are well-raised.”

“Still not as good as yours. I went to your zoo last Sunday and even saw your ‘Aquarium,’ hahahahahahaha.” The uncle chuckled at the thought and gave a thumbs-up. “Your fish are the ones that are truly well-raised! I’m convinced! The other animals are well-cared for too. It’s completely transformed.”

The uncle was now completely convinced that Duan Jiaze was an expert and admired him greatly. The place was completely different from when he had visited before.

“Hehe, you went? I was so busy I didn’t even see you,” Duan Jiaze said with an embarrassed smile.

The uncle then asked, “Are you here to handle some paperwork? Is there anything I can help with?”

If it were anyone else, he certainly wouldn't have offered to help. But he had met Duan Jiaze purely by coincidence; he greatly approved of Duan Jiaze's skills, and on top of that, he had seen the recent news report about Duan Jiaze on TV. That's why he took the initiative to ask.

Duan Jiaze had been wanting to ask him anyway, so he naturally took the opportunity to explain his situation. “I just wanted to ask if you know anything about this matter. Is it possible for me to get this opportunity?”

“Hah, of course there is.” The uncle took a sip of tea and spoke eloquently, “There are quite a few wild animals within Donghai City, so the pressure on rescue efforts is pretty high. There are many wild animals abandoned by their mothers, or those that can't return to the wild after being injured, and even confiscated illegal pets. Generally, the City Zoo is the main recipient; we give them the animals to take in. You know what the other zoos are like—just shoddy operations.

“But over time, the pressure on the City Zoo has also become immense. They have some older animals themselves and have been trying to find ways to palm them off on other zoos.

“The supervisory departments are also reluctant to entrust these animals to just anyone, so they can only let the City Zoo bear the burden. Recently, they’ve even been planning to communicate with zoos in other cities. If a qualified and excellent facility were willing, that would be for the best, of course.”

Duan Jiaze said excitedly, “We are qualified! We also welcome the leadership to come and inspect. We will absolutely take good care of them! By the way, the animals the City Zoo wants to phase out can come to my place too!”

Although he didn't have many people, the system had prepared all the necessary qualifications for him.

The uncle looked at Duan Jiaze, speechless. He could understand that Duan Jiaze was eager to introduce new species due to his current lack of variety, but to be this unpicky was a bit much. He started to get anxious.

“You need to be careful. These animals, especially large and rare ones, if they get sick, you’ll have to hire outside experts, and that costs a lot. Feeding elderly animals is also very troublesome. You’ll regret it to death!”

Duan Jiaze could tell the uncle was looking out for him and was very touched. “Thank you for your concern, but I’ll be fine. We will do our best to create a good environment for the animals. Of course, we will act within our means and capabilities.”

The uncle remembered the news report saying Duan Jiaze had spent his entire fortune on installing that equipment. It seemed this kid was truly running on passion. Instead of going to zoos in other regions, he came to the Forestry Bureau to discuss adoption, probably also out of his love for wild animals.

“Alright, as long as you act within your means.” The uncle patted Duan Jiaze’s shoulder. “I’ll help you make the connection for this matter. I’ll talk to the head of the City Zoo about transferring their abandoned animals to your place. As for the animals rescued by the protection station, a portion can also be handed over to you in the future.”

Hearing the uncle’s words, Duan Jiaze was stunned. The former was just making a connection, but the latter sounded like it was already decided. He couldn't help but ask, “Uncle, what’s your position here?”

The uncle chuckled. “You didn’t even look when you came in?”

Duan Jiaze had headed straight for the fish tank the moment he entered and really hadn't noticed. Now, looking back, he saw there was indeed a plaque on the door that read “Executive Deputy Director’s Office.” He nearly fell to his knees.

...If he had known earlier, he really might not have dared to speak so uninhibitedly just now.

The uncle then gave him his business card and teased, “I know your name, but you still don’t know mine, do you? Keep this safe. Send me a text later so I can save your number.”

Duan Jiaze took a look and saw that this Deputy Director Uncle was named Sun Aiping. He accepted the card and said shyly, “My apologies, Director Sun, I...uh...”

“It’s alright, just keep calling me Uncle. I thought you had already seen it,” Sun Aiping said with a big laugh.

His impression of Duan Jiaze had been good from their previous two encounters. In his mind, Duan Jiaze was a pure animal lover and a fish-raising expert. He had a very favorable impression of such a young man.

So, doing one good deed that solves problems for multiple parties—why not do it?

---

Duan Jiaze had originally come just to try his luck. Who knew he would solve his problem in one fell swoop—or at least, temporarily solve half of it.

Uncle Sun had helped him so much. He had just started to express his gratitude when Sun Aiping interrupted him, saying that just coming over to his house from time to time to exchange fish-raising tips would be enough.

Seeing Sun Aiping’s attitude, Duan Jiaze was even more moved and could only nod repeatedly.

After returning, Duan Jiaze announced the good news to his employees.

Xiao Su said, “This works too? Director, are you secretly a rich second-generation heir or something? Building new enclosures and a visitor center on a whim, and now you’re going to cooperate with the protection station. Just admit it, I won’t ask for a raise.”

“If I really were, I would have renovated this office building first!” Duan Jiaze said. “Your Director is just a tiny bit lucky...”

Xiao Su shook her head and sighed, “It really is a protagonist's halo.”

Duan Jiaze: “...”

......

There was one more thing. After the last two promotional events, Duan Jiaze felt it was necessary to build up the zoo's own promotional platforms. That way, they wouldn't have to spend money to use someone else's platform every time they held an event.

But Duan Jiaze had no experience, so he called the platform he had collaborated with before, paid them to set it up, and teach him how to operate it. They often took on such jobs and even suggested they could run a lottery event at the same time to attract a batch of followers.

Duan Jiaze strongly agreed. He asked them to help apply for a WeChat official account, and he also applied for a Weibo account himself, got them verified, and named them all “Lingyou Zoo.”

Because Xiao Su usually enjoyed taking behind-the-scenes photos, she and Duan Jiaze would manage these two official accounts together.

The content for the official account needed to be edited, and only one WeChat post could be pushed each day. Weibo was much freer. Duan Jiaze casually posted the first Weibo on Lingyou's official account:

We're here.

The attached picture was the shot of the little monkey making a heart sign, captured by the photographer last time. It faced the camera, its fingers forming a heart shape, its mouth split into a wide grin, and its eyes seemed to be shining, revealing a joyful smile like that of a bountiful harvest.