The arrival of the four puppies sparked intense interest among the female employees of the zoo. Nominally, the dogs belonged to Xu Chenggong, and Xu Chenggong did indeed take the time to mix their feed and give it to the puppies.

Each of the four puppies had a thin string of a different color tied around its neck to distinguish them.

Whenever Xu Wen and Xiao Su had free time, they would flock over and ask to help feed the puppies. They also liked to feed the puppies from the palms of their hands, so the puppies wouldn't have to lower their heads and they could pet them. It got to the point where Xu Chenggong complained that they were spoiling them.

Xiao Su asked, "By the way, Brother Xu, have the puppies been named yet?"

Xu Chenggong scratched his head. He hadn't even thought about naming them; he was just doing a favor for Duan Jiaze. The reason Duan Jiaze had given them to him was that he had raised dogs before, but back then, he just called them random names like "Blackie" or "Big Yellow."

If he were really to name these four dogs, he'd probably call them Whitey One, Whitey Two, Whitey Three, and Whitey Four.

Xu Chenggong shook his head, "No, I don't know if the Zoo Director has come up with any good names."

Xiao Su had her sights set on the right to name the puppies. Then, she saw Duan Jiaze walking past the puppies, and one of them, the one with the red string, stumbled over to Duan Jiaze and hugged his leg.

The puppy looked up at Duan Jiaze with watery eyes. Duan Jiaze immediately smiled, squatted down, and scratched the puppy's chin. The puppy closed its eyes and let out a couple of whimpers.

"Xiao Hong, come on, go back on your own."

Seeing the puppy plop right down on his foot with no intention of getting up, Duan Jiaze gave it a little push.

Xiao Su, who was standing nearby, heard this, and her expression cracked. "Zoo Director, you're really naming him Xiao Hong?"

Duan Jiaze gave her a blank look. "I guess so."

Xiao Su: "What about the other three?"

Duan Jiaze: "Xiao Qing, Xiao Hai, and Xiao Shou..."

Xiao Su: "And a xiao shou?"

Duan Jiaze: "???"

Xiao Su: "Aren't your names a bit too careless? Xiao Hong? I think that one's a male puppy."

Duan Jiaze picked "Xiao Hong" up and put it back in its pen. "What are you talking about? I told you they're nicknames. Their full names are Moli Hong, Moli Qing, Moli Hai, and Moli Shou. And I didn't even name them. Your Brother Lu insisted on these names."

He paused for a moment, then complained, "Do you think I'd be shameless enough to shout these full names in public?"

Xiao Su: "..."

Xiao Su broke into a sweat. "Aren't those the Four Heavenly Kings? Brother Lu's way of thinking is quite... unique."

"Alright, I have to go out for something." Duan Jiaze said goodbye to Xiao Su, grabbed his personal belongings, and left.

Xiao Su watched Duan Jiaze's retreating back and sighed. The Zoo Director was truly an enigmatic man. As the accountant, she knew this better than anyone.

The Zoo Director was so rich, yet he always spent his own money to buy equipment and build enclosures for the zoo. But he was unwilling to improve his own living conditions, nor would he buy a car for transportation. He even had to take the bus to get into the city.

—One of their colleagues, Wang Yibai, even had an electric scooter to get around!

Their workplace was quite remote. Look, if the Zoo Director wasn't going into the city but to a nearby village instead, he couldn't even take a bus. He'd have to hitch a ride on the three-wheeled cart of a villager who delivers vegetables——

Duan Jiaze had recently been looking into leasing land. Sun Aiping had already found someone for him, and they had more or less figured out the procedures. He had also gone to the village committee of the neighboring Tongxin Village to inquire about the contract, and today he was going to sign it.

Currently, land transfers were encouraged, and the plot next to the zoo that Duan Jiaze had his eye on was wasteland, so there weren't many difficulties in that regard. The main points of negotiation were the price and the length of the lease.

In the end, they settled on a ten-year contract at 450 yuan per mu annually, settled once a year, with the price to be adjusted every three years.

Initially, the other party wanted to settle for three years at once, but Duan Jiaze refused. He wasn't even sure if he could live for another three years...

At the current price, the annual leasing cost was just over ten thousand yuan. A few months ago, that would have really stung, as he had less than two hundred thousand in his account at the time.

Fortunately, the zoo's visitor traffic had been pretty good lately, and it had even ridden on the popularity of other places like Linshui Temple, so his finances were a bit more comfortable now.

After leasing the land, he could go to the housing and urban-rural development departments and other authorities to handle the paperwork. Only then could he build on the land himself.

Building was a matter for the Hope Project System, but when it came to filling those buildings, there was little the System could do to help. Fortunately, Duan Jiaze was gradually getting the hang of the zoo business and learning the ropes. He could also leverage the channels of the Forestry Bureau.

As long as he earned money, with the "support" of the Forestry Bureau and the City Zoo, he could always get more animals. The future looked relatively bright.

Duan Jiaze left the zoo and headed for Cape Park. He was waiting there for the uncle who always supplied the zoo with grain and vegetables, as he was currently making a delivery at Cape Park. The security guard at Cape Park even greeted Duan Jiaze; they were neighbors, after all, at least on nodding terms.

Actually, the people at Cape Park had a pretty good attitude towards them. Although Lingyou Zoo's initial positioning was to leech off Cape Park, it had been so successful that it could even "give back," which balanced Cape Park's attitude.

When the uncle came out, Duan Jiaze hopped onto the back of his three-wheeled cart. The vegetables had already been delivered, leaving the back empty. There was even a small stool placed there, just right for Duan Jiaze to sit on.

The three-wheeler chugged along the country path. The straight-line distance between the two places wasn't actually far, but they had to take a detour around various fields and ponds.

As they passed a field, the uncle shouted, "Sun Laizi!"

A man squatting on the ridge of the field looked up. Just as he did, Duan Jiaze also glanced over. The man was so frightened that he immediately tumbled backward and fell into the field, getting covered in mud.

Duan Jiaze only caught a fleeting glimpse and didn't see the man's face clearly. By the time the man climbed up again, Duan Jiaze, looking back from the three-wheeler, could only see a figure covered in mud.

The uncle was still laughing heartily. "What, you don't recognize him? That's Sun Laizi, Sun Qinglong. He used to work at your zoo."

Only then did Duan Jiaze remember him. He was one of the villagers he had hired before. "Oh, it's him..."

The uncle said, "We all know that he and a few village ruffians went to your zoo to cause trouble! Look how scared he was to see you. You don't know, but for a while, they were going crazy in the village, telling everyone they'd made a mess at your zoo and then you let a lion loose to bite them."

Duan Jiaze: "..."

The uncle said, "That's a guilty conscience for you! That's why people shouldn't do bad things!"

Duan Jiaze chimed in with a dry laugh, "Right, right. Look at them, their guilt is making them hallucinate."

The uncle dropped Duan Jiaze off at the village committee office and said to him, "I'm going home for a drink of water. Give me a call when you're ready to leave."

"Thanks, Uncle." Duan Jiaze waved and entered the village committee office. The land was collectively owned, so the village committee was signing the contract with him as its representative.

Outside, some villagers had gathered to watch, discussing Duan Jiaze's identity.

After signing the contract, Duan Jiaze paid the first year's fee on the spot. Once business was concluded, he exchanged a few pleasantries with the village head and then left.

He had more to do today than just sign the contract. Yesterday, he'd discovered that the side quest on his phone had been completed. As soon as he saw it, he quickly contacted the City Zoo to bring the peacock, Cuicui, back. He thought if he got back early, he could still be there to receive him and chat about his condition. He was really curious to see what this peacock would look like after evolving into the king of a hundred birds.

As soon as Duan Jiaze stepped outside, he was stopped by an older woman. "Young man, are you the Zoo Director?"

Duan Jiaze: "...Yes, I am. Can I help you, Auntie?"

The woman grabbed his sleeve. "Then can you help me? Take a look at my family's cow, it's sick. Do you know how to treat it? If not, can we bring it to your zoo for someone to look at?"

Duan Jiaze: "..."

Duan Jiaze was speechless. "Auntie, we're a zoo, not a veterinary clinic. You should find a professional."

'Just like Sun Aiping's wife, Auntie Liu, asking the zoo to treat illnesses,' he thought. 'Do people, whether from the city or the countryside, all have some kind of misunderstanding about zoos?'

The woman said, confused, "Isn't it all the same? You raise animals too. Don't your animals get sick? Then you must have a vet."

How was he supposed to explain this to her?

Besides, Lingyou Zoo really didn't have a vet right now. The old Cape Zoo used to cooperate with a veterinary clinic, only calling someone in when an animal got sick. As for them now, the animals' physical conditions had greatly improved, and they were fed according to the plan given by the System, so there hadn't been any situations requiring a doctor yet.

The only ones whose bodies had changed were the two peacocks, Jinwei and Cuicui, and they had been sent to the City Zoo to resolve the issue. Both had completed their "shifts."

Duan Jiaze had no choice but to say, "We don't have a vet. The keepers take care of the animals they manage, but we don't raise cows, so no one here can treat a cow."

Only then did the woman let go, disappointed. "Alright, forget it."

......

Duan Jiaze returned to the zoo just as the people from the City Zoo were leaving. Liu Bin had just been seeing them off at the entrance.

"Cuicui's back? How is he?" Duan Jiaze asked.

Liu Bin said, "Director, don't even mention it. They told me Cuicui is just like Jinwei. The moment he got there, he bullied all the other peacocks. Luckily, no birds were harmed. He was a total tyrant, and a picky eater too. Just now, when we put him back in the aviary, he dove straight into the food trough."

Having gotten used to the food at Lingyou Zoo, of course he'd be a picky eater at the City Zoo.

Duan Jiaze ran to the aviary to see Cuicui. The peacock was indeed in high spirits. There were a few visitors in the aviary, taking pictures. But as for any changes, Duan Jiaze couldn't really see any. He even thought Cuicui looked like he'd lost weight.

A child nearby yelled, "Mom, why isn't the peacock fanning its tail?"

The female tourist said, "Be good, it'll fan its tail soon. We'll see it if we wait a little longer." She held her phone up, ready to capture the moment the peacock fanned its tail. She had heard that the peacocks here fanned their tails frequently.

Just as she said that, Duan Jiaze and the four or five other visitors present witnessed an astonishing scene.

The two male peacocks flapped their wings and took flight, their long tail displays trailing behind them as they spiraled up around the central pillar of the aviary. One after the other, the two peacocks circled upwards, their bodies and tails carving a stunning arc.

After flying more than ten meters straight up from the ground, the two peacocks landed on the highest metal rod inside, a perch usually occupied only by other birds. Sunlight filtered down from the ceiling, making their naturally drooping tail feathers reflect a captivating shimmer.

They looked around and began to sing out loud.

The birds below also lifted their heads one by one and began to sing towards the peacocks. For a moment, the entire aviary was filled with birdsong, melodious and not at all noisy, like a well-rehearsed concerto.

The visitors present were all dumbfounded, filled with amazement. The female tourist was quick-fingered and had pressed the record button, capturing the scene perfectly. She was filming while covering her mouth, "This is incredible!"

Although the peacocks didn't fan their tails, her son was even more excited. "Mom, Mom, listen!"

Duan Jiaze thought that this scene was quite similar to the time during the internal beta when Luya led a hundred birds to fly in unison before the students of Tongxin Elementary School.

It seemed that through this quest, Jinwei and Cuicui had also gained a certain degree of leadership over birds. Of course, they couldn't compare to Luya—the Daoist Lord was rolling his eyes next door right now, completely unaffected.

Moreover, in terms of visual effect alone, the two peacocks' large bodies and magnificent feathers made the scene even more stunning.

The two peacocks sang for several minutes before flying down from their perch. The other birds all made way for them, and the peacocks passed through, holding their heads high with pride.

The few visitors who had the good fortune to witness this felt incredibly lucky. However, only the female tourist had recorded a video of the peacocks flying up, so they asked her to send it to them.

Duan Jiaze also went over and asked the female tourist to send a copy to him, so he could forward it to Xiao Su to post online for publicity.

He had also been studying promotional tactics in his spare time. There were so many clickbait titles on WeChat, and recently, the "shocking style" headlines had become popular online. Their official blog should also post something with a title like "Shocking! A mysterious enthronement ceremony in the jungle was recorded by humans for the first time..."

......

Putting aside how those few visitors would spread the video or how they would describe it, Duan Jiaze sent the video to Xiao Su, gave her the title, and told her to write the content based on it.

Xiao Su: "...Director, do we really have to be so shameless?"

Duan Jiaze: "What's the use of integrity?"

Compared to his life, integrity was nothing. With the help of Yousu, Luya, and the others, Duan Jiaze couldn't have been more clear on this point.

Xiao Su had no choice but to do as he said. She drafted the article, concocted a story about the legend of the peacock being called the king of a hundred birds, made some far-fetched connections, and then formatted and published it.

Say what you will, clickbait titles really do attract people. When Xiao Su woke up the next day, the view count had already surpassed ten thousand. This "mysterious natural phenomenon" was being widely shared on social media.

The readers were all drawn in by the title, but the GIF clipped from the video was just too convincing. Whether it was the peacocks' abnormal spiraling ascent, the chorus of a hundred birds singing, or the way the other birds later made way for the peacocks, it all seemed so ceremonial.

Many people were captivated by the magic of nature, leaving comments saying they wanted to go to the zoo to worship the king of a hundred birds. Even those who majored in related fields were baffled and could only end up sighing in admiration. Such behavior simply couldn't be explained by animal training alone. But there were too many magical behaviors in nature, and all they could do was marvel.

When Duan Jiaze saw this enthusiastic response, he was absolutely delighted. Side quests were the best; their effects were immediate. He wished he could get a few more.

As Duan Jiaze was thinking this, he saw Luya walk past and couldn't help but stare at him strangely.

Luya got the creeps from being stared at. "...What are you doing."

It had just occurred to Duan Jiaze that Luya was also an animal in the zoo. Logically speaking, he should also be able to trigger a side quest. What would that be like? So he sidled up to him and said shamelessly, "Daoist Lord, have you... had any troubles recently?"

Luya looked down his nose at him. "There is nothing that can trouble this venerable one."

Duan Jiaze: "...Why didn't Hou Yi manage to finish you off."

Duan Jiaze rolled his eyes, overwhelmed by the sheer pretentiousness. Is it really okay to set up flags like that? People who say such things usually end up getting their faces slapped, Daoist Lord!

......

Thanks to the clickbait article, the number of visitors to the aviary increased again. There were also more netizens online asking for more peacock GIFs. Although the vast majority of these people couldn't come to show support in person, their interest was very meaningful for long-term development.

On the weekend, parents with their children, classmates, and friends all arranged to visit Lingyou Zoo. At the entrance, a small bird was flying up and down, "pushing" visitors inside.

Because the bird-touting behavior from the first week had been well-received and people kept asking about it, Duan Jiaze now sent a bird out to be a living advertisement every weekend.

A bus stopped in front of Cape Park, and tourists filed out.

The last one to get off was a man in a suit and leather shoes. He looked to be in his thirties, with a face full of stubble and a dazed expression. Though he was clearly in the prime of his life, he looked as if he were carrying a great mountain on his back, and his steps were faltering.

Huang Qi glanced at Cape Mountain before him and rubbed his face.

The calls and messages looking for him on his phone seemed endless, but Huang Qi ignored them all. It was as if a voice in his head was urging him to hurry up Cape Mountain, and then he could... be free.

In his daze, he felt a poke on his back. Huang Qi jolted and realized it was a Goldfinch, and it was herding him in a certain direction.

There was also a girl waving a flyer, enthusiastically greeting Huang Qi, "Sir, come visit our Lingyou Zoo!"

Normally, he felt nothing for animals, and the voice in his head was even more urgently pressing him forward, but Huang Qi seemed to find a sliver of clarity from somewhere. "...Okay!"