Those Years I Opened a Zoo

我开动物园那些年

those-years-i-opened-a-zoo

The First Batch of Visitors Part 1

Tongxin Village Primary School, from first to sixth grade, had only a little over fifty students in total. Teacher Zhao and another teacher, Teacher Yan, taught all six grades, covering all subjects themselves.


 When Teacher Zhao told everyone that this year, as usual, they would be going to Cape Zoo—no, it should be called Lingyou Zoo now—all the elementary school students cheered.


 The older students were discussing: "I want to go see Shasha, it definitely still remembers me."


 "Nonsense, it was clearly Divine Thunder..."


 Because they went once every year, they had even given names to the animals. It's just that everyone came up with different names, which easily led to fights.


 On the platform, Teacher Zhao repeatedly emphasized the points of caution and the time for the trip the day after tomorrow.


 On the third day, the students of Tongxin Elementary School gathered in the open space in front of the school building, forming two lines, with each student holding the hem of the one in front of them.


 But among the group of students, Teacher Zhao saw an unfamiliar face. "Young man, you're not a student at our school. Where are your parents?"


 The child looked to be around fourth grade, with a fair and tender complexion, and was dressed very cleanly. It was just that the expression on his face wasn't very happy. Teacher Zhao knew basically all the children in Tongxin Village, but he had never seen this particular child before.


 "Teacher, he's my cousin. He came to my house to play yesterday, and my mom and dad said to let him come with me," another child said, raising his hand.


 "Zhang Shun, this is your cousin? Doesn't he have to go to school?" Teacher Zhao was a bit helpless. Zhang Shun's parents had to work in the fields every day. In the past, if a relative's child came to stay, they would most likely let Zhang Shun skip school. He had repeatedly persuaded them that Zhang Shun must attend school. Now things were better; Zhang Shun wasn't skipping class, but he brought a relative along.


 "Yeah, my cousin is on vacation! He's a student at the Experimental Elementary School, they're on vacation!" Zhang Shun said with particular pride.


 The other students didn't notice anything wrong, and instead looked at Zhang Shun's cousin with envy. Teacher Zhao, however, sensed something was amiss. What school would be on vacation at this time? But he didn't say it out loud, merely asking Zhang Shun's cousin in a gentle voice, "Then why don't you join our outdoor activity today? What's your name?"


 "My name is Zhao Bo," the child said in a muffled tone.


 Of course, Zhao Bo hadn't come because of a school holiday. He had gotten into a fight with a classmate at school, was ordered home by the teacher, and was then thrown into the countryside by his parents, who said they wanted him to learn some hardship.


 Zhao Bo rarely visited Zhang Shun's home, and when he did, he never stayed overnight. On the contrary, Zhang Shun would occasionally go to his house to play. After just one day here, Zhao Bo was miserable. There was no air conditioning, no computer, his phone had been confiscated, and there was nothing to play with. His younger cousin only knew how to play with mud, and today they were going to some godforsaken zoo...


 Teacher Zhao repeated the points of caution to Zhao Bo, told Zhang Shun to look after his cousin, and then announced their departure. Everyone lined up and walked to the main road first, then waited for the bus.


 Before they even reached the zoo, Zhang Shun couldn't help but excitedly introduce his old friends to his cousin, "Cousin, in the zoo there's a lion this—big, its roar is super loud, and there are monkeys..."


 Zhao Bo listened to Zhang Shun's chatter with great impatience. "What's so great about that? The City Zoo has a whole pride of lions, and tigers, crocodiles, camels, giant pandas..."


 Zhao Bo rattled off a long list of animals in one breath, and then added, "Hmph, I don't even like to go anymore. There's nothing fun about zoos."


 Zhang Shun listened with great longing and was also very surprised that Zhao Bo didn't like going to the zoo. If he lived in the city, he would want to go to the zoo his cousin mentioned every weekend.


 When Zhang Shun's classmates heard Zhao Bo's words, they wracked their brains trying to find something different about Lingyou Zoo. But after thinking it over, all the animals they had, Zhao Bo had mentioned, and Zhao Bo had mentioned even more that they didn't have.


 In the end, they could only stammer, "...Well, there's also Cape Park next to the zoo."


 —This really showed there was nothing to brag about at the zoo. Every year they went, they never saw an increase in the number of animals; instead, the lion seemed to get thinner year by year.


 ...


 The students chattered and clamored all the way to "Cape Park Station". They got off here and ran towards the adjacent Lingyou Zoo.


 The zoo wasn't open yet, its main gate tightly locked. Teacher Zhao took out his phone and made a call to Duan Jiaze. Before long, Xiao Su came running to open the gate.


 "Hello, Teacher Zhao. Our Zoo Director is currently taking care of a new bird." Xiao Su shook hands with Teacher Zhao. "I'm Xiao Su. I'll be accompanying you on your tour this time."


 "Thank you, sorry to trouble you," Teacher Zhao said with a smile. In truth, they were very familiar with this place. In the past, Cape Zoo wouldn't have specially assigned someone to accompany them.


 However, after walking inside, Teacher Zhao understood why. It wasn't that the zoo held them in high regard, but rather that at first glance, it seemed like there were no other employees at all.


 The enclosures at this zoo were very simple. Unlike larger zoos where glass completely separated the animals from the visitors, here it was easy for visitors to climb over the railings, so it was only safe with staff members watching.


 But right now, all they could see was a male keeper busy feeding the monkeys not far away. Duan Jiaze was supposedly also taking care of the birds. No wonder they had simply asked this Xiao Su to follow them...


 Teacher Zhao and Teacher Yan naturally had their own commentary, and they proceeded to visit each enclosure in order, explaining things to the students.


 As soon as he walked up to the enclosure and saw the animal inside, Teacher Zhao was startled and asked Xiao Su, "Did you bring in a new lion?"


 "I don't think so?" Xiao Su was also new and wasn't very clear. "The Zoo Director said these were all left over from the old Cape Zoo. There shouldn't be."


 "No?" Teacher Zhao and Teacher Yan exchanged a glance. He hadn't come in to see it last time. Looking at it now, its spirit and aura were completely different from before. Its fur was clean, smooth, and glossy, and its eyes were full of spirit. Although it was lying down, it showed none of its former listlessness.


 As the children watched, the lion actually stood up and let out a great roar. The sound was deafening, ten times more majestic than before, and it scared a first-time lower-grade elementary student into tears on the spot.


 Xiao Su tapped the railings with a stick, and the lion turned around and lay back down. She then comforted the child, "Don't cry, look, the lion isn't roaring anymore."


 Teacher Zhao was even more surprised. In the past, this lion had never been so well-behaved. The keeper at that time was not professional at all, and the lion couldn't even be trained to excrete in a fixed spot.


 "Did you train it?" Teacher Zhao asked.


 "Train what?" Xiao Su said blankly, "I'm not a keeper, I'm in finance." Besides, although she had been helping with the feeding these past few days, she had never fed the large animals.


 "Someone else trained it? Well, it seemed to listen to you quite well," Teacher Zhao said with a laugh.


 Xiao Su scratched her head, also bewildered. "I don't know either. Maybe the Zoo Director hired someone to train it. This was my first time tapping the bars; I just saw others do it."


 Neither of them was an expert, so they didn't pursue the matter. Teacher Zhao began to tell everyone stories about the lion, like where its homeland was and what its habits were.


 Although the students were happy, the older children had been here many times and didn't really listen to Teacher Zhao, instead gathering in groups of three or five to lean on the railing and watch the lion.


 "Look here, Divine Thunder!"


 "Wow, it's grown up. I really want to pet its fur."


 Zhang Shun's cousin, Zhao Bo, had also been frightened by the lion's roar just now, but he quickly tried to save face. "This is nothing. I've seen several lions roar together, much louder than this..."


 Teacher Yan asked Xiao Su from the side, "Since your zoo has reopened, have you brought in any new animals?"


 "Yes, we've brought in a lot of birds; another one just arrived today. And sea... um, ornamental fish." Xiao Su almost let it slip and said 'Aquarium'. Ever since Duan Jiaze said that, they would all jokingly call the tank of ornamental fish that.


 "Then let's go see the birds first later!" Teacher Yan said.


 After visiting the only ferocious beast in the zoo, Xiao Su took them to the aviary.


 This bird enclosure was also very simple, as you could tell from its name, "bird shed". It was just a shed with a coarse fence, with many birdcages hanging at different heights.


 From a distance, they could see Duan Jiaze standing in the shed, tending to a bird. That bird was the only one not in a cage. It was perched on Duan Jiaze's arm, its color as vibrant as fire. It was also quite large and rather beautiful.


 Teacher Zhao adjusted his glasses. "Is that a parrot?"


 Teacher Yan: "The beak doesn't quite look like one."


 They weren't professionals either, so after a brief discussion, the topic was dropped.


 Compared to their last visit, the aviary now had dozens more cages, making it even more crowded. But when they got closer, Teacher Zhao noticed a detail: the doors of all the birdcages were open.


 An arm could pass through the outer fence. With the cage doors open, these birds actually didn't fly away? Could this also be the result of training?


 Looking to the side, next to the aviary, the large cage housing a pair of peacocks was also open. The two peacocks waddled over, came into the aviary, and squatted at Duan Jiaze's feet.


 The colorful birds were very attractive, especially the peacocks. The children excitedly shouted at them, "Fledge your tail! Quick, fledge your tail!"


 Duan Jiaze greeted Teacher Zhao, and at his introduction, also greeted Teacher Yan.


 The two teachers exclaimed, "Your place has really changed compared to before. The lion is much more spirited, and there are more birds. What kind of bird is this on your arm? It's really beautiful."


 "The birds can be free-ranged too, they're so well-trained!"


 "This is a Golden Crow..." Duan Jiaze chuckled.


 That's right, the one currently perched on his shoulder was the last Three-legged Golden Crow of the Three Realms, Luya's original form—the shrunken-down version with its third leg tucked away.


 "A Golden Crow? That's a novel breed. It must be especially rare, being so beautiful," Teacher Zhao praised.


 "Yes, it's very rare." Duan Jiaze saw Luya lift its head, looking incredibly proud, and chimed in. "By the way, we actually have a small performance for all the young students."


 As expected of a place with a new name and a new owner, it was truly different. Now they even had performances. In the past, the most they could do was ask the monkeys to do a somersault.


 "That's wonderful," Teacher Zhao said, clapping his hands. "Students, quiet down. The Zoo Director big brother says the little birds have a show. Do you want to see it?"


 "Yes!!" the elementary school students shouted in unison.


 Zhang Shun shouted the loudest. He even tugged on Zhao Bo's sleeve, "Cousin, do the birds at the City Zoo have a show too?"


 Zhao Bo said disdainfully, "Of course they do. The parrots there can even talk and do math."


 Zhang Shun stared at a parrot in the aviary. "Maybe ours can too..."


 "Daoist Lord, it's up to you now," Duan Jiaze whispered, then raised his hand and sent Luya flying.


 Luya rolled his eyes at Duan Jiaze—he felt a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. But who could they blame for being so small-scale? Even he, Daoist Lord Luya, had to come out and lead the performance. Duan Jiaze had gone to great lengths to persuade Luya to take the stage (?).


 Luya flew a circle inside the aviary, and one by one, the parrots, Mynas, Goldfinches... hopped to the openings of their cages, then flapped their wings and flew out, circling along with Luya. After Luya had flown a few laps, all the birds were out of their cages, flying in circles behind him.


 At first, they flew along the walls of the shed, but later they followed a route, weaving through the gaps between the birdcages at different heights, as if showing off their flying skills.


 "Wow—"


 This scene was actually a little spectacular.


 Wild geese fly south in flocks, and sparrows perch on treetops in flocks. But to see a group of different bird species flying in such an orderly formation, even showing off their skills, was something not even seen on television.


 Zhao Bo, who had been pretending to look elsewhere to show his disdain, forgot his pretense and stared unblinkingly at the united flock of birds. He deeply regretted that his parents had confiscated his phone; otherwise, if he could have filmed this scene and shown it to his classmates back at school, it would have definitely opened their eyes.


 Seeing that the show he had arranged was having a good effect, Duan Jiaze was also delighted. He coughed once to signal the next step.


 Luya was seen making a turn and gracefully landing on Duan Jiaze's head. Duan Jiaze also tried his best to smile, not letting anyone see that Luya was deliberately gripping his head painfully.


 As for the remaining dozens of birds, they also scattered and flew out through the gaps in the fence, one by one.


 Teacher Zhao let out a cry of alarm. Just as he was about to say they were flying away, he saw that the birds were not flying towards the blue sky, but were landing, one by one, on the elementary school students' heads and shoulders.


 In an instant, this caused an even greater uproar.


 The elementary school students cheered, screamed, and some didn't dare to move, afraid of scaring away the birds on them.


 A brightly colored parrot landed on Zhao Bo, making him incredibly excited. All his initial boredom was gone. "Shunzi, look! My parrot!"


 A bird had also landed on Zhang Shun. It was a chubby Zebra Finch, but he didn't recognize it. "I... this one on me is so cute too. Teacher, what kind of bird is this?"


 "Aah! I can't see my head, what bird is on my head?"


 Even on Teacher Zhao's shoulder, a Goldfinch had landed. He repeatedly exclaimed that it was incredible, having no idea how they were trained.


 However, there were over fifty students. With all the birds from the aviary each landing on one person, there were still a few students left out. Seeing that everyone else had a bird and they didn't, they were on the verge of crying and rolling on the ground.


 Teacher Zhao and Teacher Yan quickly cupped the birds on them and placed them on the students. Even so, there were still two students left without one.


 "Wuwuwu—I want one too, I want one too!"


 "Teacher, why don't I have one? Sob, does the little bird not like me..."


 Teacher Zhao looked at Duan Jiaze for help.


 "Don't worry, students," Duan Jiaze took a bamboo pole and herded the two peacocks out. "These two are for you!"


 In an instant, the poor little ones became the envy of everyone.


 The two children were overjoyed.


 The two peacocks seemed to understand human nature and indeed followed beside one student each. The male peacock even shook its tail feathers and fanned them open—


 The dazzling, colorful feathers spread out like a fan amidst the crowd. The peacock held its head high, displaying its magnificent plumes, once again causing bursts of gasps and attracting onlookers.


 "Children, everyone pay attention. You can pet the little birds, but you can't squeeze them, or they will fly away," Duan Jiaze reminded them. "Next, these little birds will accompany you on your tour of the zoo, acting as your guides, until you leave—as long as you take good care of them, okay?"


 Duan Jiaze was pondering how to use his limited resources to attract visitors. Naturally, he had to come up with creative ways involving the animals. This was an experiment.


 A program like "animal escorts" was not easy to promote widely; otherwise, there wouldn't be enough staff to ensure the birds' safety, and if it became too common, it would lose its value. However, random interactions with a small number of visitors were feasible. Just looking at the enthusiastic reactions of these children, he knew it was very appealing and could also increase the rate of returning visitors.


 Now, in response to Duan Jiaze's question, these fifty-odd people shouted with the force of five hundred, "Okay—!!"

Those Years I Opened a Zoo

Those Years I Opened a Zoo

Chapter 7 - The First Batch of Visitors Part 1

Night