Chapter 34 part 1

Visitors are coming to the zoo!

This big news immediately attracted everyone’s attention, and Li Da immediately rushed to the front line with his camera.

As a photographer, isn’t it basic operation for the camera to be on the body?

Li Da was filled with curiosity about the visitors who had come, after all, not to mention that the zoo was still under construction and not open to the public, even if it were open, it was unlikely that anyone would want to come.

You have to know that the terrible road leading up there was enough to deter people.

So, it’s conceivable that these visitors must have been attracted by the videos online.

This made Li Da a little surprised. After all, it was just a few videos, and even if they were somewhat popular, they wouldn’t cultivate any loyal fans, let alone enough to make people come all this way. In the sweltering summer, wouldn’t it be better to stay at home enjoying the air conditioning and eating watermelon?

In fact, Bai Wei’s family also had a lot of regrets. Because their pet, “Zhu Zhu,” was raised by a dog, its meows were very distinctive. Otherwise, Bai Wei wouldn’t have been so certain that the calico cat in the video was their “Zhu Zhu” just because it looked similar. In people’s eyes, many cats look alike, so mistaking one for another isn’t unusual.

Therefore, taking advantage of the holiday, the family chose to come and see for themselves.

However, this place was really hard to find. Several navigation apps didn’t have the address. They finally found it through a local forum. If the road hadn’t been a straight shot, without a lot of twists and turns, they probably would have given up long ago.

Even so, the trip was quite a hassle for the family, especially for Bai Wei, who gets carsick. She threw up once on the way. The south has many mountains, and while some remote areas have roads, they’re built along the mountains. It’s no exaggeration to say these roads are like “nine twists and eighteen bends,” which was quite a lesson for them, as they weren’t used to such roads.

Listening to the family complain, Kong Bi couldn’t help but scratch her head. “I really didn’t expect anyone to come right now. We’ve applied to the relevant departments to fix the road. Once the zoo officially opens, the roads will definitely be different.”

Kong Bi naturally understood the principle that “to get rich, build roads first.” The impact of a good road is significant. After all, nobody wants to go through countless hardships just to see some animals. Furthermore, part of the road leading to the zoo was still dirt, not even concrete. One could only imagine how difficult it would be for people wanting to go up the mountain.

Therefore, Kong Bi had never expected any visitors. Li Da hadn’t put the detailed address online, only mentioning that it was a zoo in a certain area. The information on the navigation maps hadn’t been updated either. Even interested netizens would probably give up under these circumstances. She didn’t expect anyone to be so persistent, actually managing to find the place and come.

Kong Bi asked curiously, “Did you come because of the videos online?”

Bai Wei’s mother nodded and said, “Yes, that’s right. But we didn’t come to see the owls and peacocks. Director, was that calico cat in your zoo raised from a kitten?”

Kong Bi suddenly realized, that they’re here to find their relative!

She shook her head and said: “That’s not the case. Chuchu and the coal boss came here because of the smell of meat. After all, there is nothing else in the zoo except a lot of food. But Chuchu should not be a wild cat. It is very friendly. Do you know it?”

Bai Wei was a little excited, “My pet cat, ‘Zhu Zhu,’ looks exactly like it! Even its meows are the same!”

Besides personality, how friendly a cat is to people is usually related to how the owner raises it. Kong Bi smiled and said, “The zoo is quite large. How about I take you to the places it frequents?”

“Great! Thank you, Director!” Bai Wei was both nervous and excited.

Bai Wei’s mother said, “Director Kong, we just want to see how it’s doing now. Besides, it might not even be the cat we raised before.”

Although they said that, Bai Wei’s family was actually eighty percent sure that “Chu Chu” was the cat they had raised before. After all, what were the odds of two cats having the same appearance and meows? Although the zoo was quite far from their home, making it hard for them to imagine how it could have run all the way there.

“Yes,” Bai Wei’s father also nodded, “Actually, even if it hadn’t run away, we weren’t planning to keep it. We were originally going to give it to Wei Wei’s grandfather. ‘Zhu Zhu’ has separation anxiety and can’t be separated from people, but we can’t stay home all day either.”

Bai Wei opened her eyes wide in surprise, “Dad, why didn’t you tell me about this?”

The two of them smiled wryly. In fact, they were also hoping that maybe it was just because “Zhu Zhu” was young that it was like that, and it would get better as it grew up. After all, no one who likes animals would be willing to give away a clingy and affectionate cat. But being too clingy can sometimes cause problems.

Especially when I saw the kitten squatting at the door and meowing when no one was at home through the living room surveillance, it was hard not to feel distressed.

As Kong Bi walked and listened, she really wanted to ask, “Is there a possibility that it’s not separation anxiety?”

After all, they don’t just have Chu Chu at home, they also have a dog that grew up with it. It’s very possible that it’s not meowing at the door because it misses people, but because it misses the food they bring out…

The Golden Retriever is a mature and steady dog. A well-trained dog won’t rummage through cabinets for food when it’s home alone. After all, it’s not a Garfield. For Chu Chu, a Golden Retriever that can’t find food for it isn’t worth paying too much attention to. So, even though the Golden Retriever brought it home, it’s more attached to Bai Wei’s mother, who makes cat food for it, its father, who gives it snacks, and its little owner, who secretly feeds it human food.

Kong Bi took them to the peacock garden first. Because of the construction, Kong Bi told Hua Jiao that if they felt noisy, they could go somewhere else to play. However, because of Hua Jiao’s presence, the green peacocks were not scared by the noise of the construction, so they were too lazy to leave and stayed near the pond.

The brightly colored green peacocks’ feathers were especially beautiful in the sunlight, especially the ‘dragon scales’ on their slender, long necks. The originally green scales looked like glittering gold when illuminated by the sun, which is why the ancients used the phrase “a body of gold and emerald, impossible to paint” to describe the beauty of the green peacock.

Bai Wei couldn’t help but exclaim “Wow!” before asking, “Director, why does ‘Zhu Zhu’ like coming here? Is it to play with the peacocks?”

“Uh… sort of,” Kong Bi thought for a moment and said, “Chu Chu sometimes goes to chase Lord Shen and Hong Hong’s tails, but it’s mainly interested in what they catch.”

The green peacocks in the zoo have no shortage of food and drink, so they prefer to play, digging up small insects from the ground and catching fish and shrimp in the small pond. Chuchu didn’t feel any dislike from Huajiao at all, and just squatted there trying to act cute to beg for food.

Some green peacocks see their companions catching food and do the same, but they actually prefer to eat fruit. So, they take a bite or two of what they catch and then leave it, which often allows Chuchu to pick up the leftovers. As a result, it comes even more frequently.

The green peacocks noticed Kong Bi’s arrival, but when they saw that she was accompanied by other people, they immediately lowered their heads and went back to playing by themselves. When Kong Bi is with other people, she usually doesn’t stay for long, let alone play with them.

“Director, why are those two peacocks spreading their tails towards each other? Are they courting?” Although she did not see Chu Chu, Bai Wei was not disappointed and was soon attracted by the green peacocks.

“Of course not, peacocks do not only spread their tails when courting, they may also be quarreling, scaring people, showing off, and playing,” Kong Bi looked at it and smiled, “They are probably going to fight.”

For male peacocks, other males are all competitors, so their relationships tend to be quite bland, and disputes are common. Some male peacocks are confident in their beauty and like to show off to their peers, which naturally annoys the others, prompting them to immediately spread their tails and compare.

“Mine is more beautiful!”

“I can hold it longer!”

“My feathers shake with the best rhythm!”

If the comparison fails to convince the other party, then they resort to physical fights.

As expected, as soon as Kong Bi finished speaking, Honghong suddenly flapped its wings and jumped up, its sharp claws grabbing Lord Shen’s tail feathers. White feathers danced in the air, adding a touch of cruel beauty to the smoky battlefield.

“Ah!”

Bai Wei saw such a scene for the first time and was a little scared: “Director, shouldn’t we stop them?”

Kong Bi smiled: “It’s okay, they are very measured in their actions. Look at the female peacock standing on the stone. It’s called Hua Jiao, the leader of this tribe. It has been watching. If the situation is too serious, it will stop it.”

“And don’t look at their feathers flying around, as if they are fighting fiercely. In fact, it’s just because summer is the molting season for green peacocks. Those feathers are supposed to fall off. You can understand their behavior as a dance fight. If you come to see them fighting in winter, you may not see a single feather fall off after fighting for a long time.”

Bai Wei gave an “oh” sound, and upon closer inspection, she indeed noticed something unusual. The other green peacocks weren’t even avoiding the battlefield; some were gathered around watching the commotion.

She quickly noticed another detail.

One green peacock seemed to be a fan of one of the fighting peacocks. It was not only closer to the fight but also excitedly circling them, occasionally letting out a loud cry.

She found it very amusing and asked, “Director, what is that peacock doing? Is it cheering for its favorite boyfriend?”

“That’s a sub-adult male peacock named Jilinggui(Clever Ghost,)” Kong Bi looked at it and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “It’s fanning the flames, wanting them to really fight.”

The male peacock favored by the other female peacocks is naturally no ordinary bird. With a small body but a big ambition, it dreams of replacing Honghong and winning the beauty’s heart every day. Therefore, it’s almost constantly stirring up trouble, hoping that Honghong and Lord Shen would both suffer losses, and then he could take the opportunity to move in.

That’s why Kong Bi named it Jilinggui (Clever Ghost), because it truly is a little clever ghost.