"Director, the railing at Monkey Mountain was sawed through and then restored to its original state with a layer of rubber. It looks fine from the outside, but as soon as someone leans on it, the railing will break."
In the zoo director's office, Mr. Dong of the Security Department was reporting the results of the accident investigation to Mr. Song, the zoo director.
Mr. Song frowned, "Check the surveillance, see who did it!"
Mr. Dong gave a bitter smile, "Director, as you know, our zoo has always had tight funds. It's good enough to cover the animal expenses and staff salaries. Those surveillance cameras are mostly for show, many are old and out of order, and the resolution is so low that you can't see anything clearly. There is one camera around Monkey Mountain, but it broke some time ago and it looks like it was deliberate."
Mr. Song fell silent, his frown growing tighter and tighter until his thick eyebrows almost met.
He had heard rumors that some developers were eyeing the vacant land near the zoo to build villas.
Normally, the government wouldn't allocate land meant for public welfare to property developers. But if a serious accident occurred at the zoo, that could change, at least it would provide an opportunity for others to exploit.
"What do you think we should do about this?" asked Mr. Dong.
"Pass on our information to the police for investigation," replied Mr. Song.
They had no other choice. Since there was no incident and no evidence, they had little hope for a substantial discovery.
"Director, why don't you talk to the city officials, see if we can get more funds. We could strengthen the zoo's security, install cameras on all the walls, and replace the existing cameras with high-definition ones," Mr. Dong suggested.
"I'll try my best," the aged director sighed, though he was well aware that maintaining the current level of funding would be good enough.
The nation's focus was on GDP as an assessment index. The principle for allocating funds was clear: prioritize units that could stimulate the economy.
Educational and research institutions, such as universities, were a given.
But for public welfare organizations like zoos, heh, as long as they existed, that was enough; they were not places for key investment.
...
Outside Whisperwind Pavilion, Suming clutched a stick in his hand, crouched low, and tiptoed toward the pavilion's main door.
Since there were security guards patrolling the zoo, and there wasn't much of value inside the pavilion, he didn't lock the door when he left. Besides, who would come to the zoo to steal? It's not like they could kidnap tigers or bears.
But to his surprise, someone had indeed broken into Whisperwind Pavilion!
"Is it a thief, or is it Mr. Wang?"
"Meow meow meow..." With a few cries, the other cats also brought several rats and bragged by dropping them in front of Suming.
"That's enough, that's enough. In the future, just scare off the mice, okay? It's quite disgusting!"
It was only natural for cats to catch mice, but the thought of his pets messily gnawing on a pile of mouse carcasses in front of him was a sight Suming couldn't bear to look at.
The five cats sat in a row obediently in front of Suming, who began calling out names: "Let's give you all names. Hei, you'll still be Hei, as the leader, and you, white cat, will be Miao Yi..."
From Miao Yi to Miao Si, they were named in order down the line, Hei included.
"Everyone has a name now!" Suming said.
All five cats immediately sat up straight.
"Hei, you lead the way. Everyone to the bathroom, I'm giving you baths. Look how dirty you are, you look like... oh no, more like muddy monkeys..."
"Meow meow meow..." All the cats unanimously expressed their opposition, transmitting a very unwilling emotion through the spiritual power. Dogs are natural swimmers, but cats are afraid of water, and for the feline folk, baths are akin to torture.
However, as the head of the household, Suming couldn't be soft-hearted at this moment. The cats were all strays originally, filthy and possibly harboring fleas or lice. He didn't want to end up with a house full of pets and himself sick as a result. His animal friend abilities might make him immune to animal diseases, but it's still better to not test that unnecessarily.
Under Suming's control... Actually, there was no need to use spiritual power. Just by grabbing the loose skin at the back of the cats' necks, one in each hand, he tossed them all into the tub. He held them down, lathered them up with soap, and rinsed them off, giving them a thorough scrub.
"Meow..." With poor little faces covered in white foam, the cats looked pitifully at Suming, not daring to move.
"Don't expect me to go easy on you. If you want to stick with me, you'll have to follow my rules. From now on, baths are mandatory! And yes, not just baths. As a cat, learning to swim is also essential!" Suming said with a wicked smile.
"Meow meow meow..."
...
After bathing all five cats and drying their fur, Suming set up a small cat bed on the first floor of the Fengshui Pavilion, fed them some bread, and then let them go off to play by themselves.
Cats are a very contradictory creature; on one hand, they are afraid of water, but on the other, they are extremely curious and enjoy playing with water. After eating, the cats ran off to the lake and frolicked around the small lake.
The big-headed catfish swam back and forth in the tank, appearing to have healed quite a bit from its injury, but Suming didn't dare let it back into the lake just yet, since that alligator turtle was still there!
"Meow meow meow..." Suddenly, a burst of cat meowing came from outside the window.
"What now?" Suming opened the window and immediately burst out laughing.