"Old Ma, I feel like my Tiger Form Boxing is about to break through to our ancestor's level," said an elderly man with white hair wearing a white training uniform, his face beaming with excitement.
Hearing his words, the middle-aged man wearing a green vest and holding a camera was equally thrilled.
"I also feel that this photo I just took is definitely the best one I've taken in my entire life."
He showed the image he had just captured to the white-haired elder.
After looking at it, the elder nodded repeatedly.
"A tiger's roar in the forest, a fierce tiger descending the mountain - I never thought I'd see such a magnificent beast in my lifetime."
If anyone from the photography circle had been present, they would have certainly recognized this elderly man with the camera.
His name was Wan Fuxing. In his younger years, he had farmed, run factories, and served in the military, only finding his life's purpose at the age of 50.
From then on, he embarked on a journey photographing wildlife, traversing snow plains, venturing into primitive forests, and even reaching the Himalayan mountains thousands of meters above sea level.
His mission was to capture those wildlife spirits of the mountains, and his photographs of sables, red foxes, snow leopards, and other creatures had consistently stunned the photography world. His work had won numerous international awards.
This time, he had come to Ningnan to visit his granddaughter, never expecting to capture such a stunning shot of the Siberian Tiger King at the seemingly unremarkable West Rainbow Zoo.
He had photographed tigers before, but neither the captive tigers in other zoos nor the wild Siberian tigers in the depths of Changbai Mountain could compare to the one before him.
Compared to Li Hua in the cage, other tigers seemed no bigger than house cats.
"By the way, Old Ma, didn't you say your Tiger Form Boxing had reached its limit? How did you suddenly break through?"
Hearing Wan Fuxing's question, a glimmer of excitement flashed in the white-haired elder's eyes.
"It's all about destiny. For years, I've visited various zoos to observe tigers and learn their forms."
"But only today did I realize that to advance in Tiger Form Boxing, merely copying their movements isn't enough - you must understand their spirit."
"That fierce tiger's leap and roar instantly showed me what it truly means to be the king of the forest."
"The tigers I'd been imitating before were mere superficial imitations."
"But this one time isn't enough. I plan to observe for several more days - it would be best if I could stay here."
After hearing Old Ma's explanation, Wan Fuxing nodded in agreement.
"This zoo may be run-down, but judging from this tiger's condition, the owner must truly love animals."
"Let's talk to him and see if we can stay here longer."
"Good idea, I'll go ask where we can find the zoo owner."
Just as they finished speaking, a voice rang out behind them.
"Make way, make way! Free-range chickens here! Whether you want to feed the tiger or take them home for soup, hurry up! Limited to 50 chickens, once they're gone, they're gone!"
"Genuine free-range chickens!"
As the voice faded, a handsome young man in a zoo uniform appeared in their view.
"It's that zoo director again. Why is he selling chickens? Is their zoo so luxurious that they feed dozens of chickens to the tiger every day?"
"Luxurious my foot! We're paying for these chickens ourselves - no matter how many the tiger eats, it's our money!"
"Damn, that makes sense. We've got to take some of these chickens home."
"Of course we should. These are clearly village-raised free-range chickens, super nutritious."
"Really?"
"Of course! Would I lie to you? I've lived in the countryside for decades - I know genuine free-range chickens when I see them."
"You can't get chickens like these for a hundred yuan anywhere else these days."
"If we buy these chickens to take home, this owner will lose money big time!"
"Yeah, serve him right!"
"I'll take ten!"
...
Hearing the crowd's discussion, the two elderly men immediately realized Yang Lin's identity.
Watching Yang Lin skillfully hand chickens to visitors who then threw them into the cage, both men's faces showed peculiar expressions.
"It seems this owner does indeed love animals, but perhaps only tigers."
Seeing Yang Lin sell out all hundred chickens in no time, the two men followed him.
They followed him to the staff administration area.
Just as they were about to approach him, they saw Yang Lin drag out another large iron cage from the administration office.
Inside the cage were plump hens.
At that moment, all three men's gazes met.
Yang Lin's eyes showed a hint of embarrassment.
"Are you two gentlemen here to buy chickens too?"
"I just got a hundred new ones in. How many would you like?"
Hearing Yang Lin's words, both men quickly shook their heads.
"No, no, we're not here for chickens. We wanted to ask..."
Before Wan Fuxing could finish, Yang Lin's face lit up with sudden understanding.
"I get it, you two are here to apply for jobs, right?"
"As it happens, our zoo needs a gate guard and a janitor."
"Well..."
Surprised by Yang Lin's words, the two elderly men exchanged glances.
They had been wondering how they could stay at the zoo longer to facilitate their photography and practice.
Their original plan was to get a long-term pass or annual membership.
But after Yang Lin's suggestion, they suddenly realized that working at the zoo might be an even better option.
After all, even with a long-term pass, you couldn't stay twenty-four hours a day.
If they got jobs at the zoo, everything would be legitimate.
They didn't need to work there long - a month or two would suffice, and it would be much better than spending that time in the wild.
Having realized this, both elderly men immediately nodded.
Seeing their agreement, Yang Lin didn't think much of it.
With the increasing number of visitors, having just him and his cousin working in the park wasn't enough.
He had been planning to look for some elderly helpers from nearby, and now people had come to him voluntarily.
He immediately began explaining the basic situation of the park to the two elderly men, saying they could start work officially tomorrow.
But as he was walking around the park with the two elderly men, a sudden commotion erupted from the direction of the tiger enclosure.