Tan Xinzhang said, "That's my father, Tan Yingjiu. However, he's old and has poor hearing. He can't hear clearly. He doesn't interact much with people and spends his days taking care of the animals.
"He's not just the director of the zoo. He's also a buyer, cleaner, ticket seller, veterinarian, breeder, guide … Every day at five in the morning, he pedals a tricycle to buy food for the animals. When he comes back, he cleans the pens, feeds the animals, and occasionally receives visitors. He works from morning to night. That's how he spends his days.
"I like animals and often help him, but … he wants me to take over. I don't think I can do it.
"When my father really passes away, I might pack all these animals and send them to other zoos. I won't do this anymore."
"Are the economic benefits not good?"
Tan Xinzhang smiled bitterly. "It's not just not good. I'm just losing money.
"The cost of raising animals is too high. Pythons and crocodiles all eat living things. How much do they eat every day, be it chickens or fish? Tibetan mastiffs, horses, and macaques are relatively better, but my father doesn't want to save money on them.
"In addition to the ticket income, my father also invested a lot of his retirement money into it, just so that these animals could eat their fill and eat well. However, that's all. It's not easy to make them eat well. As for renovating the pens, I don't even dare to think about it.
"The key is that my father's life is worse than that of the animals. Do you see the rundown bungalow beside the pens? My father usually lives there and eats in a few mouthfuls. It would be fine if he was a few decades younger, but he's old now. He can't keep doing this.
"My parents divorced when I was young, and a big reason was this zoo.
"To be honest, I'm quite conflicted. I know that my father is having a hard time, so I try my best to help him. However, if I help too much, he always wants me to take over.
"However, I don't think there's a need for this zoo to continue existing.
"This zoo was quite popular in the past because it was a closed environment. People in this small county had no other places to see animals. However, the economy was developed now. Wouldn't it be more convenient to drive to Jingzhou Zoo to look at the animals, let alone visit some large wildlife parks? Who would come to a zoo like this? "
"The tickets are getting less and less, which is enough to show that this kind of private zoo is no longer popular and should be eliminated."
"Although I also like animals, I'm also a human, and I have to live a normal life. I can't be like my father, spending thirty or forty years of his life on these animals. "
"Sigh, I accidentally said too much. I shouldn't have talked about this. Come, Boss Pei, let me show you these animals. "
Tan Xinzhang brought Pei Qian to a few horses. These horses looked very energetic and were happily munching on their fodder.
After seeing Tan Xinzhang, a brown horse came over. After Tan Xinzhang touched the horse's head, it snorted happily.
Then, he looked at the macaque and python in the room. They seemed to be in good spirits. The monkeys, in particular, were jumping up and down to ask for food. They looked more lively than the monkeys in some large zoos. Perhaps it was an illusion.
However, it was unavoidable that there was still a very strong smell. The entire environment was really not good.
Although Old Tan Yingjiu cleaned every day, it would not be very hygienic with such conditions.
However, Pei Qian did not dwell on this now. He kept thinking about what Tan Xinzhang said.
This thing was purely a loss of money!
It was even more optimistic than he thought!
Take this zoo for example. The tickets were only twenty yuan. What could you do with twenty yuan in this day and age? Moreover, these animals spent a lot of money just to eat every day. Many carnivores had to eat live animals, and their food expenses were higher than humans.
If these animals had any problems, it would be even more expensive.
Many people could not even open cat cafes. The difficulty of raising wild animals was many times higher than cat cafes.
Old Tan Yingjiu had persisted for thirty years. He had even raised lions and ostriches. Without strong willpower, faith, and passion, he would definitely not be able to persist.
However, Pei Qian also gained some inspiration from Tan Xinzhang's words.
How could the zoo lose money?
The most important thing was that it had to be small and not too big.
Small zoos with few types of animals looked boring. Even if the tickets were reduced, it would not be able to achieve small profits but quick turnover.
In the past, people would only visit small zoos because of the underdeveloped economy and poor transportation. Now that transportation was so developed, zoos in various prefecture-level cities could satisfy most of the needs of Handong Province, not to mention zoos in foreign countries or super first-tier cities.
Therefore, small zoos with few types of animals would only become more and more difficult to survive and gradually fall into a vicious cycle.
Old Tan Yingjiu had spent most of his life in this zoo. Of course, he was unwilling to accept this reality. However, Tan Xinzhang was a young man. He was much clearer than his father.
That was why Tan Xinzhang said that he would close this zoo after his father passed away and send the animals to other zoos.
He was also human and had to live. Old Tan Yingjiu had divorced because of this zoo. Given Tan Xinzhang's current situation, he might not even be able to get married if he continued to fight with this zoo.
Pei Qian could not help but smile. Isn't this a coincidence?
You met me. Then, we can have a good talk!
Pei Qian walked around the zoo and nodded in satisfaction. "Hmm, not bad.
I intend to move the entire zoo to Jingzhou. You can be the director. What do you think? "
Tan Xinzhang was stunned. "Huh?"
He had not expected Boss Pei to say something like that.
In the most optimistic scenario, Boss Pei would arrange for some employees to visit the zoo or donate some money out of compassion. That would be good enough for Tan Xinzhang.
Why move the zoo?
Anyone could tell that the zoo had no value at all.
These rundown rooms should have been torn down a long time ago. As for the animals inside … although there were some wild animals, which zoo outside did not have them? They were not rare or precious.
What's more, he was not cut out to be the director of the zoo, was he?
The director of the zoo had to be a university graduate, right?
Tan Xinzhang quickly said, "Boss Pei, that's not appropriate. If you want to open a zoo, just do it. These animals are not rare. They are not worth it.
"As for the director, that's even more inappropriate. If we open a zoo now, we have to pay attention to scientific feeding. We have to get professionals to do it. My father and I are unorthodox. Although we have self-taught, we are still far from being the director of a large zoo … "
Tan Xinzhang knew that if Boss Pei wanted to open a zoo, the scale would not be small. Otherwise, it would not be in line with Tengda's style of doing things.
Pei Qian's expression was serious. "Ai, what you said is wrong.
"Animals are not rare or not. They are all equal. How can you favor one and discriminate against the other? These animals have been with you and your father for so many years. No matter what, you should have some feelings for them. Send them to other zoos. There are so many animals there. It would be difficult to treat them like this.
"My zoo will focus on experimentation in the beginning. I won't rashly raise any rare animals. I think these animals are quite good. They might be ordinary, but they are energetic and happy. That's enough.
"You don't have to worry about the director. I think the most important thing is to have a heart that truly loves animals. Professional knowledge is easy. I will arrange for a few professionals to help you. The breeders and veterinarians are all professionals. If you need any advice, just ask.
"You're the director. You don't have to worry about these minor things.
"The key is that I'm very touched by the spirit of you and your father!
"Of course, I understand the current situation very well. Don't worry, the place we are moving this time is not far from Thriller Hostel. It might be in the suburbs of Jingzhou, but it is relatively lively nearby. The transportation is also convenient. When the time comes, the two of you will be official employees of Tengda. There will be all kinds of benefits. These animals will also be better taken care of. At the very least, their food and living environment will be greatly improved. "
Tan Xinzhang looked a little confused.
This … of course, it sounded good in every way.
However, the problem was, what was Boss Pei after?
No matter how he looked at it, it looked like a purely wasteful and completely meaningless act.
Pei Qian saw that Tan Xinzhang was still a little hesitant and said, "How about this? You can sign a contract with Tengda first. Then, I will allocate some funds to you. You can hire a few people to help the old master manage the zoo here. You can participate in the entire construction process of the new zoo when you arrive in Jingzhou. Then, there is nothing to worry about, right? "
Tan Xinzhang thought about it and realized that it was indeed the case.
He could not think of a reason for Boss Pei to do this, but he could not think of a reason to reject it.
"Alright, Boss Pei. How about this? I'll talk to my father about this first and do some ideological work for him. I'll settle the matters of the zoo here and then go to Jingzhou to look for you."
Pei Qian nodded. "Alright, you can contact me directly when the time comes."
Pei Qian did not delay and took the car back directly after choosing the director of the zoo.
The director of the zoo had been decided, but he still had to think about the specific operation model of the zoo.
This zoo was already losing money, but Pei Qian did not intend to completely copy this model. After all, the objective conditions had changed.
How much money could he burn if he continued to open the zoo here, even if he bought the entire place? It was a drop in the bucket.
Pei Qian wanted to move the zoo to Jingzhou and explore a way to expand and burn money. Once this model succeeded, he only needed to continue to expand the scale. Then, he could burn money without limit. Wouldn't that be perfect?
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