My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 447 Tiger's Fury
On moonlit nights, watching watermelons in a melon field is a lot of fun.

If it weren't for the long trip I have to take tomorrow...

Chen Ling can stay here with Wang Jusheng and the others to keep watch for the night.

Light a bonfire on the riverbank, roast some fish and birds, eat watermelon, and chat about strange and mysterious tales—it's very pleasant.

So, after Wang Susu and the others took the dolls back, Chen Ling stayed until midnight.

I even went down to the river for a swim and caught some fish with a fishing net before going home to sleep.

The next day, the family of three, along with Wang Zhenzhen and Wang Siyi, went to Tenghe Township and left by boat.

Wang Lixian drove his family's tractor to take them there.

However, this trip was not directly to the provincial capital.

Let's spend the night in the city first.

After spending the night in the city and seeing Wang Siyi off, they called on Shanmao and Dujuan, a married couple, to go to the provincial zoo together.

After getting married, Lynx has focused her energy on raising dogs for the past year or two, aside from wanting to have a baby soon.

So I have a lot of free time at home.

Knowing that Chen Ling's family was going to the provincial capital to visit the zoo, and that Chen Ling wanted to choose a tiger to spend time with, Du Juan immediately pulled her along, wanting to go with them.

He said he used to frequently deal with people from the zoo.

He is quite familiar with the kindergarten director.

Professor Han is also quite familiar with him.

Everyone was quite happy on the way.

This was Wang Zhenzhen's first time traveling far from home, and it was to visit the zoo. After arriving in the city last night, she was incredibly excited, finding everything new and exciting.

I called Liang Yuemin's family in the middle of the night, and after that, I called Liang Hongyu and the others.

Later, Wang Susu forced him into bed, but he tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.

I slept the whole way in the car today.

The lynx and cuckoo laughed at her for quite a while.

They say she's usually like a little adult at home, managing everything, clever and carefree, so how come she's like this when she goes out?

Wang Zhenzhen had no time to pay attention to anyone; she simply lay down between Chen Ling and Wang Susu and fell fast asleep.

Rui Rui doesn't know what a zoo is, nor does he know the difference between a tiger and his dog. He's happy as long as he's taken out to play.

Moreover, he was incredibly energetic, climbing back and forth on the legs of Chen Ling, Wang Susu, and Wang Zhenzhen in the middle. One moment he wanted water, the next he wanted to get out of the car to pee, and then when he saw the cars, bridges, and rivers outside the window, he would lie on the window and chatter incessantly.

Despite all the commotion and noise, Wang Zhenzhen remained undisturbed.

It's clear he stayed up all night and was extremely tired.

Once we arrived at the zoo, and I told her we had arrived, she suddenly sat up straight, rubbed her eyes, and quickly jumped out of the car.

"Wow, there's even an amusement park here?!"

Before even entering the zoo, Wang Zhenzhen saw a small amusement park on the left side of the gate and immediately shouted with surprise and excitement.

"Of course, there's a circus inside, and a market on the south side of the square. It's busiest on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays."

There are also grand animal parades on major holidays.

Du Juan patted her little braid and laughed, "How about it, do you feel more energetic now?"

"Hmm, I'm not sleepy at all."

Wang Zhenzhen nodded vigorously, her eyes wide: "Sister Dujuan, why are there so many things to do here? I thought zoos only had big tigers, lions, and elephants and stuff like that."

The zoo is so lively at this time of year because there aren't many places to play, and it gets packed with people during holidays. Plus, there's a whole range of things designed for children.

Today is Sunday, and the large square in front of the building is bustling with people and filled with all sorts of vendors' calls.

An old man selling toy water guns, a middle-aged man selling balloons, an old lady selling popsicles...

At the very front of the crowd were busy ticket sellers in the ticket hall.

Wang Zhenzhen's gaze lingered on the colorful toys, as well as the high-altitude bicycles and carousels in the zoo's amusement park.

Rui Rui just kept staring at the food, whining and tugging at Chen Ling and Wang Susu, wanting to go buy some.

It's hot, and I get annoyed no matter how much he cries. Besides, we're just out having fun, so let him buy whatever he wants and be happy.

So Chen Ling took the mother and daughter to buy a bunch of food, ice cream, rice cakes, candied hawthorns... all kinds of snacks, and everyone got a share.

I also bought Rui Rui a small water gun.

Lynx parked the car and walked over, saying, "There are a lot of people today, and a lot of petty thieves too... I've already called the director, let's go through the side gate."

"That's great! It's so hot, I don't want to squeeze in here with them."

When Chen Ling arrived from the city, he contacted the zoo using the phone number given to him by the Water Margin film crew, but he didn't know if the person was the zoo director. Since Lynx knew someone there, he decided to go with him.

"Huh? Aren't we going through the main gate? Brother-in-law, Lynx brother, can I go to the amusement park to play..."

Wang Zhenzhen stared at the bumper cars and carousel in the amusement park, almost unable to move.

Although the facilities were old at that time, they were still somewhat out of reach for many children.

Moreover, normally, that small playground is the first stop after entering the zoo, and many children play there. She had been looking forward to it for quite a while.

"Didn't you keep saying you wanted to see the tigers? Let's see the tigers first, then come and play around here, isn't that the same thing?"

"Don't worry, this time you'll definitely have a great time before you go back."

The little girl had no choice but to follow them reluctantly, turning back every few steps as she walked towards the small gate on the east side of the zoo.

As for Rui Rui, that brat, he's too small now, and there are so many people around, so he couldn't see anything inside the zoo gates and barely noticed the little playground.

She was so engrossed in eating ice cream in Chen Ling's arms that she kept munching away with a small wooden spoon.

He ate so much that his mouth got cold, so he shoved the ice cream into Chen Ling's mouth, then pulled out a water gun and sprayed water everywhere. He was so happy to be out with his parents, with food and fun to do.

When they arrived at the small gate, someone was already waiting for them; it was the zoo's director.

After being introduced by Lynx and hearing his purpose, I briefly learned about the situation from Chen Ling and got to know him.

Then I led them toward the predator enclosure.

As we walked, I carefully explained the basic information about tigers to him.

"Why are there only six tigers?"

After hearing the introduction, Wang Zhenzhen was stunned for a moment, and whispered.

"Haha, little girl, six is ​​quite a lot. Before last year, we only had four in our park. It was only in early winter last year that two more tiger cubs were born, making it six."

The zoo director, an elderly man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, turned to Chen Ling with a smile and said, "The two tiger cubs are the easiest to get along with right now, as well as a young male tiger who regularly serves in the circus. Today, I'll introduce you to them all..."

Chen Ling jokingly said, "So, the tigress is still the most powerful?"

Everyone laughed for a while after hearing that.

"Of course, she lives up to her reputation as a tigress."

……

As Wang Susu listened, she became worried again and took Chen Ling's hand, asking, "Does this mean we have to go in and make contact with the tiger?"

"Don't worry, the tigers here were raised by their keepers from a young age and have a lot of contact with people. They go back to their special enclosures every night, and the gates are opened to let them out to roam around at dawn. When you meet the tigers, there will be keepers and trainers accompanying you. You'll just meet two tiger cubs first..."

The old headmaster explained with a smile.

Chen Ling also squeezed his wife's hand to reassure her.

In fact, tigers at that time were not as free as they are in later generations, and people were not as concerned about the degree of wildness of tigers.

Many tigers in zoos have been raised in captivity by humans since they were cubs.

It's not as wild as a tiger in the wild.

Besides, it was only a tiger cub that was six months old.

While it's important to be cautious, there's no need to be overly anxious or fearful.

At this moment, Wang Zhenzhen asked while eating an ice pop, "Uncle, don't tigers have a cub protection period? If we go to play with the tiger cubs, will the adult tigers get angry?" The old zoo director was stunned for a moment and said in surprise, "This little girl knows a lot. She even knows that tigers have a cub protection period."

Tigers have a long period of protecting their cubs, lasting up to six months.

Six months later, once the tiger cubs have grown to the same size, they will be able to move around freely.

When the cubs are almost a year old, the mother tiger will teach them hunting skills.

They will not be separated from the tiger cub until the cub is two years old.

"Uncle, didn't the Water Margin production team tell you that my brother often goes into the mountains to hunt, not to mention wild boars and wolves?"

He also once hunted a leopard alone in the mountains, injuring it and driving it away.

Many people there still call him Chen Qinbao.

Otherwise, the Water Margin production team wouldn't have cast him in the scene where Wu Song fights the tiger.

It's because he once caught a leopard.

Do you think they wouldn't know about the mother-child bondage period in wild animals?

"This...they've never said that before. Is this young comrade really that capable?"

The old director was even more dumbfounded. He took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and stared at Chen Ling for several more times before slowly shaking his head: "Doesn't seem like it. He doesn't seem like someone who hunts often at all. Apart from being a bit tall, he looks like a college student... Did you really catch a leopard?"

Chen Ling smiled slightly and said, "It's a leopard with a broken tail, it was injured and had been hungry for a long time."

Otherwise, I wouldn't dare to go head-to-head with such a fierce guy.

Wang Zhenzhen, however, felt that Chen Ling's explanation was unclear and lacked substance, so she shook her head and said, "Not only leopards, but my brother-in-law has also hunted jackals, caught earthworms, and even encountered a lynx. I heard that the lynx killed ten dogs... My brother-in-law's dogs are also very powerful; they even brought all the wolves from the wolf pack home, and they had many wolf puppies."

She was afraid the old director wouldn't know, so before anyone asked, she recounted all of Chen Ling's deeds.

They didn't forget to mention that Chen Ling was a veterinarian.

Even though the young girl didn't embellish the story, the old headmaster was still a bit dumbfounded: "I know, I know who you are. You're the young man Professor Han told me about. Oh dear, I just realized it now. I should have known better than to have Xiao Zhong bring you here."

After saying that, he excitedly shook hands with Chen Ling.

Lynx couldn't help but laugh from the side, "Hahaha, Uncle, I thought you knew about this when I called you, but I didn't expect you to know nothing about it."

"This one……"

The old director scratched his cheek, a little embarrassed, and said, "Filming Water Margin was a political task. They needed to borrow a tiger actor, who was brought over by the leaders. There were drinking and social obligations involved, but I'm too old to participate."

Anyway, the boss gave his approval, so I just had to approve the slips. If you hadn't called, I would have gone home long ago.

Then everyone understood what was going on.

"Don't worry, the protective period for cubs applies to tigers in the wild. Our zoo tigers see people all day long, so the protective period isn't as obvious."

After learning about Chen Ling's situation, the former headmaster was incredibly enthusiastic and introduced the child to them along the way.

From the elegant red-crowned crane standing tall, to the colorful peacock spreading its tail feathers, to sika deer, elephants, goats, giraffes, camels...

Passing through these areas, you'll find a large artificial mountain inside a cage. The mountain is teeming with monkeys, and in a tree beside it sits an old monkey, perhaps the alpha male of the troop, enjoying the shade. The other monkeys dare not approach.

The little monkeys were just running around, but when tourists with children offered them fruit, the whole back hill erupted in chaos as they swarmed forward and frantically snatched the fruit.

"Wild monkeys are so annoying, how can they live in a zoo?"

Wang Zhenzhen pouted and said disdainfully, refusing to feed them anything.

She thought the zoo was a great place; with so many animals, it must be very cozy and fun.

Wild monkeys are such bad creatures; they don't deserve to live in a zoo.

"I like elephants and giraffes. After seeing the tigers, I'll feed them some food. I'll give them all the fruit, but not the wild monkeys..."

As she said this, Rui Rui echoed the parrot's words, muttering, "Don't give the monkeys any to eat."

It made everyone smile.

Chen Ling said, "I like elephants. When we go back, I'll let you ride elephants and take a family photo."

"Once you cross this river, you'll be in the predator zone."

The old zoo director said, leading everyone across the bridge: "The south side of this river is for grass-eating animals, and the north side is for carnivorous animals. Let's go to the tiger enclosure first."

As you get closer to the tiger enclosure, you can see that it is surrounded by a low hill and covers a considerable area, with forests and artificial lakes, providing a very wide range for the tigers to roam.

It was eleven o'clock, and the weather was very hot. There were quite a few people coming to see the tigers, but not many lingered outside the tiger enclosure.

If the tigers hadn't been bathing and playing in the water today, there would probably be even fewer people.

"Wow, the big tiger is in the water! Tiger, tiger, come up quickly!"

When Wang Zhenzhen saw this scene, she was extremely excited and ran over to shout excitedly.

Rui Rui, nestled in Chen Ling's arms, craned her neck to look in that direction: "Mommy, Big Tiger."

"Mom saw it. Come on, come down and take a look. Your dad has to go inside in a little while."

Wang Susu took him down from Chen Ling's arms.

Because they had been notified in advance, the zookeepers were already waiting for them.

The old zookeeper was telling the zookeeper that he would take Chen Ling and the lynx into the tiger enclosure. There was a place there where they could look through the iron fence; it was the zookeepers' area, but it was closer than the visitors' area. Chen Ling could also join the zookeepers in feeding the tigers.

Just saying this.

Unexpectedly, the tigers that were enjoying a refreshing cold bath in the water suddenly opened their eyes. Two pairs of adult tigers let out deep, intimidating roars and leaped out of the artificial lake, pouncing towards the tall iron cage. Their large paws slammed against the cage walls, causing them to tremble violently.

Tourists and children screamed in fright and hurriedly dodged away; some children were so frightened that they cried incessantly.

Wang Susu and the others also took the two little children and hid far away.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

The zookeeper was also startled, not knowing what had suddenly triggered the tigers.

He hurriedly followed the old zoo director over to comfort the two pairs of adult tigers.

But the tigers still had their gaping maws open, their claws pressed against the cage walls, their dark yellow pupils shooting out ferocious intent, roaring incessantly, and water was still dripping from their wet bodies.

It was terrifying.

"Ah Ling, come here quickly, come here quickly!"

At this point, all the tourists were frightened and scattered, making the lynx and Chen Ling, who were still lingering near the old director and his group, very obvious targets.

The old zookeeper and the zookeeper quickly realized that the two pairs of adult tigers seemed to be targeting them.

"What's going on, Fugui? Is there something on you?"

The lynxes were also bewildered; they had been here many times before, but nothing like this had ever happened before.

However, like Chen Ling, he often ventured into the mountains and was very bold. He didn't take the roars of these caged tigers seriously at all.

"No, I didn't bring anything special."

Chen Ling shrugged and retreated towards Wang Susu and the others, wanting to get away from the tigers for the time being.

As a result of his retreat, the four tigers reacted even more violently, jumping and pounding on the cage walls, their angry roars like rolling thunder.

It was as if it wanted to jump out and swallow Chen Ling whole.

That's enough.

The tiger's sudden, strong reaction was caused by him.

All eyes turned to them.

Chen Ling immediately felt wronged: "No, I really didn't put anything else on me."

He turned all his pockets inside out, but there was nothing there except money and keys.

But the tigers stared at him with fierce eyes, as if they had some deep-seated hatred for him.

Upon seeing this scene, the tourists, as well as Wang Susu and her companions, were all very curious and puzzled.

The zookeeper was even more bewildered, his eyes lingering on Chen Ling.

Suddenly, the old director seemed to realize something and pondered, "Young Chen, could it be because you often go hunting in the mountains, dealing with wolves, jackals, and wild boars, and even dare to hunt leopards... that you have a strong aura of menace that the tiger might have noticed?"

(End of this chapter)