Chapter 84 - 83: Little Animal

Chapter 84: Chapter 83: Little Animal

[Temporary Quest Triggered: A large number of small animals have gathered around Lin Xian Village due to environmental reasons, leading to a food shortage for the winter. Please help resolve the animal food crisis.]

[Quest Reward: Mountain and Forest Guardian.]

Staring at the newly generated quest, Lin Feng hadn’t expected a temporary quest to appear in this manner.

’It’s actually asking me to solve a food crisis for animals. This "Mountain and Forest Guardian" reward must have something to do with them.’

’Considering how amazing the Archer Training Manual was, this reward is definitely not going to be simple.’

Large numbers of animals were migrating toward Lin Xian Village, much to the delight of the visiting tourists.

Lin Xian Village originally had few attractions. While there were now some performances, it still wasn’t enough to satisfy the tourists’ demands.

Now, the appearance of so many small animals compensated for this lack of attractions.

With the good air quality and the presence of the small animals, many people were simply strolling and enjoying themselves on the village outskirts.

"Brother Lin, Daoist Qi told me that all the animals in the surrounding mountains are gathering around the village. We might even get large animals."

Lin Feng glanced at him. ’We already have large animals,’ he thought. ’Creatures like bears, not to mention wild boars.’

’It’s probably because of the construction machinery in the village that the animals aren’t running right into it.’

He thought of a fence. It could keep out small birds, beasts, and pests. ’Looks like I’ll have to build a fence around the perimeter,’ he mused.

"Go tell Uncle Dazhuang and his crew to pause what they’re doing and build a fence around the village to keep large animals from wandering in."

"Alright, I’ll get on it in a bit. I can also take the chance to repair the surrounding roads."

"Also, buy some animal feed. With so many animals gathered around the village, they’re bound to be short on food.

We can use drones to drop food for the ones farther out, and for those nearby, we can start an activity where tourists can feed them."

"That’s a great idea. I’ll have my sister promote it later. The tourists might love it."

In fact, it was already clear that the tourists loved it. You could see plenty of young women and parents with children at the edge of the village, taking pictures of the small animals.

Some tourists were already taking the initiative, pulling out their own snacks to feed the little squirrels, while others were feeding birds.

"Professor Zhang Ying, you see? This is the effect of the environmental changes. The surrounding animals have begun migrating toward the village on a massive scale.

The plants are changing, too. Some slow-growing species have accelerated their growth rate. If we can find the cause, it would be incredibly useful for environmental improvement."

Lin Feng watched the people approaching from a distance. The woman, Professor Zhang Ying, was a recently arrived environmental science professor.

The man speaking beside her was a physics professor who wanted Professor Zhang Ying to join their research team.

It was something of a routine; the physics professors invited every new professor who arrived.

"I’m not interested in your mysterious research," she said. "I came here primarily to study the environmental changes."

"Professor Zhang Ying, joining us would be beneficial to your research. We can use methods from physics to search for the cause of these environmental phenomena."

Professor Zhang Ying refused him outright. She had done her homework before arriving and learned that any physics professor still here researching was a bit eccentric.

In the two days she’d been here, she’d already seen that their research had made zero progress. Some had given up entirely, while others were so lost in their work you couldn’t snap them out of it.

"Boss Lin, you’re here too. Are you worried about the animals?" Zhang Ying asked.

"I am, Professor Zhang. All these animals have flocked here, and there might be larger ones migrating over as well.

Plus, winter is coming, and the weather’s been strange this year. Food for these animals is going to be a problem. I’m planning on providing feed. What do you think?"

Zhang Ying thought for a moment before replying, "Your situation here is somewhat unique. It is indeed necessary to provide food for the animals. I’ll help you report the situation to the wildlife protection agency."

If it weren’t for the environmental changes causing this migration, Zhang Ying would not have recommended feeding wild animals.

Once their survival habits are altered, they might become unable to survive in the wild if human feeding ever stops.

But Lin Xian Village was a special case, and this needed to be taken into account. Otherwise, the animals that had gathered here likely wouldn’t survive the winter.

"Mo Yu! Mo Yu, what are you doing?" Lin Feng shouted toward something in the distance.

The surrounding people heard him and looked over at Mo Yu, who was a short distance away. The dog had a small, helpless squirrel pinned under his paw.

Hearing Lin Feng’s call, he let out a series of "WOOF WOOF WOOF" barks, as if complaining about the little squirrel under his paw.

A tourist explained, "Boss Lin, that little squirrel threw a pinecone at Mo Yu, and now Mobao’s caught it."

"Let it go! You’re a big dog now; a pinecone can’t hurt you."

Mo Yu barked at the squirrel a few more times before finally lifting his paw and letting it go.

The little squirrel scrambled up a tree, perched on a branch, and let out a rapid "SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK," chittering so fast it sounded like it was cursing up a storm.

"Wow! That squirrel is so smart!"

As tourists ran over to get a closer look, the squirrel stopped chittering and quickly vanished into the foliage.

He stayed a while longer, learning more from Professor Zhang Ying about the environment’s impact on the local plant life.

Only then did he begin to understand just how special the village’s new characteristic was. The generation of this attribute had essentially turned Lin Xian Village into a unique sanctuary.

Plants that required very specific, demanding environments to grow could now all be cultivated within Lin Xian Village’s borders.

For instance, over by the greenhouses, the wheat that might have otherwise frozen to death was now no longer at risk.

Apparently, he hadn’t fully grasped the special nature and importance of this attribute from the start.

All the animals, plants, and people living in Lin Xian Village would enjoy the benefits of this environment.

Leaving that area, he headed to the performance stage, which was now bustling with activity.

"Boss, you’re here," Ding Haolian said, jogging over.

"Are you all settling in alright?"

"We are, absolutely. The performance environment here is much better than what we were used to."

Qin Youyou walked over in her performance costume, and Lin Feng realized there was a certain trick to the outfit.

It was covered in many transparent silk threads, which were used to make the ribbons dance and fly during the performance.

Of course, making it look good required incredible control and long hours of training.

"Boss," Qin Youyou greeted him.

"Is it tiring performing here?"

Qin Youyou smiled. "Not at all. Our performances are short, and we get breaks in between."

"Good. Still, make sure you get enough rest. You shouldn’t perform every single day. You could also think about some other acts.

For example, that opera singing you mentioned before—it’s not out of the question. You could adapt it into a stage play format."

"Boss, opera requires fundamental skills. A lot of people in our troupe haven’t practiced in a long time.

If we wanted to perform opera, we’d have to find new performers."

"It was just a thought. You guys can figure it out, just as long as you don’t overwork yourselves."

Ding Haolian spoke up, "Boss, I’ll talk to the other performance troupes later and see if we can team up to adapt some of our county’s local legends into a large-scale stage play."

Lin Feng encouraged him, "That’s a great idea. If it works out, you might even get to perform on the county TV station someday."

Ding Haolian didn’t really care about performing on television. If they could really create a successful stage play, they could earn much more money right here in Lin Xian Village.

He’d heard that even though the banquet caterers had lowered their prices slightly, the sheer volume of tourists meant they were making more money than ever.

Of course, the main reason was that the ingredients were fresh and sanitary, and the tourists could see the entire process, which gave them peace of mind.

As long as he could create a performance that the tourists liked, given Lin Xian Village’s visitor numbers, it was bound to be a massive hit.