Chapter 63: Chapter 63 Reported
Having completed a full circuit, they returned to the main entrance.
The two little lolis discovered a small stall under the shade of a tree, displaying various styles of animal plushies, and there was even a QR code placed next to them.
The vendor was none other than Fang Ye!
Fang Ye sat on a low stool, smiling and waving: "Finished looking around? Want to buy a plushie to take home?"
Tang Xiaoxin's mouth hung open, looking at him incredulously: "Brother Fang Ye, how come you're also running a stall?"
"Just helping out temporarily." Fang Ye picked up a peafowl plushie. Although it was a chibi version with a shorter neck, the proud and beautiful posture was still vividly portrayed. "Here, how about this one? Isn't it pretty?"
Qian Keke seemed to like it and squatted down to take a closer look: "How much for one?"
"30, do you think that's expensive?"
Mainly because the plushies were quite small, about the size of a palm, Fang Ye thought that selling them for 30 was reasonable: "Also, if you feel like there's anything lacking at the zoo, why not give some feedback, make some suggestions?"
His main purpose for selling plushies here wasn't to make money, but rather to see what kind of pricing visitors would accept and to listen to their opinions about the zoo.
In the past, when he played games, he could see what the visitors were thinking just by clicking on a panel, like if they were thirsty, felt that there weren't enough toilets, or were upset seeing the living conditions of the animals. But now he had no way to see these things, so he had to ask directly.
"I don't think it's expensive at all. I'll take a peafowl, a fox, a tiger, a monkey, and an alpaca," she said.
Qian Keke scanned with her phone, and in a blink of an eye, 150 yuan had been transferred.
Fang Ye then pulled out a gray wolf plushie: "Since you're buying so many, I'll give you this one for free."
Qian Keke pouted: "No thanks, the gray wolf isn't cute at all. Do you have a red panda one, park manager?"
She unzipped her shark backpack and the white teeth spread apart as the big mouth opened up. Then she tucked the several plushies inside the backpack.
Fang Ye laughed: "Not at the moment, but we will have them in the future."
Tang Xiaoxin looked on with envy; she didn't have as much pocket money as Qian Keke.
However, it wasn't a problem to buy just one. After choosing for a while, she took out 30 yuan from her pocket: "I'll take a peafowl."
"Manager, I have a suggestion. Set different prices for these plushies. For animals that are good-looking and popular, like tigers and peafowls, you can price them at 40, animals with medium popularity like foxes and alpacas can be sold for 30, and gray wolves can be 20.
This way, you avoid the plushies of popular animals selling out too quickly and can also increase profits," Qian Keke suggested in a precocious manner.
Fang Ye was stunned: "Are students nowadays this business-savvy?"
"Keke's family runs a business, so of course she understands these things," Tang Xiaoxin said with a giggle. "Brother Fang Ye, I also have a suggestion. You should open a restaurant here, because when you get tired from walking around, there's only bread to eat, and also, the ticket prices are too low!"
"A restaurant is indeed needed. As for the ticket prices, there are still relatively few visitors at the moment. I'm planning to wait until the popularity increases a bit and the tiger and wolf exhibits are completed before raising the prices." Fang Ye took note of everything the two said. "Thank you for your suggestions!" Explore new worlds at m-vl-em|p-yr
...
After spending a day at the zoo, Tang Xiaoxin returned home feeling very tired, but also very happy!
"I'm back!"
She kicked off her shoes and plunged into the soft sofa.
Mother Tang had just gotten off work and arrived home, busying herself with cooking in the kitchen. Little Blackie was lying on the back of the sofa, staring blankly as if lost in thought.
Tang Xiaoxin flipped over, picked up the dazed-faced Little Blackie, and gave its chubby belly and plump face a good rub, "Little Blackie, did you miss me today?"
Little Blackie pawed twice without moving and, unable to resist, gave in to her handling, its expression one of utter despondence: Alright, if you're done, put me down.
"How was your trip to the zoo today?" Mother Tang casually asked as she brought a plate to the table.
"It was pretty good," Tang Xiaoxin suddenly caught a whiff of a delicious scent and said, pleasantly surprised, "Mom, are we having crab for dinner?"
"Mhm, the supermarket had a new batch of crabs today, with a buy one get the second half-off deal. They looked pretty nice so I got a few! But you can't eat too much crab, just have a taste once in a while to satisfy the craving. Eating too much can cause coldness in the body. There's also a fish cooking right now."
Given that Linhai City is, as the name implies, by the sea, various kinds of fish, shrimp, and seafood are common on the dining table.
Little Blackie also smelled the fresh marine scent of the crab, lifted its head, and was eager to jump onto the table, only to be ruthlessly held down by Tang Xiaoxin!
After a while, Father Tang returned home too, hung up his clothes on the rack, and then sat down on the sofa.
He was quite exhausted today; his company had a project reaching a critical phase, with frequent meetings, and was so busy at noon that he even skipped lunch. But it was still not as bad as for the programmers, who work overtime late into the night every day.
Of course, he would never show this weariness in front of his family. Seeing his daughter so happy, he actually felt a bit envious. Being a student was better after all, with summer and winter breaks; work was truly tiring.
Knowing how tiring work could be, some parents chose to let their children experience some of that hardship during school, enrolling them in various tutoring classes, hoping their kids would achieve better grades and lead an ideal life in the future.
However, Father Tang thought since work was so exhausting, why not let his child have more fun while still in school? Having fun could broaden her horizons and improve her emotional intelligence. After all, her grades weren't bad, so why should she struggle for the sake of being a top student?
It would be pitiable to spend childhood studying hard only to end up as another worker drone in the future.
While watching TV, he asked, "How was your day at the zoo?"
Tang Xiaoxin started to talk excitedly, "Dad, you don't know, Linhai Zoo is built so nicely now! As soon as you enter, there's a beautiful grassy area right next to the plaza, with peafowl walking leisurely without any barriers. They're not afraid of people either, one even flew over to show off its feathers!"
"Oh!" Father Tang listened with a touch of longing.
"And there's the newly opened red panda exhibit with its tranquil bamboo forest and stream outside. It's so beautiful! The red pandas are really fun too. There was one so clumsy, it got scared by a rock, hahaha..."
Mother Tang had finished cooking and brought out the meals, "What are you talking about, you sound so happy?"
"We're talking about the red pandas!"
At that moment, Father Tang heard his phone chime with a message. He picked it up out of habit, and someone had forwarded him an article: "Such a stunning zoo, how can you not visit?"
He opened the article, which read, "Linhai's most beautiful attraction is here! Gorgeous peafowl, adorable red pandas... This isn't a fairytale world, but Linhai Zoo."
To back up these claims, a photo followed, showing peafowl boasting their beautiful tail fans on the lush green grass, with visitors joyfully taking pictures; it indeed looked very beautiful.
"What a coincidence?" Father Tang was taken aback, then showed the phone to Tang Xiaoxin, "Is this the Linhai Zoo you visited?"
Tang Xiaoxin exclaimed with excitement, "Yes, yes, that's the place!"