Tan Xinzhang said: "That's my father Tan Yingjiu, but he is old, his ears are hard to hear, and he can't hear what others are saying. He doesn't usually communicate with people very much. He just waits for these animals all day long."
"He is not only the director of the zoo, but also a purchaser, cleaner, conductor, veterinarian, breeder, and commentator... He rides a tricycle at 5 o'clock every morning to buy food for the animals, and when he comes back, he cleans the pens.
Feeding and watering, occasionally receiving some visitors, busy from morning to evening, just like this day by day."
"I also like animals, and I often help him, but... he wants me to take over, and I don't think I can do it."
"When my father is really a hundred years old, I will probably pack up all these animals and send them to other zoos and stop doing this."
Pei Qian asked: "The economic benefits are not good?"
Tan Xinzhang smiled bitterly and said: "It's not just bad? It's just losing money."
"The cost of raising animals is too high. Pythons and crocodiles all have to eat live animals, whether it's chickens or fish. How much do you need to eat in a day? Tibetan mastiffs, mules, horses, and macaques are relatively better, but my father
I don’t want to save money on this.”
"In addition to the ticket income, my father also put in a lot of his retirement funds, just to keep these animals well-fed. But that's it. It's not easy to keep them fed.
Well, as for renovating the fence, I don’t even dare to think about it.”
"The key point is that my father's life is worse than that of animals. Have you seen the shabby bungalow next to the pen? My father usually lives there, and just eats with two people. It wouldn't be a big deal if he were dozens of years younger.
Well, now that I am older, how can I keep struggling like this?"
"My parents divorced when I was a child, and the big reason was this zoo."
"To be honest, I'm quite conflicted. I know it's hard for my father, so I help him as much as possible, but if I help more, he always wants me to take over."
"But I feel that there is no need for this zoo to continue to exist."
"In the past, this zoo was quite popular. That was because the environment was relatively closed. People in this small county had no other place to see animals. But now that the economy has developed, let's not talk about going to some large wildlife zoos. Just drive there.
Isn’t it very convenient to see animals in Jingzhou Zoo? Who would come to a zoo like this?”
"Ticket fees are getting lower and lower, 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 am also a human being and I have to live a normal life. I cannot be like my father who spent thirty or forty years of my life on these animals."
"Hey, I accidentally talked too much. In fact, I shouldn't have talked about this. Come, Mr. Pei, let me show you these animals."
Tan Xinzhang took Pei Qian to some horses. These horses seemed to be in good spirits and were eating fodder happily.
After seeing Tan Xinzhang, a brown horse came over with its head. After Tan Xinzhang touched the horse's head, it snorted happily.
Then, I looked at the macaques and pythons kept indoors. They seemed to be in good spirits. Especially the monkeys were jumping up and down to get food. They seemed to be more lively than the monkeys in some large zoos. I don’t know if they were.
An illusion.
But inevitably, there is still a strong smell, and the whole environment is really not good.
Although old man Tan Yingjiu cleans every day, under these conditions, no matter how much he cleans, it is impossible to maintain good sanitary conditions.
But Pei Qian is not struggling with this now. He has been thinking about what Tan Xinzhang said.
This thing is just a loss of money!
I am simply more optimistic than I imagined!
Take this zoo as an example. The entrance fee is only 20. What can you do with 20 these days? Moreover, just eating for these animals every day is a huge expense. Many carnivores need to eat live animals, and the food expenses are higher than that of humans.
high.
If these animals cause trouble again, it will cost even more money.
Many people are still unable to open cat cafes. The difficulty of raising wild animals is countless times higher than that of cat cafes.
Tan Yingjiu persisted for thirty years and even raised lions and ostriches. Without strong will, faith and love, he would never have been able to persevere.
However, Pei Qian also got some inspiration from Tan Xinzhang's words.
How can a zoo lose money?
The most important thing is that it must be small and not too big.
The small zoo has few types of animals, so it doesn't look interesting. Even if the ticket prices are reduced, it is impossible to achieve the effect of small profits but quick turnover.
In the past, because the economy was underdeveloped and the transportation was congested, people would go to some small zoos. Now that the transportation is so developed, we don’t talk about zoos abroad or in first-tier cities, but only in zoos in various prefecture-level cities.
Most of the needs of Handong Province.
Therefore, small zoos with few animal categories will only become increasingly hopeless and gradually fall into a vicious cycle.
Old man Tan Yingjiu has spent most of his life in this zoo. Of course he is unwilling to accept this reality, but Tan Xinzhang is a young man and can see much more clearly than his father.
That's why Tan Xinzhang said that after his father has passed a hundred years, he will close this zoo and send the animals directly to other zoos.
He is also a human being and has to live. In his time, old man Tan Yingjiu even got divorced because of this zoo. In Tan Xinzhang's current situation, if he continues to fight with this zoo, he may not even be able to get married.
Pei Qian couldn't help but smile, don't you think this is a coincidence?
If you meet me, then we can have a good talk!
Pei Qian walked around the zoo briefly and nodded with satisfaction: "Yes, not bad."
"I intend to move the entire zoo to Jingzhou, and you will be the director. What do you think?"
Tan Xinzhang was stunned for a moment: "Ah?"
He never expected that Mr. Pei would say such a thing.
According to the most optimistic estimate, Mr. Pei can arrange for some employees to come and visit, or feel sympathy and donate some money, which is already very good for Tan Xinzhang.
Why move the zoo?
Anyone can see that this zoo has no value at all?
These shabby houses should have been demolished a long time ago. As for the animals inside, although there are some wild animals, which zoo outside does not have them? They cannot be said to be rare or precious.
Moreover, if you are asked to be the director of the garden, you are not the material at all, right?
The director of the zoo must be a university graduate, right?
Tan Xinzhang hurriedly said: "Mr. Pei, this is inappropriate. If you want to open a zoo, just do it. These animals are not rare animals and they are not worth it."
"As for the director, it is even more inappropriate. When opening a zoo now, you need to pay attention to scientific feeding and let professionals do it. My father and I are both wild people. Although we have learned some knowledge on our own, we have to be the director of a large zoo.
Long, that’s still too different..."
Tan Xinzhang knew that if Mr. Pei wanted to build a zoo, the scale must be too small, otherwise it would not be in line with Tengda's style of doing things.
Pei Qian looked serious: "Hey, what you said is wrong."
"It doesn't matter whether animals are rare or not. They are all equal. How can you favor one over the other? These animals have been with you and your son for so many years. How can you have some affection for them? Send them to other zoos. There are so many animals.
It’s hard to be treated like this.”
"In the early days of my zoo, I mainly focused on experimentation and would not rush to raise any rare animals. I think these animals are quite good. Although they are very ordinary, they are in good spirits and happy. That is enough."
"As for the director, you don't have to worry about it. I think the most important thing is to have a true love for animals. Professional knowledge is easy to handle. I will arrange a few professional people to help you, including breeders and veterinarians.
, they are all professional. If you need any advice, just ask.”
"You are the director, you don't need to worry about these trivial things."
"The key is the spirit of your father and son. I'm very moved!"
"Of course, I understand the current situation very well. Don't worry, the place you want to move to this time is not far from the Jingzhou Hotel. Although it is on the outskirts of Jingzhou, the nearby area is relatively lively and the transportation is convenient. When the time comes,
You two are official employees of Tengda, and your welfare benefits will not be less at all. These animals can also receive better care, and at least the food and living environment can be greatly improved."
Tan Xinzhang looked a little confused.
This... certainly sounds good anywhere.
But here comes the question, what does Mr. Pei want?
No matter how you look at it, this looks like a waste of money and a completely meaningless behavior.
Seeing that Tan Xinzhang was still a little hesitant, Pei Qian said: "In this way, you can sign a contract with Tengda first, and then I will allocate some funds to you. You can hire a few people to help the old man take care of the zoo here. When you go to Jingzhou,
You can participate in the entire preparation process of the new zoo, so you have nothing to worry about, right?"
Tan Xinzhang thought about it and found that this was indeed the case.
Although he couldn't think of a reason for Mr. Pei to do this, he couldn't even think of a reason for his refusal.
"Okay, Mr. Pei, let's do this. I'll talk to my father about this first, do some ideological work for him, settle things at the zoo here, and then go to Jingzhou to find you."
Pei Qian nodded: "Okay, you can just contact me directly when the time comes."
After selecting the director of the zoo, Pei Qian didn't waste any time and returned directly by car.
Although the director has decided, the specific operating model of this zoo still needs to be carefully considered.
Although the zoo has been losing money, Pei Qian does not intend to completely copy this model. After all, the objective conditions have changed.
If the zoo continues to operate here, even if the entire zoo is purchased, how much money will it cost? A drop in the bucket.
What Pei Qian wants is to move the zoo to Jingzhou and explore a scalable way to burn money. Once this model is successfully tested, then it only needs to continue to expand the scale, and it can continue to burn money without limit.
