I have a wildlife zoo-Chapter 593 : A True Story

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The red-crowned crane, unaware if it heard its companion's call or not, flapped its pristine wings and started to run swiftly with its long legs in the stream.

As its wings beat up and down, gaining speed, it eventually took off into the air.

Its long neck stretched forward, and its slender legs dangled behind like the tail of a kite, looking extremely graceful.

"Wow, can it actually fly? There's no fence around, aren't you afraid they'll fly away?"

Fang Ye explained, "We've cut the feathers on their wings every couple of inches! They can fly up a little, but will come down again if they go too far. It probably went to play by the lake at the back where many cranes are found.

The landscape of the garden is man-made, and the surrounding trees serve as a natural barrier, limiting the cranes' range of movement.

Despite the many paintings of cranes and pines symbolizing longevity, it's a mistake to depict red-crowned cranes perched in trees; most cranes do not roost in trees. They are suited to rest in open wetland with lush aquatic plants.

However, in the hot summer, many cranes do like to stay in the woods where there's shade from the trees and cool streams, where it's nice and cool in the shade."

In the tranquil setting of Crane Pavilion, many visitors were resting on the benches on either side, all the while admiring these beautiful red-crowned cranes.

There was also a cute sister dressed in Hanfu, with braided hair, holding a black-handled folding fan and gently waving it, a smile playing upon her lips, while a photographer took pictures.

The simple and elegant garden setting, along with the red-crowned cranes as a background, made it the perfect spot for Hanfu photography.

The folding fan in the sister's hand featured a scene of a flock of red-crowned cranes flying in the sky, with flowing tassels hanging from the fan handle, adding a touch of classical charm.

The zoo recently launched a series of red-crowned crane-themed cultural merchandise, including folding fans and stationery sets.

The sets include red-crowned crane tape, notebooks, pencil boxes, bookmarks, and ballpoint pens, all delicately designed and finely crafted, particularly appealing to students!

For students, the allure of beautiful stationery is just as strong as the attraction of nice lipstick to young women.

Many students, when they were young, had a hobby of collecting pretty erasers. Whether they used them up or not, just owning them was a pleasure, making their mood joyful. Sometimes it's only years later when clearing things up that they realize everything has stuck together.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

Parents might not be keen on buying a plushie or something, but they would be willing to buy a stationery set for their child; a set priced at 98 yuan is still acceptable.

Not just students, but many adults like them as well, buying them for their own use.

Fang Ye was leading the netizens through Crane Pavilion at a leisurely pace, now and then giving explanations.

Turning a corner, they stepped out of the garden corridor and onto a small plaza.

In front was an expansive wetland lake, the water clear and flawless like a mirror reflecting the azure sky and the pure white clouds.

A few red-crowned cranes circled and flew in pairs over the lake, their elegant silhouettes likewise mirrored below, calling out loud "oh-oh" as they soared.

Some spread their wings flat, gliding from the sky as their slender legs extended down like landing gear, with necks reaching forward.

Upon touching the ground, they flapped their fan-like wings a few more times as if reluctant to stop, then tiptoed forward in an elegant stride, like dancers flitting gracefully about.

Others wandered leisurely along the shallows, pecking for food in the water or lying in it, dipping their beaks, then turning to meticulously groom their feathers, cleaning their bodies.

It's quite a spectacle, seeing such a large number of cranes freely roaming about in this space.

"Wow, it's so beautiful! It's just like a paradise on earth!"

"A crane soars through the clouds above in clear skies, inspiring poetic emotions that reach the azure heavens! No wonder our ancestors liked them so much!"

"It's as if they've stepped right out of an ink wash painting!"

A netizen asked curiously, "Director, what's that sculpture?"

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In the center of the square stood a pristine statue of a girl surrounded by three red-crowned cranes.

The girl's left hand was outstretched as if feeding the red-crowned crane in front of her, which had its neck bent and beak open, while her right hand was gently stroking the neck of the crane behind her, her face alight with a pure and innocent smile.

It was clear to see the girl's affection for the red-crowned cranes and the cranes' fondness for the girl, portraying a close and harmonious bond between human and bird.

There were many animal sculptures in the zoo: there was a tiger at the tiger exhibit, a lion at the lion exhibit, and a Yangtze alligator sculpture at the entrance to the reptiles and amphibians exhibit.

But this was the first time seeing a sculpture of a person!

Fang Ye looked towards the sculpture of the girl and the red-crowned cranes, his gaze becoming a bit more serious.

He took a deep breath, mustered his emotions, and sang softly, "Crossing that little river, have you ever heard~ of a girl who once came by~"

I wonder if everyone has heard this song?

The name of the song is "A True Story," and the lyrics tell the story of the girl behind the statue, Xu Xiujuan, the red-crowned crane girl."

"I haven't heard it!"

"I haven't heard it either, +1!"

"Eh, the two lines that the Director sang sound a bit familiar? I forgot when I heard them!"

"The melody does sound familiar!"

"I know this song! My music teacher taught it to me in third grade, it left a deep impression!"

"I remember the beginning of the song being particularly scary, it seemed to say that a girl fell into the water, it was the shadow of my childhood! I cried the first time I heard it and didn't dare to listen to the rest!"

"Really?"

"Xu Xiujuan is an alumna of Northeast Forestry University! She is also the pride of our school!"

Fang Ye said, "This song was very popular back then, spreading across the country. It wasn't just because the singer was very good, but more so because the song tells a true and poignant story.

Red-crowned cranes are wetland animals, and as the area of their habitats has decreased, the number of wild red-crowned cranes has also been declining.

Luckily, there are some people who are guarding our 'fairy cranes' with their lives.

Xu Xiujuan was born into a family of crane-keepers; her parents were the first generation of crane conservationists in the country. When she was 17, Xu Xiujuan also began training red-crowned cranes at Zhalong Nature Reserve with her parents.

Later, Xu Xiujuan paid her own way to Northeast Forestry University to further her studies, hoping to gain more knowledge in animal conservation and take even better care of the red-crowned cranes.

Due to family poverty, the school waived half of her tuition fees, but Xu Xiujuan couldn't afford even the cost of meals. She lived on pickles and steamed buns and secretly sold her blood four times behind her family and classmates to maintain her studies.

In such tough conditions, she completed two years' worth of coursework in just a year and a half. At graduation, she had excelled in all ten major courses."

As the netizens listened to his calm narration, they were profoundly moved: "Oh my God!"

"It's so sad to hear this, makes me want to cry!"

"I feel ashamed in comparison, we must strive to improve ourselves!"

"This is the power of belief! Respect!"

"What happened afterwards?"