Chapter 605: Summer Vacation Begins

Fang Ye was delighted; this item perfectly solved the problem!

He quickly purchased it and wanted to take it out to have a look but couldn't find it in the item space. He asked curiously, "System, where is it?"

"The item has no physical form. Please check and use it in the sandbox!"

"Oh!"

Fang Ye then opened the sandbox construction interface and found that there was indeed a new facility called "Mental Field."

Using it in the sandbox, a semi-transparent protective bubble, like a soap bubble, appeared in the air. Its coverage area could be adjusted by stretching its edges.

He tried to cover the Waterfowl Lake, Flamingo Lake, and Crane Pavilion, but the 10,000 square meters area was just barely enough.

The wetland lake in the Crane Pavilion alone was about 4,000 square meters. There was also a winding garden path, the Waterfowl Lake covering 3,000 square meters, and an area reserved for these water birds to breed. The Flamingo Lake was slightly smaller.

This didn't even include some surrounding lawns, shaded areas, and the walking areas for visitors. The land area was a bit tight.

He then tried to cover the Predator Corridor, but it was far from enough, needing at least 15,000 square meters.

The system prompted, "You can expand the coverage area of the Mental Field by consuming popularity points!"

Fang Ye focused his thoughts and checked it out.

Level 1, consumes 1 million popularity points, increases the area by 1,000 square meters!

Level 2, also increases the area by 1,000 square meters, consumes 2 million popularity points!

Each level increases the same area, but the popularity points required grow exponentially.

Fine, he directly upgraded it by two levels, quickly depleting his popularity points.

For now, this would prevent the birds from flying around randomly. They could move freely in a small nearby area, and as the Mental Field leveled up, their activity range could gradually expand.

When the Mental Field reached a higher level, the birds could still have a chance to go out and visit the Ring-tailed Lemur Island, and visitors could experience the surprise of encountering a pelican walking by.

The next day, Fang Ye called Xiao Kong to his office.

Xiao Kong took a deep breath, gently knocked on the door, "Director?"

He felt a bit uneasy.

Yesterday, the Director suddenly asked in the group chat who could play the flute, and today he was called over. It must be related to that.

What was this about? Was he supposed to perform, or did the Director have a relative's child who wanted to learn the flute, and he was supposed to tutor them?

It wasn't that he was unwilling, but he was just an amateur, having only played a bit in elementary school.

Fang Ye said, "Come in!"

He invited Xiao Kong in and took out an antique-looking flute from the drawer, placing it on the table.

Smiling, he said, "This was a gift from a boss! I can't play it myself, so it's just a decoration here. You can take it and play with it. Taking care of the elephants is hard work; besides work, you should have something you enjoy, a hobby to develop."

Xiao Kong breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a surge of gratitude.

The Director was truly a good person! He often treated them to barbecue and hot springs, shared vegetables and fruits when they were ripe, and was generous and down-to-earth, unlike the distant and aloof leaders at his previous job. He was much more personable.

He politely declined, "Oh, I couldn't possibly accept this. It looks so exquisite..."

"Take it and play with it. When you're bored, you can play it for the elephants! It might even help build a closer bond."

Xiao Kong had no choice but to accept, "Thank you, Director!"

He left with the flute, feeling excited.

...

Tang Xiaoxin was equally overjoyed!

Finally, it was summer vacation, and she could visit the zoo she had been longing for.

At the beginning of the school term, she could still visit the zoo on weekends to relax.

But as the final exams approached, her mother became stricter, and she hadn't been to the zoo in a long time.

Reading the updates on Linhai Zoo's public account, she saw that many new animals had been introduced recently. The Hippo Exhibit, Giraffe Exhibit, and Gibbon Exhibit were all open! She had made plans with Qian Keke last night and was eagerly looking forward to it.

She was so excited that she got up at 6 AM, put on her best clothes, and went downstairs to buy breakfast.

Hugging her cat, Xiao Hei Hei, she kissed its face and said with a smile, "I'm going out to play! I'll show you the photos I take when I get back!"

She packed her bag, closed the door, and ran out.

In the bedroom, Tang's mother looked at the ceiling, sighing with a troubled expression.

Tang's father turned over, yawning sleepily, "What's wrong?"

"What should we do about our child?"

Tang's mother had been thinking that Tang Xiaoxin was about to enter her third year of middle school, and next year she would take the high school entrance exam.

How well she did in the entrance exam would determine if she could get into a good high school, which in turn would determine if she could get into a good university, and a good university would decide her future quality of life!

For parents who hoped their children would succeed, this was an undeniable truth.

She had planned to enroll her daughter in a few tutoring classes during the vacation. She couldn't play around like before.

But Tang Xiaoxin had strongly resisted!

She argued that after studying hard during school, she deserved to enjoy her vacation.

She had planned it all out: the first day at the zoo, the second day watching anime at home, the third day going to the movies, and the fourth day back to the zoo!

She already had decent grades, and tutoring might only improve them by a few points. Each class cost hundreds per hour, which was a waste of money. More importantly, she wouldn't be able to enjoy her vacation freely.

This led to a big argument with her mother, leaving both of them unhappy.

Tang's mother was frustrated. Other tutoring centers advertised, "Come to us to train your child, or we'll train your child's competitors."

If everyone else was taking tutoring classes and you weren't, you'd fall behind.

Why couldn't her child understand this?

Tang's father actually thought it wasn't necessary. It was just middle school; was it really that serious?

But he didn't want to upset Tang's mother, so he played peacemaker during their arguments, suggesting they wait until the final exam results came out.

Tang's mother had already made up her mind. No matter how well her daughter did, she would enroll her in a class.

Then a big news story broke recently: the government had completely shut down private tutoring centers.

In some places, tutoring classes were included in anti-crime and anti-evil campaigns, while in others, the crackdown was handled by the anti-pornography and anti-illegal publications office, showing the extent of the enforcement.

Now, there was no place to go for tutoring, even if they wanted to.

Tang's mother was deeply troubled, feeling that such a valuable vacation was being wasted.

She asked Tang's father, "Should we hire a private tutor? Even if it's expensive."

Tang's father replied, "Didn't you see the news recently? Some parents hired private tutors, then reported them after the lessons. The teachers not only had to refund the fees but also faced penalties. Unless they are relatives, who would dare to take the risk?

Neighbors have even threatened to report teachers if they don't include their children in the lessons. Hiring a private tutor is like committing a crime. Just forget about it."

Tang's mother frowned, understanding the reasoning but still feeling reluctant.

Tang's father comforted her with a smile, "Relax, everyone is in the same boat now."

Tang's mother sighed helplessly, "Sigh!"