Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 321 - 240 Little Koi Carp_1

Chapter 321: Chapter 240 Little Koi Carp_1

In front of the cameras, the small reticulated python with a white background and red spots that Feng Yi had selected was confirmed by the zoo director as having "Koi coloring."

No one else objected, as they could somewhat guess the director’s thoughts.

Besides, the coloring really did resemble that of a koi.

The six hatchlings, whether they had already emerged or were still in their eggs, would be taken care of by the zoo’s designated staff.

The director told Steve and Feng Yi, "We will install cameras, and you can check the real-time status of your adopted snake through your mobile phone at any time."

Feng Yi had other tasks and couldn’t stay in Yang City indefinitely. The zoo’s arrangements were very convenient for him.

Steve, on the other hand, was so attached to his "little citrus" that he even negotiated with the zoo about the possibility of living directly in the reptile house.

He was then refused.

However, even if he couldn’t live in the reptile house, Steve didn’t live far away and could visit his "little citrus" every day.

"These lucky little darlings will enjoy a wonderful summer."

"Without facing the existential threats of food shortages and habitat destruction, they’ll grow very big!"

Steve continued to film, so Feng Yi didn’t stick around to interfere. Knowing there were people who had watched the live stream waiting outside the reptile house, Feng Yi took the opportunity to leave through a passage the director had shown him.

Half an hour later, the zoo announced through the live stream that Feng Yi had left, to the people waiting outside. The watchers didn’t leave immediately, as the self-media folks wanted to probe for more news. However, the information they could gather was limited.

After Feng Yi left the zoo and Steve continued filming, the director didn’t follow the TV crew but instead consulted with a few genetic experts to confirm the genetics of the six newly hatched snakes from today.

The director’s insistence on the "Koi coloring" in front of the camera was for the variety show effect and marketing plan. In private, they still needed to know the snakes’ real genetic information to complete their files.

The first five snakes were almost as the egg-cutting staff had described, but there was debate about the one Feng Yi had chosen.

"I’ve seen a ’Super Fire’ ball python with a similar color distribution, but the spots were yellow, not the red like this one."

"Obviously, it’s different from ’Super Fire.’

"Maybe it has a mutation?"

"We could test its genetic information."

Since it involved interests, the director was more than willing to pay for the test.

The other zoo that had purchased snake eggs from the research base at the same time as us also cut eggs today. As far as the director knew, they had hatched a "Panda Pinstripe" and planned to ride the wave of the national treasure’s popularity during their promotion.

However, pythons with black and white colors have appeared too often in recent years, they’re not unique or fresh and they don’t carry the label of internet celebrities.

Our case is different though!

We have the exclusive Koi coloring!

Such a big advantage, am I proud? Yes!

The director walked out the door with his hands behind his back, head held high.

They had agreed with the TV show crew to only reveal the information about the six little pythons after the variety show aired.

There was a confidentiality state before the show’s broadcast, and everyone here had signed a confidentiality agreement.

Although they can’t reveal the details to the public just yet, they still need to keep up with promotion to let everyone know that Yang City Zoo has successfully hatched out six reticulated pythons!

These six pythons carry different genes, each with unique patterns and colors, and there are surprises among them!

Of course, there are also plenty of business opportunities!

Today’s python unboxing gave him quite a few insights.

Some things need to be arranged in advance.

Assistant Wu had already informed him about Feng Yi’s incident in the feeding room looking for his phone.

The python that swallowed the phone would immediately be transferred to the new exhibit with glass enclosures, which has stricter security facilities. It’s one of those that cannot interact with visitors.

In fact, most snakes inside the exhibit can’t interact with visitors at all.

The pythons selected for interaction and photo opportunities with visitors are those raised by the zoo from a young age, carefully chosen as the most docile among them. All are pythons.

Venomous snakes are absolutely not allowed to be released.

As for the staff, management needs to be strengthened, and those problematic and troublesome visitors must be guarded against.

If a real incident occurs, everyone will be in trouble.

Blaming the snakes is not acceptable; managing the staff properly is necessary!

The director is ambitious, and he cannot let his staff hold him back.

Training!

Intensify training!

Only those who pass the assessment can return to their posts!

Feng Yi returned to his task team and continued with his sea snake mission.

Two days later.

Feng Yi received a video call from the zoo director.

Having not seen the park director for two days, his dark circles were a bit more pronounced, but he seemed to be in good spirits, with a spark in his eyes when he spoke.

"There are mainly two things I’d like to discuss with you, related to that little reticulated python you adopted," the director said.

"Go ahead."

Over the past two days, Feng Yi had been able to monitor the little snake’s activities anytime through the client, and he knew the zoo had conducted a genetic test on it.

"The genetic testing company we partnered with provided its genetic information data. After discussing it with several experts here, it might have certain mutation factors or some more complex reasons, which would explain such body color and patterns. We don’t know who its breeder is, but for now, we have temporarily given this genetic variant a new name—’Koi’!"

It was easy to understand and immediately conveyed an idea of what its body color and pattern would look like.

"What do you think?" the director asked.

Feng Yi thought it was alright.

He felt a strong sense of personal attachment.

When he first laid eyes on it, he thought of the koi in his own pond.

"That’s fine," Feng Yi said.

Seeing that Feng Yi had no objections, the director’s smile deepened, "Then, let’s temporarily settle on that. In the records, under its genetic information, we’ll write ’Koi’."

Since the zoo had named its genetics, the director thought the naming rights for the little snake should go to Feng Yi.

"What would you like to name it? Steve named his ’Little Citrus’."

"Let’s just call it Koi. It’s descriptive, and the meaning is good," Feng Yi said.

Such a delicate little thing needed a bit of good fortune, hoping it would grow up smoothly.

"Uh... do you want to think it over a bit more?" the director asked.

Feng Yi considered for a few seconds: "Then, add a diminutive prefix, ’Little Koi’."

Director: "...Actually, Steve’s is called ’Citrus’, but since it’s still young, Steve directly calls it ’Little Citrus’."

"Hmm." Feng Yi indicated that he understood but also stuck to his own view: "Let’s call it ’Little Koi’, even if it grows for another twenty years, it will only be so big."

The director still wanted to try his luck, "This is a female python, and in this species, the females grow larger than the males. They can get very big!"

Feng Yi: "Yeah, ’Little Koi’."

For him, the current maximum size of a reticulated python was just that. No matter how much it grew, it would never be considered big.

"Alright," the director said helplessly.

He could almost see it years later, "Little Citrus" had grown into "Citrus", but "Little Koi" would still be "Little Koi", even if it was very large.

However, looking at "Little Koi’s" condition, it wasn’t as robust as the other hatchlings and would probably be smaller in size compared to its contemporaries.

Thinking about this, maybe calling it "Little Koi" wasn’t so wrong after all?

Now that the matter of the name was settled, it was put aside for the moment.

"The second issue. We plan to design a series of small toys based on their appearance."

Feng Yi was aware of this; he had bought a car ornament featuring the golden python Niuniu when he visited Rong City Zoo last year.

"We are going to make six egg-shaped blind box toys, to give fans the thrill of opening ’python boxes’. It’s those six that you guys hatched, and we’ll use them as the models for the six designs."

According to the agreement signed, the zoo had to inform Feng Yi when making "Little Koi" related cultural and creative products. If Feng Yi objected, they couldn’t proceed.

The director passed a planning document and design draft to Feng Yi for review.

The design draft was sketched by an artist collaborating with the zoo, proficient at making snakes less intimidating. The chibi-style baby snake had a very round head, sticking out its forked tongue. The body was drawn short and curled into a circle, so it could stand on a flat surface.

The eyes and body patterns were based on those of the six little snakes, making them look overall cute and silly.

The "eggshell" would be close to the size of a goose egg, white in color. Each eggshell would contain one "little snake" inside.

Looking at the details, the little snake toys seemed to be designed as plush accessories that could be hung on bags, phones, or keychains.

"Steve just looked at it and he’s agreed. Do you have any thoughts?" the director asked.

"It’s pretty good," Feng Yi said.

For something like this, both Steve and Feng Yi would receive a certain percentage of the revenue, not that they cared much about this income.

As long as it didn’t affect the little snakes’ growth, this was essentially them earning their own living expenses.

"When will they go on sale?" Feng Yi asked.

"If you guys agree, I’ll go talk to the factory right now. We’ve worked together many times, and they work fast. On the day Steve’s variety show airs, we’ll disclose information about the six little snakes, and we will open pre-sales for the blind boxes that night. The first batch will be three thousand pieces."

Feng Yi didn’t understand the market well, so he reserved his opinion for now.

"It’s a pity, it’s not the Year of the Snake. If we had this event last year, the sales would definitely be good," the director said. No matter how unpopular snakes were in the public’s eye, they were still one of the twelve zodiac animals.

"Will there be a complete set for sale?" Feng Yi asked.

"There might be later on. Hey, once the factory produces them, I’ll send ten sets to you and Steve! Keep one set for yourself and give the other nine as gifts!"

The director didn’t expect to make a lot of money from the blind boxes. The zoo had many cultural and creative products; staying active and expanding their popularity was a big win.