Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

The three of them hadn't even stepped out of the car when they heard the office girl waving at them.

"Quick, come down and help!"

"What's going on here?"

Clueless, Chen Ying and Yin Li got out of the car and were promptly pushed forward.

"Brother Ying, hurry up, there are three red pandas inside. We can't let them get hurt."

"Let's just come, they'll leave by themselves when it gets dark. What are you all doing?"

"Hey, you don't know, these little rascals stole fruits and veggies from the storeroom and are having diarrhea. They got scared by their own farts and are running around everywhere."

Chen Ying couldn't help but burst into laughter when he heard this.

"Stop laughing and come help. Once caught, they need a wash, and the storeroom needs cleaning too; it stinks."

Master Zhao's face was beet red.

It was his turn to cook today, and he forgot to lock the door when he went to get the ingredients at noon, not expecting to attract a whole bunch of little ancestors.

Yin Li brought down a box of apples from the car.

They had bought these in town, and some fans had also sent some apples from their hometown for Great Bai's family to taste.

Chen Ying cut the apples into small pieces, tapped the basin, and placed it at the entrance of the storeroom.

After a short while, a round-headed, sneaky little red panda appeared at the door, looked around, sniffed the sweet aroma with its nose twitching, called out twice, and beckoned its buddies over for a bite to eat.

The three red pandas assembled at the door, and it was clear which one had run off.

Tch, lucky that red pandas aren't carnivores, otherwise the scent would be even more alluring.

Chen Ying found some towels, both dry and wet.

He went over and caught the one with diarrhea, lifted it by the scruff of the neck, and pulled it aside to wipe it down.

The weather wasn't suitable for a hairdryer, and most wild animals are scared of the noise, which would only make things worse if they got frightened.

As he was cleaning up the little guy who was both greedy and timid like a bear, Yin Li came over to say that they had already cleaned out a temporary shelter.

Yin Li and the deputy director each grabbed a panda, along with the basin of apples, and took them to the Panda House next door, to the garden where Meng Yan used to live.

The place was ready with all the facilities, needing only a little tidying up to be ready for moving in.

Old Zhao and Old Yi had helped take care of small animals before and, seeing the situation, went to the bamboo forest across the way and cut some tender bamboo to prepare dinner for the little ones.

Especially Old Yi, just before Meng Yan left, he and Little Sen were in charge of feeding and cleaning; he knew by heart what red pandas liked to eat. While others were cleaning the storeroom, he took the raw materials and steamed some of Meng Yan's favorite fa gao in the kitchen.

No need for added sugar, it had a mild sweetness from the carbs—perfect supplementary food for a red panda's constitution.

After checking and confirming that the little one had diarrhea from eating over-hydrated cabbage leaves and sweet radishes, Chen Ying didn't medicate the red pandas, but placed them directly into the shelter for observation.

He asked Old Gao and Yin Li to send the items to the emergency station first, as he needed to stay and observe the condition of the three red pandas.

By the way, he planned to send their biological samples to the Protection Center for testing to see if they could temporarily pair up with Brother Manman.

After cleaning up, he brought fresh bamboo to the garden, only to see two red pandas lying on the imitation wood stone platform, looking utterly disconsolate, while another with a slightly shinier, redder-brown fur kept crying out, and would occasionally stand up, hands on hips.

Chen hid outside and took a few pictures before opening the door and going in.

The agitated red panda got startled, agilely jumped onto a nearby suspension bridge, then almost slipped, barely avoiding a fall. Thankfully, its pull-up skills were not bad, successfully maintaining the dignity of the big sister.

(What are you looking at, my fit figure is all thanks to self-discipline! I'm talking to you, still lying in bed scrolling through your phone!)

The two that were lying down stood up and raised their little hands as soon as they saw Chen Ying come in, as if to say, "What took you so long? Hurry, we're starving to death."

Chen Ying placed the bamboo on the platform and, with quick reflexes, grabbed the lively little critter, giving it a vigorous petting. After collecting a bit of fur, he didn't disturb their mealtime any longer.

"Uncle Zhao, when did these three little guys get here?"

"I'm not sure, but they must have come after lunch. At least, I didn't notice them when I was washing dishes and putting things away."

Master Zhao sighed deeply, "I was only negligent for a moment, thinking that I'll cook again in the evening. So I simply left the door ajar and went to work. By the time Little Li and the others reported seeing Red Pandas, the storeroom was already a mess thanks to the three of them."

Opened food ingredients and fruits and vegetables that hadn't been properly stored, everything that was clearly contaminated, needed to be thrown away.

It didn't seem like much, but the value added up to no small sum.

The Forest Patrol Officers didn't earn much and bonuses were sparse, so this compensation was going to hurt.

Chen Ying wanted to offer to cover part of it himself but worried that Uncle Zhao's pride might make it awkward. He planned to talk to the deputy director later and just handle half of the compensation through his personal account.

After all, Uncle Zhao and Uncle Yi often volunteered to make toys for the little ones on his side without charging, so it seemed like a fair return.

After freeloadinging dinner at the Protection Station, Chen Ying found the deputy director, but before he could state his intentions, the other man smiled and said there was no need.

"I've already reported it; it'll be processed as normal wastage. I'll mention it at tomorrow's morning meeting. This time it's a lack of experience for everyone. We will emphasize locking the door from now on, and if that's not enough, I'll see if the funds can be used to modify the locks."

Once Yin Li had left, he was the big boss of the Protection Station. Spending a little money to secure his footing was a no-brainer.

Chen Ying went back to check again in the evening and saw the three little bears, full and quenched, already curled up together asleep.

He observed the room and saw that there wasn't much diarrhea anymore, but it was clear that there were still some undeveloped Qingtuan, likely to be back to normal by tomorrow.

Just as Chen Ying was about to leave, a soft and clear voice reached him.

"Two-legged beast, the monkey said you could help us, is that true?"

Chen Ying stopped in his tracks, turning to look back.

It was that lively one, with redder fur.

It gently stood up and ran over quickly, lying down in front of Chen Ying.

"We want to leave this place, but it's so cold outside, and there's nothing to eat."

Chen Ying looked at the other two bears, who weren't sleeping soundly, extended his hand and the little critter cleverly climbed up onto his shoulder and was taken to the office in the adjacent medical area.

"Do you want to eat something else?"

His post-meal fruit was Little Apple. He cut a small slice and handed it to the little critter.

The little critter took it, but didn't eat.

"The mountain has very little to eat, and there are so many of our kind. A few strong brothers have left here to go higher up, but we can't do that."

It looked sad, its white eyebrows nearly knit together.

"My plan was to take these two through the valley to the other side, but the monkey said you had a way and told me to find you first. It also said the weather is getting colder, and if we leave home now, we'd die outside."

But staying wasn't an option either—too cold, and they can't eat the hard bamboo, nor can they find other things to eat.

A bamboo forest can only support so few of our kind; we need to leave the food for the older ones who can't easily leave.

Hearing this, Chen Ying took out his phone to check.

Indeed, according to records, this year's average temperature around this time was five to six degrees lower than previous years, and the snow season had started earlier.

"How about this? You three stay here for now, and I'll inquire about other places. If I find a suitable place, we'll help you move and establish a new home."

Upon hearing this, the Red Panda agreed without hesitation.

Food, drink, and a warm place to sleep—who'd be foolish enough to say no?