Forest Ranger: Starting with a Giant Panda Mom Clinging to Me - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Brother Tian’s Real Job has to be a Druid, Right?

“Ha?” After reading the message, Lin Tian froze.

The Chinese alligator was to be raised by him too? No way, he had just sent the message and hadn’t mentioned that the Chinese alligator had settled in his water tank.

How did the bureau know so quickly? Were they watching his livestream the whole time?!  It was very possible! Otherwise, how could the bureau have replied so fast? And how could they be so confident about letting him keep the Chinese alligator in his courtyard?!

Lin Tian was speechless inside. But regardless, it looked like the Chinese alligator was going to be entrusted to his care.

Fine, he was already raising three national treasure pandas. One more Chinese alligator wouldn’t matter.

He’d raise it then. It was just a matter of feeding it a few more fish. Plus, all the food expenses for the Chinese alligator would be reimbursed by the bureau. He wouldn’t have to spend any money himself.

But still, how had his job as a forest ranger turned more and more into being a zookeeper?

Shaking his head, Lin Tian pushed the odd thought out of his mind and prepared to head outside.

At that moment, a roar from Panda Mom suddenly came from the courtyard. It was accompanied by the Chinese alligator’s cries.

Panda Mom wasn’t fighting with the Chinese alligator, was she?! Lin Tian got a scare and hurriedly ran outside.

In the courtyard, Panda Mom had already claimed Lin Tian’s house as her territory. Seeing the Chinese alligator nesting in the water tank naturally made her angry.

“Roar!”

Panda Mom stood upright, issuing a threat toward the Chinese alligator. The Chinese alligator didn’t back down, crouching at the edge of the tank with its mouth wide open, letting out hisses.

> “Oh no, Panda Mom found the Chinese alligator at home. They are probably going to fight!”

> “Brother Tian, come quick! Trouble’s brewing—Panda Mom and the Chinese alligator are about to throw down.”

> “With both of them this riled up, it’d be hard to calm things down.”

> “This is tricky. Both are first-class protected animals—you cannot kick either one out.”

…

Seeing this, Lin Tian hurried forward to intervene.

“Both of you, stop it,” he said.

Lin Tian stood in front of Panda Mom, pressing down her paws.

“And you too.” He ran to the Chinese alligator and swatted its open mouth shut.

“No fighting. If you are going to live here, you cannot fight! You are all friends now—shake hands and make up.” Lin Tian glared at both of them.

Instantly, Panda Mom turned her head, refusing to engage. The Chinese alligator let out a huff and turned its head too, ignoring Panda Mom.

Lin Tian held his forehead helplessly. “If you don’t shake hands, no dinner tonight,” he said.

“…”

Under Lin Tian’s threat of no food, Panda Mom, being the foodie, gave in first. She waddled reluctantly, let out a begrudging huff, and extended her paw.

The Chinese alligator didn’t want to miss out on tasty fish forever either and closed its open mouth. Equally reluctant, it stretched out its short little arm.

And just like that, one panda, one crocodile, their short limbs clapped together.

> “??”

> “They made up just like that?”

> “No way, Brother Tian, how did you do it?!”

> “Damn, Brother Tian, teach me!”

> “It took me half a day just to teach my husky to shake hands. How did Brother Tian convince Panda Mom and the Chinese alligator?!?!”

> “I seriously suspect Brother Tian’s real job is a druid!”

…

Though Panda Mom and the Chinese alligator were both a bit unwilling, under Lin Tian’s no-food threat, they compromised.

Panda Mom then nuzzled Lin Tian’s leg, acting cute and begging for food.

Lin Tian took a spiritual water fruit from his bag and gave it to Panda Mom. This was her daily post-meal digestive treat.

The Chinese alligator saw this, drooling with envy. It crawled out from the edge of the tank, its big head rubbing against Lin Tian’s leg, mimicking Panda Mom’s cute act.

But Lin Tian didn’t find it cute at all. This guy, with its bumpy crocodile skin, felt hard and rough against his leg—no softness whatsoever. Yet it was oblivious, persistently nuzzling with its head, its tail swishing back and forth.

Its small eyes even blinked at him, copying Panda Mom’s attempt to be adorable.

Imagine this: A crocodile blinking at you, trying to act cute.

This scene … Ugh!

To get the Chinese alligator to stop its cringeworthy behavior, Lin Tian quickly grabbed an apple and stuffed it into its mouth.

The Chinese alligator, tasting the spiritual water-flavored apple, instantly squinted in satisfaction.

This time, it didn’t gobble it down in one bite. It held it in its mouth, chewing slowly.

Meanwhile, Panda Mom, munching on her apple, went back inside, grabbed her two cubs, and handed them to Lin Tian to care for. Lin Tian knew Panda Mom was heading to the bamboo forest behind the house to eat bamboo.

Lin Tian didn’t idle either. He placed the cubs in their little nest inside, then started preparing dinner for the evening.

Dinner was the leaf fish he had caught today. These little fish, coated in flour and fried, were incredibly delicious.

During the process, the Chinese alligator smelled the aroma and stopped digging its burrow, wagging its tail excitedly as it ran over. It opened its mouth, greedily eyeing the fish in Lin Tian’s bowl.

But Lin Tian shook his head.

“No way, this is my dinner. If you want to eat, you have to fend for yourself,” he said.

Lin Tian figured the Chinese alligator would eventually need to live in the wild, so it couldn’t always rely on him for food. It had to learn to find its own food.

Otherwise, it would lose its hunting instincts. The Chinese alligator, hearing Lin Tian’s words, froze for a moment, then suddenly ran out of the courtyard.

Not long after, it came back, somehow. Then it suddenly opened its mouth. It spat out two fish in front of Lin Tian. These fish were clearly freshly caught, still flopping on the grass!

Roar roar~

The Chinese alligator raised its head, its small eyes fixed on Lin Tian. It even nudged the two fish toward Lin Tian with its little claws.