Chen Ying also didn't expect that, as a domestic wildlife rescue expert, his busiest job before the New Year would be sterilizing stray dogs.

Since he had already started, he might as well go all the way; he took his medical kit, drove his little car, traveled around the nearby villages and towns, and achieved the "Thousand Cuts" milestone on the minor New Year's Eve of the lunar calendar.

The Gadan God, Mr. Chen, reputation achieved √

Having neutered so many, when Chen Ying looked at the male animals around him, his gaze naturally fell on Little Lingdang.

During those days, there were almost no males around him; even Little Jin stopped crawling under the covers, preferring to squeeze in with the Snow Leopard rather than coming within ten meters of Chen Ying.

Little Lingdang's gloom slowly dissipated only on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

When Ci Ren delivered parcels, he especially brought a sack of dried meat and various dairy products, thanking Chen Ying for helping with the animal sterilization.

These things always had a cool taste when eaten.

The interns planned to go to the city for fun a few days before the New Year and came back only by noon on the thirtieth.

On their return, apart from their car being packed with New Year's goods, they also rented a small truck to bring goods back.

There was everything you could think of for humans and animals, edible, usable, and for entertainment.

Ji Xin stayed at Dong Lin's home to teach some kids photography, but adamantly refused to stay there for the New Year, driving through the night to find Chen Ying.

Dong Lin's family was not well-off, but her warm and kind nature led her to stuff their best items into the car for Ji Xin to bring over to eat.

"I left them some money; swapping some food with other villagers shouldn't be a problem."

Ji Xin drove for several hours, hungry and sleepy, handed over the goods to Sun Qihai and then went straight into Chen Ying's room, wrapped himself in a sleeping bag, and slept soundly, waking only at 7 pm on New Year's Eve for the reunion dinner.

The animal husbandry station folks went home for New Year; no one stayed on duty.

Chen Ying said they were there to keep watch, so there was no need for anyone to be on duty; if something happened, he would notify the Animal Husbandry Bureau.

So, for the New Year there, it was just the six interns at the research station, along with Chen Ying, Sun Qihai, Yin Li, and Ji Xin.

Two water heaters were pieced together, with two pots boiling for hotpot, and the kitchen stove was also fired up with a big pot of water ready for cooking dumplings and glutinous rice balls.

"Look, I bought fireworks."

Sun Qihai dragged out more than ten firework tubes from the warehouse and placed them in an open space, ready to set them off at midnight.

Besides eating meat and drinking alcohol, Chen Ying and Yin Li also prepared a lavish reunion dinner for the animals.

The tables were set for two—a table for the dogs, and a table for the big cats.

Er Niu also came over with her three pups to join the fun, and Yellow Snow Leopard somehow got the news and brought the Little Snow Leopard back as well.

There were four adult Snow Leopards, one sub-adult Snow Leopard, and three Snow Leopard Cubs, with an excessive amount of leopards around.

The Lynxes were also two big and three small, in addition to one Golden Cat.

On the other side, it was even more lively.

The Dog Wet Nurse, as the only adult dog, sat in a high position.

Red Lion Black Gold and Tiancaifu, Guixian, Tianlu, five little dogs, were happily eating their food from dog bowls marked with their names.

On the Dog Wet Nurse's other side, Red Cotton and her adopted puppy also had their own bowls, but the little pup was still small, only able to eat dog food softened with goat milk, and Red Cotton didn't hurry to eat her own meal, waiting for the pup to finish. After licking a couple of bites of the pup's food, Red Cotton finally ate gracefully.

Between Red Cotton and the Dog Wet Nurse, two fox cubs were eating chicken meat messily, with their faces smeared with blood and meat scraps, requiring the Dog Wet Nurse to help lick them clean occasionally, or else they'd be too filthy to keep after eating.

"The water's boiling, the Spring Festival Gala has started, everyone dig in."

Chen Ying, as the only manager among the group, took the first bite, then saw the young people devour everything within minutes, clearing the pot of meat.

Luckily, Yin Li had prepared beforehand, purchasing over a hundred kilos of beef and mutton when he came from the Protection Station, ready for these young lads to feast.

Halfway through the meal, suddenly there were car lights approaching, slowly driving towards the emergency station.