As May arrived, Linhai was about to enter summer, and the weather began to warm up.
The alpaca shelter!
With the weather getting hotter, Brother Aotian felt uncomfortable all over.
His previously slanted bangs covered one eye, and now the other eye was also about to be hidden.
He felt vaguely irritable inside, and his temper had recently become even more volatile.
Before, he would gaze deeply into the distance, enjoy the scenery, and contemplate philosophy, but now he paced restlessly around the activity yard, feeling annoyed and wanting to pick a fight with someone.
He came face-to-face with an alpaca named Bucktooth, and upon seeing Bucktooth opposite him, he shook his rebellious hair to reveal his eyes, lifted his neck, and stared fiercely at it, chewing his mouth: "Meh~~~~"
Looking for trouble, huh? So, you wanna fight, is that it?
He transformed from an avant-garde, emo alpaca to a streetwise delinquent.
Bucktooth, as its name suggested, was most notable for its protruding pair of big front teeth, one curving upward longer than the other.
Though Bucktooth might appear ugly in human aesthetics, protruding incisors in alpacas are actually an advantage during mating season fights.
However, despite having a pair of "fighting teeth," Bucktooth was actually quite cowardly.
Seeing Brother Aotian glaring menacingly, Bucktooth immediately felt a flutter of panic.
Brother Aotian had the fiercest temper of all the alpacas; he had spit on nearly every other alpaca.
At mealtime, Brother Aotian walked at the front, and no other alpaca dared to compete with him.
Even the animal keepers showed him respect, speaking to Brother Aotian in soft, gentle tones, afraid to upset him and get doused in his stinky saliva.
After a brief moment of stupefaction, it respectfully stepped aside.
Head bowed as if saying, "After you, boss. Please, you go ahead!"
Pfft!
Brother Aotian snorted twice from his nose as he walked past Bucktooth, leaving behind an arrogant silhouette.
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Right then, in the alpacas’ activity field, several animal keepers brought over a large table, and Fang Ye, Lan Li, and Meng Shi all came over.
Fang Ye looked around and said, "Okay, put it here!"
When Meng Shi first came to the zoo, due to compatibility issues, animals like Jiaojiao and the peafowl would get ruffled at the sight of him. However, he got along well with alpacas and had been taking care of them for a long time.
Therefore, his relationship with the alpacas was quite good; they had developed a bond.
He smiled and patted the head of an alpaca that had just walked up, greeting, "Big White, how have you been lately?"
Big White was a male white alpaca, named for being larger in size than the others.
Although big, he wasn’t fond of fighting for dominance; he was a gentle alpaca.
When tourists came with food, other alpacas would crowd around eagerly, even nudging the tourists to hand over the treats.
If Big White took a liking to a tourist who was approached by other alpacas first, he would wait quietly behind, hoping the tourist would notice him.
Food from tourists was scarce, usually enough for only one alpaca at a time. Big White was in no rush; if there was no food left, he’d casually walk away.
After all, there were many tourists throughout the day. If he missed out now, he’d get his turn later when the others had their fill, and there was still the animal keeper to feed them.
Lan Li scratched under Big White’s chin! Among these alpacas, her favorites were Carslan and Big White.
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Being petted, Big White looked towards the newly placed table, his gaze filled with curiosity.
What’s this for?
It wasn’t just it; the other alpacas were also quite curious about the table that had been set up. Brother Aotian came over, licked the table, and tried to figure out what on earth this thing was.
Fang Ye laughed and said, "Stop licking it, you can’t eat it, it’s for shearing your wool later!"
He glanced at Brother Aotian’s fringe that covered his eyes, "Wow, your wool is long enough! We’ll give you a haircut in a bit."
Shearing?
Brother Aotian did not know what that meant. After licking the table and finding out it wasn’t edible, he wandered away casually.
Alpacas belong to the camel family, and just like their camel relatives, they have a thick, fine fleece. This thick wool is handy in the winter as it allows them to move about outside the enclosure without feeling the cold.
However, unlike camels, which can shed their wool by themselves in the summer, alpacas cannot.
In summer, the thick fur is inefficient in dissipating heat, which can lead to heatstroke in alpacas. Moreover, during the rainy season, the wet fur does not dry easily. If it remains damp for too long, parasites and dermatitis may develop, which are not conducive to the alpaca’s health.
Therefore, before summer arrives, it’s necessary to remove their "woolen sweater."
Giving alpacas a haircut is not easy. They need to be held firmly in place to prevent movement, or else a sudden wiggle could ruin the haircut, which is minor compared to the trouble if they get cut and bleed.
So Fang Ye called for Meng Shi!
Such tasks are perfect for Meng Shi to handle.
Together with two animal keepers from the small farm, three people restrained an alpaca while Fang Ye and Lan Li sheared them.
Fang Ye took out his scissors and "snip snip" clipped twice, the scissors glinting with a cold light under the sunshine.
Big White had a bad feeling and quietly tried to sneak away.
But, standing right beside Meng Shi, who else would be the first but him?
Fang Ye pointed at Big White and laughed, "Come on, hold it down for me!"
Meng Shi and the two animal keepers chorused in agreement, "Alright!"
They picked up Big White and placed him on the table!
Meng Shi held down the body, while the other two kept hold of the legs.
Big White, typically placid, did not struggle when he was picked up and placed on the table, but just stared at Fang Ye with his large, pitiful eyes and bleated softly.
What’s going on here?
He lifted the scissors and "snip snip" mimed cutting twice!
Fang Ye looked at Big White and chuckled evilly, "Hehehe, it’s my first time shearing an alpaca, and I’m going to test my skills on you! I hope I do a decent job!"
Meng Shi exclaimed in surprise, "What? Boss, I thought you were quite confident, as if you’d done this many times!"
Fang Ye shrugged, "How could that be? I only took over the zoo last year."
Lan Li took a couple of photos, picked up the scissors, and gently stroked Big White’s head with a gentle and soothing voice, "There, there, Big White, it’s alright. At most, the other alpacas will tease you a bit, or you might struggle to find a mate!"
Fang Ye burst out laughing, "Are you comforting him or twisting the knife?"
Despite the jokes about it being okay if the haircut went wrong, his hands were still very careful!
Shearing an alpaca’s wool requires cutting close to the skin, but not too close to prevent injury.
Clippers are more efficient, but Fang Ye wasn’t a professional fleece shearer, and using clippers for this task might accidentally injure the alpaca, so scissors were the safer choice.
The year’s growth of wool was thick and dense, making it impossible to see the skin underneath.
Fang Ye first placed his hand on Big White’s back, using his fingers to pinpoint the location of the skin before laying the scissors down and going "snip snip" with two cuts.
With a pull, a clump of long white fleece suddenly fluttered down.