"Uh, what’s going on?" Shen Yibin was a bit confused. ’What in the world is that following behind? Is that its family? Am I supposed to take it back to the pet shop too?’
"Beavers are strictly monogamous, and they are incredibly faithful in love," the Royal Guard said with a gentle expression. "Back when my grandfather was a forest ranger, a male Beaver went missing. To maintain the local Beaver population, he brought its mate to another male Beaver’s lodge. However, they attacked each other on sight. The female Beaver even went on a hunger strike, refusing to eat for seven straight days. She only returned to normal after the missing male Beaver came back."
"That’s why there’s a local custom here. When newlyweds get married, their families will wish for them to love each other as dearly and faithfully as the Beavers," the Royal Guard explained. "Since you want to take him, he will definitely bring his wife along."
"Oh, I get it. It’s like the Mandarin Ducks in China." Shen Yibin finally understood. ’Heh, who knew? You’re a chubby little guy, but such a devoted lover.’ "Alright, I understand. We’ll take them both, then."
"It’s still early, so there’s no rush to leave. Would you like to see the dam the Beavers built? It’s a rare sight," Sylvie suggested. Shen Yibin didn’t refuse, so he took the Beaver couple to the vicinity of the dam. As far as the eye could see, a sturdy dam blocked the tributary, forming a sizable lake. In the middle of the lake stood a lodge built from branches, its roof just barely visible above the water.
’Whoa, a premium waterfront villa!’ Shen Yibin was truly amazed. He had never seen an animal build its own home so exquisitely.
"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!" The Beaver seemed to notice Shen Yibin’s curiosity. ’Since we’re leaving anyway, this luxury villa is no use to me now.’ It nimbly dove into the water, swam to the top of the lodge, and quickly dismantled the roof to reveal the layout inside. It was surprisingly spacious, with separate wet and dry areas—a place for daily living, a place for storing food, and a tunnel that led underwater. The Beaver normally used this tunnel to get in and out. The lake water protected it from most predators, allowing it to leisurely cuddle with its wife all day in this luxurious waterfront villa.
’TSK TSK, what an enviable life.’ After admiring the villa, they went to look at the dam. The Royal Guard explained, "The reason Beavers build dams is to prevent the water level from dropping and exposing their lodges. They select suitable trees from the forest, fell them, and then gnaw them into sections to drag back. Sometimes, if the forest is too far from the river, they’ll even dig a canal to transport the wood."
"They bring the wood to the riverbank. The large trunks and branches serve as the main frame, while smaller branches form the secondary frame. The gaps between the branches are filled with leaves and mud. The design is quite scientific, enough to ensure the water remains at a safe level even during the dry season. Then they can continue building their lodge in the lake." The Royal Guard pointed at the surroundings. "The animals around here benefit from this too. They rely on this small wetland environment created by the Beavers to live and grow their populations."
’So Beavers aren’t just destroyers of the forest,’ Shen Yibin thought. ’Although they fell trees, causing creatures that rely on those trees to lose their homes, they also create a good environment for animals suited to wetland life. This little guy actually benefits a whole group of animals.’ Shen Yibin watched with great interest as the small animals drank from the lake’s edge.
Hah’Er, on the other hand, had become curious about the Beaver’s belly. It patted its own stomach, then glanced at the Beaver’s, as if trying to figure out which one was bigger. Seeing how docile the Beaver was, Maphario also mustered its courage, crawling out of a pocket to size up the new creature.
The Beaver seemed quite interested in Maphario, too. There was something about Maphario’s appearance that it found familiar. It even broke off a few tender shoots and tentatively offered them to Maphario. Since those were indeed part of Maphario’s diet, it accepted them without ceremony and began to gnaw. Seeing someone take such good care of its godson, Hah’Er couldn’t just stand by. It took out the fruit Sylvie had prepared for it and handed it to the Beaver.
The Beaver took the fruit curiously, sniffed it, and then took a careful bite. Its eyes immediately lit up, as if it found the apple’s taste quite good. But just as Shen Yibin thought it was about to devour the rest, the Beaver passed the apple to its wife.
’Do you really have to do that?’ Shen Yibin felt like he’d just taken 10,000 points of damage. ’Starting with the PDA right in front of everybody! Can’t you spare a thought for us single people?’
Seeing that the Beaver couple really liked apples, Hah’Er took out another one and passed it over. After a little back and forth, the animals’ bond had grown much stronger. Before long, they started to play and roughhouse together, which was a great relief to Shen Yibin. ’Looks like I won’t have to worry about them getting along at the shop.’
After touring the Beavers’ luxurious lakeside villa and sturdy dam, and admiring the beautiful scenery along the Sokovia River, it was getting late. Shen Yibin took the animals from the river bend and returned to the helicopter, which flew them directly back to the Royal Palace of Sokovia.
After resting at the Royal Palace for two days, Sylvie finished arranging the exit permits for the Beaver couple, and it was time for Shen Yibin to depart.
He had originally thought that finding this animal would take a long time and was even planning to negotiate a change in the promotional schedule with Director Kong. But now, it seemed that wouldn’t be necessary. Before leaving, he said to Sylvie, "I should be bringing Hah’Er to Europe next month for the ’Panda Hero’ promotional tour. Let’s meet up then! But I’m not sure if we’ll be able to come to Sokovia."
Sokovia’s economy was average and couldn’t compare to major box-office markets like Germany, the UK, or France, so it likely wasn’t on the promotional tour schedule.
"That’s fine. Just let me know once your schedule is set, and I’ll see where would be a good place to meet you," Sylvie said, not seeming to mind.
The Sokovian royal private jet slowly took off. Shen Yibin would take this plane to Frankfurt, then fly from Frankfurt back to Shanghai, and from Shanghai, he would hurry back to Yunzhong City.
"You two have to get along well with everyone at the shop, okay?" Shen Yibin said, patting the Beaver’s head. ’They’ve gotten along quite well these last two days. It shouldn’t be a problem, right?’