Jiang Hai is the kind of person who can't sleep well at night if something is bothering him.
After deciding to let Jiujiu fly, he treated himself to a relaxing bath that evening—of course, he went to the hot spring. Then, he went to bed early. The next morning, after a run and breakfast, he had already left the manor with Jiujiu before 9 a.m. He drove his shield toward the Stray Pet Center in Winthrop.
As he entered the town, many tourists had already woken up and were scattered around, taking photos and sharing their experiences with friends back in China. Several of them greeted Jiang Hai when they saw his shield. He smiled, lowered the car window, and chatted with them. Although he didn't know any of them, Jiang Hai always made an effort to be polite. After all, to some extent, they were both his fellow countrymen and his guests.
Though he made a few stops, Jiang Hai still reached the Stray Pet Center in Winthrop before 9:30.
As he parked, a girl who was cleaning at the entrance noticed him.
"It's you. What brings you here?" she asked, intrigued as she spotted Jiang Hai's distinctive car.
This girl had crossed paths with Jiang Hai a couple of times before. The first time was when he came to adopt dogs—Xiaobai, Xiaohuang, and a few cattle dogs. Those dogs were quite impressive. The second time was when he caught and brought in a mountain lion. Now, this was their third encounter.
The girl, over 1.7 meters tall with some freckles on her face, didn't have a particularly good impression of Jiang Hai.
"Are you here to adopt my brown bear again?" she asked teasingly as Jiang Hai got out of the car.
"Actually, that's off-topic," Jiang Hai replied with a smile. "I'm not here for a brown bear, but I do need to ask you for a favor."
"Go ahead, what do you need?" the girl asked, folding her arms, clearly curious.
"Well, here's the thing…" Jiang Hai began, as he gestured toward Jiujiu, who was sitting in the passenger seat. As he brought the bird of prey onto his arm, the girl's eyes immediately lit up. She recognized the bird—a bald eagle, which Jiang Hai had raised. The Winthrop Police Department had already given their approval for him to keep the bird.
Normally, it was rare for someone to have such an iconic American symbol as a pet. Even the wealthiest residents of Winthrop wouldn't easily have access to a bald eagle. But she hadn't realized just how much Jiujiu had grown. It was nearly as large as an adult bald eagle now.
When she heard that Jiujiu couldn't fly yet, she couldn't help but laugh. This wasn't unusual; she'd seen similar situations before. Birds of prey like bald eagles had long growth cycles and needed time and guidance to learn how to fly. Unlike deer, which can run shortly after birth, or mice, which start digging holes almost immediately, bald eagles required a learning process. This was usually taught by their parents, but since Jiujiu had grown up under human care, it lacked the necessary instincts.
"I'm sorry, we can't really help with that," the girl said, regretfully. "We're an animal rescue center, not a research facility, so we don't have the expertise to solve this problem."
"That's unfortunate…" Jiang Hai sighed, running a hand over Jiujiu's head. "Could it be that Jiujiu will never be able to fly? That's a real shame."
"Honestly, birds like this are wild creatures. Now you want to help it fly, but once it learns, it might not stick around," the girl said, noticing Jiang Hai's conflicted expression. She walked over and scratched Jiujiu's huge claws. "But I don't think you'd really mind losing it, would you?"
Jiang Hai chuckled, "If I get it, I'm lucky. If I lose it, well, I'm dead. No big deal. But if I don't let it fly, I'll feel a little guilty. If it leaves after learning to fly, I'll just release it back into the wild. I'm fine with that."
"Do you really feel that way?" the girl asked, surprised. She hadn't expected Jiang Hai to be so nonchalant. After all, a bald eagle could fetch a high price if sold, but Jiang Hai wasn't concerned about that.
She couldn't help but laugh when she realized how differently he viewed things. For ordinary families, a bald eagle might seem like a fortune. But for Jiang Hai, a young billionaire, it was just a bird. It was easy for her to misjudge his mindset.
"Since you don't know what to do, I guess I'll have to find another solution," Jiang Hai said, preparing to leave. He was already thinking about reaching out to his research center in Boston for advice.
"Actually…" the girl suddenly called out, hesitating before continuing, "If you don't mind letting it fly away, I might have an idea. You could try something."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Jiang Hai asked, turning back with curiosity.
"These birds can't fly because they lack a guide," the girl explained. "If you can find a bird of the same species for it to imitate, maybe it'll start flying."
Jiang Hai pondered her suggestion. She made sense. Imitation was a fundamental learning process in nature—children mimic adults, and young animals learn from their parents. If he found an adult bald eagle for Jiujiu to observe, it might just learn to fly.
"Where can I find a bald eagle now?" Jiang Hai asked, excitement in his voice.
"My classmate is a veterinarian at the Boston Zoo," the girl replied with a smile. "He might be able to help."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Hai wasted no time. He immediately ushered the girl into his car. If there was a chance to help Jiujiu learn to fly, he'd do whatever it took.
As they drove, the girl mentioned that Boston had two zoos. One was the smaller Stone Zoo, located in the suburbs, but that wasn't what they were after. They were heading to the Franklin Zoo, a larger and more famous facility. This was the zoo where most of the scenes from the movie Zookeeper were filmed.
The Franklin Zoo, opened in 1912, covered an area of seven acres in the north of Franklin Park. It housed over 1,000 animals and was divided into several sections, including the Tropical Rainforest, Serengeti Savannah, Kalahari Desert Kingdom, and more. One of its most popular attractions was Bird World, which housed birds from various ecosystems—swamps, rainforests, deserts, and wetlands.
For many, especially children, the zoo was a beloved destination. And now, it might be the key to helping Jiujiu take flight.