Chapter 177: Chapter 177: The Brick-Moving Picture Goes Viral

"WAAAH! Let that Panda go! I’m willing to move bricks in its place!" Even though the netizens knew the photos were staged, their hearts still ached.

"Sigh... if a national treasure like a panda is working so hard moving bricks, what excuse do I, a humble laborer, have to slack off? Enough said, I’m going to go crank out another thousand lines of code."

"Move bricks, my ass! Come shoot an ad for my company’s real estate development. I’ll give you a million, and you can hire a hundred workers to move the bricks for you." Young Master Wang also reposted the post.

"Does anyone know which zoo this is? If I go tomorrow, will I still be able to see the panda moving bricks?" someone asked, wanting to go watch Hah’Er work in person.

"And you’d have the heart to just stand there and watch?" someone immediately shot back. "Do you have any humanity? Any conscience at all?"

"That’s not it! I want to see who the foreman is! When I find him, I’m gonna bash his head in with a brick!" Reading this, Xu Ye couldn’t help but shiver. ’Good thing there weren’t any outsiders around during the photoshoot yesterday,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, I’m not sure I would’ve made it back alive.’

"Attaboy, bro! Hit him with a brick for me."

"Hit him with one for me, too! If you run out of bricks, just say the word. I’ll make a call and have two truckloads sent over to you." With reposts from online celebrities like Young Master Wang and Shen Yibin, the picture of Hah’Er moving bricks rapidly went viral.

Hah’Er’s hard-working appearance immediately drew a wave of sympathy. Not long after the photo was posted, people had already started donating to the Yunzhong City Zoo. "My heart breaks for this panda. It’s not much, but I’ll donate a hundred yuan to hire a worker to move that pile of bricks for it."

"I’ll donate five hundred to improve the animals’ food at the zoo." Once the first person donated, a second followed, and the number of donors gradually grew. Even Young Master Wang generously announced he would donate one million to the zoo, adding that he would visit the brick-moving panda when he had time.

"I’m totally broke right now. Can I donate this SSR card instead?"

"I’m a little tight on cash myself. I’ve got a terabyte of ’seeds’... I wonder if the zoo would accept those?"

"I’ll sell myself to donate! I’m willing to sell myself into servitude at the zoo to take care of the panda! Please, you have to accept me!"

"Get lost! I was clearly in line before you. If anyone’s getting sold, it should be me first!"

"You two can stop arguing. There are 99,999 people in line ahead of you waiting to sell themselves. Neither of you stands a chance."

"Anyone want to buy my spot? I’m number eight in the ’sell-myself’ line. I’ll transfer it for just one hundred thousand yuan."

"I’m number five. Only two hundred thousand. DM if interested."

"Fifteen years of professional brick-moving experience! Boss, let me go take over for this panda!"

"I’m an all-rounder—rebar, concrete, carpentry, masonry. Just point me to the construction site!"

"Police! Someone is abusing a nationally protected animal! Get over here!"

The comments on Weibo exploded with all sorts of replies. People were by turns astonished, sympathetic, amused, or bewildered. The number of reposts and comments shot up, and "Panda moving bricks" became the day’s trending topic. Within just a few short hours, the picture had arguably become the second most famous panda image of all time, well on its way to surpassing the legendary "Panda Burning Incense" for the top spot.

The total amount of tips under the post had already surpassed five figures and was heading toward six. If one were to include direct bank transfers, the sum was likely much larger. Xu Ye’s plan was off to a fantastic start.

’As expected of a national treasure. Just one photo moving bricks can attract so many donations. Hah’Er is probably the highest-earning brick-mover in the world right now.’

"Nice work," Shen Yibin sent to Xu Ye on WeChat, along with a thumbs-up emoji. Judging from the results, this was far more effective than his own initial idea of simply having Hah’Er pose for a photo with a donation box.

"Hm?" Hah’Er leaned in, curiously studying the photo of himself moving bricks on the screen. Meanwhile, Egg looked at the helmet on Hah’Er’s head, then touched its own, apparently feeling that its helmet wasn’t nearly as dashing.

"Well, well, well, Hah’Er, that photo of you looks totally professional," Cheeky piped up, leaning in. "Egg, why don’t you give the helmet back to Hah’Er so he can go to the construction site and earn money to buy us snacks?" Hearing this, Egg immediately clapped its paws over the helmet on its head.

"The response is amazing. I think we can release the second set of photos ahead of schedule," Xu Ye replied quickly. The number of comments, reposts, likes, and tips had all exceeded his projections.

"Go for it." After sending the reply, Shen Yibin couldn’t help but worry a little. ’In the future, when I take Hah’Er out for a walk, I hope people don’t mistake me for a heartless foreman and beat me to death, right?’

After refreshing the webpage a few times, Shen Yibin saw that the second set of photos was up on Xu Ye’s feed. This time, Hah’Er was straining to push a wheelbarrow, hauling a full load of wet cement toward a wall. This task looked far more arduous than just moving bricks.

"FUCK! Does this foreman have any humanity?! He’s making the panda do everything? Are there no other workers on this damn site?" ’Hey, who says there aren’t?’ Xu Ye thought wryly. ’I—the brick-mover, wheelbarrow-pusher, mason, and carpenter—worked way harder than Hah’Er, but I didn’t get even a second of screen time. My situation is way more tragic than his!’

"I’m overflowing with sympathy! I’m donating my dinner money so this panda can get some rest. I hope the zoo raises enough to hire a professional construction crew soon." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

As soon as this new set of photos was released, even more people started donating. The total tips on the post quickly surpassed six figures, continuing to climb at a visible rate.

"Mr. Shen, I can’t thank you and Mr. Xu enough!" Dong’s excited voice came over the phone. "In just this short while, we’ve received over two hundred thousand yuan in donations to our account! On top of that, many people have been calling to say they want to come and donate in person!"

"I expect even more will come in," Shen Yibin said. "This fundraising drive should be enough for you to give the zoo a good renovation and even bring in some new, popular animals."

"Yes, that’s what I’m expecting as well," Dong promised repeatedly. "We’ve already drawn up several detailed proposals in the past; we just couldn’t implement any of them without funding. I’ll have the team start revising them immediately so we can break ground as soon as possible. I’ll also post a public list of all donations and expenditures online. I guarantee every last cent will be put to good use."

After a few more words, Shen Yibin hung up and ruffled Hah’Er’s head. The contract signing ceremony was just around the corner. Hah’Er was about to go from a "manual laborer" to an official brand ambassador. ’What,’ he wondered, ’will the netizens’ reaction be then?’