Super Zoo

That morning, Mr. Yang, whom Wang Hao had found to help inspect the boats, drove a container truck through the back door of the zoo, going straight to a dock beside Shuijun Lake.

"Su, the boats are here!" Wang Hao had grown even fatter recently, looking like a round ball, and he 'rolled' out of the passenger seat.

Mr. Yang also got out of the driver's seat, greeted Suming with a smile, and said, "Impressive, young man, in just a few days, your business has grown even bigger!"

Shuijun Lake was more than ten times larger than the lake at Whisperwind Pavilion, and those few little bumper boats were certainly not enough. So, after deciding to move the boat business to Shuijun Lake, Suming asked Mr. Yang to help place an order at the boat factory for ten rowing boats, eight pedal boats, and two assault boats.

The rowing boats were the cheapest, nothing more than a big piece of iron sheet. Pedal boats were a little more expensive, and the most expensive were the assault boats. In total, Suming spent nearly three hundred thousand.

When Wang Hao heard about it, he even took the initiative to invest the more than eighty thousand yuan he had earned earlier as a second investment, putting it all in.

As he put it, you need to invest to reap, clear accounts make good friends, and because we have a good relationship, I can't just take a share of the profits for nothing.

Mr. Yang directed the workers to unload all the boats from the container, tethering them by the lake, while Wang Hao rubbed his hands together excitedly on the side: "Hey, those two assault boats are so cool! Later, let's take a spin on the lake!"

Looking at the surface of Shuijun Lake, Mr. Yang suggested, "With such a big lake and only twenty boats, plus the original bumper boats, that makes only 28. That might not be enough."

Given the size of Shuijun Lake, even several times more boats could fit, but Suming no longer considered the boat business as his main venture. Furthermore, he needed to raise fish, and too many boats on the lake would easily frighten the fish.

Moreover, Suming had calculated the zoo's visitor flow; the number of boats would be just right. During holidays, there might be a queue for boating. If there were more boats, many would be idle on regular days, which was neither necessary nor cost-effective.

Among these boats, Suming also planned to allocate one as a rescue boat and one as a dredging boat.

After securing all the boats, Suming and Wang Hao hopped onto an assault boat, slipped life jackets over their necks, and started the motor.

A gust of wind hit them head-on, the waves parting along the sides of the assault boat. Riding the wind and breaking waves, the boat roared across the lake surface; splashing water surged from both sides, like a wild dog breaking free, happily dashing forward, leaving a long trail of ripples behind it.

The speed of the assault boat wasn't actually very fast, at least not compared to a car, but at forty kilometers per hour on the water, it was enough to make one's blood surge, to truly experience what speed and passion are!

"I'm the king of the world!" Wang Hao stood at the bow, opened his arms, and screamed into the wind like a pig being slaughtered.

Suming laughed heartily, if you're the king, then what am I, the Queey?

"I'm the Big Monster!"

Suming also stood up and roared into the wind!

The full pond of fish, shrimp, eels, and crabs joyfully danced along at the bottom of the water!

…

With the boat business opening once again, a small ticket booth was newly built next to the dock at the entrance of Whisperwind Pavilion. Suming hired Zhou, who used to sell souvenirs at Whisperwind Pavilion, to sell tickets.

With Zhou's help, the workload of the cats was significantly reduced—they only needed to make an appearance each day, pose at the window, and occasionally fiddle with some money.

Unexpectedly, this turned into a new gimmick.

Places running small businesses often have Lucky Cat figurines with a swinging arm, but now, the "on-schedule" cats sitting in the window became the money-drawing mascots of the boat ticket office.

Customers liked it, so that's what Suming provided. He simply trained the cats to perform a silly motion: sitting still, then mechanically waving their front paws back and forth.

This action was exactly like that of the Lucky Cat figurines. Each time the cats did this, it amazed the new visitors, practically turning them into a live advertisement for the boat service!

Some of the experienced visitors who had been to Whisperwind Pavilion would comment with an air of expertise, "That's nothing... let me tell you, one of those cats even picked up a ten-yuan note from me before..."

The curious onlookers would immediately start asking questions, and at such times, Zhou would excitedly stick his head out of the ticket office to tell the crowd, "Don't rush, folks, every weekend, our Lucky Cats will perform a special money-collecting trick!"

It was predictable that the business on weekends would skyrocket.

Zhou was so energetically hawking because he had his reasons.

Although he had an easygoing job at the zoo, his income was small—only two thousand and four hundred yuan a month, even less than the animal keepers who had various subsidies. His job was to watch over the gate of the Whisperwind Pavilion and occasionally sell some souvenirs, but the money went to the zoo, so life was tight for him. When Suming first gave him a Zhonghua cigarette, he had been reluctant to smoke it.

Now that Suming had employed Zhou to sell tickets right beside the Whisperwind Pavilion, and it didn't conflict with his regular job, he could manage both. He was paid two thousand and five hundred yuan a month, effectively doubling his income!

An old man without education or special skills, with a total monthly income of five thousand yuan, could now match the salary of office workers in big companies. Zhou was grinning from ear to ear every day, and whenever he met people, he would enthusiastically praise Suming for his abilities and kind heart.

Apart from Zhou, Suming also hired Mr. Peng and Li, a keeper from Xiongshan.

They worked in shifts. When not feeding the animals, they would manage the boats at the dock, taking care of passenger embarkation, boat maintenance, and being ready to rescue any visitor in danger.

Mr. Peng, with financial difficulties and a daughter in college, was both Suming's mentor and a senior employee at the zoo. Suming paid him a monthly salary of three thousand, and no one would object. Li, being young and single like Zhou, was paid two thousand and five hundred.

Mr. Peng didn't say much in the way of thanks but simply worked very hard. When drinking with friends behind the scenes, he would sometimes become sentimental, saying that as he grew old, he had acquired a good apprentice; the heavens were looking out for him.

Li, generally a bit slow-witted, knew very well how to be grateful.

After Suming had helped him get rid of a beehive and saved him, Li had been deeply grateful to Suming. Now, he had become Suming's avid fan. If he ever overheard anyone saying anything negative about Suming, he would immediately jump into the conversation, ready to argue heatedly.

Actually, no one at the zoo genuinely spoke ill of Suming behind his back—people are usually quick to praise others when they're doing well. Recently, as Suming became more successful, the staff only regretted not having established a close relationship with him early on like Mr. Peng had done, instead of gossiping.

Mr. Song, the head of the zoo and the real boss, immediately decided to reserve the title of Advanced Worker for the second half of the year for Suming after hearing about his hiring the three employees.

After learning about it, Suming could only give a helpless smile. There was no need for the old zoo director to be so blatantly favoring him.

It was just a few months into the year, and the Advanced Worker award for the second half of it was already settled!

"Mr. Song, I absolutely cannot accept this honor!" Suming said decisively to Mr. Song.