After all, it was her first office, and the decoration maintained Su Zhou's consistent style of being dazzling, taking maximalism to the extreme, with an entire wall of beautiful figurines and all sorts of fancy little gadgets.

If an office were to catch fire, an office adorned with a large amount of lace, pearls, and gemstones would certainly burn even more fiercely.

But the good thing is that her office has a lot of comfortable things.

Su Zhou didn't think that these things were a bit childish or immature in the adult world. Everyone who came to her office would first praise how beautiful her office was, which Su Zhou appreciated.

"You'll stay here tonight. The staff dormitory will probably take a while to be completed, but don't worry. Just stay here for now. Xie Chi, are you under a lot of pressure?"

While the image of a glamorous celebrity may seem glamorous, Su Zhou had heard in private that the entertainment industry was a murky place. Otherwise, why would so many ugly children of capitalists be scrambling to get in, not only because it's a quick way to make money but also because they can gain popularity?

Having witnessed the fanaticism of Xie Chi's fans, Su Zhou wasn't particularly envious of their glamorous lifestyle.

Xie Chi nodded. The warmth in the room dispelled the chill from his body, and the snowflakes that fell on him melted into ice water. His hair was a little damp. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt that his complexion looked better than before. As Xie Chi looked into Su Zhou's bright and sparkling eyes, his heart, which had been like a stagnant pool for thousands of years, began to beat uncontrollably.

It broke the long-standing tranquility.

Su Zhou certainly didn't really think that someone who was used to applause and praise would really want to stay in the zoo. Whether it was a whim or for other reasons, it was good to provide Xie Chi with a temporary sanctuary.

Taking in such a beautiful woman just makes me feel happy.

However, it has to be kept secret, otherwise the fans will definitely go crazy if they find out.

As for whether Xie Chi could raise foxes or whether he knew how to raise animals, that wasn't that important.

She took a deep breath and said, "The kitchen has everything you need, but let me make it clear beforehand that the salaries of ordinary zoo staff are not very high. You haven't seen the job postings on the recruitment app, have you? You applied for... a zookeeper position, right? Our current zoo requires a bachelor's degree, and the starting salary is 12,000 yuan per month, with year-end bonuses and room and board included."

"I've seen it." Xie Chi interrupted Su Zhou's incessant chatter. Not only that, he had seen every clip of Su Zhou online. Those videos, those live streams, even... the ones where only her voice appeared on camera.

Su Zhou was skeptical about Xie Chi's undergraduate degree, noting that many celebrities these days couldn't even produce an undergraduate degree certificate.

Regardless, since Xie Chi had taken the initiative to apply for a job at the zoo, as was customary, she still wanted to use the mobile app to see if Xie Chi had any ill intentions.

Most of his clothes are green, so he seems like a good person.

There's definitely no problem with his character.

"Well, goodnight?" Xie Chi really didn't talk much. He sat quietly, his face a little pale, but he looked very well-behaved. Su Zhou's heart melted. However, she really didn't know how to communicate with someone who didn't talk much.

She wasn't one of Xie Chi's fans, and didn't really know much about him. She didn't know his preferences and hadn't seen any of his movies.

"Good night." Xie Chi's lips seemed to curve into a small smile; if Su Zhou hadn't noticed it, she would have thought it was an illusion.

As she walked out of her office and closed the door, she heard a discordant voice.

[Still so well-behaved.]

Su Zhou paused: Hmm?

*

New Year's Day is a rather important day. Half a year has passed since I graduated and took over this dilapidated zoo.

Even though the festive atmosphere of the New Year is weak now, the necessary sense of ritual should still be maintained.

In order to be able to serve tourists normally during the New Year's Day holiday, Su Zhou gathered all the staff together for a short meeting.

There was a small whiteboard in the conference room. All the employees were present. Looking at their faces, some young and some weathered, regardless of gender or age, a faint smile appeared on everyone's face. This was the calming effect that Su Zhou had given them.

Tell them that they have unique value in this society.

Not a burden, not a Kong Yiji who can't take off his long gown, not a test-taker from a small town, but a real, genuine little star in society.

To make the meeting less boring, Su Zhou specially had a fruit platter prepared and ordered milk tea for everyone.

"I called you all here today because there are a few things I need to tell you." Su Zhou has always had a good temper. From the first day these people started working until now, not one of them has ever seen Su Zhou give them a hard time for any reason. She is always smiling, and this rare serious expression made many people's hearts skip a beat.

Could it be that they're preparing for layoffs because of the current poor economic climate?

As for the zoo's visitor flow, it is currently stable at 35,000 visitors per day, with even more visitors on weekends and holidays. These visitors come from all over the country, and on the surface, the zoo seems to be thriving. However, although they come from different backgrounds, they all entered the zoo from society and naturally know that the overall economic situation outside is very bad, with many shops unable to stay afloat and closing down.

Taking in the expressions on everyone's faces, Su Zhou smiled and said, "Firstly, everyone has worked hard these past few months. The zoo wasn't in very good condition at first. I inherited this private zoo from a distant relative of mine, but the situation was really not good. Tang Yu and Song Xinran must know what the zoo was like at the beginning. It was dilapidated. When I came, it was even worse. The few animals were all thin and looked pitiful. It wasn't until Ahei became a hit that the zoo gradually improved."

"I know the zoo receives many visitors every day, and your workload is heavy and you work very hard. This income is not particularly good in Beijing. That's the first thing I want to talk about today: a raise. On top of the current salary, everyone's salary will increase by 1,000 to 5,000 yuan. When next month's payslip comes out, everyone will know how much their salary is."

These words caused an uproar among everyone.

Not only are they not laying off employees, they're also raising salaries!

Are you tired? Of course I am.

What job isn't tiring these days? But the facilities at Wanling Zoo are simply too good. Their equipment is among the most advanced in the country. As for cleaning, most visitors are very considerate and don't litter much. And the outdoor environment is absolutely stunning, filled with the fragrance of flowers—a sight that others have to pay to see. How can anyone not be grateful?