Chapter 1
It's August and the heat is surging.
At the foot of the mountain near the Bick Jungle on the God King Planet, the owner of a small supermarket in the scenic area was taking a nap with his eyes closed.
The holographic TV next to him was broadcasting today's news. Another alien beast riot broke out on Planet 917 at the border of the southwestern star field. This was the second riot this year. The host spoke in a serious tone. While reporting the news, he also played a live video at the end, which showed that the battle was indeed quite intense.
The boss's dozing eyes slowly closed, and with the hypnotic sound of the news, he was about to fall asleep.
"Boom." A small sound suddenly rang out.
The boss opened his eyes and saw a bottle of mineral water on the cash register. His gaze followed the mineral water and then looked at the young girl outside the cash register.
The girl had bright features and was very beautiful, but at this moment her cheeks were slightly red and her forehead was covered with sweat. It was obvious that she was severely sunburned by the hot weather outside.
The boss stood up and put the bottle of mineral water in front of the barcode scanner and scanned it: "Five yuan."
This is the price of mineral water that costs one yuan in the scenic area.
The girl raised her hand and scanned the payment code with her light brain. After paying, she quickly unscrewed the bottle of mineral water and took a big gulp.
The boss looked quite amused and asked, "Are you traveling with a tour group? It's so hot, and there are still tour groups coming here?"
The girl, Mu Ling, drank half a bottle of water in one breath, then stood at the supermarket door and enjoyed the air conditioning for a while. Only then did she feel a little relieved from the heat. She smiled and said, "I'm not here for tourism. I'm here to do something. Boss, I want to ask you if there's a zoo on this mountain?"
The boss sat back in his chair. It was noon, and there was no one in the scenic area. He was happy to have someone chatting with him. "There is a zoo, but it's been closed for over half a year."
Mu Ling asked again: "Before it closes, how many visitors does the zoo have?"
The boss laughed and said, "If the customer flow is good, can we still close the business?"
Mu Ling went over and said, "Boss, can you tell me more about this zoo? To be honest, I came here just for this zoo. I also run a zoo."
The boss looked Mu Ling up and down. She was so young, and she actually ran a zoo? It must be her family's business, right? So, was she here to research and learn from some of the failures?
The boss wasn't afraid to speak frankly, and slowly said, "That zoo, it opened two years ago. It was quite a big deal at first, but it's a wildlife park after all, and wildlife parks are dangerous. So, apart from a little initial interest, the number of visitors dwindled, and within a year, there were no more people."
Mu Ling was surprised: "Isn't the wildlife park more unique than the ordinary zoo? Why are there so few tourists?"
The boss chuckled. "What's the point of just having unique features? It's not practical. Are there animal shows? Are there snack bars, Ferris wheels, or amusement parks? Without these, how can you attract adults and children? The mountain is still all pristine jungle. They say it's to preserve the living environment of wild animals to the greatest extent possible, but the mountain roads are too steep, the environment is so harsh, and the animals are not caged, running around in the jungle. Tourists come here often but don't see any animals. If they do see an animal, they're afraid of being attacked and dare not approach. They stay from a distance, so what can they see? In short, people come here just for the novelty, who would come again?"
Mu Ling seemed to be lost in thought. "But I heard that this botanical tourist attraction at the foot of our mountain was also established thanks to the zoo. I thought it was the zoo's popularity that drove the development of the surrounding area."
The boss waved his hands hurriedly. "How is that possible? The government was deceived. The zoo was run by a female boss from the capital planet. She bought up an entire tract of pristine jungle on the mountain, a full three million square kilometers, saying she wanted to build the largest wildlife park in the galaxy. She painted such a big rosy picture that our government was completely fooled. They poured all their resources into the zoo, hoping it would boost local tourism on the God King Planet. They even allocated funds to build a botanical garden at the foot of the mountain to complement the zoo. But now, the zoo has closed down, the government is mired in debt, and the botanical garden is half-dead. It only relies on the flower shows in April and October to attract visitors."
Mu Ling: “…”
Mu Ling felt guilty as she listened, not for any other reason, but because the female boss who bought the primitive jungle on the mountain and made big promises to the government of the God King Star was none other than her aunt whom she had never met.
Mu Ling has lived in the rural planet 877 since she was a child. A month ago, she received a call from her lawyer, who told her that her great aunt who lived far away in the capital planet had passed away and left her a zoo as an inheritance, and asked her to go over and sign the transfer.
Mu Ling initially thought it was a telecom scam. She had no parents and was picked up and raised by her grandfather since she was a child. Where did the aunt come from?
After some verification, she found out that the other party was not a scammer and she actually had a relative there. This kind of pie-in-the-sky opportunity really happened to her.
Mu Ling inherited a zoo inexplicably.
Of course, she didn't inherit the estate for free, she also had to pay a price.
The lawyer said that according to her great aunt's will, she must run the zoo for three years before she can truly own it.
Mu Ling didn't know why at first. She just thought that her aunt loved animals and couldn't let go of the zoo and wanted it to continue to develop.
Now she finally found out. It turned out that her aunt had boasted so much to the government of the God King Star, and after defrauding them of their funds and benefits, she just walked away and went bankrupt, leaving them with a mess!
So she is here to pay off her debts. If she runs away again, her family will really be considered a fraud!
Mu Ling felt a slight headache, but she didn't know how to run a zoo. The lawyer said that there were two other employees working in the zoo. If she didn't understand something, she could consult those two employees. Mu Ling planned to wait until she met them and have a good discussion with them.
The sun outside was still frighteningly bright. Mu Ling had become familiar with the owner of the small supermarket, so she simply stayed inside, chatting with him while waiting for the employee named "Wei Li" who had contacted her to come down the mountain to pick her up.
Seeing that Mu Ling wouldn't leave, the boss started to show his true colors. He subtly moved to another counter and said, "Little girl, I think we have a connection. Would you like to buy some souvenirs from our scenic area? I have everything here: postcards, little dolls with the scenic area logo, and even these small potted plants. They're all specially cultivated by the botanical garden's experts. Look, they're so cute! Just water them and they'll keep them alive and bloom."
Mu Ling: “…”
Boss, your enthusiasm is charged...
However, she didn't know how long she would have to wait here, and Mu Ling felt embarrassed to just buy a bottle of mineral water. She looked around and finally bought a small potted plant at the scenic spot price of 78 interstellar coins.
When the boss saw that she actually bought it, he immediately happily recommended her a more expensive gift box souvenir.
Mu Ling: “…”
Mu Ling was really scared this time and didn't dare to continue using the air conditioner. She dragged her suitcase and hugged the small potted plant and fled.
Fortunately, Mu Ling didn't stay in the sun for long before someone came to pick her up.
The other party was driving a truck with monkey and leopard stickers on the body, and the "Bick Zoo" logo on it. It was obviously their zoo's car.
The person who got off the car was a young man in his twenties, tall, strong and a little dark.
As soon as the two met, the other party greeted warmly: "Is it Director Mu? I've been waiting for a long time."
Mu Ling hurriedly shook hands with the other party, indicating that she had just arrived too.
The two parties got into the car. There was no air conditioning in the car, and Mu Ling felt a little hot.
The male employee named Wei Li felt a little embarrassed: "It's only a fifteen-minute drive up the mountain. Turning the air conditioner on and off consumes too much electricity..."
Mu Ling understood that this was a way to save money for the zoo. After the zoo closed, there wouldn't be much money left in the account.
Mu Ling said hurriedly, "It's okay, it's okay. I'm not hot either. But it should be cooler on the mountain than at the foot of the mountain, right?"
Wei Li smiled and said, "It's cooler in the mountains. There's a breeze. Except for the hottest days in the summer, you don't need to turn on the air conditioner."
Mu Ling nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. Her biggest problem was that she was afraid of the heat.
Wei Li continued, "Lawyer Xu told us earlier that a new director would be coming soon. I didn't quite believe it, but when I saw Director Mu, my heart finally settled. Director Mu is young and promising, and I can tell you he'll lead our zoo to new heights."
Mu Ling: “…”
What's going on? Why did you suddenly start blowing her up?
Wei left the car and continued, "With a backbone, we're more motivated to work. The animals in the zoo will also need to get their vaccinations for the second half of the year as soon as September arrives. It's time for another batch of food to arrive for the animals. This batch can only last for three days at most. Because it's too hot, food doesn't keep well, so we don't dare to buy too much. But we still have to buy what we need..."
Mu Ling: “…”
It turns out that the purpose of praising her was to hint that she should pay...
Mu Ling asked cautiously, "Brother Wei, how much money is left in our zoo's account?"
Wei Li: "52,000 in debt."
Mu Ling: “…”
How many!
Lost right away?
Wei Li glanced at the new director and said, "We've been out of money for a long time. There are only 102 animals left in the zoo, and their daily rations cost a lot. This 52,000 yuan was paid in advance by Brother Xiang, who is just another employee. If you don't come, Brother Xiang and I will have to work as laborers to support the zoo."
Mu Ling: “…”
But even if the director comes, it’s no use. He’s also a poor fellow…
Wei Li asked again, "Director, are we going to reopen? When will it open?"
Yes, even if you want to escape, if you want to make money, the only way is to reopen the business.
Mu Ling wiped her face, her expression suddenly ferocious: "Right now! Immediately! The sooner the better!"
Wei Li: “…”
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