Super Zoo

Fare-jumping... It's quite normal, it's not just the back mountain, even the perimeter wall of the zoo, after being raised, is just about two or three meters high, and two adults can easily boost each other over it. Even when they're caught, at worst, they just have to pay for a ticket.

Fare-dodging can't be completely prevented, but it also can't be ignored.

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"Build, we must build! Construct a big surrounding wall, or like foreign nature reserves, enclose our zoo's two mountains within!"

"Alright, I'll go find a construction team. After I've stamped the paperwork for the wall, I'll bring it to you for your signature," Mrs. Tong said.

Mrs. Tong's visit today had an actual purpose, which was to say this line.

The talk about building a wall was just an excuse, not the real aim.

The zoo's privatization meant a change in ownership was coming, and Mrs. Tong, after so many years at the zoo, could clearly see how the situation was unfolding. It was obvious to everyone who the future head of the zoo would be—not just to a former zookeeper like her, but even to the ordinary zoo employees.

At such a time, her stepping forward as a senior employee, the leadership tier just below Mr. Song, to consult with Suming about work was a statement of position, a clear signal of her support for Suming's succession and his work.

For an older employee like Mrs. Tong, who could be considered a senior to Suming, even if she wanted to make a statement, she couldn't be direct about it. So, she used this method of consulting about work, implicitly acknowledging Suming's authority to exercise Mr. Song's powers.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Why look for a construction team? Just get Su Desheng and his crew," Suming said with a chuckle, since a construction team was readily available. Su Desheng, the eldest son of his uncle from his father's side, worked in construction. He had been a laborer in Maoxi County Town and knew many bricklayers, fully capable of organizing a construction team.

Su Desheng and his crew were currently building the Little Serpent Garden in the back mountain, preparing to house over a hundred snakes. It made sense to hand the wall construction to them as well.

Mrs. Tong understood and let out a chuckle, "That works! After the reform, there will surely be many building projects. Don't bother with different contractors for each job; just let them handle it all. The more we cooperate, the better we know each other, and any issues can be easily communicated."

"Mrs. Tong, with you as this office director managing the day-to-day affairs of the zoo, it really takes a load off my mind," Suming said with a smile.

You pair a gift with another—a quid pro quo. Mrs. Tong had made her stance clear, and naturally, Suming had to reciprocate. Besides, Mrs. Tong was truly adept at managing the zoo's daily operations, unsurpassed in her familiarity with the zoo.

Following Mrs. Tong, the heads of several important departments like security and finance, as though they had arranged it in advance, successively came to Suming to "consult about work."

"Leader, this doesn't seem quite right, it looks like I'm eager to usurp power," Suming said, calling Song in the evening.

Although he was to be Song's successor, Song had always treated him well. Song had not yet left his position and was attending meetings in the city. If Suming took over now, behind his back, it wouldn't be right, either emotionally or rationally.

However, Mr. Song was already aware of these happenings and said, "I've instructed them to consult with you in the future. I'm still here, but not for much longer, and the privatization meeting will soon conclude. While I'm still in office, I want you to get familiar with the zoo's management. I can still lend a hand and see you off to a good start. Just do your job with confidence, no worries!"

"Ah, what can I say about such a leader," Suming said, feeling sentimental. He knew his progress to this day was mainly due to his ability as an animal friend, but it was also inseparable from the help of people like Mr. Song and Zhao Yun.

Mr. Song chuckled on the other end of the phone, "If you couldn't step up, I couldn't have pulled you up. In other words, you're the zoo's benefactor. Stop overthinking, just do your job well, and make the zoo thrive. Don't let the employees who follow you wholeheartedly suffer. That's more important than anything else!"

While Mr. Song was still in meetings, Suming had already taken over the powers of the zoo director.

Within less than two days of exercising his authority, Suming encountered his first issue.

It was a problem faced by all leadership officials.

Looking at the several bottles of fine liquor, numerous high-quality cigarettes, and a thick kraft paper envelope in front of him, Suming knew it was time to test his party integrity.

"What are you doing, Uncle?" Suming said, a bit speechless, to his uncle Su Desheng sitting across from him.

This uncle had rushed to bring Suming a gift immediatly after securing the contract from Mrs. Tong.

"Suming, don't misunderstand, I don't mean anything by this," his uncle kept waving his hands, looking somewhat uneasy. "This stuff isn't a thank you for giving me the contract. You're a leader now, and you have a company, lots of expenses. You take care of us, and we want to show our gratitude any way we can."

"Uncle, the best help you can give me is to ensure the project is well done. I'm not trying to offend you, but I can't accept these gifts or the money. I know your situation; you've just organized the construction team, and the funds for the project have not been released yet. You must be stretched thin as well. Return whatever you can of the liquor and cigarettes, and share the rest with your workers."

Suming understood his uncle's good intentions, but he absolutely could not accept. For one thing, they were relatives, and Suming did not want to make things too vulgar; for another, as a private entrepreneur, he actually did not like to accept gifts.

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"In a nutshell, this is just like taking his money to give it back to him."

Seeing that his uncle was about to say something else, Suming slightly stiffened his face, half-jokingly, half-seriously said, "Uncle, if you keep talking about it, you'll be making me commit a mistake. I'm a party member, you know!"

"It's not just my idea, the co-workers discussed it together. Back in the county, we had little work and little pay. Now that you've given us an opportunity, everyone wanted to thank you in person but were afraid of disturbing your work. That's why they asked me to act as a representative and bring these here," Uncle explained.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I absolutely cannot accept the gifts, with party discipline hanging over my head," Suming said with a smile.

After refusing Uncle's gift, Suming was actually rather pleased inside.

It wasn't just through scheming, embezzlement, and corruption that one could find happiness; sometimes, upholding principles and enhancing one's moral cultivation could also bring a sense of fulfillment.

"Storehouses filled and manners understood," the key was to have money for oneself. Developing the economy is the top priority and there's no falsehood in that. Discussing morality with someone who can't even afford meals is not just nonsense, it's shameless.

"It looks like in the future it would be quite necessary to establish a high cash prize for a 'Moral Exemplar Award' at the zoo!" Suming thought to himself while browsing the internet.

The number of followers on his Weibo account increased geometrically, approaching thirty thousand, and continued to grow.

The videos that had been shared played a significant role. The way information spreads on the internet is explosive. As long as there is content attractive enough, there's no need to worry about followers.

There were simply too many comments and, with Suming currently lacking an operations team, managing the Weibo account by himself was a bit too much; it was impossible to reply to every comment. He could only skim through them hastily, just to get the gist.

Suddenly starting a Weibo account, dealing with a deluge of comments every day—these online remarks ranged from the pleasant to the unpleasant, and even included baseless insults. For instance, someone with a self-righteous tone questioned why he wasn't protecting humans instead, with so many refugees in Africa and so many kids in rural areas unable to afford schooling. Why was the zoo spending money on animals?

That was one of the better ones. Although logically confused, it at least had substance. And then there were those that were the most frustrating; for no apparent reason, they just started by sending greetings to his entire family...

Suming knew not to take things on the internet too seriously, yet he was still a person with emotions. After a few days, the Weibo thing really started to get on his nerves.

Zhao Yun suddenly showed up, waving at Suming stylishly from inside his Audi.

"I heard you've been bothered these days. I'll take you to a peaceful place."

Deyuan Temple, the largest temple in Yangchuan City.

Deyuan Temple wasn't far from the zoo. One was to the east of the back mountain, and the other to the west. They faced each other across the mountain and it took less than twenty minutes to get there by car along the mountain's base.

In Yangchuan City, even in the entire province, Deyuan Temple held a pivotal position in the Buddhist community.

To be precise, Deyuan Temple was a large complex and also a famous tourist spot in Yangchuan City, covering hundreds of acres with dozens of main and side halls, pavilions, terraces, and towers, a pond for releasing aquatic creatures, lotus pools, and a total of forty-nine scenic spots all in all, with beautiful surroundings and pleasant scenery.

Of those so-called forty-nine spots, most were there to make up the numbers, but the giant sculpture of Han white jade at the main entrance was extremely rare, vividly depicting the grand scene of Sakyamuni's descent to earth at birth.

At that time, the World-Honored One descended as an infant, with twin dragons spouting water to cleanse Him. One dragon spewed warm springs while the other spewed cold. The World-Honored One then took seven steps forward, with each step, radiant golden lotuses bloomed beneath his feet. Upon completing the seventh step, the World-Honored One pointed one hand to the heavens and the other to the earth and declared, "Above heaven and below heaven, I alone am the honored one."

Such was the scene engraved upon that wall of Han white jade.

"Above heaven and below heaven, I alone am the honored one"—this saying is often misunderstood. Actually, it is not some proud declaration of arrogance.

In Buddhism, this 'I' refers to 'consciousness of the self,' that is, one's own mind. The true meaning behind the Buddha's words is that nothing is more important than maintaining one's true self; at all times, one should not forget their original mind.

"I Buddha" means the same; the heart is Buddha. As long as one understands their own mind and follows it, everyone is their own Buddha. Everyone is the master of their own life and need not take orders from others or any deity beyond humans.

Monk Jidian once said, "Meat and wine pass through the intestine, but the Buddha sits in the heart," conveying the same sentiment.

Suming couldn't help but smile. It seemed his own spiritual journey was far from sufficient; his heart had not yet fully settled. He had thought that after more than half a year of seeing the world, growing the business, and maturing, he would not be perturbed by malicious online attacks—but he found he still couldn't keep calm.

Life is like a practice of cultivation, and he was still green. There was a vast difference between him and the Sakyamuni, the one revered "above heaven and below heaven." He still needed to refine himself.