Super Zoo

The distillery's profit of more than twenty million a year was currently just a theoretical number on paper. Only when everything went smoothly, and the accounts were settled at the end of the year, could this money truly end up in Suming's pocket.

But that didn't stop him from splurging. Since the New Year, the small entertainment company had merged, the zoo had undergone restructuring smoothly, and the distillery had made a breakthrough—these big three events; and with unexpected cases such as Fox Fairy, growing Morel mushrooms, and helping to shoot films, as well as various small projects, he was extremely busy. Now that everything was finally on the right track, it was the perfect time to take Nangong on a trip to Xiangjiang.

Speaking of which, ever since Suming officially confirmed his relationship with Nangong, although they were in the same city, they didn't spend much time together, not like the ordinary couple that sticks together every day.

Most of the time, both were busy with their own careers; and even when they were together, they would either take a walk in the zoo or simply have dinner and watch a movie in the city. Their lives were calm and simple without any dramatic romantic plot twists. They hadn't even gone out traveling before.

Sometimes, Suming felt it was quite unreasonable himself—how was this a state of being in love? Nangong didn't say anything because she was a very sensible girl, but that didn't mean she didn't wish for it in her heart.

So Suming called Nangong. As expected, when she heard that Suming wanted to take her on a trip to Xiangjiang, Nangong was stunned for several seconds.

"Is it some kind of holiday?"

"Your birthday? That's not right, your birthday is still a long way off…"

"Suming, tell me honestly, did you do something to upset me? Don't tell me you and Xiaomei…"

Suming, speechless, said, "As your boyfriend, taking you on a trip is quite reasonable, isn't it? Your reaction makes me feel very guilty…"

Once she was certain Suming wasn't joking or talking nonsense, Nangong didn't hesitate to ask for half a month's leave.

For the whole day, everyone in the TV station noticed that Nangong seemed like a different person, beaming with joy and smiling all day long.

It was rare for TV presenters to take leave, and it was even rarer for popular hosts with regular shows to do so. Unless absolutely necessary, even if they were almost dying, as long as they could move, no presenter would take leave because it was tantamount to giving up the opportunity to appear on camera.

When it was heard that Nangong had asked for an extended leave, the TV station was abuzz with gossip.

"Hey, did you hear? Nangong has taken half a month off!"

"What about her show? So many people are dying to be on camera, and she just takes leave whenever she wants…"

"Who can compare with her? She's found a rich boyfriend. You all still don't know? The recently popular Great Sage Liquor Industry belongs to her boyfriend…"

Someone said sourly, "We're not like her; we work to make a living, while she just does it for fun."

Yet, just when the plane tickets were booked, an unexpected situation occurred.

Suming was looking up the route for Xiangjiang Disneyland online when he suddenly received a call from Wang Jian She.

"Hello, Mr. Wang!"

From the other end of the phone, Wang Jian She's hearty laughter came, "Suming, I have some good news to tell you."

...

This morning, in the office of Deputy Mayor Sun from Yangchuan City government.

As the deputy mayor in charge of economic construction, Deputy Mayor Sun could be said to be one of the deputy mayors with the heaviest authority and busiest schedule, almost drowning in never-ending official duties every day.

Sun understood very clearly that someone with a not-so-powerful background like him, regardless of his abilities or how hard he worked, once reaching the deputy mayor position, his political career had peaked, with no further promotion possible. Therefore, as he neared retirement, he gradually began to delegate power, allowing 'younger' officials like Wang Jian She to take over smoothly, giving them a leg up, so that when he retired, they would remember this favor.

Some old comrades, despite nearing retirement, still clung to power, hindering the succession of newcomers, and such people often didn't have pleasant ends. Old Sun did not wish to be that kind of person. Stay tuned to empire

Deputy Mayor Sun looked at a document briefly, then handed it to Wang Jian She, who was sitting across from him, "Jian She, a list of the top ten outstanding young entrepreneurs from Yangchuan City has come up. I've looked it over, there's no problem. You take a look, and if it's okay, let's set it like this. You'll take charge of the following award ceremony; I won't make an appearance."

"All right, leader, rest assured," Wang Jian She said as he put on his glasses and meticulously read from beginning to end.

As he read, he suddenly shook his head and smiled.

Deputy Mayor Sun, with a keen eye, caught Wang Jian She's small gesture and lifted his head to ask, "What's wrong, is there something inappropriate?"

"Oh, no, no," said Wang Jian She.

There was nothing wrong with the list. Wang Jian She laughed because he was thinking of himself.

Having frequent contact with Suming and Wang Hao working under Suming, Wang Jian She was well aware of Suming's rapidly growing business scale. Initially, he subconsciously thought Suming's name would be on the list, but upon finishing, he found that it was not.

Yangchuan's Top Ten Outstanding Young Private Entrepreneurs—this honor sounds quite prestigious, but in actuality, it's not so easy to come by.

Besides the hard criteria of being under forty years old, there are some potential soft conditions. For example, making outstanding contributions to the local economic construction and having a high level of enterprise recognition. In practice, these soft conditions usually translate to one benchmark: owning assets over one hundred million.

Suming hasn't yet met this standard. The zoo can't be counted as his personal property.

Moreover, Yangchuan City has a rather bewildering tradition: other cities evaluate the top entrepreneurs at the end of the year, but Yangchuan evaluates the previous year's in the first half of the following year. So, if we go by last year's assets, Suming is even less qualified.

Wang Jian She had just shaken his head and chuckled, not out of dissatisfaction with the list, but laughing at his own preconceived notions and wishful thinking.

Furthermore, this award is the fastest route to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and privately, it's seen as a 'CPPCC springboard' by those private enterprise owners.

How old is Suming this year, isn't he just under 24? Those so-called 'young entrepreneurs' are at least in their thirties, especially those without a background who come from humble beginnings; they are generally over 35. If a young chap in his early twenties were to step onto this springboard, it would indeed be quite shocking.

Just then, Mr. Sun's secretary knocked on the door, bringing in several newspapers, with "Huaxia People's Daily" on top.

To those unconcerned with politics, a purely official newspaper like the Huaxia People's Daily seems full of boring political propaganda and officialese. But to politically astute officials like Mr. Sun and Wang Jian She, this newspaper serves as a weathervane for domestic politics, allowing them to capture the latest dynamics from the central government.

Wang Jian She knew that Sun had a habit of reading the newspaper every morning and said, "Well, I'll be off then," and turned to leave the office.

Mr. Sun responded with a grunt and picked up the People's Daily to start reading.

Just as Wang exited the building, Mr. Sun's secretary hurried after him, gasping for breath: "Mr. Wang, the deputy mayor requests you return; there is something else he wishes to discuss with you."

Wang Jian She was slightly taken aback. Despite his age, Mr. Sun was always very steady in his work, never making such slip-ups. Why didn't he mention it earlier if there was something important?

Odd as it was, Wang Jian She quickly turned around and went back to the office. As soon as he entered, Mr. Sun pointed to the list of outstanding entrepreneurs in his hand: "Jian She, replace someone with Suming from Great Sage Liquor Industry."

"Suming? He doesn't seem to qualify," Wang Jian She remarked, puzzled.

"Just look at this, and you'll understand," Mr. Sun handed over the Huaxia People's Daily to Wang Jian She.

On a not particularly prominent corner of the third page, there was a commentator's article:

"Internet Marketing + Traditional Industry: The Development Path of Yangchuan Dasheng Distillery in the New Era."

To be honest, the article wasn't written very professionally. Many views were wishful thinking, and compared to the actual conditions of the current era, they were somewhat outdated.

But the quality of the article doesn't matter at all!

What's important is that the article highly praised the success Great Sage Liquor Industry achieved through Internet marketing and promoted it as a model of the traditional industry combining with modern Internet technology.

What is Huaxia People's Daily? It's the party's newspaper, its mouthpiece, a mouthpiece of the highest echelons in the capital! A commentator's article is second only to an editorial in terms of official representation.

With this article endorsing Great Sage Liquor Industry, even if Suming is too young and his assets too scant, he has enough credentials to be listed among Yangchuan City's outstanding entrepreneurs.

"The award ceremony could be held with a bit more pomp; it's also Yangchuan City's honor, after all," Mr. Sun said with a jovial smile.

...

"Ah?" Suming said, grimacing with his phone in hand, speaking to the person on the other end: "This... Can't the award ceremony wait until I get back?"

"You must be joking. The whole city waiting for you? Do you think you're a national leader?"

On the other end of the call, Wang Jian She's temper was nearly sent askew. Anyone else would have coveted such an honor, yet this young man, on the contrary, seemed so dejected, as if he was being terribly wronged.

"Mr. Wang, I really have something urgent!" Suming scratched his head, "If it's really impossible, just replace me; I'm giving up the honor, okay? Otherwise, how about Wang Hao?"

"Wang Hao is still too green and not eligible. Moreover, I'm telling you, even if you don't want it, it won't work! This time it was Mr. Sun who personally specified you. Not accepting it—are you implying you have issues with Mr. Sun or dissatisfaction with the city government?" Wang played a shameless card by resorting to using his official rank, throwing the big hat at him audaciously.

"Mr. Wang, I assure you with my party spirit, it's not like that."

"So it's settled then. It's only a matter of delaying for a few days anyway. How do they say it using the popular phrases of today? Oh right, whether you go or not, Xiangjiang is there, neither near nor far, neither more nor less. A few days' delay for you two won't make Xiangjiang disappear from the Earth. Suming, you're young; career is what's important. With a career set, are you afraid you won't find love?" Old Wang really went all out: reasoning with logic and moving with sentiment, bringing out internet slang despite his age.

With Wang Jian She having declared his position, Suming found it hard to insist further and could only grit his teeth and agree, promising to attend the award ceremony on time.