Super Zoo

Originally, I had thought that receiving the award for one of the top ten outstanding entrepreneurs would delay me just two or three days at most, and it would still be possible to go on a trip after the ceremony. However, after talking with Wang Jian She at the award ceremony, Suming was ready to start a new project.

As a result, the travel plans with Nangong Yan had to be postponed once again.

"It seems like I'm falling into your trap step by step. It's clear that you're the one who stood me up, so why do I still feel like you make a lot of sense and I'm not even angry?" Nangong asked with wide eyes and a somewhat puzzled expression.

"No, no, the key is that you have a great sense of responsibility and an open mind. You have the demeanor of a lady of the house!" Suming praised.

"Do you have to keep staring at my chest when you talk about an open mind?"

"It's more direct and visual that way."

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After the award ceremony, Suming postponed his itinerary once again. He first sincerely apologized to Nangong, then praised her for virtues like her broad-mindedness. Finally, he swore that next time, even if the sky should fall and the earth crack open, or the sun rise in the west, he would take her to Xiangjiang for a shopping spree.

Upon returning to the zoo, he called an internal meeting first thing the next morning.

Ever since the zoo's restructuring, although Mr. Song still held the title of head zookeeper, he barely visited the zoo for work. The occasional times he did show up were just to bring his grandson for fun and never to meddle with the zoo's operations. At every meeting, it was Suming who sat at the leader's seat, with Mrs. Tong presiding.

"Mr. Su, everyone is here. Shall we start?" Mrs. Tong sat at the side and asked Suming with an inquisitive tone. The heads of several key departments in the zoo were present, all smiling broadly.

On one side of the meeting room stood a cabinet almost as tall as a person, which was sparsely filled with just a few old trophies and some slightly yellowed certificates, looking rather empty. This was the zoo's trophy cabinet. Judging by what was inside, the zoo's history was hardly glorious—few in number and long in years.

Those two relatively newer trophies were obtained after Suming's arrival, one for the recent river dolphin incident and one for this outstanding entrepreneur award. Explore more at empire

Theoretically, the trophy for the outstanding entrepreneur should have been placed at Great Sage Liquor Industry, but since Suming was also a leader of the zoo, he thought about it and decided to place the trophy there to bolster the zoo's facade.

This trophy carried a lot of weight, signifying robust financial strength and full government support. The presence of this one outstanding entrepreneur trophy alone had nearly overshadowed all the others in the cabinet. Not only did Suming look good, but the zoo's employees were also quite excited. Everyone wanted to follow a boss who was capable and had prospects for the future, and Suming was not only capable and promising but also treated his employees very well. Everyone present understood that the future of this young deputy zookeeper was the future of the zoo, as well as the future of all the staff present.

Suming nodded, signaling that the meeting could begin. Mrs. Tong tapped the microphone, coughed twice to test the volume of the microphone, and then continued, "As you all know, Mr. Su has won the title of Yangchuan City's Top Ten Outstanding Entrepreneurs. Let's start by giving him a warm round of applause in congratulations."

Clap, clap, clap... There weren't many people in the meeting room, but the applause was quite enthusiastic. Mr. Dong of the Security Department, who had been in the military, was said to have practiced martial arts like capturing hands and iron sand palms, and his palms were all covered in thick calluses, producing loud, crisp clapping sounds that could practically vibrate one's eardrums.

Siting close to Dong, Suming's ears buzzed from the vibration and he wondered, "Was your career in the military that monotonous, Dong, that you got those thick calluses from practicing iron sand palms?"

When the applause had quieted down a bit, Suming raised his hand gently downward to signal, and smiled, "This is the result of our joint effort. In the future, it won't be just my personal achievement; our zoo, and everyone present here, will continue to reap various honors. Now, Mrs. Tong, would you please give everyone a brief update on the zoo's recent situation?"

"Alrighty." Mrs. Tong opened a newly purchased laptop, projected the image onto a large screen, and detailed the zoo's quarterly ticket revenue, visitor traffic, staffing expenses, animal care and management costs, office expenses, and other data through a PowerPoint presentation.

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Overall, the data shows that the zoo's visitor traffic is steadily increasing. If this growth rate continues, it is expected to break even by the second half of the year, including the repayment of the government's financial debt.

"I estimate that there might even be a slight surplus by the end of the year," Mrs. Tong said cheerfully.

Zoos are different from ordinary businesses; even after reorganization, they are not aimed at generating large-scale profits. Their efficiency at making money is not as high as that of general businesses in the short term. Achieving a balanced budget is already sufficient for stable operations. In fact, the majority of zoos in the country can't manage to do this. As for a surplus, for a pure zoo, that's simply unimaginable.

But Yangchuan City Zoo has done just that, even while shouldering the debt of the government's finances. No wonder Mrs. Tong and the staff present were beaming with joy.

"Ahem, everyone, please quiet down a bit," Suming coughed and said, "During the award ceremony I attended, I had a chat with Mr. Wang, the head of our municipal department. The city hopes that we will continue our efforts and further strengthen and expand the zoo. I also think that simply maintaining financial balance is not enough; we must identify new points of growth."

The people present had various personal connections with Suming, and as a leader, he was normally approachable. The atmosphere of the meeting was rather relaxed, allowing for open discussion. Hearing Suming speak, the head of the finance department spoke first, saying, "That's certainly good news, but I've done the calculations, and our current visitor numbers are nearing saturation. Even if there is an increase in the future, it will be gradual and in small increments. With just a few million inhabitants, Yangchuan City simply can't support people visiting the zoo every week, no matter how attractive it is."

There was some truth to this statement. The zoo's revenue mainly relies on ticket sales, and the size of the city's population limits the zoo's income. But even in larger cities with populations in the tens of millions, zoos don't necessarily make money, because although there's higher visitor traffic, the investment costs are also high. When these are offset against each other, most still operate at a loss.

So when looking at sources of income, a pure zoo is fundamentally unlikely to make much money.

Unless Yangchuan City was a renowned tourist city, like Xiangjiang, capable of attracting visitors from all over the country. When Suming and Mr. Song initially considered applying for the 5A tourist attraction status, they had this goal in mind, but a mere zoo was unlikely to achieve 5A status.

"If the number of visitors continues to increase, the security department will have to hire more staff; otherwise, we won't be able to cope," Mr. Dong said.

"Don't worry, Dong, with more visitors, the revenue naturally increases, and you will definitely be able to hire a few more guards," Suming laughed with Mr. Dong before continuing, "Director He makes a good point. Relying on visitors from Yangchuan itself indeed won't result in a substantial increase in a short period. However, strengthening the zoo is not just about the economic aspect; while making money is one aspect, what is more important is carrying out public welfare and educational promotion. Mrs. Tong, if I remember correctly, a very important indicator for the government's assessment of zoos used to be educational promotion, right?"

"Yes, the largest indicator," Mrs. Tong nodded.

Suming took out a business card and handed it to Mrs. Tong, "Mrs. Tong, this is the business card of the vice principal of Runhua Public School. Their school will organize an outdoor student activity at the zoo in a while. You might want to get in touch with them first. Starting with Runhua Public School as a breakthrough point, we can raise awareness with schools throughout Yangchuan City about scientific knowledge and environmental conservation awareness."

Runhua Public School is a well-known private boarding school in Yangchuan City and even in the province that offers education all the way from elementary to high school and assists with arrangements for studying abroad after high school. Of course, the tuition fees are frighteningly high and not affordable for an average family. While the quality of education at this school cannot necessarily be called first-rate, most of its students plan on studying abroad and do not participate in the national college entrance examination in China. Therefore, the school has always valued what it calls "quality education."

Collaborating with Runhua Public School on outdoor activities is not primarily about earning a small amount from venue fees; the key is that it opens the door to exchanges with various other schools. From the standpoint of social responsibility, educating and promoting science to students is definitely the best approach, and it is also the most popular.

Runhua Public School is part of the massive Runhua Group. Little did Mrs. Tong expect Suming to have dealings with Runhua Group. Carefully keeping the business card, she chuckled at everyone, "See, I told you our young and promising director has even the high-level management of Runhua Group seeking out a connection."

"Mrs. Tong, since we're all insiders here, let's save the praise and self-praise for another time. This vice principal is just someone I met at a meeting, nothing more than an acquaintance. He isn't exactly top management,"

Suming said with a humble smile. In meetings, it's customary for subordinates to flatter the leadership, and it's necessary for the leaders to be modest and polite. He continued, "Besides promotional work, we cannot neglect our business operations. As Director He pointed out, the population of Yangchuan City is limited, and tourists from other places aren't likely to visit solely for the animals. Hence, to expand our operations and facilitate virtual visits for travelers, I'm planning to set up an online livestream platform."

A livestream platform? The majority of the staff present were momentarily puzzled, especially the older ones who weren't sure what that entailed. A couple of the younger employees, who were regular internet users, initially thought of "female internet celebrities."

However, they quickly grasped Suming's intention. Just like the trending online broadcasts, Suming's proposed livestream platform would indeed feature the same concept, but the stars would be the animals, not primping and posing internet celebrities.

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