I have a wildlife zoo

Chapter 41: 41: Sit in a Row, Eat Hot Pot

Online, information always spreads quickly.

After the live broadcast ended, someone clipped a short video of about fifteen seconds, featuring Ice Cake and Jiaojiao's affectionate interaction.

In the video, a large tiger and a small one were facing each other, the large tiger's gaze tender, the small White Tiger's curious.

Then, the large tiger licked the small White Tiger, who licked back, and the large tiger grinned happily.

A very heartwarming scene.

The video didn't take long to go viral!

Netizens commented one after another:

"Whoa, this is the first time I've seen a tiger that can smile, so interesting."

"Ahhhh, my heart has been captured by the innocent and cute little White Tiger!"

"The little White Tiger is so good-looking, and the big tiger is full of spirituality."

"Proud to be a Jiaojiao fan! Jiaojiao is so smart, she can even understand the zoo director's words!"

"The emotional exchange between animals is just so sincere and simple."

"The tiger mom licking the little tiger so carefully is so loving! /Moved/ Moved"

"Cough cough, just to correct, this big tiger is not a tiger mom!"

"Huh?"

So, fans started to introduce them, saying the big tiger was Jiaojiao, the little White Tiger was Ice Cake, they met for the first time today, yada yada yada...

More people got to know Linhai Zoo and Fang Ye!

Another video related to him also trended a bit.

In the video, Fang Ye was speaking to the camera with heartfelt sincerity about his understanding of zoos:

"To exchange respect and kindness for their natural behavior in front of visitors, this is a relationship of mutual benefit and equality. In my ideal zoo, animals live happily, and people also feel joy for these animals..."

These words resonated with many netizens and received approval.

Of course, it couldn't compare in viewership with the previous video, it was far behind.

But even a mosquito is meat, it all contributed to the increase in his popularity value.

...

New employees reported to the zoo one after another.

Fang Ye spent most of the day busy arranging dormitories and all sorts of miscellaneous things, and finally managed to settle everyone down.

As the sky gradually darkened, the cafeteria was unusually bustling today, unlike any other day.

To welcome the arrival of new employees, a special welcome dinner was prepared!

There were large tables with a divided hotpot in the middle, while plates of meat and vegetables were served up.

There was thinly sliced pork, beef, and lamb, as well as fresh seafood like fish and shrimp; and for vegetables, there were potato slices, cabbage, lotus root, and more.

"Hi, I'm Meng Shi, a new animal keeper."

"I'm Lin Ying, a veterinarian. Big brother, you've got such strong muscles! Why did you want to become an animal keeper?"

"Ah, that's a long story..."

"I'm Zhou Ke, I used to work in a science park..."

New and old employees got to know each other and interacted.

After a while, the soup base for the hotpot started boiling. One side with fiery and bright red soup looked very spicy, with bright red chili and dark green peppercorns whirling in the bubbling hot fluid, hidden and visible like swimming fish; the other side had a fragrant white soup, white radish slices, fresh green onions, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms scored with a cross rising and sinking.

Steam rose, and the scent constantly stimulated the nostrils.

However, no one started eating; at this moment, everyone quieted down, looking towards Fang Ye.

Fang Ye didn't plan to make any speeches and said with a smile, "Why are you all looking at me, am I as tempting as this hotpot? Let's start eating!"

"Director, won't you say a few words?"

Fang Ye thought for a while, "A friend from the north went to Chongqing for hotpot and asked, 'Do you have sesame paste?' The waiter replied, 'Mahjong is only available in private rooms.'"

This joke fit perfectly with the atmosphere of eating hot pot, and everyone burst into laughter upon hearing it.

Tray after tray of tender red beef was plunged into the hot pot, and the atmosphere grew even more lively along with the bubbling pot.

...

The next day.

The alarm rang, Fang Ye crawled out of bed, got dressed, and brushed his teeth.

Sitting in the chair, his expression suddenly changed, and he took a light breath, "I should've known better than to eat so much spicy food."

Upon opening the system, he discovered that his popularity value had unknowingly accumulated another hundred thousand.

Might as well take a lucky draw then.

"Congratulations, Host, on obtaining [Tiger Plushie]!"

"Congratulations, Host, on obtaining [Monkey Plushie]!"

All plushies and better luck next time, plus two bottles of spiritual water.

Fang Ye was completely calm, having grown accustomed to the system's lottery odds.

The plushies weren't a loss either; he knew they were quite popular based on the reactions of netizens who won them.

Besides using them for activities as prizes, he could keep some to sell at the zoo's souvenir shop.

Linhai Zoo was undergoing major construction, and once all the pavilions were built, just the monthly utility bills would amount to quite a sum, not to mention the salaries for the newly recruited staff, causing expenses to surge.

It was unlikely that tourist numbers would suddenly increase to fill this new gap, so selling some plushies was the perfect solution to subsidize household expenses.

He checked his private messages and found that most of the netizens on the winner list had already sent over their addresses.

He was too busy to handle it yesterday, so he planned to sort out the list and the prizes, and send a staff member to mail them out in the city later.

...

"Clack clack."

Mahjong tiles collided, producing a crisp sound.

This was clearly an unscrupulous mahjong parlor, lights on during the daytime, yet all the curtains were drawn.

A man with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, dressed sloppily like a hoodlum, was frowning as he shuffled the tiles. Suddenly, someone patted his shoulder, sounding quite familiar with him, "Yo, Ajing, how much have you lost today?"

Ajing exhaled a smoke ring without turning his head, "Fuck, Mazi, piss off and stop bothering me; I'm about to win it all back."

Someone snickered and pointed out, "He's already down 2000, it's going to be difficult for him to win it back."

The other players at the table laughed mockingly without an ounce of sympathy.

Ajing snorted with the cigarette in his mouth and began drawing tiles, "Just make sure you don't look too ugly when you're losing."

Mazi wasn't playing; he stood behind with great interest, watching for a while before shaking his head and sighing, "Tsk tsk, Ajing, with your rotten luck, don't even think about winning."

Ajing was already dealing with a bad hand and his mood soured, but hearing Mazi's sarcastic tone made him even angrier.

He turned and glared at Mazi, forcing words through clenched teeth, "Are you itching for a fight today, TM? Want to throw down?"

Mazi still wore a teasing smile, "Hey, don't be so angry, man, I'm just stating a fact."

Seeing Ajing's fist actually raise, Mazi hastily put out his hand to pacify him, "Calm down, calm down. I've got serious business with you today, this round's on me. Let's go outside and talk."

Ajing's fist relaxed, but his brows furrowed.

Mazi was an idle loafer who set traps in the mountains to catch small birds and other creatures to sell as game; he had even been in custody because of it. Whatever he was proposing in such a sneaky manner, it definitely wasn't anything good.

Of course, Ajing himself was no angel either.

"I'm done playing."

Ajing pushed the tiles aside and stood up; his fellow players didn't take much notice, promptly someone else took his spot.

The two left the mahjong parlor, walked a short distance, and stopped under a tree, where the shadow concealed them.

With no one around, Ajing took a long drag of his cigarette and asked, "So, what is it?"

Mazi pulled out a phone, smiled mysteriously, "Just take a look at this first."