Xiao Su was probably having a really hard time, so she agreed to sign the contract without much hesitation. Duan Jiaze's tentative opening date was at the latest a month away, with no specific date set yet.

His own goal was to open as soon as possible, and the mission deadline also required him to meet the minimum opening requirements within a month. The animals were all purchased. If he still couldn't hire enough staff after a month, a bolt of Palm Thunder would probably strike him down, and he wouldn't have to worry about opening anymore.

Originally, Xiao Su didn't need to come to work before the grand opening, but the girl proactively suggested that she could come over for training or as an intern during this time, and half pay would be fine—she was just that broke.

But there was nothing to train her on right now, which made Duan Jiaze feel helpless. Xiao Su could only say disappointedly that she would go back to doing odd jobs, making Duan Jiaze feel rather awkward.

Because he needed to sign contracts with his employees, Duan Jiaze contacted Lawyer Wang again. Lawyer Wang wondered why Duan Jiaze hadn't sold the zoo.

Duan Jiaze awkwardly explained that he had decided to keep the zoo running and was now in the process of recruiting staff.

A little surprised, Lawyer Wang wished Duan Jiaze well, but Duan Jiaze felt he couldn't guess what the lawyer was really thinking.

Later, Duan Jiaze realized he had been unfairly judging a gentleman by his own petty standards. Lawyer Wang specially sought out Duan Jiaze to tell him that the younger brother of an employee at their firm had been job hunting recently. After hitting dead ends everywhere, he had decided in a fit of pique to go do manual labor.

Lawyer Wang had told him, "Instead of moving bricks, you might as well be a zookeeper." The guy was actually interested. So, Lawyer Wang was here to recommend an employee to Duan Jiaze. This was exactly what Duan Jiaze needed, and he thanked him profusely.

A few days later, the younger brother of Lawyer Wang's colleague came for an interview. The young man's name was Liu Bin. Although he looked plain, he was tall and sturdy with plenty of muscle, and his words and actions suggested he was quite an honest person. He started school early, so he was in the same graduating year as Duan Jiaze but a year younger, which is why he called him "big brother."

Liu Bin was very surprised to find that the Zoo Director was about his age. He exclaimed bluntly, "People really are different. I tried so hard I was black and blue and still couldn't find a job, but Brother Duan, you're my age and you're the one hiring. Sigh! It's hard to find a job, and even harder when you've studied environmental engineering. I was this close to going off to move bricks!"

Duan Jiaze: "..."

Hearing these all-too-familiar words, Duan Jiaze couldn't help but feel tears welling up. "Bro, you studied environmental engineering too? Which university did you graduate from?"

The two looked at each other, not expecting to have such a connection. After talking about their major, they became even more friendly.

Things went smoothly after that. Liu Bin was just looking to make a living anyway, and the Zoo Director was from the same major, so he didn't hesitate any longer. He had a senior in this career change! And so, he also signed a labor contract with Duan Jiaze.

Seeing that he had hired two people in the blink of an eye, Duan Jiaze turned around and called Xiao Su to tell her to come for training.

Duan Jiaze's quota was three employees. Now that he had two, he could fill in for the third himself. He decided to tell the villagers not to come anymore, which was a relief. Having to watch them without blinking was more tiring than doing the work himself.

Xiao Su came over happily. She had been doing odd jobs for the past few days, which was much more tiring than the work here. Duan Jiaze naturally looked out for the girl, having her feed the smaller animals like fish and birds. Once all the keepers were hired, she wouldn't even have to feed the small animals.

Duan Jiaze had, after all, been in the business a few days longer than them. He knew Luya could keep these animals in line and had also witnessed their ravenous appetite for feed. So, when it was time for feeding, he wasn't scared at all.

What was there to be afraid of? The lion might not even think he tasted better than the meat rewarded by the Hope Project...

His smooth and confident manner made Xiao Su and Liu Bin think he was an old hand.

...

They were all young people, so they got to know each other well after a few days.

Luya would occasionally appear before them, especially around mealtimes.

Duan Jiaze had recently gotten friendly with the security uncle at the park. He heard that they bought vegetables from the surrounding villagers, so he also went to find the villagers and arranged to pay them a sum each month to deliver fresh vegetables from their own fields.

If it were just one or two people, the villagers probably wouldn't bother with the delivery. But the zoo was in a good location, right next to the park where many employees ordered vegetables, so they could deliver on the way.

With a source of vegetables, Duan Jiaze started cooking his own meals. When Xiao Su and Liu Bin came, neither of them knew how to cook, so he would make work meals for two extra people at noon. But besides that, he also had to cook a special meal for Luya.

And so, every noon, Liu Bin and Xiao Su would watch with empty stomachs as the equally hungry Duan Jiaze cooked for Luya. Luya would take his food to the side and eat by himself (Duan Jiaze could get a little, but the other two couldn't even dream of it). Then, Duan Jiaze would cook for them, and the three of them would eat together, making Luya seem so different.

To be honest, Liu Bin was very envious.

"I feel... Brother Lu's food is always better than ours," Liu Bin said gloomily. In fact, theirs wasn't bad, and it looked like Duan Jiaze used the same cooking method for both, but he didn't know if it was just his imagination—Luya's just seemed more delicious.

Xiao Su: "Because there's a different kind of seasoning in it."

Liu Bin's jaw dropped. "What? Chicken powder?"

Xiao Su shot him a look, brought her hands together, and made a heart shape. "It's this!"

Liu Bin: "..."

Liu Bin shuddered and didn't dare to respond.

—

After Liu Bin and Xiao Su, Duan Jiaze couldn't immediately hire the third employee. Many people called to inquire, but few came for an interview, and even fewer signed a contract.

One morning, when Duan Jiaze got up to get the vegetables at the gate, he saw an unfamiliar uncle next to the delivery auntie. This uncle looked quite refined and wore a pair of glasses.

The auntie introduced the uncle to Duan Jiaze, saying he was Teacher Zhao from their Tongxin Village Primary School.

Teacher Zhao shook hands with Duan Jiaze, which left Duan Jiaze a bit baffled. "Hello, Teacher Zhao."

"Hello, you must be Xiao Duan, right? I heard that you're the director of this Lingyou Zoo now?" Teacher Zhao smiled a bit sheepishly, then said, "I came here today because I have a presumptuous favor to ask..."

As soon as Teacher Zhao started speaking, explaining things slowly, Duan Jiaze finally understood why he was here.

It turned out that before Duan Jiaze inherited this zoo, the Cape Zoo had always let the students of Tongxin Village Primary School visit for free at this time of year.

In this day and age, anyone who could move to the city had already done so. The elementary students still attending school in the village were from families with genuinely poor financial conditions. The school couldn't organize any extracurricular activities, so this free sponsored visit was a major event that the students always looked forward to.

Duan Jiaze was stunned. He hadn't expected that this small zoo, which many looked down on, was actually something some people looked forward to. He thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry, this tradition will continue. You can bring the children over anytime."

"Thank you so much!" Teacher Zhao gripped Duan Jiaze's hand and thanked him repeatedly. He had initially heard that the Cape Zoo was going to close down, and later that it had changed its name and owner, so he hadn't held out much hope for this. But who knew the new director would be a young man who looked like a student and was also very kind-hearted.

Before Teacher Zhao left, he discussed it with Duan Jiaze and hoped to come over in two days.

Although they hadn't officially opened, Duan Jiaze readily agreed. He turned around and announced to everyone, "Comrades, we're going to have a closed beta!"

Liu Bin didn't react for a moment. "Closed beta?"

Xiao Su: "Are we getting visitors?!"

Duan Jiaze told them about hosting the elementary school students for free. The sentimental girl exclaimed, "Oh my god, they're old fans of the Cape Zoo! Director, do you think they'll ask us why we changed the name to Lingyou?"

Duan Jiaze said calmly, "They'll probably first ask how to pronounce the character 'You'."

Xiao Su: "..."

Duan Jiaze secretly found Luya again. "Um, Daoist Lord, would you like braised or steamed tomorrow?"

Luya was watching TV with his legs crossed. Seeing the keeper who usually talked back to him now asking for his opinion with a meek and subservient attitude, his vanity was greatly satisfied. He said reservedly, "Then make it half steamed and half braised."

"Yes, Your Excellency." Duan Jiaze put on a servile and fawning act.

Luya felt like he must have misheard. "What did you say?"

Duan Jiaze said with an innocent face, "I said 'Yes, Daoist Lord.' What's wrong, Daoist Lord?"

Luya glanced at him suspiciously, snorted, and said nothing.

Duan Jiaze continued, "It's like this, I've recently been studying the advanced experiences of other zoos online. They're great, but we just can't achieve them with our zoo's current technical level. Aren't we having our closed beta visitors in two days? This is the first step toward our future success. I think we should make them feel the difference between Lingyou Zoo and the old Cape Zoo..."

Luya eyed Duan Jiaze askance. "What exactly are you trying to do?"

Duan Jiaze: "Hehe..."

Luya: "..."