Super Zoo

After Yang Meng left, Shi sighed involuntarily.

As a member of the television station's leadership, Shi's personal life was not very disciplined, but his abilities were quite remarkable. Through observation, he noticed that among the young employees of the TV station, Nangong Yan, despite being the least experienced and not formally trained in broadcast hosting, was exceptionally good at her job, displaying the demeanor of a great leader despite her youth.

Moreover, this young girl seemed to always carry some kind of good luck with her.

If he could entrust the program to Nangong Yan, he would feel a bit more at ease.

Of course, this was only a thought in his mind. Shi knew that the current deputy director of the zoo, Wang Hao, was Nangong Yan's boyfriend. Nangong Yan's smooth sailing was not only due to her own abilities but also had a lot to do with the support of the young deputy director behind the scenes.

If they let Nangong Yan expose her boyfriend's secrets, it would be like having a wife investigate her husband. Even if Yang Meng were broad-minded enough to step aside, Nangong Yan herself would never accept the task.

Thinking of Yang Meng made Shi feel depressed again. The primary reason he approved Yang Meng's undercover investigation was their past relationship. If he refused Yang Meng's request, in case this woman made a fuss, it would be troublesome.

"I hope this woman can hitch herself to a high branch soon and stop showing up before me," Shi thought, planning to introduce her to some bosses once Yang Meng's reputation improved after the covert news operation, so she would stop bothering him in the future.

Disasters come with a beautiful woman, as the saying goes, and wherever she goes, trouble follows!

...

That morning, the Broad-eared Fox deity's attraction in the zoo's rear mountain was as bustling as ever. The construction of the Ancient Moon Xian Residence had begun to take shape, and a small 'miniature' countryside on the outskirts had been completed. According to a one-to-ten ratio, several mini fields were laid out, where small fruits, like cherry tomatoes, would later be planted for the Broad-eared Fox deities' snacks.

Even miniature scarecrows were placed in the fields—more accurately called straw foxes.

The hillside was crowded with visitors, and long lines formed outside the open 'business' doors of the foxes' dwellings. Among these tourists, however, were a few who looked a bit 'sneaky,' constantly glancing around and wearing earpieces as if they were listening to music.

Yang Meng, dressed in casual sportswear with oversized sunglasses that covered half her face and a stylish large sun hat, would not be recognized except by someone who knew her very well. She was at the end of the line for the Prayer Immortal Residence, pulling at her collar and whispering into a tiny microphone clipped to her shirt, "Attention, everyone, we need people on three sides. Group A, focus on capturing footage of tourists praying with their hands together in front of the little houses. Group B, head to the mid-slope and focus on filming people buying tickets. Group C, go to where the lucky charms are sold by the fox, and film the transactions between the foxes and people..."

Unnoticed, several undercover agents scattered around the hillside adjusted their portable mini cameras and aimed them at one merit box after another.

...

A pot-bellied nouveau riche casually handed a hundred yuan to Lin, the ticket seller, saying, "Keep the change, get the foxes some chicken wings with it..."

A boy of about seven or eight squatted in front of the Land Temple, his hands pressed together in a prayer, and said to the Broad-eared Fox before him, a bit shyly, "Little fox, little fox, please make sure my mom gets well soon! Once mom is better, I'll buy you roast chicken to eat!"

A young couple arrived at the entrance of the Prayer Fox, and the boy took out twenty yuan and stuffed it into the money box at the entrance. The girl picked up a prayer ribbon and wrote 'May we last forever, never to part' in delicate characters. Upon seeing this, the boy grinned and added a few words behind it: 'May you bear sons soon, have many children and grandchildren.'

"Get out of here..." The girl said with a shy smile, playfully punching her boyfriend,

The fox selling the prayer ribbons picked out a red bell from the basket with a beaming smile, hung it on the prayer ribbon, and handed it to the couple. Laughing and teasing each other, they took the prayer ribbon and ran towards the distant Wishing Tree...

...

All these scenes were clearly recorded by several mini cameras.

Time flew by quickly, and it was almost closing time for the zoo. The visitors on the hill were gradually leaving, and soon, only a dozen or so remained, with more trickling out.

If one paid close attention, four or five of the 'tourists' had actually been playing there the whole day. It hadn't been noticeable when the crowd was thick, but now, if everyone else left and these undercover agents stayed on the hillside, it would be too conspicuous.

Yang Meng took out a pinhole camera the size of a thumb from her pocket, spat out the gum in her mouth and, pretending to tie her shoelaces, stealthily stuck the camera under the eaves of the Broad-eared Fox deity's dwelling... At the same time, the other undercover agents did the same, hiding several pinhole cameras in various concealed spots, and then left the hillside along with the rest of the tourists.

After leaving the zoo area, Yang Meng and several undercover agents from the TV station did not return to the station but met up at a secluded location outside the zoo.

"I've rented a motel nearby. We'll all stay in the motel tonight and take turns staking out the rear mountain. Keep your cellphones and Wi-Fi on, set to silent, and stay in touch at all times..." Yang Meng ordered a series of follow-up actions.

Once Yang Meng finished speaking, one of the young employees from the TV station cautiously asked, "Sister Yang, can the station reimburse us for the donations we made today?"

The others nodded vigorously as well. They had been staking out on the hill all day, repeatedly queuing up and spending hundreds just for the lucky charms. These young employees were all scraping by on their meager salaries, begrudging the fact that they had to spend their own money on an official task.

And it wasn't just for today—the undercover operation was expected to last three or four days. If the TV station didn't reimburse them, the expense would be too much for them to bear out of pocket.

Of course not, the foxes wouldn't issue them receipts, so what's there to reimburse?

However, Yang Meng generously waived it off with a gesture, "Don't worry, if the station doesn't reimburse, I'll cover it. Everyone, work hard these next few days. Once the program airs, I'll personally give each of you a big red envelope!"

The group, hearing this, joyfully set off.

By around 6:30 in the evening, all the visitors had already left the zoo, and the back hill had quieted down. The foxes, who had worked hard all day, crawled out of their homes one by one and started frolicking and playing in the open space around them.

Suming and Wang Hao walked up the hillside shoulder to shoulder, with Su Meng following behind, carrying a large box that was more than half his height in one hand, and clutching a big wooden bucket under his other arm.

Lin came up to greet them with a smile, "Hello, leaders, good to see you, Mr. Wang."

"The bucket is filled with milk to give the foxes an extra meal..."

As Suming spoke, Su Meng had already put the large bucket down. Around the bucket were several teats, and upon seeing the bucket, the Broad-eared Foxes playing nearby swarmed over. They crowded around the teats and started sucking greedily, making loud slurping noises. Some of the little foxes drank so eagerly that white milk spilled out from the sides of their mouths, and those who didn't get a teat looked on enviously and tried to lick it up.

Last time, I thought foxes were like cats, prone to lactose intolerance, but it turned out the little foxes love milk and don't have that problem at all.

"No need to fight, there's enough for everyone."

Suming greeted the Broad-eared Foxes with a chuckle, then walked with Wang Hao to a Merit Box and asked Lin, "How are the earnings today?"

"Not bad, the income from both admissions and the sale of prayer talismans is up by at least 20% from yesterday..."

As Lin spoke, he and young Lin brought all the money boxes together. They were all heavy, and when opened, were filled with various denominations of banknotes and coins. Then, the group started counting the money together, and Su Meng poured the coins from the Merit Boxes into the big box he had brought.

"Mr. Wang, could you sign off on this?" Lin took out a small booklet and handed it over to Wang Hao.

Wang Hao took the booklet, glanced over it, and casually wrote his name under today's Merit Box income.

"Su Meng, go with Mr. Wang and deliver this money to the entertainment company's account. Be careful on the way," Suming instructed Su Meng.

Wang Hao grumbled, "We need to find an office closer. It's too much of a hassle to keep running back and forth like this."

Lin offered an apologetic smile and said, "That's easy, the company is making so much money."

…

This scene was clearly captured by hidden cameras, which transmitted the footage through wireless devices to Yang Meng's phone, not far away in the woods.

"Perfect! Now we've got solid evidence!"

An employee from the television station who accompanied her looked around nervously and said with some anxiety, "Sister Yang, there are wolves in the back hills of the zoo. We should leave early... "

As dusk fell, most of the back hill remained undeveloped, surrounded by tall trees and dense forest. When the wind blew, it always seemed like something was hiding nearby, watching them.
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"What's there to be scared of!" Yang Meng scoffed, "If the zoo's wolves bite someone, that's another big headline!"

"I give up, Sister Yang, you really are dedicated!" the young employee said irritably.

…

Yang Meng continued with her covert investigation on the back hill for the next several days, recording plenty of footage of visitors giving money. Every day after the zoo closed, someone from the entertainment company would come to count the income of the day and take away the money.

This afternoon, as soon as Suming arrived on the hill, Lin rushed over in a panic, "Leader, leader, it's terrible!"

"What's so terrible?" Suming rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, can't you pause between sentences? What's wrong with me?

"It's not that, our ledger is missing!" Lin was frantic.

"Oh." Suming nodded indifferently.

Seeing Suming's relaxed expression, Lin thought he hadn't understood and repeated anxiously, "Leader, the ledger is gone!"

"I know, the ledger is gone, and that's good," Suming whispered.

"Huh?" Now Lin was confused. He stood there with his mouth open before finally saying, "Leader... are you, are you alright..."