Chapter 8 Whisperwind Pavilion

The next morning, Suming arrived at the zoo again.

Mr. Song had arranged for the middle-aged lady responsible for the written test to help Suming with the onboarding process while he himself convened a meeting to investigate the responsibility for the recent accident.

The fences around Monkey Mountain were all made of rubber-coated steel bars, extremely sturdy, and regularly inspected, supposedly guaranteed to be safe. However, this time, inexplicably, such a large hole had appeared, causing the little girl Chengcheng to fall down and nearly causing a major incident, which infuriated Mr. Song, who demanded a thorough investigation.

The middle-aged lady, Mrs. Tong, was the director of the director's office at the zoo and assisted the director with the daily operations of the zoo.

Mrs. Tong was very enthusiastic, ceaselessly chatting with Suming and introducing him to the zoo's situation and his work arrangements.

Suming was considered an 'apprentice,' responsible for assisting another veteran animal keeper with feeding the animals.

Since the animals ate at different times, Suming had to spend most of his time in the zoo. Additionally, the senior director noted his youth and strength as well as his knack for dealing with animals, so he promptly arranged a set of dormitory quarters for him in the park. If any emergencies arose again, he could quickly respond and handle the situation.

This was precisely what Suming wanted. Being a bachelor with no attachments, he had planned to rent a place close to the zoo, and now he could even save on rent.

Like Suming, quite a few zoo employees, for convenience's sake, also lived within the park.

In terms of income, basic salary plus subsidies, duty pay, meal allowance, and various other bits and pieces, amounted to about three thousand in hand after deducting social insurances and housing fund, and it would gradually increase over the years.

The salary wasn't much, but Suming felt that if he could make good use of his 'Animal Friend' ability, the benefits it could bring would far exceed any salary, so there was no need to quibble over such small immediate gains and losses. With its unique conditions, the zoo provided access to a large variety of animals. For that alone, even if the zoo offered no salary and just covered meals, he would be willing to work there.

"Su, don't overthink it, temporary or permanent staff, it's all the same. Now the pay is equal for equal work. Besides, I'm telling you, with the state's reforms in the past two years, public institutions, especially ones like our zoo, are no longer offering new official positions..."

Although there was nobody else around, Mrs. Tong still spoke in a hushed, secretive tone, "I've heard our zoo will soon be going through restructuring, and will have to be self-sufficient. Maybe then there won't be any official positions available, so you don't need to worry too much about that."

"Oh, okay." Suming nodded, but he wasn't really considering the issue of employment positions at all.

Just like his salary, the 'employment position,' which was extremely important in the eyes of others, had now become like a floating cloud to him.

Following Mrs. Tong past the central area of Wolf Mountain and Tiger Hill, through a small forest, and along a woodland path for about fifteen minutes, they finally arrived at the dormitory.

Suming's eyes lit up!

In front of him, a man-made lake of about ten or so acres, surrounded by a forest, glistened under the sunlight with rippling waves.

Seven or eight hovercrafts were parked at the artificial beach beside the small lake. At the end of the beach, a winding water corridor led to the center of the lake, to a two-story antique-like building.

Although the building was somewhat old, with carved beams and painted rafters, it had a quaint charm like that of a water pavilion.

Even from a distance, one could see the plaque hanging above the gate, inscribed with the words 'Whisperwind Pavilion' in traditional characters.

"Wow, a paradise on earth!"

Suming almost shouted out. No wonder so many people wanted to work at the zoo. Although the pay wasn't much and there were no official positions, the environment was simply too good to share with friends!

This wasn't just a dormitory but clearly a small waterside villa!

If it weren't for his job there, even with lots of money, he couldn't have bought such a house to live in within the zoo.

"As we serve the tourism sector, naturally, the environment is top-notch. This place used to be a souvenir shop and tourist attraction, but when it couldn't be sustained any longer, it was simply turned into staff accommodations," Mrs. Tong explained.

"How many people are living here?" Su Ming asked.

With such a nice environment, if a bunch of people were living here, it would really spoil the scenery.

"Just you by yourself. Our zoo is quite large, and staff usually live alone or with their families. But staying here for a long time can be very dull and lonely. You young people like lively places, so if you want to go out and have fun, just let me know and ask for leave," Mrs. Tong said.

"No problem, I quite like it here."

"That's good. Whisperwind Pavilion has a total of six rooms, up and down, and comes furnished, although the furniture is a bit old and worn. No one has lived here for a long time, so you might want to tidy up. There's water, electricity, internet, and telephone. Occasionally, there might be tourists coming here to have fun. If you want to earn some extra money, you can take on the operation of those boats. If it loses money, it's on you, but if it makes money, the income is shared fifty-fifty with the zoo."

Mrs. Tong then told Su Ming about the pavilion and left the keys with him before going back to work.

Su Ming walked along the corridor. The over-water corridor was about two meters wide. On both sides were stone chairs for people to rest and linger. Walking through the corridor with the breeze blowing across the water, carrying a hint of moisture, was refreshing and delightful.

The corridor wasn't long. After taking a couple of small turns, he arrived at 'Whisperwind Pavilion'.

The two large mahogany doors were studded with nine rows of rivets, resembling the main gates of an ancient official's residence, and hung with a copper lock thick as Su Ming's arm.

Su Ming weighed it; the lock must have been about twenty pounds, which, paired with the doors, was more effective than any security door.

Unlocking and pushing open the door, it creaked, and he was greeted with a musty smell.

The name 'Whisperwind Pavilion' was quite elegant, and it looked impressive from the outside, but the inside left much to be desired. Dust covered everything, and a single step left footprints on the dusty ground, with an unpleasant odor in the air.

"Cough, cough, cough... It smells awful..." Su Ming covered his nose and went from room to room, opening all the windows.

The pavilion had six rooms in total. Put together, they were less than two hundred square meters, divided into a bedroom, living room, storage room, and an electrical room. Cables for electricity and internet were laid through hidden conduits coming up from beneath the outside corridor.

Tables, chairs, benches, and cooking utensils were all available, and in the living room, there was a set of synthetic leather sofas. The storage room held some common tools; a clean-up would make it fit for living.

After familiarizing himself with the surroundings a bit, Su Ming hastily opened the back door and left, planning to clean up once the inside smelled better.

Outside the back door was a forty or fifty square meter water platform, surrounded by a fence. Standing on the platform, he had a wide field of view, with the small lake and surrounding scenery all visible.

The platform was originally intended for a tea house, but poor management meant that not many people came for tea.

It was a bit hot, so Su Ming simply sat on the edge of the platform, took off his shoes, and dipped his feet in the lake water.

The lake water was cool and refreshing, and it felt incredibly good!

"This really is a nice place. But it's no wonder the zoo doesn't make money, with such a good spot left unused."

Actually, it wasn't exactly 'unused'. Yangchuan City Zoo was divided into three sections: the animal area, the garden area, and the scenic area, with this being part of the scenic area, essentially a small park.

"So, am I now the park manager?"

Su Ming laughed softly, imagining an image of an old gatekeeper in a blue Sun Yat-sen suit with a red armband.

Just then, while his feet were in the lake, he suddenly felt something ticklish.

There seemed to be something in the water!