Super Zoo

Suming was also not certain about the quality of the business plan. Apart from the capabilities of his animal-loving friends, he was just an average college graduate, after all. It was impossible to come up with an extremely mature business plan overnight.

But there was still that saying, attitude is key. The proposal was quite meticulous and organized, Suming had written various essays and papers in university after all.

The business plan wasn't long, just three pages. After Mr. Song read it through once, he went over it a second time before putting down the plan, nodding at Suming with some approval, "I hadn't realized, young man, that you are quite dedicated."

"Actually, to be honest with you, I've never done business before. But my father told me that everything goes from not knowing to knowing—the key is whether you're willing to put in the effort and whether you can endure hardships," Suming said.

"That's true."

Mr. Song took off his glasses, pondered for a moment, then lifted his head to look at Suming, "Young man, you are very fortunate. If you were a permanent employee of the zoo, it wouldn't be convenient to take on a contract. Your status as a temporary worker has actually helped you."

"So, are you saying that you agree?" Suming brightened slightly, while contracting the boat rental wouldn't make too much money, it was at least expected to exceed his salary, and it was a risk-free deal.

"Agreed. However, there is one thing about your plan that needs to be changed..."

Mr. Song tapped the desktop and smiled, "You are just starting out, so for boat maintenance, fuel, and the like, which all require investment, you won't need to pay the park. After three months, then you can pay the park 30% of the income."

Suming was stunned—there was such a good deal? Mrs. Tong had told him about splitting the profits fifty-fifty with the park.

"But there is something I need to remind you of, now that you've taken on the contract, you must make money. If, after three months, the boats don't have any decent income, or even if they just sit unused, that won't do," Mr. Song said with a more serious tone.

That was something Suming hadn't expected Mr. Song to bring up.

According to Wang Hao's estimation, the total income from the eight boats could be around seventeen or eighteen thousand a month, which would be profitable.

But that was merely a theoretical projection, and moreover one based on the boat rentals in downtown parks. The zoo was relatively remote, and most visitors came mainly to see the animals—they might not necessarily come to row boats. So whether the boat business could actually make money was still an open question.

Suming initially thought that even if no one came to row the boats, at worst, he wouldn't lose money, he simply wouldn't earn any.

But according to Mr. Song's words, it wasn't enough just to make money, he also needed to ensure that a certain number of visitors utilized the boats.

"You must set a standard, right? What usage rate do I need to achieve?" Suming asked after some thought.

Mr. Song pushed up his glasses and said, "As for the specific standard, it's hard to say right now. However, I can tell you that the employee who lived in your place before, when he took on the boat renting, most of the time, most of the boats were empty, and his income for three or four months didn't even reach ten thousand yuan. If you end up like him, that definitely won't work."

Three or four months and not even ten thousand yuan? Put another way, the director's expectations weren't too high; as long as there was an income of three or four thousand per month, it should suffice.

The problem was, the previous employee hadn't made ten thousand in several months, which only indicated that very few people were interested in rowing. Why would Suming believe he could attract visitors?

The zoo was still the same zoo, and the boats were still the same boats. To increase revenue, he needed to come up with a strategy, come up with some gimmicks!

"How about it?" Mr. Song asked.

"Okay," Suming nodded. There is a fifty percent chance if I try; without trying, there's no chance at all. It's not a difficult calculation.

"Haha, young man, you have ambition. Good, go call Mr. Tong over. I'll instruct her to handle the contracting procedures for you. Once they're completed, they'll be given directly to you," Mr. Song said.

After leaving the director's office, it wasn't long before Mrs. Tong arrived.

"Director, I heard about the contracting from Su. You agreed?" Mrs. Tong came in and closed the door of the office.

"Yes, the young fellow has ideas and the energy to follow through, so let him have a try," Mr. Song answered.

"But, haven't contracts always been split fifty-fifty in the past?"

Mrs. Tong was somewhat puzzled. As the director of the director's office, Mrs. Tong was essentially Mr. Song's assistant and confidante. She had followed Mr. Song for nearly a decade and spoke her mind without much reservation in front of him.

Mr. Song did not directly answer Mrs. Tong's question but stood up and pointed to a map of the zoo on the wall behind him.

"Our zoo covers a vast area, but the real animal zones account for only a third. The rest are forest areas, scenic spots, a large artificial lake, several substantial unused lands, and even mountains connected behind. The government has invested a lot in our zoo and has built a lot of infrastructure. But in reality, most places are hardly utilized effectively."

"Do you mean to use the zoo's unique conditions to turn those large idle places into sources of revenue?" Mrs. Tong asked tentatively.

"Yes, I've only now come to understand this principle, and it's somewhat late," he admitted.

Mr. Song chuckled bitterly, "You see, my background is in academia; I'm okay with conducting research, but managing a zoo is quite a stretch for me. When it comes to the economy, I'm completely out of my depth; my thinking can't keep up with the market economy anymore. I never thought about this before, but now I see, failing to keep up with the trends means eventually getting eliminated. Look at our animals; they can barely get enough to eat. If a thief got in, we wouldn't even have the money to replace a set of surveillance cameras."

"This is no small matter. Funds, policies, manpower... we are entangled in myriad complexities, and no one in our zoo knows how to handle these. Besides, we are a public welfare entity, and it's not easy to generate revenue. We can't just build a factory, can we?"

"That's why I'm thinking of letting the younger generation have a go, starting with Su's boating service, and gradually begin to experiment. The boating business is not significant; at most, the zoo wouldn't earn much from it, so it might be better to give up some benefits and support Su. If he does well and finds a way to generate revenue that suits the zoo, we can expand the scale. If it doesn't work out, we can retract with minimal loss," Mr. Song explained.

"Director, you're not thinking of letting Su contract other parts of the park, are you? He doesn't have that much money and, being so young, he lacks experience," Mrs. Tong remarked. It wasn't that she had any objections to Suming; she was simply speaking the plain truth.

"Of course, he's not ready now, which is why I'm also evaluating him, including his abilities and character. If he's capable and trustworthy, then I can gradually let him contract more areas besides the animal zones. As long as it's generally for public welfare, I, as the director, still have that authority," Mr. Song said.

Mrs. Tong sighed and mumbled, "Ah, state-owned units, good in some ways and not so good in others. It's troublesome to get anything practical done; there's pressure from all sides. We've outsourced some areas before, but it always ended in a stalemate, unresolved."

"Hey, I've come to terms with it. This old face of mine still has some clout, and I have a few old friends whose words carry weight. If we can truly find a way to improve the zoo this time, I'll pull some strings. I'll shoulder any pressure we face. Once we show results, the higher-ups will have nothing to say. They might even use us as a positive example for publicity," he mused.

Mr. Song claimed he didn't understand politics, yet these words revealed a good grasp of the essence of bureaucracy.

"Old director, you've devoted your life to our zoo," Mrs. Tong remarked sentimentally.

"To tell you the truth, the restructuring of our zoo and self-sufficiency are already finalized; the official document with the red header will come out within a year. I'm close to retirement, but you all have a long way to go. You've followed me faithfully for over a decade, and I hope you all can live well. Even if not for you, I can't disregard the welfare of these animals in the park; nearly half of them were brought here by me. In the end, one must start well and finish well," Mr. Song said.