Chapter 17: Eldest Brother Takes Over the Tourist Garden, Playing with the Weird…

Su Ximu had some terrifying associations unfold in his mind, but now someone was still kneeling in front of him, so he could only ponder briefly before reaching out first to help the person up.

If it had been someone else without any discernment, he might not have been able to help them up at all.

But Green 132 was different. He was very perceptive. After expressing his loyalty, he sensed that the Su sir in front of him wanted to reach out and help him up, so he immediately stood up nimbly on his own without needing any assistance. As he got up, he kept saying, “Su sir, I’ll do it myself, I’ll do it myself. There’s a lot of dust on me; don’t dirty your hands.”

In a spot that Green 132 didn’t notice, beside Su Ximu, Blue 242 watched this and revealed a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

After Green 132 stood up, Su Ximu looked at the half mushroom in Green 132’s hand that he had offered up while prostrating flat on the ground. Holding onto a sliver of hope, he asked, “Green 132 sir? What did you mean by what you just said?”

It was probably a joke.

Green 132 heard this and bowed deeply once more, pleading, “Please don’t fire me from the consortium. I really don’t need much salary; I don’t even need a salary! I beg you, I really just want to stay here quietly. For that, I can do anything for the consortium.”

Su Ximu heard this and let out a sigh of relief, knowing that his earlier thoughts had probably veered off track a bit.

After all, if the Su Consortium were some irregular or illegal enterprise, there wouldn’t be employees so terrified of being fired.

However, he still couldn’t give any reassuring answer, because the Su Consortium was ‘Eldest Brother’s’ business, not his.

So, he could only comfort him. “I’m somewhat familiar with the Su sir of the Su Consortium. He’s a boss who places great importance on ‘value.’ Um… his judgment is also very accurate. So, since he spent the effort and money to acquire the Tourist Garden, it must mean the Tourist Garden itself holds significant value.”

If the Tourist Garden itself didn’t have value, why not just buy a plot of empty land instead?

This was Su Ximu’s most straightforward view.

And because he wasn’t entirely sure, merely speculating from ‘Eldest Brother’s’ perspective, he only said he was somewhat familiar with the Su Consortium’s boss on a one-sided basis. This analysis was just for reference, not an endorsement.

Even so, it still served as a calming pill for Green 132 and the other employees around who were secretly perking up their ears to listen.

Right, the Su sir who created such wealth must be an extremely powerful and wise existence. The reason he acquired the Tourist Garden must be because he saw its value. If the Tourist Garden had value, then naturally, the employees inside it did too.

As long as they performed well after resuming work, putting in diligent and serious effort, Su sir would surely see their value!

Wasn’t the neighboring zoo a perfect example?

The original circus business had been very good, but after the new boss took over and turned it into a zoo, business had clearly declined a bit.

Green 132’s emotions weren’t stable and he was prone to agitation, but he also had an advantage: he was equally easy to soothe.

It was just that most of his colleagues lacked the patience to soothe him.

As he left, he once again devoutly offered the half mushroom in his hand.

Su Ximu couldn’t refuse the earnest gesture, so he accepted the mushroom and returned a pack of candy in exchange.

The candy was still from the ones ‘Third Brother’ had given him last time.

After Green 132 sir left, Su Ximu feared someone else might suddenly kneel before him again, so he specifically took a shortcut back to the dorms together with Blue 242 Leader.

Back in the dorm, he studied it with Blue 242 Leader. “Can half a mushroom really be planted and grown?”

Blue 242 nodded. “Yes. It will slowly shrink in the pot into a little mushroom, then grow anew.”

Su Ximu heard this and planted the half mushroom into another small pot. The original pot could no longer accommodate it.

As he filled soil around the mushroom, he asked, “Blue 242 Leader, do you know where in the Tourist Garden I can borrow books to read?”

“The Tourist Garden doesn’t have a library. What books do you want to read?”

“Um… world history or national folk customs and such.”

“World history is really boring. Why do you suddenly want to read these?”

Su Ximu heard Blue 242 Leader ask and stared blankly at the small soil pot. After snapping back, he gave a vague reply. “Just, just wanted to learn a bit.”

Kill

Slave

Use

He hadn’t forgotten those words. But after later observing the very normal reactions of the other employees around him, he knew he had jumped to conclusions again.

The abnormality of individuals was merely what he perceived as abnormal. Their behavior simply contradicted the common sense he had formed over the first dozen or so years of his life.

Relative to this world, they were the normal ones.

He, perhaps, was the actual outlier?

Su Ximu pursed his lips. He didn’t feel much about it and wasn’t particularly sentimental. If there was one thought, it was simply that he probably needed to systematically study things.

Otherwise, if he kept unconsciously applying his old common sense, he would easily make a fool of himself.

“If after reading the books, you discover the world isn’t like you imagined, what would your thoughts be?” Blue 242’s tone sounded comparatively calm.

Su Ximu tilted his head. “It’d be fine?”

Growing up was a process of refreshing one’s worldview every day anyway. He might just be refreshing it in a new world.

It’d be fine?

Fine was good.

Amid the anxiety of all the Tourist Garden employees, they finally welcomed the day of inspection by the new boss.

It was the day after the announcement.

This time, Su Ximu had guessed correctly. Su Xuanxiao had no intention of dissolving the Tourist Garden and mass-firing staff. He valued more the benefits the Tourist Garden could bring him.

Thanks to the previous Park Chief’s Rainbow Hat Promotion System, most of the current on-duty employees at the Tourist Garden were still fairly diligent.

At seven-thirty in the morning, Su Xuanxiao sat in the Park Chief’s Office, listening to a total of three orange management members report on the garden’s financial situation to him. There should originally have been four orange management members, but one had bad luck and been eaten by the previous Park Chief.

After hearing the report, Su Xuanxiao was fairly satisfied inwardly.

However, for a qualified consortium helmsman, greed was the most basic quality.

Basic satisfaction wasn’t enough. He felt the garden’s financial state could satisfy him even more.

Thus, he closed the financial report and turned to speak of another matter to the three garden management members standing before him.

“On the way to the garden, I searched online for some tourist reviews of our Tourist Garden.”

“Many tourists weren’t satisfied with the Folk Custom Garden’s programs. Are you aware of this?”

Su Xuanxiao critiqued, “Tourists buy tickets to enter the Tourist Garden not to watch fat-bellied rich old masters marry their concubines. That easily stirs up resentment toward the wealthy among tourists.”

“Also, the Tourist Garden’s folk custom programs haven’t changed in a full ten years. Can any of you tell me what the previous Park Chief was thinking? Why were there no reform measures?”

The three management members—Orange 01, Orange 03, and Orange 04—exchanged a glance. Orange 01 stepped forward and respectfully reported, “Esteemed boss, this involves legacy issues from the garden. Clearly, the previous Park Chief wasn’t as powerful and wealthy as you.”

“Several folk custom gardens in the park—given your strength, sitting here now, you must have already sensed that there are a few other not-weak weirds in this Tourist Garden.”

“They are the original residents of the Folk Custom Garden. After the previous Park Chief acquired their mansions, they banded together to form the Garden Folk Custom Association. Even the previous Park Chief sometimes couldn’t command them too forcefully.”

This was equivalent to carving out several autonomous mansions within the vast Tourist Garden. For most of the time, the weirds in the mansions followed the Park Chief’s arrangements and didn’t reject garden actors coming to work in the mansions—that already counted as cooperation.

“Have the management members who were supposed to report today come?”

The three orange management members shook their heads together.

Su Xuanxiao saw this, leaned back into the chair’s backrest, and found it novel.

“It’s been a while since I’ve encountered such a rare breed.”

The man in a sharp suit, appearing stern and capable, swept his gaze over the three before him and magnanimously waved his hand. “You may go. Have those waiting outside leave too. Report again another day.”

The three management members felt as if granted a great pardon. After one bow, they didn’t dare linger a single second longer and vanished from the Park Chief’s Office in the blink of an eye.

They sensed that if their attitude during the report just now had been even slightly off, they would probably all have been killed to warn the rest by now.

Fortunately, the scapegoat weird had run out on its own.

At eight o’clock, all employees preparing to go to work received a new notice from the Park Chief’s Office.

It required them to stop their current work and head to the locations circled on the latest garden map nearby.

Once the employees reached the designated spots, they would receive a gift from Su sir: a mansion passage permit.

Employees holding the passage permit could explore the circled areas on the map within today.

After today, the employee with the deepest exploration progress in each area would gain management rights over that location.

The circled locations on the map were the largest mansions in the garden.

The Wang Family Mansion was prominently listed.

In other words, Su Xuanxiao intended to play a dungeon-cracking game with the weirds in these mansions too.

However, the players he dispatched were the Tourist Garden employees, who were even more lethal, more unscrupulous, and more greedy fellow weirds.

Before this, which employee at the Tourist Garden hadn’t envied the weirds in the mansions?

Not only were their living quarters spacious, their work was easy, and humans called ‘players’ would occasionally appear for them to toy with.

Most crucially, on average, every weird commanded at least dozens of little weirds under them!

With this notice, it also counted as the new boss Su Xuanxiao’s reward to the employees who had worked diligently in the past.

The previous old Park Chief had already lost his Tourist Garden.

Then, the old weirds in the mansions should lose their mansions too.