Super Zoo

Actually, the cost of tickets for a few dozen people was negligible for both the zoo and Suming.

The reason Suming had staged such a display to intimidate the other party was, on the one hand, to establish a tough image through television, sending a message that even a small zoo was not to be trifled with, to prevent any Tom, Dick, or Harry from stirring up future trouble. On the other hand, a hardline leader tends to be more popular, and it also helped to generate public interest for both the zoo and himself. After all, the development of the zoo still relied on visitors. In recent years, the 'fan economy' had emerged, and if the zoo could garner a subset of diehard fans, it would be greatly beneficial for the future.

Furthermore, now that things had escalated to this point, with all pretense of cordiality gone and true intentions revealed, there was no need to save face for anyone anymore; if they were going to act, they needed to do it thoroughly!

After a minor incident at the entrance, the inspection team and the reporters finally arrived at Shuijun Lake Beach.

"The vast expanse of water you see before you is Shuijun Lake, which was formerly an artificial lake of the zoo and has been contracted by Suming this year for fish farming. After the dedicated efforts of Zhou Jin and experts from the inspection team over this period, all fish farmers in the city have been investigated, leaving only Shuijun Lake before us!"

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Host Yang Meng stood on the edge of Shuijun Lake, with the vast hundred-acre lake behind her and a line of boats temporarily out of service docked at the bank, and continued in an emotional tone:

"The scene that unfolded at the zoo entrance earlier was shocking; fortunately, we have finally made it to the edge of Shuijun Lake. Hidden within this seemingly tranquil lake, are there any unspeakable secrets? Now, let us invite our experts to conduct their examination and reveal the truth to us!"

"On what grounds do you make such statements!" The experts had not yet revealed the truth, and at the side, Liang Shi, unhappy, walked up to the camera and asked host Yang Meng.

All the fish in the lake had been under his care, a labor of love in which he had invested a great deal. He knew better than anyone whether hormones had been used and certainly could not allow someone to insult his hard work in front of him.

Liang Shi wore a one-piece work suit, looking like a fisherman. Yang Meng glanced at him and asked disdainfully, "And you are?"

"My name is Liang Shi, I'm a graduate student at the Provincial Agricultural Science Academy!" Liang Shi pointed at the fish in the lake and said, "I've been taking care of these fish, and I can assure, with my professional expertise, that there are absolutely no hormones! Moreover, Comrade Host, you cannot make random accusations in front of the television audience without any evidence; that would be legally accountable!"

The two experts from the inspection team were from the province and were already acquainted with Liang Shi's teacher, the old expert from the Agricultural Science Academy, Professor Tang. They naturally recognized Liang Shi too. With the camera rolling, it wasn't the time to say anything particular, but they exchanged surprised glances.

They trusted the integrity of Professor Tang and Liang Shi. Since Liang Shi was helping to raise fish here, there probably shouldn't be any issues.

"There will be evidence!" Zhou Jin stepped forward abruptly, blocking Liang Shi, and said to the camera, "Now, please, let the experts proceed with the inspection!"

Having said that, he led the two experts and several assistants briskly toward the boats on the lake.

It didn't take long after boarding the boat for three locations to be selected, and then the boat moved to each in turn, casting nets to catch fish. There were plenty of fish in Shuijun Lake; they easily hauled up dozens of pounds.

After being brought back to shore, the reporters who had been waiting eagerly snapped photos, intending to document this somewhat historic moment.

By that time, the zoo had opened, and many tourists had arrived. Some had come specifically to witness the inspection of Shuijun Lake, drawn by the spectacle. Quite a few tourists looked anxiously at the inspection equipment, many of whom had bought fish directly from the zoo and found them delicious after taking them home. After repeated purchases, their entire families had consumed the fish, and they silently prayed that the inspection would not reveal any problems.

Zhou Jin stood to one side with his arms folded, his eyes coldly fixed on the data displayed by the equipment, awaiting the moment the numbers turned red.

As long as the issue with the fish was uncovered in front of the national audience, even with Suming's great abilities, he wouldn't be able to escape responsibility!

At that thought, he subconsciously glanced at Suming, hoping to find expressions of nervousness or fear on his face. Unexpectedly, Suming was on the other side, not even glancing at the testing scene, as if the whole thing had nothing to do with him. He looked utterly relaxed and was even bending down to play 'shake hands' with the two big German Shepherds.

Seeing those two blackbacks wagging their tails nonstop at Suming made Zhou Jin very angry. You traitors! I've treated you well in the past; why weren't you this obedient then?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, especially seeing Suming's calm demeanor. Zhou Jin couldn't help but lose his temper, feeling none of the pleasure of impending victory.

Out of sight, out of mind, he decided to shift his gaze to the inspection equipment not far away.

Time ticked away, and the fifty-eight pounds of various fish hauled from Shuijun Lake passed the inspection one after the other without incident. The numbers on the equipment remained stable, consistently staying within the safe range.

Zhou Jin's face grew increasingly ugly, and sweat started to form on his forehead. In the cold weather, he kept wiping his forehead with a handkerchief.

The host from Yangchuan City TV Station, Yang Meng, at first couldn't stop talking about the dangers of hormone-laden fish, subtly implying that Shuijun Lake was the source of the problem. But after talking for so long without discovering a single problematic fish, Yang Meng turned mute. She spoke less and less, eventually not uttering a word for long periods. The atmosphere of the live broadcast became exceedingly dull, as if the host wasn't even there.

Until the last fish went through the inspection process, all sampled fish from Shuijun Lake were qualified!

The atmosphere on site suddenly turned awkward. Everyone present, including the large number of reporters who had come along, had arrived with the mindset of 'catching the bad guys' for the day.

After inspecting other fish farms, it was obvious that Shuijun Lake would surely have issues. Many media outlets were even prepared with draft news articles denouncing Shuijun Lake, Suming, and the zoo, waiting to release them the moment problems were discovered here.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

No one had anticipated that Shuijun Lake would turn out to be completely free of defects!

Since the inspection process had been broadcasted live every day, with the cameras spending a third of their time focused on the testing equipment, the numerical readouts were quite clear. Thus, many viewers and journalists who weren't professionals could also understand the data shown by the testing devices.

Based on the data, the fish from Shuijun Lake not only lacked hormones but conversely had extremely high nutritional value!

If anyone were to rewatch all the live broadcasts from this period, they would realize that the fish from Shuijun Lake had higher nutritional value than those from any other farm, even surpassing the fish from Huating Reservoir!

Everyone was taken aback. What was supposed to be a crackdown on corrupt merchants and villains ended up revealing a high-quality supplier with a big, honest heart.

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PS: How many chapters should I explode tomorrow?

Usually, it's two chapters, and four is considered a burst, but it always feels like something is missing. Maybe five chapters?

If five isn't enough, how about six? Seven? Let me think...