Super Zoo

Wang Jian She's invitation to Minran Residence meant he was willing to have an open and honest discussion with Suming. Suming didn't plan to beat around the bush either and said directly, "Mr. Wang, I have an idea. I want to acquire the zoo and turn it into a private enterprise."

Acquiring a business, especially one that used to be a public welfare and educational institution like the zoo, is no small matter.

Wang Jian She's expression didn't change; he showed no sign of surprise, as he leisurely brewed tea in several small cups. After he finished pouring the tea, he put down the teapot and said, "Try this, tea should be drunk while it's hot, once it cools the aroma is lost."

"Thank you, Mr. Wang." Suming pinched the nearest teacup between two fingers.

After a few small teacups were drained, Wang Jian She personally prepared another batch. While making the tea, he started to speak, "From the day you took over the zoo, I guessed that sooner or later you would have this idea, but I hadn't thought that in just a few short months, you'd bring it up. Impressive for someone so young."

"I'm not very confident about it, so I haven't told anyone. I wanted to discuss it with you first," Suming said.

Wang Jian She nodded, "Nowadays, everyone is talking about reform and innovation. In my judgment, though privatization has no precedent, it is open to negotiation. Of course, the animals cannot be privatized; their ownership is not something money can buy."

The word "negotiation" means exactly that: a negotiation.

Both parties have their bottom lines. If one party crosses the other's bottom line, there's nothing to talk about. The scope for negotiation exists in the space between those two lines. Naturally, both parties hope to claim as much of that space as possible.

Wang Jian She's initial point about the ownership of animals made it clear this was an untouchable bottom line.

Fortunately, Suming had no desire to cross that line.

The matter of the animals could be approached in the same way as Zhao Yun's private museum.

The antiques in the museum were owned by Zhao Yun. He was responsible for their management and use, but he was not allowed to sell them.

In practice, this was no different from the current situation, so it was negotiable.

The second issue concerned the nature of the zoo. Although the city had never regarded the zoo as a key driver of economic growth, and in the past, the zoo had even held the city's economy back, it still had to exist, as it was an essential part of urban cultural development. Therefore, even after privatization, the enterprise nature of the zoo must remain as it is.

Simply put, a zoo is a zoo, a place for citizens to find leisure and entertainment, not to be transformed into a shopping district or a CBD office complex.

This was not a problem for Suming. He never intended to do anything else with the zoo's land; all his plans were based on its foundational purpose as an animal habitat. The specific details would need further discussion and study with the relevant municipal departments.

As for money and staffing issues, once privatized, the zoo would be Suming's private enterprise. Finances would naturally follow the model of a private company—if he profited, it was his gain, and if he incurred losses, they were his to bear, while he would still pay taxes normally. Staffing was not an issue for Suming at all; he had no intention of letting anyone go.

The last issue was the amount of the acquisition.

Privatization of the zoo was bound to attract attention from all sides. Having existed for decades, the Yangchuan City government had made substantial investments in the zoo, so Wang Jian She judged that the purchase price would certainly not be small.

Not only could it not be low—it was likely to be above market price.

As for making payments in installments, that shouldn't even be considered. What a joke that would be—to pay it off over ten or twenty years. What if the company went under during that time, or went bankrupt? Who would they go after for the remaining money? Besides, would the value of the currency in ten years still be the same as it is now? It was impossible to calculate. If they estimated too high, Suming would surely not agree, and if they estimated too low, the financial authorities would not accept it. It would be difficult to reach an agreement.

Who had ever heard of a business being acquired on an installment plan, like buying a house or a car?

Suming thought it over and realized that if the negotiation had reached this point, there was a chance of success. What remained was the issue of money.

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To further ensure his chances, Suming said, "Mr. Wang, right now it's just the two of us talking. Whether or not it can actually be negotiated still isn't certain."

Wang Jian She nodded. What he had said was based on his experience and information, and nobody could claim absolute certainty.

"I understand your concern. The privatization of the zoo is to streamline operations for better economic development, but if my business fails, it could bring new burdens to the government," Suming said. "How about this? I'll put up an additional deposit, in a bank designated by the government, which will be under government supervision as long as I'm managing the zoo."

"Hmm?" Wang Jian She's brows lifted slightly. He hadn't expected Suming to suggest this on his own. The existence of the deposit would clearly show Suming's sincerity.

"The difficulty with privatizing the zoo lies largely in the worry that, should it go bankrupt under private management, the city can't be without a zoo, and ultimately the government would have to take over the mess. This deposit is like a peace offering. If I drive the zoo into bankruptcy, the government can keep the deposit," Suming explained.

Wang Jian She nodded slightly; on paper, the money is a deposit, but in reality, it was an interest-free loan with no deadline for repayment.

"With that said, the chances of a successful negotiation are much higher. However, the money to buy the zoo plus the deposit—that's not a small amount," Wang Jian She said with some perplexity.

He had a rough idea of Suming's financial situation; he might be able to come up with tens of millions at a stretch.

But the funds required now were in the billions!

Acquiring the zoo wasn't something that would happen overnight. Even if everything went smoothly, it would probably not be completely finished until the following year.

Even so, where would Suming get these billions within a year? Selling off a few thousand Lure People to traffickers wouldn't even be enough.

"Mr. Wang, I'll figure out the money issue. We still have more than half a year," Suming said confidently. "I hope you can take care of the government side of things."

"There's not even a hint of this deal yet, and you're not fully prepared…" Wang Jian She pondered for a moment before saying, "Alright then. Once you're sure you can cover it, submit a report to He. Let He pass it up the chain. I will do my best to facilitate things at the municipal level."

"Alright."

After leaving Minran Residence, Suming had a rough idea about acquiring the zoo.

Wang Jian She hadn't firmly committed to making it happen, out of caution. But given his status and what he had hinted at before, there really wasn't much suspense left.

Whenever Suming was certain he could make the money, that was when he could start the privatization process.

So, this brought him back to the original problem, how to quickly make several billion within a year.