Chapter 498 - 241: Karma in the World, A Sip and a Peck (Part 3)

Chapter 498: Chapter 241: Karma in the World, A Sip and a Peck (Part 3)

The changes brought by the Hundred Trees Nourishing Body Array couldn’t be contained by simply forbidding private discussion.

Xianlai was a public recreational park, a massive ecological scenic area, and Yang Qi planned to eventually develop it into a five-star zoo—or even an industry benchmark.

Therefore, the Array’s effects needed a reasonable explanation the public could accept.

He brought up feng shui because it genuinely existed in this world and had a rational basis.

Whether it was a naturally occurring auspicious formation or a man-made harmonious environment, it could all be explained by science.

What Yang Qi had to do was borrow the language and theories of modern science to wrap it in a cloak of "reasonableness."

As long as the story was consistent, the explanation held up, and everyone could accept it and benefit from it, that would be enough!

...

The Lunar New Year was approaching. In the final week of the last lunar month, work at the Xianlai Zoo progressed smoothly, nourished by the Hundred Trees Nourishing Body Array.

The animals were adapting well, and the employees were full of energy. The park was filled with a budding vitality, yet it remained a scene of tranquility and peace.

That day, Yang Qi held the final work meeting of the year with the department managers: An Yumin, Feng Jianye, Zhang Xin, Xiao Ya, and Zhang Dahua.

They finalized the duty roster for the Spring Festival, as well as security measures, animal care plans, and key tasks for the post-holiday park opening preparations.

After the meeting, Yang Qi entrusted the specific tasks to Feng Jianye and An Yumin, then drove back to the Donghua City District.

「That evening.」

As planned, Yang Qi went to a well-known local restaurant.

He pushed open the door to the private room to find several people already seated inside: Ye Haibing, Gao Zhenyue, Song Wan, and Qian Yu of the Liudong Study Group.

The moment Yang Qi walked in, he heard Ye Haibing, teacup in hand, delivering a grand, emotional speech. "And that’s why I say money is a real bastard. Either you work yourself to death and make nothing, or you just lie back and rake it in! It’s infuriating when you compare yourself to others."

"What’s going on?" Yang Qi asked with a smile as he walked over, pulling out an empty chair and sitting down.

"What else could it be?"

Gao Zhenyue, sitting across from him, gestured with his chin, his face a mask of envy. "Our dear Miss Song here bought a house! Right on the border of Hongshu and White Tower, in the new Jiangpan Cloud Court development. A big place, over one hundred and forty square meters, and she paid for it all in one go! Infuriating, isn’t it?"

"It’s not that dramatic. Old Gao, you’re just exaggerating."

Song Wan, dressed in an elegant, off-white wool sweater, waved her hands in dismissal, an embarrassed smile on her face. "I just got lucky and happened to find the right place. Besides, if Yang Qi hadn’t helped me back then, I wouldn’t have even been able to scrape together the down payment, let alone pay in full."

Yang Qi looked at Song Wan and praised her sincerely. "That’s amazing, Song Wan. You pulled off something this huge so quietly. Congratulations."

"Oh, but it’s really all thanks to you."

Song Wan said earnestly, "If you hadn’t helped train Overlord in the beginning, my social media account would never have taken off. Without the income it generates, I couldn’t have even dreamed of buying this house."

"I only helped train Overlord for half a month, just to make him more cooperative during filming and to calm his personality a bit."

Yang Qi poured himself some tea and said frankly, "To grow the account to this scale, catch the trend, create interesting and substantive content, and stick with it—that’s all a testament to your own skill and hard work. Last I looked, you were close to six million followers on your main platform, weren’t you? It hasn’t even been that long. That’s incredible growth."

"Over six million on the main platform, and more than ten million across all platforms!"

Qian Yu added with a smile, "Wanwan posts videos on more than one platform now. Her followers total over ten million across all of them. Even with some overlap, a following of that size puts her at the absolute top of the pet influencer niche."

"Ten million? Incredible!" Yang Qi gave her a thumbs-up, genuinely impressed.

An achievement like that would be considered a success in any field.

"So envious..."

Ye Haibing heaved another long sigh and leaned back in his chair, a look of utter despair on his face. "I wish I were a girl. I’d shamelessly ask Brother Qi to train a cat or dog for me, start my own social media channel, and just lie back and rake in the cash. What a life."

He wasn’t entirely joking.

Initially, Song Wan’s videos only featured Overlord, the Bengal Leopard Cat who, after some special training from Yang Qi, had become exceptionally intelligent, camera-aware, and could even "act."

Later, to keep the channel active and diversify the content, Song Wan herself started appearing in the videos more frequently.

She was naturally sweet and cute, with a gentle and patient personality. Her explanations of pet care were clear and interesting, and her interactions with Overlord were heartwarming and full of affection. This "beauty and her amazing pet" combination instantly resonated with netizens, and her channel’s popularity exploded, leading to her current success of ten million followers.

"That’s easy."

At this, Yang Qi put down his cup and looked at Ye Haibing with a perfectly straight face. "Brother Bing, after the New Year, find some time to take a trip to Siam. The medical techniques there are top-notch. Get the surgery, come back, recover. Then you can pick out a cat you like, and I’ll train it for you. I guarantee..."

PFFT—

Yang Qi hadn’t even finished speaking when Gao Zhenyue, who was taking a sip of water, couldn’t contain himself. He sprayed water everywhere, choking and coughing so hard that tears streamed from his eyes.

Song Wan and Qian Yu also caught on in an instant. They covered their mouths, their shoulders shaking as they were overcome with laughter.

Ye Haibing froze for a second before it dawned on him that Yang Qi was making fun of his "I wish I were a girl" comment. He was completely exasperated, his mouth twitching as he waved a hand dismissively.