Super Zoo-Chapter 365 - 361: You Just Can’t Make It

"You don’t understand, do you? In our zoo, no matter how serious an animal’s sickness is, just toss in a packet of Isatis root, and I guarantee the medicine will cure the disease!" Nangong Huang boasted on the side.

Apart from Isatis root, they also added some commonly used human hemostatics and antiseptics to the water. Suming had heard from the zoo’s veterinary clinic that in most cases, medicines for humans also worked on animals. Especially Isatis root—it’s basically a cure-all. How does that saying go? If one packet doesn’t work, use two; you can’t overdose on it anyway…

The Overlord Turtle had sustained quite serious injuries this time. If it weren’t for Suming sustaining its life with his spiritual power, it probably would have died a long time ago. The group had been busy until past two in the morning, but at last, the immense turtle seemed to regain some vitality, waving its head around in the water, looking like it was going to survive.

"Oh my, bless the River Goddess!" Gu finally breathed a sigh of relief. After offering incense to the River Goddess again, he gleefully said to Suming, "The Goddess is willing to bless us. It seems like we’re going to have a great catch the day after tomorrow. Mr. Su, being able to revive such a divine turtle means you are a man of good fortune. You must come by then!"

Blessed by the Goddess? Suming couldn’t help but turn around to glance at the River Goddess’ portrait in the room and shuddered.

Being protected by this River Goddess, with a huge tail, four huge *******, and a mouthful of sharp teeth… I’d rather not. I’ll just protect myself; if it really comes down to it, as a party member I have Marx and Engels to protect me. Let’s not trouble the Goddess with this.

Strangely enough, after the Overlord Turtle recovered some energy, it started glugging down the Isatis root water, gulping it mouthful by mouthful. It drained the shallow layer of Isatis root water in the tank to the bottom, and then contentedly belched, making a sound like a pigeon cooing.

Gu was once again astounded, half genuinely, half play-acting, praising Mr. Su for truly being a wise man. Suming couldn’t articulate an explanation, but after communicating with the Overlord Turtle using his spiritual power, he realized the creature seemed to have treated the sweet Isatis root water as a soft drink, similar to people drinking cola.

It seemed this creature had also grown up in hard times, never having tasted anything sweet before.

Without its skirt, the Overlord Turtle looked quite strange. It always felt like something was missing.

After being busy for half the day and checking the time on their watches, they found it was already night. All of them were hungry, their stomachs growling. Gu was ready to catch a few fish and make some fish head soup for a late-night snack.

"Brother-in-law, there’s something I’m not sure if I should say," Nangong suddenly said, leaning in mysteriously.

"Say it," Suming nodded.

"Well… the skirt is still at the hotel… It’s such a waste of good stuff to let it go, right?" Nangong said with a grin.

The Overlord Turtle extended its huge head, glaring hatefully at Nangong.

"Don’t be so stingy, man. Since it’s already been cut off and can’t be put back, wasting it is the same as wasting it. If you want to eat it, should I bring you some?"

Suming laughed and called out to Gu, who was outside picking up fish, "Gu, stop what you’re doing. I’ll take you to eat something delicious!"

Overlord Turtle: "..."

…

After such a big commotion at the hotel, two staff members had the foresight to hide the skirt while cleaning the banquet hall. Suming spent 1,200 yuan to buy the skirt back, and another 200 yuan to use the hotel’s kitchen and handed the skirt over to Nangong to handle.

Nangong’s cooking skills were nothing to brag about, but as a professional chef, he was certainly better than Suming doing the cooking himself.

"It cost me quite a bit of money, you know. If you mess it up, I’ll deduct it from your salary!" Suming threatened.

"Don’t worry, brother-in-law. The skirt is naturally good ingredients. Just steam it until it’s done; it’s difficult to ruin it!"

The skirt, over a meter long and wider than a palm, weighed more than four jin. It was cut into sections, with some scallions and ginger added, a layer of salad oil rubbed on, and steamed with the kitchen’s broth.

Even before it was out of the pot, the kitchen was filled with its aroma, tantalizingly irresistible.

They were indeed hungry. Each one held a large bowl of skirt in the kitchen, eating with great enjoyment.

The smile on Gu’s face blossomed. Having been a fisherman for half his life, he had seen skirts of this size but never had the chance to eat them. A usual old turtle’s skirt is just a small strip, barely enough for one bite. Now, they were eating skirt like it was braised pork, calculating how much they could have per person.

Nangong ate with the most elegance among the four, savoring it piece by piece. When the other three finished, he still had more than half a bowl left, grinning slyly, turned away and hugged his bowl, reluctant to share.

"Look at you being so petty. As if your brother-in-law would snatch food from his nephew!" Suming said, sucking on his fingers and speaking disapprovingly.

"You always treat me like a kid and deceive me…" Nangong mumbled vaguely.

As a chef, Nangong evidently forgot the most important thing about eating skirt: it must be eaten hot. Once cooled, the rich collagen in the skirt becomes pasty, sticking the poor guy’s lips together. By the time he used warm water to dissolve his two stuck lips, he tragically discovered that his remaining half-bowl of skirt had vanished...

With full stomachs and a few sips of yellow wine to prevent food from binding in the stomach, they each returned to sleep without further discussion.

Early the next morning, Suming got up early and went to Gu’s house to check on the Overlord Turtle’s injury.

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Gu’s house was crowded with people, all fishermen from the county who had heard about the divine turtle and came to see the commotion. Even after years of fishing along the Yangtze River, during the years when fishery resources were abundant, such a large tripedal turtle was an extremely rare divine creature.

Suming squeezed in to take a look. The Overlord Turtle was recovering quite well; collagen had formed along the edges of the wound, already stopping the bleeding and starting to clot. Gu was holding a bucket filled with small assorted fish, feeding them to the Overlord Turtle one by one.

"Is this Mr. Su?" An elderly fisherman, between fifty and sixty, asked Suming with a chuckle.

Despite his age, his eyes were shrewd and bright, his face etched with water-stained wrinkles, and his exposed skin, weathered by years of wind and sun, boasted the color of rusted iron, a clear mark of a veteran who has battled with stormy seas for years.

"Yes, hello there, sir," Suming replied with a chuckle. As he laughed, Su Meng and Nangong Huang laughed along behind him, and soon the entire room of fishermen joined in, creating a rather eerie chorus of laughter.

The old fisherman, pointing to the Overlord Turtle, said, "Those chefs don’t know any better, causing such a fuss! During the fishing season, killing such a big aquatic creature, the River Goddess will surely be enraged. The catch has been decreasing each year, and with the River Goddess angered, how could there be a good outcome? We’re fortunate for your help. We don’t have much to offer in thanks, but when you’re free, come out on the river and any fishing boat will treat you as an honored guest."

"Sure thing, old man, I will join Gu’s boat on the river tomorrow, and here’s hoping for a good catch for everyone!"

Suming clasped his hands together, "Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Gu, keep an eye on the turtle for me, I need to make a trip to the hospital."

"Alright then."

The county hospital was just a short walk away; he bought a large fruit basket at the entrance, and after asking a nurse, he quickly found Hong Feifei’s ward.

He had assumed Ding would be there keeping Hong Feifei company; even Nangong Huang, a young man, could tell there was something special about their relationship, and Suming had certainly noticed it too.

Upon entering, he found the ward occupied by only Hong Feifei, who was lying on the bed, listlessly peeling an apple. Her left leg appeared swollen, probably with bandages wrapped under her hospital pajamas, as her long leg was suspended in the air.

It’s no wonder they say she’s a chef, even peeling an apple is an art form for her. Ordinary people take pride in peeling apples without breaking the skin, but she’s different. With an apple in one hand as if she’s making hand-pulled noodles, she swiftly wields a small paring knife with the other, gently rotating the apple, sending pieces of evenly-cut thin apple peels flying like machine gun bullets, each landing accurately half a meter away in the trash bin.

"You’re looking quite good," Suming coughed once, then smiled as he walked in.

Saying she looked quite good was just a courtesy; though Hong Feifei’s complexion was much better than at the scene yesterday, it still had a pale tinge to it. Yesterday she had bled a pool of could’ve been a different story.

"Hello, hello, please have a seat!" Recognizing her lifesaver, Hong Feifei put the half-peeled apple aside, pushed herself off the bed with one hand, and hopped over to pour a cup of tea for Suming.

"No need, you just lay down," Suming hurriedly stopped her, helped her back to the bed, then poured himself a glass of water, "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, it’s nothing serious, just a few stitches and some blood transfusion. As a chef, I’ve trained standing on a podium since I was little, give me a crutch, and I can walk around now."

Hong Feifei downplayed her injury, but a shadow briefly crossed her expression.

Suming could understand; the injury might really not be that serious, but an obvious scar would inevitably be left on her leg.

As a tall girl with long, straight legs—what the internet would call a ’leggy beauty’—a scar meant that short skirts and shorts would likely be out of the question from now on.

After all, as a girl, she would be quite concerned about this.

"I haven’t had the pleasure to ask for your esteemed name, sir," Hong Feifei said. "If it had not been for your heroic intervention, I might have lost my leg."

"Please, my surname is Su, Su Ming. Here is my business card," Suming said as he got up and handed over his card. Read exclusive content at novelbuddy

Hong Feifei took the card, glanced at it briefly, then furrowed her brows slightly, looked up at Suming with a hint of surprise, and asked uncertainly, "Mr. Su, is your hometown in Maoxi County Sun Town?"

"Ah?! Yes, it is! How did you know?" Suming was taken aback, wondering when he had become so famous that even a chance meeting with a pretty girl would reveal where he was from. Could this Chef Hong Feifei be a long-time secret admirer of mine?

"Hehe, I heard it from a friend," Hong Feifei said, glossing over the detail.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Suming got straight to the point.

The first matter was the issue of the Overlord Turtle; Hong Feifei answered without hesitation, she was now thoroughly vexed by the creature.

But that was not Suming’s main purpose for the visit. After discussing the Overlord Turtle, Suming finally got to the heart of the matter, asking tentatively, "Miss Hong..."

"Mr. Su, just call me Mr. Hong," Hong Feifei interrupted with a pursed smile.

"Oh, oh, sorry about that." Suming realized his mistake and nodded apologetically before continuing, "Mr. Hong, I had the fortune of witnessing your extraordinary culinary skills yesterday. I was wondering if you have selected an appropriate restaurant to work at?"

Hong Feifei shook her head with a wry smile, "Ha, there’s no magic in what I do, nearly got killed by my own ingredient. I really messed up yesterday, even if someone wanted to hire me, I couldn’t have the face to go."

"Mr. Hong, I have a bit of a presumptuous request, with absolutely no disrespect intended. If I say something out of line, just pretend I never mentioned it."

Suming nodded, "We’re planning to start a restaurant at the zoo. Although it’s small now, the zoo will evolve into a comprehensive resort featuring dining, accommodations, and entertainment. I’d like to offer you the position of head chef, salary and benefits negotiable..."

Before Suming could finish, Hong Feifei smiled and cut him off, "Mr. Su, I understand your intention. Under normal circumstances, given the debt of gratitude I owe you, even without a salary, I should accept as long as my meals are provided. But..."

She chuckled, "But, because it’s you, I can’t."