Is this what a zombie is?

108. A money tree is not a late-night snack.

Jiang Chen pinched his brow helplessly, then turned and went back inside the bar.

He had just solved the problem of dogs defecating and urinating everywhere when he discovered a new one.

Big Yellow was happily munching on a money tree that he had just bought a few days ago, his mouth covered in green sap.

"Rhubarb!" Jiang Chen's temples throbbed. "Are you deliberately trying to mess with my money tree? I just bought it not long ago. Do you think eating it will make you rich?"

Big Yellow gave a sheepish, embarrassed smile, scratched his head, and, still chewing on a leaf, mumbled, "M-Manager, you might not believe it, but I just wanted to smell it at first..."

"Hehe, you started eating at the buffet after smelling it, treating my money tree like a midnight snack, huh?"

Jiang Chen rubbed his forehead, feeling his blood pressure soaring.

"The kitchen prepares alfalfa salad just for you. If I see you gnawing on my tree again, your hay will be halved next month."

Dahuang, feeling like he'd been granted a pardon, nodded repeatedly and quickly slipped away.

Jiang Chen sighed, then turned his gaze to the corner. There, a white goat with a goatee was chewing something with relish.

"Big White".

Big White shuddered and instinctively tried to swallow what was in his mouth.

"Spit it out." Jiang Chen's tone left no room for argument.

With a pained expression, Da Bai slowly spat out a wad of paper soaked in saliva.

"So you start eating paper instead of grass in the store?" Jiang Chen walked over, picked up the wad of paper, and found that the texture was a bit special, melting in his mouth. "Oh, glutinous rice paper, never mind then, just get it from the kitchen next time, don't eat the A4 paper from the printer."

Big White breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him repeatedly.

Managing such a group of quirky employees who retain all sorts of natural traits, Jiang Chen felt like a worried old father.

After dealing with these trivial matters, he was about to return to his office when he was surrounded by a group of beautiful women.

"Manager Jiang, I'm in urgent need of help!"

"Manager Jiang, Manager Jiang, look!"

They were girls from the Snake Dance Troupe, each with an irrepressible excitement on their faces, holding several printed contracts in their hands.

They are the mainstays of the bar, and they are originally dancers who have recently learned how to do live streaming.

She would practice dancing during the day and then do a live stream. With her superhumanly flexible dance moves and her exotic, snake-like face, she became a sensation on short video platforms.

Currently, their combined fan base is at least over a million, making them minor internet celebrities.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Chen took the documents they handed her.

"Manager, look, several MCN companies want to sign us."

Xiaoqing's eyes sparkled, filled with anticipation for the future.

"They said they could package us as big stars, and that we could go to more places to dance in the future, and even have the opportunity to go abroad."

"Yes, yes, we'll be on TV then!" another girl added excitedly.

They chattered excitedly, their faces beaming with innocent and fervent anticipation, as if they could already see themselves standing under the spotlight, adored by thousands.

The other girls chimed in, chattering amongst themselves:

"They said that our flexibility is a natural advantage, unique to our dance troupe."

Looking at the longing in the eyes of these girls, Jiang Chen, who had been in contact with them for nearly a year, understood that they were not after wealth and material enjoyment.

However, for those of them who exist on the margins of human society, there is also a dream of becoming a star and being accepted and loved by the public.

But this dream is too distant and too dangerous.

Jiang Chen didn't speak. He took the contracts and quickly scanned them, his expression unchanged, but his eyes grew colder and colder.

In the office, the girls looked at him expectantly, not daring to even breathe.

Finally, Jiang Chen finished reading the last line of text.

Snapped!

He slammed the contracts down on the table, the sound startling the girls.

"Manager Jiang, is there a problem with this contract?"

Xiaoqing asked cautiously.

Jiang Chen paused for three seconds, organizing his thoughts.

"There's nothing major wrong with it. It's just the usual unfair terms and exorbitant penalties for breach of contract. As for the profit sharing, the better ones are 70/30, the worse ones are 80/20, but this 90/10 split is just ridiculous."

"Then there's the contract period. I know five or ten years isn't a long time for you, so you might not care much about it."

"But the accounts you register under your names belong to the company. During the contract period, you are just tools for the company to make money. You are no longer yourself; you are commodities that can be copied and replaced at any time."

"Many times, these so-called contracts are just 'indentures' that use the guise of legality to devour you whole, squeeze out every last drop of your commercial value, and then leave you penniless."

"Oh, you didn't experience the feudal period, the era of selling yourself into slavery."

His words were like a bucket of ice water poured over their heads, causing the girls' excitement to gradually fade.

After the initial excitement, all that remained for them was lingering fear and anger.

"These humans are despicable; they actually dared to plot against us."

"That's right, Sister Xiaoqing, let's teach them a lesson after we get off work."

"Hmm, don't go too far!"

Jiang Chen didn't intend to stop him, as long as no one died.

Many people blinded by greed have forgotten the most basic reverence and truly deserve to suffer a bit.

After spending some time with them, Jiang Chen realized that the spirits working at this bar were all law-abiding and good spirits.

None of them had ever harmed anyone, their own strength was not high, and their personalities were relatively docile and non-aggressive.

That's why Tai Sui (the Grand Duke Jupiter) protected them, allowing them to have a place in this city.

Of course, those who don't want protection, like Cat Master, can go out and explore on their own. Tai Sui never stops them, since he doesn't care about that.

Their living space has been squeezed by human development, so they have no choice but to integrate into human society and earn a living by working.

Most of them are not advantageous in their own breed. For example, if Xiao Huang were to wander around outside looking like a mongrel, he would only be mistaken for a stray dog ​​or an abandoned pet.

If you're not being hunted down and killed, or even captured and used as dog meat, you're lucky. If you want a stable life, you'll have to find a dog lover.

Unlike other protected animals, which can at least get food and lodging at zoos if all else fails, these animals are protected.

But what will they do if the bars are gone?

So in his spare time, Jiang Chen would also educate them, enrich their knowledge, and help them learn some skills so that they could have more opportunities to improve their lives.