章 12: Grand Opening
編集者: Tennesh
After everything was ready, he finally collapsed into the reclining chair.
In the past, Zhang Zian always thought it was easy to run a pet shop. Now he finally realized that it was really difficult. However, this was his own choice, he had already sent a resignation letter to his company; it was too late to regret it.
But when he saw several energetic cubs full of beautiful fur innocently looking at him, asking for food, he felt that all of his pain had been rewarded.
"Galaxy, how about taking a bath?" he joked with his Lucky Cat, who had been observing for a long time.
The Lucky Cat shook its head desperately, indicating that this matter was not negotiable.
Zhang Zian also thought that the Lucky Cat didn’t need a bath at all, as his fur was even cleaner than those that had just received one. He really didn’t know how that could happen like this.
A little while later, the floral shop delivery man parked his electric tricycle in front of the shop and knocked on the glass door. He also tried to look inside through the glass holding the shed.
Galaxy had already carried its cotton pads and huddled into the corner. Zhang Zian bounced from the reclining chair at once and hurried to open the door. The cold morning air poured in with the opening of the door.
"Is this the flower basket your ordered?" the delivery man asked.
"Well, yes. Thanks a lot." Zhang Zian took out the money to pay him.
"Is this a pet shop?" the man asked while counting the money.
"Yes," Zhang Zian replied.
The man put the money in his pocket but didn’t leave. He looked inside and said, "How much is the puppy?"
"Is this the so-called business knocking on my door?" he thought.
Zhang Zian tried not to show his excitement and said, "My shop was just opened. There weren’t a lot of pets yet but we have a Samoyed, if you would like to take a look."
The man thought for a while and said, "Samoyed, I’ve heard of it before. How much is it?"
"Ah? So expensive? No! No! You are too deceptive! A puppy is much more expensive than a person!" The man hurried away with a brief wave.
Zhang Zian felt helpless and went back to the shop with a bitter smile. The price of ¥2500, which was almost the same as its cost, was not that expensive. He initially wanted to sell it for at least ¥3000. The pet had been immunized with six imported vaccines at Pet’s Home. Those imported vaccines were much more expensive than domestic ones. But he never had a chance to explain that, as the man had already escaped from him, as if he was running away from the Plague Gods.
Pets were luxuries, not daily necessities. In other words, was it expensive to have a ¥2500 necklace? Was it expensive to have a ¥2500 diamond ring? Was it expensive to have a ¥2500 LV bag?
"Not closing the deal today was okay, and it might have been a lucky thing for the Samoyed. If that man was barely willing to pay ¥2500 for it, once the Samoyed had a serious illness, the man would give it up, as the pet didn’t have medical insurance," Zhang Zian thought.
When Zhang Zian thought of the word "lucky," he looked at the quiet and cute Lucky Cat with a smile.
When he had just laid down on the reclining chair, a girl with two braids peeked in. "Manager, are there any pets yet?" she said.
It was the little girl from the other day who had said her family couldn’t have a pet. She still had her schoolbag; it seemed that she had dropped by on her way to school.
"Yes, come in and take a look if you want," he said.
Zhang Zian was under great pressure, as he didn’t expect that the first customer would be a schoolgirl without any money. The girl gave a loud cheer and ran into the shop with her little schoolbag lightly trembling on her back.
"It’s okay to check the pets, but don’t be late for school, all right?" he reminded her.
"Yes!"
She stopped at the pet display area with her mouth half-open and full of excitement, looking at the Siamese cat, the British Shorthair, and the Samoyed. Then, her eyes finally fell on the little hamster.
Zhang Zian had just combed the hamster’s hair, which made it look very clean. Hamsters did not usually need to take baths, because they had very small figures. Bathing in the water could make them sick. If bathing was necessary, they had to be washed with special sand. As a matter of fact, the hamster’s activities area was limited to the cage, so keeping the cage clean would help keep the hamster clean, and no bath would be needed.
The hamster was a milky color, with chubby cheeks that were cute to poke at. It had three black lines on its head, going all the way down the back like the popular mohican hair style.
Half of the hamster’s body was buried in sawdust, and its two small round black eyes stared at the little girl.
"How small! How cute!" the little girl exclaimed and clapped her hands.
She looked left and right around the hamster cage made of transparent, acrylic plate circles. It looked like she wanted to go into the cage and play with the hamster.
The lights in the Amazing Fate Pet Shop were regional. Zhang Zian dimmed the light in the middle area to fit to the little hamster’s vision, it being a nocturnal animal, so that it could see the little girl.
"Anyway, there are no other guests right now, so it’s better to save power," he thought.
"Manager, what does it eat?" she asked, turning her head toward Zhang Zian.
"Well… It has a mixed diet, such as common fruits and vegetables; in addition, peanuts, melon seeds, yellow beans, and black beans are also okay," he answered.
"Oh! Can I bring something tomorrow to feed it?" The girl bit her lips nervously, begging. She was concerned that Zhang Zian wouldn’t agree.
"Sure, but don’t feed it too much. Just several peanuts are more than enough. The hamster is so small that it doesn’t eat a lot. If it eats too much, that will not be good for its health," Zhang Zian said.
"Thanks, Manager! I am going to school now, bye-bye!"
She hurried out just like she had come in, with her two ponytails and backpack swinging up and down.
"Kids at her age should be dropped off and picked up at school by their parents. How could her parents let her go to school by herself?" Zhang Zian thought.
When the little girl had just stepped out, a slim figure entered the door.
"Was that girl your daughter?" Sun Xiaomeng asked.
Sun Xiaomeng’s first sentence after getting into the shop almost made Zhang Zian faint. The old wounds of last night were not healed, but new wounds were already being made today.
"Am I so old?" Zhang Zian touched his face, depressed.
Without the white coat, Sun Xiaomeng appeared to be a young, urban beauty. Zhang Zian barely recognized her.
"How do you have time to come today?" He rose up from the reclining chair.
"Well, is it a question? My pet clinic was just opened too. There are almost no customers, just like yours, so I stopped by." Sun Xiaomeng didn’t even greet him, walking directly towards the display case and playing with the cubs.
She had done all the cubs’ vaccinations, so they seemed very close to her, immediately trying to get to the side of the display case.
"No, no, you misunderstood that my shop was really just opened. The customers are on their way here!" Zhang Zian stressed.
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