Chapter 399: Qin Jing
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
When visiting the dog market last time, Zhang Zian had given a lot of pet-raising knowledge to the audience, and at the end of the live broadcast, when he and Snowy were on their way back to the pet shop, he took the opportunity to promote the WeChat public account of the Amazing Fate Pet Shop, advertising that there would be regular updates in the account about the knowledge of pet purchasing and raising, and that anyone could follow the account for more information.
The effect was obvious. After the live broadcast ended, the number of followers reached over 1,000 at once, but since there was no content published on the account, the number of followers had slowly slipped to around seven or eight hundred. Some of these followers just wanted to ridicule him, while others were genuinely interested in buying pets or they had been raising pets and wanted to know more about their pets.
After Lu Yiyun issued the first article in the public account introducing the Abyssinian cats, plenty of responses were received.
Many people, especially young men and women in their mid-twenties, were all keenly interested in these mysterious ancient elves. They left messages, asking for the prices or if they could go to the pet shop to see for themselves. Young people were fond of making statements about their personalities, and raising this kind of unique pet was the best eye-catching way to distinguish themselves from others.
As for the older consumers, they had relatively more concerns. They were not sure whether this cat was suitable for being kept at home, and because they did not know the price, most of them had assumed the wait-and-see attitude.
It was both unexpected yet reasonable that Abyssinian cats were so popular. There were too few people breeding such cats, and Abyssinian cats did not necessarily exist in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. In addition, the breeding ability of this kind of cat was relatively low, and it could give birth to a few kittens in one litter. When something was rare, it became precious, just like Shiba Inu.
Zhang Zian let Lu Yiyun replied to the customers for him, saying that other cat breeds could be purchased on-site, and that appointments must be made to purchase Abyssinian cats. Pickup of Abyssinian kittens would be available three months later, and he also solemnly reminded them how expensive the kittens would be.
When it came to vie for popularity, the direct competitor to Abyssinian cats were Ragdoll kittens. But Abyssinian was only a niche cat breed targeted at a limited audience, so it could never compare to Ragdoll kittens that were enjoying extreme popularity among the public. People who were interested in high-end cats were generally well off, and the price was no longer the primary constraint.
As for when to visit the Abyssinian cats…
Zhang Zian had postponed the formal reopening of the shop several times and had decided to not delay it any longer. Taking advantage of this good news, he had scheduled to hold the reopening ceremony the upcoming Saturday, offering large discounts to customers who visited that day.
Although the business was running regularly these days, he had always wanted to choose a good day to officially mark the restart of the shop. With the Abyssinian cats and Ragdoll kittens that he had newly obtained, it was the perfect time for him to create a piece of big news, turning him into a blockbuster in Binhai City!
The followers left messages, indicating that they would absolutely visit the shop on this Saturday.
However, Zhang Zian did not expect that not only ordinary consumers, but also professionals in the pet industry were interested in Abyssinian cats.
…
Qin Jing got out of a taxi and stood in front of the Amazing Fate Pet Shop. He looked around for a moment.
One morning about two months earlier, she had tried to spy out secrets from this pet shop because she heard that there were kittens that could walk in figure eights here, but her identity was exposed immediately when the shop owner saw her.
After the field trip, she dropped her concerns because the dogs and cats sold at this pet shop were of commonly-seen types, while her cattery specialized in high-end Ragdoll kittens and Scottish folds, so the operating routes were completely different. No matter how popular that pet shop was, it would never become a threat to the existence of her business. It was unlikely for people who had decided to purchase Ragdoll kittens to change their minds and choose a British Shorthair that could walk in a figure eight.
Yesterday, however, she heard from rumors told by her industry peers that the pet shop had introduced rare Abyssinian cats, the chocolate-colored ones that had just been admitted and included by the CFA.
Ragdoll kittens were popular indeed, but the competition was also very fierce, for a variety of regular catteries and some breeding bases in the gray zone had been reproducing Ragdoll kittens perpetually for a long time. Under this intense competitive pressure, the price of Ragdoll kittens had shown a downward trend, especially in the breeding bases in the gray zone. A non-purebred Ragdoll kitten could be bought for around 6,000 Yuan. And due to the inherent genetic diseases of the Scottish fold, the trading of this cat breed had encountered increasingly more pressure.
Although Qin Jing’s Ragdoll kittens were still popular, she had to think about the future. She started to seriously ponder about whether she could get a share in the market of Abyssinian cats.
She searched everywhere, looking for catteries and breeding bases home and abroad that had Abyssinian cats. She even sent emails to catteries abroad seeking cooperation, but as expected, she received no responses, for she had nothing to offer. And there were almost no chocolate-colored Abyssinian cats in China—except at the Amazing Fate Pet Shop.
So, after a month or two, she once again stood in front of the Amazing Fate Pet Shop.
Qin Qing was staring at the shop sign with mixed feelings, hoping that the shop owner had forgotten that they had met before.
When the glass door outside slid open, she noticed that the interior of the shop had been redecorated, and the shop was separated into two parts by a second glass door. She glanced around, and from her experience, she immediately determined that the front part was for selling pet supplies and pet food, and the back part was for selling pets.
There was a checkout counter on her right-hand side, and a girl’s head was sticking out from behind the screen of the computer. The girl timidly whispered, “May I ask what you want to buy?”
Qin Jing remembered she hadn’t seen the girl the last time she was here; maybe she was a new employee. Qin Jing smiled and said, “I’m not buying anything. I’m looking for your boss.”
Lu Yiyun blinked behind the thick myopia lenses, as if recollecting what she should say under such a situation. Then she said in a low voice, “What… what for?”
Qin Jing couldn’t understand why the shop owner had hired such a girl that had low social skills as a cashier. To turn customers away? She began to feel that this girl may be the owner’s relative from the countryside, or maybe his girlfriend. Anyway, if this girl were in her store, she would only have some cleaning job.
Qin Jing tried to be patient and said cheerfully, “I want to talk to the boss, is he here?”
“Oh, the boss is inside. I’ll call him out for you.” Lu Yiyun picked up her phone.
“No need, I can go in, thank you.”
Qin Jing walked inside. When she passed a strange statue made of bronze, she paused.
She did not know that this was the statue of the Egyptian Cat Goddess, but felt it was extraordinary. There was no time for her to dwell on the details. It is only a statue, she thought.
Although Qin Jing had declined, Lu Yiyun still sent a message to Zhang Zian, telling him that a strange woman was looking for him.
Zhang Zian was lying in the recliner, repeatedly reading the breeding manual left by Cathy. He had looked up the words that he didn’t understand and marked them up in Chinese. However, he still felt drowsy and fell asleep several times. The photocopied version of the manual fell on the ground, and he picked it up.
After receiving the message sent by Lu Yiyun, he froze for a moment, having no idea who the strange woman was that she was referring to. When he got up from the recliner, he saw Qin Jing walk in.
Fina, who was napping on the cat tree, heard the footsteps of high heels, and smelled the odors of diverse cosmetics and many cats. She opened her eyes and looked coldly at Qin Jing. She already knew that ordinary people in this day and age would never carry such strong smells of several cats, so this woman must be Zhang Zian’s peer in the industry — in other words, a competitor, contending for money against him.
