Chapter 568: Talents in Unthinkable Areas
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
While Vivi held the Siberian kitten, Masanori Suzuhara was choosing a bowl, cage, collar, and leash for Snoopy. The old Snoopy got all of these supplies from the lab, but this Snoopy belonged to her. She enjoyed being a dog owner and shopping for pet supplies. One problem she was facing was getting a dog-raising license due to its foreign identity, but she was confident to get it done.
Lu Yiyun gave her a shopping bag, which was customized and ordered online per Ting Ying’s suggestion. The light-brown paper bag looked classy with the Amazing Fate Pet Shop’s name, address, and telephone written on the front. The other side of the bag had a big QR code.
Masanori Suzuhara put all her items into the shopping bag, and soon filled up two bags. She also needed an air box for the pet.
Zhang Zian suggested eagerly, “Don’t you need pet shampoo? One of the drawbacks of having a beagle is the smell. It needs to be bathed often, and human shampoo is not suitable for dogs.”
“Yes, I know that,” Masanori Suzuhara answered with her head down. She glanced around the store and asked hesitantly, “Well, can I wash the dog in the shop?”
“Yes, you can.” Zhang Zian signaled for her to follow. He brought her to the pet showers and said, “Here are the showers, but as we’re short-staffed, customers have to wash the pets on their own.”
It sounded legitimate, but so far only cat owners brought their cats here for a bath. Even if dog owners came, they left after realizing that they had to wash the dogs on their own.
Most cats hate getting wet, and cats weren’t as obedient or affectionate as dogs, so forcing cats into a shower usually ended in both the cat and the owner getting hurt. However, customers could easily wash their hydrophobic cats because of Fina, so they were willing to pay to wash them on their own.
But, what about dogs?
Firstly, none of the elfins could control a regular dog. Second, dogs weren’t afraid of water so it was easier to wash them. Most dog owners washed their dogs in the shop out of convenience, but if they had to pay to do it themselves, they’d rather wash the dogs at home. Who would throw away money like that?
The shower was for all pets, but it was mostly used for cats as nobody paid to wash the dogs.
If the Amazing Fate Pet Shop intended to start a dog washing service, it would need to hire extra people. Wang Qian and Li Kun only worked part-time, and they never stayed all day. Hiring people was a hassle. Who knew if the new employee would be reliable and honest?
So, Zhang Zian didn’t intend to start dog washing, but it didn’t stop him from playing cool.
He showed Masanori Suzuhara how to use the shower as if he were serious. Masanori Suzuhara looked surprised, she was a foreigner, not a fool. Who’d pay to wash their own dog?
“Do I have to wash it myself?” she asked for confirmation.
“Well, since our shop is short-staffed, you’ll have to rely on yourself for now. Our great leader Mao once told us to rely on our own hands to get food and clothing,” Zhang Zian uttered.
Masanori Suzuhara realized that he misunderstood her and clarified: “No, that’s not what I meant. Have you heard of a ‘dog washer’?”
“What?”
Zhang Zian couldn’t believe his ears.
He’s heard of a washing machine, but not of a dog washer.
Masanori Suzuhara put down Snoopy, and explained, “In Japan, we have a type of dog washer. All you need to do is put your dog inside and insert some coins. The machine sprays the dog with bubbles, rinses it off with warm water, and then dries the dog with warm air. It takes about half an hour, and the dog comes out fresh and clean. It also prevents the dog from getting a cold during the wash.”
There was such a magical gadget? Zhang Zian’s world view changed once again.
All he could say was that the Japanese were using their talents in unthinkable areas.
Snowy fell into a trance. She couldn’t imagine what a dog washer looked like, and envisioned a dog rolling in a washing machine.
“Since it’s called a dog washer, does that mean that it can’t wash cats?” Snowy asked with curiosity.
Since winter started, Snowball bathed less often because the shower room was too hot with the door closed, but too cold with the door open. Her mother didn’t want her to take Snowball over for a bath, fearing that her hands would get frostbite after getting wet and being blown on by the wind.
“In theory,” Masanori Suzuhara replied, “but dogs are obedient and calm in the shower. Cats hate water so they always jump in the machine, leaving scratchmarks, so very few people use the machine to wash cats.”
Zhang Zian and Snowy thought of a possibility at the same time.
“Mr. Store Manager, you can buy two washers, one for cats, and one for dogs,” Snowy suggested.
“Yes!” Zhang Zian agreed, thinking it feasible.
Try to imagine this, two washers side by side, one for dogs and one for cats. The owners sitting and chatting, and the shop offering them drinks. After half an hour, the washer door would open. Cats and dogs would jump out of the machines, clean and fresh. The owners would take their pets and say goodbye. It’d be so classy.
With such a novel gadget, people would surely be willing to pay to try it out. They’d probably get away with the fact that it’d more expensive than manual washing.
Zhang Zian roughly calculated in his head. The shower time was half an hour. If he considered commercial water and power consumption, plus the cost of the machine and the maintenance fees, he may not make much money. However, it was a new service and grabbed people’s attention. It’d bring a lot of customers into the shop.
The qyestion was, where could he buy the washer?
He picked up his phone and resorted to the omnipotent Taobao.
You could find tanks, aircraft carriers, and even star destroyers with free shipping on Taobao. After numerous searches, he couldn’t find the dog washer Masanori Suzuhara described.
Running out of options, he asked Masanori Suzuhara, “Miss Suzuhara, do you know where I can buy those dog washers?”
“Well…” Masanori Suzuhara thought about it and answered regretfully, “all I know is the machines are sold in Japan. Whether they’re sold in other countries, I’m not sure.”
Zhang Zian scratched his head. If he couldn’t find the washer on Taobao, would he have to buy them from Japan? He didn’t know Japan at all. Where could he find it? Plus, they might not even sell it to him.
Wasn’t there a Japanese girl standing in front of him?
He spoke boldly, “Miss Suzuhara, I’d like to find out which company in Japan sells this magical dog washer. Could you please help me with the search when you have some time? If you could give me the company’s name, website or email, that’d be great. Of course, a phone number would be best.”
Since he didn’t know Japanese and couldn’t write in Japanese, it’d be best if they called him. Then, he could ask Richard to talk to them for him. If they sent an email, he’d have to rely on Google Translator.
To his surprised, Masanori Suzuhara answered without hesitation, “No problem. This is easy. My medical school has been coordinating with a biomedical company that makes dog washers. I can contact them for you.”
Zhang Zian was thrilled. It’d be awesome if Masanori Suzuhara could help him since she was from Japan and was a medical student. If she reached out to that company, they might even offer a discount.
He said politely, “Thank you so much. It won’t be too much trouble for you? I won’t charge you for this beagle. It’ll be my token of appreciation for your help.”
Yu Yiyun was about to print the receipt and the pet sales agreement. She stopped after hearing Zhang Zian.
The online followers knew what kind of person Zhang Zian was, and blasted with tons of bullet screen.
“Mr. Stingy suddenly being generous? Is this the same shop manager that I knew?”
“Being generous without a cause, he must be after something!”
“If he didn’t need help from this Japanese girl, would Mr. Stingy still be generous?”
“Well said!”
Zhang Zian completely ignored the bullet screens. He had nothing to lose anyway.
“No! No! How could I accept?” Masanori Suzuhara declined. It might be a hassle for Zhang Zian, but a small task for her. She only needed to connect with her contacts.
In addition, she was grateful that Zhang Zian kept the only beagle in the shop for her. This beagle resembled Snoopy a lot, they seemed to come from the same litter. After she saw that Small Monkey also wanted this beagle, she had secretly given up hope. However, Zhang Zian chose to sell it to her instead of Small Monkey. How could she not pay for it?
Zhang Zian needed a favor from her. They went back and forth. In the end, to make the receipt easier, Zhang Zian told Lu Yiyun to charge her one dollar and gave her the pet sales agreement. The pet supplies that she picked were also offered as gifts.
Masanori Suzuhara thanked him repeatedly, promising to take good care of this beagle personally. She would contact the lab seniors as soon as she got back to the international student residence.
