Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
All twelve of the zodiacs would be cats!
With the brainless support of Snowy Lionet, Fina had a growing feeling that its thoughts on the matter were well-reasoned. Fina had even started to seriously consider the order of the new twelve zodiacs. Picking twelve breeds from the numerous cat breeds was actually quite a tough decision to make, too. Which breed to pick and which to not?
Snowy Lionet shamelessly fought for a position to take over the dragon spot with the Linqing Chausie Cats, its reason being, “Since dragons do not even exist, or are long extinct, at least the Linqing Chausie Cats still has this one here!”
Everyone chimed in with one another and, soon enough, the new twelve zodiacs had their new selection and order. The Dragon Li Cats took over the spot of the Tiger. Even Old Time Tea took it seriously and held much gratitude to Fina.
Zhang Zian had just let them be, allowing them to continue with their absurd ideas, while he cleaned up the area and pretended to not hear anything. Zian had thought that he had no further business in this absurdity, but who knew?
Fina suddenly glared at him and said, “You, mortal, shall be responsible to announce this queen’s will to the world! This queen is aware that the custom is deeply rooted and will be hard to change in a short period, which is why leniency shall be given, permitting the new change of the twelve zodiacs to start from the next rat year. Do you understand?”
Zian said helplessly, “I’m just an ordinary commoner. How do you want me to announce your will to the world?”
“That is not this queen’s business,” Fina said unreasonably. “Anyway, this queen’s decree has been issued, so if no change is implemented by the next rat year…”
“Castration! Castration!” Snowy Lionet proactively volunteered. “Your Majesty, he does not even have the capabilities to take on the task––based on what this one sees––so why not just castrate him right now?”
A castration before even using it once? No way!
In a panic, Zhang Zian quick-wittedly thought of an idea and suggested, “How about this––isn’t Pi writing a novel right now? Let’s have Pi add this segment into its novel. We can treat it as an announcement to the world.”
Zian did all he could to persuade Fina before it finally, reluctantly, accepted the suggestion, but it was only temporary. If no change was implemented by the next rat year, Fina would still hold him responsible.
Zhang Zian could only count a day as it passed—muddling along. If he was unable to find a solution by the next rat year, he would have to say goodbye to his little nuts…
Lu Yiyun returned with a cloth and a bucket. She had already cleaned up the neighboring second floor; as for the first floor, since it was currently empty, there was no need to clean anything.
Holding on to two carps that were not fully dead yet, Wang Qian and Li Kun, too, returned and generously refused to accept the reimbursement from Zhang Zian. Zhang Zian, too, did not insist on returning the money to them, since the two of them had once again received a windfall.
Zian went up to the kitchen on the second floor to stew the fish before he headed down again to clean up the area with the rest of them. With four people working together, they made quick progress and completed the cleaning tasks without taking much time.
When Zian took out the trash, he noticed the people outside were just as what Fina had described. Every single one of them was in low spirits and seemingly unwilling to head back to work. A sense of lethargy could be felt from them; many had dark circles under their eyes and looked ahead. The whole street was filled with middle-aged, greasy men…
This could be due to a lack of proper rest during the long, festive break. Many people spent their time stuffing themselves, having mad fun, or spending the whole night playing mahjong with their relatives.
This, too, was inevitable, since the customs were similar. Those that have spent a busy year in their workplace would have to spend this rare, long vacation having fun with their family to maintain their relationships.
Compared to that, Zian was already very lucky. He had a fruitful New Year’s, and his only regret was that he did not receive any monetary gifts. He could only snatch virtual red packets from the various group chats on WeChat as a form of consolation.
After throwing the trash in the designated rubbish collection point, Zian went to the neighboring branch to check on the kittens.
The kittens were growing quickly, benefitting from sufficient nutrition. The largest kitten had already shown signs of opening its eyes, and the fur on its body grew longer as the days went by. It was slowly changing its appearance from a large rat when birthed to a cute little kitten.
The two female cats had to bear the effects of the nourishment of the kittens. The more they ate, they more they had to relieve themselves. The cat litter had to be cleaned daily and the windows had to be opened for ventilation during the warmest period in the afternoon.
Zian observed for a while. The two female cats both had a great appetite and were filled with energy. They were recovering well and there were no signs of calcium deficiency, which was a good sign. Calcium deficiency was a very common occurrence for cats and dogs that had just gone through labor, but it was usually neglected by the owners. As for the consequences of calcium deficiency, they could be observed from the video recording that Famous and Old Time Tea had secretly recorded at Love Lovely Pets Breeding Base…
The kitten that was chosen by Tang Yuyun was still restless as ever, while its siblings were quietly resting within their mothers embrace. It would always attempt to run out of the nesting area and had to be brought back to its mother countless times.
After a moment, after having all that it needed to eat and drink, the female cat seemed tired; it glanced over at Zhang Zian before closing its eyes to rest. The little kitten once again quietly ran out from the nesting area and was caught by Zhang Zian. Zian brought the kitten over to the kitchen and placed it on a scale to measure its weight before taking a few photos. He then sent them to Tang Yuyun’s WeChat to let her know that the kitten is all right and growing well, so she did not have to worry.
Moments later, Zian placed the kitten back beside its mother and found a piece of cardboard box to block off the exit so that the kitten would not be able to run out again.
After ensuring that both the female cat and kitten had no abnormalities, he headed downstairs. He looked around at the empty first floor, deliberating what new kind of pets to bring in.
One does not simply bring in a new pet; there are many things that require careful consideration. What kind of pets does one get and where does one bring them in from?
Any valuable pets are hoarded by every pet store or breeding base as a rare commodity. If someone is not able to offer up a relatively high price for an exchange, they would not share them.
Zian had to go through so much and a lot of effort was put in when he brought in the Ragdoll Cats; as for the chocolate Abyssinian Cats, however, they were purely a coincidence and can’t be taken in for consideration.
Birds were basically out of the question. The local Phoenix House was well established and it was operating on a large scale, so it was hard to get anything off their plates to share. Not only that, the location of the Amazing Fate Pet Shop was in the urban district, and the neighboring area did not lack residents. Raising a large number of birds might disturb the neighbours or even spread diseases––especially bird flu, where both humans and animals could get infected. Bird flu had to be carefully treated, or else it would be too late when something happened.
Although… raising only a few birds would be fine, but they would have to be rare breeds, and where would he get them from?
The Phoenix House relied on their connections with Binhai University to bring in rare breeds of birds under the excuse of research purposes, but Zian did not have any channels that required such connections.
Ever since he took over the pet store, he had set a “Quality over Quantity” business principle. He did not wish to have everything; all he needed is something new and fresh.
While Zian was lost in his thoughts, pacing around the empty first floor, he heard a loud horn from outside the store that startled him.
A cargo van stopped right outside the entrance; on the vehicle body was a marking that stated something in logistics.
Masanori Suzuhara alighted the vehicle with a few others, shouting from right outside the store, “Is Mister Manager in? The automated dog washing machine has arrived!”
