Future Pet Shop

Chapter 230: Tiring Me to Death

"Learn? I don’t really have anything worth learning here, do I?" Shen Yibin scratched his head. ’Honestly, the only reason this shop has gotten so big is thanks to the Future Pet Shop. Without Hah’Er, Cheeky, and Egg helping me attract customers, I’d probably still be worrying about how to pay the rent.’

"You’re being modest. In the time I’ve been here, I’ve noticed that the pets on display aren’t noisy or disruptive at all. They’re much better-behaved than the ones at my old shop. Based on that alone, there’s a lot I can learn from you," Xie Nannan said, thinking Shen Yibin was just being humble. "Don’t worry, even if I learn something, I’ll open my shop in another city. I won’t compete with you in Yunzhong City."

’These guys have Hah’Er to coax them and Shi Gaofei to scare them, so of course they’re well-behaved. Ah well, since she’s so enthusiastic and I do need an experienced hand, I might as well agree.’ Shen Yibin relented, "That’s not what I meant. I’m just worried you won’t learn anything and will end up disappointed."

"Thank you, boss! When can I start?" Xie Nannan asked happily.

"If you’re free, you can start tomorrow." Shen Yibin went over the salary, benefits, and work hours with her again. Seeing as Xie Nannan’s knowledge in this area was no less than his own, he assigned the task of training the new employees to her. "For now, why don’t you start by training the other three?"

Sylvie would be leaving before long, so he figured he should let her relax during this time. After assigning the work, he asked a few more questions. Xie Nannan’s lease hadn’t expired yet, and Xia Shixuan didn’t look like the type who would be willing to live in a dorm, so for now, he didn’t need to add any more beds to the staff quarters.

By the time Xie Nannan’s lease was up, Sylvie would probably be gone, and she could take over Sylvie’s bed. When Shen Yibin had renovated the place, he had specifically planned for two dorm rooms—one for male employees and one for female employees. It was now looking like the men’s dorm would be pretty useless.

"Boss, what do you think of my outfit?" Just as he saw Xie Nannan off on the bus, he saw Xia Shixuan get out of her Maserati. This time, while she was still wearing a short skirt and stockings, her outfit looked much more approachable and not as flashy as the designer brands she had on earlier.

"Yeah, that’s good. You should wear clothes like this to work from now on." ’Oh well,’ he thought, ’I’ll just consider this spending some time playing house with a rich girl. I’ve already taken in a princess and a witch, so what’s one more wealthy beauty? Besides, Xia Shixuan seems relatively easy to talk to.’

"Sylvie told me earlier that I should drive a different car, so I’ll drive my dad’s Phaeton to work tomorrow. That way, it won’t be as eye-catching as the Maserati," Xia Shixuan continued.

’The Phaeton is probably the cheapest car your family owns, isn’t it?’ Shen Yibin couldn’t help but roast her internally. ’But this is better. A Phaeton parked out front is better than a Maserati. Probably not many people will recognize how much that car is actually worth.’

"Alright, you put some thought into it. There’s not much going on at the shop right now, so you can head home if you have things to do, or you can hang out here for the day," Shen Yibin said.

"It’s almost dinnertime, isn’t it? Sylvie said you’re a good cook, so I’d like to try it. You wouldn’t mind, would you?" Xia Shixuan didn’t act like a stranger at all, asking to freeload a meal on her very first day.

"No problem. I’ll go out and buy groceries." Shen Yibin scratched his head. He’d been too tired to cook a proper meal yesterday, so today was technically Shi Gaofei’s first real dinner at the shop. He had to make something good. ’But I have no idea what this little guy likes besides honey-glaze. He can’t just eat honey all the time. What if he gets a mouth full of cavities? I doubt any dentist would dare to pull a tooth for Pingtou. Just thinking about that scene is depressing.’

On the African savanna, Shen Yibin had seen Shi Gaofei eat snakes and rabbits. Did he like bee pupae, too? He probably couldn’t buy any of that stuff at the fruit and vegetable shop next door. Shen Yibin had no choice but to leave Hah’Er in Sylvie’s care, entrust Shi Gaofei to Hah’Er, and drive to the wet market himself.

Worried that Shi Gaofei might be causing trouble in the shop, Shen Yibin bought a few garter snakes and hurried back. Fortunately, it seemed the little guy had gotten his fill of excitement in the morning. Sylvie and the others had also witnessed his explosive temper, so no one dared to provoke him. As a result, he’d been quite docile, just resting quietly on the sofa.

But the moment he saw Shen Yibin return with the snakes, the little guy couldn’t hold back. He zipped over to Shen Yibin’s side, and without a second thought, swiped his claws, tearing open the plastic bag. He pulled out a snake and started munching on it like a spicy gluten stick. From the look on his face, though, he didn’t seem as happy as when he ate the cobra. ’Maybe he thinks it’s not flavorful enough because it’s non-venomous?’

"Go on, go eat on the upstairs balcony! If you get blood all over the floor, who’s going to dare come into the shop?" Seeing Li Shiqing and Gao Shu turn a little pale, Shen Yibin quickly shooed Shi Gaofei upstairs. ’If this keeps up, forget about customers; you’re going to scare away the two girls I worked so hard to hire.’

Shen Yibin had originally planned to make some salt-and-pepper snake segments for Shi Gaofei, but it seemed the little guy preferred to eat them raw. For the first time, Shen Yibin’s culinary skills had been completely ignored by a pet from the Future Pet Shop, which left him feeling a bit dejected.

Fortunately, Xia Shixuan was full of praise for his cooking, and even Shi Gaofei, after devouring three snakes in one go, forced himself to eat some honey-glazed ribs. This finally lifted Shen Yibin’s spirits a little.

"Is this a Mongoose?" The other two girls seemed to be avoiding Shi Gaofei like the plague, but Xia Shixuan appeared quite interested in him. "He’s just as fierce as he looks in the videos! Way more impressive than the Tibetan Mastiff my family used to have."

It looked like she was a little tempted to take Shi Gaofei home, but he was completely ignoring her. Shen Yibin secretly opened his phone and used the Affinity Test app to check. Unfortunately, the affinity between Xia Shixuan and Shi Gaofei was far below the Future Pet Shop’s requirements, so Shen Yibin had to drop the idea.

’Sigh, looks like it’ll be a while before I can sell you,’ Shen Yibin thought to himself, gently stroking Shi Gaofei’s back.

Even though he’d slept the whole night, he had been dragged on that long run by Shi Gaofei this morning. So, that afternoon, Shen Yibin just lazed around on the sofa to recover his energy, not going anywhere. He watched as Xia Shixuan, with Sylvie’s help, got familiar with the shop’s operations.

Around five in the afternoon, just as Shen Yibin was about to get up and buy something from the fruit and vegetable shop, Shi Gaofei ran up to him again, a dog leash in his mouth, and dropped it by his hand.

’Uh, no way. Don’t tell me you want to go out and walk *me* again? You’re going to kill me!’