Chapter 74
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
There was a truck parked in front of Pet’s Home Breeding Base . Zhang Zian walked by yet spotted something wrong, so he stepped back to take a closer look . The back of the truck was filled with cages, but there was room for more . A slogan said "Welcome to Stars Pet Chain Supermarket . "
The hood was still warm, which meant it had just arrived .
He was wondering why the truck was there . It belonged to Stars Pet Chain Supermarket . Were they there to purchase pets?
He had heard about "Stars Pet" from his parents when he was in high school . The name kept coming up those days . It was the biggest chain store for pets, a super enterprise . Its franchise stores and direct-sale stores were all over the country . It was the Apple and Samsung of the pet industry . Although it was not as well known on forums as some technology companies, it was truly a moneymaker . Its profitability was as good as some large corporations .
Zhang Zian hadn’t paid attention before . The pet market was huge . No single company could take all the market share . Why couldn’t all stores compete fairly? They had to fight against each other, and someone had to sacrifice . However, the man’s visit the other day was a warning to him . Now that they were here, he was curious to see what they could do .
There were three rows of cages in the truck . Each row had four layers . Each cage had at least two or three pets, mostly cats and dogs . There were also ropes, tape and rain covers for fixing the position of the cages . In case the driver suddenly stepped on the break, the cages would still stay on the truck .
Zhang Zian was worried . Most of the pets were younger than six months . They were most likely already frightened being in an unfamiliar environment . The transportation didn’t help calm them down . They each should have their own cage, otherwise they might fight against each other . He also didn’t know where their destination was . If it was close by, then it didn’t really matter .
The side of the truck was in the way, so he could not see the bottom layer of the cages . The third and fourth rows were too high and at a bad angle . Therefore, he could only have a look at the pets on the second row .
There were some American shorthair cats, Siamese cats, dragon-li cats, Persian cats, golden retrievers, toy poodles and chow chows in the second row . There were two Persian cats . Since they were expensive, they each had their own cage .
Not to mention how the cats and dogs looked . In Zhang Zian’s opinion, their biggest problem was that they weren’t close to people . When he approached the cages, only the Siamese cat and the golden retriever got closer to him . The others either stayed in the corner scared or rolled themselves up without moving . Even the eyes of the Siamese cat and the golden retriever indicated worries of uncertainties . Their muscles were tense and looked as if they were ready to escape at any time .
He lightly slapped his hands . A few cats and dogs who were laying down raised their heads, looked at him and then laid back down, uninterested . A chow chow stood up, move its butt towards him and farted loudly .
"…"
From Zhang Zian’s perspective, people chose to buy purebred cats and dogs because, in general, they were closer to humans and more docile as a result of the long process of selective breeding . It was not good that these pets were so frightened of humans . If he was correct, it was because there were defects in their socialization, which was the fault of their mothers .
In his selection process, there were several essential elements . First, the pet had to be welcoming to humans . Second was the health of pets, and third was the appearance . No one wanted to raise an unfaithful pet .
Different breeds also vary in the degree that they warm up to people . For example, Siamese cats are closer to humans than American shorthairs . Dragon-li cats are not even comparable to the other two .
There are also differences between individual pets . Some hybrid cats and dogs are welcoming to humans compared to purebred pets . When looking at the big picture, purebreds are for sure better than hybrids . Otherwise geneticists and pet breeding experts were wasting their whole life studying pets .
"Hey! You! What are you doing?"
A man wearing a long-sleeve shirt and jeans showed up at the corner . Dirty sleeves, unkempt hair, oily face, slip-on shoes and no socks made him look like a long-distance truck driver . He was humming a song while trying to fix his belt . He might just have gone to the bathroom . Seeing Zhang Zian wandering around the truck, he was suspicious immediately and yelled at him .
"What are you doing there? Are you trying to steal my pets? I am telling you, those are expensive pets! You couldn’t afford to pay me back if one escaped," he said as he walked closer .
Zhang Zian pulled his hand back, smiled and waved, "No no no! The cats and dogs are cute . I just wanted to play with them . "
"Play with them? I am not responsible if you are bitten!" the driver immediately said .
"No, I didn’t put my hands in the cages," Zhang Zian claimed .
The driver was still in doubt . He stuck his head out, concerned, looked at Zhang Zian from head to toe, and said "You didn’t take anything from me, did you?"
"Hehe, my friend . Do I look like a thief?" Zhang Zian was quite confident about his appearance . He at least looked like a normal man .
"Yes, you do!" the driver said affirmatively .
Zhang Zian, "…"
The driver pointed at him, saying, "You do look like one . Greasy face! Don’t go away . I have to count my stock!"
The driver pulled out a wrinkled paper from his pocket and started counting the pets .
"American shorthair, 1, 2, 3… Sia…something…1, 2…"
"Let me help you . " Zhang Zian always wanted to help .
The driver exploded, "Stop talking to me! I forgot where I was! Damn! I have to recount now!"
"American shorthair, 1, 2, 3… Sia…something…1, 2…"
Zhang Zian got close to the driver and saw there was a funny husky image on the paper’s upper left corner saying: Love Lovely Pet .
Love Lovely Pet? The name sounded familiar .
He started searching his memory . Oh! That was the breeding base in the north city! He was there when he was looking for a supplier . The sales representative didn’t allow him to walk around the breeding base so he went to Pet’s Home instead .
So, all the pets from the truck came from Love Lovely Pet .
He then once again recalled his parents’ words: there had to be something wrong with the breeding base if they didn’t let you walk around .
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