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.