Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  It was early in the morning at Spirit Curing Pet Clinic.

  There was an emergency last night which lasted very late into the night. Sun Xiaomeng had not returned to the breeding farm, but had slept in the clinic. In the locker room in the clinic, she put up a bunk bed, which was for temporary rests. She slept on the bottom bunk, and she put miscellaneous items on the top bunk to save space. She was the only person in the clinic anyways, so there was no need to pay attention to specific details.

  The clinic gradually became busy from the beginning of opening, and Sun Xiaomeng was feeling a bit powerless. Perhaps she should request a nurse to help her, but that would be an additional expenditure of salary… She was trying to save money currently, and she has been doing all of the clinic’s cleaning work by herself. Her practice hours were from nine o’clock in the morning to seven o’clock at night. But there usually weren’t any customers in the morning or at night, it often dragged on until nine o’clock before she could end the day. That was because people always only realized that the condition of their pets weren’t right after they got off work, and would rush their pets here to be treated. She couldn’t just shut down the business. She took into account that she would probably sleep in the clinic very often, and intended to use the time in the morning to go back home to take some clothes to wash and change into to bring back. The weather was getting cooler; it was about time for the season to change.

  She pulled the rolling shutters of the front door open, and unexpectedly saw Zhang Zian standing outside the clinic while gnawing on a bun. “How come you came here?” she asked him in surprise.

  Zhang Zian shoved the rest of the bun into his mouth two or three times and replied ambiguously, “Didn’t we make a bet? I lost, so I came to be your janitor for the day.”


  “Isn’t time not over for the bet yet? You’re admitting defeat this early?” Although it was expected, she still felt a little disappointed and regret.

  “Admitting defeat early or later are the same. Let’s not talk about that first, I have other stuff that I need to discuss with you today.”


  “What’s the matter? Save it if you need to borrow money,” she said resolutely.

  Zhang Zian almost choked on his bun and said, “Who said I wanted to borrow money…but it does have to do with money indeed.”


  “Come in to talk,” she sighed and stepped aside to make way.

  It was actually Zhang Zian’s first time to be come here to be her guest, and he couldn’t help but to look around. The fa?ade of the clinic was very small. A car accessory shop was on the left side, and on the right side was a decorations company—they both hadn’t opened for business yet. There was an eye-catching notice posted on the glass on the shop front that said, “Fixed unit for pet vaccination shots”. The clinic was small, but complete. The interior of the clinic was divided into several areas. The moment you entered the clinic, you saw the waiting area. There were a few armchairs for guests to rest in, and also magazines of the pet world that could be flipped through at will. A conventional price list hung on the left side of the wall, and the wall across from that hung an “Animal Treatment Permit” and a business license.

  Going further in was a treatment room. At the same time, it was also Sun Xiaomeng’s office. A copy of her veterinary certificate was posted on the wall. Looking into another room from the treatment room, you could vaguely see a stainless steel operation table and a small shadowless lamp—that should be the operation room. It could be said that although the clinic was small, it was very formal.

  “So in the end, what’s the matter?” Sun Xiaomeng asked.

  “It’s like this,” Zhang Zian retracted his eyes, “I intend to open a membership system, and I want to ask if you have any interests. At the same time, there should be a discount if you buy two sets at once.”


  “Huh?” She did not understand at the moment.

  “I’ve thought about it, and there are benefits of a membership system. Once customers put money into your business, they will certainly choose to come to you first when their pets are sick, or when their pets need physical checkups. You can also give discounts of five percent or ten percent to membership cardholders. This should be very attractive,” he explained. She was not used to Zhang Zian’s serious look, and suspected that she had come across a fake Zhang Zian. She only spoke after a pause. “I know the benefits of a membership system, and big pet hospitals all do that. But is there a need for that for my small clinic? The cost should be pretty high, right? And we would also need manpower to operate this.”


  “There will definitely be a cost, and that is my purpose of coming here. We can share the responsibility of the costs and risks together,” Zhang Zian said and continued, “I have a preliminary idea, which is to support the customers with memberships in your clinic to come to my shop. No matter if it is buying things or giving cats baths; they can all enjoy a five percent discount. My shop will also recommend my customers with memberships to go to your clinic to get vaccinations, do physical exams, or for medical treatment, and will be able to enjoy a five percent discount as well. Five percent is just an example, the specific number can be discussed again, but I think that we shouldn’t go lower than this number, or else it would have no meaning.”


  This was a very bold proposal. Once this proposal was accepted, it would be equal to the fact that Amazing Fate Pet Shop and Spirit Curing Pet Clinic have formed alliances and became partners, and that the two of them would have gone from being just simply friends to business partners. When talking about business, it would have to be considered whether or not the business deal was worthwhile, and whether or not it would bring benefits to your own shop. Thus, Sun Xiaomeng bowed her head in deep consideration.

  Zhang Zian’s proposal’s nature was to combine the flow of customers of each store. Both stores were pet-related, and this was the basis of the collaboration. Their collaboration had a natural advantage, which was that both of their stores were very near each other, and located at the south and north entrance of Zhonghua Road respectively. There was only a distance of a few hundred meters in between, and one could just stroll there. After a bit of analysis, Sun Xiaomeng felt that the proposal was a disadvantage for her. That was because to talk about the flow of customers, her clinic certainly dominated that. The equity of the strength of both parties should be the premise of collaboration. Only through that way can complementary roles be played. After some thought, she said, “Give me some time to think about it. It’s hard to make a decision in all of a sudden.”


  Zhang Zian expressed understanding; this wasn’t as simple as just buying a computer, but there was a need for an additional hire, and it would be the same as having an additional burden to give out another portion of salary. She would not be able to handle everything by herself. “Tell me when you’ve come to a decision. I’ve made appointments with other people, and I have to go inspect their membership systems for these two days. If I think that it’s efficient to use, then I might just settle on it, so it’s better to not drag it out for too long,” he replied.

  Sun Xiaomeng stared at him suspiciously. Could just selling pets and giving baths to cats attract customers to make membership cards? “Nothing else?” She asked.

  He shrugged and said, “Another thing is that I am going to be a janitor for you this once. I concede defeat. Where are the uniform, the gloves and the disinfectant?”


  She shook her head, “No need. It was just a joke.”


  “No. A man sticks to his words,” Zhang Zian insisted.

  He had actually wanted to use the opportunity of cleaning to inspect the inside of her clinic. This consideration was made for the collaboration. It was similar to how she had questioned his ability, and he also must check to see if her clinic was up to standard. She saw that he was stubborn about it and could only say, “Then come with me.”


  He followed her inside past the treatment room and operation room, and arrived at the locker room in the back. Upon opening the door of the locker room was a pair of sinks. This was for washing hands before an operation. One side of the wall was completely occupied by a row of wardrobes, and across from that was a bunk bed. There were quilts and blankets that still haven’t been folded on the bottom bunk, and there were women coats scattered on the top bunk. Sun Xiaomeng pulled open the wardrobe at the very edge, and there were a variety of cleaning supplies and disinfectants in it. “Do you really want to do it?” She asked to confirm. He nodded as he put on the gloves and mask at the same time.

  “Then alright, I will take a trip back home—I’m warning you, don’t go through my things while I’m gone! I have a monitor here!”


  Zhang Zian was speechless. Am I really that untrustworthy?