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

  While they waited to enter the store, Deng Jie and Liu Wenying had engaged in small talk and teased Yue Yue from time to time. Liu Wenying had learned that Deng Jie and her husband did not have any children, so she especially liked little kids and pets. After entering the store, Deng Jie had watched the Abyssinian cats perform ballet for a little while, but for most of the time, she had been in front of the puppy display cases, struggling to make up her mind. She knew that a ballet-dancing Abyssinian cat was very nice, but she knew she could never afford one, so she hadn’t even considered it since the very beginning.

  Zhang Zian wasn’t the only one that had noticed Deng Jie’s indecisiveness — Snowy had, too. After the ballet performance ended, Snowy ran up to her and wanted to help. Since Snowy knew very little about pets, she could barely come up with an idea.

  Zhang Zian approached her, “Sister Deng, which one do you like?”


  “Mr. Store Manager, thank god you are here! Sister Deng wants to pick out a dog, but she can’t decide which one, and I don’t know how to help her…” Snowy helplessly turned to him for help.

  Deng Jie smiled awkwardly and said, “Only because I have a limited budget. If I had enough money, I would buy every pet here and open a zoo of my own! How wonderful would that be!”


  “Okay, but don’t forget to hire a few professional cleaners when you open your zoo,” said Zhang Zian, pointing to his nose.

  The three of them laughed.

  Upon hearing the laughter, Liu Wenying picked Yue Yue up and came to them. “Sister Deng, have you picked one yet? Come on, select a puppy and then let’s go have lunch together. Don’t go home and make lunch, just tell your husband to order take-out today. Let’s go have some fun! You see, me and Yue Yue will not go home until evening.”


  Deng Jie hesitated for a moment before she agreed. But first, she must choose her favorite pet, otherwise lunch would become dinner…


  As the conversation between the women came to an end, Zhang Zian asked, “Sister Deng, you are certain that you want to buy a dog, right?”


  Deng Jie nodded, “Yes. A puppy will follow me around all day long, so that I won’t feel lonely.”


  “A puppy?” Zhang Zian keenly captured this keyword.

  “Yes. The previous fake Shiba Inu was still too big for my house — there wasn’t much room for it to move around…” Deng Jie said, “I’ve been considering buying a puppy since then, if the price is suitable.”


  Zhang Zian thought for a moment, then asked, “Which floor do you live on?”


  “The sixth floor.”


  “Is there an elevator?”


  “No,” she shook her head. “I have been thinking that after I buy a dog, I will take it out for a walk in our neighborhood every day, but…” she said with a wry smile, “I used to need to climb up and down the stairs twice a day when I was working. But having the Shiba Inu, I had to take it for a walk in the morning and evening, which meant I had to climb those stairs two extra times. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but after a few days, in the middle of the night, I started to get back aches and cramps in my legs. My husband just sat on the couch reading the newspaper and didn’t want to walk the dog. What is there to read in the newspaper that’s so interesting? He sat there all day long.”


  She became agitated. “I quarreled with him about this. And then he said that I am the one who bought the dog, so I was responsible for walking it. That man…”


  Feeling that the topic was about to turn into complaining about her husband, Liu Wenying quickly interrupted her, “Indeed it is troublesome to walk the dog outside. There is an elevator in my apartment building, but thinking about going back and forth to let it outside… it is really troublesome. That’s why I decided to buy a cat in the end.”


  Deng Jie sighed, “Later, that dog got ill, and I took it out no more. Otherwise, I might be the one who got sick…”


  “In other words, you want to raise a puppy that needs little walking outdoors,” Zhang Zian clarified.

  There were still many old residential areas throughout China. A large number of those residential buildings were designed without elevators. It was inconvenient for residents living on upper floors to raise pets, especially dogs that needed daily walks outside. If the dogs were not taken out for walk, they would become frustrated. Having nowhere else to let out their energy, they would create disturbances in the houses.

  Many high-rise tenants did not fully consider these difficulties before buying dogs and at the same time had overestimated their enthusiasm for keeping dogs as pets. They took the dogs back home with confidence and decided to treat them well. However, after the feeling of novelty had passed and they grew tired of walking the dogs, just like Deng Jie and her husband, the dog owners would shirk off the responsibilities, and abandon the dogs or give them away in the end.

  Should there be energetic children in the family, the dog owners could let their children walk the dogs. However, in the case of Deng Jie, there were only her husband and herself at home, and neither of the middle-aged couple could stand the extra few trips a day. Luckily, it was winter now. If they were to climb those stairs in the summer, they would be drenched in sweat very quickly.

  Deng Jie nodded heavily, “Yes, do you have such a puppy?”


  “You can think about this Pekingese,” said Zhang Zian, pointing to a pure white Pekingese in the display case. “Pekingese dogs are commonly seen, which have also proved their adaptability. In fact, among all breeds of dogs, Pekingese require the least amount of exercise, and you can teach it to use a puppy potty patch at home.”


  “What’s a potty patch?” Deng Jie asked in surprise. “I only know that cats have litter boxes.This is the first time that I’ve heard about a potty patch.”


  “Well… the purpose of bringing dogs outside is to get rid of their excess energy through exercise, and letting them relieve themselves at the same time.” Zhang Zian said.

  “Wang Qian! Bring a potty patch here!” he cried out.

  Wang Qian soon fetched a large fenced potty patch.

  The structure of the patch was very simple, and it was also very cheap. It was surrounded by three plastic fences, and in the middle there was a plastic grid, where the dog’s feces could drop through.

  “How do you use this thing?” Deng Jie asked curiously.

  Zhang Zian put the potty patch on the ground, opened the display case to take the Pekingese out, put it on the plastic grid, and explained to Deng Jie, “In the beginning, you need to pay more attention to it, especially in the ten minutes after a meal or drinking water. You put the puppy on the patch, and don’t let it out until it has finished urinating or pooping. When it comes out, give it some treats as rewards. Repeat this several times, and it will form a habit and will learn how to use the patch by itself. Your husband likes reading the newspaper, so your home must have a lot of wasted newspaper, right?”


  “A lot! Various types of newspaper!” Deng Jie said bitterly.

  “Then you can place a few layers of newspaper beneath the grid. When the puppy finishes its business, you can fold up the top layer or two of newspaper and throw them into the garbage bag, and bring the garbage downstairs the next morning. It is convenient, and there will be no foul smell in your house,” said Zhang Zian while making gestures.

  Deng Jie thought this was a very good idea, relieving her from the extra drudgery of climbing the stairs daily.

  Liu Wenying said, “Then the potty patch is not only more convenient than the litter box, but it also helps save money?”


  “That’s right, but the potty patch only works for certain dogs, such as the Pekingese, which require very little exercise. Even a chihuahua, smaller than a Pekingese, requires outdoor exercise once or twice a day,” reminded Zhang Zian.

  In fact, the potty patch was not only for high-rise tenants without elevators like Deng Jie, but also for numerous otaku who didn’t want to leave their homes. Pekingese dogs were one of the only choices if they really wanted to raise dogs in such a building.

  “Let me talk about the Pekingese itself.” Zhang Zian picked up the Pekingese and told Deng Jie to look closely. “Although there are many Pekingese outside on the streets, most of them are hybrids, and purebred Pekingese dogs are not so common.”


  The most important feature of a Pekingese was that the tip of its nose was almost at the same level of its eyes. Its big, damp, round eyes made it look very lively. On the other hand, it had long, soft fur that needed to be combed every day or two, or the fur would become very tangled. But the frequency of its bathing was very low — it only needed to be bathed once a month, especially when it was kept indoors.

  Deng Jie gently hugged the Pekingese in her arms. The little Pekingese stared at her, sticking out its tongue from time to time to lick its little nose.

  “You are living in a relatively old community, and there are occasional burglaries, right?” Zhang Zian asked.

  “Yes, thieves visit our district frequently and a lot of people have lost their belongings!” Deng Jie said with abhorrence. “If I had enough money, I would have moved away a long time ago.”


  Zhang Zian said, “Although a Pekingese is small in size, it is a very good watchdog and has great vigilance against strangers. If a thief tries to invade your room from a window or a door, before you notice, it will bark loudly enough to scare off the thief, completely different from a Samoyed or Husky that would smile at strangers.”


  There were several old districts around the Amazing Fate Pet Shop, and he had heard many times that thieves were scared off by small dogs like Pekingese or chihuahua, while large dogs turned out to often be useless.

  Deng Jie was touched. Why wouldn’t she buy a puppy that could relieve herself and her husband from boredom, would be taken good care of at home, and could also safeguard her property?

  Liu Wenying also persuaded her, “Sister Deng, hesitate no more! This Pekingese is perfect for your family! If I didn’t already have a Siamese cat, I might also consider buying this Pekingese!”


  Deng Jie finally made up her mind. “Okay! I’ll take it!”