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

  “Talking endlessly of secular attachments, speaking endlessly of the world’s debts and grudges, from one generation to the next, exists fate.

  “Shedding the same blood, drinking the same water, this road is long and far-reaching.

  “A red flower naturally has green leaves. Who’ll accompany me in this life? There are many comings and goings.

  “Past circumstances can reappear. Even though the lotus root was broken, its threads are still connected, sighing softly at the ever-changing events of the world.”


  Famous heard music coming from the TV downstairs. Old Time Tea must be watching old Kung Fu dramas again.

  The scenery of the valley and the taste of roasted potatoes faded away quickly. It opened its eyes and saw the familiar second floor of the pet shop.

  Faint morning light shone through the window, so it turned off the night light.

  It woke up a bit late today. Zhang Zian and the other elfins were already up, leaving only it and Pi upstairs. Pi was sitting in front of the computer. It heard the sound of the night light shutting off and turned its head.

  “Eek,” Pi said shyly.

  “Good morning.” Famous stood up and shook its fur.

  Pi smiled, then turned back to the computer and continued typing gently, so as not to disturb Famous.

  Two brown poodles were lying in the corner, one big and the other small. They were the poodles Famous and Old Time Tea rescued yesterday.

  Compared to how dirty they used to be, they looked so much better, Famous barely recognized them. Now, their fur coat was fluffy and shiny, their bellies were full, and they slept in a warm room. They hadn’t woken up until now. They cuddled together, as if they were trying to stay out of the way.

  Famous smelled detergent coming from downstairs. Maybe Zhang Zian was doing the laundry.

  It stretched, opened a pack of gum by pressing on it next to the cushion, and took three sticks into its mouth to chew. The gum had sugar, it wasn’t sugar-free, since it heard Zhang Zian say that an ingredient in sugar-free gum was deadly to dogs.

  There were lots of people on the street, the sound of neighbors greeting each other could be heard from a distance. Usually, at this hour, the streets were much quieter.

  “Hey, it’s you! You’re hunting, too? How many did you catch?”


  “I didn’t catch any.”


  “Neither did I, we heard about this too late. I heard that animals escaped from some breeding base last night, and lots of people were hunting them down all night. A guy in my neighborhood came back late after drinking, and caught three dogs and two cats all by himself.”


  “That’s crazy, we just missed a billion bucks!”


  “Yeah, what a master hunter.”


  “They escaped a breeding base? I heard that a few trucks that were transporting the animals flipped on the highway?

  “No, they definitely escaped from a breeding base. How many animals can a few trucks carry anyway? Someone posted on Weibo that the employees of a breeding base up north were negligent and didn’t shut the gate, allowing the animals to escape. I also heard that the breeding base had been abusing the animals, videos of the abuse were posted online. They’re in the middle of a fight with some big bloggers on Weibo.”


  “At first, many people advocated returning the animals to the owners in order to promote traditional Chinese virtues. However, things took a turn all of a sudden when they formed an alliance and asked everybody to boycott the breeding base and take care of the animals instead of returning them. The fight has escalated, a lot of dirty stories of the breeding base have been brought to light.”


  Famous jumped onto the windowsill, and saw many people wandering the street with all sorts of cages, most of which were empty. A few people had a cat or a dog in their cage, and were merrily running back home. Some even stopped them to ask where they had found the animals and if there were still some left. Crowds of people rushed towards the direction they pointed.

  It didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, as it remembered the animals from the breeding base were purebred. However, these people were carrying mutts and mongrels in their cages. Needless to say, they must’ve captured some stray cats and dogs from the neighborhood since most people weren’t good at identifying breeds. It was better this way, more strays needed good homes.

  Famous went downstairs, and saw Wang Qian and Li Kun complaining to Zhang Zian. “This is bad. A lot of people are hunting animals, we’ll lose business. What should we do?”


  Zhang Zian, having anticipated this, smiled. “It’s fine. We can relax a bit during the Spring Festival period.”


  Their business might be affected temporarily, but in the long run, this was a good thing. The price of the pet market would rise in Binghai City and even in the surrounding area. In addition, Love Lovely Pets only had common breeds of cats and dogs, they didn’t have expensive breeds.

  The pregnant Abyssinian female cats were big and heavy. They were less swift than before and preferred to stay alone with the due date being just a few days away.

  The renovation in the shoe store next door was done, all payments made. The construction team had issued an inspection, which indicated that all environmental parameters were within permissible range. However, as a precaution, every door and window of the store was open for ventilation. They could move inside in a few days.

  After the Spring Festival, when the warm days returned, two pay-per-use automated dog washers would be installed in front of the shop, to bathe cats and dogs. It’d attract a lot of customers to try them, so that they can make up for lost business.

  Zhang Zian was ambitious. Suddenly, he realized that Famous was staring at him.

  “What is it, Famous? Do I have something on my face?” He touched his cheeks.

  Famous didn’t see anything unusual. “You still have gunk in your eyes,” it answered.

  “Crap! Really? My perfect image is ruined.” Zhang Zian was shocked, and ran to the bathroom upstairs.

  Famous looked at Old Time Tea, who was lying on a heated blanket with its paws under its body, watching TV. A thermos was in front of it, and the fragrance of tea was exuding from the tea cups next to the thermos.

  Cheesy Kung Fu sound effects came from the TV, along with Mandarin spoken in a Hong Kong accent.

  After noticing Famous staring, Old Time Tea tilted its head and grinned at it, then kept watching TV.

  “Good morning.” Lu Yiyun pushed the door open. “There’s so many people outside, what happened?”


  Wang Qian and Li Kun held brooms and dustpans in their hands. “Yiyun, did you know? Something big happened last night!”


  “What happened?” They caught Lu Yiyun’s attention, so she didn’t notice Famous sneaking through the door that she had opened. Jasmin saw from inside Lu Yiyun’s backpack, and meowed gently.

  Famous stood in front of the shop, and took a deep breath. Lots of the pedestrians were wandering around to catch the animals. However, as a big, strong dog seemed to be a difficult target, they all moved to the side.

  One episode seemed to be over, and Old Time Tea played the next episode. The theme song of the drama came on once again.

  “Talking endlessly of secular attachments, speaking endlessly of the world’s debts and grudges, from one generation to the next, exists fate.

  “Shedding the same blood, drinking the same water, this road is long and far-reaching.”


  Famous realized something while listening to the music. It turned its head abruptly, and looked at the two words on the shop sign, Amazing Fate!