Pet King

The following morning, the pet shop was open as usual.

After Wang Qian and Li Kun came, they described the previous day’s battle with the Bobbit Worm to Lu Yiyun with some exaggerations. The half-meter long Bobbit Worm became at least one meter long according to them and swam in the tank with great speed; it was just lacking wings to fly. The two of them also added a few thrilling twists that never happened, scaring Lu Yiyun and leaving her in shock. She was trembling while she held onto Jasmine, feeling very thankful that she did not tag along.

The two of them felt that it was a pity that they did not bring the corpse of the Bobbit Worm back. Otherwise, hanging it up at the entrance of the shop would definitely attract a lot of customers…

After listening for a while, Zhang Zian could no longer listen to them; he hurried them off to do some work.

Zian then took out his car keys with the plan to head down to the beach while there were no customers in the morning. He wanted to play Sihwa’s song in the sea to drive away the marine creatures that were attracted. Of course, before playing, he was going to be sure to check if there were any interesting creatures on the beach.

Dong, dong!

Someone knocked on the door twice.

Every day, the glass door of the pet shop was open after they started operating, and customers did not usually knock on the door when they came in.

Zhang Zian looked towards the door and it turned out to be Jiang Feifei.

After the nasty battle with the Bobbit Worm yesterday, everyone had parted ways and Jiang Feifei had returned to school.

“Shop Manager Zhang, good morning.” She was slightly embarrassed when she entered, but after she looked around the shop to see that there were no customers yet, she felt a little more at ease.

“Good morning. Did you need something? Oh, right, Snowy hasn’t come by in two days, and the power bank is still with me.” Zhang Zian went over to greet her. He knew that the girl was living in the school dormitory and was not here to buy a pet.

“No, I came here to ask…” She stuttered and, after making up her mind countless times, she said, “I’m here to ask if you’re hiring. I would like to work here and give it a try…”

To be honest, Zhang Zian really needed someone for the Amazing Fate Aquarium. He had planned to recruit for a new worker on his public account over the next few days; he hadn’t expected someone to take the initiative to look for him.

Wang Qian and Li Kun were both very careless and unreliable. Although they were great helpers, quick and neat in their work, and they were able to answer some common pet problems, if he were to let them take care of the cash register, the pet shop might just close down the next day…

Although the pet shop and the aquarium were right next to each other, they had their own entrance and exit. Their internal decoration style and pets were also different, and so were the customers. It was unrealistic to have Lu Yiyun run back and forth between the two shops. Because of that, it was necessary for Zhang Zian to recruit another cashier for the aquarium—although it was hard to put it clearly, the priority would obviously be given to the ladies who were more attentive.

It was not difficult to recruit a cashier, but Zhang Zian did not wish to recruit just any ordinary cashier who was working to earn a salary like a robot. The cashier was required to have at least some understanding of the aquarium and had to be able to answer the simple questions of the customers. It was best if the cashier was also passionate about raising aquatic creatures.

There were many girls that liked cats and dogs, but it was mostly guys that raised fish and liked aquatic creatures because raising fish was a systematic process. If they wanted to raise the fish well, they had to be good at setting up the various aquatic equipment, and when the fish fell sick, they would have to analyze the symptoms and perform the treatment themselves. But the most important thing was that fish were not furry; their body was covered with slippery mucus, so girls were able to pet cats and dogs, but no one could really pet fish…

Zhang Zian had a headache about the matter, so of course, he was very happy to see Jiang Feifei take the initiative to sell herself. He was aware that she used to go to the beach often for a wild harvest; she also liked the sea and had no lack of passion for aquatic creatures. When she saw the horrifying Bobbit Worm the day before, she did not scream like other normal girls. She’s definitely the best candidate for the aquarium’s cashier.

But, Zian did not rush to agree. Even if it was just for show, he still had to make things clear.

“I do lack a cashier here, but I remember that you’re on your fourth year at Binhai University, right? And you also have a tutoring job? Will you have time to work here?” Zian asked in detail.

“Yes,” she nodded.

She did not see any job advertisement notice, so it was a bit embarrassing for her to just come over and sell herself. If Zhang Zian was not hiring, it was going to be embarrassing.

Hearing Zhang Zian mention that he was looking to hire, her heartbeat accelerated. “I’m in my senior year and I’ll be graduating soon,” she said eagerly. “My family’s condition is not very good, so I plan to work right after graduation. As for the tutoring job… I’m planning to quit since I’m not very good at teaching children, and tutoring is also not a job that can be done all the time. It’s better to find an official job. I’m studying tourism management and the employment prospects for this major right after graduation is not very good. After graduation, I plan to find a job in an aquarium or the zoo; therefore, instead of continuing to my tutoring job, it’s better for me to come here and have some practical exposure to animals and accumulate some experience, which may increase my advantage in my future employment.”

She had prepared her speech before she came and she said it in one breath, then nervously looked at Zhang Zian’s face, waiting for his reply.

Zhang Zian felt that she was a very honest person from what he had heard and from her speech, he was able to tell that she was a very down-to-earth girl who had plans for her future––not someone who was just living the day as it went by.

Compared to a tutoring job, the job of an aquarium cashier did not hold many advantages. The schedule for a tutoring job was very flexible; the work was also relatively easy and the salary wasn’t low. “Family Tutor” sounded much more respectable compared to “Cashier”; it was also the first choice for many college students who were looking for work.

Her being able to make plans for her future, and her determination to quit her easier tutoring job just to work here, had already shown that she had left many of her peers behind her.

Zhang Zian nodded. “I understand now. My aquarium is not officially open yet, but I’m really lacking a cashier. The job scope here is not just taking care of the cash register, but also the other daily cares of the aquarium in the store. Are you interested?”

“Yes!” she replied excitedly.

She had already come into contact with Zhang Zian twice––once at the fish market entrance, and then at Welder Zhao’s home. She felt that his knowledge of aquatic creatures was very profound––at least much more than her––and if she was able to work here, she would certainly learn a lot of useful information. Even if it was not reflected on her resume, she would definitely be able to use the knowledge she gained when she was at the aquarium or the zoo for future job interviews.

Before leaving Welder Zhao’s house yesterday, she had added Wang Qian and Li Kun on WeChat. Through chatting with them and going through their WeChat moments, she learned about the work environment in the pet shop. She knew the atmosphere was very relaxed, the shop owner was very cheerful, and it was a pleasant experience to be able to work here. There was also a bonus of being able to get close to the Best Male Lead of the Berlin Film Festival…

“Okay, you’re hired,” Zhang Zian said immediately. He then called Wang Qian, Li Kun, and Lu Yiyun over.

“Everyone, come over for a moment. You’ve all seen Jiang Feifei before. She’s going to work in our shop from now on; she’s mainly responsible for the cash register at the aquarium! Let’s welcome her.”

“Hello everyone! I’m new here, so please take care of me in the future!” Jiang Feifei bowed and said earnestly.

Wang Qian and Li Kun were both very happy. “Aiya, senior. You’re here to cultivate immortality too? Welcome!”

Since she had gone through their WeChat moments, Jiang Feifei felt that she generally knew about their characters, so she automatically ignored their teenage syndromes. She nodded and said, “I’m your senior in school, but the two of you are my senior here, so I hope my two juniors can take care of me.”

Receiving her compliments, Wang Qian and Li Kun were so touched that their mucus came running out. They immediately patted their chests and told her to look for them if she ever encountered any problem.

“Welcome, Sister Feifei!” Lu Yiyun said while grinning; she was also very happy.

Since Lu Yiyun was the only female out of all the people here, sometimes she couldn’t help but feel lonely. She was also too embarrassed to join the rest during lunch even though they always invited her over. She always used the excuse that she had to take care of the cash register, but would just sit alone at the entrance, silently stuffing food into her mouth.

Since Jiang Feifei was now an employee and they were both cashiers, they could join tables for lunch in the afternoon.

“Hello, Xiao Yun! There are so many things that I don’t know about being a cashier. I still have to trouble, so I need you to teach me!” Jiang Feifei said as she laughed.

Zhang Zian was really happy. Aside from a pair of clowns and a senior female otaku, the store finally had another normal person—he naturally classified himself as a normal person. Little did he know that he was existing as a crossdresser in Wang Qian and Li Kun’s circle of friends, and in Lu Yiyun’s comic, he was a muscular gay man who always ripped his own clothes…

“Xiao Yun, print out a copy of the new employee personal information form, then get her to fill it out. Also, take a photocopy of her identification card—did you bring your identification card along? I need to take a look at it,” he said proudly to Jiang Feifei after he gave his instructions to Lu Yiyun. “Although my shop here is small and we only have a few staff members, it’s still a proper shop.”

Jiang Feifei claimed to be a student from Binhai University, but he couldn’t just go along with what she said. Zian still has to check her identity to be sure.

“Okay, I’ve brought it along.” Jiang Feifei nodded. She took out her identification card and student card, then handed them over to Zhang Zian.

As instructed, Lu Yiyun printed out an employee personal information form, took a chair over for Jiang Feifei, and went to make a photocopy of her identification card.

Jiang Feifei filled out the form very seriously, then signed it and handed it over to Zhang Zian.

Zhang Zian swept his gaze over the form and he got a general understanding of her hometown address and her life growing up. He then handed the form over to Lu Yiyun for her to file it.

“Ga ga! I heard that there’s a newcomer in the shop? Should we celebrate by giving out bags of nuts?” Richard, who had heard the news, flapped its wings and flew into the shop.

Jiang Feifei was shocked; she wasn’t even that surprised when she saw the Bobbit Worm. The way this gray parrot talked was no different from a regular human––it was even more fluent than she was since she carried an accent from her hometown.

Wang Qian, Li Kun, and Li Yiyun were already used to it.

“Don’t be afraid!” Zhang Zian laughed and comforted her. “There are many things you don’t know about this shop, so you just need some time to get used to it.”

“Oh… okay, I got it.”

Although she did not fully understand what Zian meant, Jiang Feifei responded to what he said. She clenched her fists and silently cheered herself on for her new career.