Daily Life in the Pet Shop Ch. 176

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The third floor had a kitchen, though it had never actually been used. This time, while Fang Yi was tidying up the place, Du Qianze asked him to clean up the kitchen too. He couldn't cook every day, but he figured he could still make a few meals now and then. He'd never forgotten what Fang Yi's little aunt said—Fang Yi hadn't had a home-cooked meal in ages.

"That's a lot. Can we even finish all of it?" As Du Qianze picked things out, Fang Yi carried them, and soon his hands were full.

"Well, Brother Ning and Pei Haoyan are coming too, right? We're already bothering them so much, it's only right to treat them to a meal. And it's also a little celebration for finally using the kitchen—no more eating out all the time," Du Qianze said. Since they were free today, he planned to cook a full spread to mark the occasion. It'd feel more legit with a group.

"Alright." Fang Yi nodded, thinking Du Qianze was pretty thoughtful.

When they got back with the groceries, they found a few extra people in the shop—Tian Yanming had brought his wife and kid along, and Pei Sisi had also dropped by. The break room was buzzing.

Du Qianze greeted everyone, then quickly left again. The kitchen may have been cleaned, but there were still tons of small essentials they hadn't bought yet—he needed to make another run.

"Hold up," Fang Yi ran out after him, pulled out his phone, and called Zhou Chongwen. Then he turned to Du Qianze and said, "I've asked Zhou Chongwen to wait for you at the supermarket. He'll help carry everything back. Don't tire yourself out."

"Got it." Du Qianze was amused and a little exasperated by the gesture. He wasn't some frail little thing—how heavy could kitchen stuff be anyway? Fang Yi was seriously underestimating him.

Back in the break room, Fang Yi suddenly noticed a bunch of eyes staring right at him. He froze for a second—why was everyone looking at him?

"Boss, this is my daughter, Duoduo. She heard about the stray kitten and wouldn't stop bugging us to bring her here to see it," Tian Yanming explained, still looking a bit embarrassed. He wasn't even a customer here, and now he was bringing people over just to see a cat—it felt like he was troubling Fang Yi for no reason.

"It's fine," Fang Yi said casually. But he still had to set some ground rules, "Just make sure you keep a close eye on Duoduo. Don't let her wander around alone—there are a lot of animals here, and it'd be bad if she got scared."

"Don't worry, I'll watch her closely," Tian Yanming promised with a nod.

Meanwhile, Tian Yanming's wife, Tang Jingyi, was deep in conversation with Pei Sisi. They'd started out talking makeup and skincare, but the moment Pei Daniu got mentioned, the convo completely shifted to pets and pet shops.

Tang Jingyi had once raised two dogs and had been very attached to them. But after they passed away, the heartbreak had been too much, and she never got another one. Still, she loved animals. Chinese Farmyard Pet Shop was actually kind of well-known in the pet world—she'd followed their Weibo account for a long time and had even donated once. So when Tian Yanming mentioned adopting from here, she agreed immediately.

Pei Sisi hadn't looked too deeply into Fang Yi, but she'd done some surface-level research on the shop. Chinese Farmyard Pet Shop had been around for years, and a lot of its history was public info. A few scrolls through their Weibo posts and comments was enough to piece together most of it. But it still felt kind of unreal to her—she couldn't quite believe Fang Yi had kept the place going on his own, doing something that barely brought any return.

But after reading the comments, checking what other people said about Fang Yi, and hearing Pei Haoyan talk about Naima, Pei Sisi had to admit—people like this actually existed.

While Fang Yi was still chatting with Tian Yanming, Tang Jingyi walked up to him and said respectfully, "Boss, I'm your biggest fan. Can I get your autograph?" She pulled a brand-new notebook out of her bag.

"Uh..." Fang Yi looked completely baffled. He wasn't some celebrity. What would anyone want his autograph for?

"What you're doing—most people couldn't do it. Thank you for saving all these little animals," Tang Jingyi said, giving him a deep bow that made Fang Yi stumble back three steps in surprise.

"I looked at your Weibo yesterday," Pei Sisi said as she walked over. "Got a feel for the store's situation, and honestly, your shop is the worst I've ever seen. There's basically no way to turn a profit. Even someone like me, a straight-A student, couldn't save it. So I came up with another idea for you."

"What idea?" Fang Yi knew she was right. Just keeping the shop from losing money was already a struggle—turning a profit was a pipe dream. Unless he kept running into bleeding hearts like Du Qianze.

"I'm thinking of setting up a dedicated fund for your shop. We'll call it the Pet Fund. I'll manage it, and I'll get all my connections to pitch in and donate. That should be enough to cover your costs for the next two or three years. But everything has to be fully transparent. Can you do that?"

"An animal welfare fund?" Fang Yi thought about it for a moment. With his income, the pet shop could keep running even at a loss, but life was unpredictable—accidents could strike at any time. Having some kind of backup wouldn't hurt. "Is this fund short-term or long-term?"

"Short-term," Pei Sisi replied. "It's more like an excuse, really. I've got a bunch of friends who throw money around like it's nothing and end up buying nothing useful. If I tell them about your shop and what you're doing, I think they'd be willing to chip in. That way, the animals here can get a little more to eat, and you won't have to worry so much about bringing in strays."

Pei Sisi came from money, and so did her usual crowd. If they actually got together to donate, raising a few million wouldn't be an issue.

Fang Yi nodded. "If it's just short-term, I'll pass. I've still got enough money to get by." But her suggestion did spark something in him. Setting up a real, long-term animal fund didn't sound half bad.

"Do you know how to set up a fund? Like, do you know anyone who's good at it? I'm thinking of creating a proper, long-term one." Since Pei Sisi brought up the idea so casually, she might actually know a thing or two about it—or know people who do.

"I do." Pei Sisi pointed to herself with a grin. "Me."

"Don't joke around." Fang Yi didn't recognize all the high-end brands she wore, but he definitely knew the car she drove—it cost at least two million, and maintenance alone wasn't cheap. There's no way he could afford to hire someone like her.

All credit goes to the original author
Feel free to pinpoint us if there are any grammar error or typos
Please don't use Guazi's translation to re-translate in other languages

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