Daily Life in the Pet Shop Ch. 200

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"What do you want to know? Go ahead," the old beggar said, seeing Fang Yi wasn't there for money. He pulled back the bowl he had set out and placed it in front of himself again.

"What happened to Xiao Yuan's family? I heard him call you uncle—are you really related?" Xiao Yuan had told him that he used to live with his grandma and rarely saw anyone else. After his grandma passed away, no one looked after him anymore, and the people in the village sent him to this "uncle." So it seemed like this man probably wasn't really family.

"Xiao Yuan's a poor kid," the old beggar said. "When he was little, his parents were working in the city and died in an accident. The boss of that place ran off too, so his family didn't get any compensation. After that, he could only live with his grandma. Life wasn't easy."

"Then last year, his grandma passed too, and no one wanted to take him in. His relatives all refused to raise him. The village chief sent him to me. Told me to keep an eye on him. He's young, so people feel sorry for him more easily, and that means he can get more money—enough to feed and shelter himself. When he gets older, we'll send him off to work."

The old beggar let out a long sigh. Honestly, it wasn't even about people being cold. If someone really wanted to take in Xiao Yuan, they'd have to provide food, a home, an education—and later on, maybe even help him get married and start a family. That kind of cost was just too much. Most families couldn't afford it.

"He's not going to school anymore?" Fang Yi asked. A kid that young should be in school, and schools were free these days.

"Nope. The schools in the city won't take him. And no one at home to raise him. Staying with me, begging for a few years—once he grows up, he can find a job and support himself."

"Xiao Yuan said all the money he begs gets taken by you to buy food. He makes a decent amount in a day, so why's he still so skinny?" There was a snack street nearby that sold food from all over—cheap stuff. An adult could fill up on just a few dozen yuan, and a kid could eat for even less. With what Xiao Yuan earned in a day, it should be enough to fill him up and still have some left over. He shouldn't be this skinny.

"Sigh! It's all because of that dog he's raising," the old beggar said, sounding irritated. "You know how pricey food is around here. That dog of his eats a lot. A one-yuan bun a day isn't enough for it. So Xiao Yuan gives it some of his own food every day. I've told him off a few times, but he doesn't listen. That dog of his isn't even some fancy breed. It doesn't need to eat good stuff every day—digging through trash would be enough."

The old beggar seemed genuinely upset talking about this. To him, having enough to eat for himself was what really mattered. He couldn't understand Xiao Yuan's behavior at all.

Everyone had their own way of thinking. Fang Yi didn't think the old beggar was necessarily wrong either. After all, people were selfish by nature. Someone who couldn't even feed themselves wouldn't be thinking about raising a pet—especially since a lot of people already believed animals could survive off garbage, never mind whether that stuff was healthy for them.

"You're saying Xiao Yuan secretly shared the food you bought him with Xiao Xing, and that's why he's so skinny?" Fang Yi asked.

"Not entirely," the old beggar shook his head. "The kid's family was poor, he's had it rough since he was little, so he's always been kind of skinny. Xiao Xing's actually a pretty sensible dog too—it knows that food belongs to Xiao Yuan, so he doesn't eat much. That kid's just naturally like this—no matter how much he eats, he doesn't gain weight."

"If that's the case, then how did Xiao Yuan get all those injuries?" Fang Yi asked. Fang Yue had told him Xiao Yuan's body was covered in bruises.

"We're begging out here every day, and there's always gonna be people who can't stand us—especially those young guys. If they just take the money from our bowls, that's already not the worst. Sometimes, when they're in a bad mood, they'll kick us around too."

"Xiao Xing doesn't know any better—when it sees people take Xiao Yuan's money, it runs after them to get it back. He's just a kid—there's no way he can fight those guys. He can't get the money back, and ends up getting beaten instead. I've told him several times, but he never remembers."

"Every time, he still chases after them. Last time, Xiao Xing even helped and bit one of them. If someone nearby hadn't stopped them, Xiao Xing probably would've gotten beaten to death."

That was actually the reason the old beggar had agreed to let Xiao Yuan keep the dog. If it wasn't for how loyal Xiao Xing was, he would've thrown the dog away long ago when Xiao Yuan wasn't looking.

"Xiao Yuan, do you still remember who those people were that beat you?" Fang Yi turned to ask him.

"I don't remember. Those big brothers were really scary." Xiao Yuan was playing on the side and didn't know why Fang Yi asked, but he still answered obediently.

It seemed like the old beggar was telling the truth. Based on all this, he probably really hadn't trafficked Xiao Yuan—in fact, he might've actually saved him.

"Big brother, I feel like Xiao Yuan and I have a special bond. Why don't I let him stay at our shop? My pet store is really big, so taking in one more kid wouldn't be a problem."

Xiao Yuan wasn't especially good-looking, but Fang Yi thought he was cute and had a nice, gentle vibe. Plus, he was quiet and well-behaved—living in the shop shouldn't be an issue.

Originally, Fang Yi had figured that since he was with Du Qianze, they probably wouldn't have kids in the future anyway, so adopting Xiao Yuan would be pretty great. But Du Qianze wasn't home right now, and something like this wasn't a decision he could make alone. It'd be better to talk it over with him first. For now, they could just let Xiao Yuan stay. The shop already had a ton of cats and dogs—one more kid wouldn't make a difference.

"You're thinking of adopting him?" The old beggar asked, a little excited.

"No," Fang Yi shook his head. "I need to talk it over with my family before I decide whether or not to adopt him. But I really do think it'd be better for him to stay at our shop."

"Great, that's great." The old beggar looked really happy. "I know who you are. You're a good guy. If you really decide to raise Xiao Yuan, that's his blessing. This kid's had a hard life—he's barely had any good days growing up. If you take him, you better treat him well."

"Don't worry about that. Even if I don't officially adopt him, I'll still make sure he grows up safe and sound."

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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