一路向西 粤语

Chapter 410: Struggle to Make a Choice

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

Even though the song had ended, the customers continued to stare at the center of the stage, mesmerized.. Although the four Abyssinian cats had bowed and left the stage, the audience still seemed to be immersed in the melody of Four Little Swans, the dancing of the Abyssinian cats, and Fina’s singing voice, and were unable to bring themselves back to reality for a long time.

They didn’t wake from the dreamy performance until Zhang Zian used the remote control to turn the lights back on. They applauded, cheered, and screamed so loud that they almost raised the roof. Napping on the second floor, Richard was startled, and it shouted, “War! Fire! Everyone run! Quack!” But its voice was quickly swallowed by the thundering applause.

Everyone applauded and clapped their hands. Some people ran over to Zhang Zian to remind him of the tradition that as long as the applause was loud and long-lasting enough, the performers should come out and perform an encore.

However, Zhang Zian ignored these requests. He knew that encores usually occurred in concerts, and never had he seen ballerinas return to the stage to perform again after the curtain closed. Did the audience think it was that easy to dance on their tiptoes?

Some new customers suspected that they must have seen fake cats, asking Zhang Zian how he had taught the cats to dance.

Zhang Zian stuck to his previous rhetoric, saying that his family had been cat trainers since ancient times, and that he must not reveal his cat training secrets to outsiders. But even as a cat trainer, teaching Abyssinian cats was also a very difficult task, which required arduous, long-term efforts.

The customers were so envious of him. A few very pretty girls also begged him to accept them as apprentices and teach them how to train cats. Although Zhang Zian wanted to accept them, he pretended that he didn’t care and turned them down. After all, there was nothing much he could teach them…

Returning customers and Snowy’s fans understood that it was impossible for Zhang Zian to reveal his secrets to them. If he accepted apprentices, once they had mastered his secrets, the teacher would suffer enormous losses in his business.

“Manager, how much is an Abyssinian cat? Just tell me, and over the next six months, I will save enough money to buy one!” Several girls asked the same question, while their boyfriends felt the imminent crisis threatening their wallets, glaring at Zhang Zian as if he was a thief.

“Well…” Zhang Zian hadn’t given much thought to the pricing yet. “Presently, my estimate is that each will cost no less than 40,000 Yuan.”

“40,000 Yuan?! So expensive!”

“Too expensive!”

Zhang Zian said, “40,000 Yuan is not that expensive. You see, even the price of a top tier Ragdoll kitten ranges from 20,000 to 30,000 Yuan, let alone an Abyssinian cat that is able to reproduce. Look, these seven cats are all age-appropriate breeding cats, but Abyssinian cats have low reproductive abilities, so after six months, probably only six or seven kittens, or even fewer, will be born. If anyone wants an Abyssinian kitten, you’d better book one soon, or others will have claimed them all.”

Everyone knew that things became precious when they were scarce, but 40,000 Yuan was a huge sum of money that needed to be carefully considered. After all, with this amount of money, several iPhone Xs could be bought…

Liu Wenying was holding her little daughter Yue Yue in her arms, and Yue Yue kept on mumbling, “Abby… Abby…”, yearning for an Abyssinian cat.

She had to bring Yue Yue over to the puppies to divert her attention. A ballet-dancing Abyssinian cat was not a pet she could afford, and her husband would never agree to buy one.

Zhang Zian cleared his throat. “There is just one more thing I need to clarify — these Abyssinian cats are not mine. I just train them.”

“What?” The customers were surprised, and they curiously asked, “To whom do they belong to then? Are they from another cattery?”

“Will these cats be taken away after you finish training them?”

Zhang Zian glanced at the photo of Cathy, who was smiling splendidly in the picture, as if she had also witnessed the wonderful ballet show and was happy that her cats were so popular among people.

He replied, “These cats will remain here and will not be taken away for any reason. They belong to one of my friends, whose name I won’t reveal, but don’t you worry, she had entrusted me to take care of these cats, and as long as I agree, she would have no objection.”

Everyone was relieved upon hearing this. Though few people could afford to spend so much money on a cat, as long as these cats remained here, they could come and see them whenever they had the time.

Zhao Qi was holding two barrels of imported cat food and was waiting at the register for Liu Wenying and Yue Yue. She had also watched the Abyssinian cats’ performance, and she wondered whether she would be able to save up 40,000 Yuan before Black Friday next year. But she also worried about if a lively Abyssinian cat could get along with her demure, lady-like Lan Lan…

What was most annoying was that few people had recorded the wonderful dance. Even though a few customers had recorded the show on their cell phones, the effects were disappointing due to the poor angles they chose. In short, there was no collection value from these videos, and Zhang Zian refused to let the Abyssinian cats dance again.

Zhang Zian advised, “Everyone, please don’t just eye the Abyssinian cats. The other breeds of cats and dogs in our shop are also very good. Take a look at them and perhaps you’ll find your favorite one.”

Abyssinian cats could learn ballet thanks to their excellent motor abilities and light bodies, but they were not necessarily better than other breeds of cats. Each kind of cat and dog had their own special characteristics.

The customers gradually dispersed and went to seek their favorite breed of cat or dog.

Glancing around the store, Zhang Zian looked to see if any customer needed help. Today, the pet shop was bustling with the most customers it had ever had, and noises were heard throughout the entire store. Fina, Snowy Lionet, Old Time Tea, Galaxy and Richard all went to the second floor, for they didn’t like such lively occasions.

However, such liveliness would probably only occur today because of the discounts offered during the opening ceremony. Everything would return to normal tomorrow. Foreseeably, the shop would see a slump in the days to come, for a lot of customers had bought their pets and pet supplies today.

Wang Qian and Li Kun understood some pet knowledge from their working experience in the pet shop, so they could occasionally answer a few of the customers’ questions. In addition, they were also busy maintaining order within the store. If a customer bought too many things, they would help move their purchases into taxis, and would return to the store to help the next customers once the taxi had left.

Lu Yiyun had no free time at all to draw today, for she was busy opening membership cards and handling checkouts for all the clients. Fortunately, she had already gotten familiar with the process a few days ago — Zhang Zian, Wang Qian and Li Kun had played the role of customers, simulating scenarios of customers shopping and checking out to help her learn in advance and practice what might happen at checkout when real customers showed up. Otherwise, she definitely would have made mistakes on such a busy day like today.

Seeing that Wang Qian, Li Kun and Lu Yiyun temporarily didn’t need help, Zhang Zian’s eyes fell on Deng Jie. Among every person he knew, Deng Jie was the one who struggled the most when it came to making a choice. If it wasn’t because she had bought a sick dog for petty gains before, Zhang Zian was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to decide which pet to buy today.

Deng Jie was carrying a handbag without a brand logo. Her eyes lingered in front of the showcases. She had a couple of puppies in mind, but when she noticed the prices, she hesitated. If there was anything she had decided in the last few months, it was that she had decided to buy a dog instead of a cat. Although the sick puppy had only been in her family for a few days, she had felt that the pleasure of raising a dog was bigger than what a cat could bring. As long as she held some treats out to lure the dog, it would obediently run to her, unlike cats that liked ignoring people…

Seeing that she was struggling to make a choice, Zhang Zian intended to help her out.