There's a chat group for pets in my neighborhood.

In the following days, life returned to a rare period of peace.

One by one, the pets in the group began to mobilize their own resources to gather relevant information.

Tanuki contacted the gangs outside, paid some fees, and mobilized the stray cats in the area to begin a large-scale search.

The pets in our neighborhood have been obsessed with going out for walks lately. They used to just wander around the neighborhood, but now they go out and run at least ten kilometers, and they don't want to go home until they finish.

The dog was alright, but its owner was almost exhausted.

After a long day at work, I walk another ten kilometers home in the evening, my face pale and exhausted. Good days are here.

However, the business of charging for a bone per dog walk has exploded. They've even considered raising the price in a couple of days, but then again, the reason for the surge in orders is that everyone wants to hire the muscular, athletic dog walker, so they decided against it.

It's worth mentioning that the group's bird pets played a significant role in the search mission.

The search area for stray cats and pet dogs is limited, but a parrot can search quite a few places by taking a stroll around.

The only problem is that everyone only has one chance.

After all, it's not easy for a bird to fly out of its cage at home, and it's even harder to get back home after it flies out, let alone get out a second time.

Recently, in Tiancheng Community, families who keep birds have stopped opening their doors and windows, fearing that their birds might fly away and disappear.

The situation on the mainland side wasn't much better.

With his pet dog getting dirty from being out and about so much, he felt his biceps had gotten even stronger lately.

Who would have thought that running a pet store would be such a physically demanding job?

Charlie's condition has improved a lot in the past few days. The wound on his hind leg is still healing and scabbing over, so he can only lie on the bed and can occasionally move around a little.

Every afternoon, the orange cat would still sneak in through the crack in the door left by Lu Fang. Sometimes it would share the high-grade freeze-dried food that Tanuki had given it to Charlie, and sometimes it would just quietly lie down next to Charlie, lick its fur, and talk about what had happened in the neighborhood recently.

Until one afternoon a few days later.

"Lu Fang, right? There's a package. How do I sign for it?" A courier in a YTO Express uniform stood at the entrance of the pet store and shouted twice into the store.

"Just leave it at the door!" Lu Fang wiped his hands and came out to greet them.

"Wow, these big cardboard boxes are really heavy." The deliveryman dragged the four huge cardboard boxes to the door with a trolley.

Hearing the commotion, Qin Zhuyan came out from the inner room. Her gaze fell on the several cardboard boxes that didn't even have a proper logo, only simple Chinese characters printed on them. She frowned slightly and asked, "Xiao Fang, what did you buy?"

Lu Fang chuckled, took out a utility knife from his pocket, and cut open the tape on one of the cardboard boxes.

Inside were bags of pet snacks in transparent plastic packaging, including dried duck necks, baked chicken strips, and several types of seemingly simple domestic freeze-dried cat food.

There were no fancy marketing words on the packaging bag, and even the packaging bag itself had a cheap industrial feel.

"These are all domestically produced pet snacks that I carefully selected!" He pulled out a bag and waved it at Qin Zhuyan.

"Pet treats?" Qin Zhuyan frowned. "These things look so cheap. If you put them in a woven bag, I would have thought they were pig feed."

"Xiao Fang, although I admit you have a unique eye for choosing pet toys, you need to know that the pet owners in our neighborhood still value the quality, origin, and ingredients of snacks. The best-selling item in our store is that foreign brand of chicken breast. Nobody will want these kinds of things if you stock them."

Qin Zhuyan sighed, feeling that Lu Fang had definitely misjudged the situation this time.

Fortunately, the order wasn't large this time, so the previous profits can still cover the shortfall.

"Sister Qin, you don't understand. This is called spending money wisely." Lu Fang pointed to the bag of dried duck meat and shook it confidently: "Those beautifully packaged imported grains that sell for hundreds of yuan a bag, most of the cost is spent on 'GG' and packaging. And some of them are even OEM products, with the suppliers being domestic factories."

"I picked a few domestic factories that do OEM for big brands and produce their own white-label products. They are made from pure meat, with zero flavor enhancers, and the price is cheap. As for the packaging, it is indeed a bit ugly."

"but!"

Lu Fang's next move completely surprised Qin Zhuyan.

He deftly tore open the bag of dried duck meat, took the scissors from the counter, cut it into several pieces, and placed them on a delicate little plate.

"How are we supposed to sell it if you open it up?" Qin Zhuyan asked curiously, somewhat puzzled by Lu Fang's actions.

"I have a brilliant plan!" Lu Fang kept it a secret and didn't say it directly, but instead called out, "Sister Qin, do me a favor, find a tablecloth to put at the door, and then take all these apart, cut them into small portions and put them on plates. I want to hold a tasting event at our store."

Qin Zhuyan had worked for so many years and wasn't stupid. Seeing Lu Fang's actions, she instantly understood what he meant.

"Once the packaging is opened, pet owners won't doubt the quality of the treats because of their simple outer packaging. Placing the treat dish on the ground makes it easier for cats and dogs to sniff and eat it!"

Qin Zhuyan's eyes lit up: "You've got some skills, kid. Are you really that confident in the pet treats you've chosen?"

"Of course!" Lu Fang nodded emphatically.

Watching Lu Fang bustling about, Qin Zhuyan's gaze fell on her own store's shelves. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "If you're really that confident, should we open some imported snacks and make a comparison?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Lu Fang said with a delighted expression. "I didn't mention it before because you were worried about the cost. After all, these things aren't expensive, but imported snacks are a different story."

"Go ahead and open them. The comparison will make the difference more striking. I have a good eye for these things, so don't disappoint me." Qin Zhuyan gestured towards the shelf with her lip: "Prioritize opening items nearing their expiration date!"

She didn't forget to add one last thing.

"Alright!" Lu Fang replied cheerfully.

Before long, the tasting event was set up in its basic form. A huge tablecloth was laid out in front of the Hello Pet Shop, with various kinds of pet snacks, as well as samples of dog and cat food, arranged in a very generous manner.

Several curious pet owners had already gathered around.

However, just as Lu Fang was busy, a shiny head popped up not far across the street. He looked at the somewhat familiar background of the Hello Pet Shop, took off his glasses, wiped them, and then put them back on to examine them carefully.

"So it's you, kid. I thought you'd left Tiancheng Residential Area. I didn't expect that."

"Nobody wanted you at the pet hospital, so you're working at a pet store now?"