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

Cans?

Cat food?

Who charges this kind of protection fee for good Samaritans?

Also, why does this freeze-dried cat food sound so familiar?

Soon, Brother Li from the Social World sent over a photo.

"We'll still trade the goods at the usual place. Once we see the protection fee, we'll naturally handle it for you."

Upon opening the picture, Lu Fang was shocked to discover that this was clearly the open space where he often fed the animals.

The freeze-dried cat food was the one we bought when he first came to our city. Later, when our financial situation worsened, we switched to the non-freeze-dried version.

OK OK.

No wonder my cat used to finish its food in a day, but now it takes two or three days to finish it.

You're not going to eat unless you're hungry, are you?

and many more.

He looked at the photos in the group with surprise and suspicion, and a bold idea suddenly popped into his mind.

Could it be that the people talking in my current group chat are all animals from the neighborhood?

Seeing that Lu Fang hadn't spoken in the group for a while, a new ID popped up.

He charges a bone for each dog walk: "Brother Li is very respected in our area. He's a man of honor, so don't worry about him not taking care of you after you pay the protection money."

Looking at the messages in the group, Lu Fang had a second thought and decided to test the waters.

"The protection money hasn't stopped coming in lately, isn't there some misunderstanding?"

That's the truth. Even if his income is low, he has never stopped feeding the stray cats in the neighborhood. At most, he just changed the food from freeze-dried to non-freeze-dried.

I reduced the amount slightly each time, but I never forgot to add it.

Socialite Brother Li: Impossible, it's been at least three days since I last saw the protection money.

Social Brother Li: Here's what we'll do. You make up for this first. The brothers below can't work well if they're hungry. I'll investigate and give you an explanation later.

Lu Fang pondered for a moment. Since all the grain he had stored would eventually be used to feed them anyway, he might as well test the waters.

What if this group chat is actually made up of the neighborhood animals talking?

Lu Fang: Brother Li, can we discuss this?

Socialite Tanuki: Hmm?

Lu Fang: We're really out of freeze-dried cat food. How about this, I'll open three cans and restock for you next time.

Socialite Brother Li: Okay.

This time, Brother Tanuki's answer was quick, displaying a cool and ruthless demeanor befitting a gangster.

Now that a preliminary agreement has been reached, the mainland side is not being ambiguous.

He took out the last three cans of food from the cabinet, quickly went downstairs, opened them, arranged them in a triangular shape, took a picture, and sent it to the group chat.

The mainland side: The protection fee has been paid.

Social Brother Li: Received.

The rat problem has been initially resolved; now it's time to get back to work.

Xu Yi is right. If we can't go to the vet hospital, can't we go to the pet store first?

Once this storm passes, I can just find a job at a pet hospital.

With that in mind, he quickly contacted nearby pet stores, and soon two stores were interested in having him come for an interview.

Time flows on.

Soon it was time for the afternoon interview.

The first shop was located at the east gate of the residential area. The shop was decent, and it housed two or three Teddy dogs and a Pomeranian.

It started barking incessantly as soon as someone entered the room.

The boss was washing the dog at the moment, and the two chatted briefly.

Actually, everything is pretty good, except the salary is a bit low; the other party is only willing to offer 3,000.

After saying a polite goodbye, Lu Fang planned to try his luck at the second place.

If all else fails, three thousand is fine; it's better than starving to death.

The second one is a little further away, located at the back gate of the neighboring community.

The place isn't big, but it's quite clean.

As soon as you enter, you'll see a girl with a neat ponytail wearing the shop's apron, holding a Pomeranian and comforting it.

Lu Fang knocked on the door politely: "Hello, I'm here for an interview."

Qin Zhuyan stood up, smiled politely at him, and extended her right hand: "Hello, my name is Qin Zhuyan, the manager of this Hello Pet Shop. I have seen your information, let's chat."

Strangely enough, the three or four puppies boarded at the Hello Pet Shop also barked incessantly when they saw someone coming.

But as Lu Fang approached, the cries actually subsided, and eventually turned into whimpers.

"Why do they all seem afraid of you?" Qin Zhuyan had obviously noticed this scene and asked curiously.

Lu Fang glanced at the little brown teddy bear in the cage at his feet, its hind legs trembling like a leaf, and almost burst out laughing.

This guy was the loudest barking and bullying person at the pet hospital last year.

The next second, Lu Fang dragged him onto the operating table and swiftly and efficiently completed the bomb removal surgery.

From then on, this guy would act like he was seeing an enemy whenever he saw him, yelling fiercely from three steps away, but trembling and cowardly within three steps.

"Maybe it's because of his aura," Lu Fang brushed it off.

The dark history of the pet hospital cannot be revealed. On the resume submitted to Nihao Pet Store, he deliberately omitted his work experience at the pet hospital and only wrote about his school and his love for pets.

After all, it wasn't easy to find a job, and I can't let bald Cui ruin it again.

"Looks like you're quite suited to this place," Qin Zhuyan joked. "These little guys are so noisy every day. If you can keep them in check, I can finally have some peace and quiet."

The two of them found an empty seat at the front desk and sat down.

Only then did Lu Fang have time to carefully examine Qin Zhuyan.

She looked to be around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, dressed very smartly, with skin as smooth as cream and extremely fair.

My palms are a little rough, probably from years of washing and rubbing.

But her ten fingers are slender and beautiful.

But what's even more striking are her eyes, which aren't pure black, but rather have a slight brown tint.

"I've looked at your resume. You don't have much work experience, right?" Qin Zhuyan took the resume that Lu Fang had printed out and glanced at it briefly.

"Yes, I've been at home since graduation, and I only recently started looking for a job," Lu Fang answered honestly.

"Why did you suddenly think of a pet store?"

"I love these little animals. They are born innocent and spend their whole lives accompanying and healing us. I want to do something for their limited lives."

As he spoke, a glint of light flickered in Lu Fang's eyes.

This wasn't for an interview; these were truly his heartfelt words.

"You're hired." Qin Zhuyan put down her resume and extended her right hand to Lu Fang.

"Two days off per week, monthly salary of 3,500, work hours from 8 am to 5 pm, if possible, start work tomorrow."

"make a deal."

The mainland side agreed very decisively.

After all, the price here is a full 500 yuan higher than downstairs.

Putting everything else aside, at least Tanuki's freeze-dried cat food is secured.

Speaking of Tanuki, do you still not know what's going on with the mice in your house?