I woke up feeling refreshed as I thought about my bizarre but wonderful dream. I looked over to my closet to pick an outfit appropriate for working in a pet shop where there is a lot of animal fur. I then suddenly realised that my choice of clothing is very small. There are only 3 long-sleeved and 5 short-sleeved shirts, a pair of jeans, 3 pairs of sweatpants and one sweater. All of these were the cheapest clothes that you can find in a bigger convenience store that we're already very worn out as if someone wore them for a few years. And that's exactly what it was.
I wore these clothes for 3 years since my growth spurt started and at the start they were very big on me, but now they fit perfectly. They were indeed from a convenience store as my aunt was too lazy to go out and and buy clothes for the 'bastard child' that lives in her house.
I quickly put on a gray, short-sleeved shirt and some sweatpants that I use for exercise. I glance at the clock and see that it's only 6AM so I go out for a run right after exiting my room.
After an hour of running and exercising, I go back to take a quick shower, change the clothes to a pair of a black shirt and sweatpants. I style my newly cut hair, looking as handsome as ever and decide to buy a breakfast outside since I only have an hour until the appointed time for me to come to work.
As I walk toward the pet shop, I spot a new breakfast shop in the area and decide to try it out. The shop looks very neat and elegant from the outside and I can see that the prices listed on the window are also very reasonable. The place somehow looks ancient, yet has a bit of a modern feeling too. I immediately took a liking to it as from my experience when I worked as an assistant of a designer. This place is indeed very finely constructed and decorated.
I walk into the shop, ready to eat a delicious breakfast but I'm stunned straight away when I see someone very familiar in front of me. Before I can voice out his name however, he's already jumping around me.
"Oh my!..."he pauses for a bit, probably trying very hard to remember my name..."Han Xue Wei!"
'Ah.. He remembered pretty quickly. To be honest, this is not surprising since its hard to forget such a handsome face like mine even after so much time passed' I chuckle in my mind, feeling proud of being so handsome.
"It's been a long time brother, haha! Did you study well just like I told you to?"
"You look very happy and refreshed right now! Wow, you even gained some weight and became even more handsome!"
"Right, Did you come to this shop for breakfast?"
"Let me tell you, this shop is one of the shops my uncle owns and he gifted this one to my cousin to manage! Look isn't it so beautiful and chic?!"
He immediately starts talking about everything that comes to his mind after getting too excited.
I laugh lightly and answer all of his questions one by one. "Hello to you too Tao Rong hahaha. Indeed, it's been around 3 months since we last saw each other. And yes I have been studying very hard these 3 months so I'm very confident in getting into No. 1 High school. I look forward to becoming your schoolmate. Also, I actually came into the store to eat breakfast when I realised that this beautiful place is newly opened. The design of the shop is very well thought out and it brings a nice, cozy feeling, especially in the morning."
I sit down in a place nearest to the window and continue, "I never would have thought that this place is run by your cousin. This is a very good design for a breakfast shop"
He smiles and looks at me proudly, "Of course! This is my most beloved cousin, how can her shop not be well built! Also, my Tao family is very impressive in the gourmet industry so my cousin must do her best in order to make these old fogies at home proud! If her plans work, she will get more chances to have more shops to manage."
"Hmm, this is indeed good. Please recommend me some breakfast today then as it looks that you're pretty familiar with this place"
"Okay, brother Wei, today this meal is on me. Also maybe we can hang out together this summer holiday, what do you think?"
I don't refuse him when he says he's going to pay for my meal as I need to save up some money and I know that Tao Rong is not the kind of person to cheat me. But I regretfully refuse his kind invitation to play together this summer.
"I'm sorry Tao Rong but I have a part time job at a pet shop and it will be during the whole summer vacation so I'm unfortunately unable to meet up with you" I rub my palms together in front of him as I jokingly beg him for forgiveness as I then add, "But when we start high school, we can hang out together more often. We can also study together if you want!"
His slightly upset mood at the thought that he can't play this summer with a new friend has instantly brightened again when he heard my proposal." Are you sure?! I will definitely remember this proposal and make sure you fulfill it when we meet in high school!"
I immediately assure him that I would never lie to a friend of mine and he calms down a bit, but still seeming very excited.
We talk for another 15 minutes and I finish my breakfast as we decide to meet here and chat with each other for a few minutes when I eat my breakfast in this shop on every other day I work.
After that, I got up and walked out from the small restaurant as I bid my new friend a goodbye.
I walk toward my destinations and arrive at 7:50. Even though I'm 10 minutes earlier, I already see Grandpa Zhang and the weird man whom I now call Uncle Zhang, washing the shelfs and swiping the floor as I walk inside.
"Well, hello young man! I'm glad to see you here so early. Here, come over to Uncle Zhang and he will teach you what we do as a morning cleaning routine."
I do as Granpda Zhang instructs and walk over to talk with Uncle Zhang. As we talk, I realise that he really isn't a bad person. He is just not a someone who enjoys talking with strangers.
Soon Enough, Uncle Zhang showed me everything I need to do and I went straight to work. From cleaning the shelfs, to rearranging the objects on them, to mopping the floor, I did this all and finally after one and a half hours, we all finished hour tasks.
"Xiao Wei, it's already 9:30AM and we open the store at 10AM. Do you now how to operate a cash register?"
I look at Uncle Zhang with bright eyes as it is the first time he called me 'Xiao Wei' since we met and he even said such a lengthy sentence! "I do, I know how to operate it perfectly as I have some experience, don't worry Uncle Zhang!" I say as I remember the times where I had to work in malls or convinience stores as a cashier in my last life.
"I will then take you to meet all the animals we have here."
I instantly get too excited and so, I try to play cool and calm down but I'm pretty sure that even uncle Zhang realised how happy I am as his lips turned into a smirk for a bit and then went down again...
'Although it wasn't long, it shows that Uncle Zhang has some emotions, and it's just that he hides them too well ah...'
We walk towards the back of the shop and open a very heavy door. I look inside and see big (and cute) colpurfull cages filled with animals and then in the back, a big area filled with fake grass and tons of toys and snacks. I can see some dogs and cats playing around.
"This is the playground for the dogs and cats since they have to have a larger room for movement as it is hard to walk all of them out every day since there is simply too many of them to handle together. We prefer to walk them in batches and then we let the rest play on the playground."
He says as we walk further into the room. I look around and see dogs, cats, fish, turtles, hamsters, rabbits, mice and other animals, both big and small.
"Today, since its your first day, i will teach you how to wash and groom these animals. We only wash them once a week in, also in batches since there is too many of them. Today, you only need to wash 3 dogs, 3 cats, 10 hamsters, and 2 rabbits."
I gasp in amazement as I think to myself 'So many animals tow wash today?!'
Uncle Zhang immediately saw through my thoughts as he said grumpliy, "Hmph, Xiao Wei, today is Friday which means that this batch is the last one which is also the smallest one. This is good for you since you will get to practice today and will be ready for the next time."
I swear that my mouth was open so wide that a train can safely pass through it! But then again, this pet shop is rather big so I knew that there will be many new responsibilities coming along when working with so many pets and I am determined to do my best!
"Don't worry Uncle Zhang! Please teach me everything you know, I will do my best." I make a joke and saluted to him like a soldier.
And so, I started bathing and grooming the animals for today under the instructions of Uncle Zhang. He is actually a very good teacher as when I bathed these animals, he taught me about all of them and their species.
I learned where these animals don't like to be touched and how to make them more comfortable. I now know hat they like, what they hate, if they are friendly with humans or not and I even got to know about their personalities. And to be honest, I loved every second of it as I gained some important knowledge.
After we bathed all the little cuties and cleaned the bathroom up, Grandpa Zhang came in and looked at me with a gentle and warm smile as he whispered and showed us a box.
"Xiao Wei, Xiao Lei, look, someone dropped this pitful little guy outside of our store. It's mainly just malnourished but It also only has two fingers on his right pow. It seems like he was born with this deformity" He says as he smiles sadly.
We look into the box and see a puppy. More importantly, this puppy is a rare breed of a Czechoslovakian wolfdog. I know this since I once worked as a cleaner in a house of a rich business man who had a female dog of this breed that just gave birth and their puppies looked exactly like this one in the box.
This puppy however, definitely looks a lot weaker and more malnourished. It breaks my heart to see it like this. My heart started to beat the moment I saw him, and in my mind, he is already my baby.
"This dog is indeed very Pitiful. Grandpa Zhang, Can we save him?" I ask and glance at him, my eyes full of desire to save the little guy in front of us right at this moment.
Grandpa Zhang chuckles and replied warmly, "Of course we will save him, however with this obvious deformity, I doubt that any customer will buy this dog, even if he is very cute..."
"Grandpa Zhang, Uncle Zhang, Don't worry, I will take care of this puppy. When I can finally move out of my aunt's house, I will take him with me. I fell in love with this little guy from the moment I saw it. Could you help me keep it here until I have the ability to give it a good home?" I ask and use all the best charms my beautiful face can show as I look at them, very determined to keep this dog with me.
Under my strong and cute gaze, they cannot bear it any longer and agree.
" This... Okay, Xiao Wei, I will entrust him to you in the future. From now on this dog belongs to you"
I smile and jump up to embrace the old man, filled with so much happiness right now that I could probably vomit a rainbow! "Thank you very much Grandpa! I promise I will do my best!"
"Xiao Wei, now that the dog is yours, you have to name it" Says Uncle Zhang.
"Is it a female or male?"
"Female"
"Coco.... I will call her Coco. This name is very cute so it will suit a little cookie like her!" I laugh out loud as I reach out to caress the little girl.