Chapter 712: A Fellow Business in Germany
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Germans were fond of more than just dogs––they also loved keeping other animals as pets.
Germany was home to a large number of pets. In fact, one in three families owned a pet. Domestic cats were the most popular pet of choice, numbering 8 million in total, followed by pet dogs––despite the fact that any breed of dog could be seen wandering on the street––numbering 5 million. The remaining pets numbered about 5 million, and included rabbits, hamsters, and guinea pigs.
Zhang Zian took Famous and walked towards where the person had pointed. The other elfins followed him, looking around with curiosity.
Before they had walked a long distance, they came across a multifunction pet store. It was a ma.s.sive building with two floors and was almost as big as a medium-sized supermarket. Zhang Zian’s shop was almost a slum compared to this one.
They walked into the shop and found a mult.i.tude of pet products. Although Zhang Zian worked in the same business, he didn’t even know the function of some of the products.
The staff in the store wore uniforms and were all very busy. He began to wander around the shop, as n.o.body came up to greet him.
He walked in front of a shelf and could not read the German words listed on the item. “What is this?” he whispered to Richard.
“Let me see…” It was warm in the shop. Richard jumped out of Zhang Zian’s hoodie and onto his shoulder. It bent down to stare at the shelf.
“Quack! This is cat food!” Richard said. “There are different kinds on each row––some for domestic cats, some for stray cats, and some for half-domestic cats. They also include some for healthy and allergy p.r.o.ne cats. They all look nice.”
“What?” Zhang Zian was astonished to hear this. “There is specialized food for stray cats?”
He was so astonished by the products in the German pet market. They specifically prepared a type of food for stray cats by enhancing certain nutrients because of the diet that stray cats had. Since there were manufacturers willing to make it, there were surely customers willing to buy it. Stray cats in Germany were so fortunate.
Half-domestic cats were those that returned home for meals, but spent the rest of the day playing outside. Many families had their own yard, after all.
Next to the cat food shelf was a shelf of snacks. There were plastic containers of various colors on the shelf and a small plastic scoop in each container so the customers could get any portion they needed.
There was a large variety of snacks, including sandwich biscuits, colorful beans, doughnut-shaped cookies, and bone-shaped cookies. All were freshly baked, radiating warmth and aroma. If they were not found in a pet shop, Zhang Zian would surely think that these were snacks for human consumption. They weren’t very cheap, either. Each snack was around three euros per kilo.
Next to the snack shelf were rows of pet supplies, such as transportation cages, cat bags, bells, combs, trimmers, and so on, all in varied sizes and styles. It was amazing how many items there were.
Zhang Zian picked up a leash and looked at the price. This ordinary leash was no more than 30 RMB in his shop, but it was 30 euros in this shop.
He put the leash back, feeling envious of the fellow businessmen in Germany. The people were all so dumb and rich.
He turned his head back towards the elfins only to realize that Famous was not following him but was staring at something on the shelf.
Zhang Zian walked towards Famous and found that it was staring at a row of sungla.s.ses. The sungla.s.ses were designed for dogs, with vibrant colors and cool styles. Each dog would turn into a fas.h.i.+on professional after putting them on.
“Famous, would you like a pair?” he bent down and asked.
Famous licked its lips and said with envy, “Pi’s gla.s.ses look very nice.”
“Okay, I’ll get you a pair as well. Which one do you like?” Zhang Zian smiled. “How about trying all of them on?”
Famous was very fond of his proposal and nodded immediately. “Let’s try them on then.”
When humans bought gla.s.ses, they had to try them on first. Dogs also needed to try them on, otherwise it would be difficult to figure out which pair was the perfect size and if they could be placed firmly above the nose.
There was a small mirror on the side of the aisle. Zhang Zian asked Famous to sit in front of the mirror while he took a few pairs of gla.s.ses to try on one by one. He put back the dissatisfactory ones and kept the good ones so that they could choose a pair later.
Zhang Zian and Famous both found three or four pairs to be satisfactory, but they could not decide which pair to buy.
“You have good taste, but I recommend the black one,” a voice said from behind them, speaking in German.
Zhang Zian looked back and found a caucasian lady, probably in her forties, behind him. She was a little chubby and wore a friendly smile. She was also wearing the pet shop’s uniform.
She came closer, pointed at the yellow and black fur on Famous, and said, “Your dog is very pretty and very strong. I think the black sungla.s.ses will make it look more heroic. The orange pair is also nice, but I don’t think it suits it very much.”
Richard knew that Zhang Zian could not understand German, so it spoke in English with his accent. “Black? Let me see.”
Zhang Zian understood it and put the oval-shaped sungla.s.ses with the black frame back on Famous. After looking at different angles, he decided that it did look more handsome in the black-framed sungla.s.ses. The orange pair made it look somewhat hippy.
When the night came––the moment Famous walked onto the red carpet with a bow tie and sungla.s.ses––Famous would surely knock the audience off their feet.
“Thank you for your suggestion. We’ll take this pair,” he nodded.
“Glad to help,” the middle-aged lady smiled, switching her language to English.
Ever since the last trip to the United States, Zhang Zian’s English skills had improved greatly. Daily communication was no longer a problem.
She glanced over Famous with a highly professional standard. “This is such a good dog. It’s very hard to find such a dog nowadays. Would you mind me asking where you bought it?”
“I didn’t buy it,” Zhang Zian explained. “This is a dog in my shop. I own a pet shop as well, except that it’s in China.”
“You are a fellow businessman in China?” The middle-aged lady was very surprised. “My name is Reina. Nice to meet you.”
“My name is…” Before Zhang Zian could finish the sentence, Richard said, “Jeff Zhang! This is Famous!”
“h.e.l.lo, Jeff! h.e.l.lo, Famous! Are you tourists in Germany?” Reina asked with curiosity after they shook hands with each other.
“No, we are not tourists. My dog was in a film, so we are here in Germany for the Berlin Film Festival.” Out of his respect towards a fellow businesswoman, Zhang Zian told her the truth.
“Wow! Really?” Reina exclaimed in astonishment. “Your dog was in a film here in the Berlin Film Festival? Could you please tell me which film it is?”
Before Zhang Zian answered, she widened her eyes as if she suddenly remembered something. “Oh my gos.h.!.+ China… A film about dogs… Is it the film Dog Warrior?”
“Yes, it is.” Zhang Zian smiled.