They say a Raccoon Cat’s large testicles symbolize "wealth." In the past, Japanese goldsmiths would often use the skin from their scrotums to wrap gold fragments when making gold leaf. Shen Yibin looked at the cash Egg had found and couldn’t help but recall these legends. ’Could it be that this little guy can attract and boost wealth, just like a Lucky Cat or a Three-legged Golden Toad?’

’But if I let Egg help me make money, I wonder if the Future Pet Shop will force me to donate it all, just like with that 35 million last time?’ Shen Yibin subconsciously pulled out his phone, but apart from a few system ads, there were no new messages. It seemed the Future Pet Shop wasn’t interested in the small amount of money he had recovered.

’Perhaps the 427 yuan was mine to begin with. Egg just found it again, so it doesn’t count as money it helped me earn. That must be why the Future Pet Shop is tacitly allowing it, right?’

’Does this mean I’ll still have a chance to make money through other means in the future?’ The thought flashed through Shen Yibin’s mind. ’Hmm, I’ll have to find some time to think about this another day.’

"Egg, great job. You deserve a reward. I’ll serve you your dinner first tonight." Shen Yibin stroked Egg’s fur to encourage it, then got out of bed, washed up, and took it downstairs.

Shen Yibin’s pet shop was becoming more and more famous. With star pets like Hah’Er and Cheeky, the store was getting crowded. By the time he got downstairs, he saw that Sun Qian and Sylvie were swamped, and even Bai Yanni was helping greet customers.

He couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed. ’They’re all so busy, and I was just upstairs sleeping in. How embarrassing.’ He quickly went over to help. "Hello, sir. Are you interested in this Longmao? Let me tell you a bit about it. The scientific name for a Longmao is South American Squirrel..."

Sun Qian and Sylvie both had excellent appearances and temperaments, and their customer service was superb. So even if their professional knowledge was slightly lacking, they could still attract customers and kindle their desire to buy.

As for Shen Yibin, although he could be a bit slow on the uptake at times, he possessed a wealth of knowledge about pets. No matter what questions the customers asked, he could answer them fluently, making them nod repeatedly and quickly earning their trust.

On top of that, the pets in the store were genuinely high-quality and the prices were very reasonable. So, from the time Shen Yibin came downstairs until six in the evening, the shop sold three pets, with sales exceeding ten thousand yuan.

"We’re finally done for the day! I’m exhausted. Boss, you have to make something extra delicious for dinner," Sylvie said, collapsing onto the sofa after seeing the last customer out.

"No problem. You guys rest up for a bit, it’ll be ready soon. Hah’Er, let’s head upstairs and get to work." Of course, he had to reward such diligent employees. Shen Yibin wasn’t great with words, but he could certainly make sure they ate and drank well.

He scaled and cleaned the fish, chopped off the head and tail, and sliced the body into fillets. He then chopped the remaining fish frame into several pieces. He mixed the fillets with a little salt, cooking wine, cornstarch, and an egg white, letting it marinate for 15 minutes. Then, he blanched the side ingredients, like soybean sprouts and bamboo shoots, and set them aside.

Next, he brought a pot of water to a boil and added the fish fillets. After a few gentle stirs, he removed them as soon as they turned white. He added glass noodles and tofu skin to the fish broth, brought it to a boil, then poured in fresh water, the soybean sprouts, and bamboo shoots, letting them simmer for a while so the ingredients could fully absorb the fish’s savory flavor. Finally, he arranged the cooked fish fillets and sprouts on a large platter.

For the final step, he poured oil into a wok and fried red chilis and Sichuan peppercorns until their fragrance was released, then poured the sizzling oil over the fish. A huge basin of boiled fish was now ready. Of course, Shen Yibin’s method was slightly different from the traditional recipe, mainly to cater to Hah’Er’s tastes. But with Hah’Er’s guidance, the flavor was even better than what you’d find in most restaurants.

"Hah’Er, go tell them to come upstairs for dinner," Shen Yibin ordered while plating the food. Hah’Er wiped the drool from the corner of its mouth, slid off the chair, and waddled on its short legs to the top of the second-floor stairs. With a single call, the little gang that had been waiting downstairs for ages swarmed up and surrounded the dining table.

"Egg, bring me your bowl. You’re getting served first today." Shen Yibin was a man of his word. He took Egg’s bowl and filled it to the brim. Since Raccoon Cats naturally love to eat fish, Shen Yibin wasn’t worried about it choking on any bones.

"What did Egg do today to make you so happy?" Sun Qian couldn’t help but ask, her curiosity piqued. Usually, Hah’Er was the one who enjoyed this special treatment, but today Shen Yibin had suddenly changed his routine.

"Well, here’s what happened..." While serving Hah’Er, Shen Yibin recounted what Egg had done in his bedroom earlier, causing the girls to marvel in amazement.

"I have some jewelry that I lost in the Royal Palace and could never find. Bin, could you lend me Egg? I could take it back to my country to help me find my jewelry," Sylvie asked.

"I think we should just recruit Egg into the police force. If it’s really as amazing as you say, it would make finding stolen money and whatnot so much easier for us in the future." Bai Yanni was already planning to use Egg like a police dog.

"After dinner, I’m taking Egg for a walk around the block. It found over 400 yuan in less than half an hour. By that math, that’s 1,000 yuan an hour. If I walk it for three hours a day, that’s 3,000 yuan, which is 100,000 yuan a month! That’s way more profitable than running the shop," Shen Yibin couldn’t help but joke.

Sylvie and the others burst into laughter, Cheeky started making its usual snarky comments, and Hah’Er sipped its beer in small mouthfuls. Egg watched Hah’Er’s bowl curiously, as if wondering whether it should try some too. Everyone was having a very happy dinner.

"Alright, you all had a tiring afternoon. I’ll take care of the cleanup." Feeling a little guilty for slacking off that morning, Shen Yibin volunteered for the task of clearing the table, sending them all downstairs to drink tea and chat.

’Sigh, cooking is such a rewarding experience, and enjoying delicious food is wonderful, but cleaning the table and washing the dishes is no fun at all,’ Shen Yibin grumbled to himself as he cleaned. It took him more than half an hour of hard work before the kitchen and dining room were finally spotless.

Just as he was pondering how to stop Egg from dancing all night, Sylvie rushed upstairs with a panicked look on her face. "Boss, Boss! This is bad! Egg is gone!"

’Huh? What happened? Weren’t you all downstairs? The shop isn’t that big, how could you lose Egg?’ Shen Yibin quickly followed Sylvie downstairs. He saw that the front door was open just a crack, and there was no sign of Egg in the main hall.