’If you want to buy Egg, just say you want to buy Egg. Can you not add "your" to it? It makes it sound like you’re the Old Buddha herself. Do I have to enter the palace to serve you, too?’

"Of course you can buy it. But the usual rule applies—Egg has to be willing to go with you." ’Sigh, I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t even had a chance to figure out Egg’s price. I’ll have to ask the Future Pet Shop later.’

"If it’s going to be a big ordeal like last time, I’m not very confident. For now, just have your Egg lead us in dancing. I’ll see if I can make the little guy happy." Mrs. Wang probably felt she wasn’t close enough to Egg yet, so she didn’t press the matter, instead taking a step back and making a different request.

"Sure, no problem. It loves to dance anyway." ’Finding an owner for Egg probably won’t be that easy. I’ll just let it interact more with people for now. Who knows, maybe it’ll run into someone with a high enough affinity score one of these days.’

After settling that matter, Shen Yibin took the opportunity to bring up the issue of the shop. "Mrs. Wang, about what we discussed last time... I’ve thought it over, and I’m willing to rent your storefront."

"Oh? It seems your business is doing better than I imagined, Bin." Mrs. Wang was slightly surprised. Their two shops were right next to each other, so she saw the number of customers he got every day. From her casual chats with Shen Yibin, she also had a rough idea of the profit margins in the pet industry. By her calculations, there was no way he could have earned that much money in just a few months.

"The shop itself hasn’t made that much, but I got some money from another source. It should be just enough for the first payment. I guarantee I won’t be late with the rent," Shen Yibin said vaguely.

Once he put it that way, Mrs. Wang knew not to press further. Anyone in business would keep their funding sources confidential. Since Shen Yibin had secured the money, and she already had a good impression of him, it seemed she could consider agreeing. It wasn’t easy to find a tenant as reliable as Shen Yibin these days. Since they were already familiar with each other, expanding their business relationship seemed quite suitable.

"Alright then. I’ll take you next door to have a look first. Once you’ve confirmed everything is in order, we can sign the contract," Mrs. Wang said, then led Shen Yibin to the shop next door.

The shop had the same two-story structure as Shen Yibin’s, but it was much larger in area. The two floors combined were over five hundred square meters. There were no customers in the shop right now, and the shelves were almost bare. It seemed Mrs. Wang was really serious about closing down.

"Take this can of Dahongpao home with you." Mrs. Wang remembered what she had said earlier. She took an exquisitely packaged can of tea from the shelf and handed it to Shen Yibin.

"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Wang." Shen Yibin didn’t stand on ceremony. They would be dealing with each other a lot in the future, and there would be plenty of opportunities to repay her, so he took the tea caddy and handed it to Hah’Er. ’Mhm, the main reason I’m expanding the shop is for this guy. How could I not bring him along to see it?’ Shen Yibin pointed to a spot in front of them and said, "Hah’Er, how about I plant a small bamboo grove for you here, and then a few big trees?"

’I’ll knock out the second-floor ceiling, change the roof to glass to let sunlight shine on the indoor bamboo grove and trees. Hah’Er would love that, right? But if I do that, I’ll be wasting more than half of the two-hundred-plus square meters on the second floor. And on the first floor, I’ll only need to reserve about a hundred square meters. The actual business area won’t increase by much.’

’From a business perspective, this kind of renovation is definitely not cost-effective. So much space would be wasted for no good reason. But as long as Hah’Er likes it, what does that matter?’

"Mhm! Mhm!" Hah’Er chuckled foolishly, lifting his big head to look at the ceiling, as if imagining what the room would look like filled with bamboo and big trees. And then... DUANG! He fell flat on his back. ’Sigh, this guy’s head is just too big. The moment he tilted it back a little too far, he lost his balance and fell over.’

"Haha, Hah’Er, you’ve really perfected that ’Butt-First Wild Goose Landing’ move." Shen Yibin laughed and gave him a thumbs-up. ’As long as I’m with this guy, I always feel happy.’

"Nghh~" Hah’Er rubbed his butt and looked at Shen Yibin with a wronged expression, as if to say, ’I’m in so much pain, and you’re still laughing at me. You’re so mean.’

’Hey, you used to roll all over the mountains without crying out in pain, and you can’t handle this?’ Shen Yibin grinned at him but didn’t say a word. After a moment, Hah’Er—either because the pain had subsided or because he realized he’d been found out—quietly got up, shuffled over to Shen Yibin, and hugged his leg.

After walking around upstairs and downstairs a few times and carefully inspecting every detail, he found no major issues. So, Shen Yibin asked Mrs. Wang, "How long do you think we should make the contract for?"

"At least three years. After all, you’re planning such a big renovation, so a short-term lease would be a problem for me." The two quickly ironed out the details. It would be a three-year contract: rent at 50,000 per month for the first year, increasing by five percent in the second year and again in the third. Because Shen Yibin was planning a major renovation, the security deposit was increased to 150,000 and would be non-refundable if he terminated the lease within those three years. Rent was to be paid quarterly before the fifth day of the start of the new quarter, otherwise he would be in breach of contract...

"You can have someone come measure the shop and start on the preliminary designs now, but the official handover will have to wait until next month. Otherwise, I’ll have nowhere to put all my things." As their contract discussion came to a close, Mrs. Wang added one last condition.

"That’s no problem. It’ll take time for me to get a designer and work out a plan anyway." This was also advantageous for Shen Yibin; an extra month would give him a bit more breathing room with his finances.

He called a lawyer over to sign the contract and paid Mrs. Wang a 50,000 deposit. And just like that, the matter was settled. The first quarter’s rent and the security deposit would be paid upon handover.

Afterward, he treated Mrs. Wang and the lawyer, whose name was Zhang Danxuan, to a meal. Then he called the designer who had done his previous renovations and scheduled a meeting for the next day to measure the property and discuss his ideas. By the time he finished with everything, it was already past seven in the evening.

Mrs. Wang eagerly took Egg to continue training hard for the square dancing competition, and Sylvie went along with them. Sun Qian went off to sing at the bar, leaving just Shen Yibin and Hah’Er in the shop.

’I guess it’s time to check Egg’s price, and what the requirements are for buying it.’ Leaning back on the sofa, Shen Yibin opened his phone, pulled up the chat window with the Future Pet Shop, and sent a message.

"PFFT~" The moment he saw Egg’s price, Shen Yibin spat out a mouthful of water.