"Bro, are you freaking kidding me? The panda was only 22,222.22, the fluently talking parrot was only 38,384.38, yet this Raccoon Cat costs 188,888.88? Did you accidentally add an extra digit?" Shen Yibin nearly choked when he saw the number. ’This is a deliberate attempt to stop me from selling Egg, isn’t it!’

He’d just been mulling over checking the affinity between Egg and Mrs. Wang if the price was right. Now it seemed there was no need to bother. If Mrs. Wang heard this price, wouldn’t she curse him out?

"Have you forgotten how much your income has increased since you got this Raccoon Cat? And the parrot? Is there even a comparison? This price is already very reasonable. Young man, hurry up and find it an owner so you can get your 18,888.89 commission." The Future Pet Shop was being so generous, it even rounded up the last digit for him.

’Damn it, Cheeky earned me over thirty-five million, and didn’t you just extort it all away?’ The thought alone was depressing. It seemed the Future Pet Shop had no intention of changing the price, so Shen Yibin gave up on bargaining. He stared blankly at Hah’Er, who was in the middle of the hall playing with the other pets. Just where was he supposed to find a spender of that caliber?

’Not only do they need to be rich, but their affinity also has to meet the requirements. It looks like Egg is going to be even harder to sell than Cheeky was.’ Shen Yibin’s head started to hurt again. ’Starting tomorrow, I’ll use the affinity test app on anyone who shows interest in Egg. As long as their affinity is high enough, I can worry about the money later.’

Thankfully, when Mrs. Wang brought Egg back that evening, she didn’t ask about the price, allowing Shen Yibin to breathe a small sigh of relief. The handover for her shop hadn’t been finalized yet; it would be disastrous if she got angry and tore up the contract.

"Bin, your Egg is just too clever! Look, it found several more coins at the square just now." Mrs. Wang opened her palm, revealing a few coins. It seemed Egg had been showing off its innate talent at the square again.

"Haha, this little guy just can’t take its eyes off shiny things," Shen Yibin said, laughing it off. He had finally managed to brush Mrs. Wang off, but he had no idea that Egg’s coin-finding display at the square had fallen into the sights of an interested party.

’Looks like this thing really does have a knack for finding treasure,’ he thought. Outside the shop, in his car, the jade shop owner, Boss Zhao, stroked his chin and stared unblinkingly through the glass at Egg. He didn’t reluctantly avert his gaze until Shen Yibin pulled the curtains and closed up for the night.

’Hmm, it seems the creature often goes to the square for the dancing. I’ll find a chance to test it tomorrow. Perhaps I can...’ Musing over his plan, Boss Zhao started his car to head back to his own shop. ’If that Raccoon Cat really has this kind of talent, I have to get my hands on it. It would be worth any price.’

He was already eagerly fantasizing about the scene: he, with Egg in tow, would dominate the stone-gambling markets of Myanmar and the South of the Colorful Clouds, becoming fabulously wealthy overnight.

「The next day」 It was supposed to be Sylvie’s day off. She had wanted to take Hah’Er and Egg for a trip to the countryside, but unfortunately, Shen Yibin had already scheduled an appointment with an interior designer, so she had to change her plans and move her day off to the following day.

After breakfast, they opened the shop for business. Before long, Li Zhen, the designer from the renovation company, arrived. His company had handled the design and construction for Shen Yibin’s current shop. Seeing that the quality of their work was good, Shen Yibin wanted to continue collaborating with them.

"Boss Shen, your business is getting bigger and bigger," Li Zhen said. As he entered the shop and saw Hah’Er and Egg, he froze for a moment, as was customary, before quickly offering up some compliments.

After the pleasantries, Shen Yibin took him directly to the shop next door to show him the space. Then they returned to discuss things further. "I’ve already worked things out with the owner next door. Construction can begin next month. I’ll need you to come up with a proposal before then. If the plan is good and the price is right, then I’ll continue to work with your company."

"No problem. Surely you trust the quality of our company’s work? Just tell me what your requirements are." After speaking, Li Zhen took out a notebook and a pen, preparing to jot down Shen Yibin’s requests.

"I plan to knock through the wall on the second floor, convert the roof into a sunroom, and then plant some bamboo and large trees inside... Have you ever been to that Western restaurant on Cyan Cloud Street? I want something similar to their sunroom." Shen Yibin explained his requirements in detail, even taking out photos of the restaurant for reference.

"We’ve done plenty of indoor landscape designs like this. In the past, they were mostly for the atriums of large shopping centers; we’ve never actually done one for a small, street-facing storefront. But you don’t need to worry. The principles are universal, we’ll just need to make a few adjustments for the actual situation." Li Zhen mulled it over for a moment, figured it wouldn’t be too difficult, and agreed without hesitation.

Then, they returned to Mrs. Wang’s tea shop. Li Zhen took out his tools, carefully measured the shop’s dimensions, and recorded them in his notebook. "I understand your vision, and I’ve collected the data on the space. In a little while, I’ll take my team to scout out a few places in Yunzhong City with similar designs. We’ll have a preliminary proposal for you within a week, and we can continue our discussion then."

"Sounds good. I’ll leave it in your hands, then." Shen Yibin tried to get him to stay a bit longer, but Li Zhen was eager to go scouting and didn’t stay for lunch, so Shen Yibin saw him to the door.

"Sylvie, let’s put that help wanted notice from last time back up." Since the shop was expanding, the hiring process had to be reopened.

"Okay, Boss. Are you renting Mrs. Wang’s shop space?" Sylvie asked as she rummaged through a drawer, looking for the notice.

"Yeah. As it is now, Hah’Er doesn’t even have a place to play. It’s just not right. It’ll be much better once we plant some bamboo and big trees for him," Shen Yibin replied casually.

Unfortunately, a whole afternoon passed without a single applicant. That evening, Mrs. Wang came over again to take Egg to go square dancing, and this time Shen Yibin tagged along with Hah’Er.

’Here they come.’ When they arrived at the square, Boss Zhao, who had been waiting in his car for a long time, rolled up the window and said to the young man in the passenger seat, "See it? The one leading the dance on the stage. In a little while, do exactly as I said. Don’t mess this up."

"I got it." The young man in the passenger seat opened the car door and got out.