This is too twisted.

"It’s for making offerings to your statue, of course," the shopkeeper replied.

That word, "offerings," was even more alarming. Zog’s eye twitched.

"You don’t know? Every pet shop in the city has a statue of you for offerings now."

"Huh? Why?"

"Of course, it’s because..."

Before he could finish, the carriage came to a stop.

Zog opened the carriage window and looked out. The district was somewhat dirty and chaotic, with buildings that hadn’t been renovated in years. It shouldn’t have been a good place to do business.

But a long line snaked in front of an unremarkable pet shop.

Someone was even walking along the queue handing out numbered tickets. Near the end of the line stood a sign that read, "Today’s slots are full."

’They’ve completely mastered my whole "hunger marketing" schtick.’

The customers emerging from the pet shop were all overjoyed. Some cradled blue cats, others carried cages with fancy rats, and a few even had little yellow birds.

Zog was starting to get it.

"It’s all thanks to your Tom and Jerry. The city’s pet shops are alive again. Before, ordinary people only kept cats to catch mice, so any old stray would do. But ever since the cartoon came out, everyone wants a blue one.

"And mice! Who would’ve thought people would keep those things as pets? Plus, unlike other animals, mice have short lifespans. We sell them out this year, and we can sell more again next year."

the shopkeeper said, overjoyed.

’Of course,’ Zog realized with a start. ’Why bother making merchandise like clothes for Tom and Jerry? The biggest derivative products are the cats and mice themselves!’

In the past, pet merchants had catered exclusively to the rich, selling all kinds of rare and exotic beasts.

What commoner would spend money to buy a pet? Their cats and dogs at home had new litters every year; they had more than they could give away.

But as soon as the cartoon came out, the pet market came to life.

The chances of a free-roaming, outdoor domestic cat giving birth to a kitten with Tom’s blue fur and white-gloved pattern were slim to none.

The colors in any given litter were like opening a loot box. If you wanted one that looked exactly like the cartoon, you really had to go to a pet shop that specialized in breeding.

"So, if anyone tries to mess with Tom and Jerry, they’re cutting off our lifeline. We have to hit back hard," the shopkeeper said with a serious expression.

"You have to keep making the cartoon, sir. All of us are counting on you."

"Don’t worry. Tom and Jerry can run for at least another ten years," Zog replied.

He couldn’t guarantee anything beyond that. The complete collection of Tom and Jerry discs he’d watched only had a little over a hundred episodes. If they wanted to keep producing it after that, maintaining the quality would depend entirely on the local animation writers.

Zog himself didn’t have the ability to continue the Tom and Jerry saga. He was a plagiarizing Dragon, and he knew his own limits.

But those were all things to consider later.

Right now, he had discovered a massive Blue Sea market.

"Do you want to make the pet business bigger and better?" Zog asked the shopkeeper.

"Of course. Who doesn’t want to grow their business?" the shopkeeper replied without hesitation.

"Come on, let’s head inside the shop and discuss this in detail."

The pet shop was now filled with cats, mice, and birds, but in a few scattered corners, one could still see traces of the shop’s former main business.

All sorts of strange and bizarre-looking creatures.

Their price tags were also quite astonishing, because rarity meant they were hard to find, which required a significant investment of time and cost.

The business model was much like an antique shop’s: go half a year without a sale, and one big sale would feed you for the next six months.

The second floor housed the shopkeeper’s living quarters. The decor was warm and exquisite, which didn’t seem to fit the shopkeeper’s style. He was rugged, and his clothes marked him as a rough-and-tumble type.

A set of Peashooter and Sunflower plush toys was also displayed in the room.

’His children don’t live with him, so he must have a wife who’s old in age but young at heart.’

"Please have some tea." The shopkeeper brought over a cup; it was from the fruit tea bag series launched by the Zog Group.

This was more popular than plain tea leaves because it was naturally a bit sweet. For the people of Feilin, a sweet flavor was always the default choice.

"My idea is this: the pet business shouldn’t just be about selling the pets themselves, but also pet-related products," Zog said, getting straight to the point.

"For example?"

This was a bit beyond the shopkeeper’s comprehension; he had never considered what "related products" a pet could even have.

"For example: special food, beds, toys, health supplements, even medicine and surgery."

Zog rattled off a long list of items.

The pet market was bound to grow in scale as the economy developed.

In an industrial society, every person becomes more of an isolated individual, which in turn increases the need for emotional companionship.

It wasn’t obvious yet, but the trend was already emerging.

Otherwise, people who kept cats and dogs for purely practical reasons wouldn’t suddenly be willing to spend money on these "utility animals" just because of a cartoon.

Moreover, the commoners of today, despite their heavy workloads, now had disposable income and a desire to pursue a higher quality of life.

Otherwise, Zog’s game, Shadow of Evil, could never have become so popular; it would have remained a product exclusive to the nobility.

The number of bars and gambling dens in the city was visibly increasing. Those places could relieve stress, and so could pets.

"Pets can use those things?" The shopkeeper was baffled.

In his view, a pet eating the same food as its owner was already the height of luxury. The most one would do was pick out the things an animal couldn’t eat.

If it wanted meat, it had to go out and hunt for itself.

The main source of which was catching mice.

In fact, when it came to catching mice, dogs were actually more specialized than cats.

Once a cat was full, it lost the desire to hunt. At most, it might catch one or two more to play with like toys.

A dog, on the other hand, could truly be trained into a relentless mouse-catching machine.

But regardless, giving a pet its own special food, let alone health supplements, was simply unheard of.

As for toys and beds, those were things many rich people with money to burn would buy, but that had nothing to do with the average person.

"Just because there’s no demand now doesn’t mean there won’t be in the future."

If there was no demand, you created it. This had always been the Zog Group’s strategy.

"For example, special pet food could help a pet live longer. Health supplements could make its coat shinier and its body healthier, making it less prone to illness. If an owner views their pet as a source of emotional support, they’ll certainly want it to live a long and healthy life," Zog explained.

With a setup like that, it would be easy for a dog to eat better than a person.

Next came the familiar part of the pitch: painting a grand vision for the future.

The shopkeeper would consolidate the city’s pet merchants, becoming the Leader of the new pet guild.

Then, starting with Tom-brand cat food and Jerry-brand mouse food, they would popularize the very concept of pet food.

The production lines making toys for people could just as easily make toys for animals.

They’d even have the Druids do some R&D on what animals should eat to stay healthy and find some biologists to publish papers on the subject.

Eventually, they would build the pet business into an industry of enormous scale.

The pet guild could then hold breed certifications, agility competitions, and even beauty pageants.

Ordinary pets would target the common market, while purebreds would reap the profits from the nobility.

They like rare breeds, don’t they? Then they’ll just have to create "rare breeds" out of common animals.

The vast majority of people who consider themselves rational simply haven’t yet encountered the one consumer trap that was destined for them.

Only being broke offered true security.

This vision of the future fired up the shopkeeper, making him so excited he wished he could see cat and dog food being sold to thousands of households by the very next day.

"But let’s not get ahead of ourselves," Zog interrupted. ’One step ahead is genius; too many steps ahead is madness.’ "We still have to start by just selling the pets. I’ll give you a heads-up on any new animals that will appear in the cartoon so you can prepare."

Now that this path to monetization had opened up, there was no need to stick to just cats and mice.

There were just too many classic cartoons with animal protagonists to choose from.

Bugs Bunny, Droopy, even My Little Pony—he could roll them all out eventually.

Come to think of it, he actually had seen a miniature pony on the pet shop’s first floor.

So adorable.

He just wondered if they could be bred to have gaudy, rainbow-colored coats.

Just then, the sound of footsteps ascended to the second floor.

Zog looked over to see a young girl who looked about sixteen or seventeen, a grocery basket hanging from her arm.

Seeing how she came upstairs as if she’d done it a thousand times, he figured she must be part of the shopkeeper’s family.

"This must be your granddaughter, right? She’s quite a lovely young lady. Ever thought about becoming an actress?"

Zog offered as a casual pleasantry.

"No," the shopkeeper denied. "This is my wife."

"Huh?"