’The Future Pet Shop kept using the words "owner" or "customer," not "guest,"’ he thought. ’Does that mean the one buying the pet doesn’t have to be human?’ So Shen Yibin quickly typed, "Um, excuse me, can I have my panda buy this panda hamster?"
The wait for a reply seemed a little long this time. After a good while, the Future Pet Shop finally sent a message. "Theoretically, yes. But many conditions must be met."
"What conditions? Just name them!" Shen Yibin finally saw a glimmer of hope for keeping Maphario. ’As long as there’s a way, we’ll figure it out, no matter how difficult!’
"First, the affinity requirement cannot be changed. The score must be eighty or higher to make a purchase." This was within Shen Yibin’s expectations. Seeing how well Hah’Er and Maphario had been getting along these past few days, affinity didn’t seem to be a concern.
"Second, the animal that wishes to purchase a pet must be capable of raising it. In other words, it must be able to care for the pet independently, without relying on others." This condition put some pressure on Shen Yibin. From the sound of it, Hah’Er would have to take care of Maphario’s daily needs, and Shen Yibin couldn’t do it for him. Hah’Er had to support Maphario on his own.
"Furthermore, the funds required to purchase and subsequently raise this pet must be earned by its owner personally. They cannot be obtained from others. Only when all three of the above conditions are met can the purchase be made." ’These conditions are pretty demanding,’ Shen Yibin thought. ’If it weren’t for a special animal like Hah’Er, no other creature could possibly pull this off.’
"Um, it should be okay for me to give my own pet an allowance, right?" Shen Yibin asked tentatively. ’If that’s the case, worst-case scenario, I’ll just toss Hah’Er a hundred thousand yuan and let him complete the transaction.’
"Have you ever seen anyone give their pet cash?" the Future Pet Shop retorted with contempt. This method was clearly a no-go. It was true that people spent fortunes buying food and toys for their pets, but he had never encountered anyone who just handed them cash.
"I understand. I’ll think of something else." After sending the message, Shen Yibin put down his phone. ’So this means Hah’Er has to personally earn the money to buy and then support Maphario? That doesn’t seem too difficult for Hah’Er. It would be incredibly easy for him to make money. He could probably earn enough in a short while just by starting a livestream of himself sleeping. Still, I need to give some serious thought to what method he should use to earn it.’
’Alright, I’ll sleep on it for now and figure it out tomorrow morning.’ Now that he saw a path to keeping Maphario at the shop, Shen Yibin’s mood improved considerably. Humming a little tune, he went back to his bedroom to sleep.
Early the next morning, after finishing breakfast and their exercise at the park, they returned to the shop. Maphario immediately hurried to his Happy Farm, found the seeds he had soaked yesterday, and took them out to inspect their changes. He nodded in satisfaction, then ran to the sandbox and started digging holes. Hah’Er joined in to help, though he was quite disappointed that today’s task didn’t require an excavator.
Meanwhile, Shen Yibin was on the second-floor terrace, opening the affinity testing app on his phone. He wanted to first see if Hah’Er and Maphario’s affinity had reached eighty points. After following the procedure, the test result appeared on the screen. Hah’Er and Maphario’s affinity had reached a whopping 88 points, surpassing any pair Shen Yibin had ever seen before.
’The most critical problem is solved. Now I just need to figure out how to get Hah’Er to earn money himself.’ He wasn’t in a rush. ’It’s only a little over eighty thousand yuan; I can take my time thinking of a way.’ A huge weight was lifted off Shen Yibin’s shoulders. He put down his phone and leisurely continued watching Hah’Er and Maphario plant watermelons together.
Maphario was nimbly digging holes at the front, while Hah’Er followed behind, holding a cup and a watering can. After a spray of sand, a hole of the perfect size and depth for a watermelon seed was ready. Hah’Er then handed the cup to Maphario, who took out a soaked seed from inside and placed it in the hole. He gently covered it with a thin layer of soil and finally took the watering can to water the seed.
After finishing, he returned the watering can to Hah’Er and moved forward to start digging the second hole. Hah’Er continued to follow behind, acting as his assistant. With their combined effort, they soon finished planting watermelons in this half of the sandbox.
Once everything was done, Hah’Er grunted twice, prompting Maphario to hold out his paws. Hah’Er poured water from the watering can for him to wash them, then took a tissue from his pocket to dry them. He looked just like a parent taking care of a mischievous child.
After all that, Hah’Er carried Maphario over to the swing and sat down. He took out some melon seeds and sugar tablets and began to feed Maphario. ’Who would have thought a child of the Storm Brew Family had a talent for being a doting caretaker?’ Maphario was clearly enjoying the pampering. He lay back on Hah’Er’s belly with his eyes closed, humming contentedly as he ate the sugar tablets.
’Huh? What’s going on over there?’ Out of the corner of his eye, Shen Yibin glanced at Maphario’s Happy Farm and saw what looked like tiny little sprouts dotting the once-empty ground. ’Could the seeds have sprouted and broken through the soil already?’ Shen Yibin had just come downstairs, intending to play with them for a while, but this scene left him completely stunned.
Normally, it takes at least two or three days for buried seeds to germinate, and even longer for the sprouts to emerge from the soil. But Maphario had only planted these seeds less than a day ago! How could there be sprouts already? ’Am I seeing things?’ Shen Yibin quickly went closer for a careful look. Indeed, sprouts were emerging from the soil. Judging by the location, these had to be the sunflowers.
Sunflowers usually take four to seven days for their sprouts to break through the surface. Maphario had shortened this cycle to fifteen hours. ’He really lives up to his name!’ This "Germination" skill was insanely overpowered. ’Does this mean I might not have to wait long to see the sunflowers bloom?’
Looking nearby, the cinerarias, morning glories, butterfly flowers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and eggplants had all sprouted as well. Although the length of the sprouts varied, there wasn’t a single seed that hadn’t germinated!
’At this rate,’ Shen Yibin thought in a daze, ’if I converted this whole bamboo grove and thicket into a vegetable patch, maybe the shop would never have to buy vegetables again.’
Just as he was lost in a daze, Shen Yibin’s phone rang, interrupting his wild thoughts. He took it out and looked at the caller ID, then muttered to himself, "Well, looks like Hah’Er won’t have to worry about how to earn money anymore."