Pet King

Chapter 459: The Classic of Cats Appreciation

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Classic of Cats Appreciation explained by Wu Mingzhen had attracted the attention of many people. It had even significantly elevated the enthusiasm of the customers on purchasing pets. After a while, there were two customers who decided to buy pets. The girl wearing glasses was so embarrassed that she blushed and felt like she had become the negative example. She had learned that her old belief was incorrect. She shouldn’t choose a kitten that was less than three months old. She regretted that she did not accept Zhang Zian’s explanation.

Seeing the looks of mockery and ridicule that many people were giving the girl, her boyfriend tried to divert the topic quickly. “We understood the first half of your sentence, that a kitten shouldn’t leave its mother too soon, or it will suffer from poor health in the future. What does the latter part of your sentence mean?”

“Yes, tell us the meaning of the second part of your sentence!” the customers echoed after him.

Having only explained the meaning of the first half of the sentence, Wu Mingzhen neglected the latter half of the sentence, which made a lot of people with OCD feel as though there was a pain in their neck.

Before he had a chance to answer, another girl with short hair chimed in, “Mr. Store Manager, I am a loyal audience of Snowy’s live broadcast channel, and I’ve watched a few programs with you on them. For the sake of Snowy, could you please tell me if my kitten will get sick? I had it at home before it turned one month old. According to The Classic of Cats Appreciation, does that mean it will be afflicted with diseases when it grows up? Is there any way to make its body healthy?” The trepidation and anxiety on her face clearly indicated that she was very concerned about her kitten.

Wu Mingzhen glanced at Zhang Zian, smiled, and did not answer.

Zhang Zian understood that Wu Mingzhen intended to test him, but he did not know about “Calotes Versicolor.” Just when he was about to excuse himself to go to the bathroom, so that he could Google it or ask Sun Xiaomeng for help, he heard Old Time Tea say to him, “No worries, Zian, just restate my words to them.”

After hearing this, Zhang Zian was instantly confident. Pretending he was calm, he repeated the words of Old Time Tea word by word: “The ancients believed that frequent eye discharge in cats was an indication of their birth defects and weak physique. In order to replenish their nutrition and extend their lives, they should eat Calotes Versicolor, also known as an Oriental Garden Lizard, which can be found in the southern regions. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that Calotes Versicolor has the effect of relieving rheumatic pains, invigorating blood circulation, nourishing and strengthening bodies. Since the Calotes Versicolor can make cats stronger and healthier, it is often used as a medicine. This kind of lizard also has a another name, ‘ginseng for cats,’ because, for cats, it is as nutritious as ginseng.”

Zhang Zian absolutely believed in the authority of Old Time Tea’s words. After he finished speaking, he stood there perkily and enjoyed the gazes of admiration from the crowd. Of course, there was also Fina’s look of contempt among the crowd, but he chose to ignore it for the time being.

Not only were the other people enchanted by his words, but Wu Mingzhen was also filled with deep respect for Zhang Zian. He knew about Calotes Versicolor, but he didn’t know that it also had the reputation of “ginseng for cats,” so he couldn’t help but improve his initial impression of Zhang Zian. Did this young man called Zhang Zian just keep his own counsel and pretend he knew nothing about The Classic of Cats Appreciation to test me? Wu Mingzhen thought.

With that explanation, Zhang Zian had answered the questions raised by two people at the same time, but he also drew more questions.

“Mr. Store Manager, where can I find Calotes Versicolor? Is it expensive?” said the girl with short hair anxiously. “My kitten probably left its mother too early. It’s not energetic enough and it’s lifeless all day long. I want to buy some Calotes Versicolor to try to revitalize it.”

“There’s no rush. Your kitten is too small. Even if you get Calotes Versicolor, it won’t be able to consume it. As for where you can get Calotes Versicolor, you can ask the local lizard breeders, or search for dried Calotes Versicolor online.” said Zhang Zian.

“Mr. Store Manager, aren’t you running a pet shop? Why don’t you sell some reptiles, including the Calotes Versicolor?” someone suggested.

Zhang Zian laughed, “Even if I did sell reptiles, I wouldn’t want them to end up being the snacks of cats.”

“Is it really effective to eat Calotes Versicolor?” another person raised a doubt.

“Well,” Zhang Zian asked him instead, “is it effective to eat ginseng?”

“I think so, why else would it be so expensive?” said that person.

“Since Calotes Versicolor has the reputation of ‘ginseng for cats’, it should be effective. Of course, as dietetic therapy, it won’t become effective very soon. Besides, cats don’t necessarily have to eat Calotes Versicolor. It should be sufficient for cats if they are provided with a balanced nutrition, an appropriate amount of raw meat, and a regular health examination. As for your languished kitten, you can take it to a pet hospital for an examination, which will be better than reckless diet therapy,” Zhang Zian advised the girl with short hair.

The girl with short hair kept nodding. “I see. I’m accompanying my friends to select cats today. I will take it for examination when I go back.”

The customers all felt they had learned a lot. Whether it was the words of Zhang Zian or Wu Mingzhen, it was a novelty that they had never heard before.

The boyfriend of the girl wearing glasses pulled her aside and advised her in a low voice, “It seems that there is nothing wrong in raising a kitten when it turns three or four months old. Let’s just buy one here and stop checking out other places.”

She had already been planning to do so. To prevent further humiliating herself, she pretended to be persuaded by her boyfriend and reluctantly agreed.

Wu Mingzhen went towards Zhang Zian and asked curiously, “Manager Zhang, why didn’t you say before that you also knew about The Classic of Cats Appreciation?”

Zhang Zian winked at him. He didn’t tell him until the two of them came to a relatively quiet corner of the shop. “President Wu, cats born between February 2nd and July 14th of the traditional Chinese calendar are more capable of protecting their owners and their houses — this can be said by you, but not by me. Otherwise, how would I sell cats in the future?”

Wu Mingzhen smiled and thought this indeed made sense. Pet shop owners needed to sell cats all year round, they couldn’t just open business for half a year and close the other six months. Although he liked pets, he did not sell pets, so he didn’t put much thought into this aspect.

In fact, Zhang Zian didn’t quite believe in this saying, but some people did. In ancient China, everything was divided into Yin and Yang. There was a particular attention that had been paid to the harmony between Yin and Yang. In the eyes of the ancients, cats were an animal inclined to the spectrum of Yin, and cats born between February 2nd and July 14th carried more Yang energy to balance their Yin attributes. If cats were born after the Day of the Dead, it was believed that they would carry too much Yin energy and would be unlucky. The customers, even those who didn’t believe in this saying, chose the cats born between February 2nd and July 14th for the sake of good luck.

Wang Qian and Li Kun didn’t care about such a concern. They walked around and persuaded the customers, “Don’t hesitate, just buy! If you miss this opportunity, you will need to wait six more months!”