Chapter 70: Difference in Value
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The middle-aged woman in the store insisted that she come in first, so Lu Yi Yun carefully pushed the door open, stuck her head in and looked.
Other than the middle-aged woman, there were also three men in the store. A few kittens were playing in the corner on the floor. A golden cat was playing with a shiny, small object indifferently and looked as if she didn’t care about anything. Another cat with black and white stripes was popping her head in and out under the stairs: she felt that the black and white cat was quite similar to hers.
A young, white dog was locked in the display cabinet, walking precipitously in circles. There was a hamster cage and a rabbit cage. The layout of the store looked exactly the same as shown in Snowy’s live show. She knew she found the right place.
"Ex..ahem.. excuse me, is this the place that provides the cat bathing service?" She realized that she could not even talk. When she started talking, it sounded so strange and weird that she had to clear her throat to cover up her nervousness. She surfed online all day where she only needed to type, and when she spoke to Jasmine she could make whatever noise and Jasmine would respond. Neither chatting online nor talking to Jasmine required face to face interactions.
Zhang Zian nodded firmly, "Yes. You need to bathe your cat?"
She responded, "Um…Do you take a cat like this?" Her voice was very soft. Fortunately, it was quiet in the store, but Zhang Zian could barely hear her.
"Yes," he said, "Except for kittens that still drink milk and cats that are sick, everyone else is welcome."
"Great. I want to bathe my cat…" she said.
At this time, Aunt Liu who was standing aside, stopped Lu Yi Yun, "Young lady, that’s not wise!"
Lu Yi Yun paused and realized that she was talking to her. She looked at Aunt Liu with tons of questions going through her mind. She didn’t know this middle-aged woman. Why would she start talking to her all of a sudden?
This was her first time in a pet store. In order to prepare for today’s big moment—bathing her cat—she watched Snowy’s live show, recorded it, and watched it again so she would not make any mistakes or run into embarrassments. She was pretty sure she didn’t see this middle-aged lady in the live show. The middle-aged lady was holding a cat. She didn’t look like a staff member nor did she seem to be a customer. Customers would at least have a cat bag; seldom would they carry a cat like her.
Aunt Liu put on a warm smile and said to Lu Yi Yun, who was greatly confused, "Young lady, you have to ask for the price first. If you don’t ask for the price, what happens when you find out later that you don’t have enough money to pay? Did you see the news? Some people went to a restaurant and didn’t ask for the price. When they finished, the bill was over 10 thousand yuan. What would you do if that was you, right? You can’t spit out the food and turn it back into the dish on the table. Right?"
Upon hearing Aunt Liu’s words, Lu Yi Yun agreed. She had not interacted with a stranger in so long that she forgot about the basics.
"I forgot. Thanks for reminding me," she praised Aunt Liu politely.
Wang Qian and Li Kun saw the whole story and had completely changed their impressions of Aunt Liu. At first, they thought that Aunt Liu was a caring person. Then, they were confused because she started to be mean, and now they were totally sick of her. She was totally unreasonable. She didn’t buy the service because of the price and now she was trying to talk people out of it. That’s a total disturbance to the store! What’s more, she was too good at pretending to be a nice person.
Zhang Zian watched quietly. He was not surprised because Aunt Liu was that kind of person. If she didn’t try to ruin his business, then it was not like her. That was okay. He was about to tell Lu Yi Yun the price anyways. He didn’t expect to have customers spend 300 Yuan to bathe their cat every day. The bathing room was empty. If he could make something out of it, it was better than nothing.
Aunt Liu’s smile was even bigger and her tone was comforting, "That’s fine. You look so young. I am guessing you have not had many bad experiences, so I just wanted to remind you. Look, you are very polite and your skin is beautiful. You would look stunning if you changed your hair and got a new pair of glasses."
Aunt Liu thought the girl would fall for her. However, she didn’t know Lu Yi Yun was a female otaku that was truly disappointed in the real world. She was immune from Aunt Liu’s tricks.
"Hmmm…" Lu Yi Yun was just about to ask Zhang Zian.
Zhang Zian pointed at the note on the door of the bathing room and simply said, "Self-service cat bathing, 300 yuan per use."
Aunt Liu was worried that Lu Yi Yun didn’t understand and she explained, "Young lady, listen! You have to pay 300 yuan for one use. You also have to bathe your cat on your own. He will not do anything to help."
Lu Yi Yun thought for a second and said, "but I don’t know how to bathe a cat…"
Aunt Liu started to get impatient. She spent all that time and the young lady wasn’t getting her point! She raised three fingers and emphasized, "300 yuan per use! It is 300 yuan!"
Lu Yi Yun nodded, "I know, but I don’t know how to bathe a cat…"
She was so confused. What on earth was this old lady was trying to do?
Aunt Liu was astonished. Is this girl smart? A normal person should respond: What?! Why is it so expensive? This store is a rip-off. I am not coming here! I will expose you online about the rip-off.
From Lu Yi Yun’s perspective, she was willing to spend all her money for Jasmine. She didn’t know the price in other pet stores. Even if she knew, she would not change her mind simply because Snowy picked this store! Snowy’s selection of stores were all on the pricey side, but they were all super special and they never disappointed Lu Yi Yun. She believed in Snowy’s choice and came here because of her.
Zhang Zian interrupted at the right time, "It doesn’t matter that you don’t know how. It is actually very simple. I will stay right by your side. If you get stuck, I will help you."
"Perfect." Lu Yi Yun’s reply was short. "May I start now?"
"Of course, please come this way." Zhang Zian pointed to the bathing room.
Lu Yi Yun walked right by Aunt Liu as if she didn’t exist.
"Should I pay now or later?" she asked.
"Either way is fine," Zhang Zian said.
"I will pay now." She put her cat on the floor, open her wallet and pulled out some money.
Zhang Zian squatted down to look at her cat. "Nice cat. A hybrid of Persian and chinchilla?"
Lu Yi Yun smiled for the first time since she entered the store. "Thank you." It was her first time knowing what breed Jasmine was.
Aunt Liu was shocked, thinking to herself, "She didn’t even respond when I praised her for her looks. Now this guy said something nice about her cat and she was thrilled? Why would she spend that kind of money to bathe her cat when she only wore lousy clothes?"
Aunt Liu simply could not comprehend.
All in all, everyone had a particular value in their heart.
Aunt Liu looked at her cat as a pet that was not worth spending money on. Raising children could bring great returns when they grew up. However, raising a pet could never lead to material gain.
To Lu Yi Yun, Jasmine was not only a pet, but a companion, best friend and a force pushing her to be a better person. This was how experience and value caused the difference in consumption.
The former was not Zhang Zian’s target customer, but the latter sure was.