There's a chat group for pets in my neighborhood.

"You're fired."

Outside a pet hospital in Taishan Street, Yanling City.

A handsome man in a white coat was roughly pushed out the door.

In front of him, a pot-bellied, bald middle-aged man pointed his index finger at his head and cursed loudly.

"How long have you been here, kid?"

"I won't say anything if you secretly take medicine from the store and give it to the stray cats outside."

"You think my pet hospital is a charity, with sales always at the bottom every month?"

Lu Fang dusted off his white coat and argued logically and persuasively.

"But since I joined the company, I have had the highest customer satisfaction rate and have never made a mistake in surgery. Apart from not pushing expensive drugs or adding hidden procedures, I have fulfilled all my responsibilities as a veterinarian."

In response to Lu Fang's reply, Dean Cui sneered, "What's the use of a high approval rating? What I want is to make money! If it weren't for Dr. Luo keeping our hospital afloat, it would have gone bankrupt long ago."

"Why am I wasting my breath talking to you? You're fired! Pack your things and get out!" Dean Cui pushed open the glass door behind him and stormed back into the hospital.

Through the door bearing the logo of Meiji Pet Hospital, a pretty receptionist was peeking out.

Seeing Lu Fang standing there dumbfounded at the door, Xu Yi was about to go out and say a few words of comfort when Dean Cui's loud voice came from behind.

"It's working hours now. Xu Yi, if you dare to leave your post, you'll be fired too."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yi shrank back and timidly sat back down at the front desk.

She looked at Lu Fang and waved her phone.

A moment later, the green bubble popped up, and a ragdoll cat avatar sent a message: "Brother Fang, I support you! I can't stand that heartless bald Cui anymore, I'll go with you!"

The message was sent by none other than Xu Yi, the receptionist at the hospital.

Lu Fang gave a wry smile and replied, "You're a recent college graduate who finally found an internship, so don't get involved."

"If they don't want me here, there are plenty of other places that will. I refuse to believe that all pet hospitals are like this, only interested in profit!"

"With our skills, how could we not be able to make a living?"

Three days later...

Okay, I guess I can't make a living from this.

Lu Fangcheng lay sprawled out in his rented room, looking up at the sky and sighing deeply.

It's so weird.

These days he has sent out countless resumes in the neighborhood, but they either don't reply to his messages at all, or they come to his place for an interview, only to be told he is not suitable after just a few words.

Even if the overall environment is bad, it shouldn't be this bad.

So he used his extensive customer network and inquired from various sources until he finally found the reason.

That guy surnamed Cui is a scoundrel. After the fight that day, he told all the pet hospitals in the vicinity about what happened to him.

They accused him of only prescribing cheap medicine and of stealing hospital medications for others.

As a result, very few hospitals dared to use him.

Upon hearing this news, Lu Fang was filled with rage and secretly swore an oath in his heart.

Who says pet hospitals are just rip-offs?

Bald Cui, you just wait! I'll open a pet hospital that doesn't rip people off and provides honest service sooner or later!

but......

The most urgent thing is to fill our stomachs first.

After all, I had been out of school for over a year and hadn't saved any money in Yanling City.

The salary of an intern veterinarian is not high, and with my performance being at the bottom every month, I only get four or five thousand yuan.

After deducting rent and living costs, the amount of money available is very limited.

And those few coins were all exchanged for cat food and canned food, which ended up in the bellies of the stray cats in the neighborhood.

Having been suddenly fired, I only have enough money left to last two days. If I can't find a suitable job this month, I'll be starving.

"Brother Fang, I've heard about your situation!"

"I think we've given up on getting a pet hospital."

"How about we try the pet store?"

"With your abilities, there's definitely no problem!"

"By the way, here are some suitable pet stores in your neighborhood that I found. You can add them and give them a try."

On Green Bubble, Xu Yi sent a series of messages.

Along with it came quite a few business cards.

It seems this young girl has put in a lot of effort these past two days.

"I won't thank you enough, but if I get the job, I'll treat you to a meal!"

Lu Fang was touched and added the business cards that Xu Yi sent him one by one.

In the blink of an eye, I was pulled into a bunch of group chats.

There's no way around it; all the pet shops near my neighborhood like to do this thing called "private domain operations."

It's about putting all users into a group for easier management and sending out promotional offers and such.

He's gotten used to it.

It's already high in the sky, and filling our stomachs is the most important thing right now.

Fortunately, the cheap bread I stocked up on a couple of days ago is still in the cupboard.

He survived these days on nothing but bread slices and cold water.

Opening the kitchen cabinet door, what greeted my eyes was not my own sweet and delicious bread slices, but a dark shadow the size of a fist.

mouse?!

Lu Fang had conducted many experiments on mice during his school years, so he wasn't particularly afraid of mice.

The problem is, what the mouse is stealing now is its very food supply.

"How dare you, you brat!"

Enraged, Lu Fang grabbed a kitchen knife and chopped at the large black rat.

It's definitely not a lab rat; this big black rat clearly has a wealth of fighting experience.

Faced with Lu Fang's swift knife, it calmly tore off a piece of bread and put it in its mouth. Then, with a slick move, it flicked its tail and slipped straight away from the knife.

He was panting heavily from exhaustion, but he hadn't managed to cut even a single hair off the black rat.

We could only watch helplessly as it drove away.

Looking at the mess in the cabinet, Lu Fang was speechless.

Judging from the current situation, it would be difficult for him to catch this guy, and he didn't have extra money to buy sticky rat traps and rat poison.

The only solution right now is to discuss it with the landlord.

"Hello, why are there mice in my rented apartment?"

"Could you help me with this?"

Lu Fang opened the landlord's green chat window and sent a message.

A few moments later, several messages came back.

Socialite Tanuki: A rat? From Tiancheng Residential Area?

Pleasant Goat isn't as sassy as me: That shouldn't be the case. Tiancheng Community is under the protection of our Brother Tanuki. The rats have all been caught and exterminated. How come there are still some that have escaped the net?

Social Brother Li: @My God, say something, how many buildings are there in Tiancheng Community? I'll have the sheriff check.

Lu Fang looked at the chat history, completely bewildered.

Upon closer inspection, I realized that I had just added too many group chats and people, and I think I accidentally posted it in the neighborhood group.

But judging from the other party's attitude, it seems like they can resolve it?

He hesitated for a moment, then answered honestly.

"This was in Building 15 of Tiancheng Residential Complex. It wasn't there before; it was just discovered today."

Socialite: Alright, I got it. I've asked the sheriff to inquire. I'll let you know when I have some news.

Not long after, Tanuki sent another message.

"We've found out. The nearest building in Building 15 didn't pay its protection money, and someone slipped in."

"Pay up the protection money, and I'll take care of it for you tonight."

Protection money?

Lu Fang looked at these three words and felt they were extremely unfamiliar.

These days, even catching rats requires protection money?

"What are you dawdling about? Same as always, two cans of cat food, plus a lunchbox of cat food. Remember, it has to be the freeze-dried kind, because I cough when I eat the non-freeze-dried kind."