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

"Sister, I'm a beast!"

Qin Sheng knelt on the ground and immediately let out a hoarse howl. It was only because there were no guests at the moment that he was scared away.

The tragic scene Qin Zhiqiang had just described was still vivid in his mind. He didn't need any eye drops at all; tears came instantly, and his sincere expression made it hard to tell if it was real or not.

"My daughter, your father is getting senile! I was deceived by those people outside, my mind was clouded, that's why I did those outrageous things before."

"But I am still your father. I never intended to harm you. It's just that my methods were wrong back then. Now, give your father a chance to atone for his sins."

"Just pretend you didn't hear what I said yesterday. From now on, your father and brother will stay in Yanling City to help you run this shop. Don't worry, we'll keep our word and work hard. We don't even need wages, just enough to eat."

Qin Zhiqiang is a veteran actor. He lay on the ground, wiping away non-existent tears while secretly slapping himself twice across the face.

"What are you doing...?"

To be honest, although Lu Fang had already warned Qin Zhuyan yesterday, she still felt a shiver when she actually saw this scene.

Having struggled alone in Yanling City for so many years, she had experienced far too much. The longing for family had become an instinct. Seeing Qin Zhiqiang and Qin Sheng crying in front of her, even though she knew it was fake, her eyes still blurred.

Just as she was losing her composure, Lu Fang, who was standing behind her, did not speak, but instead reached out his warm, large hand and pressed it against her shoulder.

Feeling the warmth from her palm, Qin Zhuyan's tears receded, and Lu Fang's words from the previous night echoed in her mind.

"No matter what they do, it's all crocodile tears. What they want has never been you, but your shop and your money."

Cold words pierced my tender heart.

Qin Zhuyan regained her senses, took a deep breath, and coldly stared at Qin Sheng and his son kneeling on the ground howling, without saying a word.

Seeing that Qin Zhuyan didn't move, Qin Zhiqiang continued singing his opera without stopping. He howled for five or six minutes until his throat was sore. Unable to continue, Qin Sheng secretly nudged Qin Zhiqiang next to him with his elbow.

Seeing that his feigned distress had failed, Qin Zhiqiang straightened up and began to appeal to people's emotions: "Daughter, you know our situation. We're really struggling to make ends meet. There aren't many jobs in the village, so we had no choice but to come to Yanling City to make a living. If you don't take us in, we really will have nowhere to go and might starve to death on the streets."

"If your mother were still alive, she certainly wouldn't want to see us like this."

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhuyan's previously calm heart was suddenly thrown into turmoil. She stared at Qin Zhiqiang in disbelief: "What did you say?! What happened to my mother?!"

"He fell ill from overwork and passed away two years ago. You didn't call home these days, and we couldn't contact you either, so we buried you hastily." Qin Zhiqiang didn't know why Qin Zhuyan was reacting so strongly.

"That's my mom! Why didn't you tell me!" Her chest heaved violently, and the veins on her neck bulged.

"This...this isn't..." Qin Zhiqiang stammered, not expecting things to turn out this way. "Actually, your mother didn't want us to look for you either. She said it was better that you left."

"What else did she say?" Qin Zhuyan stared intently at Qin Zhiqiang, her body so limp she seemed about to collapse at any moment.

"She also said that if you can go back someday, she left something for you," Qin Zhiqiang muttered, somewhat regretting that he had brought it up: "A small gold bracelet, it's in the safe back home, and she said only you know the password."

"She hopes we can be like we were when we were kids, like a family, and get back together," Qin Sheng added on a whim.

In fact, Wang Xiulan didn't say a word before she died; all she had was endless guilt towards her daughter.

Qin Zhuyan never expected that after being away from home for so many years, she would be met with her own father's covetousness of her shop and the news of her mother's death.

If it weren't for the agreement she made with Lu Fang last night, she would want to kick the two people in front of her out right now.

But for the sake of the long term, she suppressed her anger: "For my mother's sake, you can stay."

"However, we need to agree on three rules."

Upon hearing that there was hope of staying, Qin Zhiqiang dared not disagree and immediately nodded repeatedly: "Daughter, as long as you let us stay, we will agree to anything."

"The manager of this pet shop is Lu Fang, and you will have to take orders from him."

"This..." Qin Sheng glanced at the arrogant Lu Fang beside him, and he couldn't swallow this insult.

"Of course, no problem, I'll do whatever Manager Lu says." Qin Zhiqiang wouldn't let Qin Sheng ruin his plans, so he slapped him on the head.

"Since I'm the store manager, I'll handle the rest." Lu Fang took a few steps forward, rested one hand on the counter, and pointed to the room behind with the other.

"The store has been quite busy with a lot of orders lately. You need to come at seven o'clock every morning to open the store and clean it. When I arrive, the store must be spotless."

"Especially in the rear boarding area, all the cages are cleaned and disinfected every day."

"Okay!" Qin Zhiqiang nodded.

"Also, you've never worked with pet stores before, so you're not allowed to touch the recommendations from Ark Select. You can't explain the ingredients of dog and cat food, and you don't know how to groom pets. The main job is washing dogs and cats, which is simple, but you need to get the hang of it quickly."

"Remember, no matter what kind of temper the cats and dogs that come to bathe have, you are not allowed to lay a hand on them. If I receive a customer complaint, you will be fired immediately."

Lu Fang looked down at the two of them, his words full of sarcasm: "Zhu Yan is soft-hearted, but I am not. If it were me, you would not have had a chance to stay."

After being scolded all morning, Qin Sheng finally couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, pointed at Lu Fang, and said, "Hey Lu, how dare you call her Zhuyan? She's my sister!"

Before Lu Fang could speak, Qin Zhuyan had already glared at him.

"You're the one who calls him 'Lu,' but in public, you should address him by his title: Store Manager Lu!"

Qin Zhuyan and Lu Fang worked together in unison, and even though Qin Sheng was full of anger, he could only force himself to swallow it down.

"Manager Lu."

"Hmm, you're quite sensible. The shop provides food and lodging, but there's no salary. We'll see how you perform later." Lu Fang nodded and pulled out two waterproof aprons and two rags from behind him.

"Alright, you two, stop idling around. There's a ton of work to do at the shop, get to work!"