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

After calming down a bit, Qin Zhuyan carefully put the letter and the gold bracelet away from her body.

She raised her head, her eyes, red and swollen from crying, revealing an unprecedented determination.

"I want to go see her."

Qin Zhuyan's voice was soft, and although it was a little hoarse, it no longer trembled.

"Let's go."

The mainland side didn't say much, but demonstrated its attitude through concrete actions.

The two bought some simple yellow paper and incense sticks, as well as a bunch of brightly colored plastic flowers, from the small shop at the village entrance.

"My mom loves flowers, but Qin Zhiqiang hasn't been willing to buy her a single one all these years," she sighed.

After inquiring with several elderly people in the village, I learned that Wang Xiulan was buried on a small hillside behind the village.

After climbing along the rugged, muddy mountain path for more than half an hour, they finally found the solitary grave, almost covered by weeds, on a shady earthen slope.

The grave is just a low mound of earth, with a crooked wooden sign in front of it. The words "Tomb of Wang Xiulan" are written on it in rough black ink, but the writing has become somewhat blurred due to the erosion of wind and sun over the years.

Seeing this scene, Qin Zhuyan's eyes stung, and tears almost fell.

"I'll do it."

Before Qin Zhuyan could make a move, Lu Fang had already silently stepped forward and cleared away the weeds and shrubs from the grave.

Because he wasn't wearing gloves, his long, slender hands were quickly scratched and bled, but he didn't care and soon cleared a space.

Qin Zhuyan knelt before the grave and lit a stack of yellow paper with a lighter.

The flickering firelight illuminated her pale cheeks, and ashes from the paper swirled in the wind, she stared blankly, murmuring, "Look, my mother down there must be no money left, so she couldn't wait to come and get some."

As she added paper money to the fire, she rambled on, "Mom, let me tell you, I'm doing really well in Yanling City now. I opened a pet shop, and I have a lot of customers. You don't have to worry about my life. I'll come to see you whenever I have time and send you some money to spend."

Lu Fang didn't say anything, but squatted down to the side and added a handful of paper money to the fire.

Soon, all the paper money they brought was burned to ashes.

Qin Zhuyan carefully arranged the flowers she brought in front of the grave: "Mom, I'll come to see you again when I have time."

After saying that, she turned to Lu Fang beside her and said, "Let's go home!"

"go home!"

------

Yanling City.

Pet Love Pet Hospital.

Lu Fang had just returned and rushed here without stopping.

Holding a small yellow croaker and the 100,000 yuan given to him by Gu Nanxi, he had accumulated some savings.

While it might be difficult to open a brand new pet hospital with this amount of money, the difference isn't too significant if it's a second-hand one.

He's been thinking about this a lot these days.

So, having just returned from Baoying Village, they came straight here to attack.

"Brother Fang, this is the Pet Love Pet Hospital that went bankrupt!"

Xu Yi, dressed in a bright JK uniform, pointed to a sign not far away.

The six large characters "Pet Love Pet Hospital" are prominently displayed on it, but it looks quite old. The acrylic panels along the edges of the sign are yellowed and cracked, and the entire sign looks like it's covered in a layer of dust.

Lu Fang stepped forward. The door was tightly closed, and a slightly messy A4 sheet of paper was pasted on the glass door, which read "Prime location for sale, serious inquiries only" and a handwritten phone number below it.

Looking through the glass door, the floor was littered with scattered flyers and discarded cardboard boxes, creating a rather desolate scene.

"Brother Fang, this place looks so run-down. It can't compare to Meiji Pet Hospital at all." Xu Yi stood on tiptoe and peered inside, pouting in disgust.

"How can they be the same? Meiji Pet Hospital is a relatively new establishment, opened in the last two years. The decor definitely looks new. Although I don't like Cui Ding, I have to admit that Meiji Pet Hospital is indeed the largest pet hospital around Tiancheng Community."

As Lu Fang explained, he took in the interior layout of the Pet Love Pet Hospital.

The first floor has a large hall of about 80 square meters. Although the walls are yellowed and moldy, the load-bearing walls and partitions are arranged in a fairly regular pattern.

What pleased Lu Fang the most was that he could vaguely see the staircase leading to the second floor at the back, as well as the independent fresh air exhaust pipes reserved on the ceiling.

For a pet hospital, this readily available ventilation and drainage system can save extremely high renovation costs.

It's a bit old-fashioned, but it can be modified and still be used. Most importantly, it saves money!

Lu Fang was calculating in his mind. He had roughly calculated the costs a few days ago. Opening a pet hospital nearby would cost at least 800,000 yuan, from rent to labor to renovations.

This is going to be fatal.

But if we could take over Pet Love Pet Hospital, we could save at least half the money!

"Brother Fang, are you really going to open a pet hospital?" Xu Yi put her hands behind her back, turned to look at Lu Fang beside her, her eyes sparkling with hearts.

"It's still uncertain." Lu Fang didn't give a definitive answer. If he couldn't secure the Pet Love Pet Hospital, opening a pet hospital with his limited funds would be nothing more than a pipe dream.

"If you're planning to open a pet hospital, Fang, could you poach me? Bald Cui has been really annoying lately. I don't know if it's because he's been losing money, but he's been really mean to us. He's strict about attendance and slacking off, and if we're caught, he'll fine us under the guise of a charity donation. I've already been fined two hundred this month."

When this matter was mentioned, Xu Yi pouted. She was already feeling uncomfortable, and Cui Ding's actions made her even more eager to quit.

"This is going too far?" Lu Fang didn't expect Cui Ding to start harassing his employees.

However, there are reasons for this situation as well.

If he hadn't caused Cui Ding to suffer so many major losses, he wouldn't have had to exploit his employees like this.

It was just tough on Xu Yi.

"Who says otherwise! He even wanted me to wear a JK uniform and hand out flyers outside, but I refused!" Xu Yi recounted Cui Ding's misdeeds one by one, clenching her little fists in anger.

"Brother Fang promises you, if I open a pet hospital, I'll definitely poach you!" Lu Fang smiled indulgently.

These days, Xu Yi has been busy helping out at the pet shop, but she has never complained of being tired.

He always kept these things in mind.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yi beamed with joy, radiating youthful energy.

Looking at Xu Yi's smile, Lu Fang patted her head, then took out his phone and dialed the number on the door.

Within ten minutes, a middle-aged man with a beer belly and sweating profusely hurriedly rode over on an electric scooter.

"Oh, thank you for waiting, gentlemen. I'm the owner here, my surname is Qian."

As he wiped his sweat, Boss Qian took out his key to unlock the rusty U-lock.

Those shrewd little eyes darted over Lu Fang and Xu Yi, and he roughly got a sense of what was going on—they looked like a rich second-generation who were clueless about the ways of the world and his girlfriend who were out trying to start a business.