Zhang Zian clearly remembered that last year, when the business was just getting better, a father came to the pet shop with his son, who was in elementary school. He wanted to buy a dog for his son, and there were not many requirements for the type of dog, as long as his son liked it.
The child usually lived in the city, and because his parents were busy with work, he would be sent back to his hometown in the countryside during the summer vacation, and his grandfather would help take care of him.
At first, the little boy, who was accustomed to city life, was incompatible with the life in the countryside. However, his grandfather had a big yellow dog at home, which was very obedient and not fierce at all. The little boy often liked dogs, so he naturally played with the dog. They went to the river to catch fish and shrimp together, caught grasshoppers and butterflies together, and played wildly in the fields together … leaving behind a summer vacation full of beautiful memories.
After every semester vacation, the little boy would return to the countryside and stick to the big yellow dog all day long, enjoying the happiness that could never be experienced in the city.
The little boy grew up year by year, and the big yellow dog grew old year by year. Gradually, it could not keep up with his running, and only a few of its teeth were left.
At the end of the summer vacation last year, the little boy returned to the city. He thought that the days would last forever, but the day after he left, the big yellow dog died. It was as if it had held on and waited for him to leave before it died.
Even if they only spent two or three months together in a year, even if he did not see the big yellow dog die with his own eyes, the little boy still suffered unspeakable pain, so much so that even his father could not bear to see it, and decided to take him to the pet shop to choose a new dog. No matter how expensive the dog was, he would buy it for him, as long as it could make up for the trauma in his heart.
If the little boy had grown up with the big yellow dog, wouldn't the pain he suffered be several times greater?
If … if the father had foreseen this ending in advance, would he still let his son return to his hometown in the countryside for the summer vacation? Would he still let the big yellow dog be his son's playmate?
Zhang Zian did not know. He did not ask the father, and there were no ifs in history.
Among the customers who came to the pet shop, there were novices who raised pets for the first time. They were always full of longing to have their own pets. There were also people who had pets before. Some of them had given their pets away for some reason, and now they wanted to raise them again. Some of them lost their pets or were stolen, and some of them died.
Zhang Zian had dealt with countless customers, and he could always recognize certain specific customers from clues. After entering the shop, they would always stare at a certain kind of cat or dog, as if they had seen something very familiar. Sometimes, they would stare at it until their eyes turned red … It was not the first time they had a pet, and they liked pets very much. Some people repeatedly asked about the lifespan of a certain pet and bought it home, while others hesitated, shook their heads and left.
There were quite a number of such customers, all of whom had once lost their beloved pets and were in great pain. Some of them tried to make up for the pain by raising new pets, while others still liked pets, or even liked them more than the former, but their hearts could not withstand a second time.
The father and son belonged to the former, while Cai Meiwen probably belonged to the latter.
It was not because she was afraid that raising a pet would affect her studies that she did not allow her daughter to have a pet, at least not completely.
She had once lost a pet and experienced unforgettable pain, so she did not want her daughter to experience such pain.
If having a pet was destined to be separated, then as long as she did not have it, it was enough.
Although she had lost her composure and screamed in the pet shop, Zhang Zian did not blame her, nor was he angry with her. How could he blame a mother who tried her best to protect her daughter?
She was not cold-hearted, but if necessary, she was willing to play the bad guy. Although her daughter would complain about her in her heart, it was nothing compared to the pain of losing a loved one.
He understood the reason why she had lost her composure, but the staff did not understand, the elfins did not understand, and neither did Little Celery.
After all, Wang Qian and Li Kun were young and impetuous. They could not stand it anymore and wanted to scold her on the spot, but were stopped by Lu Yiyun and Jiang Feifei. Otherwise, if they scolded her, how would Little Celery live in the future?
After a short silence, Little Celery finally burst into tears.
"Mom, don't be angry … Woo … It's all my fault, I don't want to have a pet anymore … Woo …" Little Celery was sobbing, and tears could not stop flowing out. She held her mother's thigh and begged.
Cai Meiwen's face was extremely ugly. Her chest was moving up and down violently, and her lips were trembling, but she could not say a word.
She did not expect Zhang Zian to be so sharp that he could see the real reason why she refused to let Little Celery have a pet, and the secret she had buried in her heart for many years.
She could only say that he was indeed the pet shop manager.
"Little Celery, don't cry. Your mother is not angry with you. On the contrary, she loves you more than anyone else in the world." Zhang Zian walked over and patted Little Celery on the shoulder.
Little Celery sobbed and looked up at her mother's face with tearful eyes, as if seeking confirmation from Zhang Zian's words.
A clear tear silently slipped from the corner of Cai Meiwen's eye and dripped on Little Celery's face. Then, like a flood breaking through a dam, she squatted down and hugged Little Celery in her arms, crying her heart out.
The shop assistants and elfins, who had been excited just now, were all dumbfounded by her crying.
What was going on? A few seconds ago, she was looking to pick a quarrel, but now it seemed like she had lost the argument. Obviously, they had not talked back yet!
Little Celery was even more at a loss. She did not know why her mother suddenly cried, so she could only cry with her mother.
Zhang Zian gave the shop assistants a look, meaning that they should stop watching. It was not convenient to explain now, so they should just do what they were supposed to do. After she had cried enough, maybe she would explain herself.
Within a few seconds, a lot of water had seeped in through the gap of the door. In order to avoid the dirty water that had spread through the door, the kittens had retreated into the depths of the shop, or climbed onto the top of the display cabinets or the shelves.
Zhang Zian and the shop assistants worked in a hurry, wiping with a mop and sucking with a rag. It was not easy for them to temporarily remove the dirty water that had rushed in.
Cai Meiwen gradually stopped crying and gently patted her daughter's back. "Little Celery, good girl, don't cry. Don't hurt your eyes. Wipe your tears. Mom is not angry with you."
After comforting Little Celery for a while, she helped Little Celery wipe her tears, turned around and said to Zhang Zian, "You are right. I did have a pet."
Little Celery was so surprised that she stopped crying. "Mom … you had a pet?"
Cai Meiwen nodded. "It was a long time ago."
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