Future Pet Shop

Chapter 201: New Employees Report for Duty

"Sorry to keep you waiting; I had to step out for a moment." Shen Yibin apologized first, then began the interview just as before. "Please start by introducing yourself."

This young woman, Gao Shu, may have been a year younger than Li Shiqing, but she had already been working in Yunzhong City for over two years. Her family was struggling financially and couldn’t afford to support all three sisters’ education. So after graduating high school, Gao Shu chose not to continue her studies. Instead, she went out to work to support her family and help her two younger sisters finish their schooling.

Having grown up in a village where she was often around various animals, she was quite familiar with the habits of pets. Her work ethic was even stronger than Li Shiqing’s. Moreover, she had previously worked in sales at a department store, so she would need almost no training in customer service and closing deals.

An employee like that would surely do a great job once she was familiar with the work at the pet store. Although Gao Shu hadn’t been to college, she was extremely bright, and Shen Yibin believed she would learn quickly. He decisively hired her on the spot. After explaining the store’s compensation package, he asked, "So, that’s the offer. If you’re interested, you can start tomorrow."

"Thank you, boss." Like Li Shiqing, Gao Shu also chose to stay at the store to learn. The pay for this job was far better than her previous one, not to mention it included a full benefits package. An opportunity like this was hard to find, and Gao Shu certainly wasn’t going to pass it up.

"I’m going upstairs to cook. You two can look around down here, and we’ll eat together in a bit." With two extra people for the meal today, cooking took about ten minutes longer than usual.

During the meal, Gao Shu was already laughing and chatting with Sakai Kaori and the others, but Li Shiqing was still a bit shy. ’Perhaps she hasn’t adjusted to the transition from student to working professional yet?’

"Boss, your cooking is amazing! I used to be a waitress at a big restaurant, and even the head chef there couldn’t compare to you." Compared to her previous jobs, Gao Shu felt like she was in heaven. There was no boss who berated her at the drop of a hat, no difficult colleagues, and even the staff meals were this delicious. ’If only I can get through the probation period and start earning commission sooner!’

Li Shiqing, however, was a little surprised. She kept stealing glances at Sakai Kaori and Sylvie. She couldn’t understand why such a small pet shop would hire two foreign girls. Besides, judging by their clothing and appearance, it didn’t seem like they needed to work in a place like this.

’Are they trying to get close to the boss so they can buy that magical parrot?’ Like most female university students, Shi Qing also enjoyed watching variety shows, so she had recognized Shen Yibin. ’But from the looks of it, Cheeky isn’t in the shop right now?’ Li Shiqing’s head was now full of questions.

In the afternoon, a few more applicants arrived. However, with the precedent set by Li Shiqing and Gao Shu, Shen Yibin’s expectations had risen. None of them passed his interview. So after going through all the résumés Xu Ye had gathered, Shen Yibin had only gained two new employees: Li Shiqing and Gao Shu.

But that was fine. There was still a long time until the new store’s renovations were complete, and for now, the two of them were more than enough. ’I can look for more staff slowly during the renovation period.’

When it was time to close up for the evening, they were even more shocked. The panda and the Raccoon Cat were actually helping feed the other pets? And judging by the other pets’ reactions, they seemed to be very obedient to those two. For a moment, both Li Shiqing and Gao Shu were dumbfounded. ’What kind of pet shop did I end up joining?’

"Ah, I made it in time for dinner!" When the meal started, Sun Qian’s arrival brought Li Shiqing her third surprise of the day. ’So that famous parrot became her pet? I thought someone else had bought it.’

"How did the recording session go? Did any of the staff give you a hard time?" Shen Yibin asked with concern. ’But seeing how happy Sun Qian looks, it probably went fine.’

"It went very smoothly. I just need to go for another half-day tomorrow and it’ll be done. Director Kong said the video will be officially released next month." ’In that case, I’ll use this as my opening song at the music festival,’ Sun Qian decided. "Oh, are these the new employees?"

"Yeah. This is Gao Shu, and this is Li Shiqing. They were both just hired today. I’ll have to trouble you to show them the ropes." Among the pet shop’s three veteran employees, Sun Qian was the most professionally qualified. She had trained both Sylvie and Sakai Kaori, so it looked like Gao Shu and Li Shiqing would be under her instruction as well.

"Hello, Ms. Sun." Gao Shu and Li Shiqing exchanged greetings with Sun Qian. Their minds were now filled with even more questions. ’Promotional video? Recording session? What’s all this about?’

"Hah’Er recently became Yunzhong City’s tourism ambassador, right? So Mayor Wang brought in Director Kong Riguang from Xiangjiang to shoot a promotional video starring Hah’Er. Sun Qian will be singing the theme song for it. You’ll be able to see the video on TV and online in a little while," Shen Yibin explained. "Sun Qian’s going to be a huge star soon, so you should get her autograph while you still can."

’This pet shop is incredible, isn’t it? Not only does it have two foreign girls, but also a future superstar?’ Li Shiqing and Gao Shu were once again plunged into shock. ’Just how many secrets is the boss hiding?’

’I won’t even mention that Sakai Kaori is actually from a major land-owning family in Japan and that her family owns an enormous shrine. And I certainly won’t mention that Sylvie is actually the princess of Sokovia. I don’t want to make you two too nervous.’

After dinner, Shen Yibin sent the two of them home. "It’s getting late, you two should go. If you leave any later, you might miss the last bus. Just get here before nine tomorrow morning."

"Okay, goodbye, boss! Goodbye, everyone!" Gao Shu and Li Shiqing left with excited expressions. ’They’ll probably have a million things to tell their friends and classmates about this pet shop when they get back.’

"Boss, I’ll be sure to train these two well," Sun Qian said earnestly. ’That way, I’ll feel a little less guilty when I leave.’

Sure enough, the next day at noon, as soon as Sun Qian returned to the shop after finishing her theme song recording, she immediately began training the two new hires. Seeing how earnestly she taught and how attentively they listened, Shen Yibin felt a sense of relief. ’Even if Sun Qian, Sylvie, and Sakai Kaori all leave, I won’t have to worry about being short-staffed.’

Meanwhile, Li Zhen arrived with his construction crew and began renovations on the space next door.