"That's fine, take your time to consider it." Seeing this sentence, a sense of foreboding washed over Shen Yibin. 'It can't be this easy to solve the problem, can it?'
As expected, the Future Pet Shop's next reply was much more direct. "However, I must remind you that if a Level 3 Partner does not place an order within one month, they will be demoted back to a Trial Partner."
"What are the consequences of that?" Shen Yibin asked naively.
"Nothing too serious. It just means the benefits you enjoy as a Level 3 Partner will be revoked." The Future Pet Shop's answer brought Shen Yibin to his knees. "Those official documents and videos will disappear, and the memory implants in the relevant personnel will be nullified."
'Damn it, I knew it wasn't going to be that simple! This way, the police will be after me again in no time! And I'll have an extra charge of forging official documents. I'll be dropping the soap for at least another three to five years!'
'Dude, are you running a gangster operation? You're forcing me to order from you! Should I just tough it out, not order, and get thrown in jail by the cops? Or should I just give in and gamble on what kind of pet they'll send this time?' Shen Yibin felt like the Future Pet Shop was leading him step-by-step into a deep pit. 'Sooner or later, this thing is going to be the death of me!'
"Uh, can I just think about it some more? I still have a month, right?" 'I just want to be left alone right now.'
"To be precise, you have twenty-nine days, sixteen hours, seven minutes, and thirty-five seconds left." It seemed the Future Pet Shop had started the countdown from the moment Shen Yibin purchased Hah'Er at noon.
'Sigh, why did I have to be an idiot and start this conversation? I'd finally managed to relax today, and now my mood is completely ruined. If I had just waited until tomorrow to ask, I could have been happy for a little while longer.'
"Let me think about it some more!" Shen Yibin replied gloomily. 'Anyway, I still have over twenty days, so a day or two won't make a difference. Sigh, I'd better just go feed Hah'Er and figure out where to go for fun tomorrow.'
Unfortunately, the Future Pet Shop wasn't even willing to give him that little bit of time to relax. "Are you thinking that you don't need to hurry because the deadline is still far away? Don't blame me for not reminding you, but you'd be wrong to think that."
"Isn't it fine as long as I order another pet from you within twenty-nine days?" 'I'm already planning to give in, what more do you want? Just taking care of Hah'Er is exhausting enough. Can I even handle a second one? I'd love to raise more interesting pets, but I need money for that!'
"You aren't thinking of just buying it yourself like you did with this panda, are you?" The Future Pet Shop was like a mind-reader, immediately guessing Shen Yibin's plan and ruthlessly shattering it. "I must remind you that everyone has limited energy, so this shop only allows each client to personally keep one pet. Therefore, you must sell the previous pet before the next order date arrives. Of course, the buyer must also meet the minimum affinity requirement. If the transaction is not completed within the specified time, you will likewise be demoted from a Level 3 Partner to a Trial Partner."
'This really is a tyrannical shop! I can't even buy it myself!' Shen Yibin was fuming. "When is the next order deadline?"
"A Level 3 Partner must place their first order within a month, and at least once per quarter after that. In other words, you now have three months to sell this next pet—whose species you don't even know yet." The Future Pet Shop casually sent a cute smiley face. 'Now that it's finally opened up a sales channel, how could it not squeeze it for all it's worth?'
'Pfft, I have to place an order every quarter? Doesn't that mean I'll be living in fear four times a year? Am I running a pet shop or dealing drugs?! Why does this sound so terrifying?' Then again, if Shen Yibin didn't follow the Future Pet Shop's instructions, the consequences would probably be about the same as getting caught dealing.
"Fine, I'll place an order with you in the next couple of days." Shen Yibin finally gave in. If he agreed, there was still a slim chance of survival. If he didn't, his only future was dropping the soap in prison.
"Mm, after the pet is shipped, remember to take good care of it. If the pet gets sick or shows any signs of mental instability, it cannot be sold either. This shop's partners don't sell unhealthy pets to customers." The Future Pet Shop hit him with another brutal rule. 'Considering how picky Hah'Er is with food, it's a no-brainer that the next pet will be a handful.'
"Since it was our first time working together, I chose a relatively easy-to-care-for pet for you. All it needed was good food and drink. But the next pet I send you won't be so simple. You might have to work much harder." The Future Pet Shop sent a smug-looking smiley, as if it could already foresee Shen Yibin's miserable future.
'I stir-fried twice-cooked pork for three whole days just to feed Hah'Er, and now you want me to do what?! This isn't a partnership, this is slavery!'
"Any other requirements? Just spit them all out at once, so I can decide whether to turn myself in or keep working with you." Shen Yibin was already starting to consider what prison life would be like.
"There's just one last thing. We also decide the pet's selling price. A Level 3 Partner is entitled to a ten percent commission, but has no authority to set the price independently." This final requirement didn't seem like much at first glance, but on closer inspection, it was still a problem.
'How much effort did I put in these last few days just to raise the affinity above eighty? It's obviously going to be incredibly difficult to find a suitable owner for the pet. What if the affinity meets the standard, but the person either doesn't accept or can't afford the price set by the Future Pet Shop? Wouldn't all my hard work be for nothing?'
"When the time comes, what if I give up my ten percent commission and give the customer a discount? Would that be okay?" Shen Yibin wanted to see if there was any room for negotiation.
"No. The foundation of any business partnership is profit. If we can't even guarantee our partner's profit, how can the cooperative relationship be maintained long-term?" the Future Pet Shop replied righteously.
'But what about all those harsh conditions you just laid out? Didn't you think those would affect our partnership?' Shen Yibin was too tired to even argue.
He really didn't want to talk to the Future Pet Shop anymore, so he tossed his phone aside and flopped gloomily onto the sofa. He had thought that solving Hah'Er's identity issue meant it would be smooth sailing from now on, but who knew it was only the beginning of a whole new series of troubles. The thought of having to solve the sales problem for four future pets every year from now on gave Shen Yibin a massive headache.