"Good, Dahei, sit here."
Back at home, Chen Yiyang directed the German Shepherd to sit down immediately.
It was quite clear that the German Shepherd didn't like the name Dahei, but it followed Chen Yiyang's instructions to the letter, doing whatever was asked.
Had it not been for the furry feel when petting the dog, Chen Yiyang would have suspected this was a mechanical electronic dog.
However, this further confirmed that this dog was no ordinary canine. Just getting it trained to this level alone must have cost a fair amount.
Having the German Shepherd around, Chen Yiyang felt more at ease living in the rented apartment.
Firstly, because it was close to a village in the city, sometimes there were petty thieves around.
Secondly, if the guy who hid the gold bars managed to escape and come looking for his hidden stash in this rented place, at least there'd be a dog to alert him, right?
Of course, all this relied on the German Shepherd being genuine, not some fabricated husky or retriever.
After petting the dog for a while, Chen Yiyang realized he still needed to buy a dog bed, cage, leash, dog food, and snacks for it.
Back when he first started working, he had a cat, but after his parents fell ill, he didn't have the time to take care of it and found someone to adopt it.
"Let's go." Chen Yiyang lifted Dahei's leash and led him out.
These days, with the declining birth rate, businesses that can't make much from babies have turned their focus to pets.
So as cat and dog culture thrives, various pet shops have sprung up all over the streets and alleys.
In neighboring countries, there have even been sightings of baby strollers without babies, just cats and dogs.
Although it's not as prevalent yet domestically, the number of pet supply stores is on par with toy stores for children; you won't need a ride; just a short walk will lead you to a pet store or animal hospital.
"Hey, long time no see!"
A girl in an apron-like work attire greeted enthusiastically as she saw Chen Yiyang walk into the pet shop.
"Fancy meeting you here." Chen Yiyang waved his hand.
The girl's name was Xu Qing. Chen Yiyang had adopted his cat from this girl originally.
"Why did you start working at the pet shop?" Chen Yiyang asked curiously.
When they first met, Xu Qing was a female programmer working in a big tech firm, busy to the point of not having time for dating; leaving work before ten was considered normal, but if overtime, it went straight to dawn.
So she had a cat at home for companionship during lonely times.
Later, the cat went out to play and got mounted by another; after giving birth to a litter, Xu Qing went online to find adopters, and that's how she and Chen Yiyang met.
"To put it nicely, I love cats and dogs, so I quit to work at the pet shop."
Xu Qing was the kind of girl whose smile could instantly elevate her attractiveness from a six to an eight or nine.
Though, when she was a programmer, she rarely had the energy to smile; now she seemed much more lively.
However, Chen Yiyang would never believe a science-and-engineering girl would impulsively quit her job just to work in a pet shop because she loved cats and dogs.
The income disparity is too significant.
"To put it less nicely, you weren't... fired, were you?"
"You guessed right." Xu Qing's eyes curved like crescent moons when she smiled, and her mouth lifted in a beautiful arc, causing Chen Yiyang's own mouth to involuntarily curve upwards.
"You truly look beautiful when you smile. You used to smile too little; you should smile more often."
Chen Yiyang couldn't help but compliment.
"I used to not smile in public, but secretly smile in bed while checking my bank balance.
Now I often smile in public, but once I get home and see the monthly income and expenses, the smile is gone."
"How much do you make here a month?" Chen Yiyang asked out of curiosity.
"On average, around five thousand."
"That's not too bad."
"But I used to earn over twelve thousand a month as a programmer."
"It's only half as much."
"It's not just double, though."
The girl started calculating with her fingers and discussing with Chen Yiyang.
"Rent is two thousand, food and drink eight hundred, plus other living expenses, my fixed monthly expenses are around three thousand five hundred.
With a monthly salary of five thousand minus three thousand five hundred, I can save fifteen hundred a month. But back as a programmer, I could save eighty-five hundred a month; that's a 5.6 times difference in income!"
Seeing the girl's indignant expression, Chen Yiyang finally understood.
With lower income, fixed monthly expenses don't decrease.
This back-and-forth gap instantly turned from double to five times.
No wonder the poor get poorer, and the rich get richer.
Because the rich can save more money each month and use that money to buy houses and rent them out at high prices to the poor.
The poor can't afford to buy houses their whole lives.
"Ah, forget it, why am I telling you all this?" Xu Qing waved her hand as if to sweep away these troubles.
"What a cute dog! Is it new?"
"Yes, just bought it from the dog market today, so I'm here to buy some pet supplies."
"What's its name?" Xu Qing came out from behind the counter, squatting in front of Chen Yiyang to pet the dog.
Though German Shepherds usually intimidate regular people with their size, many shy away instead of petting them directly.
This German Shepherd has a unique cool and gentle feel.
It's like you can touch it all you want; nothing's going to happen.
So Xu Qing boldly reached out, and the German Shepherd responded with a liking that it didn't show.
It just barely nudged Xu Qing's hand without further action.
"What's its name?" Xu Qing asked.
"I named him Dahei."
"Dahei, I'll give you some freeze-dried treats." Xu Qing said as she took out several pieces of freeze-dried pet food for the German Shepherd.
"Why do I feel like Dahei isn't its name."
Xu Qing said while feeding the German Shepherd freeze-dried treats and asked Chen Yiyang.
"I think so too. But when I bought it, the seller didn't mention the German Shepherd's name."
Chen Yiyang shrugged. He thought maybe the seller had stolen this German Shepherd, leaving only heaven knowing its real name.
"Such a handsome dog should have a handsome name, right?" Xu Qing petting its head said, "How about Black Shadow?"
The German Shepherd still had no reaction to the new name.
"This dog's ancestors are from Germany." Chen Yiyang jokingly added, "So it should be named Hans."
"Woof!" The German Shepherd barked excitedly upon hearing the name Hans.
"Wait, you really have that name?" Chen Yiyang didn't expect the dog was genuinely named Hans.
"The dog's original owner must not have been German." Xu Qing analyzed in mock seriousness.
Hans, a common name in Germany, is just like Zhang Wei is here in our country. If you name your dog this and yell out during walks, you'll probably draw a good beating from lookers who turn around.