At 7:15pm, Zhang Zian looked at the watch and said to Wang Qian and Li Kun, "Start picking up."
Surprised, Wang Qian and Li Kun said, "Master, we still have customers."
At that time, two customers were looking at pets, a man and a woman. They came separately.
Zhang Zian nodded, "I know. Start picking up and then you can leave when you are done."
Wang Qian and Li Kun didn't understand, but they followed Zhang's instructions. They were already very familiar with the procedure, so it only took them 15 minutes to pick up.
In the meantime, the female customer left without buying anything.
Zhang Zian told them to leave when they were done.
Wang Qian and Li Kun looked at each other. Li Kun said, "Master, how come you look unhappy these days? Are you okay? Are you mad at us?"
Zhang Zian waved, "Everything is fine. I have plans tonight. You guys can leave now."
"Okay." Although confused, Wang Qian and Li Kun left as told.
The male customer was slow. He kept wandering in front of the dog display cabinet and could not decide if he wanted to get a dog or not. Previously, Zhang Zian would not have rushed him; yet it was a special time and he wanted to close early.
Fina was resting on top of the tallest cat tree.
Old Time Tea was watching TV happily.
Galaxy was playing hide and seek with the other kittens and stayed away from the customer.
Everything looked extremely peaceful.
However, Zhang Zian could smell the uneasy tension in the air. It felt like the peace before a war.
He heard a squeaking noise outside the door.
A motor tricycle stopped at the store, which frightened Zhang Zian.
"Is Zhang Zian here? Your package!" The courier came in with a package.
"I am Zhang Zian."
"Please sign here."
"You are still working this late?" Zhang Zian said as he signed.
"Your package is the last one. I am going home after this." The courier smiled and his face was filled with happiness when he talked about home.
Zhang Zian looked at the label. His name, address and phone number were all on there. However, he didn't recall purchasing anything online. The most important thing was that his online name was "The Hottie."
After Zhang Zian signed, the courier left and went home on his tricycle.
Zhang Zian opened the package with a knife.
To protect the goods inside, there were layers of packaging materials, bubbles and plastic wrap. When he finished unpacking, a beautiful ceramic tea tin was in front of him.
There was a handwritten note packed with the tea tin saying, "The tea you are looking for. You can pay me back later."
The signature was Xiao.
There was nothing else on the note. She didn't even mention the name of the tea.
Taking the tea tin, Zhang Zian quickly walked to Old Time Tea.
"Grandpa Tea, I got some tea from my friend. You want to try?" He murmured so the customer could not hear him.
Old Time Tea was excited. It kept nodding, "Of course, of course. Let me smell it."
Zhang Zian opened the tin. A refreshing smell came out.
"Great tea! My friend, this is great tea!" Old Time Tea started dancing with joy.
"Better than the one from Hidden Fog Tea House?"
"Well, it is not the same tea, but the quality is as good," Old Time Tea confirmed.
Zhang Zian relaxed. It was excellent that Old Time Tea was satisfied.
"Let me make some tea for you?"
"Sure! Sure! Honestly, my friend, I am drooling all over already. I can't wait to taste this tea…" It seemed that Old Time Tea was really excited about this tea.
"Okay. You wait right here. I am going to boil some water. I will be done soon."
Looking at the male customer, Zhang Zian decided to wait a few more minutes before having him leave the store.
He went upstairs and started boiling some water.
Fina opened its eyes, looking at Old Time Tea with a despising look, and then closed its eyes again.
Old Time Tea didn't notice the hatred from Fina. It kept sniffing the tea and ignored everything.
When the water was boiling, Zhang Zian squatted and looked down at the door. It seemed to him today was another peaceful day.
He thought to himself, "Those people may not come today."
It didn't take long for the water to boil and the kettle to whistle.
Zhang Zian walked down the stairs with the piping hot water kettle. He picked up Old Time Tea's teapot and was about to make tea.
"Buddy, wait for another minute, otherwise you will waste the tea. The water is too hot right now," Old Time Tea reminded as well as stopped him.
"Okay," Zhang Zian replied. He put down the kettle and walked to the customer.
"Excuse me, sir. We are closing."
The male customer was shocked. "This early?"
"Yeah. I am sorry. I have plans tonight so I am closing early," Zhang Zian apologized.
The male customer murmured to himself, "What time is it even…"
He pulled out his cell phone to see the time, "It is not even eight o'clock yet. Hey, Manager, how come the signal is so weak in your store? I am waiting for a call …" He raised his cell phone trying to get reception.
"It shouldn't be," Zhang Zian was confused. He looked at his own phone.
He usually got a full five-bars or sometimes four, depending on the day. However, at this time, the signal was disappearing quickly, from three bars to two, and then one… In the end, it showed "no signal" on his cell phone.
Weird.
"There might be something wrong with the tower" Zhang Zian could not explain why.
The male customer was trying to search for signal reception while Zhang Zian left. He picked up the kettle and poured water into the teapot. He had already put the tea into the teapot. The store was filled with the aroma from the tea instantly.
He put the lid back on the teapot and was about to put the kettle back upstairs.
Galaxy was chased by the kittens. It took them away from the door and close to the stairs.
Fina once again opened up its eyes as if it heard something.
Watching the smoke slowly rise from the teapot, Old Time Tea paused and thought about the old days.
…
A van without a license plate stopped in front of the store.
A golden-haired guy in the passenger seat asked the guys in the back, "Did you turn on the mobile phone shielding device?"
The purple-haired guy laughed, "Of course. It is not our first time and I am sure it is not the last."
He patted the equipment next to him. The green light was on, indicating that the machine was working properly. He said, "This is a great machine from Qing Ren. Now, no one uses landlines anymore. With this machine, we won't have to worry about people calling the cops."
The golden-haired guy said, "Of course Qing Ren is smart; otherwise why would I work with him? He placed an order today. We have to complete this task nicely, otherwise we won't get any more business from him."
The green-haired guy laughed, "Qing Ren was being really skeptical about our ability. Look, it is only a small pet store. I am sure we will get it done. Honestly, we don't even need the whole team. I alone could ruin this store…"
The golden-haired guy pushed, "Stop your bullsh*t! Let's get to work and go party afterwards."
At the same time, the seven Rainbow Fighters each pulled out a pair of pantyhose and put them on their heads.
"Let's go!"
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