Chapter 400: A Long Pedigree
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Qin Jing crossed the second automatic sensor door. The store’s interior decoration style did not intrigue her — instead, her attention was drawn to the seven Abyssinian cats playing with each other. The seven cats were older and larger than the other kittens in the store, which were probably about three-months-old and of other breeds. Under the lights, the Abyssinian cats were emitting mysterious and radiant lusters from their smooth, chocolate-colored furs. It was like pure silk, which made them unusually eye-catching.
Ordinary customers might prefer younger kittens, for they were more adorable, but Qin Jing was not an ordinary customer, and she immediately recognized the potential of these cats—they were all age-appropriate breeding cats that were healthy and energetic.
Running a cattery herself, Qin Jing was very experienced in cat breeding. Even though it was winter, the reproductive abilities of the cats were unaffected. For the cats kept outdoors, they only had two mating periods, one in the spring and one in the autumn. But for cats kept indoors, as long as the temperature was suitable, the cats were ready to mate all year round. That’s to say, instead of waiting until spring arrived, the seven cats could immediately start mating, and depending on the number of the female cats, within a few months, a legion of Abyssinian kittens would be produced.
Before she came, she had wondered if there really were Abyssinian cats in the pet shop, and whether their conditions were above her standards, but all her doubts disappeared when she saw the seven cats. They were playing in the shop, showing excellent athletic ability. They were easily jumping to the meter-high showcases or the top tier of the cat tree, and no other cats could keep up with their paces… except for one black and white kitten.
The only thing that was unclear now was the pedigree of these cats.
Qin Jing silently calculated the capital she could use, excluding her fixed assets. The price of a breeding cat was at least four or five times higher than a pet cat, not to mention that among the extremely rare Abyssinian cats, the price gap would be even greater. She did not know what conditions the owner of the pet shop would put forward, but the best option for her was to barter, exchanging one product for another...
Zhang Zian didn’t think she was an ordinary customer, for she had been carefully observing his cats since she came in. He felt like he had met her before — he just couldn’t remember when…
Just as he was pondering, he heard Fina say coldly, "This woman has been here before, and I remember the smells on her."
Although Fina was not fond of Zhang Zian’s peers in the pet industry, she could still tolerate the woman for now. After all, there were also fellow professionals like Tim and Lauren living in far-flung places that had no immediate threats to the pet shop’s small income. Although she didn’t feel that this woman was from a distant country, she decided to listen to her intentions.
Zhang Zian suddenly remembered that she had been in the shop one morning. After looking around for a while, she had left. He had suspected she was a professional in the pet industry back then. But why was she here now?
He cleared his throat and said, "Hello, we are meeting once again."
Qin Jing was surprised. "You remember me?"
"Of course, I remember you came once before." Zhang Zian had no intention to stand up from the recliner and greet her. "If I’m right, you are also in the pet industry, aren’t you? Running a cattery or pet shop?"
Qin Jing was a bit embarrassed, but it was not bad to be recognized, for the process of mutual probing had been eliminated. She took out a business card from her pocket and walked over to hand it to him, smiled and said, "Hello, my name is Qin Jing and I am the owner of Jing Jing Cattery."
Zhang Zian took the business card and casually looked at it. Seeing that Jing Jing Cattery was mainly selling Ragdoll cats and Scottish fold cats, he put it aside and said, "My name is Zhang Zian, and I’m the boss here. Please feel free to take a seat."
Qin Jing was not surprised that Zhang Zian was giving her the cold shoulder. After all, she did visit his shop last time trying to spy out his business secrets. She would be upset if her competitors tried to steal secrets from her cattery, too.
She apologized first. "I'm sorry, Boss Zhang. Last time I came to your store, I did not indicate my identity. It’s my fault, please forgive me. "
"It does not matter," Zhang Zian said. "Boss Qin, what brings you here this time?"
"I want to talk to you about a possible collaboration." said Qin Jing outspokenly.
"Oh? Please continue. How are we going to cooperate?" Zhang Zian was somewhat interested. Tim and Lauren had also negotiated a collaboration with him and in the end, it was a win-win outcome. Therefore, if Qin Jing could really put forward some constructive suggestions, he would also carefully consider them.
"I am very interested in your Abyssinian cats. May I ask what their pedigree is? How many generations can you trace them back to?"
As soon as Qin Jing raised this issue, Zhang Zian realized that she was very professional, because this was the biggest barrier in front of Abyssinian cat breeders.
Instead of answering her directly, he tore a page out of the photocopied version of the manual and handed it to her. On this page, Cathy had recorded each cat's origin in great detail.
At first glance, Qin Jing’s eyes were firmly attracted to it, and she immediately gasped!
If she counted correctly, the pedigree of these seven… no, eight Abyssinian cats could go back as far as fifteen generations! The shortest pedigree of one cat could be traced back ten generations!
Among all shorthair cats, the CFA had set up the most demanding requirements for the reproductive rights of Abyssinian cats!
The CFA required Abyssinian cats to have a bloodline of at least eight generations so that they could identify their reproductive rights. In contrast, a bloodline of four generations were required for British and American Shorthair cats, and even three generations would do for the "white-gloved" American Shorthair.
If the Abyssinian cats gave birth to one litter of kittens annually, it would take eight years before the requirement was met; if they produced two litters annually, still, it would take four years… few breeders in China were willing to take these risks since they wanted to make quick money, and who knew what the market demand would be like four years later?
Under this context, tracing the bloodline for 15 generations was simply incredible!
Anyone who had started breeding chocolate-colored Abyssinian cats 15 years ago either could predict the future or had a genuine attachment to the cats.
To Qin Jing’s pleasant surprise, the pedigree of these eight cats had no crossovers within the three generations. In other words, none of them were close relatives to each other, so each male cat could mate with the female cats freely!
In addition, she noticed that the pedigree page in her hand was a photocopied version, and that the original version was handwritten in English with elegance, meaning that these Abyssinian cats were imported from someplace abroad.
She could not figure out why someone would transfer so many breeding cats all at once?
Qin Qing made up her mind to facilitate this cooperation at all costs.
She counted several times, confirming that there were only seven Abyssinian cats in the store. Where was the eighth cat?
She put down the copy sheet in her hand and calmly said, "I would like Mr. Zhang to transfer these Abyssinian cats to me—even just a few of them."
Zhang Zian was dumbfounded. Do you think I’m stupid or something? Why should I transfer them to you?? he thought.
Even if these cats were not the legacy of Cathy, he could not easily give up the exclusive opportunity to make money.
Qin Jing was confident that she had ways to convince Zhang Zian. Last time, she found that there were no Ragdoll kittens in his shop, so she said, "Boss Zhang, listen to me, I can exchange my Ragdoll kittens for your Abyssinian cats. Everyone in Binhai City knows that my Ragdoll kittens are…"
Before she could finish boasting, she heard the golden cat on the cat tree lazily meow, as if issuing some kind of order. Then, five bicolored Ragdoll kittens appeared from behind Zhang Zian’s recliner. They were all obediently squatting on the ground and looking at her with eyes as blue as the sea.
Qin Jing was so exasperated that she wanted to curse!