Chapter 591: Triple Win
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
It was getting dark and the lights were turned on.
Meng Li looked at his watch and said, "Manager Zhang, do you have anything else you wanted to talk about? If you don't, I should say goodbye now. I have to pack up tonight."
Zhang Zian came back from his contemplation. Shocked by the fact that he had took up so much of Meng Li's time, he quickly stood up and said, "No, I don't. Mr. Meng, are you going somewhere?"
"I'm going back to my hometown, and I come back after the Spring Festival." Meng Li adjusted his clothes and stood up.
Zhang Zian said, "I see. Thank you so much for answering so many of my questions today."
"Not at all. I've learned a lot from talking with you, and it was a worthwhile visit," Meng Li said sincerely. "Bye!"
He took his Cocker Spaniel, waved to Zhang Zian, and left the diner.
Zhang Zian didn't leave just yet. He wanted to leave when the skewers and lunchboxes were ready, so that Uncle Li wouldn't have to deliver the food to his pet shop.
He was a bit bewildered. A moment later, he remembered that there was still one more thing that he'd forgotten to ask Meng Li. What do those books have to do with 3.1415926? Why did Pi the elfin particularly like typing those specific digits?
Uncle Li came over with a to go box. Just when Zhang Zian was about to take the box, Uncle Li smiled and sat across from him, as if he was going to say something.
"Master Zhang, there's something I want to discuss with you," muttered Uncle Li.
"What's the matter? Please feel free to ask me anything," Zhang Zian said.
After hesitating several times, Uncle Li said hesitantly, "The business of our diner hasn't improved much since it was opened. I've talked with my wife and we've decided to change things. As the saying goes, any circumstance hitting a limit will begin to change, and change will in turn lead to development."
Zhang Zian agreed with this. Although he believed that food quality and cleanliness should be the top priorities of a restaurant, if there was nothing special about the restaurant, it would be difficult for the owners to make a breakthrough.
"We've heard that people in the big cities are opening cat cafes and their business is quite good, so we figured perhaps we could put a few cats in our own restaurant? Master Zhang, you're a pet expert, do you think this method is an option?" Uncle Li's tone was full of anxiety. Obviously, he had been suffering from poor business for a long time.
Zhang Zian had also heard about cat cafes. Not only did they exist in the big cities, but they were also in Binhai City. They mainly attracted young people who couldn't keep cats at home for whatever reason. Since customers could eat, drink, read, and play board games etc., they usually spent a long time in the cafes. The point was, while doing those things, the customers could also play with cats, so cat cafes were popular with many people.
However, cat cafes had many internal problems. There were two major points. One was that the management wasn't standardized, and the other was the hygiene and health issues.
The unstandardized management was reflected in the fact that customers could feed the cats food that wasn't suitable for them, or the cats wouldn't get enough rest because of the cafe's long business hours. A cat was an animal that spent more time sleeping than awake and it usually slept from 15 to 16 hours a day.
As for the hygiene and health issues, customers would require a clean, sanitary, and odorless indoor environment, and the cat litter boxes should be separated from the business area. These were the most basic requirements. After all, a cat cafe was a business in the food industry.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Zian felt that Uncle Li's idea had a certain degree of feasibility.
Unlike a cat cafe that operated for more than ten hours a day, Uncle Li's diner was only open to the public during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The business hours in total were at most six or seven hours a day. At other times, Uncle Li and his wife were either busy preparing in the kitchen or going to buy groceries from the market. Therefore, enough resting hours for the cats was guaranteed.
As for feeding cats the wrong food, this problem occurred mainly because some customers didn't know about the food that cats could or couldn't eat. Such behavior could be regulated by certain efforts.
Zhang Zian replied, "I think it is possible. You'd just need to pay attention to certain details."
Receiving Zhang Zian's approval, Uncle Li felt relieved, and smiled. "That's great! We're only resorting to this method because we have no other options. Master Zhang, please offer us guidance and advice on what we need to do."
"It's nothing, don't worry." Zhang Zian waved and modestly answered.
Thinking that Uncle Li had already finished speaking, Zhang Zian was about to get up and leave.
"One more thing," Uncle Li said with a smile. "Could you help us find a few cats that are not too expensive? We don't understand pets at all, and we're not sure which breeds would be best for our business."
Zhang Zian said, "Let me think. The cats in cat cafes are basically all adult cats, while the cats in my pet shop are mostly kittens. Well—"
Suddenly, he remembered the cats in Sun Xiaomeng's pet clinic. Those cats were brought to the clinic for treatment because of their illnesses, but their owners never picked them up after recovery, resulting in de facto abandonment. Sun Xiaomeng was having a headache wondering what to do with those cats. Raising the cats on her own? It was both costly and energy-consuming for her. Selling them? Those cats weren't worth much and their owners might come to her clinic to pick them up one day. Throwing them away? She certainly refused to do that.
For those cats, their best option was to be adopted by someone. But the customers who went to Sun Xiaomeng's pet clinic already had pets at home and they generally would not want to adopt extra pets.
As the owner of a regular pet clinic, Sun Xiaomeng couldn't allow those cats to wander freely throughout the clinic. They usually could only stay in their cages and would be released from the cages at night, when the clinic was closed.
Those cats were basically adult cats, whose diseases had been cured and had no health issues. Could they be kept in Uncle Li's restaurant? This way, the burden on Sun Xiaomeng's clinic could be removed, Uncle Li's business could be improved, and the cats could also be adopted by the customers in Uncle Li's diner. Wasn't this method a triple win?
It was true that because of the separate interests of the three parties involved, the specific details needed to be carefully planned, such as discussing the standards and conditions of adopting the cats. But without a doubt, this approach was possible.
With that thought, Zhang Zian said confidently, "Uncle Li, leave this matter to me. You don't need to spend money on buying cats. I'll send you over a group of good cats. You just need to refurbish the interior of your building, purchase some cat supplies and food, and then cut the cats' nails and bathe them regularly. I'll handle the other things for you."
Uncle Li opened his mouth in surprise. "Would it be too much work for you?"
Zhang Zian laughed. "Rest assured, it would be very troublesome for you, but it'll be a breeze for me. I'll go discuss with the other people about the specific details. I'll contact you when an agreement has been settled."
He looked at the time. As it was very late, he didn't explain any further, but only told Uncle Li to wait for his news. Holding the to go box, he left the diner.