880 Sterilization (2/2)
”Do you see these stray cats?” Zhang Zian raised his chin to hint to her.
She had seen them as soon as she had arrived––they were all in the grass pockets, in the branches, under the long chairs… there were cats everywhere. Normally, there would not be so many cats gathering in the same place, as cats were not group animals.
”These cats… are all yours?” She was misled by the leftover cat food on the ground.
”How can that be?” Zhang Zian vented. ”I'd be broke if I kept so many cats! Let's get to business. I called you here to have a discussion. Would you be able to sterilize these stray cats?”
”What?” Sun Xiaomeng thought she didn't hear him clearly, as there were so many cats gathered that she had a headache just from looking at them.
”I mean, the stray cats are getting out of control here. It's spring now––breeding season. If it goes like I think it will, then by next spring, the stray cat population will double, or even more. So we must sterilize them,” Zhang Zian explained.
Sun Xiaomeng was also aware of the danger of too many stray cats. It would be a disaster to the urban ecosystem, as well as to the residents nearby. But…
”Who's paying for the sterilization surgeries? You?” She pin-pointed the key to the problem.
Zhang Zian said, ”…Look at you. It's not noble anymore to talk about money.”
Wang Qian and Li Kun stared at each other as if they both realized something. They knew that the Master was about to give a flowery speech in order to get free stuff again.
But Sun Xiaomeng didn't fall for his trap. She said directly, ”One or two is fine. I can do it effortlessly, and I will surely not talk about money. But there are one or two hundred cats here––both young and old. Do you want me to work until I drop without getting paid?”
Zhang Zian shook his head. ”I didn't ask you to do everything in one shot. You can do it in batches––a few today, then another few the day after tomorrow, or whenever you have free time…”
”I don't have any free time,” Sun Xiaomeng interrupted him. ”Do you think my schedule is like yours?”
She was not exaggerating. As the clinic became well-known, she had accumulated a lot of clientele. Her appointments were pretty full from morning to evening each day. If she accepted Zhang Zian's invitation, she would have to work overtime for free. Her legs were already sore after standing all day. Who would not want to go home and rest early?
”You can let Long Xian practice. Doesn't she want to run her own vet clinic in the future?” Zhang Zian asked.
Long Xian was working as a nurse at Sun Xiaomeng's clinic to gain experience and funds. Yet, her dream was also to have her own pet clinic one day.
Sun Xiaomeng frowned and answered in a conflicted manner, ”But she hasn't passed her vet licence exam yet…”
”That's fine. Let her do the surgeries after work, behind closed doors. Nobody would find out. Besides, these cats don't have owners. Who would even care?” Zhang Zian spread his hands.
Sun Xiaomeng glanced around at the stray cats again. She refused him earlier only to bargain, but she knew that she could not let them continue like that without intervention. Lately, she had seen a few cases of cats beaten up by strangers. If the stray cat population continued to grow, things would get very bad.
As for letting Long Xian perform the sterilization surgeries alone, it would be fine. Sterilization was a simple procedure, and nothing would go wrong.
”Okay. Let's proceed this way.” She sighed.
”Don't make sad faces. You'll get wrinkles. In fact, you and Long Xian would not have that much work. All you need to do is sterilize the female cats here.” Zhang Zian encouraged her with ambiguous words.
Sun Xiaomeng paused after hearing this. ”Why am I only sterilizing the females?”
She couldn't understand that at all. Sterilizing the males was much easier than sterilizing the females. In theory, as long as all the male cats were sterilized, the stray cat population would be under control. Yet, that was only theoretic. In reality, there would always be new male cats joining. It was safer to sterilize both the males and females.
Zhang Zian chuckled and avoided the hard part of the question. ”You don't need to worry about this. I'll take care of the male cats. You and Long Xian only need to sterilize the females. But, if you want to do it all, I won't object…”
”…Fine. Send the female cats to my clinic for sterilization then. Let's make it clear first: me and Long Xian only take care of the surgery, and nothing else.” Sun Xiaomeng shook her head, as she didn't want to waste time with him. She still had client appointments waiting on her.
”No problem.” Zhang Zian agreed generously.
Wang Qian and Li Kun separated the cats they captured by gender. As Zhang Zian instructed, they kept the males, and sent the females to Sun Xiaomeng's clinic.
After they left with Sun Xiaomeng, Zhang Zian sat down on a long chair in leisure. He glanced at a white cat on the wall with unusually long hair and a black streak on its forehead.
Snowy Lionet licked its paws. Its eyes were sparkling with a light of excitment.
”Meow, meow, meow! My sharp claws are getting blood thirsty!” It gazed at his pants. ”Let me practice with their balls first!”