Chapter 27

Has the price of pest control services really risen so much?

Not long ago, during the worst of the rat infestation, the prices weren't this high!

Feng Yi checked the current prices of pest control services on his phone.

For ordinary on-site rat catching, some charge per rat, while others charge per visit. The usual price per rat is 50-100 yuan, and for more difficult cases or higher-end pest control companies, it can be several hundred to a thousand yuan. Prices did rise during the rat infestation, but now that it's over, the prices have dropped back down.

Ten thousand yuan per rat must be for extremely difficult environments, right?

Seeing the two men staring at him excitedly, Feng Yi didn't know what to say for a moment.

After a brief silence, he said to the two, "Let's go upstairs and talk."

Judging from Hu Yi and his brother's reactions just now, there were some details that weren't suitable to discuss outside.

Hu Yi's brother gratefully said, "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

After they got home, Feng Yi gave each of them a bottle of mineral water and nodded, "Speak up, what kind of warehouse, how big are the rats, and why is it worth this much?"

Hu Yi's brother took a sip of water to moisten his throat and said with a worried look, "It's just a regular warehouse, but the goods inside are quite special."

Hu Yi's brother explained the difficulties of the situation.

The warehouse is about the size of two basketball courts, filled with goods, and these goods are relatively expensive, mostly reagents used for experiments and testing. Some need to be kept away from light, and even though they have packaging boxes, sometimes the buyers require on-site inspection, which involves opening the boxes to check the items. Some of the more valuable reagents might even be inspected one by one. Therefore, the windows of the warehouse have been treated to prevent direct sunlight, and the warehouse is generally dark, with lights only turned on when needed.

"During the rat infestation, the warehouse was also invaded by rats. The boss hired people to catch the rats and used the latest rat repellent tools. In the end, the rats weren't driven out; instead, they were agitated and ran around, knocking a reagent box off a shelf. The reagent in the box required gentle handling to avoid shaking and impact, so it was ruined when it fell from the shelf. One box costs 800 yuan."

Hu Yi's brother recalled the boss's face, which was flushed with anger when he saw the fallen reagent box.

"Although the shelves have protective barriers, recently, due to frequent transactions, the barriers have been retracted to facilitate the movement of the handling robots."

The warehouse is used for categorizing, storing, and facilitating the shipment of goods, not like a store with elaborate displays and protective glass.

"This time, the goods are even more expensive, with some boxes costing 8,000 yuan. Although protective measures have been taken on the outer packaging, there's still a concern that the rats might gnaw on the boxes, which would result in significant losses."

Feng Yi understood.

After all this explanation, the point was that the goods were too expensive and special, and many pest control tools couldn't be used, leaving the pest control companies at a loss.

With tool restrictions, goods restrictions, and the constant movement of handling robots, they couldn't work freely. If they accidentally damaged anything, the minor injuries to themselves would be a small matter, but if they knocked a box off the shelf, they might end up paying a fortune.

So, who would be willing to do it?

Spending so much time on this stressful task would be less profitable than taking on a few other jobs!

The warehouse owner would have to pay a lot of money to get the top pest control companies to consider the job, and even if they agreed, the owner couldn't wait that long.

From this perspective, if 10,000 yuan could solve the rat problem, the boss would definitely be willing to pay.

Of course, 10,000 yuan per rat is the price for catching the rat.

If they fail to catch it, they would still get a fee for their effort, but it wouldn't be as high.

Feng Yi checked the expenses for this month.

Without a job, there was no income, and although he still had 70 million yuan in his bank account, he felt a sense of urgency. If catching a rat could earn him 10,000 yuan, it might be worth a trip.

It would also be a good opportunity to practice his sense of smell.

"Only one?" Feng Yi asked.

"Yes, yes! Just one! It's hiding in the warehouse!" Hu Yi replied.

He had the idea to find Feng Yi after hearing his brother's complaints. Feng Yi was incredibly fast at catching rats, with no complicated process—just a quick swoop, and the problem was solved. Wasn't he better than those who struggled for a long time and might not even catch a rat?

Feng Yi didn't agree so easily and continued to ask, "What's the layout of the warehouse? Describe it."

"The shelves are mainly light and medium-duty shelves, with only one row of heavy-duty shelves over here..." Hu Yi's brother drew a simple diagram on a piece of paper. He only described the shelf layout, which didn't involve any secrets. Providing this information would help catch the rat, so it was fine to be detailed.

After understanding the general layout of the warehouse, Feng Yi asked about the related facilities inside.

Hu Yi's brother briefly explained.

Feng Yi drew the layout on a notebook and confirmed, "Is that all?"

Hu Yi's brother nodded, "Yes, that's the general situation."

Feng Yi thought: It doesn't seem that difficult.

He searched for the address Hu Yi's brother mentioned. It would take an hour to drive there.

He checked the time.

"Alright, it's 7:50 now. Give me 10 minutes, and we'll leave at 8:00 sharp."

"Now? Oh, okay, thank you! You're going to a lot of trouble! It might be more difficult at night." Hu Yi's brother showed his gratitude.

He thought Feng Yi needed 10 minutes to select various rat-catching tools and prepare for the night.

However...

Hu Yi's brother and Hu Yi watched in stunned silence as Feng Yi ate a late-night snack, one tea cake after another, and drank half a bottle of water in a few moments.

"Do you two want some?" Feng Yi asked.

"No... no, thank you." The brothers shook their heads.

Feng Yi continued eating.

Hu Yi's brother watched as Feng Yi finished all the tea cakes in the box, rinsed his mouth, changed into a sportswear, and then left with a not-so-big backpack and a long box in hand.

It was exactly 8:00 PM.

"Are you just going like this?" Hu Yi's brother asked.

"Or what? Do we need to go through some process?" Feng Yi countered.

"No, no, that's not what I meant. I was just saying..." Seeing that Feng Yi only had a long box, Hu Yi's brother tactfully reminded him, "If you need any tools, let us know, and I can have someone prepare them."

"This is enough. I don't know how to use other tools!"

"..."

Hu Yi's brother was speechless and only now truly understood what Feng Yi meant by "not a professional pest controller."

That made sense; if he couldn't use professional tools, how could he be considered a professional?

Hu Yi's brother wanted to say more but was nudged by Hu Yi, who stopped him. Considering that catching the rat would likely take a lot of time, he said, "I'll book a hotel. After catching the rat, you can rest there to avoid driving while fatigued."

"Why book a hotel? Let's go, finish quickly, and I'll come back to sleep!" Feng Yi urged.