Chapter 20

Su Jing fed the man-eating tree with fish, his purpose was simple: to feed it until it was full, so it would lose the urge to hunt.

This would temporarily stabilize it, and gradually tame it. In Su Jing's view, the most effective way to train wild species was to start with food. Once it became dependent on the food, it wouldn't be difficult to use the feeding process to condition its reflexes for training.

Su Jing was still a bit uneasy, so he took out a rope and securely tied the man-eating tree to the four posts surrounding the basket. The man-eating tree was still small and not very strong, so it shouldn't be able to break free.

"I'll try to tame it like an animal. I hope it works, otherwise, I'll have to kill it," Su Jing muttered to himself. Just then, the phone rang. He took out his phone and first checked the caller ID. In the past, he might have answered without looking, since he wasn't a celebrity and rarely received spam calls.

However, since he started working as a chef at Zhenhong Seafood Restaurant seven days ago, he didn't dare to answer calls randomly anymore.

The praise from the notorious food critic Zhou Xian on Weibo moved many food enthusiasts. Moreover, Zhou Xian had visited the restaurant several times in the past few days, even taking some dishes to go, which shocked many food enthusiasts even more. Seafood that could make a notorious food critic linger and return must be delicious, right?

As a result, many food enthusiasts came to try it out. However, Su Jing didn't often steam fish, and he only did a maximum of ten to twenty servings a day, depending on his mood. Many food enthusiasts came but couldn't taste Su Jing's signature dish, so they were naturally unwilling and tried every possible way to get Su Jing's phone number and call him.

At first, Su Jing apologized and declined each call, but later, he was so annoyed that he stopped answering unknown calls altogether.

If it weren't for the fact that this number had been used for a long time and was linked to many accounts, he would have changed his phone number.

After seeing the caller ID, Su Jing couldn't help but smile, "Hello, Jianhua."

A cheerful voice came from the other end, "You came back and didn't even look for me. If it weren't for my chat with Liang today, I wouldn't have known."

"I've been busy. Otherwise, I would have found you to hang out long ago," Su Jing smiled. This was true; since he returned, his mind had been preoccupied with the interdimensional garbage. If not, he would have gone to see Zhu Jianhua. Zhu Jianhua lived in the neighboring Zhujiavillage and was his classmate from elementary, middle, and high school. They had been close friends for twelve years. Zhu Jianhua's college entrance exam score didn't meet the second-tier university threshold, so he didn't go to college and started working. He had changed jobs a few times and was now employed at a pet park, with reportedly good pay.

"Do you have time today?" Zhu Jianhua asked.

"I do," Su Jing replied.

"Then come to our Perfect Pet Park to watch a pet competition. There are all kinds of pets participating, even some famous ones. Outsiders have to pay fifty yuan for a ticket, but you can come for free. After the competition, I'll take you out for a big meal," Zhu Jianhua said with a smile.

"Sure," Su Jing agreed readily. Whether or not he watched the pet competition wasn't important; he just wanted to catch up with Zhu Jianhua.

"I'll send you the address, come quickly," Zhu Jianhua said before hanging up and sending the address.

Su Jing thought for a moment. Since he was going to the pet park, why not bring a pet along for a walk? He scanned the backyard and his gaze finally landed on the little calico cat. "You two little ones, come here."

Hearing Su Jing's voice, all the animals playing stopped and turned to look at him. When they saw Su Jing pointing at them, the two calico cats immediately ran to Su Jing's feet. One rubbed against his legs affectionately, while the other quickly climbed up his pants and onto his shoulder.

"You," Su Jing chose the calico cat on his shoulder. To prevent it from running around on the way and to avoid being stared at, Su Jing put the calico cat in a cage and carried it to the Perfect Pet Park.

"Perfect Pet Park, why does it sound so familiar? Where have I heard it before?" Su Jing thought hard. It seemed Zhu Jianhua had only mentioned working at a pet park before, but didn't specify which one, as it wouldn't have mattered anyway. However, Su Jing felt he had heard it recently from somewhere else, but he couldn't remember where. But whether he had heard it or not didn't really matter, so he didn't dwell on it.

The village's transportation was backward, and it took two to three kilometers to reach the bus stop. On the way, he encountered many villagers and even people from neighboring villages, who all greeted him.

"Jing, where are you going?"

"Your uncle's seafood restaurant has many customers waiting for your signature dish. Some are even willing to pay a thousand yuan per serving. If it were me, I would cook for them no matter how tired I was. A thousand yuan per serving, how much could you earn in a day?"

"This guy has really made it."

Su Jing could only give a brief reply. He had become increasingly famous in the nearby villages, making him feel like a celebrity.

Finally, he managed to board the bus, which took over an hour, and then he switched to the subway, arriving at the Perfect Pet Park. It looked like a grand corporate building, very impressive, completely different from what Su Jing had imagined a pet park to be.

"Jing, over here," a tall, square-headed young man waved at Su Jing at the entrance.

"Jianhua, I didn't expect the pet park to be so grand," Su Jing said as he walked over.

"Of course, our Perfect Pet Park is the most famous pet park in Zhongyun City, with a wide range of services, including pet supplies, live pet sales, pet grooming, pet boarding, pet medical care, pet photography, and prenatal care," Zhu Jianhua said proudly.

"Su Jing, it's been a long time," a petite, pretty woman smiled beside him.

"You are... Liu Yin?" Su Jing took a while to recognize her.

"Hehe, let me introduce you formally, this is my girlfriend, Liu Yin," Zhu Jianhua said, putting his arm around Liu Yin's waist, even more proud.

"Hey, we're at the company entrance," Liu Yin blushed and pushed Zhu Jianhua away.

"So you two are together now. I wondered why Jianhua has been so happy lately," Su Jing realized. Liu Yin was their classmate from middle and high school, and they had known each other for a long time, but back then, Liu Yin and Zhu Jianhua had nothing to do with each other. He never expected them to become a couple.

"Hehe, actually, Liu Yin has been working here longer and introduced me to the job," Zhu Jianhua said with a smile.

"I see," Su Jing secretly gave Zhu Jianhua a thumbs up.

"Hey, Su Jing, is that a pet cat in the cage?" Liu Yin noticed the cage Su Jing was carrying, and could see a cat through the gaps.

"Yes, I brought it to broaden its horizons," Su Jing smiled.

"Then, at the end of the competition, you can bring it on stage for a walk. I have a Husky, and I'll bring it up too. The competition is about to start, let's go inside," Zhu Jianhua said, pulling Su Jing and Liu Yin inside quickly.