Chapter 53: Level One Protected Animal (Request Monthly Tickets, Follow, Collect)

“Opening a martial arts school and offering enhancement or intensive classes used to be profitable two years ago, but now it’s nowhere near as good—unless you happen to get a student who needs one-on-one tutoring.”

When mentioning her job, Song Lang’s expression turned as mournful as a widow who’d been grieving for over a decade, and she began complaining incessantly about how bad the market had become.

“Our salary is no different from gym instructors—aside from a basic wage, the only way to earn more is by training students and earning commissions from recruiting them.”

“A few years ago, when green fitness courses were added to the college entrance exam scores, it caught every parent and unprepared student off guard, creating intensive classes that brought in hundreds of thousands a month.”

Song Lang spat with bitter resentment: “I make thirty thousand a month from my boss, and he treats me like a second brother—just shoving me straight into the shit pit.”

“Nine to seven every day, then when I get home, I still have to beg and flatter potential clients on the phone—my monthly phone bill runs five or six hundred yuan. That damn boss keeps promising to reimburse me, but not a cent has come yet!”

Song Lang cursed the gym’s management with zero mercy, unleashing a torrent of venom.

So-called advanced classes and intensive classes do not fundamentally enhance students' basic qualities.

Instead, the gym’s owner gathered real martial artists and retired athletes from city and provincial levels across Xia Country to form a teaching team.

The enhancement and intensive classes taught nothing but specific force techniques, and how to run faster, jump farther, or even hurl a shot put straight from the field into the principal’s office.

Instructors like Song Lang spent their days not just teaching and recruiting students, but also reading medical research papers and practicing force techniques inside the gym.

“If it weren’t for the bad reputation of being a Young Master, and if I feared the clan elders would kick me out of the family register, I’d never become an instructor.”

Song Lang radiated resentment as she earnestly urged everyone in the camp that being an instructor at a martial arts school was even less pleasant than becoming a forensic pathologist.

“Brother… I get you!”

An Sheng, squatting on the grass digesting his meal, heard Song Lang’s ghostly complaint and immediately wore a look of sympathy on his fox-like face.

In his past life, An Sheng had been a salesperson—he understood perfectly the agony of having to recruit students late into the night.

Everyone said salespeople with good tongues could earn enough in three months to buy a villa.

But after An Sheng entered the field, he briefly developed WeChat voice-call phobia.

The moment he heard a WeChat voice call ring, his whole body would jolt, his expression as if he’d seen a ghost.

He had witnessed the brilliance of such a crowd!

“Ying ying ying”

The little fox trotted over to Song Lang, sighed like a human, and patted the big man’s knee.

Brother, don’t be afraid—this crowd shines like stars, because no matter how much you fear, you can’t escape the vortex.

But brother, I’ve escaped this suffering in this life!

Sending blessings to all who work in service industries!

In contrast to the little fox’s empathy, Yu Xueqing gave Song Lang and the sheep a long, peculiar stare before silently closing her mouth.

Song Lang’s body, thick with bulging muscles, weighed at least eighty-nine kilograms.

The sheep weighed about sixty to sixty-five kilograms—its massive appearance was mostly just fur.

Yu Xueqing muttered inwardly: “No wonder it kept saying it loved humans who were light—so Song Brother likes riding the sheep like a sheep knight.”

“Baa”

The sheep poked its head out, glanced at Song Lang, then quietly lay down behind Yu Xueqing and feigned death.

………

The pet owners in the camp exchanged tips on how to make their pets look better and how to care for their fur.

They also discussed which pet grooming salon in Jiule City offered the cheapest yet best service.

Through their chatter, An Sheng and Yu Xueqing learned that Song Lang’s sheep had been bathed for as little as five hundred yuan, and as much as twelve hundred yuan.

An Sheng stared in shock, even wondering if Song Lang had ever considered one thing.

That when the sheep needed a bath, he could just shave off the dirty wool and sell it for extra money.

Twelve hundred yuan for one bath?

If you didn’t explain, I’d think you were taking your little brother to a spa to wash his hair.

Yu Xueqing’s pupils widened in shock; even in the summer heat, she clutched the little fox tightly to warm her chilled heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.

“Xiao An.”

“Ying?”

“Mua~”

Yu Xueqing planted a heavy kiss on her thriftily bought scarf, her eyes blazing with determination as she said:

“Don’t worry, Xiao An! When I have money, I’ll take you for a twelve-hundred-yuan bath—I want to see just how amazing a twelve-hundred-yuan bath and grooming really are!”

Hey hey hey! Why are you comparing this? That sheep’s fur weighs more than my entire fox body—of course its grooming costs more! An Sheng silently grumbled inside.

If it’s a bath, Yu Xueqing can wash me herself.

No need to go to a pet salon—I’m afraid they’ll give me a tin-foil perm.

Turning my charming pure-white fox self into some evil fleece monster.

“Come on! Let’s have lunch, then swim while the pool’s warmest at noon!”

After chatting with the camp group and exchanging WeChats, Yu Xueqing bid farewell, clutching the fox, and headed toward the crescent-shaped tower of Changping Pet Paradise.

But halfway there,

Yu Xueqing suddenly stopped, a strange expression flickering across her cheeks, then turned and ducked into a bush beside the crescent tower.

“Strange… why is there a pig squealing?”

An Sheng stood outside the bush, his face filled with suspicion as he stared at Yu Xueqing vanishing into the undergrowth.

Pig squealing? Where did that come from?

“Splashing—”

Moments later, Yu Xueqing’s head popped out of the bush—her once neat twin braids at the back of her head had turned into a bird’s nest.

Twigs and leaves were stuck in her hair, but she didn’t care—she beamed at her little fox, her face flushed with excitement as she cried:

“Xiao An, Xiao An, look what I found!”

“Ta-da—”

“Our Xia Country’s famous Level One Protected cutie: Miss Yangtze Alligator!”

Yu Xueqing stood up from the bush, lifting two Yangtze alligators—one in each hand.

One was about half a meter long; the other was clearly a full-grown adult, nearly one point eight meters.

Yet Yu Xueqing gripped each by the neck and hoisted them both high into the air.

“Gua?”

The baby alligator let out a confused “gua,” not understanding what had happened—only feeling a slight tightness around its neck.

“Chii?”

The adult alligator had its mouth pinched shut by Yu Xueqing’s hand, then lifted entirely off the ground by her arm.

Both alligators stared blankly, their round eyes blinking at Yu Xueqing.

The big alligator let out a confused pig-like squeal, as if asking why she was squeezing its mouth.

“.”

An Sheng’s eyebrows twitched slightly; he looked at Yu Xueqing helplessly and let out a series of “ying” sounds.

Argh, that’s an alligator!

Even if it’s not a real crocodile, the Yangtze alligator’s bite force still reaches a hundred pounds or so.

Can’t you just pick up anything? If you really like scaled, horned creatures, how about I go up the mountain tomorrow and drag you a four-meter-long king cobra?

“Hehe.”

Yu Xueqing giggled, tucking the two alligators under her arms, tiptoeing out of the bushes, and said:

“Don’t worry! They said they were hungry, so I just happened to meet them—I’ll treat them to a meal.”

In response to Yu Xueqing’s explanation, An Sheng slowly sent her a questioning mark.

Sis, the pet paradise next door is right beside a river rich in fish.

They’re Level One Protected animals, but they’re not Level One Protected idiots—how could they possibly be starving?

An Sheng rolled his eyes in utter disbelief.

(End of Chapter)