Chapter 340: Robot Pets

"We're out of stock."

The first batch sold out, and the next ones will be by reservation. This thing isn't cheap to make; after technology improves and robots are upgraded, the stockpiled older‑model robots become waste, unable even to recoup their cost.

Liang Yan looked a bit down and said, "I really love the fluffy one!"

Ji Yan couldn't bring herself to say that the robots here were being given to Liang Yan; the robots at home were specially set aside by Ji Tianlin and Su Xi as a gift for Su Yu. That was their intention, even though Su Yu still doesn't know it.

"Don't worry, sales are booming, so they'll definitely mass‑produce! The reservations will definitely be fulfilled; the money's already paid!"

【Take advantage of the current hype and sell more to recoup costs!】

"Mm‑mm!"

Liang Yan gave the fur a quick rub, and his desire eased a bit, "The feel of this fluff isn't as good as a real dog's."

It feels fluffy and soft to the touch, but press a little harder and you hit hard plastic, still quite different from a soft living creature.

After petting the robot, Su Yu and Liang Yan took a walk around the residential complex.

The complex remains clean and tidy; the adults and children living here look relaxed. Staff at the various shops are warm and hospitable, giving an atmosphere of thriving prosperity.

"The vibe here is really nice!"

There are many ads, but they're mainly posters; no audio commercials that would make the complex noisy. The posters are arranged in a rather aesthetic way, so as you walk by it feels less like advertising and more like a comic strip jointly presented by various brands.

Shops in the complex don't need loudspeakers to attract customers; the staff are already swamped. Some stores have even requested robots from the property management to help explain and sell products.

"Why are there so many people here?"

"They're all girls; shopping feels easy and relaxed."

The entire complex is populated by girls; photography is prohibited in the restricted area, and all shop cameras must be registered with the property, with footage regularly deleted unless there's a special circumstance.

The girls feel free to wander around in any outfit! Female‑oriented clothing clubs, such as a Han‑fu society, regularly hold events here, gathering for photos and meals.

"You can tell the stuff here isn't that expensive."

Liang Yan thinks that because the items are cheap, more people buy them.

"There are price‑control requirements."

The property company periodically gathers the prices of products inside the shops and compares them with external market prices; if they exceed a certain percentage, the property will summon the shop owner.

If someone complains, the property will handle it, and shops that severely overprice customers will be expelled from Yan Le Yuan.

So far no foolish shop has crossed the line. With so many people here, business is booming; once a shop moves out, it can't get back in.

Liang Yan noted the shops he visited, "There seem to be few shops with duplicate businesses; even when there are, they're few, each has its own distinctive features."

The few places they passed all sell food: one offers braised snacks, another Lanzhou ramen, another hot pot, and another Cantonese cuisine.

There may be some overlap, but each has its own flavor.

"When the property recruits merchants, it encourages businesses with distinctive traits to settle, and forbids malicious competition."

Having identical shops in the same area leads to problems, and "our space for shops is limited as well."

At that time Su Yu still thought the layout had too many shops. Even when Yan Le Yuan was first developing, she felt the number of shops was a bit excessive.

These years, Yan Le Yuan has been fully occupied year after year, with rooms hard to find. The shops here have become somewhat insufficient. Some shops are still run by a few people jointly operating the same store.

"The income should be pretty good!"

"Mm, let's go check the accounts."

When auditing, Su Yu usually relies on Wulongcha for help.

"General Manager Su! The computer data has been compiled; please review it!"

Matters inside the complex are basically handled by Xu Mingyue and Ji Yan; Su Yu's coming to audit is just a formality.

After confirming everything was fine, Su Yu went with Liang Yan to her dog‑themed amusement park to check the accounts.

The dog‑themed park is booming. Most middle‑ and lower‑class dog owners in Jingdu bring their dogs here to play and gather.

When Su Yu and the others entered, the place was filled with dogs' "Woof—" and "Awo—" sounds.

Liang Yan's bright eyes stared at the surrounding dogs, wishing he could pet each one.

"They're all so cute!"

In the front dog playground, the dogs are having a great time. Some people use phones or cameras to take joint photos with their dogs, while others use the park's instant‑photo cameras and other devices to capture happy memories with the dogs.

Liang Yan and Su Yu walked to the rear area, and the staff hurriedly brought a computer for Liang Yan to inspect.

【Wulongcha, could you check if there's any problem?】

Wulongcha scanned quickly and replied, "No problem, except that the resource consumption for stray dogs is a bit high; there are too many stray dogs, especially sick ones."

Staff also mentioned the issue. Some people, knowing that adoptions here are free, even try to dump dogs here as strays, then take them back once the dogs recover. There's even an online "free‑riding" guide teaching how to exploit the park's veterinary services without paying.

The staff tried to set conditions, but many people find loopholes. In the end they could only require adopters to pay for the pets' medical fees, curbing the free‑riding trend.

But once that rule was introduced, the number of applicants adopting previously sick dogs dropped sharply.

"Not every dog's behavior attracts fans; aside from a few celebrity dogs, most aren't liked and can become depressed."

Dogs also need emotional value. The staff are exhausted, spending each day feeding and cleaning cages, with no time to play with them or let them release energy. Dogs have their own social circles; socially anxious or ostracized dogs become very lonely.

"How about trying to train them as companion dogs? For people with high emotional needs, we could open a dog café or a dog‑camp retail shop, letting dogs serve as staff for a trial."

Liang Yan took Su Yu and the staff on a tour of the area where stray dogs stay. Some play in the public zone, while others sleep in their own cages.

"Aggressive dogs are also troublesome; they can only be kept in cages. Abandoning them isn't ideal, but continuing to keep them creates a lot of pressure here."

A crazy dog isn't like a crazy person; a crazy person shows clear outward symptoms and can be placed in a psychiatric hospital, but a crazy dog doesn't. Some dogs are naturally erratic, and humans can't easily understand their behavior.

These problems are laid out plainly, and the hardest to deal with are the staff themselves.

"There are also adopters who move away after adoption and refuse follow‑up visits, putting the responsible staff in a difficult spot."

Some people don't want their lives disturbed; some haven't cared for the dogs properly and fear follow‑up visits; others have transferred the dogs and know nothing. In short, there are all sorts of bizarre reasons, and the staff in charge are about to go bald! After viewing the stray dogs, Su Yu and Liang Yan went upstairs to see the dogs undergoing training.

"The training ground's problem is too many complaints. But we can't blame the trainers; some dog students have poor memory, and their owners don't have time to reinforce the lessons, so customers end up thinking we're cheating them."

Dog learning also requires reinforcement. Not every dog is a smart dog.

Liang Yan took a notebook and jotted down these issues, planning to ask his teachers and parents back home.

After strolling the Dog Park, Liang Yan subconsciously wanted to go to the Cat Castle.

"Xiao Yu sister, shall we go see Can Can's Cat Castle?"

"I don't want to go."

The Cat Castle was entrusted by Tang Can to Tang Tang. Currently Tang Tang is managing it. But Tang Tang's parents, after hearing that the Cat Castle is very profitable, are displeased and want to seize the management rights.

The reason is that Tang Can's assets should be overseen by her parents, not by her aunt Tang Tang. Tang Can's parents are abroad, so logically they, as grandparents, should manage it. Wulongcha checked, and this is just a bad debt; Su Yu has no standing to intervene! Liang Yan is a bit dejected, "Can Can's Cat Castle, what a pity!"

Su Yu doesn't think it's a pity, "Her future direction isn't this anyway; as long as the cats live normal lives, that's fine! Didn't she say she'd bring it up with the family later?"

Tang Tang doesn't refuse to let go because of money, but because she's worried that her parents, for greater profit, will cut the food for the rescued stray cats. The people above only take care of the few famous ones, which could cause the unknown cats to have lives worse than when they were stray.

When Tang Can achieves something in the medical field and earns money, she can "redeem" it back. Her parents feel guilty toward her; she can buy it with money, and her grandparents, seeing that she has already become accomplished, won't make it too difficult.

"Mm, we can give her money!"

"Huo Huo, that's an investment!"

…

Su Yu and Liang Yan continue, leading a group of bodyguards, to randomly select Su Family and Liang Family enterprises for study and auditing; when problems are found they report them to their respective parents, waiting for someone to take over.

After a busy day, at nine p. m., Su Yu finally returned home.

"Wow! Is this for me?"

The plush bear with eyes that suddenly lit up, similar to those from Yan Le Yuan Studio, didn't scare Su Yu; she happily lifted the bear high! This bear is as big as her backpack, and has two straps, so it can be carried like a backpack! "Yes, it was made especially for you, do you like it?"

"I like it, thank you, Grandfather!"

Su Yu held the bear and felt it; as Liang Yan said, the fur is very soft, but the skin is a bit cold and hard.

But she's very satisfied! Ji Tianlin pressed the bear's paw, "This is the switch; press it to open the bear's belly, where you can store some everyday items."

"Wow!"

Su Yu felt it; the space inside the bear's belly is huge, enough for her to put books and notebooks!

"This backpack also has other robot‑equipped functions, hidden in its ears; there's a touch‑screen mode, you can try operating it. In a safe area, you can turn it off."

Two big ears—one side is the control panel, the other an anti‑mistouch emergency help button—really super thoughtful! "I love it so much!"

Su Yu truly loves it, holding it and not wanting to let go.

"Does Mom have one too?"

"Yes, you all have one; your Mom's is in her room."

How could Ji Tianlin miss his own precious daughter!

He asked his daughter before customizing, made it exactly to her taste. He wanted to surprise Su Yu, so he didn't ask Su Yu.

"Grandfather, you're so kind!"

Su Yu hopped and skipped, taking the bag to show off to Su Yi.

"Dad, did you see that?"

Su Yu rotated her bear backpack 360 degrees without a blind spot in front of Su Yi.

"Super big, super cute!"

"Exactly matches my heart's desire—a huge bear backpack!"

"Uncle and Grandfather gave it to me!"

"All functions are complete; it can be a doll or a backpack, a plush bear!"

"Also, this is a custom model, and it even has someone's name on it~"

"Looks good and is practical!"

The most crucial part is, "Both Mom and I have one, you don't!"

Su Yi thought that their father‑daughter relationship was bad, it wasn't solely his fault, and this scene is solid proof! "I don't need it!"

"Hehe!"

Su Yi: No hehe!

"I get it, you don't have a bag, so of course you don't need it."

After the showoff ended, Su Yu hopped and ran to find Ji Tianlin, wanting to get one for the two little buddies as well.

"Grandfather, can it still be customized? I want to buy one for Huo Huo and Can Can!"

"Yes, there's a batch set aside as a courtesy gift; what shape do you want?"

"Hold on, I'll ask Huo Huo and Can Can!"

Su Yu recorded a video of her bag on her phone and sent it to Liang Yan and Tang Can, asking what shape they want.

Liang Yan instantly replied with a call.

"Xiao Yu sister, I want a dog! A big dog!"

"Okay!"

Su Yu looked up at Ji Tianlin.

Ji Tianlin nodded, having the staff deliver one tomorrow.

Tang Can only replied before Su Yu went to sleep. She still loves cats deeply and wants a cat‑shaped bag.

Su Yu sent a message to Ji Tianlin, then slept peacefully.

The next noon, Su Yu and Liang Yan returned home together and saw Liang Yan's big dog‑shaped robot bag.

Liang Yan held it and played for a while, even tried to wear it, "A bit heavy, but okay!"

Ji Tianlin helplessly said, "Due to current technical limitations, loading certain functions prevents weight reduction."

"It's already great! Thank you, Grandfather Ji!"

Liang Yan laughed happily! The style she had pre‑ordered on the website wasn't as good looking as this, and she'd have to wait at least a month! "As long as you like it!"

Liang Yan liked it a lot and even stuck with Su Yu in the afternoon to wear the new backpack together to school.

Su Yu agreed instantly! She had wanted to carry hers for a while; in the morning she had to consider Liang Yan's feelings about not getting her bag, but in the afternoon there was no need! The two little sisters carried their bags into school, and passersby only glanced at them twice. When they reached the classroom, A Bu Xia came right over to look.

"How come you both have one?"

A Bu Xia had wanted to show off her own bag, but Su Yu and Liang Yan's bags were both bigger than hers! "My uncle and grandpa gave them to me!"

"Hehe, little sister Xiao Yu gave it to me!"

Liang Yan did not like A Bu Xia. She said unpleasant things and loved to hover around them talking, which was a bit annoying~ "Hmph, my teacher gave me one too!"

A Bu Xia left, and Liang Yan's teacher walked over. Liang Yan packed her things, getting ready for class, but the teacher stopped right in front of their desk without moving.

"Teacher, what's wrong?"

Thanks, darlings, for the votes~ Four thousand words~ Good night, darlings~