Future Pet Shop

Chapter 337: Chapter 337: Emei Mountain Monkey

"Xiaoliu, those fruits look good. Pick a few for us to try, will you?" The next morning, Shen Yibin called out to Xiaoliu as soon as he woke up. The monkey had quickly gotten used to its new name. The moment it heard Shen Yibin call, it scurried up to the treetop, picked the biggest and reddest fruits, and shared them with Shen Yibin and Hah’Er. As for the seeds, Maphario carefully collected them and placed them in the small pouch on Hah’Er’s chest, right alongside the previous ones.

After a full day of arduous trekking, Shen Yibin and his companions finally emerged from the mountain forest and returned to their previous hotel. "Once we get inside the hotel, you have to be on your best behavior, you hear?" Shen Yibin had seen for himself how unruly the monkeys of Emei Mountain could be, and he absolutely could not let Xiaoliu cause a scene in the hotel. Damaging property wasn’t a huge concern—at worst, he could just pay for it. But bothering the other guests would be a massive headache. The relevant authorities might even step in and force Shen Yibin to release Xiaoliu back onto Emei Mountain.

Whether it was because the medicine had made it more obedient or because this was just Xiaoliu’s natural temperament, the monkey remained fairly well-behaved in the hotel. At most, it would rummage and tumble about in Shen Yibin’s room for a bit, but it never ran into other guests’ rooms to harass them.

After a night’s rest, Shen Yibin got in the car and prepared to head for the Sichuan Giant Panda Base. He had two reasons for going: first, to return the car to the base and let Hah’Er see his cubs; and second, to see if he could ask Professor Wu Gui for help with Xiaoliu’s legal status. Though not as rare as golden snub-nosed monkeys, Emei Mountain monkeys are still a Class II state-protected species. It would be difficult to take one home without the proper paperwork.

After a few hours on the road, Shen Yibin arrived back at the Sichuan Giant Panda Base and found Professor Wu Gui. Before Shen Yibin could even say a word, Hah’Er started grunting insistently. It was obvious he wanted to go see his children.

"Liu, take Hah’Er to the nursery." Professor Wu Gui smiled and called over an employee. At the sound of the name, Xiaoliu instinctively looked at the professor, thinking it was being called. Once Hah’Er and Maphario were led away by the staffer, Professor Wu Gui turned his attention to Xiaoliu. "So, you went location scouting and brought back a monkey?"

"I ran into it in the mountains. Looked like it had been abandoned by its troop. It was starving, poor thing, so I gave it a little something to eat, and it’s latched onto me ever since." Shen Yibin put on a helpless expression. "It followed me all the way out of the mountains and wouldn’t leave even when we got back to the hotel. I tried to shoo it away several times, but it wouldn’t budge. I really had no choice but to bring it with me. Who knows what would’ve happened to it if I’d just left it there." Shen Yibin shook his head as he spoke, affecting an air of saintly compassion.

"Heh, you really have a way with animals, don’t you? First Hah’Er gets attached to you, and now this monkey." Professor Wu Gui was rather at a loss for words. While Shen Yibin’s actions weren’t exactly by the book, the monkey probably wouldn’t have survived long if it had been left behind. In that sense, what he did could be considered a good deed. "Why don’t you just leave it here with us? We may be the Giant Panda Base, but taking care of a monkey or two is no problem."

"Er, I don’t think that’ll work. It only trusts me right now." ’I spent days trekking through the mountains to find this little guy. There’s no way I’m just giving him to you for free.’ Shen Yibin decided to get straight to the point. "I’d rather take it back to Yunzhong City to look after it properly. But taking it with me requires a ton of paperwork. Professor Wu, could you please help me out with that?"

"Oh, you... you see an animal, and you just have to raise it." Professor Wu Gui pointed at Shen Yibin, a look of exasperated fondness on his face. He knew Shen Yibin had always loved animals and took excellent care of them. Besides, after everything he’d done for the Sichuan Giant Panda Base, the professor owed him more than a few favors. It would be unreasonable to refuse such a small request. "Alright, I’ll make a few calls. Feel free to look around. It’ll probably take two or three days, which is perfect—it’ll give Hah’Er more time to spend with his kids."

"Great! Thank you so much, Professor Wu Gui! I’ll be sure to bring Hah’Er back next year when the female pandas go into heat." In order to get legal paperwork for Xiaoliu, Shen Yibin had shamelessly sold Hah’Er’s body.

"I was going to call you about that next year anyway, even if you hadn’t mentioned it. Just relax and wait here. I guarantee I’ll get it all sorted out for you." Professor Wu Gui had been navigating the zoological world for many years; for him, this was a simple favor. Of course, he wouldn’t have offered to help if not for his trust in Shen Yibin.

And so, for the next few days, Shen Yibin, Hah’Er, Xiaoliu, and Maphario stayed at the Sichuan Giant Panda Base. During the day, Hah’Er would go out to the lawn to play with his cubs, with Maphario joining in on the fun. Xiaoliu, meanwhile, spent its time climbing every tree in sight. ’Perhaps it’s looking for a suitable tree hollow to start brewing wine,’ Shen Yibin wondered.

Shen Yibin knew the little fellow liked to drink, so he went out and bought a wide variety of alcohol for Xiaoliu to try. But whether it was red wine, baijiu, yellow rice wine, sake, beer, or cocktails, the monkey would take one sip and spit it right out. It could only stomach a few fruit wines, and even then, it would just take a tiny sip and be done with it, showing no desire to drink its fill.

’Looks like I’ll have to let it brew its own wine after all,’ Shen Yibin realized. And so, he grew even more anxious for Professor Wu Gui to finish the paperwork so he could take Xiaoliu home to start brewing in the pet store.

Professor Wu Gui was remarkably efficient. On the third day, he came back with a complete set of documents. As he handed them to Shen Yibin, he couldn’t resist adding a final admonition, "I had to cash in a lot of favors using this old face of mine to get these for you. You’d better take good care of this little one. Don’t let anything bad happen to it."

"Don’t you worry. Just look at Hah’Er—see how healthy he is now!" Although Hah’Er had gotten a little chubby, he exercised with Shen Yibin every day, so his physical fitness was excellent—far better than the other giant pandas at the base, at least. "If you’re still worried, you’re welcome to come visit us in Yunzhong City whenever you have time."

"Just don’t feed it until it’s a butterball like Hah’Er." Professor Wu Gui was left a bit speechless looking at Hah’Er. ’How on earth is this guy still so agile when he’s this chunky?’

Now that the paperwork was in hand, it was time to leave. Shen Yibin sent a message to Wang Jing on WeChat explaining the situation. She immediately replied that she could arrange an extra seat for him, so he wouldn’t have to stuff Xiaoliu into a pet carrier for the flight.

And so, the next day, passengers on the same flight were astonished to discover a panda and a monkey sitting in first class.

When they arrived at the Yunzhong City airport, Xia Shixuan was there to pick them up. The first thing she said upon seeing Xiaoliu was, "Boss, did you release your Big Senior Brother from under Five Elements Mountain?"