Future Pet Shop

"A huge project? What do you mean?" Shen Yibin was a little confused. 'I think it's pretty nice watching Marc and the others carve their individual pieces. What's this huge project for?'

"Uh, Bin, have you ever seen a Native American Totem Pole?" As he spoke, Wen Yuan took out his phone, did a quick search online, and found a few photos to show Shen Yibin. "Look, it's these poles. I saw something like this at a Native American tribe's village when I was in the US for a study tour. It left a deep impression on me."

"Let me see!" Shen Yibin took the phone from him. On the screen, a pole made of various animal figures stacked on top of each other stood before a dense forest. At the very top of the pole was a bird with its wings spread as if about to take flight. Below it were animals and people, painted in vibrant colors, some fierce, some adorably goofy.

"The word 'totem' comes from the dialect of the Ojibwe people of North America, and it means 'his kinship group.'" Wen Yuan explained from the side. "The bird at the very top is the Celestial Thunderbird. In Native American legends, the Thunderbird is the master of the Celestial Realm. It can make itself invisible, appearing in the form of a gale during their winter festivals. The ones below are frogs that bring good luck to humans, a woman turned into a mosquito as punishment, a shaman who transformed into a wolf, and various other magical creatures." Every figure on a Totem Pole had a special meaning, but Wen Yuan could only remember these few.

"These Totem Poles represent the connection between humans and animals, the harmonious relationship between man and nature. I think it would be great to erect a few in our manor." Seeing Shen Yibin seemed tempted, Wen Yuan continued to persuade him. "Many Native American clans carve the images of their totems onto wooden poles, making Totem Poles, and erect them in the most prominent place in the village as a clan marker. We can put one up in the manor, carve Hah'Er, Bald Qiang, Xiaoliu, and the others onto it, so people will know at a glance that this is your, Bin's, territory. What do you think?"

"That does sound kind of interesting." Shen Yibin mulled over the image of Hah'Er, Xiaoliu, Maphario, Bald Qiang, and the others stacked one on top of the other on a Totem Pole. 'It seems like it would be pretty fun. But I wonder if there are any taboos about erecting a Totem Pole?' The thought had barely surfaced before Shen Yibin tossed it aside. 'Who cares? We're not Native Americans, and this isn't tribal land. Their gods probably have no jurisdiction here. Let's just do whatever looks best!'

"But the wood might be a bit hard to find, right?" Shen Yibin began to seriously consider the feasibility of the project. 'Putting something like this up at the entrance to my place would look so cool, wouldn't it? It'd be our very own symbol, one of a kind in the whole country. Just thinking about it is exciting! Also, from what I can see, these Totem Poles are quite large. Can Marc handle it? He's only going to be here for about fifty more days. Is that enough time?'

"Totem Poles are generally thirty meters tall, and some can even reach sixty meters." Standing up, that's almost as tall as a ten-story building. "Finding wood like that is definitely not easy, but if you're willing to spend a lot of money, you can still buy it. Don't worry about the materials, just leave it to me. Director Qin already mentioned last time that Yunzhong City has its own tree farm. They have to fell some mature trees every year and then plant new ones. I'll just give him a call, and we can buy one at the standard price!"

"That's probably going to cost a lot of money, right? Let me pay for it!" A thirty-meter-tall tree, and one that straight, would obviously not be cheap.

"You already got me such a great piece of land and sold me Bald Qiang and the others so cheaply. Are you really going to argue with me over this little bit of money?" Wen Yuan was suddenly displeased. Shen Yibin quickly threw his hands up in surrender.

"Once we have it arranged, let's go into the mountains together to find a suitable tree. No need to bother the workers; we'll just let Bald Qiang and his mate gnaw it down," Wen Yuan said excitedly, making Shen Yibin give him a sidelong glance. 'Is *this* your real motive? You just want to watch Bald Qiang and his wife fell a tree again? But then again, watching those two chop down trees is actually pretty interesting.'

"When the time comes, we'll pick the tallest tree on the farm! After we bring it back, we'll have Bald Qiang, Maphario, and the others help Marc. With Bald Qiang's teeth and Marc's speed, I estimate we can finish the Totem Pole in one or two months! Once it's erected at the manor entrance, you'll be able to see it from miles away!" Wen Yuan grew more and more excited as he spoke, immediately pulling out his phone to call Qin Qing.

'Dude, don't forget to install a lightning rod on the Totem Pole. Otherwise, there could be trouble in the summer.' Shen Yibin started to imagine it: after the Totem Pole was erected, Wen Yuan would strike a cool pose at its base, only to be hit by a loud CRACK of thunder, turning him black in an instant. 'Now *that's* what you call getting struck by lightning for showing off!'

'He's been doing all the talking, how could I forget to ask Marc and the others for their opinion?' If they didn't like the idea, Shen Yibin wasn't going to force it. With that thought, Shen Yibin quickly walked over with the phone, calling Marc, Hah'Er, and the others to his side. He showed them the pictures of the Totem Poles. "What do you guys think? Should we make one of these?"

Shen Yibin also picked up Wen Yuan's drawing pad and began to sketch the Totem Pole he envisioned. 'The top spot should go to Marc. He's the main artist, after all. I'll be right below him, then Hah'Er below me, Maphario below Hah'Er, followed by Cheeky, Xiaoliu, Bald Qiang and his mate, Egg, Shi Gaofei... We'll add every pet that's ever been in the store, stacked one on top of another to form this thirty-plus-meter-tall Totem Pole.'

Of course, Shen Yibin's drawing skills were absolute trash, and he was completely unable to capture the spirit of the Totem Pole. But Marc seemed to understand. It flew over to a piece of wood and, with a series of PECK PECK PECK PECK PECKs, carved out a simple model of the Totem Pole.

It took more than half an hour to finish the model. The group of small creatures gathered around again. Seeing how excited each of them looked, it seemed they were also very interested in the suggestion!

"KIK! KIK!" Marc flew onto Shen Yibin's shoulder and nodded, which counted as an agreement. Bald Qiang immediately started heading into the woods with Gao Lujie, seemingly to find a suitable tree for Marc. Shen Yibin quickly stopped them. 'Whoa, guys, we can't just go around cutting down trees illegally!'

"Director Qin was in a meeting; I just got through to him." At that moment, Wen Yuan returned. "I've already arranged it with him. He said we can just drive directly to the tree farm tomorrow." The matter of the materials was settled.