Future Pet Shop

"I’ll go! You’ve already had a round, so I won’t take advantage of you. From now on, I’ll drink a full bowl for every half-bowl you drink!" The men at the logging camp were a boisterous bunch; they wouldn’t admit defeat so easily. Someone immediately stepped up to take the bald guy’s place, ready to keep drinking against Xiaoliu. It wasn’t about the fine wine Shen Yibin had promised—it was purely a matter of pride.

"Foreman, if they get this drunk, won’t it affect their work tomorrow?" Shen Yibin asked, worried about delays. That Heaven-Reaching Tree was still lying in the valley.

"It’s fine," Lao Qi said dismissively. "Don’t worry that he’s passed out drunk now. He’ll sleep it off and be right as rain in the morning. They’re all young men. They recover quickly."

"That’s good!" Shen Yibin finally relaxed. He watched eagerly as Xiaoliu drank the loggers under the table, one after another. It was safe to say everyone had a blast that night.

When morning came, Lao Qi led his crew of strapping young men back into the valley to work. Shen Yibin, meanwhile, got in his car to head back to his shop. ’These guys are working so hard for me,’ he thought. ’I have to show my appreciation.’ His plan was to grab two more bottles of Monkey Wine from the shop, pick up some ingredients that were hard to find in the mountains, and cook them a proper feast that evening.

Shen Yibin’s gesture resonated perfectly with the loggers. They were simple men: be good to them, and they’d repay you in kind. They were deeply moved that a wealthy man like Shen Yibin would not only hang out with them and share his treasured wine but even offer to cook for them personally. Fueled by this appreciation, they worked with extraordinary zeal. A job that was supposed to take two days was nearly complete by dusk.

They cleaned the Heaven-Reaching Tree and hauled it back to the logging camp. There, it underwent some basic processing. They sterilized and fumigated it with steam, then coated it with a layer of wood preservative to ensure the massive tree would last a long time without being easily weathered by the elements. Once that was done, it was left to dry overnight. The next morning, it would be ready to be moved down the mountain and floated down the Yunshui River.

It was another boisterous evening, with everyone gathered around the bonfire, drinking their fill. However, after what had happened the previous night, no one dared challenge Xiaoliu to a drinking contest. Xiaoliu had taken down seven or eight burly men in a row, a feat that had thoroughly intimidated them. No one even dared to bring up the subject of a competition.

"Put your backs into it, men! HEAVE-HO!" Lao Qi’s powerful work chant shattered the quiet of the mountain forest. The sun had barely climbed to the mountainside, yet the loggers were already assembled. They lined up on either side of the Heaven-Reaching Tree and, using ropes and carrying poles, hoisted the massive trunk.

"Put your backs into it! HEAVE-HO!" the workers chanted in unison. Following Lao Qi’s lead, they slowly began to walk, carrying the great tree down the mountain. Every man’s face was flushed red, veins popping on their arms and necks, a clear sign they were using every ounce of their strength. Even with its crown and roots removed, the remaining section was still fifty-eight meters long. This was no small weight.

They carried it out of the camp to the edge of the road. Using ropes, they began the slow process of lowering the largest log in the camp’s history down the mountain slope. The arduous task lasted until noon, when the great tree was at last settled into the Yunshui River.

"Alright, everyone on the boats! On the boats! Keep a sharp eye on it as we go. Don’t let the log drift off course and hit any other vessels!" Lao Qi shouted, ushering the workers onto the guide boats. They used tow ropes to steer the great tree, letting it float slowly downstream. After about an hour of gentle drifting, it finally arrived at the location of Shen Yibin’s manor.

Getting it ashore was another massive undertaking. With the help of the construction crew already on-site, the fifty-eight-meter-long log was finally transported to its designated location.

"Alright, set it down right over there. Just a little more effort, everyone. Help me get this big tree upright," Wen Yuan directed. He had come to the site yesterday to select the perfect spot for the Totem Pole and had already instructed workers to dig a massive pit. Now, all they had to do was lower the log into it, and then they could begin erecting the scaffolding for the carving work.

With the help of a crane and other heavy machinery, the Heaven-Reaching Tree was finally raised upright. Workers scrambled to fill the pit with earth, tamping it down firmly. A few others climbed to the very top to install a lightning rod, and only then was the day’s work considered over.

"Hey, nobody’s leaving yet! I’ve booked a restaurant," Shen Yibin announced. "For the past two days, I’ve been mooching food and drinks off you all. Now it’s my turn to treat!" He herded them all into the city to the restaurant he’d reserved for a proper celebration. The construction crew was invited along as well. They were all kindred spirits, and a great time was had by all. Even Shen Yibin couldn’t escape their insistent toasts and ended up completely drunk.

The consequence of his drunkenness was sleeping in until nearly lunchtime the next day. He groggily sipped some thin porridge, then collapsed onto the sofa for a nap. It wasn’t until he woke up again, shaking off the last dregs of his hangover, that he saw the time: it was already two in the afternoon.

"Shi Xuan, can you take me to the construction site?" In his current state, driving was out of the question, so Shen Yibin had to ask Xia Shixuan for a ride. As he was about to get into the car, he noticed that only Hah’Er and Maphario were left in the shop. Xiaoliu and the others were nowhere to be found. A quick question revealed that Wen Yuan had already taken them to the site.

When he arrived at the site, the scaffolding was nearly complete. At the base of the Heaven-Reaching Tree, Marc the woodpecker was busily pecking at a smaller piece of wood. TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP! It looked like he was carving a rough draft.

Shen Yibin went over for a closer look. The wood was a branch chopped from the Heaven-Reaching Tree, about fifty centimeters tall. Marc had already carved a basic prototype. At the very top, unsurprisingly, was a figure of himself—a majestic woodpecker with its wings spread wide. Below him were figures of Maphario, Bald Qiang, Hah’Er, Xiaoliu, Gao Lujie, Cheeky, Egg, and Shi Gaofei. ’Even though Marc has never met Cheeky, Egg, and the others in person, we have photos, don’t we?’ Shen Yibin mused.

"Excellent, excellent! Just follow this model!" Shen Yibin gazed gleefully at the Heaven-Reaching Tree. ’Once the carving is done,’ he thought, ’you could probably call this Totem Pole a landmark for all of Yunzhong City.’

"KIK! KIK!"

"HRUMPH! HRUMPH!" Marc and Bald Qiang both nodded in response, already impatient to begin work.

Marc flew to the top of the Heaven-Reaching Tree, while Bald Qiang circled its base. The two seemed to be contemplating how to begin the carving. Shen Yibin, for his part, was busy studying the model in his hands.

The section of the Heaven-Reaching Tree rising above the ground, the part available for carving, was fifty meters tall. ’Divided among all the animals, that’s over six meters of space for each one,’ Shen Yibin calculated. ’Does that mean... after it’s carved, Maphario will be six meters tall?’

’A six-meter-tall hamster. Just imagine how terrifying that would be!’