Future Pet Shop

"Bin, you go on and rest. I'm going to get some sleep too. I've barely slept since yesterday. I'll call you for breakfast tomorrow morning." After delivering the good news, Director Kong got up to leave. While Shen Yibin was still groggy, he deftly snatched the bottle of Monkey Wine. 'That was probably his real reason for coming, wasn't it?'

A 1.2 billion box office today! Shen Yibin was still in a state of shock and didn't even notice Director Kong had left. The production company should get about half of that 1.2 billion, which is 600 million. Today's box office alone has already recouped a significant portion of the costs! If this keeps up, the movie's gross profit will definitely be measured in the billions. Hah'Er's contract was for a 100 million fee plus 20% of the gross profit. The 100 million RMB fee has already been paid, so now it's time for the profit share. Twenty percent of one billion is 200 million!

Ha! By that math, isn't Hah'Er about to become the highest-earning star in the world? In China, I remember Fan Bingbing earned 200 million last year, right? And internationally, wasn't there a year Robert Downey Jr. made 80 million US dollars? That's about 540 million RMB.

Hah'Er surpassing Fan Bingbing is already a sure thing. To surpass Robert Downey Jr., he'd just need about 10 billion in global box office revenue, which for Hah'Er is half a month's work at most! And the peak movie-watching season hasn't even arrived yet. It made 1.2 billion on the first day; it's only going to get higher.

"Sigh. I used to think Cheeky entering that talent show was a cash grab, but now I see I was just too young and naive!" Shen Yibin sighed, stroking Hah'Er's head. 'When I first opened this pet shop, my dream was just to make a million someday. I can't believe it's only been a little over a year, and now I've got assets in the hundreds of millions.'

'Back when the Future Pet Shop made him donate the thirty-plus million Cheeky earned, Shen Yibin's heart ached. But looking at it now, it was a mere thirty-plus million. Even if I added a zero to that amount and donated it, I wouldn't feel the sting at all now!'

"Hah'Er, we're rich now!" Feeling a bit stuffy inside, Shen Yibin took Hah'Er out to the scenic balcony. As he sat down and gazed at the Oriental Pearl Tower in the distance, he vaguely recalled something. 'Isn't there a famous movie that was filmed in this very hotel? And it was shot from this angle, facing the tower, too.' The thought sent his imagination wandering.

"Hmm?" Hah'Er was sprawled lazily across his lap, unwilling to get up. Sleeping for over twenty hours was a rare luxury for Shen Yibin, but for Hah'Er, it still wasn't quite enough.

"Hey! I said we're rich now!" Seeing Hah'Er's reaction, Shen Yibin couldn't help but feel a little frustrated. 'Don't be so nonchalant about it! We're about to be billionaires! Can you please cooperate and at least look a little excited!'

"Mmmph~" Hah'Er simply rolled over, plopping his belly onto Shen Yibin's lap and letting his four paws dangle in the air. He gave a listless grunt, showing no reaction whatsoever.

"Tell me, how do you want to spend this money? Should I buy you a wife?" Shen Yibin was so exasperated he pulled Hah'Er up and pinched its chubby face. 'Buying a giant panda is obviously impossible, but we can take a roundabout approach. Worst-case scenario, I'll donate a huge sum to the Yunzhong City Zoo, have Dong build a panda enclosure, and then apply to the Sichuan Giant Panda Base to raise pandas. I'll put in a good word with Professor Wu Gui, and I'm sure he'd be likely to send a few pandas to Yunzhong City. Once they're at the Yunzhong City Zoo, it'll be just like they're at our own home. Whenever Hah'Er wants to go flirt with those pandas, Dong would welcome him with open arms.'

'If anyone else heard this, they'd probably curse Shen Yibin to death. 'Holy crap, you just got rich and you're already thinking about buying a wife? You're such scum!' But Shen Yibin didn't care. 'I'm not buying one for myself, I'm buying one for Hah'Er! Don't you want to see Hah'Er have a few little cubs?''

"Mmmph~" Hah'Er shook his big head, clearly uninterested in the proposal. 'I wonder if the kid was traumatized by his last mating trip to the Sichuan Giant Panda Base. He doesn't even want a girl now.'

"Then what do you want? Food? Toys?" Shen Yibin was starting to get a headache. 'If Hah'Er doesn't spend some of this money first, I'd feel a little bad about touching it. After all, Hah'Er's the one who earned it. I can't just go and spend it all myself, can I?'

"Mmm! Mmm!" At the mention of food, Hah'Er's spirits instantly lifted. He immediately sat up, his eyes shining as he stared at Shen Yibin. The absolute picture of a huge foodie.

"What do you want to eat?" 'As long as there's something you like, that's great! Caviar, foie gras, lobster—whatever you set your eyes on, I'll buy it for you. We can play the part of the nouveau riche for a day!'

"Mmmph~" Hah'Er grabbed Shen Yibin's tablet, swiped on it a few times, and handed it over with a photo of his favorite food displayed.

"PFFT!" Shen Yibin nearly did a spit-take when he saw what dish Hah'Er wanted to eat. 'Damn it, we're billionaires now! Why are you still so stubbornly obsessed with twice-cooked pork? Can't we try something new for a change?!'

'How much twice-cooked pork can 100 million buy? Let's estimate on the high end... say, it's made by a five-star hotel chef. 200 RMB a plate should be plenty, right? That means 100 million can buy 500,000 servings! At twenty servings a day, that's enough to last you 25,000 days! Damn it, I won't even live that long! Not to mention, Hah'Er is going to earn way more than just 100 million this time!'

'Maybe when I get back, I should build a pig farm in Yunzhong City? I could specialize in raising the breed of pig that's best for twice-cooked pork. I could feed them acorns and stuff every day. Then I could copy the Japanese method for raising Wagyu cattle—give them beer, play music for them, and give them massages. Wouldn't the twice-cooked pork made from pigs raised like that be even more fragrant?'

"How about we try something else?" Shen Yibin figured that even all that probably wouldn't cost very much. He took the tablet, found pictures of premium ingredients like lobster, abalone, foie gras, and caviar, and showed it to Hah'Er. "Should we eat more of this stuff from now on?"

"Mmmph~" Hah'Er turned his head away, a look of utter disgust on his face.

'Oh, right, I forgot. Hah'Er already encountered these things at the Royal Palace in Sokovia. He didn't seem interested in them at all. He just sniffed them and tossed them aside without even taking a bite.'

"Sigh. Fine. Tomorrow, I'll go buy some good meat and make you twice-cooked pork!" 'Alright, you win. I'm defeated!'