The latter became hesitant and averted her gaze as she revealed. "Actually, my given name was Li Mengxi, but later on, that name was changed to Li Xue after reaching adulthood. Only a few, like my cousin, Liu'er, still remember as Mengxi."

"I see…" As Lin Fang nodded in understanding, Li Xue then looked back at him, "By the way, how come you never called me back after exiting the Stellar Rift? My uncle asked for you."

"Well…" Lin Fang became awkward at that; he didn't want to cause trouble for her by pointing at Yujing and others who abandoned him. He isn't some tattletale. Moreover, he knew that he wasn't strong enough to outrightly offend experts either. "I was busy with other personal matters. I'll come at a later time."

Zhi Yan and Li Liu's faces hardened at his reply. They were told about the betrayal, but Lin Fang didn't seem to tell Li Xue, making them wonder whether it was out of courtesy for a friend or if he really developed feelings for her.

Soon after, she sat down with them. "Li Liu already explained what happened. Since we're acquainted, I've got no issue with you staying here. There are two free rooms upstairs—one on the left, one on the right. Pick whichever you want. Stay as long as you like."

Her hospitality was straightforward, without hesitation.

A little later, Li Xue prepared to leave, dressing neatly for work. She grabbed her guild badge from the table and smiled. "I'll be at the guild most of the day. Make yourselves at home. Fang-ge, come and meet my uncle when you are done with other affairs. It's really important."

As she left, Lin Fang and Li Liu also readied themselves. They were bound for their store, busy with preparations for the opening. Zhi Yan, after a moment's pause, decided to tag along.

After a while, the three of them and Nebula arrived at the seven-story glass building, its sleek front reflecting the bustle of the Central Business District. Lin Fang unlocked the door and led them inside.

Zhi Yan trailed behind with her arms folded, her eyes sweeping over each polished floor as they toured.

By the time they finished walking through the labs, reinforced rooms, and storage pens, she finally spoke. "You know… to maintain a place of this size, you'll need hefty funds."

Lin Fang only smiled faintly. "We got it for cheap. The rent's just thirty thousand credits."

"I know that it is indeed a good deal," Zhi Yan admitted, "but what about the operation itself? Rent isn't your only expense. You'll need people."

Li Liu looked thoughtful. "I can handle the training section. Fang will take care of sales. For support, we can hire a caretaker, maybe an assistant for each of us, and a couple of saleswomen. It shouldn't be too much."

Zhi Yan sighed and shook her head. "That sounds like a little family shop, not a professional enterprise. If you really want this business to succeed, you need to make people believe it's big the moment they step in."

She began ticking off points with her fingers as she spoke:

"First floor: reception and egg sales. You need a proper receptionist and two saleswomen. Also, at least three security personnel, and preferably C-class Hunters. Customers feel safer that way. Fortunately, we have Nebula here. But since she didn't have much dealings with the humans, we need to hire two C-class Hunters with atleast a year of experience in this field. On average, the salary would be around 3500 credits per month. A receptionist can be hired at 1800 credits per month and two saleswomen can be hired as low as 600 credits per month. That alone would cost you atleast 11000 credits."

"Second floor: Equipment hall. This is actually something you can do at first, as it involves dealings with guilds to acquire materials and smithies to forge the weapons to sell them here. Not to mention, the purchase costs will be quite high. So, instead of weapons, it is best to turn into a pet clothing store, where we can sell pet equipment, clothes, and accessories. For that, we need two clerks and a stock handler. You need skilled employees here. That's roughly around 5000 credits."

"Third floor: Training Arena: You would need specialized monster battle trainers. Luckily for you, battle trainers can be found in abundance. We can get C-rank trainers for a cheap price. But at the very least, two are recommended. This will cost you like 4400 credits per month. Let's round it to 5000."

"Fourth Floor: Monster training lab. Li Liu can be the lead trainer, but you need at least one more experienced C-rank trainer as her assistant. Add two junior assistants for basic tasks. You have a revenue share system with Li Liu but others will work at salaries. Unlike battle trainers, the lab trainers would need a high salary. For a decent C-rank trainer, you would need to work out 6000 credits every month. In addition, for the two assistants, even if we consider basic 1200 credits a month, this will cost you 8400 credits. But since nothing could be said in this category and we didn't have any fame either, you might have to fork as high as even 10000 credits."

"Fifth Floor: animal care. You'll need two assistants, plus a licensed vet, to keep everything up to standard. That will cost you 4000-5000 credits a month. Let's consider 5000 credits."

"And, the sixth floor: The Containment Pens: You will also need atleast two caretakers and another sanitation worker. That will cost you about 3700 credits a month, according to my calculations. Also add a dedicated cleaning staff. We can spend another 2300 credits on them. So, that's 6000."

"And finally, apart from these all, you need a dedicated cleaning staff, one inventory manager. And someone to oversee online sales if you want to scale digitally."

Finally, she folded her arms again. "That's not counting an operations manager—which is you, Fang—but even then, you'll need a personal assistant to keep things from collapsing into chaos. Of course, to run a proper company, you need to open a separate business account and make sure to include yourself as an employee with the highest salary of 10,000 credits."

The weight of her words hung in the air, making others take them seriously.

"You might be paying only thirty thousand in rent," she continued coolly, "but to actually run this business? Just excluding the inventory manager, and the online sales manager, you would be expected to fork out atleast 52000 credits every month for the salaries. And there are electricity bills and maintenance. Including their salaries and possible future hiring, You are looking at more than 700,000 credits annual expenses just on salary. And you have to consider the investment you need to put in products, too."

You'll be forking out a hundred thousand credits every month, minimum, just for maintenance and salaries. Unless…" She paused, her expression softening slightly. "Either you start small with only monster egg sales and training services, or you can take in a partner who can share your burden with you. If you need funding, I can help you with that. And you don't need to think that I'm helping you because I have too much money. Li Liu trusts you enough to work with you. She recognizes your potential. At the very least, I trust her judgment."

Lin Fang and Li Liu exchanged glances. Her breakdown was harsh but… painfully realistic.

Lin Fang leaned back against the desk, folding his arms in thought.

Right now, he was already in debt by 300,000 coins to the system. So, whatever sales he makes, he has to buy it off from the system and sell it at the system-fixed price to slowly earn commission from each sale.

Hence, in order to make profits, Lin Fang was aware that he could not just depend on selling variants of direwolf eggs. Monster eggs might have a market, but they are a one-time purchase. What he needs to promote is the consumable one like the Blood Coagulation Pill and the Jade Spirit Tonic.

Also, he had seized sizable amounts of mythril ore from the beast world. Hence, apart from those two items, he could also sell mana weapons, which might help him turn this scenario. He has no problem with selling products, but is only worried about whether he will get any sales. After all, there is tough competition in the market. As a newbie, he might not be able to get enough piece of the cake.

As he stayed silent, Li Liu and Zhi Yan waited for his decision with patience. Nebula, who had no idea what was going on, just sat there and shut her eyes to take a nap.

After a lengthy silence, Lin Fang opened his mouth at last. His tone sounded resolute as he answered. "Even if the cost is a hundred thousand a month, I'll risk it. Since I went as far as to lease such a huge building, I might as well commit fully. Also, I have enough savings in the account. We'll see six months on how it goes. Based on performance, I will consider partnership and business expansion."

Zhi Yan's lips curved into a satisfied smile rather than feeling dejected by his rejection. "Good. That's the spirit." She then straightened her back and added, "If you don't mind, I can help you with recruitment and payroll. I was in the Human Resources Department back at Origin Group until a few months ago. You could use my expertise."

Lin Fang hesitated for a moment, then asked carefully, "You don't have any other work commitments right now, do you?"

Zhi Yan shook her head.

With a wide smile on his face, he extended his hand to her. "Alright then, welcome to Fang Fang Pets, Manager Zhi."

Zhi Yan smiled back, shaking his hand.

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