"Why?" Sherwin was startled, he couldn't help but ask.
Arik chuckled: "Why? Pkts… Hahahaha… Sherwin, you are such an innocent person. Or maybe it's because you're so poor that you don't know how the world works."
"Sherwin, do you know how much money NGOs and donors give us each month?"
"I… I don't know…" Sherwin shook his head, his face filled with confusion.
"It's about 5,000 - 10,000 dollars." Arik said as he took a file from his desk drawer and threw it on the table: "If you don't believe it, you can look at these files."
"Sherwin, do you know how much it costs to rent this land?"
"The rent for this land? I thought this land was given to us because the governnt supports us to work for animals."
"Hahahaha…" Arik laughed after hearing Sherwin's words, he laughed so hard he almost fell off his chair because he was quite fat.
"Sherwin, hahaha… you made laugh so hard I thought I would die , hahaha… Governnt support, hahaha…"
Sherwin seeing Arik's expression felt a little confused and embarrassed, wasn't everything the way he thought it was?
"Sherwin, I have to pay rent for this land month after month without any governnt support."
BAM!
As soon as Arik said that, he slamd his hand on the table as if showing how terrible his anger was.
3,000 square ters in a remote area more than 10 kiloters from the city."
"Every month, I have to pay $2,000 just to rent a very large piece of 3,000 square ters in a remote area more than 10 kiloters from the city."
"I swear to God, this place doesn't even have any electricity pylons or clean water pipes. But I have to pay $2,000, $2,000 for this fucking piece of land."
"That bastard senator even told that this was potential land…
blah blah blah… damn it! It's all lies."
BAM!
Arik once again slamd his hand on the table, he didn't hold back so he used all his strength to slam his hand on the table.
His hand was red but Arik didn't feel pain, he just felt extrely angry.
"Every month, I have to pay for other living expenses like water, electricity, and food for the animals we are adopting because the bastards out there have abandoned them."
"That amount could be $1,000 - $3,000 per month. The salary for all employees including you is $12,000. I haven't even factored in expenses like dicine for the animals, vaccines, etc."
"Sherwin, do you think everything is so simple? Hahaha…"
Although Arik laughed, Sherwin felt the pain in his laughter.
Arik's suffering and despair was extre.
Arik took a deep breath then sighed: "Do you think the money that sponsors and the governnt supports us with is enough for us to maintain this place?"
"It is not! Arik, you're wrong."
"So…" Sherwin asked confusedly, "Where does the money you use topay for everything, including my salary co from."
"Where does the money co from? Here…" Arik said, pointing to a picture of cats in Sherwin's old phone.
"I realized I couldn't live off the support of the community and the governnt, so I created a fee that is a liability fee."
"Wait! Could it be…" Sherwin said, startled…
"That's right." Arik smirked: "Responsibility fee, a fee that soone who wants to have a dog or cat, or any other pet needs to pay in order to have the responsibility to keep them."
"Because people often don't appreciate free things. And of course, everyone is very willing to pay that fee."
"Hahaha… a very good reason, right? And… to do that, we need animals that are beautiful, lovable, and attractive enough to make the fools out there pay for them."
"Yes, thanks to that fee this place has survived and I have enough money to pay a recent graduate like you $3,000 per month."
Sherwin felt the image he had imagined ofthe worldshatter into pieces.
Sherwin's lips trembled but in the end he could only stay silent because he didn't know what to say.
"You don't have to say it, Sherwin..." Arik's voice seed to have softened a lot, he sighed and said: "I was also a veterinarian with a dream to create a place for animals. abandoned."
"But dreams and reality are very different. Sotis, our dreams will be tragically trampled on the ground by money and power."
Arik's voice was a little sad, as if he was rembering the early days when he beca a veterinarian. At that ti, he also had many dreams.
He even had crazy dreams. But in the end, all of them were trampled on the ground by reality.
"You also understand… If you are living in this world, without money, you are nothing. You will even lose to a wild dog."
"Sherwin, looking at you, I seem to see myself from before. That's why I hired you to work for ."
"However, I'm sorry to have to extinguish the flas of your dreams, but I must say… this is reality."
Sherwin gritted his teeth, he felt extrely tired and desperate.
Arik continued: "I also want to save all the animals that roam out there, however, I don't have that ability."
"If you want, you can bring the two cats here. Maybe there will be a family that can adopt them."
"At least, two of the cats in this photo will have a place to go."
Sherwin clenched his fists, and after a while he sighed and said, "I… I will think about it."
"Um." Arik nodded: "Thank you for listening to . However, I also don't expect the other people in this place to know what I just said."
"I… I understood. Sorry for not understanding the burden you're carrying." Sherwin bowed his head and said.
"No problem. I'm used to this too, don't worry. Either way… we have to go on living. Dreams do not feed us, money is what does."
"I see…" Sherwin said dejectedly.
"Ah! There's a party coming up with the sponsors who supported us, please arrange for your sister to attend."
"My sister?" Sherwin was a little surprised: "Why should my sister attend?"
Arik held his forehead, he felt a little disappointed at Sherwin's thoughts: "I feel like you don't understand anything in this society. Sherwin, were you born and raised in the woods?"
Sherwin felt embarrassed, once again looking down at his feet.
"Your sister is studying business administration in college, right?"
"That's right..." Sherwin replied.
"The regular sponsors that help us are all rich and own or work for large companies," explained Arik.
"If your sister shows up, she can get acquainted with those people and maybe get a good job after graduating from college."
"Ah! That's how it is." Sherwin was startled as he glead Arik's purpose: "Thank you, manager, you treat too well, but I can't help you."
"Haizzz, I am only helping myself."
"Heh?!"
"If your sister works for big corporations or companies, she can pull in more grants for our animal shelter." Arik shrugged and said.
"Your sister will have a good job, and I will also have an extra allowance to maintain this place. Both of us will benefit."
"Heh!!! Manager, you're so smart." Sherwin really wanted to complint Arik more but he wasn't the type to often flatter others, so he could only say one sentence.
"Okay, go back to work. Two days later at 8:00 p.m., I'll have a party at Korik's restaurant, rember to tell your sister to dress up a bit."
"Yes… I understood." Sherwin laughed.
…
Petran and Skelegon watched and listened to the entire conversation between Sherwin and Arik.
At this mont, Petran sighed: "Haizzz, I used to be like Sherwin, carrying a dream in my heart, but in the end I beca a slave to money."
"That's why I say your world is filled with despair." Skelegon said: "Although you are smiling, it is not certain that the smile is genuine."
"Huh! How about you?your world is also full of killing and war, how is it better than mine?"
"No, you don't understand. The war is fought to find a man capable of leading this world."
"Oh! Okay, whatever you say is right, I'm wrong, okay?"
"Haizzzz. Alright, let's continue watching."
The scene around them changed again, this ti, Sherwin entered the alley again.
He continued to pour food on the ground, then poured water into a plastic cup.
The calico cat and their five cubs ran out again, snuggled against Sherwin's leg for a mont, and then started eating food.
Sherwin sighed and said, "Sorry, I can't find you a safe place to live. I also don't want to separate you from your family, that's why..."
"Sorry…"
Suddenly, Sherwin saw sothing, he hurriedly took the big cat in his arms and examined it: "You… you got hurt again."
He examined the cat's body, and saw that there were many wounds caused by a stick.
"You… you don't have to go looking for food. You will be beaten by bad people." Sherwin said nervously.
The big cat licked his hand as if comforting him. Sherwin also felt it, he continued to stroke the cat as if to ease the pain in its body.
Petran saw this scene and frowned, he felt that Sherwin's apology was filled with sincerity and guilt.
"I never thought that a murderer like Sherwin had such a past. He is even apologizing to a bunch of cats." Petran sighed and said.
"Yes, I also said… Sherwin is a warm person."
"Alright! I believe what you said. But… that's still not enough to make him the person he is today. He must have received so terrible shock that completely changed him."
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Suddenly, the phone in Sherwin's pocket rang. He quickly put the cat down, took out his phone and chose to accept the call.
"Manager, what's wrong?"
On the other side, Arik's voice was filled with anxiety and hastily: "Sherwin, your sister... she..."
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