Chapter 212

Er Mao was on the phone in the bedroom; since Big Rice and Little Rice were born, Hei Mi also took good care of the two kittens, everything went smoothly, Er Mao felt relieved, his anxious state gradually faded, returning to normal; recently he probably made plans again to go out and have fun with someone.

Zheng Tan entered through the half-open door, stood at the study doorway and glanced toward the cat's nest. Hei Mi was eating outside the nest; upon noticing Zheng Tan at the door, he merely glanced and ignored him, but if Zheng Tan walked into the study, Hei Mi would surely growl. So Zheng Tan each time just curiously peeked at the doorway and did not go in.

The kittens have been two weeks old; they recently started teething and have become much stronger and more coordinated. When Hei Mi is not around, they crawl around in the nest, sometimes crawling out of it. Er Mao had someone check, and the black-and-white spotted kitten that, like Peanut Candy, has a mole on the corner of its mouth is male. Er Mao also proudly posted on a pet forum saying his "daughter" had given birth to a pair of dragon and phoenix twins.

A layer of carpet was laid outside the cat's nest; this was specially prepared by Er Mao so the kittens wouldn't get cold from the floor when they crawled out. Er Mao felt that even in hot weather they needed attention, after all they are kittens, not adult cats.

When Zheng Tan was filming an ad at the pet center, he had also seen some kittens a few weeks old; by comparison, it's likely that the special gene on Jueye is exceptionally strong, so these two kittens at two weeks are about the same size as ordinary three-week-old kittens, and their fur is longer and thicker than that of three-week-old short-haired domestic kittens, similar to their father Peanut Candy. It's said that short-haired cats open their eyes earlier than long-haired ones, but these kittens not only open their eyes earlier than other cats, they also grow large and often energetically crawl out of the nest to explore, though they still can't stand straight and their limbs tremble when they crawl.

While Zheng Tan was watching the two kittens, they had just woken up, noticed Hei Mi was absent, and started to fuss, crying; seeing no one paying attention, they clung to the edge of the nest and looked out, then one gave a strong push, tumbled out of the nest, and rolled on the carpet.

Hei Mi glanced over, then continued eating, probably already accustomed to the two kittens' antics.

As the two kittens staggered across the carpet, Zheng Tan glanced; their ears were not fully upright yet, but they still twitched at outside sounds.

After watching Hei Mi pick up the two kittens and carry them back to the nest, Zheng Tan left and went upstairs.

Tomorrow Jiao Ma will take Xiao Youzi, Jiao Yuan, and Zheng Tan to leave Chu Hua Shi for her hometown to spend the summer vacation. Before leaving, Zheng Tan came to check on the two kittens; when he returns, they will probably be able to cause chaos all over the house. It's just unknown whether they'll inherit their father's temperament.

If these two kittens stay in the compound in the future, the compound might rarely be peaceful. However, I've heard that when kittens grow up, the mother cat will drive them away. When I heard Wei Leng and Er Mao chatting that day, Zheng Tan wondered: in this area, Peanut Candy also often patrols; if it weren't for Zheng Tan mediating, Peanut Candy would likely get into fights with the constable and Da Pang each time he came to the compound. So when the kittens grow up, will there be warfare between father and son, father and daughter?

Cats have a strong sense of territory, and Jueye and Peanut Candy both care deeply about "territory"; the kittens inheriting Jueye's bloodline are unlikely to be friendly cats. It's said that on the battlefield there are no father-son bonds, and the rules of wild feline species in nature might play out here; perhaps then Er Mao will still have no choice but to send these two away.

After the summer vacation began, Xiao Youzi and Jiao Yuan spent all day at home doing their summer homework, wanting to finish early so they could go out and play; they didn't want to bring the homework out, as that would spoil the fun. For Xiao Youzi, at most she left blank the parts of the language arts homework requiring essays and diaries, to fill in later. Now they have almost finished their homework, and Jiao Ma, having nothing else to do, called Gu Lao Yezi's side and told them the time they'd be arriving.

The next morning, before the sun became too harsh, the three members of the Jiao family carried their packed luggage downstairs; Jiao Ma's car had already been serviced and refueled, and she didn't want anything to happen to the two kids because of car trouble.

The car's air conditioning was on; Zheng Tan sat in the front passenger seat, while Xiao Youzi and Jiao Yuan in the back prepared to play Animal Chess.

After dozing off, when Zheng Tan looked out the window again, he saw they had exited the highway; outside were vast expanses of fish farms.

This area has many aquaculture operations; I've heard there are nearly four thousand fishermen here, showing how large the total fishing area is. Besides the four major freshwater fish—grass carp, carp, black carp, and silver carp—there are also perch, loach, softshell turtle, shrimp, crab, and so on; anyway, Zheng Tan need not worry about going without fish when he comes here.

Besides being known for fish ponds, this place also has some experimental fields; sometimes new fruit varieties about to hit the market can be sampled here in advance.

Many people here have become wealthy through the aquaculture industry; now many roads in the village have been paved well, so Zheng Tan can sleep soundly without being jolted awake by bad roads.

"Look, someone is netting fish!" Jiao Yuan exclaimed, having stopped playing chess and pointing outside. He likes coming here because he can fish and catch shrimp, which is fun.

Zheng Tan saw that a pond over there was being seined; he guessed the fish were being transported somewhere, and a freight truck was parked nearby.

"Sit properly!" Jiao Ma scolded from the front.

Jiao Yuan didn't fidget; he just pressed his face to the window watching outside. Some village kids were helping around, but he didn't know what they were doing and wasn't familiar with them.

Xiao Youzi was also curious; although she didn't speak, her expression gave it away.

Gu Lao Yezi and the old lady were already waiting at the door; seeing the car, they smiled until their eyes narrowed.

Zheng Tan noticed that beside the two elders trailed a village dog whose tail wagged happily; its back was black, with some white on the chest and legs, and the funniest part was two white spots on its eyebrows. During the New Year period when Zheng Tan visited, he had never seen this dog; it must have been caught after the holidays. Looking at it, it wasn't fully grown—a half-grown village dog that looked spirited. As the car approached, it retreated a bit behind the old man, but wasn't really afraid, curiously staring this way.

Seeing Jiao Ma and Jiao Yuan looking happy, especially Xiao Youzi, Gu Lao Yezi, despite his age, hopped up to hug Xiao Youzi as she got out of the car. "Mm, she's gotten heavier; our little Youzi has grown again!"

After Zheng Tan got out of the car, the half-grown village dog that had been lingering behind Gu Lao Yezi barked "woof woof woof" at him, charging aggressively but stopping abruptly twenty centimeters away, neither biting nor ceasing its barking, those two eyebrow spots quivering.

Zheng Tan looked at the half-grown village dog before him and thought: This guy's facial expressions are quite rich.

After parking the car, they were led inside by Gu Lao Yezi; the rooms had already been tidied up.

"Last week your mother had the front and back of the house treated for pests; summer brings lots of mosquitoes and sometimes snakes, but don't worry—I've already taken precautions. Youzi isn't scared, right?" Gu Lao Yezi took Xiao Youzi's hand and walked ahead; the first part was addressed to Jiao Ma, the second to Xiao Youzi.

Zheng Tan glanced at Jiao Yuan; this kid didn't mind Gu Lao Yezi's favoritism at all. His gaze fell on the fishing gear in the house, his eyes lighting up; if Jiao Ma weren't standing beside him, he would probably have gone over to play with it.

Gu Lao Yezi's village dog is called "Er Tong"; the old lady said she named it that because its two eyebrow spots looked fun, like the two-bamboo tile in mahjong.

Hearing the name "Er Tong", Zheng Tan couldn't help wondering whether it wasn't a combination of a dimwit and a rice bucket.

Er Tong wasn't just staring at Zheng Tan anymore; when three strangers arrived, it was sharp—after initially barking twice and being scolded by Gu Lao Yezi, it stopped barking, presumably realizing the three weren't bad and should be treated friendly; then it wagged its curled tail enthusiastically back and forth.

The old lady washed some raisins that someone had sent over a couple days earlier; the two elders didn't want to eat them themselves, so they saved them for Jiao Ma and the others today. There were also some fruits from the experimental field that had just hit the market this year, washed and placed in a fruit basket.

Gu Lao Yezi had once been a village cadre; after retirement he still held some prestige in the village and had good relations with people, and he often liked to say: "What's the use of bank cards these days? Sometimes you still have to brush your face!"

Therefore Gu Lao Yezi values face, often boasting in front of his daughter; he has two daughters, and he's too embarrassed to mention in the village what his younger daughter does; the villagers only know that Gu Lao Yezi's younger daughter makes big money abroad, and his granddaughter shares the family surname, so he simply calls her his granddaughter, always having Xiao Youzi call him "grandfather"; those who don't know assume Gu Lao Yezi took in a son-in-law.

After arriving here and resting a day, Jiao Yuan couldn't sit still and wanted to go out and play.

Gu Lao Yezi gave them two small shovels and a small plastic bucket to go dig earthworms in the backyard.

Zheng Tan just stood aside watching them dig earthworms; Xiao Youzi was a little scared at first, but soon loosened up, and after a few shovelfuls upon seeing earthworms she would grab them with her hands and toss them into the plastic bucket.

After they had dug up enough earthworms, Gu Lao Yezi gave each child a straw hat, found a few suitably sized wooden sticks, took out some cotton thread that had lain unused at home—not needing to be too long—tied one end to each stick, and went to a wild pond.

The wild pond wasn't big; it used to be a fish pond, then got filled in, and nobody managed it, so at some point the shrimp proliferated; some village kids like to come here in summer to catch shrimp. Trees along the pond provide shade, and Gu Lao Yezi tied earthworms onto their lines. This is the usual shrimp‑catching method used by village children—no fuss, just catch what you can, almost zero cost.

Jiao Yuan had experience, so he didn't need Gu Lao Yezi's instructions; he just picked up his stick and started, which is why Gu Lao Yezi personally taught Xiao Youzi. A small scoop net was also prepared nearby.

People say shrimp are rather stupid, and Zheng Tan agrees.

Jiao Yuan's fishing spot wasn't deep, given that the stick was about a meter long and the thread not long either. Zheng Tan could see the earthworm wriggling at the end of the line underwater. Then, not long after, a shrimp approached; Zheng Tan saw the pincers clamp onto the worm, and when Jiao Yuan lifted the stick, the shrimp didn't release its grip.

Zheng Tan walked over to the iron bucket, looked at the shrimp Jiao Yuan had just shaken out, and saw the shrimp raising its small pincers at him. Zheng Tan snorted, "Stupid as hell," and waited to be eaten.

Of course, not all shrimp are like that; some are clever, especially the older ones.

Zheng Tan squatted nearby watching them fish for shrimp, then grew bored again; he himself couldn't join in, so he could only watch from the sidelines.

After looking around, Zheng Tan prepared to stroll about.

"Don't go too far," Xiao Youzi cautioned, paused, then added: "Don't cause trouble."

Zheng Tan: "……" Why does everyone like to say that to him? (To be continued…)

ps: (4.2) I had originally planned to release two chapters today, but something came up and I went out; after returning home I slept first, so I only posted one chapter, and will release two tomorrow.

By the way, I want to complain about yesterday's author's note: originally, because some people had questions about the X‑ray examination mentioned in chapter 197, I wrote over four hundred characters of explanation in yesterday's author's note, but today I discovered that the note at the end of the chapter contains not a single character—it seems to have been harmonized away by the X‑ray reference; I don't know which words were too sensitive. If anyone still has doubts, they can post in the book review section or send an internal message.