Chapter 242: Four‑Note Cuckoo

Although the person and the cat dislike each other, Liuba generally won't worry about anything else before finishing what's at hand, even if he has a grudge against someone and finds them unpleasant, he won't immediately seek revenge; the task at hand is urgent.

Therefore, for a period of time afterward, Zheng Tan's life remained peaceful. Sometimes he would stroll around the lakeside residential area; if he went in the afternoon, he could even join an afternoon tea to temporarily fill his stomach, and what Zheng Tan needed to do was just listen to the old lady's chatter.

The old lady's son often visited her; if he couldn't come, he would call to check in. The family had hired a nanny to take care of her. For the old lady, aside from going out for walks, eating, drinking, and sleeping at home, everything was very boring, and she couldn't travel far because her body hadn't fully recovered. Thus, Zheng Tan became a good listener for her.

From the old lady's words, Zheng Tan learned that "Xiao Gao" had come by two more times, though Zheng Tan hadn't run into him. The old lady said she and Xiao Gao had a very pleasant chat; hearing that, Zheng Tan realized she had surely been pumped for information, since when people chat pleasantly they usually aren't very wary or guarded. Thinking of that thick‑skilled, superb‑acting Xiao Gao full of devious schemes, and then looking at the old lady, one can imagine what sort of "pleasant chat" would happen without Zheng Tan meddling—Xiao Gao must be overjoyed.

However, in recent days Xiao Gao hasn't shown up again. Without Xiao Gao to chat with the old lady, whenever Zheng Tan drops by he hears her lamentations and the memories she recalls because of Xiao Gao, things buried deep in her mind.

The old lady said. When she was young she also had a romance that almost came to fruition, but later they split due to some circumstances; although they kept exchanging letters for a few years, another accident then occurred, after which she moved to Chu Hua Shi and lost contact with him.

Zheng Tan felt the old lady must be quite lonely now. Although her son always thinks of him, he is also very busy with work. The old lady feels sorry for her son. She doesn't let him come over all the time, and even asks the daughter‑in‑law to look after him more; on her side she only needs to hire a nanny. As for the grandson, he has already been sent abroad to study, rarely seen, only occasionally making an overseas call.

Zheng Tan had heard the old folks in the compound say that nowadays people often like to send their elderly parents to nursing homes for convenience, but those old men and women themselves would rather die than go to a nursing home. Zheng Tan doesn't know what a nursing home is like; he just often hears the compound's residents chatting and learns that many elderly people strongly dislike that place.

It's not as good as newspapers claim; some elderly there can only sit silently by the window each day, gazing outside, perhaps hoping their relatives will visit often, but most of the time they are likely disappointed. Moreover, some elderly, as they age, suffer memory decline; after staying long in a nursing home they may not even recognize relatives, and after a longer time they might even forget their own sons and daughters.

Families with means, like the old lady's—her son is a somewhat well‑known entrepreneur in Chu Hua Shi and is fairly filial—though he can't come often, he would love to hire ten or eight nannies for her.

In front of her son and daughter‑in‑law, the old lady certainly puts on a good show, but deep down she is actually quite lonely; a nanny, after all, is not a blood relative.

"Little black cat, you tell me—should I also keep a small pet like a cat or dog? But at my age I don't know how much longer I'll live; if the time comes and I can't care for it, what then?" the old lady said, looking at Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan dodged the old lady's hand reaching to pet his head, thinking: "Where am I small?"

Situations like this old lady's, Zheng Tan has actually seen many—there are plenty of elders in the compound whose spouses have passed and whose children aren't around, for example, Da Pang's family's old lady. Although Da Pang's old lady lives in a smaller place with poorer conditions than here, she still lives quite comfortably, with Da Pang keeping her company at home and, outside, chatting, singing opera, and joking with the other old folks in the compound—she is far better off than the lady before us. No wonder Da Pang's old lady only wants to stay in the compound and refuses to let her son move her out.

That day, Zheng Tan wandered over to that residential area again, slipped through the iron fence intending to visit the old lady and hear her chatter, only to find the house unusually lively.

Outside were parked several cars, all high‑end models worth over a million; checking the plates, two of them were not local, bearing Nan Cheng plates.

Inside sat several people; Zheng Tan only recognized the old lady's son and daughter‑in‑law, the others were strangers. The daughter‑in‑law, who usually looks at Zheng Tan disapprovingly, now had a beaming face, exuding a rare warmth; the two middle‑aged men also wore smiles, they were talking but kept their voices low, not noisy.

But what about the old lady?

Zheng Tan poked his head in the doorway to look inside; seeing this, the old lady's son greeted him to come in. The middle‑aged woman's displeasure flashed in her eyes—she thought it wasn't proper to let a black cat in while there were distinguished guests, but she couldn't well contradict her husband's face.

Zheng Tan thought it over, then walked in under everyone's gaze, glanced around, and didn't see the old lady.

"Is this your family's cat?" the unfamiliar middle‑aged man asked.

"No, I don't know whose it is, but my mother said she has an affinity with this cat—back when she was in the hospital…" the old lady's son briefly explained, causing the two to be greatly surprised.

"Although it doesn't look like a pedigreed cat, it isn't a stray either—it's grown big, unafraid of people, and really seems quite spirited," the stranger laughed.

Zheng Tan listened to their talk without rushing to look for the old lady; he saw a locked room on the first floor, which is where the old lady usually naps, and guessed she was inside now. From their conversation he also gathered that besides the old lady, there was a little old man in the room!

Zheng Tan's gossip heart ignited instantly; just a couple days ago he had heard the old lady sighing about the past like smoke, and now there's an extra old man—this is clearly setting her up to find a companion.

However, the more he listened to their chat, the more Zheng Tan felt something was off. It seems this old man is exactly the one the old lady had been lamenting about recently; rumor has it the two were engaged when young, then went their separate ways, and nearly sixty years have passed since their split. Judging by the conversation of the few people in the living room, there is an intention to let these two currently single elders walk together again.

Actually, what surprised Zheng Tan most wasn't that the two elders reunited after nearly sixty years apart, but what the unfamiliar middle‑aged man said when he and the old lady's son brought up "Xiao Gao."

That middle‑aged man said Xiao Gao is a department manager at his company; recently they had been in contact over business with the old lady's son. Now he has been transferred elsewhere, so he no longer handles some of the Chu Hua Shi business here, and a new person will soon come to liaise with this side. Hearing that, the old lady's son didn't ask further and even praised Xiao Gao as a very good, capable young person.

Zheng Tan carefully observed the unfamiliar middle‑aged man. The man didn't elaborate much on the meaning of "Xiao Gao," just brushed it off with a hehe. Zheng Tan combined what he knew before and thought it over. Listening further to the conversation here, he guessed the stranger probably wanted to find someone through his father's connection, so he contacted "Xiao Gao." As for how Xiao Gao and the man conducted their transaction, how he got the title of department manager, and how he found this place, Zheng Tan doesn't know, doesn't need to know, and doesn't believe the stranger's claim that the "two elders recognizing each other" was a coincidence; he only needs to look at the present result.

No matter how you say it, whether the "two elders recognizing each other" was planned by the other party, now that they have recognized each other and walked together again, it's a good thing for both elders, and the business cooperation of these two successful individuals will likely advance further—whatever the view, it's good.

Zheng Tan didn't linger long here before leaving; he estimated that the two elders, reunited after nearly sixty years, would surely have more to talk about.

To Zheng Tan, the old lady's family are merely passersby in his life; he need not expend too much energy or emotion on them, even if they are wealthy and of distinguished status. What truly matters are the Jiao family members.

In the evening, the three Jiaos and a cat curled up on the sofa to watch the martial‑arts drama playing on TV; Zheng Tan grew drowsy, yawning repeatedly, when suddenly Xiao Youzi beside him said: "That cry in the show is wrong!"

Zheng Tan looked at the screen, pricked up his ears to listen; the image showed the protagonist in a deep mountain, the background sound was bird calls, with several frames devoted specifically to those birds. He stared a few times but felt nothing amiss between the bird and its cry.

Jiao Yuan mused, "You mean the bird in there should be a great cuckoo, but the TV is playing the call of a four‑note cuckoo?"

"Mm!" Xiao Youzi nodded.

"Hey, you can even tell that—you're really careful, I hadn't noticed it just now!" Jiao Yuan excitedly slapped his thigh, then ran to the master bedroom, pulled a book from Jiao Ba's bookshelf, flipped through it, and began discussing with Xiao Youzi the differences among several cuckoo species in the Cuculus genus and which one is the "buku bird."

Jiao Ma didn't understand these things, but she didn't oppose the children's behavior; being meticulous is sometimes a merit, and occasionally spotting a bug while watching TV is not bad—at least it lets them learn a bit more. As for Zheng Tan, he had seen this kind of bird at school and heard its call; the four‑note‑per‑cycle kind, exactly the four‑note cuckoo Xiao Youzi mentioned.

Zheng Tan was thinking about going out tomorrow to observe those cuckoos that constantly hop around the compound when he heard Jiao Yuan from over there reciting: "The cuckoo and the swallow are both symbols of the male organ; in ancient rural villages they were offered sacrifices at the Spring Festival to pray for fertility…"

Before Jiao Yuan could finish, Jiao Ma slapped his hand away, forcibly took the book from him, and placed it on the highest shelf of the bookcase.

"Watch the TV properly; if you don't watch, go take a bath and go to sleep!"

Seeing Jiao Ma speak, Jiao Yuan pursed his lips, came to the living room and sat down; Xiao Youzi also didn't add anything—she actually didn't understand the sentence Jiao Yuan had just recited, but seeing Jiao Ma's helpless expression, she still didn't dare to ask him.

Zheng Tan tugged at his ears; kids being overly meticulous isn't a carefree matter either.

The next day, Zheng Tan didn't run to the lakeside residential area, not wanting to disturb the old lady's catching up; instead he began wandering everywhere looking for the four‑note cuckoo the two kids had mentioned the night before, but to his surprise he couldn't find a single one of the birds he usually sees, even after searching half the day.

Zheng Tan planned to change routes and keep looking, but suddenly his steps stopped and he glanced diagonally ahead. Ten or more meters away stood a person—just yesterday he had heard that this person had been transferred elsewhere, yet today he saw him right here.

The person standing there was exactly "Xiao Gao"; now he no longer wore an elite outfit—although he wore glasses, they weren't the previous gold‑rimmed ones but black‑frame plastic spectacles, he was in a casual sports shirt, slung a ten‑or‑so‑dollar bag across his shoulder, his hair lacked gel and was unkempt, making him look like a student from Chu Hua Da Xue. (To be continued…)

ps: (5.1)