Chapter 263

Just as Zheng Tan thought, the red-furred mouse indeed looked clever and cute, but behind that lay a ferocious nature, and moreover, a disposition to bully the weak and fear the strong.

Based on how the researchers treated that red-furred mouse, during this period it had encountered no threat whatsoever. It ate well and drank well; even the wood for gnawing was specially made, its hardness chosen after multiple calculations and measurements as several types suitable for it to gnaw. Even if it killed the two white mice carefully bred by Dean Xie, nobody would do anything to it; on the contrary, they even contacted other research institutions' bred mice to discuss countermeasures, in order to implement a 'sustainable development' strategy—who knows, maybe later there will be international aid coming back and forth; in short, from now on that red mouse is blessed.

It is heard that regarding this mouse, any new decision made in the institute must be discussed in a meeting and needs the agreement of several authorities before it can be carried out. Also, because everything goes along with it, this guy has recently become smug and conceited. Listening to Jiao Ba, he dares to bare his teeth directly at those researchers, giving no face to anyone, constantly causing trouble, acting recklessly; if he can't finish his water, he jumps into the water tank to play; now he is also picky, demanding everything fresh, otherwise he goes on hunger strike. In fact, up to now, he has never truly succeeded in a hunger strike; the caretakers always find ways to cater to him. Zheng Tan has seen two recent photos taken by Jiao Ba: the red-furred mouse is now one size larger than when Zheng Tan first caught it, and obviously become plump.

Some rodent species must live in fear, scurrying through sewers to steal food—like house mice—while others are pampered by people, like this red-furred mouse; mouse compared to mouse, it's enough to make other mice die of envy.

Once, when Zheng Tan went to Jiao Ba's office and was climbing in through the window, he happened to run into Dean Xie, who was about to drive out. However, Dean Xie did not scold him; instead, he smiled at Zheng Tan very warmly.

After returning home, Zheng Tan got the answer from Jiao Ba.

Recently Dean Xie, thanks to the red-furred mouse, has gained many projects and various supports, and Jiao Ba is also one of the beneficiaries. Although the red-furred mouse is no longer Jiao Ba's 'private property', he still benefits a lot from it. With those big shots nodding, the 'assistant' in Jiao Ba's title of 'assistant professor' will soon be dropped. Moreover, Jiao Ba now finds it much easier to apply for projects—as the saying goes, having connections in the court makes things easy. Sometimes, success or failure is just a matter of a few people's words; even in this circle that people regard as a 'pure land' with a halo, changes have actually been quietly taking place. For this reason, once when Yuan Zhiyi came over, he also sighed to Jiao Ba: 'You've raised this cat well worth it. Damn, it's really worth it!'

Every time Yuan Zhiyi comes to the Jiao Family's place, there is one thing he must do—pay respects to Hei Tan. In his own words, he is not worshiping a cat; he is worshiping a god of wealth.

Now Zheng Tan has become numb to Yuan Zhiyi's behavior. Anyway, he thinks Yuan Zhiyi is just a clown.

"Your cat is truly divine, Old Jiao let me tell you—since I started worshiping this lucky cat, my company has been in an upward trend. Hey, let me show you my collection." After drinking, Yuan Zhiyi talked especially much, took out his phone and flipped through photos, insisting on showing them to Jiao Ba.

Zheng Tan leaned in to look; the phone had an album named 'Lucky Cat', filled entirely with black cats—Zheng Tan himself, as well as the black custom-made lucky cat figurines placed in Yuan Zhiyi's office and home.

"Don't say it's so divine; it's just a coincidence, a low-probability random event." Jiao Ba replied.

Yuan Zhiyi was about to defend himself when Jiao Ba's phone suddenly rang.

Jiao Ba made a gesture to Yuan Zhiyi meaning 'answer the phone first', took out his phone and looked; the screen showed an unfamiliar number. Jiao Ba did not rush to answer, but waited a moment—if the caller hung up quickly, he would ignore it, as this often happens: answering usually means either a sales call, a wrong number, a scammer, or, partly, someone inquiring about the recent red-furred mouse incident; regardless, he didn't want to take any of them.

Unexpectedly, this time the phone kept ringing, the caller giving the impression 'if you don't answer, I'll keep calling'.

Only then did Jiao Ba press the call button, not rushing to introduce himself, and said, 'Hello?'

Zheng Tan pricked up his ears to listen to the voice on the phone; he also suspected it was about the red-furred mouse, since the mouse's notoriety hadn't faded yet. However, it seemed the caller wasn't talking about the red-furred mouse but about something else; Zheng Tan couldn't hear clearly and only caught a few words.

"……Yes, I am……yes……it's my family's cat……" Jiao Ba said, glancing toward Zheng Tan on the sofa.

Meanwhile, Yuan Zhiyi, who had originally been thirsty and about to drink some water, instantly perked up his ears, not even drinking the water, kept holding his cup in that position, listening to Jiao Ba's call, and his gaze occasionally flicked toward Zheng Tan.

"Convenient, I'll be at home tonight, address: Building B, Fifth Floor, Dongqu Dayuan……Okay, see you later."

Jiao Ba hung up, looked at Zheng Tan with a puzzled expression, wondering what this cat had done over the past year that nobody knew about.

"Whose call was that?" Yuan Zhiyi asked.

"That person said his name is Yan He, asked for my name, and whether Hei Tan is my family's cat, then said he would come over later to discuss something." Jiao Ba had never heard that voice before; this was the first time he spoke with someone called 'Yan He', and what the other party wanted to discuss was obviously related to their family cat. Earlier there had been suspicions it might be about the red-furred mouse, but the caller never mentioned anything related to the red-furred mouse from start to finish; besides that, what else could they talk about? Yet they came in person to discuss, their tone seeming as if they were granting him some great convenience.

Yuan Zhiyi straightened his face, "In any case, we cannot sell this lucky cat!"

"Nonsense, do I still need you to say that?" Jiao Ba tidied up the living room, then discussed with Yuan Zhiyi what to do later.

"…The name Yan He sounds a bit familiar." Yuan Zhiyi also didn't plan to leave right away; he decided to stay a bit longer to see what the visitor wanted, and meanwhile give his brother some backing. Although he's only a not-so-famous company boss, after years of socializing he has his own way of reading people: "Rest assured, I'll probe him later; if there's anything, we'll share the burden."

Zheng Tan felt even more doubtful. He carefully recalled what he had done over the past few months; it seemed he hadn't done anything outrageous that would provoke heaven and earth, so nobody should come to sue or hold him accountable. However, the name Yan He indeed sounded like something he had heard before, but for the moment he couldn't recall where.

About half an hour later, Yan He arrived at the Jiao Family's home, and only then did Zheng Tan realize who this person was.

No wonder it sounded familiar. This Yan He isn't he the son of that elderly lady living by the lake? Before, the old lady often referred to him as 'Xiao He', while others called him 'Yan Zong', so the name 'Yan He' didn't click.

As for Yuan Zhiyi, this guy reacted even more intensely; originally he had been sitting on the sofa with an "I'm not easy to talk to" attitude, preparing to give the other party a show of force. But upon seeing Yan He, he sprang up from the sofa instantly, his face breaking into a smile: "Yan Zong, so it's you!"

Zheng Tan: "……" So, in the first second of meeting, Yuan Zhiyi this joker just switched sides?

Yuan Zhiyi and Yan He had met once at a banquet, exchanged a few words in a businesslike manner; at the time, a product under Yan He's subsidiary needed an additional inspection, but people in the company's quality control department had run into some problems, and the purchased testing reagents and medicines also had issues, so Yan He wanted to find another company to help with the inspection. Yuan Zhiyi deliberately sought an opportunity to promote his own company; they exchanged business cards, and then Yan He never contacted Yuan Zhiyi again, clearly not thinking highly of his company.

And now, Yuan Zhiyi didn't expect to run into this potential big client again—someone he had missed and thought he wouldn't be in touch with for a long time.

However, judging from Yan He's reaction, Zheng Tan thought he probably didn't remember who Yuan Zhiyi was at all.

Yuan Zhiyi gave a brief self-introduction; Yan He wasn't sure whether he truly remembered or was just being polite, smiled and said a couple of sentences, then got straight to the point.

Originally, the old lady agreed to go south with that old man who had been found, and she probably wouldn't come back; Yan He also didn't really want the old lady to stay here, it's too far away, even if she returned to Chu Hua Shi, he couldn't take care of her; Yan He has other properties in Chu Hua Shi, so when the old lady returns she would just live there, and this house would be empty, a waste, so he planned to sell it. But the old lady, after living in a house for a while, develops feelings, and she has many demands for buyers; several people who came to buy the house were all rejected by the old lady, none of them met her approval. Until a few days ago, when the old lady was reading the newspaper, she saw that group photo in the paper and saw Zheng Tan.

"At the time we didn't notice that the cat in the newspaper was yours, but the old lady spotted it at a glance; she said it was fate, so she let me have time to come over and ask if you're interested in buying a house." Yan He briefly explained the situation.

Jiao Ba and Yuan Zhiyi are both sharp people; Yan He's words are half true, half false—who would believe the house can't be sold? Who doesn't have a few friends or relatives they think highly of? But Yan He being able to come over must be because of the old lady; otherwise, this boss would absolutely not lower himself to visit despite his busy schedule.

Indeed, Yan He had originally planned to sell the house to a relative of a friend of his; that person was fine, but the old lady was still doing her final consideration, about to agree, when she saw the news in the newspaper, recognized that cat, and had someone inquire. Upon seeing that the Jiao family of four plus a cat lived in such a small place, she thought they'd surely need a bigger house sooner or later. Moreover, the old lady felt that her current situation was also thanks to Zheng Tan's blessing; she wasn't short of money, she was just looking for a feeling of affinity, regardless of whether you're human or cat. At this age, people sometimes value things that others find puzzling. And Yan He, this filial son, even if he doesn't understand the old lady's approach, would still nod in agreement—after all, it's just one house, which to the old lady isn't much, and he can afford to lose it.

Yan He didn't stay long; after stating the matter, he told Jiao Ba to consider it and reply as soon as possible, since the old lady would be leaving for the south soon, and they were just waiting for the result.

After Yan He left, Yuan Zhiyi exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Old Jiao, does this sort of chance event happen often at your place?"

Even if you killed Yuan Zhiyi, he wouldn't believe that Yan He failed to see the real estate boom; planning to sell low now is practically a windfall from heaven! Why doesn't such good fortune happen to him?!

Jiao Ba remained silent, appearing deep in thought.

"Old Jiao, agree already—once you pass this village there's no such shop!" Yuan Zhiyi urged from the side.

Jiao Ba fell silent for a moment, looked at Zheng Tan, who was also lost in thought on the sofa, and said, "Let's go visit the old lady tomorrow." (To be continued...)

ps: (5.21) Moving is exhausting—carrying things up and down, climbing five floors, plus I have to clean and do sanitation; by the time I check the clock it's already late, so this weekend I probably can't do double updates, and tomorrow I still have to sit in a car for two hours to attend a meeting.