Chapter 294

Thus: Liuba heard the tapping sound on the other end of the phone stop, and still intended to reply with the same method, but before he could knock, the other side hung up.

Liuba, Jin Gui

But we need to be consistent: The glossary didn't include it, but we need to add to glossary list. The format: 【{"raw_term":"EnglishName","original_term":"ChineseChars"},...】. So we need to output entries for each named entity we find.

We must reuse exact English from glossary for terms already listed. For new ones, we need to provide English form (pinyin) and original Chinese.

Jingzhang

Now go through each line.

Zheng Tan, Liuba, Bai Lao Shi, the person who threw the dog

Since he understood, Zheng Tan didn't bother saying more, hung up and switched off his phone, deciding not to turn it on for these few days; if Liuba wants to keep using harassment tactics, let him have at it—I can't afford to provoke him, but can I still avoid him?

Out of sight, out of mind; after finally feeling a bit better because Xiao Youzi's mom left, Zheng Tan didn't intend to let his mood be spoiled by Liuba's neurosis.

After strolling around the vicinity and teasing the guard's black-backed dog with a frisbee, Zheng Tan headed back—not directly to the compound, but taking a winding route along the way.

Zheng Tan, Jingzhang, Lan Lao Tou

At first, when Zheng Tan saw it chewing flowers, he worried that eating too many orchids would cause trouble, but it only occasionally vomited—bringing up some hairballs, and in a large flowerpot in the small garden that held only soil and no plants, it would defecate; otherwise it was lively and trouble-free, so Zheng Tan stopped worrying about it.

The three orchids that had bloomed in that pot a few days ago are now gone, and some of the surrounding green leaves have been nibbled, showing bite marks; as for that day when the orchid old man, in front of his old buddies, claimed the flower-chewing was Zheng Tan taking the blame for it, the orchid old man keeps trying to pin the blame on Zheng Tan.

Speaking of which, Jingzhang's household isn't without having planted things; they even used a flowerpot specially for cat grass. But this guy doesn't cooperate—each time he seems to just perfunctorily chew a couple bites and then loses interest. Zheng Tan has heard Jingzhang's owner complain to Jiao Ma several times, not knowing whether it's the cat grass's problem or Jingzhang's own issue; however, Zheng Tan thinks it's probably the latter.

Zheng Tan used to think Jingzhang had a dog-like inner nature—he would bark, was aggressive, fought with the small Pekingese and Chihuahuas in the compound, except for Niu Zhuangzhuang; the other dogs in the compound all had a score to settle with him, and Zheng Tan still often catches him chewing flowers, seeing him nibble orchid leaves like a rabbit.

Someone once said that if any animal in the world truly found flowers beautiful and fragrant and wanted to pounce on them and eat them clean, it would definitely be a cat.

Actually, many cats are 'flower-crazy,' for example, Jingzhang.

Last week Zheng Tan also heard Jiao Ma say that a coworker's family kept a cat; one day, the coworker's husband gave her a bouquet of flowers on their wedding anniversary, and the cat rushed over, burying half its head in the bouquet to lick, impossible to stop.

People who don't keep cats usually won't notice their obsession with flowers, and cat owners may not notice whether their cats love eating flowers. Cats are carnivores, no doubt, but sometimes you can see them nibbling grass while strolling outside, which people attribute to self-induced vomiting. Except for Zheng Tan this special case and certain special breeds and individuals, the vast majority of cats spend a lot of time each day licking their fur, forming hairballs in the stomach, and some non-toxic, fiber-rich plants stimulate their intestines to make them vomit hairballs. Yet people sometimes overlook that eating certain plants can make them sick.

Many plants are toxic to cats, such as castor beans, azaleas, lily of the valley, chrysanthemums, oleander, hydrangeas, etc., with varying degrees of toxicity; different cats may have different preferences and tolerances. Cat enthusiasts who have researched this tend to be wary of lily-family plants—while they may seem harmless to humans, lily-family plants can make cats very seriously ill, and according to veterinarians and toxicologists, they may be a major cause of acute kidney failure in cats.

These are what Zheng Tan heard from some of the old-timers in the compound chatting; the orchid old man also noticed the flowers placed outdoors in the small garden without any fence protection, discovering that Jingzhang only chews certain kinds, especially orchids, and these plants are not listed as hazardous to cats, so the orchid old man later stopped worrying about it. Cats are inherently hard to restrain, especially Jingzhang, who has been allowed to roam free for years.

Jingzhang runs around outside all day; judging by his behavior, he probably chews quite a few flowers while loitering around campus, but he's never been seen getting sick from chewing flowers, which suggests he normally avoids the kinds that are dangerous to him; as for orchids, seeing how much he's chewed, he should… be fine? Still, cats are carnivores, and chewing too much isn't necessarily good—everything needs moderation.

Cats are among the animals most prone to self-destructive behavior, always curious about the world, repeatedly reckless without learning—even compared to the widely regarded 'three idiots of sled dogs,' they fall far short. Many plants cats eat can cause vomiting, convulsions, liver failure, even death, yet those 'flower-crazy' fellows refuse to remember better, and even after repeated poisoning, being abused again and again, many cats still keep going back to eat the plants that land them in the hospital.

Some say cats like flowers because they like the sweet taste, but others scoff, noting that extensive research shows cats lost the ability to digest carbohydrates during evolution and cannot taste sweetness. As for why they constantly suffer from 'flower-craziness,' opinions differ.

Zheng Tan has smelled many kinds of orchids from the orchid old man; the orchid old man's home has quite a few; for Zheng Tan, he cannot feel how strongly these flowers attract him, so he can only say that he and Jingzhang have different preferences.

When Zheng Tan looked again later, Jingzhang had stopped chewing flowers and was defecating on the large flowerpot where he usually relieved himself; Zheng Tan jumped down from the garden wall and left immediately, not wanting to take the blame for Jingzhang—even if the orchid old man understands Zheng Tan is innocent, others in the garden might not think so, so let Jingzhang bear the responsibility for his own defecating and flower-chewing.

Back home, Zheng Tan looked at the photo on the master bedroom nightstand; his mood was exceptionally good.

Zheng Tan, Jiao Ba, Jiao Ma, Jiao Yuan, Xiao Youzi

The Jiao family's atmosphere these days has been fine. The crisis is resolved. It's confirmed that Xiao Youzi won't leave with her mom. Jiao Yuan has recently started showing off again, with none of the tension a ninth-grader would feel. There's no need to be overly tense—let alone that Jiao Yuan's grades are actually not bad. Even if his grades aren't ideal, they're sure to go to the high school attached to Chu Hua Da Xue, where many children of Chu Hua Da Xue teachers get some preferential treatment.

Jiao Ba, Jiao Ma, Jiao Yuan, Zheng Tan, Xiao Youzi

Jiao Yuan, Xiao Youzi, Su An, the old guys from the Physics Department

Xiao Youzi thought for a moment, shook her head, and said, 'I don't know about that.'

'Well, when the time comes I'll discuss it with Suan and the others; if that doesn't work, I'll go ask the old-timers in the physics department.' Anyway, there are plenty of physics department old-timers in the compound, and Jiao Yuan can catch whichever one he finds and ask.

master bedroom, Hei Tan

Regarding Zheng Tan frequently going to entertainment venues '**', Jiao Yuan has always been envious and jealous.

Zheng Tan glanced at Jiao Yuan; this guy is just too lazy to get up and answer the phone.

When Xiao Youzi was getting ready to answer the phone, Zheng Tan moved first, ran to the master bedroom, jumped onto the table where the phone sits, pressed the speaker button, so that Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi in the living room could both hear.

Xiao Youzi also turned down the TV volume, while Jiao Yuan, though he didn't lift his head, kept his ears perked, paying attention to the phone.

Zheng Tan felt the incoming call number on the display was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite recall whose it was. After pressing speaker, he heard a sharp 'jiji' sound coming from the speaker.

Zheng Tan

Jiao Yuan, Xiao Youzi

"Qi Dada!" both said

On the other end of the line there was a pause, then an even louder 'jiji' sound—apparently the caller was pleased that someone here could call out its name.

At that moment Jiao Ma also came over, blocked Jiao Yuan who was rushing to grab the handset, and answered the phone.

Qi Dada, Peiliang, Chu Hua Shi, Jiao Ma

That goofy monkey was about to come over; Zheng Tan checked his storage cabinet where he hides things, made sure it was locked, so the monkey wouldn't come rummaging— that monkey has no shame.

Peiliang, Wei Leng, Er Mao, He Tao, Chu Hua Shi

After hanging up, Peiliang looked at the expectant Qi Dada and said, 'Do you want to invite that little friend over to play at your house?'

Qi Dada

Peiliang stroked his chin and said, 'Why do I always feel you're thinking about something else?'

Qi Dada

ps: I don't know if it's from catching a cold due to the air conditioning, or if I haven't rested well all week and am prone to fatigue—I slept really hard today and feel better, though I keep sneezing.

Friends who use air conditioning in summer should still pay more attention.