Chapter 295

... (quoted)

Interpretation: Many say cats are vengeful animals, but actually, vengeful animals are not just cats; for example, Qi Dada this clown.

Many say cats are vengeful animals, but vengeful animals aren't limited to cats; for example, Qi Dada is a goofball.

We need to keep concise.

【1】 Many say cats are vengeful animals, but actually vengeful animals aren't limited to cats—for example, Qi Dada this goofball.

Probably because he remembered the unpleasantness he had caused with Zheng Tan before, or maybe just not provoking Zheng Tan made Qi Dada feel uneasy. When Peiliang brought it to visit the Jia family, this guy wore a new Monkey King costume and wielded his golden hooped staff, putting on a show for the Jia family. Then, with a slip of the hand, he knocked over Zheng Tan's water bowl that was placed on a nearby chair, sending it crashing to the floor.

Interpretation: Probably because he remembered previously having an unpleasant quarrel with Zheng Tan, or maybe not provoking Zheng Tan makes Qi Dada feel uncomfortable; when Peiliang brought it to visit the Jiao family, this guy wore a new "Monkey King" outfit, wielding its "golden cudgel" to perform for the Jiao family, then a "slip of the hand", a stick knocked Zheng Tan's dedicated water bowl off the nearby chair onto the floor.

a slip of the hand

similar.

Thus translation: Probably because he remembered previously quarreling with Zheng Tan, or maybe not provoking Zheng Tan makes Qi Dada feel uncomfortable; when Peiliang brought it to visit the Jiao family, this guy wore a new Monkey King outfit, wielding its golden cudgel to perform for the Jiao family, then a slip of the hand knocked Zheng Tan's dedicated water bowl off the nearby chair onto the floor.

is a quoted line.

Translation: The Jiao family's living room isn't big; originally Jiao Ma had moved Zheng Tan's usual chair aside to avoid it being smashed while watching Qi Dada wield the staff, but she still got hit.

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Translation: This goofy monkey still looked uneasy after making a mistake, hiding behind Peiliang, and Jiao Ma repeatedly comforted, saying "It's fine, don't worry about it."

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Translation: Zheng Tan stared at Qi Dada from the sofa; this guy had just been grinning at him behind Peiliang's back, and a few Jiao family members noticed, but they thought it was nothing, just laughed it off.

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We need to parse: Zheng Tan however didn't show anything, let Qi Dada be smug, but when this guy ran to Xiao Youzi's room to play on the cat climbing frame and also wanted to open the hidden drawer he found, Zheng Tan shut the door and beat him until he went "jiji" (sound). So translation: Zheng Tan, however, showed no reaction, letting Qi Dada get smug, but when the guy ran to Xiao Youzi's room to play on the cat climbing frame and also tried to open the hidden drawer he'd found, Zheng Tan shut the door and beat him until he went "jiji".

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Translation: It was Jiao Ma outside, worried something might happen, calling Zheng Tan a few times before he opened the door.

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Translation: As soon as the door opened, Qi Dada ran over to snuggle up beside Peiliang, baring his teeth at Zheng Tan in a threat.

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Translation: This is the type that remembers food but not a beating.

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Translation: People say a monkey's intelligence is comparable to that of a seven- or eight-year-old child; Zheng Tan thought of those seven- or eight-year-old troublemakers and felt that this monkey would likely remain a brat for its several-decades-long life.

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commentary.

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Translation: According to Peiliang, during the National Day holiday they stayed home because of the tourist peak—after all, there are only a few times a year when business booms, then earnings are high, and with Qi Dada's fame abroad, many past tourists came just for it, so Qi Dada stayed home then. After the National Day Golden Week ended and the tourist peak passed, Peiliang only brought Qi Dada out to continue earning money under the urging of a drama crew director.

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Translation: This time it was for the family child's birthday, who kept calling for Qi Dada to come back and celebrate together. The drama crew had temporarily wrapped up, so Peiliang decided to bring Qi Dada home for a rest; otherwise Qi Dada wouldn't cooperate, always thinking of going home after answering the family's call, and even in the last two days of the crew he was distracted. If Peiliang hadn't supervised him, he would have already tossed aside his fake tiger-skin skirt and quit.

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Translation: Peiliang didn't stay for dinner at the Jiao family's; he and his fellow senior brothers had plans to gather at Wei Leng's place that evening, and Zheng Tan was also invited to come along.

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commentary.

commentary.

Thus translation: Wei Leng, Er Mao, Hetao, and Peiliang three had drunk quite a bit, so they spent the night in Wei Leng's guest room; Zheng Tan also stayed there, and while listening to Er Mao and Peiliang chat, he learned that Er Mao wanted to go along to Peiliang's place to have fun, since he usually has little going on, his girlfriend also happens to have free time, and now they've avoided the tourist peak, so they don't have to worry about traffic jams and crowds—travel is just right.

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Translation: Peiliang naturally had no objection, but the two were still wondering whether to bring Zheng Tan along as well.

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Translation: Peiliang knew Qi Dada had long wanted Zheng Tan to come over; he didn't know what his own monkey was scheming, but he thought that if possible, bringing Zheng Tan along wouldn't be bad, since their return wouldn't take long, and in November they had an invitation from a drama crew to go to a coastal city in the east; if that black cat really was as sensible as everyone said, bringing it along wouldn't be a problem.

quoted.

commentary.

Thus translation: Er Mao was quite in favor; he had taken Zheng Tan out a few times, and although a couple of those outings did involve incidents, from those events he saw that taking him out posed no problem. Besides, he planned to bring Hei Mi along as well, since leaving Hei Mi at the pet center made him uneasy, and just a couple days ago he'd seen that mixed-breed cat called Peanut Candy, so he felt safer keeping Hei Mi nearby. If Heimeitan (black coal) came along, it could keep Hei Mi company; with only Hei Mi, he'd likely get anxious. Moreover, Er Mao felt that Heimeitan would pose no threat to his own Hei Mi.

If Heimeitan tags along, it could keep Hei Mi company; with only Hei Mi, he'd likely get anxious. Moreover, Er Mao felt that Heimeitan would pose no threat to his own Hei Mi.

Thus translation: Er Mao was quite in favor; he had taken Zheng Tan out a few times, and although a couple of those outings did involve incidents, from those events he saw that taking him out posed no problem. Besides, he planned to bring Hei Mi along as well, since leaving Hei Mi at the pet center made him uneasy, and just a couple days ago he'd seen that mixed-breed cat called Peanut Candy, so he felt safer keeping Hei Mi nearby. If Heimeitan came along, it could keep Hei Mi company; with only Hei Mi, he'd likely get anxious. Moreover, Er Mao felt that Heimeitan would pose no threat to his own Hei Mi.

quoted.

Translation: Whether Zheng Tan could go out with Er Mao and the others depended on the Jiao family's consent; when Er Mao and Peiliang told Jiao Ba and Jiao Ma about it, Jiao Ma indeed objected, saying going that far with no one from the family to accompany her made her uneasy. As for Jiao Ba, he asked Zheng Tan what he thought.

quoted.

Translation: Zheng Tan indeed wanted to go out for a trip; recently Xiao Youzi's school workload had increased, with besides usual homework and exams, there was extra competition training on weekends, and Jiao Ma and Jiao Ba actually hadn't put much pressure on her—Jiao Ba thought competitions were irrelevant, entirely up to interest, so participating in competition training was just Xiao Youzi's own choice; a few classmates who played well in their class signed up together for the training, and it was fine to spend more time with classmates. But for Zheng Tan, he usually spent a lot of time alone at home, and now on weekends he often found no one at home, leaving him bored.

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Interpretation: Qi Dada also held an invitation letter in front of Zheng Tan, quite like that, making the Jiao family not know what to say.

commentary.

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Translation: Knowing Er Mao would also come along, he could bring Zheng Tan there, play for a few days then bring him back—since they were acquaintances, Jiao Ba and Jiao Ma felt a bit more at ease. In the end, Jiao Ba gave the go-ahead, agreeing to let Zheng Tan go with them, but on condition that Zheng Tan bring his other cat tag, which Jiao Ba had newly made; having this tag with a positioning device when Zheng Tan went far away put everyone at ease, because everyone feared that once a cat went out, it would go wild with no bounds, and with this tag they could locate it quickly in an emergency.

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Translation: Peiliang let the Jiao family know that when they had vacation they could come together to his place to play; this time, Zheng Tan would go ahead as a scout.

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Translation: Jiao Ma prepared many things for Zheng Tan—a big bag of daily supplies; Zheng Tan also put his small backpack inside, which contained a fair amount of cash for emergencies.

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Translation: Peiliang drove himself with Qi Dada, while Er Mao also drove his newly bought off-road vehicle, bringing his girlfriend and the two cats along. Hei Mi was initially restless in the car, seeming anxious; if not for the familiar scent inside, he would have already gone berserk. But gradually, likely soothed by Zheng Tan's calmness and Gong Qin's reassurance, he calmed down.

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Translation: Zheng Tan decided to go out for a stroll; one reason was that staying home had indeed become boring lately, and he also felt lazy to wander around, and because of Liuba's neurosis he had no interest in playing with his phone, so he simply went out to have fun.

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Translation: They set out from Chu Hua Shi in the morning, rested a few times along the way, since they weren't in a hurry and needed to avoid fatigue driving; they only arrived at the county where Peiliang and his family lived at noon on the third day.

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Translation: Zheng Tan didn't need much looking after; as for Hei Mi, with Gong Qin there, this professional took good care of him, and Hei Mi didn't become restless again on the trip.

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Translation: Probably sensing they were almost home, Qi Dada became restless, calling out happily with "jiji" noises; no matter how well he fared outside, returning to his own turf always made him glad.

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Translation: Zheng Tan looked outside; he had never been here before, only having seen the place's promotion in some travel magazines. But after seeing it in person, he felt it truly lived up to its reputation as a popular tourist spot—the scenery was indeed fine, and the air quality was something Chu Hua Shi could not match.

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Translation: Whether it was for tourism or not, many local villagers had built their houses in a uniform style with local flavor; along the way, Zheng Tan had already seen many small stalls selling those souvenirs.

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Translation: Gong Qin had never been here before, though she had visited another tourist spot in the same province; but every site has its own character, and so do the souvenirs, so seeing them made her want to buy some.

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We need to keep quotes. The line is a quoted statement. We'll translate: "These aren't worth getting too excited about, and besides, the ones here aren't exactly authentic—they're just meant to rip out-of-town tourists who don't know anything."

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Translation: Their car had a wireless intercom installed; as they came along, Peiliang also briefed them on the local situation, and now hearing Gong Qin say she wanted to buy souvenirs from those stalls, he smiled and explained some inside information to her.

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Translation: "Hey, you guys better not leak what I'm saying, or the villagers will have my hide." Peiliang joked.

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Translation: "Got it, got it." Er Mao replied, also gazing at the scenery along the way.

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Translation: "During the National Day holiday, this place was packed with people; now it's empty." Peiliang said.

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Translation: Zheng Tan looked over; some stall keepers seemed listless—now that the peak had passed, setting up stalls had become listless too, they chatted with each other, and some just lay down to nap.

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Translation: "Jiji jiji jiji—" Qi Dada's side became restless again.

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Translation: However, listening to the sound, it didn't sound entirely like Qi Dada. Zheng Tan peered out through the car window opened a third, and indeed there was another monkey about the same size as Qi Dada on a stall nearby, jumping around and shouting at Peiliang's vehicle.

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Translation: Listening to the two monkeys' calls, they didn't sound particularly friendly; more like old enemies meeting again.

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Translation: "There are quite a few households in the village raising monkeys now; although there are policies from above, there are also countermeasures below—who let the nearby mountains have so many monkeys? In the past, poaching wasn't uncommon—isn't there a famous dish made from monkey brains? Later the authorities sent people specifically to supervise, and things improved a lot, with monkey numbers rebounding. Actually, it's mainly because our villagers are good, protecting the monkeys; if the villagers didn't cooperate, those illegal traders would still have a chance."

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Translation: That's true—some wild animals in nature reserves have been poached, with locals playing a major role. And in protection, locals have also made great contributions. Er Mao once said in private, "Don't be fooled by how warm, hospitable, and amiable the people here around Peiliang seem; in terms of fighting strength they're top-notch, regardless of age." Perhaps it's also because the locals here intentionally protect the monkeys, allowing them to live more freely than in many other places.

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Translation: Just then, Zheng Tan saw the monkey on that stall scoop something out of the nearby glass water tank and fling it toward Peiliang's car.

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Translation: Zheng Tan originally thought the monkey had thrown a fish or something, since the stall also sold some aquatic creatures, but according to Peiliang, the monkey had actually flung a clump of waterweed—because throwing fish would get them scolded.

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Translation: Having something thrown at them, Qi Dada in the car refused to take it, shouting that he wanted to rush out and fight.

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Translation: "If this were normal, those two would probably be throwing things at each other again." Peiliang scolded Qi Dada, then explained to Er Mao and the others.

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Translation: "What do those two usually throw?" Er Mao asked curiously.

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Translation: "Plenty—throwing waterweed and mud is still okay; they've flung all the pots, pans, bowls, and ladles at home."

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Translation: "Those two are really goofy." Er Mao laughed.

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Translation: "What's this? Those two used to fling feces at each other back in the day." Peiliang said nonchalantly.

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Translation: Zheng Tan, Er Mao, Gong Qin: "……" (To be continued…)

ps: Miserable, I really caught a cold. This afternoon I came back and originally planned to post another sick leave chapter, but I felt I'd taken too many sick leaves, so I tried to write a bit. Although it's been a while, I finally managed to write a chapter. Now I can sleep peacefully.