Chapter 296

The living conditions of Peiliang and the people here are not bad, whether materially or spiritually; borrowing a very clichéd question, if you ask the people here: "Are you happy?"

Probably, most people would still say they're happy, especially those rascally kids who grew up with countless silly monkeys.

Along the way, Zheng Tan saw some free-range children's antics; they were absolutely the fighter jets among rascally kids, and one can imagine what Peiliang felt back then when he complained about his own kids causing trouble with Qi Da Da when they were little.

So, after arriving here, Zheng Tan made two "stay away" lists for himself: first, stay away from rascally kids; second, stay away from silly monkeys. He definitely didn't want to be stared at by rascally kids or hit by a lump of feces while strolling the hills.

Peiliang's family had already received his call and were waiting at the door; when the car arrived and the door opened, people were to stay still, the monkey went first, and the first shout from that welcoming line was definitely not for Peiliang.

"Qi Da Da is back!"

"Oh Qi Da Da, Grandma misses you to death!"

"Come, Qi Da Da, Grandpa wants a hug!"

Seeing the family gathered around Qi Da Da, Peiliang counted: they left home after the National Day holiday peak, and it's only been a month since then—is that what counts as "a long time"?

After Peiliang's kids hugged Qi Da Da, their gaze turned to the black cat that came out of another car.

"Quick, look, that's the cat called... what's its name!" Peiliang's little son pointed at Zheng Tan and shouted.

Zheng Tan glanced at that little brat, having heard Peiliang talk about him. The family had seen the earlier photo of Qi Da Da, Zheng Tan, and Heijin together, so they had an impression of Zheng Tan, but now his name was obviously forgotten, replaced by "what's its name."

After lingering with Qi Da Da, the Pei family finally became truly hospitable, bringing Er Mao and the others inside; guest rooms had been prepared long ago, and since it's no longer travel peak season, some rooms are vacant, so there's no worry about lodging. The sheets and such are freshly washed and aired, not the old ones that had been used many times in the guest rooms.

From many details it's clear that the Pei family sincerely arranged things—even Zheng Tan got a small room.

At first the Pei family found it odd to give a cat its own room, but since Peiliang said so, adding another room was no big deal.

"This cat looks fine," an elder of the Pei family said, nodding at Zheng Tan.

"Don't underestimate that cat. If it weren't for its family keeping it low-key, its popularity might not be weaker than Qi Da Da's." Peiliang told the family. This was also to keep the family from overlooking Zheng Tan too much.

"One can tell," an old man stroked his beard, "a spiritually perceptive cat. It really ought to be treated well."

The elders tend to believe in those mysterious things, so compared to the younger Pei family members, the elders treat Zheng Tan with much more pleasant expressions.

Unexpectedly, Qi Da Da didn't bother Zheng Tan on his home turf; in front of those elders, Qi Da Da was still very well-behaved, which Zheng Tan despised endlessly, truly a pretentious act. Still, it's a good thing—since Qi Da Da doesn't provoke Zheng Tan, Zheng Tan can rest properly.

On the first day arriving at the Pei family's, they didn't go up the mountain; Peiliang and Er Mao and the others needed to rest properly, and the drive had been tiring enough.

Hei Mi and Er Mao, as a couple, were in one room, with Er Mao and them busy soothing Hei Mi to adapt to the unfamiliar environment. By comparison, Zheng Tan was the most idle.

Zheng Tan's room here has no balcony, and he doesn't need one either; he simply squats on the windowsill, looking at the distant mountains and the scenery all around. Being listed as a tourist spot, the scenery is obviously nice, but what Zheng Tan cares about isn't those views but the monkeys on the mountain—if there are many monkeys up there, would he get surrounded when he goes for a stroll on the mountain?

Just looking from here, one can't tell how many monkeys are on the mountain; instead, the surroundings occasionally stir up a commotion because of some monkey or someone's unruly child.

First day, a peaceful night.

The next day, Er Mao energetically shouldered a large backpack and followed Peiliang up the mountain to play. Zheng Tan didn't carry a backpack—carrying one would be inconvenient—and in the mountain's dense woods, going "au naturel" felt much freer.

As they walked up the mountain, Zheng Tan saw no other monkeys; only Qi Dada was active in the woods.

"Didn't you say there are lots of monkeys here? I haven't seen many," Er Mao said.

"We're not there yet," Peiliang pointed ahead, "Just walk a bit more and you'll see."

As Peiliang had said, after walking another ten or so minutes, Zheng Tan heard some sounds.

A stream flowed down from the mountain, and on the large rocks beside it were several monkeys—three mother monkeys each with their young. One baby monkey nestled in its mother's arms, nursing, without even glancing at Zheng Tan and the others; the other two babies, however, curiously stared at Zheng Tan's group.

Zheng Tan really wanted to say to them, "You're exposing yourselves, folks."

Er Mao and Gong Qin each took a few photos; the monkeys weren't particularly afraid of people—aside from a hint of wariness in their eyes, they didn't flee at the shutter sound, probably because they encounter this often.

Keeping their distance and not disturbing the monkeys' leisurely life, Peiliang continued leading Er Mao and the others forward.

"Huh, what place is that?" Er Mao pointed to a fairly large building diagonally ahead, "A mountain inn?"

"No, that's a research base run by several universities. They offer some examination services; villagers who keep monkeys regularly come here to have their monkeys checked. Qi Dada is one of them—having health certificates and examination records from these people makes it easier to get by outside. For monkeys like Qi Dada, who often travel around the country with troupes, the physical exams are even stricter."

For example, don't be fooled by how friendly the film crew seems when they talk to you—if you lack a health certificate or have gone a while without examination records, they'll be on guard; I've heard more than once that crew members speculate that wild animals like Qi Dada might carry some virus or disease. Animals, after all, are different from humans. To carve out a place in human society, Qi Dada still needs to work hard.

Whether or not Qi Dada understood Peiliang's words, it chirped twice in response.

As Peiliang led Er Mao and the others past, a few people were playing soccer outside the base, with several monkeys watching nearby—who knows if they understand the rules.

"Yo, Brother Pei, aren't you usually taking Qi Damingxing around to perform?" a young man about twenty said to Peiliang.

From their tone and Qi Dada's reaction, Peiliang is fairly acquainted with these people.

"I'm back to celebrate my kid's birthday; I'll head out again in a few days for work." Peiliang sat on the nearby wooden bench and accepted a fruit plate a student handed to Er Mao and the group.

"What research are you doing lately?" Peiliang asked the students.

The young man who knew Peiliang well wiped his sweat, sat down, and said: "They've studied the triangular distribution pattern of palmar dermatoglyphs in the local macaque population, the intestinal parasite infection status of macaques up and down the mountain, and so on; as for me, I simply organized past examination records of the mountain and village macaques into a summary of physiological indicators such as hematology and cardiopulmonary function, including blood count, blood biochemistry, coagulation, blood pressure, ECG, and respiration. We found differences between female and male macaques in red blood cell hemoglobin concentration, albumin, blood glucose, calcium, triglycerides, and so on. Eh. Actually, that's about it."

Zheng Tan had lived with the Jiao Family for a long time, so he'd heard some of the terms a few times and wasn't completely lost; Er Mao, however, was more interested in the intestinal parasite infection situation. Having once read that cats can also suffer from intestinal parasites, he asked: "How is that intestinal parasite infection tested?"

"By collecting and testing feces," the students said matter-of-factly, and they enthusiastically explained the details to Er Mao.

Er Mao: "……" He also has to pick up feces, and hearing them say that, the fresher the better—ideally still warm—doing hundreds of samples means facing hundreds of lumps. These students really have it rough.

The base doesn't allow unrelated outsiders to enter; Peiliang plans to bring Qi Dada alone tomorrow for a checkup, since the creature's diet has been varied lately and Peiliang worries about its digestive health.

They didn't linger long at the base, which originally wasn't part of the tourist area; Zheng Tan had previously seen several warning signs here, and tour groups usually detour around it when going up the mountain.

There is indeed an inn on the mountain; the owner gets along well with Peiliang, especially when he sees Qi Dada—his face almost splits into a grin, showing that Qi Dada has helped them earn plenty, and the locals treat Qi Dada like an ancestor to be venerated.

Peiliang and Er Mao were fine, but Gong Qin lacked stamina, so they decided to rest at the mountain inn for a while and take a nap.

Zheng Tan couldn't sleep, and he didn't feel particularly tired either; rather than stay in that inn full of strangers and scrutinizing gazes, he'd rather go out for a walk.

"Don't go too far—be back in an hour or two; if you get lost I can't explain it to your cat parents!" Er Mao shouted at the black silhouette outside the window.

Zheng Tan glanced back, indicating he understood.

Five minutes after Zheng Tan left the mountain inn, Qi Dada found a gap, flipped out the window, and ran off. Before Peiliang could even speak, the creature had already dashed far out of earshot. Once back in this familiar mountain forest, Qi Dada's nature turned wild, unlike its usual reliance on Peiliang when outside.

"Hey, what are you worried about? Qi Dada grew up in this mountain from childhood; it'll be back after a play." the innkeeper said.

"I'm not worried about it getting lost; I'm worried that this guy is up to something mischievous again." Peiliang had Er Mao keep an eye on that black cat, with tracking gear on, keeping watch.

"Don't worry, I know—but, Senior Brother Pei, let me give you a heads‑up first: don't underestimate that black lump of coal; even if Qi Dada has a nasty idea, it's not certain who'll end up losing."

Over there, Zheng Tan walked while staying alert to his surroundings; on the mountain, one must be extra vigilant to avoid suffering a loss.

The mountain is full of animal scents that people might never notice in daily life—especially those of certain creatures that mark territory with urine—and the most obvious smell around here, of course, comes from the monkeys.

Walking along, Zheng Tan's ears twitched, and he looked behind him.

A figure came flying from the woods, and within a few breaths had already landed on the tree three meters away from Zheng Tan.

Qi Dada, looking down from above, stared at Zheng Tan for a moment, then let out a cry.

"Looking for help?" Zheng Tan narrowed his eyes.

In a one-on-one fight, Qi Dada obviously knew he was no match for Zheng Tan, just as Zheng Tan had thought—this guy was looking for help, and after behaving himself here for a day, he finally couldn't hold back any longer. (To be continued...)