Chapter 317

The swaying ornaments made Zheng Tan dizzy and hard to see, so he reached out, pulled the string closer, and examined it carefully; it really resembled the bag of items he had seen before, having appraised it for so long that morning—even if he couldn't tell genuine from fake, the feeling was much the same.

Zheng Tan was looking at that string of ornaments when Jiao Wei ran over; they had no classes in the third and fourth periods this morning, he was just hanging out in the library, and when the time seemed about right he planned to go to the restaurant to avoid the after‑class rush; during this period, whenever he ran along this road he would glance at both sides, especially the tall trees suitable for cats to nap on and the wooden benches by the stone path—Zheng Tan is particular about where he sleeps. Sure enough, without much effort he spotted Hei Tan lying on a chair.

Hei Tan!

Not knowing the man and woman, Jiao Wei simply called Zheng Tan's name and then waited nearby; seeing the man and woman look over, Jiao Wei smiled and nodded at them, saying nothing more—he usually isn't very talkative.

Seeing Jiao Wei, Zheng Tan was somewhat curious about the couple's identities, but eating was the pressing matter; besides, the two might not really be related to that bag, so Zheng Tan didn't waste time, hopped down from the wooden bench, and jogged with Jiao Wei toward the school gate.

After finishing lunch at Jiao Wei's family restaurant, Zheng Tan went to find a place to rest. Jiao Ba called the restaurant to inquire; upon learning Zheng Tan was there, he said nothing more. At noon, Jiao Ba and a few teachers were eating in the cafeteria and did not come over.

Having slept on a tall parasol tree, Zheng Tan planned to stroll around. He hadn't left the campus in days; first he went to check on Xiao Youzi's middle school, then kept walking until he heard the familiar erhu and saw the familiar Tianqiao.

That old blind man is actually here today! Really rare.

Over the past year, the old blind man has come to Tianqiao far less often; sometimes Zheng Tan wanders over and doesn't run into him, only when he goes to the alley where the old man lives does he see him.

As Zheng Tan walked that way, he noticed a low-key black private car pulling over and slowly stopping not far ahead; two people got out—exactly the man and woman he had seen at noon.

Zheng Tan watched them. The two who had gotten out of the car also saw Zheng Tan.

"Another black cat? Is keeping black cats fashionable here?" the woman said.

"It's the one I saw at noon," the man said, somewhat surprised. He then chuckled and didn't think much of it. Different cats have different looks when they gaze at people; that black cat's gaze is particularly special, but even if it's the same cat, running into it here isn't a big deal.

"It's not wearing a collar," the woman said. She wasn't doubting the person beside her; she was just voicing her question. Normally, pet cats wear collars when outside, and although China doesn't have many strict rules about this, if it was wearing one in the morning, why take it off in the afternoon? Of course, this was only a fleeting doubt, and she soon stopped paying attention to the collar issue.

The man and woman shifted their gaze away from Zheng Tan, no longer paying attention to him, and chatted softly as they walked forward.

Zheng Tan was merely surprised to see the two, then ignored everything else and went his own way toward Tianqiao. Then he noticed that the man and woman, like him, had climbed the steps of Tianqiao; afterward they stood by an empty spot, leaning on the railing, the woman opening a sunshade—this season's sunshine isn't particularly gentle—while the man gazed toward the middle of Tianqiao, his eyes settling on the blind old man playing the erhu.

"Thomas, is that old man the person you're looking for?" the woman asked.

Hmm.

The woman was about to ask something else when she suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, that black cat went past!"

Both were very surprised; they had seen bold cats, but never one so daring—on Tianqiao, with people coming and going, a cat could stroll across as if everyone around were air, something they had never witnessed.

In the couple's sight, the cat walked to the erhu player's side, nonchalantly stepped up to the box holding money, clattered as it scooped up coins, clink-clink pulling out two in a row, then stood in the shade beneath the large umbrella, opened its mouth, and yawned.

The two: ……

After a few seconds of silence, the woman said, "Thomas, that old man really has a good temper."

The man remained silent, but inside he thought: If his temper were truly good, there wouldn't have been so much hidden bloodshed back then; those who fought their way to the top with real swords and spears, especially someone like that old man, could hardly be described as having a "good" temperament. Still, the cat's boldness was excessive—many had said that various animals tended to avoid that old man.

Zheng Tan yawned; he had just found two game tokens in the old man's box. Every September, when the new school term begins, some students who think they're clever toss game tokens into the box, unaware that while they consider others fools and play tricks, others see them as practically courting death—except that few bother to act on it. As the saying goes, "You watch the fool on the bridge, and those watching the fool are watching you."

As Zheng Tan let out his second yawn, the old man finished a piece and began packing up.

This struck Zheng Tan as odd—hasn't it not time yet? Does the old man have something to attend to and need to leave early?

Not only Zheng Tan thought so; several small vendors on Tianqiao were muttering, "Why is the old man heading home so early today? Do we have to pack up early too?"

"Let's pack up; maybe he heard some news—better to play it safe and withdraw with him."

Thus, behind the old man, some small vendors began packing up one after another; of course, a few stalls with decent business stayed put, and since the old man has rarely come this past year, they've continued setting up their stalls as usual.

Seeing the old man gather his things and leave, Zheng Tan followed behind; it had been a while since he'd last gone that way, and he wondered whether Xiao Jiu was still there. After a few steps, Zheng Tan noticed the man and woman also walking not far away. He glanced back at them, then kept walking. Once he'd put a certain distance between himself and Tianqiao, Zheng Tan saw a fruit vendor hurrying past from behind, rushing along. Looking back at Tianqiao, the few stalls that had remained in place were hastily packing up—clearly an inspection had passed, and they were quickly gathering their things and fleeing.

Glancing at the old man's steady pace, Zheng Tan curled his lip.

After passing the commercial street and entering the familiar alley, the man and woman behind kept a distance of about six or seven meters. Zheng Tan wondered again—did these two know the blind old man?

While Zheng Tan was puzzled, the two behind were also puzzled—could this cat possibly know the person ahead? Isn't it just an ordinary cat kept by an ordinary family at that university?

Looking at the doorman's reaction—whether he saw the man and woman or Zheng Tan—there was no extra expression.

Sure enough, they knew each other!

After entering the house, Zheng Tan, familiar with the way, went to the reception room, jumped onto a chair and sat down—much more naturally than the two behind him.

"Uncle Kun, long time no see," the man said, bowing slightly toward the old man.

Zheng Tan's whiskers twitched. "Uncle Kun"? Although this form differs by just one character from the public version "Grandpa Kun" that Ye Hao and the others use, the relationship seems much closer.

"Seven years, Thomas—you little brat, coming back now, are you planning to break into the domestic market?"

The old man's tone also carried a rare familiarity; Zheng Tan couldn't help but glance again at the fellow called Thomas, wondering what his background was.

Thomas smiled faintly, "I do have that intention, but just after returning I ran into some trouble I couldn't handle, so I came to ask for your help."

No beating around the bush, quite direct, and with a tone of junior affection toward an elder—this shows he understands the old man's temperament, and also indicates he's indeed close to the old man; if it weren't for the fact that the two don't look alike, Ye Hao and the others also said the old man had no biological children, so Zheng Tan might indeed think along those lines—if there's no blood relation, it could be due to Thomas's parentage.

"Oh?" the old man said, lifting his teacup for a sip, and didn't add anything else.

Thomas took the box the woman beside him handed over, opened it, and placed it on the table before the old man.

Inside lay several loose diamonds of various shapes, each over five millimeters, the largest nearly a centimeter; Zheng Tan didn't know how to judge a diamond's quality or value, he just prick up his ears to listen to their conversation.

The old man set down his cup, precisely took hold of the box, brushed his fingers over the diamonds, picked one up, felt it, and smiled: "Not bad, better than before. Your father, wherever he is, would surely be pleased."

Zheng Tan startled; hearing that, he wondered whether those eye‑catching diamonds were fake.

"You put graphite and some auxiliary materials into a specially made box, place that box into a device similar to a pressure cooker designed for that purpose, simulate the temperature and pressure beneath the earth's surface where diamonds form, the graphite changes, and after three days you take out the box, open it, and obtain a diamond crystal. Compared with natural diamonds that require hundreds of millions to billions of years to form, these take only a few days to produce and are far cheaper than mining natural stones—but that was the technology three years ago." Thomas picked up a diamond, gazed at the light reflecting off it, his eyes shining with confident smile, "These are products of the new technology; the cost is slightly higher, but the time needed is still only a few days, yet they are indistinguishable from natural diamonds formed over ten billion years ago under high temperature and pressure, and moreover, they can continue to grow."

"Congratulations. Looks like the jewelry market is about to erupt into another war." The old man's tone showed little change; the underlying profits didn't excite him much, "I recall that when your father first proposed that plan, he said once the technology matured, its impact on the market would be no less than the arrival of the steel age in the 1850s and the invention of the transistor in the 1940s."

Diamonds aren't just for jewelry; they can let computers run at speeds that would melt the grime inside today's computers, and they will seep into electronics, machinery, even thermal weapons, bringing reform. Though far from ideal and many problems remain unsolved, Thomas feels he has already taken a major leap forward.

"Before that, I'd like to ask Uncle Kun to help me find a sack of experimental material stolen by mice." Thomas set down the diamond and said.

Zheng Tan's ears perked up instantly, and he turned toward that side. (To be continued…)

PS: Without realizing it, we've reached chapter 300 and passed a million words; today the rating index shows three diamonds, recommendation votes exceed 450,000, and we've squeezed into the top ten on the monthly ranking for the urban category on Dashen Duo—Chen Ci bows here to thank everyone for their support!

Actually, when we passed a million words I wanted to do a big celebration, but lately work has been bogged down by an unsolved hassle, I've returned with little energy, feeling restless, and I haven't been able to watch many World Cup matches. Once this matter is over, I plan to make up for it—maybe late July or early August—and update more then.

Thanks to all the readers who have consistently supported Returning Cat!