Chapter 336: The Cat in a Vest

Zheng Tan sat in the back seat of the car, looking at the scenery outside the window.

Unlike the usual bustle before the New Year, this year seems quieter, perhaps due to lower temperatures than usual, plus the impact of the snow disaster, causing this change. However, compared to many places and some villages, towns, and mountainous areas that suffered more severe damage, the city's situation is much better. Residents' main complaints are probably about burst water pipes from a few days ago. As for others, those without travel worries or direct economic conflicts of interest are merely onlookers; it does not affect their normal lives, and they only discuss a few sentences when watching the news each day.

Jiao Ba kept the traffic radio on; these two days the weather has eased considerably, many stranded crowds are rushing to leave these two days, and there are many illegal taxis, apparently hoping to make extra money during this period.

To avoid traffic jams, Jiao Ba deliberately set out early, but he didn't expect that many people had the same idea; there were already many vehicles on the road early in the morning, and he still encountered several small-scale traffic jams, especially at intersections, where seeing a long line of vehicles ahead felt particularly irritating.

After finally leaving the urban area, an hour and a half had passed; this was Zheng Tan's first time encountering such a situation, and the stop-and-go made him feel dizzy.

According to the usual route, after leaving the urban area one goes directly onto the expressway; the expressway here had been closed for the past few days but reopened these two days, yet as they approached, the traffic radio reported an accident on that expressway, advising vehicles heading that way to detour.

No one knew how long the accident would cause a backup, and Jiao Ba had no choice; he could only detour, leaving the expressway for other routes.

When passing several bus stations, Zheng Tan glanced over and saw that the area still had large crowds; the waiting hall was full, with some people waiting outside, and armed police were maintaining order there. He also saw outside the station taxis, minibuses, and private passenger vehicles soliciting customers, with people holding signs bearing the names of various counties and cities, shouting while walking to pick up passengers. This is probably what some call illegal taxis, but at this point people no longer cared whether they were illegal or not; just being able to get on a vehicle was enough. When crowding onto a vehicle, vulnerable groups such as the elderly, weak, sick, disabled, or pregnant were hardly given any consideration; when it came to squeezing in, people still shoved as usual.

After leaving the city, the route was relatively unfamiliar to Zheng Tan; he looked at the buildings on both sides and noted down this new route information.

The road still had some ice, but it was much better than before; driving slowly, Jiao Ba could still keep it under control. However, some vehicles seemed to be in a hurry, speeding wildly and constantly pushing forward, afraid of falling behind; there were two occasions when they nearly scraped Jiao Ba's car.

Zheng Tan had just cursed in his mind at the two reckless overtakers. One motorcyclist suddenly darted in from the rear diagonal, slipping between their car and the one ahead, then quickly shot through the lateral gap between that front car and another vehicle, leaving Zheng Tan startled; was this person overconfident in his driving skills, or facing some emergency?

After about ten minutes, the car stopped again; Zheng Tan rose and looked ahead, seeing the vehicle queue re-form and another traffic jam.

After waiting a while with no movement, Jiao Ba opened the car window to let in some air; the interior was warm, and while driving his nerves had been tense, now blowing in the cold air helped him feel a bit more awake.

"Hei Tan, are you cold?" Jiao Ba looked toward the back seat at Zheng Tan.

After the window opened, cold air poured in, dispelling much of the warmth inside. The damp cold of southern weather always makes many northerners uncomfortable, but Zheng Tan, who once lived even farther south, has grown accustomed to it over these years. Even though this year is especially cold, he feels fine; the vest he's wearing today is a winter model given by Xiao Guo. Xiao Guo gave him two, one black and one olive green; not only do the vest pockets hold items, but they are also thicker, warmer, and supposedly waterproof.

Seeing that Zheng Tan did not seem to feel cold, Jiao Ba did not ask further.

The driver of the car on the left was smoking outside because there were children in his vehicle and smoking inside would be inappropriate; seeing Jiao Ba open his window, he struck up a casual chat. He had been driving for nearly twenty hours, although someone had relieved him for five hours of rest, but the substitute's driving skills were poor and he had nearly caused an accident, so most of the time he was the one driving; now, stuck in the traffic jam, he stepped out for a smoke to refresh himself.

The driver of the car ahead also came over to join the chat; he was an unlicensed passenger driver, saying, "Yesterday was fairly smooth, the traffic jam didn't last long, but today my luck is bad—I got stuck for half an hour this morning, and now it's jammed again."

"Can we get moving in ten minutes?" the left-side driver asked.

"It's tough; there was an accident ahead—a motorcycle, two private cars, and a truck collided. Fortunately, no one died, but three people were seriously injured and have just been sent to the hospital. The occupants of those two private cars are still arguing, nobody moving their feet, and I hear those cars are quite expensive. It also knocked down a utility pole, plus the overturned vehicles and the cargo scattered from the truck. At least twenty minutes are likely needed to clear the road."

Hearing the unlicensed driver say that driving had been even harder these past few days—normally a trip takes just over two hours, but during the recent snow-covered period a single trip took over ten hours, and one could easily get stranded en route; only those who have driven it know the hardship, exhausting to death. That's why fares have doubled and redoubled: normally fifty yuan, now sharing an illegal taxi costs one hundred to one hundred fifty yuan per person, and a few days ago it spiked to over two hundred.

While they were chatting, another person came up from the front of the queue and asked the two drivers and Jiao Ba to go forward to help, saying there weren't enough hands and too many obstacles; to clear the road quickly, more people would speed things up, otherwise they'd have to wait even longer.

The driver of the front car shook his head, saying he couldn't go; he had to watch his vehicle, whose passengers were all strangers—if someone took advantage of his absence to help clear the road and then drove off with the car, what would happen? What if they took something valuable? What if the passengers started a disturbance?

The driver of the neighboring car, however, didn't mind; he kept smoking and walked forward together with Jiao Ba.

The car door wasn't locked, the window was closed, and soon the temperature inside rose again.

Before leaving, Jiao Ba told Zheng Tan to keep an eye on the car, so Zheng Tan didn't nap either; he paid attention to the people around the vehicle.

Soon Zheng Tan noticed a person approaching from the front, glancing twice into the car; his gaze told Zheng Tan at once that the man harbored ill intentions, and when he spotted the computer bag on the passenger seat, his stare lingered a fraction longer.

A flicker of joy crossed his eyes, then he walked casually to the car door, opened the passenger-side door, and just as he was about to reach for the computer bag on the seat, a black shadow flashed. A sudden pain struck his face, and he was kicked out, landing unsteadily on the ground.

The man stared in disbelief; he had just looked inside and seen no one, and the door seemed unlocked. The cat in the vest had been completely overlooked by him. He had done this many times before; the whole operation normally took no time at all—just open the door and snatch the bag, and even if the door were locked he had a way. But he never imagined that such a supposedly simple task would turn out so badly at odds with his expectations.

He wiped his nose, looked at the blood on his hand, then glanced at Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan narrowed his eyes; is this guy still not giving up? Looking for another kick?!

He leapt up and kicked again.

The man raised his arm to block, but he misjudged Zheng Tan's strength; although he reacted quickly and lifted his forearm to deflect the kick, the force sent him rearing back, his head striking a nearby private car with a thud. At the same time, Zheng Tan shredded the man's down jacket, and the wind scattered feathers everywhere.

The man was wearing a branded down jacket while committing theft, which Zheng Tan found hard to comprehend. However, there are many such people; a few days ago online he had seen someone post a complaint about them, never expecting to encounter one himself today.

The driver of the private car on the right heard the commotion, rolled down his window, looked at the person on the ground, then at Zheng Tan, and said, "Hey, what's going on?"

Before he could finish, the rear window also opened, and two kids about ten or eleven looked out; the little girl said, "Uncle, this person is definitely a thief!"

"Surely a thief!" the boy added, "The cat in the vest is giving the thief a lesson!"

The man on the ground looked somewhat disheveled, with blood traces from his nose to his mouth, since he had just touched his face and smeared some blood; his jacket had a long tear in the chest, and down feathers were blowing out in the wind.

Seeing the situation turn bad, he ignored his nosebleed and torn jacket, and as soon as people around started looking, he sprang up and ran; rushing too fast, he stepped on something, slipped, fell, didn't even pause for pain, got up and kept running.

When Jiao Ba returned, the man had already vanished; listening to the right-hand car's driver recount what had just happened, Jiao Ba smiled at the various questions, saying nothing more.

"I think your cat is not bad—male or female?" the other person asked.

"Male."

"Hey, that works out—I also have a female cat, a folded-ear type; why not breed them?"

Zheng Tan's face twitched; "Breed with your grandpa!"

Seeing Zheng Tan turn and get straight into the car, Jiao Ba smiled at the man and said, "My cat is just a ordinary domestic cat."

"No problem, I don't mind." He waved a hand, saying it indifferently.

Jiao Ba: "……"

Fortunately, the front soon cleared, the queue began to move slowly, and Jiao Ba, after uttering a few perfunctory remarks, got back in the car.

Regarding Zheng Tan's earlier action, Jiao Ba didn't say much, merely smiling and giving him a thumbs-up.

Although this return trip's first half was rather rough, with several traffic jams, fortunately things went much smoother afterward, as there were more vehicles on the road, no snow fell, daytime temperatures rose slightly, and the ground had little ice, so the latter half of the journey was fairly smooth.

As usual, Jiao Ba first went to the county town, had a meal and rested a while, made a phone call to report safety, and then continued toward his hometown.

On this side of Jiao Ba's hometown there are a few rough stretches; after driving slowly past them it became much better, and Jiao Lao Yezi was already waiting at the village entrance. Knowing only Jiao Ba was driving, he didn't dare keep calling to inquire, lest he distract Jiao Ba; upon seeing Jiao Ba's vehicle arrive, his face immediately broke into a smile.

For many people, the journey home for the New Year is arduous and unforgettable; by comparison, Zheng Tan and company have it fairly good. (To be continued…)

PS: I'll keep typing a bit more before sleeping, but the second update won't come out; everyone should go to bed early and not wait. I'll try to release the second update tomorrow night, please understand.