Chapter 380: The Little Gold Medal

Because Xiao Zhuo had returned, Zheng Tan had originally planned to intercept Zhuo Xiao Mao, bring the person to the courtyard, and then give him the Children's Day gift—but now it seemed unnecessary; nothing could make him happier than Xiao Zhuo's return, so the so-called consolation gift was unnecessary.

The gift can't be given today, and there's no rush; we'll talk about it later when the chance arises.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Tan hadn't yet picked a good moment when Xiao Zhuo showed up at the door. She went to visit Jiao Ba and Jiao Ma, chatting with them for a while. Of course, she didn't talk about the projects she had participated in—those were covered by confidentiality agreements, so she wouldn't and couldn't leak them. Just like the excuse Buddha Master had once found for her to go abroad for research, she said she had been involved in some overseas research these past few years, not elaborating, since it wasn't true, and Xiao Zhuo didn't want to tell too many lies.

Jiao Ba understood, and didn't ask further.

This time Xiao Zhuo came not only to visit the Jiao family but also to pick up Zheng Tan and go to their place to celebrate Children's Day together with Zhuo Xiao Mao.

On Children's Day, the four members of the Jiao family had no day off at all, so Zheng Tan could stay at Xiao Zhuo's place for a day.

After the Dragon Boat Festival, on Monday, Children's Day, Zheng Tan went out with the Jiao family; Xiao Youzi went to junior high, Jiao Ba went to the college, Jiao Ma went to the affiliated high school, and Jiao Yuan had already returned to school on Sunday, so that morning only Jiao Ma went to the affiliated high school.

Zheng Tan, after going downstairs, simply stayed in the courtyard, lounging on a wooden chair and waiting. Beside the chair lay the gift pillow that Jiao Ba had taken down for him, placed in a bag; the bag's opening was tied with a ribbon bow that Xiao Youzi had made for the gift.

According to Xiao Zhuo's plan, she would go out to buy groceries this morning and then come straight to pick up Zheng Tan. They still live in the apartment building of Xiqu Dayuan; Zheng Tan couldn't easily go there alone because the building's access control is troublesome, especially with a gift in hand.

In the morning, Da Pang followed its elderly owner to buy groceries; A Huang was still sleeping at home, and Jingzhang went out for a stroll. It was said that Jingzhang had sneakily eaten three zongzi at home during the Dragon Boat Festival, and upon discovering this, its owner immediately sent it to the pet center.

Generally speaking, a cat eating a bit of zongzi isn't a problem, but zongzi is sticky and hard to digest; eating too much is bad. Moreover, there had been an incident in the courtyard where a cat choked on zongzi and nearly died, right in the building next to Jingzhang's, so it's no wonder Jingzhang's owner felt upset seeing three large meat zongzi missing. Regardless of whether it choked, eating that many zongzi at once seemed wrong to the owner, who insisted on taking it for a check before feeling at ease.

Those who keep cats at home are always on guard against them stealing food—annoyed by their shameless theft and worried that eating something unsuitable for cats might cause trouble, so keeping cats is always particularly troublesome.

Watching Jingzhang climb over the wall to go out of the courtyard, Zheng Tan shook his head.

Zheng Tan hadn't waited long; at around eight o'clock, Xiao Zhuo arrived, holding the vegetables she had just bought at the market—not many—and, after shifting the load to one hand, she helped Zheng Tan carry the large black cat‑head pillow, which Jiao Ba had mentioned over the phone.

Having a woman help carry things always feels a bit odd, but Zheng Tan couldn't help it—after all, he was just a cat now.

The greenery in Xiqu Dayuan had improved a lot; unlike the first two years after construction when it was bare, the tree branches had spread out, making it look much more pleasant.

At this rush‑hour time, no one was to be seen, and Zheng Tan didn't take the stairs but rode the elevator together with Xiao Zhuo.

After entering, Zheng Tan noticed that, compared with a few years ago, the interior hadn't changed much—there were just many more of Zhuo Xiao Mao's belongings, and the original decorative paintings on the walls had become Zhuo Xiao Mao's scribbles.

The young woman Xiao Wan, who had helped look after Zhuo Xiao Mao these past years, had left; her duty was done, and she was replaced by a middle‑aged nanny newly found by Buddha Master, different from the nanny Xiao Zhuo had hired when she was pregnant. This nanny bore no grudge against Zheng Tan, and once Xiao Zhuo came in, she hurriedly took the vegetables to the kitchen to get busy.

Zhuo Xiao Mao was drawing on his small sketchpad when he saw Zheng Tan, dropped his pen, and ran over.

"This is a gift from Hei Ge." Xiao Zhuo handed the pillow to Zhuo Xiao Mao.

"Thanks, Hei Ge!"

Xiao Pihai wasn't polite either; he grabbed it, tore it open to look, then grinned and put the pillow in the room, right at the head of the bed.

Zheng Tan noticed a small bookshelf in Zhuo Xiao Mao's room holding several books taken from Xiao Zhuo's own shelf—books Zheng Tan had once seen on Xiao Zhuo's shelf—and upon closer look, some still bore fresh traces of having been turned, along with children's‑style bookmarks.

On Zhuo Xiao Mao's desk lay a Chinese dictionary and an English dictionary, both clearly having been flipped through many times.

Zheng Tan jumped onto the desk and examined the books on the shelf: there were a few children's popular science readers, also well‑used, but now they were placed at the far edge of the shelf, tucked into the corner. Looking from the corner outward, the books ranged from easy to hard, covering a wide range; some showed signs of having been read many times, others only a little.

Just because a book is rarely read doesn't mean Zhuo Xiao Mao dislikes it—he might simply not understand it yet; Zheng Tan couldn't say when Xiao Pihai would be able to comprehend it.

These past few years, with Xiao Zhuo absent, it certainly wasn't her teaching; Xiao Wan might have given some guidance, but mostly Zhuo Xiao Mao's choices were his own.

While Zhuo Xiao Mao watched cartoons clutching the pillow, Xiao Zhuo looked at a photo album by the large indoor window.

Zheng Tan had no interest in joining Zhuo Xiao Mao for the cartoons, so he went over to see what Xiao Zhuo was looking at.

Jumping onto the nearby table, Zheng Tan saw in the album a yellowed black‑and‑white old photo with a floral border around it. The picture showed a man who looked about thirty‑something then; now he'd be in his fifties. He resembled Xiao Zhuo somewhat—could he be her father?

Next to the photo was a drawing on yellowed paper of roughly the same age, but the artist's skill was poor; Zheng Tan couldn't make out what was depicted, only that it looked like a round‑shaped object.

Xiao Zhuo's finger, rubbing through the album's protective film over the photo and the paper's pattern, then pulled a gold‑colored badge from the drawer of the nearby table; the badge resembled the drawing on the paper.

Placing the gold badge beside the photo and the paper with the drawing, Xiao Zhuo recalled her father's words from when he was alive: she remembered how, as a child, he had drawn that pattern on paper and, in a tone full of longing, told her, "There is a gold medal that symbolizes supreme honor."

Unfortunately, he never managed to obtain that little gold medal before he passed away.

Running her fingers over the badge's grooves, Xiao Zhuo said to Zheng Tan beside her, "Hei Tan, do you know? A tree needs its green leaves exposed to sunlight to photosynthesize; it needs showy, fragrant flowers to attract insects for pollination; it needs fruit to continue the next generation, but also needs roots buried in the dark soil to absorb water… This medal proves my effort, and it is the nation's promise to me. With it, whether Zhuo Xiao Mao is clever or dull, this gold medal will protect him."

Zheng Tan knew. Although Zhuo Xiao Mao's father on the household register isn't his biological father, all official documents match the register, and all records, while possibly not true, are absolutely legitimate beyond doubt. No one knows Zhuo Xiao Mao's true origins, so he won't be condemned or looked at strangely.

"People nowadays may have different values from those of the past, but this country truly has many, many unnamed heroes…"

Many people have gone and never returned; no one remembers them, only some undisclosed files record their merits, perhaps with one or two medals symbolizing their achievements buried with them. The world needs those who are sung about, but the vast majority of such people will never be known to anyone.

"Hei Ge!" Zhuo Xiao Mao suddenly shouted while watching TV.

Hearing Zhuo Xiao Mao's cry, Zheng Tan and Xiao Zhuo snapped to attention and looked over.

They had thought Zhuo Xiao Mao was calling them for something, but it turned out he was just watching TV and wasn't looking at them.

Because of the angle, Zheng Tan couldn't see what was on the TV, didn't intend to pay attention, and then Zhuo Xiao Mao called out again.

"Hei Ge! Mom, Hei Ge is on TV!" Zhuo Xiao Mao said to Xiao Zhuo.

Xiao Zhuo quickly wiped her tears, took a few deep breaths to steady her mood, then smiled and walked over.

Zheng Tan also wondered, when had he appeared on TV?

Leaning in for a look, Zheng Tan saw Zhuo Xiao Mao watching an entertainment program that featured several movie trailers, one of which was for the film he had acted in last year.

The trailer was only a few seconds long; when Zheng Tan came over to look, he saw just a single image and the ending line "Just this summer," after which the trailer ended.

Xiao Zhuo didn't notice; she had only caught a few fleeting glimpses in her hurry, saw the black cat on screen, but didn't connect that movie cat with Zheng Tan—yet Zhuo Xiao Mao insisted, and Xiao Zhuo didn't argue.

Zheng Tan observed Xiao Zhuo's expression, realized she hadn't recognized him, and silently breathed a sigh of relief—as long as he wasn't easily identified, going out for a stroll remained quite free.

The movie doesn't much resemble reality; when filming, Zheng Tan chose many angles favorable to himself, letting the camera make him look "handsome," and with post‑production tweaks and minor effects, no one could directly match the cat in the film to this everyday "cheap‑goods" cat that roams outside all day.

But how did Zhuo Xiao Mao recognize him? The boy looked quite certain. If it's about a black cat, there are also people raising black cats in Xiqu Dayuan; when he came over this morning he had seen one that looked quite like him.

Xiao Zhuo didn't want to quarrel with Zhuo Xiao Mao over this; after checking the release date, she told Zhuo Xiao Mao, "Kitten, Mom will take you to see that movie when it comes out."

"Okay~"

At the same time, in Er Mao's apartment on the third floor of Dongqu Dayuan, Er Mao, who was also watching the same channel, was testing milk for his daughter; each time he mixed formula, he would take a sip himself to check for odd smells and temperature, even though the little girl could now eat solid food, he didn't neglect the milk.

Just after taking a sip of milk, Er Mao saw the trailer on TV and spat out the mouthful. (To be continued…)

PS: Just one chapter; I'll keep typing a bit more, hopefully I can update more tomorrow.