Chapter 388

When Zheng Tan and Xiao Hua returned to the courtyard, Da Pang, who was crouching on the first floor, saw them and shouted a few times.

Zheng Tan was still puzzled about what Da Pang was shouting, and soon the elderly lady of Da Pang's household came out.

"Yo, you're back! Hei Tan, Xiao Hua, come in quickly!"

The elderly lady of Da Pang's family shuffled her small feet to open the door and called Xiao Hua inside. Because Xiao Hua was familiar with many people in the courtyard, when the lady came to pull its collar it did not resist, following the lady's pull inside. Zheng Tan also followed in.

After bringing them inside, the lady took out her phone and called Jiao Ba and Old Li to report that they were safe.

It turned out that, not knowing that Zheng Tan and Xiao Hua had not returned to the courtyard and not knowing where they had gone, and with the weather outside being terrible, Jiao Ba asked the elderly lady of Da Pang's household, who was staying at home, to keep an eye out.

After receiving the news, Jiao Ba and Old Li immediately relaxed. Jiao Ba thought that his cat son's intelligence would prevent it from getting lost or caught in the rain, but not seeing it and having no news always worried him, especially because the weather outside kept him uneasy. Now that they knew the cat and dog were not only safely home but also dry, he realized they must have found a place to shelter from the rain.

If someone helped, Jiao Ba planned to go over later to thank them. After all, in such weather, temporarily taking in a cat and a dog isn't something everyone would do; the cat is one thing, but Xiao Hua's big dog is huge, and the people who took them in had no ulterior motives, so a thank‑you is indeed warranted.

There have been many past cases of people cheating by selling dogs for meat; in many eyes, a large breed like a Saint Bernard is essentially a meat dog.

A meat dog is a dog raised for eating.

Jiao Ba had seen on newspapers people who breed or buy such large dogs at low prices. No wonder Old Li was so anxious in the hospital. His Xiao Hua is too gentle and easily taken advantage of. If it were truly sold for meat, where could Old Li go to weep?

Two days later, on a bright sunny weekend, Zheng Tan took Jiao Ba to that grocery store.

When the shop owner saw Zheng Tan, he was quite surprised; he hadn't expected that just by casually helping the cat, the cat would bring its owner to his door.

Jiao Ba bought some fruit to thank him, chatted a few sentences, then left. A student called, saying there was something in the lab, so Jiao Ba had to say a hurried farewell.

After Jiao Ba left, the clerk came over, took a big red grape from the fruit bag, and popped it into his mouth.

"Owner, I didn't expect that just by helping a cat we could get a bag of fruit. This fruit isn't cheap; it must be worth several tens, so this deal is profitable."

Sometimes even heartfelt help doesn't earn genuine gratitude; people just say thank you. These days, thanks aren't worth much. I didn't expect that just letting a cat and a dog in to shelter from rain would prompt them to come knocking with gifts. This family values that cat quite a lot.

The owner also tasted a few big red grapes and said, "So, whenever you feel you can help, just do it. Whether it's a person or a cat. Cast a wide net; as long as there's one big fish in there, you'll make a big profit."

Just hearing the first part, the clerk thought his owner's morals had been elevated, but the second half revealed his true nature.

Nevertheless, the clerk nodded; the owner's words were a bit harsh, but they made sense, a kind of alternative take on "good deeds bring good rewards." A straightforward value.

Only, neither the clerk nor the owner expected that what they'd netted would be more than just that.

After Jiao Ba came to thank them, he told Old Li what he knew; evidently Old Li shared the same thought, knowing the grocery store owner had helped, and as soon as he was discharged he bought a gift to thank him. Though to others it seemed unnecessary—just a small help to a dog—why go all the way to thank in person?

But just as Zheng Tan's standing in the Jiao Family is significant, Xiao Hua's weight in Old Li's heart is also heavy; at that time Xiao Hua was still wounded, and rain would have worsened it. So Old Li, carrying a gift and Xiao Hua, ran to the grocery store, grabbed the shop owner's hand, and solemnly thanked, "Comrade, thank you for taking care of my Xiao Hua!"

The clerk stood nearby, shivered, thinking this old man was even more exaggerated than the university professor who came last time. What was that gift? Besides fruit, there was also a box of American ginseng! It looked quite upscale.

The clerk didn't know that during Old Li's hospitalization many visitors brought many gifts, and items like American ginseng were abundant, more than the Li couple could use. This time it just happened to line up, so he brought a box.

After Old Li left, the clerk sighed to the owner, saying that a casual cast of the net had already caught two fish.

"Owner, do you think a big fish will surface again?"

The shop owner snorted, "Be content, will you?"

The clerk didn't truly expect any further development, just said it offhand, then cheerfully carried the fruit to the back to wash, generously plucked a grape and placed it in front of the white cat on the low shelf, where the white cat swatted it away with a paw.

Two more days passed, and someone came to the grocery store again.

After Xiao Guo learned of this from Jiao Ba, he thought of making a short video about it, to promote the idea that people should lend a hand when they see trapped cats or dogs.

With the shop owner's consent, Xiao Guo brought his crew over.

"Do I look okay? It's my first interview, I'm a bit nervous," the clerk wore a specially chosen outfit to showcase his good bearing, standing before the shop owner.

"It'll do," the shop owner said. Compared with the clerk's nervousness and excitement, the owner looked just the same as usual.

This shoot's main on‑camera presence was the clerk; the shop owner didn't intend to appear much. The owner said they needed to convey an honest, decent vibe, and his own face lacked persuasiveness, so he let the clerk take the spotlight.

However, some matters had to be explained by the shop owner.

The shop owner gave Xiao Guo a brief rundown of that day; when Xiao Guo asked about the white cat on the shelf, the owner answered truthfully. Of course, he omitted any mention of the rain‑day umbrella price surge or the two thugs that appeared midway.

"That white cat came on its own; we don't know whose it was before. It arrived skinny, now it's grown robust. Since it showed up, there haven't been any mice in the shop."

The shop owner didn't tie it up; in his words, "It came on its own, and whenever it wants to leave, if it feels staying here isn't good, it can go. Cats are like that, a little heartless."

Xiao Guo thought the white cat's story could be used, shaping a good image for the shop owner. The latter half's "a little heartless" comment was filtered out.

When the filming was almost done, Xiao Guo thought, it's a rare visit; even if the shop owner didn't want many shots, they should at least include some of his footage, right?

So, Xiao Guo calmly asked the shop owner sitting beside him, "Thus: Huang Laoban, do you have any thoughts on this matter?"

Thus: Huang Laoban looked at the camera and said seriously, "Cast a wide net, catch more fish."

Xiao Guo: "……" This segment should be cut when editing.

Xiao Guo originally expected to hear words about kindness to people or caring for animals, but instead got these two lines; he wants to present a good image and spread positive energy, not promote a swindler.

Two weeks later.

Er Mao was home alone; his wife took the child to a friend's house, not letting him come along. Surrounded by women, Er Mao indeed didn't want to go, so he stayed home and gave the nanny the day off. Er Mao rarely had a chance to be alone at home browsing the net, sipping beer and eating takeout, and of course, Hei Mi's cat food didn't run low.

Having nothing to do, Er Mao opened the website of Xiao Guo's pet center, entered the section he often visited; by the timeline, a new video had been released. Like many customers of the pet center and countless cat lovers online, Er Mao was interested in the videos produced by Xiao Guo's studio. Sometimes they watched ads; even the rough cat‑and‑dog commercials could amuse them for a while, relaxing the mood. Besides ads, there were short life‑story clips that always brought a knowing smile, especially when they saw households with "hard cases," prompting a bit of schadenfreude.

The previous episode covered Xiao Hua's brave rescue and honorable injury; what about this episode?

Er Mao clicked the latest video; it wasn't an ad but recounted the events of the recent gale‑storm, with Xiao Hua still the protagonist.

Since it's the courtyard's dog, Er Mao had followed it and even visited Old Li in the hospital. This episode again features Xiao Hua; what has this dog done now? Lately the big dog's screen time has been high.

In the new video, Er Mao saw a particular shot, froze, set his beer down, nudged the progress bar forward a bit, then paused at a certain frame.

Staring at the somewhat harsh‑looking face on the screen, Er Mao picked up the phone and called Xiao Guo.

"Hello, Guo Laoban, are you free now? I have something to ask you."

Xiao Guo was assigning tasks with his crew; when Er Mao called, he set aside his work, walked into the break room, and said, "Sure, what do you want to ask?"

Since Xiao Guo knew Er Mao's background, he decided to cling to his leg; besides matters about Hei Mi, Er Mao rarely called, so Xiao Guo certainly wouldn't refuse—such a good chance to strengthen ties couldn't be missed.

Er Mao asked Xiao Guo about the video they had just finished and about the grocery store owner.

"That owner? He's surnamed Huang, I don't know his full name; he didn't say. During the shoot he didn't want to appear much, so the clerk did most of the filming." Though Xiao Guo didn't know why Er Mao asked about the shop owner, he still told him what he knew.

"Surname Huang… okay, I got it, I won't bother you. Guo Laoban, keep busy."

After hanging up, Er Mao shut down the computer and went out.

At the convenience store, the clerk had been in high spirits ever since the interview; right after the video went up, he immediately went to check the netizens' comments. His performance that day wasn't bad, and the netizens even remarked that he was young and handsome, which made his tail stick up for several days, and it still hasn't fully relaxed.

Just then, he saw a young man walk in, and the clerk hurried over, enthusiastically saying, "What would you like? Let me introduce you to our items."

After the boss said, "Cast a wide net, catch more fish," the clerk thought that, besides those obviously looking for trouble, he should treat customers better, let them feel that even a small convenience store can have a clerk with professional quality.

Er Mao walked into the convenience store, glanced around, and his gaze fell on the person sitting at the counter reading a newspaper without even lifting his head. He said to the clerk, "One weasel pelt."

The person behind the counter, cigarette dangling from his lips while reading the newspaper, twitched his mouth; the cigarette fell to the ground, and he didn't even bother to pick it up, staring in shock as he lifted his head to look at Er Mao. (To be continued…)

ps: Happy Mid‑Autumn Festival, everyone!