Chapter 390

Zheng Tan was still pondering what exactly was going on as he headed back.

Hypnosis?

Zheng Tan had never seen such hypnosis before. But back then there were so many people; why was only that "Yu Ge" acting strange?

From start to finish, Huang Laoban merely took out a cigarette and said a few words.

Zheng Tan also wondered if the cigarette was the problem, some kind of confusion drug or such, but that cigarette was no different from the one Huang Laoban smoked while eating lunch in the afternoon.

As he was thinking, Zheng Tan heard Er Mao beside him say: "Black coal, do you know why that guy's nickname is Huang Shu Lang?"

They entered the school through the campus side gate, and walking from that side gate to Dongqu Dayuan took about ten minutes; at that time there was hardly anyone on the small path, so Er Mao's words were heard by no one else.

Zheng Tan glanced at Er Mao, pricking up his ears to listen further.

"His name is Huang Shu. Folk legend says that weasels have the ability to bewitch people. Of course, that guy isn't necessarily as sinister as those folk tales make him out to be; he just knows a few petty tricks passed down from his ancestors. Because he's deceived many people, and his name sounds like 'weasel,' everyone calls him Huang Shu Lang. Many people know who the person nicknamed Huang Shu Lang is, but they don't know his real name; his nickname is more famous than his actual name."

Petty tricks?

Zheng Tan was quite interested in that person's petty tricks.

"It can be considered a rather special hypnosis technique, perhaps also involving some aspects of spiritual studies, a derivative skill that once flourished in the era of theocratic politics. Using your cat father's scientific explanation, it should fall under the realm of neuroscience. Of course, with today's science and technology some things are still hard to explain."

"In the past some people called these skills heretical or even demonic, but we call them—folk art. Every skill passed down for hundreds or thousands of years has its own reason and value for existing. But don't be afraid; he normally wouldn't recklessly use such skills, especially on people, and back when he did business he hardly ever employed them. Of course, tonight's situation that could endanger personal safety is an exception, and I also told him not to use those skills against you."

While Er Mao was talking about Huang Laoban's affairs, Zheng Tan was thinking. Even if he were a hypnotist, people aside, could he even hypnotize cats, dogs, or mice? If he had that ability, why would he be guarding a little grocery store?

However, Zheng Tan had seen plenty of people with odd tempers, just like how Er Mao back then refused to live in a luxury elevator apartment or buy a villa, instead choosing to rent a place in Dongqu Dayuan and huddle in a small space of about seventy square meters, enjoying himself. Everyone has their own thoughts. Zheng Tan also couldn't use his own way of thinking to guess what those oddballs were thinking.

Being able to see a special side of Huang Laoban made Zheng Tan's afternoon trip worthwhile.

The next day, Zheng Tan ran to the grocery store again.

Originally Zheng Tan had wanted to observe more of Huang Laoban's "petty tricks," the similar hypnosis-like skills Er Mao mentioned. Zheng Tan was more curious than fearful.

Upon seeing Zheng Tan again, the clerk smiled and greeted him.

The incident from last night left the clerk still feeling a bit dazed; he didn't know why those people came in angry, said a couple of words to the boss, and left. He asked the boss, who only replied, "Probably they were just bored," and brushed it off.

The clerk, thinking about how he hadn't slept at midnight, kept recalling the incident, and suddenly realized: could the guy named Er Mao have anticipated this situation, which is why he calmly went out to watch?

It seems my boss still has plenty of secrets.

Young people always have boundless curiosity, but unfortunately Huang Laoban has no intention of saying anything.

When Zheng Tan came over, there was hardly anyone in the shop; the clerk, bored, was playing a simple poker game with Huang Laoban—whoever drew the higher number wins, best of five, and the loser would clean the shop that day.

Zheng Tan jumped up to look and saw that on the paper recording the scores nearby, the clerk had lost from start to finish.

Each time it was best-of-three out of five; even if the clerk won two straight, he still couldn't come out ahead.

Zheng Tan thought such a simple high-low comparison should be about odds, yet the clerk never won a single round; afterward, from "Shelf 1" marked to Shelf "6," meaning today the clerk must alone take charge of cleaning Shelves 1 through 6, and although the game continues, his bad luck shows no improvement.

"No way, no way, boss, shuffle the cards again." The clerk said. Just now he had shuffled them, and unexpectedly he lost from start to finish; this time he let the boss shuffle, having seen the boss's shuffling—his technique was terrible. After the boss's terrible shuffle, his luck should improve a bit, right?

Huang Laoban didn't care, picked up the cards and began shuffling.

Zheng Tan had seen Er Mao play poker; Er Mao once used flashy cards on the street to pick up female students. This person knows Er Mao, so he must be quite a capable oddball, right? Looking at his earlier performance, Zheng Tan thought this person was of the same ilk as Er Mao.

"Okay." Huang Laoban, indifferent, scooped up the cards and began shuffling.

Shuffling technique… truly terrible, like a kindergarten kid's, and while shuffling Zheng Tan clearly saw a black K at the very bottom.

Zheng Tan could see it, and the clerk could see it too.

So, after Huang Laoban shuffled the cards in this childish manner, the clerk indicated he would pick first.

"Okay." Huang Laoban still responded indifferently.

Sure enough, the clerk drew the bottommost card, grinned as he flipped it over, and then his smile froze.

He had thought it was a black K, but discovered it was a red 3.

Huang Laoban then casually drew a card from the middle, a black K.

"No way, boss, how could this be? I just saw the bottom card and it should have been a black K—how did it become a red 3?" the clerk wondered.

Huang Laoban hehehed, wrote "Shelf 7" in the notebook beside him, and said, "Even the eyes can deceive."

"You're cheating!" the clerk accused.

"Speak with evidence; without evidence don't spout nonsense—that's being a sore loser." Huang Laoban, in the manner of an experienced person, pointed out.

"I'm not playing! This is too bullying!" The clerk gathered up the cards, intending to buy a boxed meal. If this continues, he'll lose himself to exhaustion. Although the shop isn't big, one person cleaning that many shelves is tiring work, and it's summer now—move a little and you're drenched in sweat.

Time was about up, so Zheng Tan went to Feng Bai Jin's place to mooch a meal.

After Zheng Tan walked away, Huang Laoban flipped through this morning's takings, saw the white cat jump onto the counter again, paused at the spot on the white cat's fur stained with a bit of oil, and took out a one-yuan coin.

The white cat thought Huang Laoban wanted to play with it, so it approached.

Huang Laoban placed the one-yuan coin on the counter, moved it in front of the white cat, then stood it upright and flicked its edge with his finger, causing the coin to spin.

The white cat lowered its head to watch the spinning coin, and its tail, which had been swaying, gradually stilled.

Huang Laoban took out a square cloth, dampened it with water, then wiped the oil stains on the white cat's head. This must have happened when he accidentally got it on while eating breakfast this morning; white fur shows even a speck of dirt clearly.

Besides wiping that oil spot, Huang Laoban also gently wiped the white cat's ears. Normally the white cat squats on the shelves, and the shelves are usually cleaned only once a week or every few weeks. This roadside grocery is like that—lots of dust outside, airflow from passing vehicles causes a layer of grime to settle on the shelves if not wiped daily; the white cat often sleeps on the shelves, ending up covered in dust all over, and you can't bathe it every day, so you wipe it down every few days.

However, the white cat wasn't cooperative; wiping its fur and ears seemed to provoke a reaction as if its life were threatened, so Huang Laoban often resorts to other methods, such as the present situation.

After wiping the cat's ears, Huang Laoban casually flipped through the white cat's fur and saw it had a fat mouse in its mouth, wondering if it had picked up fleas.

Cats like to be stroked along the fur; rubbing against the grain makes them uncomfortable, many cats resist, and the white cat is no exception—but now it lies completely still, letting Huang Laoban mess with it.

After checking and finding no fleas, Huang Laoban relaxed a bit and had no intention of bathing the cat or buying flea medicine.

Setting down the cloth, Huang Laoban raised his finger and lightly tapped the white cat's nose bridge.

The white cat shuddered, as if hit by a jolt, then looked at Huang Laoban, then at the coin beside its paw, lifted its paw and flicked the coin, appearing utterly unaware of what had just happened.

Watching the white cat absentmindedly play with the coin, Huang Laoban recalled the black cat that had come by earlier that morning.

Was that black cat male or female?

Er Mao didn't mention that, did he?

Huang Laoban pondered: the white cat in his shop is female, and that black cat keeps coming over; if it's a male, could it be interested in his white cat?

It also couldn't be determined. That black cat always walked with its tail hanging askew, and it wasn't known whether it was male or female.

Huang Laoban thought, if he saw that black cat again later, he'd check whether it was male or female. Although Er Mao had said not to play tricks on this cat, but … just taking a look to see if it was male or female would be fine, and it wouldn't harm the cat.

Having picked up the coin that the white cat was about to knock off the counter, Huang Laoban played with it in his hand, stopped looking at the newspaper, and after finishing lunch he paid attention to the outside of the shop, watching to see if that black cat would come back.

Zheng Tan had lunch at Feng Bai Jin's place, then watched Feng Bai Jin play a new game, after which he jumped onto a willow by the lake, took a nap, and only then headed back.

Zheng Tan hadn't originally planned to enter that convenience store, just passing by, but he didn't expect that Huang Laoban, who had been keeping an eye on the shop's exterior, would call out to him.

"Coal! Coal, come over here!" Huang Laoban beckoned there.

Zheng Tan: "……" This person must have learned it from Er Mao, but even more so—he didn't even say the word "black".

Not knowing what this Huang Laoban wanted to do, Zheng Tan still walked over.

Huang Laoban tapped the counter and said, "Come on, Coal, let's play a game."

While saying that, Huang Laoban also took a hemp rope, let it hang at the edge of the counter, and moved it with his hand—he usually used this to tease cats.

Zheng Tan glanced at him as if looking at an idiot, didn't touch the hemp rope, jumped straight onto the counter, and wanted to see what exactly this Huang Laoban intended to do.

Seeing Zheng Tan jump up, Huang Laoban, without caring why Zheng Tan didn't play with the rope, took out the coin he had just used and, just as he had done with the white cat before, flicked the coin.

Seeing the black cat in front of him lower its head and stare at the coin without moving, its tail also still, Huang Laoban thought it was about time, so he planned to grab Zheng Tan's tail and lift it up to check whether it was male or female.

As soon as his hand touched the tail, Huang Laoban's eyelid twitched, he suddenly felt something was off, a black shadow flashed before his eyes, he managed to raise his hand to block, but still couldn't block Zheng Tan's incoming kick.

Huang Laoban, who had taken a kick to the face and nearly toppled straight off his chair, didn't even have time to feel the pain; he was just stunned.

Ineffective?!

How could this cat be completely unaffected!!! (To be continued…)

ps: I've returned from my hometown; from now on I'll try to update earlier.