Chapter 430

Jingzhang this guy, after staying long with those two dogs, even the learned dog bark is getting closer to two small dogs; from originally a somewhat adult dog bark it turned into a puppy-like bark, so it's no wonder Zheng Tan just now didn't catch it.

After not seeing each other for over a month, the two little native dogs have grown a lot. The Thousand Li dog's fur has turned less yellow, while the Following Wind dog's markings have become clearer. Jingzhang, still the same as before.

"Obedient, come back!" Old Man Lan shouted from inside the flower arbor.

Old Man Lan still calls the tabby-patterned little native dog Obedient, but for the students who often come to the small flower garden, they prefer to call it Following Wind. The students always gravitate toward the more interesting option, and when they shout 'Following Wind,' Old Man Lan doesn't get angry, letting them shout. With Thousand Li around, everyone thinks of the name Following Wind, and each time the students shout 'Following Wind,' they do so while laughing, with a teasing tone; however, Following Wind, aside from Old Man Lan, doesn't really pay attention to others.

A month ago, the two puppy cubs that Old Man Lan bought back, he himself preferred the little yellow dog Thousand Li, but soon Old Man Lan discovered that, in guarding the house, Obedient still needed to be more alert; Thousand Li almost always followed Obedient's lead—when Obedient barked, it barked too—but whenever someone came, although Thousand Li barked a step later, it rushed to the front.

Obedient looks not very lively, but is the most alert; Thousand Li runs in front, belonging to the enforcer type, relying on brute strength; as for Jingzhang, it's just there to join the fun.

As for the two little dogs, Old Man Lan likes them more and more the more he looks at them. As for the extra one… a cat, forget it, just consider it as raising two and a half dogs.

For Jingzhang's owner to keep such a cat is really a bargain—one cat does the work of two. It can catch mice like a cat, and also serve as a dog for guarding and giving warnings.

After that student opened the gate of the small flower garden, he pushed his cart inside.

When Obedient saw the person coming, it wagged its tail and lay down again, recognizing the person and with Old Man Lan present, it had nothing to do. Thousand Li followed with several barks, seeing that only it was barking, found it boring but didn't lie down again, running back and forth behind Old Man Lan and that student.

"Yo. Hei Tan is back?!" Old Man Lan saw Zheng Tan, his originally smiling old face creasing deeper with laughter, and greeted Zheng Tan to come in.

Zheng Tan also intended to go in to see the changes inside, but suddenly heard someone calling him from behind. He turned his head and saw, at the turn ahead on the road outside the flower garden, Xiong Xiong riding a bicycle, waving at him.

Zheng Tan's first reaction upon seeing Xiong Xiong was—this kid is indeed skipping class again!

Why say 'again'?

Because Zheng Tan, while strolling around school, has run into Xiong Xiong skipping class several times.

Old Man Lan also heard it, went out to look, saw it was Xiong Xiong, and waved at Zheng Tan, saying, 'Go on, go on, now that you're back, come by whenever you have time.'

Zheng Tan walked over, not knowing what Xiong Xiong actually wanted.

Since the small group in Dongqu Dayuan dwindled to just Xiong Xiong alone, he initially felt a bit unadjusted, but over the past three months or so he has adapted quite a bit, after all he's still on familiar turf, just missing a few companions, which makes him a little lonely.

Xiong Xiong pushed his bicycle, greeting Zheng Tan to follow while speaking to him.

Those few who grew up together and have a good relationship with Jiao Yuan also know Zheng Tan somewhat, so when speaking with him they don't treat him like other cats and dogs, but rather more like a person.

Originally, Xiong Xiong took a liking to a freshman girl from the teachers' college; he noticed her in September when he went to the teachers' college with Fu Lei to have fun. Now Xiong Xiong is in the process of pursuing her, and every day at this time he goes to the teachers' college to deliver flowers. The flower shop where Xiong Xiong orders flowers is on a street between Chu Hua Da Xue and the teachers' college; it's said that shop has the best flowers and some local fame, with many students from both schools going there to order flowers.

However, Xiong Xiong heard from his roommate that delivering flowers must be done personally to show sincerity. So Xiong Xiong personally goes to the flower shop each day to pick up the flowers, then personally delivers them to the teachers' college.

Chu Hua Da Xue is not too far from the teachers' college; Zheng Tan once went there with an old man, and on foot he would definitely feel it's far, but by bicycle it's different—you can get there quickly, though there's a stretch under repair, and biking there once leaves you dusty and grimy. To maintain his already not-so-good image, Xiong Xiong each time bikes to the flower shop to pick up flowers, then takes a taxi to the teachers' college.

What troubles Xiong Xiong is that the area around the flower shop has poor security, with frequent thieves and even bike thieves; the week before last he even asked a newsstand owner to help watch his bike, but when he returned he found the bike gone. Unreliable!

Xiong Xiong pushed his bike, walking and complaining to Zheng Tan.

Meanwhile Zheng Tan felt moved, thinking that the rascal who once gave his mother rapeseed flowers on Women's Day now knows how to be romantic.

However, Xiong Xiong's pursuit seems rather difficult, and he still hasn't succeeded. In terms of scheming, Xiong Xiong is the worst among the four companions in the compound.

When Xiong Xiong goes to the teachers' college to pursue a girl, upon hearing he's from Chu Hua Da Xue, others give him a thumbs-up: 'Nice, a talented scholar!'

Unfortunately, Xiong Xiong, upon seeing the girl for the second time, openly admitted the 'moisture' contained in his so-called talented scholar persona. However, in this era, those who can find connections and go through the back door are considered to have cheat codes; others wishing for cheat codes still don't have them.

No matter how the other party views Xiong Xiong, at least not being directly rejected gives him hope, as seen from his earnest efforts. He hasn't dared tell his mother about this yet; he decided to wait until he actually wins her over before reporting to the 'Empress Dowager' to request increased logistical support.

Many parents in the country are quite interesting; before college they always tell their kids not to date early, not to interact with the opposite sex in this or that way, and when they see someone of the opposite sex who has a good relationship with their child, they probe indirectly, hoping to nip this trend in the bud. But once the college entrance exam is over and the child enters university, they start wondering, 'Is there a good opposite-sex acquaintance? When will you bring them home to meet us?' and so on.

Why do many kids strive hard to graduate high school quickly? Because after graduation they can openly pursue girls under imperial decree, and do so openly and aboveboard! Plus they have strong logistical support.

Xiong Xiong's mother knows he spends money without limit, and she tightens his allowance. Now, to chase girls, aside from his basic living expenses, most of Xiong Xiong's money goes to taxis and buying flowers; he just bought a new bicycle, and none of his acquaintances will skip class to help him watch it. Originally Xiong Xiong planned to pay people near the flower shop to keep an eye on it—since money is the basis, they wouldn't be too lax—but when he checked his pockets, he found his funds tight. Happening to see Zheng Tan today, he thus had a brainwave: his usually slow-thinking mind came up with a brilliant idea—let the cat help watch the bike.

The round trip takes just over an hour, conveniently coinciding with mealtime so he can return without delaying Zheng Tan's meal.

Zheng Tan has no objection; anyway, being idle is fine. It's rare to see Xiong Xiong like this, so he'll lend a hand.

"My mother says I lack metal in the Five Elements. Money in hand gets spent within two days. But I don't think so." Xiong Xiong said.

Zheng Tan thought: You're not lacking metal in the Five Elements; you're clearly lacking common sense.

"I think I lack color in the Five Elements; I'm clearly dignified and outstanding. Why is it so hard for girls to take a liking to me?"

Zheng Tan: '……' No matter how you look at it, this person just doesn't match the phrase 'dignified and impressive,' and as for 'outstanding and extraordinary'… Xiong Xiong is exactly 1.8 meters tall and weighs 180 jin. Oh, that was last year's weight; because senior year of high school consumed a lot of energy, his weight dropped slightly, but after senior year his weight shot straight past 190, heading toward 200, and this guy isn't muscular.

Leaving the school gate, passing a dumpling shop, seeing the boss rolling dumpling wrappers, Xiong Xiong pretended to be mature and let out a long sigh: 'Ah, my rolling pin that's gone forever!'

Speaking of the rolling pin, this is a legendary incident in Dongqu Dayuan. Once, an old lady in the compound planned to make dumplings at home but had no rolling pin, so she went out to buy one. On her way back she encountered a thief; upon noticing, she swung the rolling pin from her bag and struck the thief hard. The septuagenarian old lady, unexpectedly strong in a fight, knocked out one of the thief's front teeth. Later the thief was caught by the masses and handed over to the police station, but the story spread among nearby people, becoming more and more fantastical: the old lady wielding the rolling pin and fiercely beating the thief, described as if Sun Wukong were brandishing his golden cudgel to slay demons.

Adults merely exaggerated the tale a bit as a joke, but the children took it seriously, treating the rolling pin as a divine artifact; whoever had a rolling pin in their bag would boast even more than others.

However, Xiong Xiong and his peers have grown up, know more things, and also realize that the story fully employed exaggeration.

Having grown up, they also know many things aren't as they imagined back then, but many people still continue to say and do so, in order to remember their lost childhood—who as a child hasn't done a few silly things?

So later, even if Xiong Xiong no longer took out the rolling pin as a weapon, he kept it stored; one day his mother found it and threw it away, saying, 'You big man, hiding a rolling pin—what are you planning to do with it? Can you help roll dough at home?'

The flower shop is a short distance from the school gate; biking there takes about ten minutes. Xiong Xiong had Zheng Tan squat in the bike basket, but Zheng Tan refused, having sat in vehicles too long lately—a bit of running would be good.

Xiong Xiong slowed his speed, bringing Zheng Tan toward the flower shop.

Upon reaching the flower shop, Xiong Xiong parked his bike at the entrance of a communications service office, where several other bikes were parked.

"All right, leave it here; there aren't many people around." Xiong Xiong said after locking his bike.

Zheng Tan looked around; this row of shops had people coming and going, indeed only this spot had relatively few people. Nearby there is no dedicated parking lot, and nobody is watching the bikes, so it's no wonder Xiong Xiong is troubled.

After Xiong Xiong went into the flower shop to pick up the ordered flowers, he checked the time and hurried off to hail a taxi.

Zheng Tan squatted on the bike seat, watching the taxi carrying Xiong Xiong drive away, thinking: 'Go for it, little Xiong; I can only help you this far.'

Not far from the parking spot there is a bus stop, with some people waiting for the bus.

A young person holding a bun, backpack on back, stood there waiting for the bus, idly looking around; when his gaze swept over to Zheng Tan's side, he paused, then glanced at the road, confirming that no bus he was waiting for was coming, and walked toward Zheng Tan.

After walking up to Zheng Tan, the person took two bites of his bacon bun, then lifted his hand, pinched off a bit of bacon from the bun, and offered it to Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan looked at the bacon held near his nose and ignored it.

"Not eating?"

Seeing Zheng Tan not eat, the person tossed the bacon in his hand into his own mouth, then tore off a bit of the bun and offered it.

Zheng Tan: '……' (to be continued…)

ps: If one day you see a cat squatting on someone else's bike seat in the parking area, don't chase it away—it might be helping to watch the bike. Of course, except when it's sharpening its claws and urinating on the seat.

ps: The preceding sentence is purely fictional; any resemblance is purely coincidental. My family's former fat cat also liked to squat on my dad's motorcycle seat, with no other purpose—it just liked squatting there, probably because it thought the spot was high and soft, and the rubber band on the trunk could be played with by scratching? But every time my father used the vehicle, he had to wipe the seat several times; each morning upon waking he would find many plum-blossom prints on the seat, and the cushion was scratched into fuzz.