Chapter 65

Making phone calls every day was Zheng Tan's decision after he realized he couldn't return to Chu Hua Shi in a short time.

Moreover, every time he made a phone call, Zheng Tan timed it so that the two kids should have just gotten home from school, and then he would listen to Xiao Youzi and Jiao Yuan complain a bit about their day at school.

Although there wasn't much substantive content, after hanging up Zheng Tan's mood would inexplicably improve; while listening on the phone, even if he couldn't speak himself, hearing the other side's voice made him feel relieved, and he would slowly sway the tip of his tail.

After hanging up, Zheng Tan tossed the nearly dead phone into his big bag. At that moment, Fang Shaokang also reeled in his line, and he had the driver help take the fish to the farmer for processing.

Bored and idle, Zheng Tan noticed a small plant nearby and lifted his paw to play with its leaves. He often saw this plant; it grew almost everywhere, with virtually no geographic restrictions.

「Playing with plantain? 」 Fang Shaokang held a bun in one hand, nibbling as he walked over. Fishing had made him hungry, and dinner wouldn't be ready anytime soon, so he simply asked the household where he was lodging for a few buns to fill his stomach first.

He pushed the bun, which he had taken a bite of, toward Zheng Tan and Fang Shaokang said, 'Want some?'

Zheng Tan glanced at the notch in the bun, turned his head, and looked rather disgusted.

"Oh, I recall Associate Professor Jiao saying you don't eat anything others have bitten, so fine—I'll bite off the part I've already bitten," said Fang Shaokang as he took a few more bites from the notch, then held it out to Zheng Tan again, asking, 'Want some?'

Zheng Tan: '……' Are you insulting my intelligence, you damn bastard?!

"Forget it, then; this bun is pretty tasty, made with good pork—I can tell." Fang Shaokang finished the bun in a few bites, then crouched down to look at the grass in front of Zheng Tan.

"Do you know why this grass is called plantain?" Fang Shaokang asked.

Zheng Tan's paw paused mid-stroke on the grass leaves; he really didn't know. Perhaps because it's too ordinary, too common, so he never paid attention.

In ancient times, no matter whether the vehicles on the road were government carriages, private carts, ox carts, horse carts, rickshaws, wedding carriages, punishment carts, or war chariots, this kind of grass always grew beside the path they traveled. But why must it be called 'plantain' rather than 'rear-of-vehicle grass' or 'beside-the-vehicle grass'?, that brings us to a story.

During the Han dynasty there was a famous general named Ma Wu, who suffered a defeat. Just then a drought struck, the crops all died, and the troops retreated to a desolate wilderness where no one lived; many men and horses died of thirst, and most of the survivors fell ill, passing blood in their urine. Later a horse handler discovered that several horses had stopped passing blood and were full of vigor, no longer listless. Upon observation he found those horses were eating a certain wild grass; he tried it himself, and his condition improved greatly.

Ma Wu asked him, 'Where did you find this grass?' The carter replied, 'Right in front of the horse cart.' Ma Wu laughed heartily and said, 'What a fine plantain!'

Zheng Tan listened to Fang Shaokang's tale of plantain, and lifted his paw to ruffle the grass with its wrinkled leaves; he really hadn't imagined this grass could have such a story, nor its medicinal value. However, hearing Fang Shaokang's narration, one could tell this person had quite an affection for plantain.

After finishing the story of Ma Wu and plantain, Fang Shaokang gazed into the distance. Behind the earthen-brick courtyard wall overgrown with grass and vines at the pond's edge, a few wisps of cooking smoke rose, exuding the distinctive oily aroma of a farmhouse.

"My grandfather said he's like this grass—common and cheap, found everywhere, content with whatever comes, yet at the right moment he can shine forth so brightly that no one can forget him. Hey, speaking of which, when I was a kid I got mumps and was cured with this grass; before then I never imagined that the grass I trampled underfoot every day could become my own effective remedy."

The driver who had come out of the farmer's house watched Fang Shaokang crouch beside that cat, muttering to himself, and suddenly understood why the other members of the Fang family always wore an expression of helplessness when they mentioned Fang Shaokang.

Sometimes Fang Shaokang seems like a lunatic, unreliable, yet at crucial moments he is sharp enough—otherwise he could never have served as chairman of the Shaoguang Group.

Everyone in the Fang family knows that whenever Fang Shaokang encounters a low point in his career or faces difficulty making important decisions about the group's development plans, he disappears for a while, claiming to be on a business trip, but in fact he goes off traveling alone or simply wandering about; and each time Fang Shaokang returns, the Shaoguang Group experiences a great leap forward.

The driver shook his head—a mindset beyond ordinary comprehension.

After finishing his words, Fang Shaokang got up, stretched his legs, then walked toward the farmer's house, humming a little tune: 'Walking along the country lane~ the old cow returning at dusk is my companion~~'

Zheng Tan stretched, watching the sky gradually darken, and headed back.

Two days later, Fang Shaokang finally decided to leave; when departing he also bought some local specialties, especially the buns made by that farming family, which he liked very much, and he also took some for them to eat on the way.

Finally about to set off, Zheng Tan had barely slept the previous night, nor during the day, mainly because he was too excited.

From here to Chu Hua Shi, taking the expressway it's a little over three hours' drive; leave in the morning and you'll arrive at Chu Hua Shi around noon, just in time for lunch.

Chu Hua Shi is, after all, a big city; even if you reach the urban area at noon, getting to Chu Hua Da Xue still takes another forty minutes or so—assuming no traffic, otherwise it would be longer—so after arriving at noon, they first found a place to have lunch.

While they were eating, Fang Shaokang stepped away for a moment; when he reappeared he was dressed in professional attire, leather shoes, his hair neatly combed, and his whole demeanor had changed—he now had a sharp, capable air, like a boss, quite pretentious.

No one knew where that big backpack had gone; Fang Shaokang had swapped his phone for a new color-screen model, and the old one had disappeared somewhere. The driver knew that whenever Fang Shaokang next felt an impulse to head out, that set of gear he had packed away would surely be brought out again.

On the way to Chu Hua Da Xue, Zheng Tan listened as Fang Shaokang chatted on his phone with several bosses in Chu Hua Shi, and he also thought of the guy who played guitar and sang 'Walking the Four Directions' in the square—indeed, a person makes the clothes, and indeed he was quite remarkable!

As they passed through an intersection, they happened to hit a red light, and the vehicle stopped before the crosswalk. Zheng Tan stood up, poked his head out to look sideways, and a silver-gray private car slowly approached.

Zheng Tan gazed at it, wondering why it felt so familiar.

When that silver-gray car pulled up beside their off-road vehicle and stopped for the red light, Zheng Tan saw the person in the driver's seat, and at the same moment, as if sensing something, that person turned his head to look over.

Human eyes met cat eyes.

Holy shit! I was wondering why it looked so familiar—turns out it's that little brat!

Zheng Tan clenched his claws and darted from the back seat to the front passenger seat.

On the front passenger seat sat a box of local specialties; Zheng Tan stood on it, narrowed his eyes, and gazed at the person on the other side through the two layers of car windows.

The person in the silver-gray car was indeed Ren Chong, but Professor Ren Chong was no longer the gentlemanly poseur he once was; his face showed fatigue, bitterness, and resentment—anyone who had been forcibly dismissed would look like that, let alone someone like Ren Chong who always considered himself superior and was an overseas-returned elite.

Leaving aside whether he still has any self-respect, given Ren Chong's unwillingness to lose and his ruthless, ends-justify-the-means temperament, how could he possibly stay calm after being forced into this state? How could he not hate? Gritting his teeth, his intense hatred twisted his features as he pondered how to strike back; turning his head, he saw the black cat outside the car window.

Now Ren Chong felt as if he'd been tossed into a liquid nitrogen tank, ready to shatter at the slightest knock.

Hatred was replaced by fear.

The cat in the neighboring car, Ren Chong was certain, was the very one belonging to Associate Professor Jiao; although many black cats look alike, that squinting gaze left no doubt it was that cat.

But wasn't this cat seized by that cat dealer and disposed of? Why is it appearing here again? Why has it shown up once more?

Ren Chong couldn't understand it, and refused to believe it.

Zheng Tan stared at Ren Chong, knowing full well that his capture was this person's doing—the very one who had nearly turned him into hot pot! Even though Father Jiao and the others never said it outright, Zheng Tan had figured it out for himself.

If he weren't confined inside the vehicle, with Ren Chong's windows also shut and two layers of glass between them, Zheng Tan would surely have leapt over to beat that bastard hypocrite to death!

Damn it, what did my cat-self ever do to you that you'd hire a professional cat-napper to grab me, even using a tranquilizer gun—if it weren't for my special constitution I'd probably have been knocked out cold! And that street down south lined with cat-meat eateries is practically a blight on my body and mind!

Zheng Tan glared at Ren Chong across from him, killing intent radiating, and lifted his claw to slash at the air beside his neck.

Ren Chong's face instantly turned deathly pale.

What cat could possibly make such a murderous, threatening move?

Ren Chong had never seen anything like it before; even when he'd previously hired people to deal with cats, it had been mere speculation. But now he truly sensed this cat's oddity, and his mind kept replaying the black cat's actions—every detail magnified, the killer gaze, the sharp claws, that empty slash… it felt as if the slash had been made on his own throat, sending a chill through him.

Ren Chong shivered.

Just then the light turned green, and the off-road vehicle started moving.

But Ren Chong's car remained where it was, while the vehicles behind began honking to urge him on; he was oblivious, his back soaked in cold sweat—the past few days' events had already drained him, and he often had nightmares at night, all about that black cat, each time waking he could reassure himself that the cat had been dealt with and there was nothing to worry about.

But he never expected to run into that cat here…

Bang bang bang!

The knocking on the car window brought Ren Chong's thoughts back.

"Hey, you damn idiot, drive already—what are you just sitting here for? No brains?! Another red light, damn it!" a motorist, taking advantage of the red light, got out of his car and knocked on the window, shouting.

When the green light lit up again, Ren Chong was still somewhat out of it; he should have turned left, but he kept going straight, and when he finally reacted, he made a hurried sharp turn, losing control, and directly crashed into the streetlamp by the roadside.

Bang!