The cat came.
When Qingmu returned to Liuying Lane, he didn't go directly to the community's studio. Instead, he went to Ruhua Bar. First, he wanted to check on the progress of the bar's renovation, since he was, after all, the big boss of the bar. Second, he wanted to ask Bi Shenghua if she still had any braised pork hock. If she did, he would take it to Crow; if not, he would have to buy something from the restaurant next door.
The renovation workers now know that this cool young man is the big boss here, and they all greet Qingmu warmly when they see him.
"The boss is here!"
"Hello, boss!"
Qingmu nodded in response.
The workers thought the boss was easy to talk to, so they started joking around:
"Boss, it's so hot, can't you give us some money for cold drinks?"
"Buying a few cases of beer would be fine too!"
Suddenly, a loud shout rang out, "Two more roast ducks and three pounds of duck necks, please! Didn't we pay you? And now you're charging for cold drinks! All those plum juices and popsicles were fed to the dogs!"
The renovation workers fell silent at the sound of the noise and began working diligently.
Qingmu saw Bi Shenghua carrying two large buckets in, sweating profusely. He put them on the ground and called out, "Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready!"
The workers came over with smiles to collect their boxed lunches, and one of them joked, "The boss's back, time for a good meal!"
After so many days, they had become quite familiar with the landlady's temperament. They knew she had a sharp tongue but a kind heart; she could be fierce when scolding, but she would always pay them when it was time to pay and provide extra meals when it was time to provide them, never shortchanging them in any way. Seeing Qingmu return, they knew the landlady was in a good mood, so they started joking around.
"Yes, ma'am, it's time for a change. Look, the boss is back. If you keep trying to take advantage of us, we won't dare!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
"Eat your mother's head! If you want tofu, go home and ask your wife to make it!" Bi Shenghua saw Qingmu chuckling there and got angry. She stood with her hands on her hips, looking at him helplessly.
Qingmu turned Bi Shenghua by the shoulder and pushed her to the air conditioner, letting the cool breeze blow on her, saying, "Look at you, all sweaty! Can't you ask someone to help you carry all this food? A girl shouldn't look like she's eaten spinach Tiantian."
The workers jeered, "Hey, the boss really knows how to care for people!"
Bi Shenghua her eyes at Qingmu: "You have it easy! You're a hands-off boss, not having to worry about anything, just walking your birds Tiantian. Now, having Crow isn't enough, you want to get a cat too?"
Qingmu was taken aback. "When did I get a cat?"
Bi Shenghua went to the back and brought out a cardboard box. The box was open, and inside lay a skinny little orange cat, its head raised, looking at them pitifully.
Qingmu slapped his forehead, then remembered that because Shi Dazhuang lived alone, when he handed the cat over to the courier in Spring City, in case his schedule changed, the cat arrived before he did, so he wrote down the address of Ruhua Bar in Liuying Lane, and the recipient was Bi Shenghua. Qingmu forgot to call Bi Shenghua at the time, and after returning, he completely forgot about it.
Bi Shenghua shook her head. Fortunately, she understood Qingmu's temperament and never had any hope for his memory. She knew that he might have forgotten, otherwise she might have really sent the cat to a stray animal shelter.
The workers laughed and said, "The boss likes keeping cats, which is better than keeping a mistress! Don't you think so, boss's wife?"
Bi Shenghua said, "What does it have to do with me that he keeps a mistress!"
The worker said, "Boss lady, it's easy for you to say that when you're not in the situation. Our boss is an honest man. Any other man would have been keeping a mistress by now, he wouldn't have time to keep a cat!"
"Tch! You think he's that honest?" Bi Shenghua picked up the cat from the box and shoved it at Qingmu. "There's a line of women who like him!"
Qingmu didn't bring the braised pork knuckle, but instead brought a cat, which infuriated the Boss Coal, who jumped up and down in anger. "Cats! I hate cats!"
The little orange cat was filled with curiosity about the Crow that was Guagua on the table. It jumped down from Qingmu's arms and tried to scratch the Crow's feathers with its paws.
The Boss Coal was startled, spread his wings and flew up with a whoosh, shouting, "Don't touch my feathers!"
The kitten seemed startled too, meowing softly as it lay down on the table, staring pitifully at the Crow that had flown to the windowsill with its round eyes. Perhaps because the cat was so thin, its eyes looked exceptionally large, almost taking up half of its face.
"Oh! This cat seems..." The Boss Coal sensed something from the cat's meow, "... it seems... it won't live much longer?"
Qingmu nodded and said, "Then you should be nicer to them."
The Boss Coal said, "Fine, fine, tell it we'll keep to ourselves."
Qingmu said, "Then I'll go buy you some food. You take good care of it."
"Quack! What?" The Boss Coal exclaimed anxiously, "You want me to stay in the room alone with this thing? Oh, no, no, no! You can't do that! You should take me out for a flight instead."
Qingmu said, "Now is not the time."
The Crow said, "Then... then take it outside! It's a cat, and cats can't stay at home. Look how thin it is, and its skin is so yellow. It needs... emmmm... the Sun! Yes, it needs to Sun!"
" The Sun has already set." Qingmu shook his head, walked out, and closed the door behind him.
Guagua...
Plop plop...
Meow...
The mournful cries of birds, the sound of wings flapping in the air, and the weak, pitiful meows of a cat all rang out simultaneously from behind the door.
When Qingmu returned, he found the house in a mess, covered with bird and cat claw marks. Two bird feathers lay on the floor, Crow stood dejectedly on the table, and the little orange cat circled around him, occasionally rubbing its face against his feathers and meowing.
"I hate cats," the Boss Coal said listlessly as he saw Qingmu enter.
Qingmu put the cat on the ground, found a bowl, poured in the cat food he had just bought, and moved it in front of the cat.
The cat was clearly hungry; it sniffed the food and then started munching away.
"Quack, where's mine?" the Boss Coal cried out in dissatisfaction.
"How could I forget you?" Qingmu opened the takeout box, which contained four side dishes, a box of rice, and a fruit platter.
"Wow!" The Crow looked at the food, seemed quite satisfied, and first took a couple of sips from its special water cup to moisten its throat. Then, as it was about to eat, it glanced at the cat on the ground and said to Qingmu, "You should give it a bowl of water."
"You're right." Qingmu had no experience raising cats, but he thought what Crow said made sense. So he went to look for a bowl, but after searching for a long time, he couldn't find it. When he came back, he found that the cat was already on the table, and it was licking the water in Crow's special cup with its tongue.
The Boss Coal and Qingmu stared at each other, wide-eyed.
Qingmu simply put the water cup and the cat on the ground together, and said apologetically to the Boss Coal, "I'll get you a new cup tomorrow."
During the meal, the Boss Coal asked Qingmu what other delicacies Southern Yunnan had besides rice and books. Qingmu couldn't remember the names of those dishes, so he could only describe their appearance and taste, which made Crow's mouth water.
The little orange cat was happily eating its cat food on the floor at first, but after a while, it noticed that Qingmu and Crow were eating on the table. So it jumped up and lay on the edge of the table, staring at them with its big eyes.
After watching for a while, it stuck out its tongue, licked its lips, and meowed.
The Crow immediately became alert, spreading half of its wing to cover the cat's face and protect the food on the table. It said to Qingmu, "It's not trying to steal my food, is it?"