The Blind Old Woman lived alone; her children rarely visited except around the Lunar New Year. If they did come, it was always for some reason—either her granddaughter wanted to buy a piano, or her car had broken down and she didn't have money to fix it. They wouldn't stop until they'd taken every last penny the Blind Old Woman earned from collecting scraps.
At the end of the year, we can have a family reunion dinner. The daughter-in-law cooks, the daughter washes the dishes, and the grandchildren gather around, making it a truly joyful occasion. The Blind Old Woman saves every penny, spending all her savings for this day to buy some good dishes, some pastries, and give her grandchildren a big red envelope.
Although she knew they all coveted her house, and that without it, they might not have come back for the New Year, she was still happy. She willingly went out to collect recyclables every day, saving money to wait for this day every year.
The Blind Old Woman also used to have a cat. After her children moved out, she and the cat lived together, relying on each other for survival.
She collects recyclables Tiantian, and her cat guards the house while she goes out. Over the years, her house has been littered with garbage, but she has never had a rat infestation.
Although the Blind Old Woman was old, she had a very good memory. She knew exactly how many bottles and how many pounds of cardboard she had collected that day. Sometimes, after a night's rest, there would be a few more empty bottles on the ground, Blind Old Woman knew that the cat had brought them there.
The cat doesn't ask for good food; it eats whatever the Blind Old Woman eats. If you mix some fish soup, vegetable soup, or rice into it, it eats it with relish.
When cats get old, they stop running around and just lie quietly every day.
Her son suddenly came back a while ago. Usually, her children never visit during September or October, because that's usually when the Blind Old Woman is at her poorest, having spent all her money on her grandchildren's summer vacation. Even if she has some left over, she saves it for the New Year. It's really strange that her son came to visit at this time.
The Blind Old Woman asked, "What's wrong? Did you lose money gambling and your wife won't let you in?" She knew her son was a gambler, just like her deceased husband; she couldn't control him, and scolding him wouldn't work.
The son said, "No."
The Blind Old Woman asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"
The son asked, "Where's the cat?"
The Blind Old Woman said, "The cat is bothering you, why are you looking for it?"
The son said, "Call the cat over and tell me to take it away."
The Blind Old Woman was displeased. "None of you are human beings! I rely on this for company. If you take it away, how will I live?"
The son left dejectedly.
My daughter arrived the next day.
The daughter asked, "Mom, where's the cat?"
The Blind Old Woman sensed something was wrong and asked, "Why are you looking for the cat?"
The daughter said, " Lili wants a cat, so take your cat to her."
Lili is her daughter's daughter, Blind Old Woman's niece. If her niece really liked cats, she would be willing to give them to her, but she knew Lili didn't like cats and would avoid them every New Year because she thought they were dirty.
The Blind Old Woman said, "This cat is old and has trouble walking. Why don't you buy Lili a kitten? It won't cost much."
The daughter left dejectedly.
The Blind Old Woman didn't know about the Cat-Killing Order back then. Her old neighborhood was full of elderly people, and they were much behind on the news compared to other places. Later, things started to get out of hand in the neighborhood. People were killing cats Tiantian, and people were crying Tiantian. She witnessed stray cats gathered around the trash cans being lured and killed one by one with food and nets, and people were even filming it.
An old neighbor advised her to kill the cat, since it was old and would die soon anyway, and killing a cat could earn her a thousand yuan. She didn't understand why she had to kill it to get money; cat meat didn't even taste good, did it?
The Blind Old Woman treated the cat as a friend, so of course she couldn't bear to kill it. She kept the cat at home and wouldn't let it go outside. The cat howled all day long and couldn't sleep peacefully, just like a person having a nightmare.
Finally, one day, the crowd came to her door, saying that the cat was poisonous and demanding that she hand it over. The Blind Old Woman had raised cats for half her life and couldn't understand how a cat could be poisonous. She refused, and the people tried to rush in to grab the cat.
At this moment, her son and daughter arrived and stood by the old lady, arguing with the neighbors. They said the cat was their own cat, and if anyone was to kill it, it should be done by a family member, not an outsider. So the neighbors dispersed.
The Blind Old Woman thought to herself, "They're my own children after all; they've come to my aid in this crucial moment." But she never expected that as soon as the strangers left, her son and daughter would start arguing again about who should kill the cat, and the argument was even more intense than when they had argued with the strangers.
The cat hid in the old woman's arms, its eyes wide with terror, trembling. The Blind Old Woman said, "If you're going to kill, kill me too."
Her daughter tried to dissuade her, saying, "Mom, are you really that serious? Give me the cat, and I'll buy you a dog."
The son seized the opportunity, snatched the cat, and ran away. The daughter shouted and chased after her brother. The Blind Old Woman fainted from anger and lay on the cold ground all night. When she woke up, she was cold and hungry. Seeing the half-bowl of cat food left by the wall, she cried and stuffed it into her mouth bite by bite.
The rain poured down relentlessly, showing no sign of stopping. The Blind Old Woman carried the snakeskin bag on her back, walking step by step towards home. She knew that the little creature inside needed food and fire most of all. Perhaps it could survive! she thought.
A crow cawed loudly behind her. The Blind Old Woman was startled and nearly fell.
A bolt of lightning cleaved the dark night. The Blind Old Woman turned around and saw a large Crow fly up from the trash can, rush into the downpour, Guagua away.
The lightning stopped, and the night fell into deep darkness once more.
The Ruhua Bar in Liuying Lane is still open. Its two-story storefront with three large rooms is much more spacious than the small bar it used to be, but today's heavy rain makes business seem a bit slow.
Mo Yu was on stage, holding a guitar and singing a soothing serenade, while Xiao Qi sat at the bar, chatting with regular customers.
Bi Shenghua handed over the shop's affairs to Xiao Qi and Mo Yu, only filling in for them on weekends or when things were particularly busy, effectively adopting the demeanor of a true boss lady. However, she was still the face of Ruhua Bar. Many people missed the drinks that Young Master Hua from Liuying Lane used to mix, and came specifically to have a taste and catch a glimpse of the heroic figure of a woman who could chase thugs to the police station with a knife. Therefore, business was particularly good when she was there.
It was raining heavily today, and there were few guests, Bi Shenghua went upstairs to help Qingmu tidy up his room. This strange place where the oddball lived would become incredibly messy if you didn't clean it for even a day. But what Bi Shenghua couldn't understand was that Qingmu's room was always spotless, even if she didn't clean it for a month, not a speck of dust could be found even with a feather duster.
Qingmu stood at the window, a cigarette dangling from his lips, watching the heavy rain outside and letting the raindrops drift in and fall gently on him.
"Turn it off, look how damp your cigarette is!"
Just as Bi Shenghua was about to close the window, a dark shadow flew in like lightning, landed on the shelf, Guagua its body, and croaked twice.
"Oh, you're finally back!" Bi Shenghua to get the hairdryer and said while drying Crow's hair, "I thought you'd died out there!"
"I mobilized all the brothers in the city to search for it. Today we got word that it was hiding in the reeds by the outer city river. I thought it was making a living by fishing! But then they said it went to rummage through the nearby garbage cans to eat tonight. What a pitiful creature! I went and searched all over, but I didn't find it. The rain was too heavy. I'll go check again tomorrow."
The Crow waited for its feathers to dry, then comfortably sprawled out on the sofa. "Hey, where's my pork knuckle?"
Bi Shenghua brought over the food box she had prepared beforehand. "All you ever do is eat! I'll eat you to death!"