Chapter 112: Chapter 111 When you were a child, you ate…
Hearing his mother’s call, Shao Zifeng put aside the urgent thoughts in his heart and obediently carried the little deer into the living room.
Shao Zifeng’s family house, an old-style small building, had four rooms in total, with his mother’s bedroom and the living room on the ground floor, and Shao Zifeng’s bedroom and bathroom upstairs. The kitchen was in a separate bungalow next to the main gate of the courtyard.
Due to the limited number of rooms, the living room also served as the dining room.
Looking at the braised pork ribs and stir-fried vegetables on the small table, Shao Zifeng, who had exhausted a lot of energy in training, felt his appetite surge.
“Eat slowly, there’s more in the pot.” His mother took the little deer into her arms and watched her son wolf down his food with a tender smile.
It had been a long ti, and she couldn’t clearly rember when her son had started to beco so reserved in front of her. It seed like an invisible barrier had ford between them; they were aware of each other’s presence, yet ignorant of each other’s thoughts.
...
She didn’t know what Shao Zifeng had been through recently, but his changes filled her heart with gratification.
“Mom, you eat too,” Shao Zifeng said, noticing that Shao Yuying hadn’t started eating and served her a piece of rib in her bowl.
Turning his head and seeing Qiqi’s dissatisfied expression, he also served it a piece.
“Okay,” Shao Yuying had just picked up her chopsticks when a knocking sound ca from the door.
“Yuying, are you ho?”
A woman’s voice ca from outside, sounding like she was in her thirties or forties.
Shao Yuying put down her chopsticks, placed the little deer on the floor, gave Shao Zifeng an apologetic smile, replied, and then hurriedly got up to open the door.
“Yuying, I hope I’m not disturbing you. About what I ntioned last ti…”
“Hi, just co in. Why did you bring sothing…”
Listening to the vague conversation near him, Shao Zifeng stopped the little deer from following and also stepped out of the living room.
He saw a middle-aged woman clad in a reddish-brown woolen short coat, around forty years old, holding several boxes of yogurt biscuits, talking to his mother.
The woman, seeing Shao Zifeng hesitated, said, “This must be Zifeng, right? You’ve grown up so much. I’m your Aunt Hong i. I held you when you were a little child. Do you rember?”
Shao Zifeng looked her over carefully, a bit confused; he indeed wasn’t very good at rembering people.
Truly…
He had no recollection at all.
His face carried an awkward yet polite smile as he greeted her.
“Oh, you’re embarrassed! When you were little, you’d lie naked on my lap to eat…” She looked at Shao Zifeng’s mother and flashed a knowing smile typical of adult won.
That made Shao Zifeng even more embarrassed.
Seeing her son’s embarrassed expression, Shao Yuying hurriedly said, “Hong i, why the sudden decision to keep cats and dogs? I thought you were joking when you ntioned it last ti.”
Hong i’s smile faded and she spoke earnestly, “Yuying, you know how busy I am with work. I barely have ti for my kids, let alone to care for pets. It’s just that…” She lowered her voice, “You know, soone died in our area recently, and things have felt unclean. I’ve been working overti and can’t look after the kids, so I thought about getting them so company.”
“Oh, who died…”
Watching the two middle-aged won gossiping about family matters, Shao Zifeng roughly understood the woman’s intention.
They were getting more excited as they talked, and if they continued, the food was going to get cold.
Shao Zifeng stepped forward a few steps to intercept the two individuals, “Auntie Hong i, I don’t know what kind of pet you want to adopt, but I’ve learned so identification skills at school, which might be of help to you.”
The woman’s eyes lit up, and she hastily responded, “How could I forget about the college student? I am indeed worried about this, it would be great if you, little Zifeng, could help make a choice.”
Upon hearing this, Shao’s mother gently patted the back of Shao Zifeng’s hand. In her view, it was better to let others make their own choices—to avoid offending anyone, regardless of whether they chose well or poorly.
As a single mother, she was accustod to being cautious and did not want her son to stand out too much for fear of offending people by making a poor choice.
When Zifeng was younger, his mother would often teach him the saying, “Endure montarily for calm seas and wide-open skies.” Although she didn’t always practice what she preached, and would be the first to stand up if her son was bullied.
Shao Zifeng gave his mother a reassuring smile. He didn’t have any intention of showing off; he just wanted to quickly make a selection and have her leave.
Approaching the cage, Shao Zifeng feigned interest in each one before pointing to a kitten he had previously identified and saying, “Auntie Hong i, choose this one. Look, its cage is much cleaner than the others. If I’m not mistaken, it should be a family pet.”
The kitten Shao Zifeng referred to was actually a mixed breed with the “Clean” trait. Since it would inevitably be adopted sooner or later, rather than having it picked up by soone who was clueless, he might as well speak up and also earn his mother a favor.
After all, there was also the favor of snuggling up in soone’s lap and eating…well, that had to be repaid.
“A family pet.” Hong i’s eyes imdiately shone brightly; not everyone had the chance to own a family pet.
Generally, only middle-inco families could afford to purchase their desired family pet from a formal pet store.
For families in their famously impoverished county, whether or not they could get one depended purely on luck.
Shao’s mother opened her mouth to speak, but upon seeing Shao Zifeng’s confident expression, she ultimately said nothing.
The child had grown up, and it was ti to let go.
Thinking thus, Shao Yuying suddenly felt a significant weight lifted off her shoulders.
After sending Hong i away, Shao Zifeng looked at the few pink bills in his hand, unsure of what to say.
These old neighbors were indeed simple-hearted, believing every word he said, though of course, Shao Zifeng knew that his mother, Yuying, was also a reason, and besides, he hadn’t lied to them.
“Don’t just stand there like a fool; put the money away and let’s go eat,” his mother said with a smile, clearly delighted after Hong i had heartily praised her son before leaving.
“Heh, Mom, do people co to adopt pets here often?” Shao Zifeng asked, carrying his mother’s case, grinning from ear to ear.
“Yes, mostly neighbors and the parents of children who have applied to study in Combat Training, hoping to try their luck. Whether they can pick a mutant creature is up to them, and your mom doesn’t like to show off like you.” Shao Yuying gave Shao Zifeng an affectionate look, habitually preaching.
“I wasn’t showing off; I really can identify them,” he protested gently.
“Alright, alright, my son is the best,” his mother dismissed, not taking his claim seriously, treating it like a childish boast.
Without expecting his mother to believe him, Shao Zifeng glanced at the Shandong Sighthound and Yellow Raccoon, contemplating how to convince his mother to keep them for him to raise.
Even though non-Combat Training Masters couldn’t carry aggressive mutant creatures, as long as the Shandong Sighthound didn’t evolve and cause any incidents outside, the Dragon City Unusual Managent wouldn’t bother to check.
Moreover, having the Shandong Sighthound around would make him feel more at ease when he wasn’t ho.
He wondered if there were any pet supply stores or underground platforms in Dragon City.
If there were, he could buy so dark attribute energy potions for the Shandong Sighthound to help it strengthen more quickly.
After much thought, he decided to send a ssage later to Luo Feng about the underground platform in Dragon City, especially since he was interested in the gossip Hong i had ntioned; there might be so interesting missions.
He was used to fights wherever he went, and now that he had so downti, he felt a bit out of sorts. Moreover, it had been a long ti since he had taken on any missions; it might be good practice.
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