??Chapter 210: Chapter 208 The Fate of Big and Little Rice
Chapter 210: Chapter 208 The Fate of Big and Little Rice
Fang Shaokang had taken a rare break today to co and check on the kittens. He had actually heard about Ermao’s cat giving birth a month ago. Wang Bin, Ermao’s brother, ntioned it in passing during a chat with Fang Shaokang, but at that ti, Fang Shaokang didn’t take much notice. It was only after getting a call from his ho in Beijing that Fang Shaokang learned his daughter had always wanted to keep a cat, but hadn’t found the right one yet.
What makes a cat “right”?
The family didn’t understand what exactly Fang ngng was looking for in a cat. After all, to many people, a cat is just a cat, and those who are well-off and of status tend to prefer rare breeds when it cos to keeping pets. However, Fang ngng never liked any of them. The family thought the child was just whimsically interested in keeping a cat and beca indecisive when it actually ca to choosing one.
Knowing this, Mr. Fang, who was always busy with his career and didn’t spend much ti with his wife and child, felt a sense of guilt and made a spontaneous decision to co and have a look.
Zheng Tan watched as Fang Shaokang took out an instrunt about ten centiters tall with a cara on the front from the bag he carried. After adjusting it for a while, Fang Shaokang set the instrunt aside and started playing with two kittens with so cat toys handed over by Ermao.
However, what interested Fang Shaokang was that when he played with the two kittens, they went from being initially cautious to slowly coming out of their nest and approaching him, and then they half-heartedly moved their paws a couple of tis before squatting a step away from Fang Shaokang and stopping there.
Yet, as soon as Ermao ca with the sa cat toy, the two kittens would bounce and jump around as if possessed, playing very excitedly. They were still wary of Fang Shaokang, the stranger.
“They really pick and choose who to play with, huh?” Fang Shaokang wasn’t annoyed, pulled up a stool to sit down, and watched Ermao play with the cats while he closely observed the two kittens.
Zheng Tan squatted down and watched too, not expecting the two kittens to be quite individualistic. It made sense; inheriting the “Lord’s” special genes, they wouldn’t be the kind of cats that only grow in size but not in intelligence and should be smarter than the average cat.
When it was ti for lunch, Zheng Tan picked up Little Youzi and went to eat at Jiao Wei’s restaurant. When he returned, he found Fang Shaokang still there. He didn’t know if Fang Shaokang had decided on which one to take, or if he was prepared to take both.
Out of curiosity, Zheng Tan pushed open the half-closed door and walked in.
In the living room, Fang Shaokang was fiddling with the little machine, then chose a spot to adjust the angle and pointed the cara towards the two kittens. At the sa ti, he was talking to soone on the phone.
“All set, can you see them now?… Alright, then take a good look and decide which one you want, Daddy will bring it ho for you this weekend… No, taking both won’t do, they’ll fight if they’re together. Ever heard of the saying ‘a hill cannot hold two tigers’?… Hey, that’s other people’s situation, your brother Ermao’s case here is special. You see how these two are different from other cats, right?”
Fang Shaokang was just rambling on, and Zheng Tan didn’t think he knew what made these two cats different; he probably was trying to talk Fang ngng out of the idea of keeping two cats.
Ermao was trying hard to amuse the two cats, and from Beijing, student Fang ngng was closely observing the two kittens through the video transmission before deciding which one to keep.
So people believe that keeping a cat is a matter of fate, and maybe Fang ngng was one of them. She had liked these two kittens at first sight, even though it was just a video image, but the feeling was different. She had seen several cats in the past few days, but none compared to these two, or she wouldn’t have proposed the idea of keeping both.
Fang Shaokang was pleased to hear his daughter’s liking; as a father, he had found another way to please his daughter. However, he only wanted to take one, knowing from the temperant of these two that one was trouble enough, let alone two.
It’s a joke to say kids can take care of a cat, but if Fang ngng can’t manage, there are others to help. Pleasing his daughter was one thing, but Fang Shaokang’s main goal was to cultivate Fang ngng’s sense of responsibility. He didn’t have high expectations for Da Mi; after all, cats like the Black Cat beside him were a minority, and even relatively smart ones were not nurous.
“So, have you decided? Which one do you want?” Fang Shaokang asked.
“Umm…” Fang ngng still couldn’t make up her mind. She thought both were good.
To help Fang ngng observe the two cats better, Fang Shaokang even maneuvered the little machine closer to the kittens’ nest to see how they would react.
After waiting for half an hour and still unable to make a decision, Fang Shaokang thought for a mont and asked, “Ermao, these two cats are one male and one female, right?”
“Right, Da Mi is female, and Xiao Mi is male,” Ermao answered. It didn’t matter to him which one Mr. Fang took.
“Ah? I see,” Fang ngng seed to realize sothing and said, “I want a little female cat!”
“A little female cat? Then choose Da Mi.”
“Which one is Da Mi?” Fang ngng asked.
“That one, the calico.” Ermao pointed to Da Mi, who was playing with a plush toy.
“A calico? Just like Dad with the ‘San,’ perfect, then let’s choose Da Mi,” Fang ngng still regretted that Xiao Mi was male; otherwise, she would have tried harder to persuade her dad to get both.
After making a decision, Fang ngng was urged by her mother to take a nap and reluctantly left the video call.
Fang Shaokang took out a pet carrier and asked Ermao, “If I just grab it like this, will it bite ? Even if it doesn’t bite, it’ll scratch, won’t it?”
“No worries, they’re just kittens, not that strong,” Ermao casually assured.
Fang Shaokang looked at the couch in the living room that had been scratched so much it was “hairy”, and Ermao fell silent. These two kittens were really sothing else; they were far more troubleso than the usual ones.
Ermao had realized, ever since these two kittens could climb and walk, that they hadn’t inherited much of Heimi’s temperant. He figured they were probably more like their father, and would be difficult to deal with when they grew up.
Fang Shaokang stayed a while longer at Ermao’s, thinking he should spend so more ti with Da Mi, so the kitten would start recognizing people better.
“After being taken away, it will probably fuss for a while, right?” Fang Shaokang said.
“All kittens are like that; they’ll settle down after a few days.”
Although he said this, Ermao still felt reluctant to put Da Mi into the pet bag. After all, he had been preparing for its arrival even before it was born, and watched it grow up. It was impossible not to feel sowhat emotional.
After Da Mi was taken away by Fang Shaokang, Xiao Mi looked around and owed for a while. Ermao felt so conflicted, wondering if he should have kept Da Mi after seeing Xiao Mi like this. His heart felt heavy.
But then, after lunch…
When Ermao went to the bathroom to pee, he found that Da Mi’s nest had been dragged to the side of the couch at so point, with marks of biting and scratching on it. They usually didn’t bite their own nest. Looking at Xiao Mi, the little guy was lying there asleep in the nest. Ermao called him twice. Xiao Mi made only a slight noise through his nostrils in response, changed positions, and continued to sleep.
Ermao scratched his head, thinking maybe he was just overthinking.
As he looked at Heimi, who was sleeping in the bedroom, even after Da Mi’s departure, Heimi had only searched around and owed for a while before settling back to sleep, continuing her nap and eating the sa amount for dinner. Ermao didn’t know if other people’s cats were like this, but at least that’s how it was in his house.
But… now that Da Mi was gone, what about Xiao Mi? Who should he give it to? Qin Tao did say that Tang Cai wanted to adopt it, but everyone knew she couldn’t keep a pet for long. It was too risky to take a chance with her now; better not to let Xiao Mi suffer.
The next day, while Zheng Tan was at ho sneakily playing online, he heard a knock at the door. Zheng Tan’s heart jumped. He quickly turned off the computer, pushed the mouse back to its spot, and wiped away any suspicious traces.
While Zheng Tan was shutting down his computer, he heard a voice from outside.
“Heitan, are you at ho?”
It was Zhao Le.
What was Zhao Le doing here now? It wasn’t the weekend. Moreover, Zhao Le had graduated a long ti ago. Whenever he ca over, it was always on weekends or holidays, and often, when she didn’t have ti, she would send soone to bring things over.
Why did Zhao Le have ti to co over today?
Zheng Tan was puzzled but quick on his feet, moving to the door to unbolt the lock.
Zhao Le was standing at the door in professional attire, which suggested that she probably ca straight from the company. Like always, Zhao Le brought a lot of food and costics for Jiao Ma, which to her, ant little.
After setting the items on the sofa, Zhao Le helped herself to a disposable cup, drank so water from the water dispenser, and after catching her breath, said to Zheng Tan, “I sent a ssage to your cat mother about this; I’ll leave the things here. But, I ca today for another reason.” Zhao Le said while picking up her bag and heading towards the door, “Heitan, let’s go and see Ermao’s kittens.”
She was here for the kittens as well?
Zheng Tan followed Zhao Le to the third floor.
Zhao Le must have contacted Ermao in advance, because when he opened the door, he didn’t seem surprised, just a bit drowsy, probably from staying up late playing gas.
“There, Xiao Mi is sleeping in the nest. Go take a look yourself, but be careful, this little fella has quite the temper despite his size,” Ermao pointed to Xiao Mi’s nest.
Like Fang Shaokang the day before, Xiao Mi initially ignored Zhao Le, but there was a hint of curiosity in its eyes. Perhaps to it, the cat toy wasn’t as interesting as this new person.
After a while, Xiao Mi yawned leisurely, walked back into the nest intending to continue sleeping, but unfortunately, Ermao pulled him out.
Having put Xiao Mi into a pet bag, Ermao thought for a bit, then wrapped Xiao Mi’s nest in a bag and handed it to Zhao Le, “Let it sleep in its own nest during this initial period. It will probably not adapt to the new environnt right away. Mr. Fang said that it was noisy all night, and he would send soone in the afternoon to take so of Da Mi’s belongings, suggesting that it might help reduce its anxiety. Hopefully, it won’t continue to cry tonight.”
Zhao Le nodded. Besides Xiao Mi’s cat nest, she also took a few plush toys. These toys were already on Ermao’s list to be thrown away, but since they were played with by the kittens, Zhao Le decided to take a few just in case.
With both Da Mi and Xiao Mi taken away, Ermao stared at the now much quieter living room, full of sentint but not knowing how to vent it. After a while, he turned to Heimi, who was curled up asleep in the bedroom, and said, “My girl, you can reclaim your territory now! Look how thin you’ve gotten these days. From now on, all the little fish will be yours.”
(To be continued. If you liked this work, please feel free to vote for it or give it a monthly pass at Qidian (qidian). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to continue reading.)
Reviews
All reviews (0)