Strange Life of a Cat

When they came to the village, Zheng Tan had to lead the way, otherwise Er Mao wouldn't know where to find people.

Roads are being built around here again, and a flat walkway is being built in front of each house. Zheng Tan and the others came at a bad time, just as the construction was just starting, and some of the surface stones were lifted up, so there was a lot of mud. . Some waterlogged areas can only be crossed by stepping on stones specially placed there.

"Hey, Black Coal, when we get here, just scream and don't let me pass by." Er Mao said.

After walking through the dirt road, the road surface improved a little, at least there was a path paved with stones and bricks. This time Zheng Tan really had to get out of his backpack and lead the way.

After walking a few steps, his paws were completely covered in mud. There was nothing he could do about it. It was like this without shoes. Zheng Tan couldn't get rain boots like Er Mao.

It had just rained, and it was not the peak time to go out, so there were not many people passing by. Originally, Zheng Tan was worried that the people in the village who had seen him during the New Year would recognize him, but those villagers just glanced here and stopped paying attention. Perhaps, to those villagers, there is nothing special about such a cat, and it is not a rare and expensive cat species. There are native cats everywhere, and there is nothing unusual about a sturdy black cat.

Sometimes you can't take yourself too seriously, this is Zheng Tan's realization.

When passing by the Jiao family's old house, Zheng Tan saw that the door of the house was closed. He guessed that the old man and the old lady had gone to town and would probably wait until the surrounding roads were repaired before returning. This made Zheng Tan feel more relieved.

After the rain, the earthy smell that penetrates the nose is, in Jiao's words, the smell of actinomycetes.

Perhaps due to the influence of Ermao, Zheng Tan was a little nervous when he approached the old woman's small tile-roofed house. Although he knew that the person Ermao was looking for was the old woman, Zheng Tan always had a strange feeling about that old woman, not as easy to fool as the old man and old lady from the Jiao family.

"Is it right here?"

Er Mao looked at this small rural courtyard, pushed open the fence door and walked in.

There was no noise around, so both Zheng Tan and Er Mao could hear the sounds of opera coming from the small tile-roofed house.

Taking a deep breath, Er Mao stood in front of the rustic-style wooden door and was about to knock on the door, but the door opened from the inside.

A girl of fifteen or sixteen years old was carrying a basket. She was startled when she saw Er Mao standing in front of the door.

Ermao's first thought was: Hey, there really is Sister Lin!

This girl is good-looking, although she is a bit dark, and her dress is not as good as that of the children in the city, but in terms of appearance alone, she is indeed passable.

Zheng Tan looked at the girl. She looked familiar. She should have seen her during the Chinese New Year, but she definitely didn't belong to this family. The old woman lived alone. In this place, it is not uncommon for girls of this age to stop going to school after finishing junior high school.

Before Ermao could ask questions, the little girl shouted into the house: "Grandma, someone is looking for me!" After saying that, she left with the basket. She was just here to deliver things. There are often people here looking for grandma, so she Thinking that the person in front of him had the same purpose, he didn't pay much attention.

Judging from this situation, you can tell that it is someone from another family, otherwise they would not run away immediately when they see the guest. Er Mao sighed inwardly, it was different from what he imagined, she was still "grandma". After "Sister Lin" became disillusioned, Er Mao lost much enthusiasm.

The tile-roofed house is not big, the living room is clearly visible, and there is only one bedroom. It is obvious that the owner's home is in the bedroom.

Zheng Tan hesitated for a moment, then raised his feet and followed Er Mao in.

There were no lights in the room, and the small window behind was closed, so the light was not very good. The singing of opera from the radio dissipated the depression caused by the darkness a lot. The radio is quite old, and there are some hissing sounds accompanying the singing of operas, giving it a sense of antiquity.

It was still the same wooden recliner, and there was still the same person lying on the recliner, covered with a thin blanket, looking like she was sleeping or with her eyes closed, but because she was holding the window behind her back, Er Mao couldn't see clearly who was on the recliner. What an expression.

The three-legged cat glanced at Er Mao, and then focused on Zheng Tan. It obviously recognized Zheng Tan, but it didn't intend to move. It changed its position and continued to sleep on the old woman's lap.

Zheng Tan moved uncomfortably, and the atmosphere was a bit strange. Neither of the two people spoke, there was only the sound of the radio and the inaudible opera singing.

Er Mao was still thinking about what to say in the first sentence. Nonsense is the first sentence in interpersonal relationships. But this time, the situation was different. In normal times, Er Mao would have casually brought up some topic, but this time he came to see him. For "Sister Lin", if you can't find "Sister Lin", you can even find a peer or junior. You are not looking for the ancestors. There are multiple elders and multiple controls. Er Mao already has a headache for those elders in the family. He talks all day long about "what you should and shouldn't do" or praises other people's children. Moreover, under Wang Bin's support, Er Mao has become what the elders call a "gangster" and "not a great person". .

If it were anyone else, they would have already decided to get down to business and recognize relatives at this time. After walking such a long distance, driving, squeezing into buses, and walking on dirt roads to finally get here, isn't it just to find relatives? But not Ermao.

Er Mao is not a good person. When he was wandering outside, he met many people from all walks of life, and his thoughts were very different from those of the rest of the family.

Before coming here, he decided to see the person first before deciding whether to deny the marriage. To be honest, in Er Mao's heart, following this pendant to find someone was just an excuse to divert his worries and find something to do to change his mood.

Zheng Tan was watching Er Mao and the old woman on the recliner. These two guys are not simple-minded people, especially this old woman. Zheng Tan doesn't believe it if her ears are not good enough to hear the little girl's shouts and Er Mao's footsteps.

Er Mao's final choice of coping method was to remain unchanged in response to the ever-changing situation. Anyway, the choice was up to him, so he didn't have to worry. Without "Sister Lin", things would be boring and simple. What's so interesting about the old woman! Er Mao dragged a chair over from the corner and sat on it, crossing his legs and looking around with a look of boredom.

Zheng Tan yawned as the opera on the radio finished and changed to another. There was a tube of cakes wrapped in paper on the table. Zheng Tan had seen this kind of local specialty during the Chinese New Year. Zheng Tan jumped on the table and sniffed the cake. He didn't feel any strange smell. Zheng Tan raised his paw to pull open the wrapping paper. Let these two continue to confront each other while I fill my stomach first.

Half an hour later, the old woman lying on the recliner moved.

Er Mao felt happy, hehe, old lady, you are more patient than the young master, can you not bear it anymore? !

The sleepy Zheng Tan also looked over there.

I saw the old woman sighing softly, then holding on to the reclining chair, she sat up slowly and seemingly with difficulty. She reached into her pocket and dug around, and took out a porcelain bottle. As I get older, my hands are not very stable, and they shake a little when I pick up things. I had to pull the cork out of the bottle several times before I succeeded.

Zheng Tan's heart trembled as he looked at it, fearing that the old woman might lose her balance and throw the porcelain bottle away. Moreover, Zheng Tan, a bystander, was anxious for her when he saw her pulling out the bottle cork. If she had not had the patience to help in the morning.

Er Mao was more tolerant and did not go up to help. This guy probably knew that the elderly man in front of him was not a simple person, so he was still in a wait-and-see state. Seeing that the old man in front of him was showing difficulty in every move and his hands were still shaking, Er Mao frowned but still did not move or make a sound.

The old woman rubbed her eyes, and then carefully poured out small balls one by one in her hand. They looked like some kind of pills, such as Suxiao Jiuxin Pills or Compound Salvia Dripping Pills. Zheng Tan saw a lot of them. People have eaten it, and it looks similar to this.

As she gets older, she also has many problems. During the Chinese New Year, Zheng Tan saw that she could still play the erhu very smoothly. Why did she feel like she was dying now? However, it is very dangerous for the old man to get sick at all, and it is understandable that his mental state has changed so much. In addition, the situation at this moment and the exaggeration of the surrounding environment always make him feel desolate and desolate.

The trembling hands made everything a little more difficult. Zheng Tan watched her pour about ten of those small balls and eat them. She half stood up, picked up a glass of water placed on the wooden bench next to her, took a sip, and then let out another long sound. A long sigh.

An opera was playing on the radio, and the singing was a little easier to understand than before.

"There is no choice but the flowers fall away, and the familiar swallow returns..."

There is a deep sense of helplessness and sigh in the murmured lyrics, which reflects the unstoppable passage of time and the endless ups and downs of the years. This situation, this situation, and the possible blood relationship, if you are a sensitive person, your eyes will sore and shed tears.

Even Er Mao felt that he had gone too far. I just haven't seen "Sister Lin". Why bother with an old man?

Boom! Gulu gulu gulu——

When the old woman capped the porcelain bottle and was about to put it back into her pocket, her hand shook and the porcelain bottle fell to the ground. Fortunately, it was an uneven earthy ground, not a cement floor. The bottle was probably strong enough and did not break.

Zheng Tan tugged his ears and looked at Er Mao.

Er Mao curled his lips, but got up and walked over to pick up the porcelain bottle that rolled under the table. He wiped the dust on the bottle. He didn't see any written instructions on it. After thinking about it, he took off the cork and smelled it.

Then, there was a strange feeling on Er Mao's face, even a little distorted, and he almost gritted his teeth and asked: "Old lady, what kind of panacea is in this bottle?"

The old woman, who was lying on the recliner again, spoke calmly and responded slowly: "Huahua Dan."

Zheng Tan: "..."

If you guessed it correctly, this so-called Huahuadan is that kind of casual snack!

People in the 1980s and 1980s are a little more familiar with this kind of snack, which is also called "tangerine peel pill", "mouse droppings", etc. This kind of snack is rarely seen in Chuhua City.

Zheng Tan was in such a mood at the moment that it was hard for the alpaca to calm him down from the urge to lift the table.

Numbing, a small piece of broken snacks is packed in such a high-end porcelain bottle! Eating a snack and looking so desolate!

Er Mao, holding back his depression, handed the bottle to the old woman.

After taking the bottle, the old woman asked Er Mao, "Do you want to eat it? It tastes very good."

Eat... eat your shit!

Zheng Tan twitched his ears again. Facing such an old lady, she couldn't be described as "helpless".

As if she didn't notice Er Mao's expression, the old woman continued: "My mouth tastes bad. At this age, one extra day of living is just a gain. Taking medicine is worse than eating snacks." Suddenly something occurred to her, and she raised her finger and pointed. , with a very generous look, "Oh, there is a box of pure milk under the bed. If you are thirsty, you can drink it yourself. It is a good brand. It is often advertised on TV. It is not the parallel import. I drink it every day."

Zheng Tan and Er Mao: "..."

No amount of idioms can describe the complicated moods of Zheng Tan and Er Mao at this moment.

(3.8)

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