Strange Life of a Cat

Zheng Tan walked slowly around the wild pond. There were some trees on the edge. Although they were not very big, they could provide some shade under the bright sun.

There were many wild plants nearby. Zheng Tan looked familiar, but he couldn't name them. There were some frogs or toads standing on some floating branches in the wild pond and croaking. When they noticed Zheng Tan's approach, they immediately jumped into the water.

Sometimes you can also see some small fish swimming under the water. It is indeed a place where aquaculture is conducted. Fish can be seen everywhere. It may not be someone who deliberately threw them here, or they may come here by accident during the flood season. of.

The cicadas on the tree were also making noises, seemingly louder than anyone else's.

If it were in other places, there would definitely be some children on summer vacation around the wild ponds who come to fish and shrimp, but here I guess the children have played a lot since they were young, so they are not interested in it, but they prefer to go to the big fish ponds where fish are caught. Watching the excitement around, you can occasionally pick up a few big fish for free.

I heard that recently some college students from related majors came to a nearby aquaculture base for internships. Some were doing scientific research experiments, etc., which made it even more lively. Some children with good fish-killing skills were also invited to help. Adults don’t have that free time. , even if they had it, they wouldn’t look down on that small amount of remuneration, but children are different. For them, indoor work not only brings rewards, but also free air conditioning. So Zheng Tan and the others hardly saw any children in the village when they came to Yetang.

Just as he was thinking about it, Zheng Tan's ears twitched, and he heard a sudden movement in front of him.

Anyone?

In Zheng Tan's impression, even if those children did not shout loudly, they would occasionally talk and laugh quietly, and sometimes they would be in groups. They would never be so quiet, and they would not suddenly make a fuss now.

Zheng Tan walked over lightly, and the movement there suddenly became louder. There are some plants growing on the edge of the wild pond, which blocks Zheng Tan's sight and also acts as a cover. It is not easy for people on the other side of the wild pond to spot Zheng Tan.

The further you go, the narrower the wild pond becomes, and it's almost the end here.

Over there is a little girl about the same age as Xiaoyouzi. The clothes on her body are not only old, but also roughly patched. Although this child looks to be about the same age as Little Youzi, but unlike Little Youzi, this little girl looks quite thin, and her face is not considered yellow, because she has been tanned, and her muscles are really thin, and her small face looks... There is no meat, not as white and tender as a small grapefruit with baby fat. The exposed little arms and legs also seemed to be covered with only a layer of skin, without any fleshiness. The shoulder-length short hair was probably cut by myself, and it doesn't look very coordinated.

When Zheng Tan looked over, the child was finishing up his pole. No wonder there was suddenly a louder movement, otherwise Zheng Tan would not have discovered that there was someone here so quickly.

The child was also fishing for shrimps. There was a can bottle next to him. The bottle was half filled with earthworms. Zheng Tan could clearly see the earthworms squirming inside. He must be an experienced person. The child lowered three rods in three places not far apart. It is estimated that the earthworms on one of the rods are dead. After catching one shrimp, the little girl grabbed a few shrimps from the can and started fishing again. Put on.

Earthworms are not the most ideal bait for shrimp fishing, but they are easy to catch. However, you have to replace them with new live earthworms every once in a while, otherwise the effect will be reduced if the earthworms die or are soaked for a long time, and you will not be able to fool those old shrimps.

After replacing the fresh earthworms, the little girl sat on the edge and rested for two minutes. Then she got up and walked lightly between the three poles to see which pole was moving.

Zheng Tan walked over and took a look. There was a cracked plastic bucket tied with a rope and fixed there. There were already some crayfish in the bucket. It seemed that the child had a good harvest. There are also some green shrimps among them. There are many farmers in this place, and there are also some freshwater shrimps. It is not surprising to see freshwater shrimps here. As for crayfish, this thing is an invasive alien species. It has strong adaptability and wide distribution. Or it can be said that it is an "invasive species".

There was also a broken sickle beside the bucket. This kind of sickle is very common among farmers. However, Zheng Tan felt that it was weird for such a little girl to use the sickle.

Just as he was thinking about something, Zheng Tan looked up and met the little girl's eyes.

Zheng Tan rarely sees such a cruel look in the eyes of a child, even some gloomy children, because this child still has a strong murderous intention in his eyes. Zheng Tan has no doubt that if If that child had a sickle in his hand, he would definitely chop it at him.

However, this kid doesn’t have a sickle now.

Zheng Tan was really not afraid of this child, but instead had some thoughts of teasing him.

Afraid of making trouble yourself? Bad for these shrimp? I still want to make trouble.

Zheng Tan stretched out his paws and quickly patted the shrimps that were showing their teeth and claws in the bucket.

It has to be said that Zheng Tan is just so idle sometimes that he feels unhappy if he doesn't commit suicide.

A clod of soil was thrown over.

Zheng Tan reacted quickly and dodged away. However, the clod of soil rubbed against the edge of the shrimp bucket. The original place where the bucket was placed was uneven. After such a rub, it swayed twice and fell over.

The little girl didn't care about Zheng Tan and ran over. Before the shrimps could escape, she quickly caught them and threw them back into the bucket. When she looked up again, she saw the black cat half-hidden in the grass, and it revealed itself. Cat Tou looked here. When she got up, the black cat was hiding in the grass. The grass swished a few times, and when it stopped, the cat had disappeared.

The little girl standing there looked at the grass and frowned. She always felt that the cat was playing tricks on her, but when the cat was half-hiding in the grass and looking here just now, there was something wrong in its eyes. Many old people in the village say that black cats are more evil. Some say they are spiritual beings, while others say they are evil. She did not agree before, because they were just cats. She was just trying to scare herself. But after what happened just now, she started to believe it.

Zheng Tan was walking in the grass, feeling uneasy, not because of the little girl throwing clods of dirt at him, but because of the scene he just saw.

When the little girl bent over to catch shrimps and threw them back into the plastic bucket, her already short clothes were lifted up, exposing part of her back. Zheng Tan could see clearly that there were scars on the girl's back, as if they were pulled out with a bamboo pole or something else. Originally, the girl had some on her arms and legs, but the marks were relatively faint. Zheng Tan didn't pay attention to it. He heard Mr. Gu say that it was common for some children in the village to fight. There was no distinction between men and women in the fights. It wouldn't hurt to get injured. Strange. But it doesn't look like it now. The injuries on his back were new, and Zheng Tan felt pain just looking at them, let alone a girl as big as a grapefruit.

Abuse? domestic violence?

Zheng Tan swung his tail. Both Jiao Ma and Xiao Youzi told him not to cause trouble. He didn't intend to meddle in those nosy matters. Besides, he couldn't meddle if he wanted to. Every family has its own scriptures that are difficult to recite. There are so many families like this. , regardless of urban or rural areas, there is no shortage of parents who spank their children.

So, after walking around for a while, he caught a frog that jumped out of nowhere and teased it. Zheng Tan felt that he was in a good mood and felt better. He took a look at the sky and ran back to where Xiao Youzi and the others were fishing for shrimps. .

When Zheng Tan went back, Jiao Yuan showed off an older-looking shrimp. The shrimp had two large clips that were very red. Jiao's mother liked to eat these big clips because the meat inside was tender.

Little Youzi was changing bait and tying earthworms. Mr. Gu caught four fat earthworms and put them on the rope. Little Youzi only had to tie the rope. Next to it are two dead ones, including one that was pinched by shrimps. The number of earthworms that Mr. Gu tied to Little Yuzi every time was no less than three. It is estimated that one of them was directly pinched by the shrimp, or the earthworms escaped without tying them.

After fishing for more than half an hour, Mr. Gu asked the two children to close up and prepare to go home. Seeing that Xiao Yuzi was still a little unfinished, she smiled and said, "You can continue tomorrow, you still have a long summer vacation."

Zheng Tan looked at the iron bucket containing shrimps. It was half a bucket, and it was definitely enough for a plate.

The dinner was very rich, and Zheng Tan also had a hearty meal.

After nightfall, villagers would sit in the gatehouses of their homes to enjoy the cool air after taking a bath, gossiping about various news around them and talking about interesting events of the day.

Mr. Gu moved the bamboo bed out of his home and installed a mosquito net. Little Yuzi stayed inside and listened to Mr. Gu next to him talking about "thinking about those days".

As for Jiao Yuan, he is restless and has already gone to catch fireflies with the children from the family next door.

Mosquito incense was lit next to it, but Zheng Tan could still clearly hear the buzzing of mosquitoes around him.

The guy with the second tube opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue to breathe. After lying down for a while, he moved to a cooler place and continued lying down. When eating, it provoked Zheng Tan, and after being slapped by Zheng Tan, it became much more honest. Wherever Zheng Tan stayed, it must be at least one meter away, and it would never lie down close to Zheng Tan.

At night in the village, there is a cool breeze, and the temperature is much lower than in the city.

Zheng Tan was originally staying next to the bamboo bed, listening to Mr. Gu's bragging with Little Yuzi, and his ears twitched.

Not far away, Mother Jiao, the old lady, and several women from the surrounding neighbors were sitting together and chatting.

"Sold another one? How can he bear it?" Mother Jiao sighed.

"Why don't you bear it? I have already sold five of them before, and this one is missing. I look at the remaining three and they will be sold sooner or later." said the aunt who lives next door.

"If you stay at home, he will beat you to death sooner or later." The old lady sighed.

Zheng Tan listened to their conversation. They were talking about a family in a neighboring village. The man wanted a son, but he gave birth to nine daughters in a row. In addition, this man was a gambler. He felt that it was useless to keep the daughters, so he did it one after another. There was such a thing as selling her daughter, and she often beat her children at home. Now that a son was finally born, the remaining three daughters no longer care about their food and drink.

Although the family planning policy treats boys and girls alike, thousands of years of thinking cannot be reversed in just twenty or thirty years. Moreover, many people are simply scoundrels. It’s useless to tell them about the rule of law. People around here don’t have the heart to care about this kind of thing. They probably have seen it too much and are numb.

Listening to these women and old people chatting, Zheng Tan suddenly thought of the little girl he saw today and wondered if that child was one of them.

Zheng Tan was sighing in his heart, lying on a bamboo chair and looking at the road not far ahead. On the other side of the road were some vegetable gardens, and beyond that, there were fields. Originally looking at Jiao Yuan and the others catching fireflies on the other side of the road, Zheng Tan suddenly noticed a few people passing by on the road, and one of them sounded familiar.

Zheng Tan paid close attention. There were several people blocking the way. There were a few strangers walking this way. Zheng Tan didn't recognize them at all, but Zheng Tan caught the voice. After thinking about it for a moment, Zheng Tan stood up suddenly. Wasn't he the person who was pushed into the artificial lake by him at Chuhua University some time ago?

(4.3)