Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 286 - Chapter 286 Chapter 279 Invitation

Chapter 286: Chapter 279: Invitation Chapter 286: Chapter 279: Invitation Many people say that cats hold grudges, but in fact, it’s not just cats that hold grudges. Take Qi, for instance, the clown.

He probably remembered the previous unpleasantness with Zheng Tan, or perhaps Qi didn’t feel right without stirring up Zheng Tan. When Pei Liang brought him to visit the Jiao family, Qi, dressed in his new “Great Sage Equalling Heaven” outfit and wielding his “Jingu Bang”, performed for the Jiao Family. Then, with a “slip of the hand,” he knocked Zheng Tan’s water bowl off a nearby chair onto the ground.

The Jiao family’s living room was not big, and Jiao Ma had moved Zheng Tan’s usual chair aside to prevent it from getting smashed while watching Qi perform with his staff. Despite that, it still got hit.

This clown monkey then hid behind Pei Liang looking very uneasy about his mistake, while Jiao Ma repeatedly comforted him, saying, “It’s okay, don’t worry about it.”

Zheng Tan sat on the sofa, glaring at Qi, who had just sneered at him from behind Pei Liang’s back. The others in the Jiao family noticed this scene but didn’t think much of it and just laughed it off.

Zheng Tan, however, didn’t react, which inflated Qi’s arrogance. But when this guy ran off to Little Youzi’s room to play with the cat climbing frame and tried to open a hidden drawer he found, Zheng Tan shut the door and gave him a good beating, making him “squeak” in pain.

It was only when Jiao Ma, worried outside, called out to Zheng Tan several times that he finally opened the door.

The moment the door opened, Qi dashed back to Pei Liang’s side for protection, baring his teeth at Zheng Tan in defiance.

This guy only remembers the treats, not the beatings.

They say that a monkey’s intelligence is comparable to that of a 7 or 8-year-old child. Zheng Tan thought about the mischievous kids that age and felt that this monkey would probably continue being troublesome throughout its decades-long life.

He really deserved a beating.

According to Pei Liang, because of the travel peak during the National Day, they stayed home, as business was booming then, and they registered higher earnings. Besides, with Qi’s fame, many tourists were particularly visiting because of him, so Qi had stayed home. After the Golden Week of the National Day, once the peak had passed, it was only under the director’s urging that Pei Liang took Qi out again to continue earning money.

This time, it was a child’s birthday at home, and the kid had been clamoring for Qi to come home and celebrate together. Since the production team had also paused temporarily, Pei Liang decided to take Qi home for a break. Otherwise, Qi, who would not cooperate after taking home calls and was restless during the last two days on set, might have ditched his faux tiger-skin skirt and quit, if not for Pei Liang’s supervision.

Pei Liang didn’t stay at the Jiao family’s house for dinner. He and his fellow apprentices had plans; they were going to Wei Leng’s house for a gathering that evening, and Zheng Tan was also invited to join them.

Wei Leng, Ermao, He Tao, and Pei Liang drank quite a bit and ended up staying overnight in the guest room at Wei Leng’s house. Zheng Tan stayed there too. He overheard Ermao and Pei Liang talking and learned that Ermao wanted to visit Pei Liang’s house just for fun. After all, he wasn’t busy on regular days, and his girlfriend happened to be free too. Now, they had also missed the peak travel season, so there was no need to worry about traffic jams or overwhelming crowds–traveling was just perfect.

Pei Liang naturally had no objections, but they were still considering whether to take Zheng Tan with them or not.

Pei Liang knew that Qi Da had always wanted Zheng Tan to come over. He didn’t know what his own monkey was up to, but he thought it might be a good idea to bring him along if possible. After all, they wouldn’t be away for too long. In November, they had an invitation from a film crew, and they would be going to a coastal city in the eastern part. If the Black Cat was really as sensible as everyone said, it wouldn’t be a problem to bring him along.

Ermao was quite in favor of it. He had taken Zheng Tan out a few times; although there were indeed a few incidents during those times, based on those incidents, taking him out was completely fine. Moreover, this time he also planned to take Heimi with him. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving Heimi at the Pet Center. He had seen that mixed-breed cat called Huasheng Tang a couple of days ago; it was safer to keep Heimi by his side. If Black Coal came along, it would keep Heimi company. If it were only Heimi, Heimi would probably become anxious. Moreover, Ermao felt that Black Coal wouldn’t pose any threat to his own Heimi.

Whether Zheng Tan could go with Ermao and the others required the Jiao Family’s approval. When Ermao and Pei Liang discussed this with Mr. Jiao and Jiao Ma, Jiao Ma indeed objected, saying it was too far and she was worried since no family member was going along. As for Mr. Jiao, he asked for Zheng Tan’s opinion.

Zheng Tan was indeed quite eager to go on a long journey. Lately, Little Youzi’s academic workload had increased. Aside from her usual homework and exams, she also had additional competition training on Saturdays and Sundays. Mr. Jiao and Jiao Ma actually didn’t put much pressure on her. Competitions and such were, according to Mr. Jiao, no big deal and entirely based on interest. It was Little Youzi’s own decision to participate in the competition training; a few of her close classmates had signed up together. Mingling more with classmates wasn’t a bad thing. But for Zheng Tan, originally spending a lot of time alone at home, now even on Saturdays and Sundays, there often wasn’t anyone at home, Zheng Tan became bored.

Qi Da also held up an invitation in front of Zheng Tan, looking quite convincing, which left the Jiao family at a loss for words.

Knowing that Ermao would also be coming along, and he could take Zheng Tan with him for a few days before bringing him back, was somewhat reassuring for Mr. Jiao and Jiao Ma since Ermao was an acquaintance. Ultimately, Mr. Jiao made the decision, agreeing to let Zheng Tan go, but on the condition that Zheng Tan had to wear another cat card with a locator device. Mr. Jiao had it remade; with this device, everyone could feel secure because, after all, everyone was afraid that once the cat got out, it might become uncontrollably wild, and this would be helpful in case of emergencies.

Pei Liang asked the Jiao family to come and visit his house during their holiday; this time, they could consider it as Zheng Tan scouting the place in advance.

Jiao Ma prepared a lot of things for Zheng Tan, packing a large bag with his daily necessities. Zheng Tan also put his little backpack in there, which contained quite a few bills, just in case.

Pei Liang drove the car himself with Qi Da, while Ermao also drove his newly bought SUV, taking his girlfriend and two cats with him. Heimi was initially not very calm in the car, appearing somewhat restless. If it weren’t for the familiar scent in the car, he would have gone mad much earlier. However, gradually, probably influenced by Zheng Tan’s calmness and comforted by Gong Qin, he calmed down.

Zheng Tan decided to go out for a wander partly because he had recently been really bored at home and, recently, he also didn’t feel like roaming around the neighborhood. Given Liu Ba’s craziness, Zheng Tan didn’t even feel like playing with his phone, so he chose to go out and have some fun.

In the morning, they set off from Chuhua City and stopped a few times along the way. Since they were not in a hurry, the breaks were necessary to prevent fatigued driving, and they only arrived at Pei Liang’s county on the third day’s afternoon.

Zheng Tan didn’t need much care, and as for Heimi, with Gong Qin around, this professional had taken good care of Heimi, who hadn’t been anxious during the trip.

Probably knowing that they were nearly home, Qi Da started to get restless and chirped joyfully. No matter how well one fares outside, there’s always joy in returning to one’s own turf.

Zheng Tan looked outside; he had never been here before and had only seen this place in travel magazines. But seeing it in person, his heart truly felt that it was a deservedly popular tourist spot with really beautiful scenery that the air quality of Chuhua City couldn’t match.

Perhaps for the sake of tourism, many villagers in the vicinity had built their houses in a uniform style with local characteristics. Along the way, Zheng Tan had already seen quite a few vendors selling those souvenirs.

Gong Qin had never been here either. She had visited another tourist spot in the same province but each spot had its unique features, including the souvenirs, which made her want to buy some.

“Don’t be too impressed by these, and the ones here aren’t very authentic either. It’s all about duping unsuspecting tourists who don’t know any better,” he explained.

They had installed a wireless intercom in the car, and during their drive Pei Liang had described the local situation to them. Hearing Gong Qin’s interest in visiting the souvenir stands, he chuckled and shared some insider knowledge with her.

“Hey, don’t let slip what I’ve told you, or the villagers might have my hide,” Pei Liang joked.

“Got it,” Ermao replied, also admiring the scenery along the way.

“During the National Day, this place was packed with people, but now it’s empty,” Pei Liang said.

Zheng Tan looked over and saw some vendors who seemed low in spirits. Now that the peak period had passed, setting up stalls had become somewhat listless, they chatted among themselves, some even dozed off.

“Chirp chirp chirp chirp–” Qi Da got restless again.

But, listening to the sound, it wasn’t all Qi Da. Zheng Tan rolled down a third of the car window to look outside, and sure enough, at one stall there was a monkey similar to Qi Da jumping around, and even yelling at Pei Liang’s car.

Listening to both monkeys’ cries, they didn’t seem to be on friendly terms, rather, it seemed they were natural enemies running into each other.

“Now there are quite a few families in the village raising monkeys. Although there are policies from above, there are always countermeasures below, especially since there are many monkeys on the nearby mountains. There used to be a lot of poaching, and wasn’t there a famous dish made with monkey brains? Later, officials were specifically sent to supervise, and the situation improved a lot. The monkey population has risen again. Actually, it’s mainly because our villagers are good, protecting the monkeys. If the villagers hadn’t cooperated, those illegal traders would still have their chance,”

This was indeed the case. Some natural reserves’ wildlife are poached because local residents play a significant role, and in terms of protection, the locals have made considerable achievements. Ermao had mentioned privately that, don’t be fooled by how warm and amicable the locals here appear; their fighting spirit is fierce, both adults and children included. Perhaps it was also because of the locals’ deliberate protection that the monkeys here lived more freely than in many other places.

Just then, Zheng Tan saw the monkey at the stall pull something out of a nearby glass tank and throw it at Pei Liang’s car.

Zheng Tan initially thought the monkey had thrown a fish or something since the stall sold aquatic animals, but according to Pei Liang, what that monkey had thrown was a clump of algae–because throwing fish would have gotten them reprimanded.

Being targeted, the restless Qi Da inside the car shouted, eager to rush out and PK.

“If it were usual times, these two would probably be throwing stuff at each other again,” Pei Liang rebuked Qi Da and then explained to Ermao and the others.

“What do these two usually throw?” Ermao was curious.

“Lots of stuff, throwing algae and mud is still fine; they’ve even thrown household pots and pans,”

“These two are really funny,” Ermao chuckled on his side.

“That’s nothing, they’ve even thrown poop at each other before,” Pei Liang said nonchalantly.

Zheng Tan, Ermao, Gong Qin: “…” (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to vote on Qidian (NovelFire.net), every vote, monthly vote, and your support, is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.NovelFire.net to read.)