Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 373 - Chapter 373 Chapter 365 Buy or Get Out

Chapter 373: Chapter 365 Buy or Get Out Chapter 373: Chapter 365 Buy or Get Out After mooching lunch at Feng Baikin’s place, Zheng Tan was originally planning to hang around for a while longer, to watch Tiger face off against other cats in the neighborhood. However, once he saw the chat records between Feng Baikin and his classmate, Zheng Tan decided to head home quickly.

Feng Baikin had a classmate whose family lived in the neighboring city. During their chat on the messaging app, Zheng Tan noticed that Feng Baikin’s classmate mentioned hail had started, accompanied by strong winds.

Outside, the wind in Chuhua City seemed to have picked up as well, though there was no rain or hail. During the years Zheng Tan had spent in Chuhua City, he had never seen hail there. He had heard of it in remote suburbs, but it had not occurred in the city center, where usually it just rained.

Checking the sky, Zheng Tan decided to hasten his departure, as the weather was getting worse.

Upon leaving the lakeside villa area, Zheng Tan started to run back.

A fierce gust of wind blew over, knocking down a row of bicycles parked nearby. The trees lining the road were bent by the wind, their leaves rustling loudly.

Something, whisked up by the wind, struck several parked electric scooters and cars, setting off shrill alarms.

Zheng Tan didn’t linger to look; his only thought was to hurry home. Once home, he wouldn’t fear whatever the weather brought.

As he passed by the Affiliated Hospital, Zheng Tan remembered Xiao Hua, who was tied up there.

Jumping onto the wall for a closer look, he saw that Xiao Hua was still lying there with her eyes squinted due to the wind, and her fur all ruffled.

The guard was busy helping a patient inside and hadn’t attended to Xiao Hua. Just then, another violent wind blew through.

Crack, crack!

A tree near the guard room was blown down, its trunk snapping and falling toward the guard room.

Xiao Hua stood up trying to dodge, but because she was tied up, she couldn’t break free immediately. Luckily, Zheng Tan noticed that the fallen tree was slightly off course and wouldn’t crush Xiao Hua.

But Xiao Hua didn’t know that. All she saw was the tree toppling toward her. After a failed initial attempt to break free, she desperately struggled a few more times. The fall of the tree only added to her panic, and she struggled even harder, as if fighting for her life, unlike her usual playful tussles with Old Man Li.

Such a big dog, when truly exerting itself, is very strong.

Xiao Hua’s leash was tied to a steel post that was firmly fixed in place, beyond her strength to pull down. The break occurred at the clasp connecting the leash to the collar, which detached from the leash.

Zheng Tan had been considering going down to help Xiao Hua with the leash, but she had already managed to break free.

Once freed, Xiao Hua’s first reaction was to run in the direction where Old Man Li and the elderly lady had left. However, with people everywhere who were wary of the large dog, she was not allowed through and was driven away. With nowhere else to go, Xiao Hua headed toward the hospital’s exit, thinking if she couldn’t enter the hospital, she would just go home.

As she reached the hospital’s main entrance and saw Zheng Tan, Xiao Hua immediately quickened her pace and ran toward him.

Zheng Tan jumped onto Xiao Hua’s back, hooked his hands around the dog’s collar to stabilize himself, and then adjusted the collar to signal to Xiao Hua that it was time to go home.

With Zheng Tan aboard, Xiao Hua didn’t run haphazardly as before. Besides, the old lady had led her here over the past few days, so she remembered the way.

While running, Zheng Tan noticed it had started to drizzle.

This was not a good sign. Zheng Tan was unfazed by the rain, but Xiao Hua had a wound that hadn’t fully healed, and getting wet was definitely not good for her.

Now with the howling wind, a storm seemed imminent. Up ahead, there was a traffic jam at the T-intersection; cars and people crowded the area, blocking Xiao Hua’s path, and an elderly lady with an umbrella even tried to shove her away.

They couldn’t afford more delays–summer storms didn’t offer much warning, and the downpour could begin at any moment.

Considering the distance between here and the courtyard, although not too far, it would take about five minutes at Xiao Hua’s current pace. The weather might not hold for another five minutes. If the storm broke immediately, even two seconds outside could soak them to the bone.

“Hey, over there!”

Someone shouted in their direction. At first, Zheng Tan didn’t think it was about him. The voice shouted a few more times and then added a “meow–” at the end.

That was the common way people in the area called cats.

Zheng Tan looked over.

At the entrance of a small general store nearby, a middle-aged person stood looking in Zheng Tan’s direction, gesturing when Zheng Tan looked over.

Zheng Tan hesitated for two seconds but then decided it was best to take shelter from the impending rain. It was about to pour, and they couldn’t afford to hesitate any longer.

Tugging on the collar, he signaled Xiao Hua to head that way.

Xiao Hua, somewhat puzzled, glanced at the general store, then looked back at Zheng Tan, but still walked over as instructed, albeit cautiously. She stopped two meters from the entrance of the store, eyeing the person standing beside the cash register inside the shop.

“Come on in,” the person called out again, beckoning.

Xiao Hua remained still.

Zheng Tan jumped off the dog’s back, entered the store first, sniffed around, and looked in one direction.

Perched high on a shelf sat a clean, white cat, observing the new arrival from above with narrowed pupils, appearing quite sharp-eyed.

Zheng Tan ran out and pushed Xiao Hua into the store.

Xiao Hua slowly moved into the store following Zheng Tan’s nudging, but still with a sense of alertness. Once inside, it sniffed around and then squatted near the store entrance, not venturing further into the room.

As long as it was sheltered from the rain, Xiao Hua’s wound wouldn’t pose any immediate problem. Otherwise, even a minor injury could worsen into something more severe if infected.

After Xiao Hua entered, Zheng Tan finally turned to look at the person leaning against the cash register.

The owner looked to be pushing forty, with somewhat dark skin–it was unclear whether it was natural or tanned. He had a face that seemed quite mean, with a cigarette clamped in his mouth, eyeing the direction of Zheng Tan and Xiao Hua.

Generally speaking, grandmas and old ladies would warn their grandkids to stay away from such people. Unfortunately, appearances create first impressions. A person with a friendly face seems approachable at first glance, but one with a fierce look or, like the man before them, one who looks difficult to talk to and scornful, gets treated quite differently.

However, to animals, a person’s face doesn’t correlate with their impression. If you show them kindness, you’ll likely win the affection of many animals.

Zheng Tan had noticed the cat on the shelf earlier and felt this man probably wasn’t all that bad. He and Xiao Hua were just seeking temporary refuge from the rain and had no intention of meddling with the man’s interests, so there should be no issue.

Moving his ears, Zheng Tan heard a noise and looked towards the back of the store.

A young man came out holding a box of umbrellas.

“Boss, this is all of them, I’ve removed the old price tags. They’re 15 yuan each… Fuck!”

As the man spoke, he nearly threw the box of umbrellas on the floor upon seeing the large dog squatting at the store entrance.

“B… Boss, where did this dog come from?” The young man looked very scared and didn’t come any closer, clutching the box of umbrellas and turning towards the person by the cash register.

“I let it in to shelter from the rain. What are you scared of?”

“It’s just that I’ve been afraid of dogs since I was bitten by one as a child. Since then, I just find dogs too terrifying; I don’t understand why so many people like them.”

“Enough already. Put the umbrellas there and go take a nap in the back room,” the boss ordered, speaking with a cigarette in his mouth, his words slurred and carrying a distinct accent. Zheng Tan wouldn’t have understood if he wasn’t already familiar with the dialect.

The young employee understood it well, having grown accustomed to this way of speaking. He quickly set down the box of collapsible umbrellas and took off, making sure to close the door leading to the back room securely, as if to keep the large dog at the door from entering.

The store owner wrote something on a piece of paper and then carried the box of umbrellas to the entrance, hanging the paper on a shelf above it. The paper, white with bold black lettering, read, “Umbrellas and raincoats for sale, Umbrellas special price 20 yuan each.”

If Zheng Tan hadn’t misheard earlier, the young man carrying the box over had said the umbrellas were priced at 15 yuan.

20 yuan and a “special price” at that? It was indeed a “special expensive” price–what a swindler the boss was.

The rain outside intensified into a downpour within two minutes of Zheng Tan and Xiao Hua entering the store, pattering loudly on the ground. Splashing water droplets forced Xiao Hua to retreat a step.

The wind outside grew stronger–as soon as anyone stepped out, they’d be soaked through.

With the wind so fierce, rain still managed to drift inside, so the store owner closed most of the door, leaving only the side with the umbrellas exposed. The box was covered with a waterproof cloth, so there was no worry about rain getting inside.

It turned out there were quite a few people coming to buy umbrellas and raincoats, many in a hurry to pay and take an umbrella and leave. Of course, some tried to bargain, but they were invariably rejected. Even those buying small items couldn’t knock off a single cent–in short, no haggling was allowed.

The store owner went inside the cash register area and started fiddling with a desk fan. The kind of desk fan students use, which they would usually repair if it stopped working, or sell off cheaply. The one in the owner’s hands must have been bought cheaply from a student, fixed up, and now could be sold for some profit.

Clang!

Zheng Tan looked over in the direction of the sound.

Two young men with dyed hair and wearing short-sleeved T-shirts with skull patterns walked in–the noise had come from them kicking a metal rack at the entrance.

Both were soaking wet, wiping their thong sandals on a dry cardboard box beside them, cursing under their breath. Upon noticing Xiao Hua, they paused and restrained themselves a bit. Most people are somewhat wary of large dogs.

After picking out two umbrellas and a few other items, the two approached the cash register.

“The total is 72.30 yuan, thank you,” the store owner declared.

“That’s too expensive, could you make it cheaper?” one of the young men asked while packing the items into a bag.

“No haggling. 72.30 yuan, thank you,” the store owner repeated, making no comment about the young man packing up the goods without paying first.

“Hey, you old fart, stop wasting time with your useless chatter. If I ask for a discount, just give it. Can’t understand plain talk, huh?” As he said this, the young man slapped a 50 yuan note on the counter, planning to grab his stuff and leave.

But the store owner reacted faster. Before the young man could lift his bag, his arm was twisted and pinned down on the counter.

“Ow ow ow!” The young man’s face contorted with pain, bewildered, every slight movement bringing intense agony, as if his arm were about to snap.

“What are you doing?” the other young man shouted angrily. He glanced around, thinking of grabbing a broom, as having a stick in hand would make things easier to handle.

“Woof!”

Xiao Hua sensed something and barked, growling lowly at the young man who was thinking about grabbing the broom.

The young man, whose hand was already reaching for the broom, retracted it after the dog’s bark startled him.

The store owner glanced at the one eyeing the broom and then back at the one whose arm he was gripping tightly, inching closer with a cigarette in his mouth and speaking slowly, “Either pay up or get lost.” (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian (NovelFire.net) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.NovelFire.net to read.)

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