Zheng Tan grew impatient after squatting in the tree for a while, as several people underneath gazed at them as if they were looking at rare animals. Ah Huang and the sheriff would have already taken off if it weren't for seeing their two little buddies still squatting there. As for Da Pang, he continued to thoroughly ignore those irrelevant onlookers.
After being hit by Ah Huang's tail once more, Zheng Tan glanced at it with a slanting eye. Ah Huang gave a soft "meow" in grievance, indicating that it really didn't want to stay here any longer.
Forget it, since Da Bony has seen it too, let's go.
However, just as Zheng Tan was about to get up, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.
Looking over there, "Buddha" was walking towards the International Academic Report Hall with a foreigner, not with the group they were with earlier. It seemed as though the foreigner had taken a trip to the Physics College and "Buddha" had been accompanying him the whole time; the two seemed to be well-acquainted.
Zheng Tan wasn't interested in knowing about "Buddha" and that foreigner, but a name they frequently mentioned caught Zheng Tan's attention. They kept referring to someone named "Mary," and Zheng Tan remembered that when he was keeping Xiao Zhuo company by the artificial lake, one of Xiao Zhuo's original documents had "To my dear Mary" written on it, followed by some blessings.
Besides that original document, there were a few other books with the name "Mary" on them, and Xiao Zhuo often annotated directly on the books, indicating that they belonged to Xiao Zhuo. Therefore, "Mary" should be Xiao Zhuo's English name.
With this thought, Zheng Tan's foot, which had just been lifted, was placed back down again.
Ah Huang's eyes sparkled with life when it saw Zheng Tan lift his foot, preparing to rush down the tree. But turning around to find Zheng Tan squatting back down again, its ears drooped, and it let out a "meow" longer in tone than before. Unfortunately, Zheng Tan was busy eavesdropping and paid no attention to it.
Zheng Tan pricked his ears to listen to "Buddha" chatting with the foreigner. Though many technical terms were incomprehensible to Zheng Tan, he still understood some things outside of those terms, like Xiao Zhuo's situation.
Apparently, the foreigner had taken a liking to Xiao Zhuo but did not know Xiao Zhuo's current situation. "Buddha's" expression was grim; Xiao Zhuo's circumstance was an everlasting pain in his heart, yet he could not reveal it openly.
The bearded foreigner obviously didn't know how to read expressions; couldn't he see how forced "Buddha's" smile was?
Zheng Tan shook his head inwardly. Dear Mary is at home pregnant, bearded foreigner, you might as well give up!
What made Zheng Tan curious was something else "Buddha" mentioned: Xiao Zhuo was preparing to go abroad, and by next year she was likely to leave and not return for at least three years.
The bearded one asked more about Xiao Zhuo's situation, but "Buddha" fended off the questions, not specifying where she was going or whether she was going for a postdoctoral exchange. He only mentioned that she would be away for several years.
Since Zheng Tan was well aware of Xiao Zhuo's current situation, he was all the more puzzled. By nature, "Buddha" was not one to speak idly. The assertion that Xiao Zhuo was going abroad had been firm, otherwise the foreigner wouldn't have believed it.
In Xiao Zhuo's current condition, how could she possibly go abroad for an exchange? Follow up on a collaboration project? What about her child?
Regrettably, until "Buddha" and the foreigner entered the report hall, Zheng Tan did not hear the information he wanted to know.
The electronic screen outside the hall displayed the upcoming presentation's topic. Currently, it was discussing something related to quark particle theory. Occasionally, people hurried towards the hall, rushing inside.
As the presentation began, the area outside the hall grew quiet. Zheng Tan stood up, stretching and turning his head to look over. Ah Huang and the sheriff were half-closed their eyes as if asleep. Zheng Tan flicked his tail at them and then leaped down from the tree, heading towards the residential area. The three cats followed him in succession.
Entering the gate of the East Family Courtyard, Zheng Tan saw an old man dragging some stuff towards Building B. Zheng Tan didn't recognize the man, but he seldom jumped up to swipe a access card on his own when people were downstairs. So he leisurely followed behind the old man at a distance.
When the old man flicked his cigarette butt and caught sight of a black cat behind him, he waved his hand away, "Go on, whose cat is this? Scram, don't think about preying on my fish!"
Zheng Tan: "..." Like I fancy it?!
The items the old man was dragging included two plastic buckets on the bottom, poked with a few small holes, from which a fishy smell emanated. But Zheng Tan had no intention of doing anything to the fish; he never ate raw fish, and the stuff he could eat would give other cats diarrhea.
Zheng Tan ignored the old man and sauntered over to the access control panel in front of Building B, squatting down and watching the old man shuffle this way.
The old man, dragging his belongings, looked at the black cat squatting by the door and hesitated for a moment. Nevertheless, he came over, pressed some buttons on the electronic lock, and soon Jiao Ma's voice came from inside.
"Rong Han, it's me," said the old man.
"Oh, Dad, why have you come? I'm coming down to get you..."
"No need to come down. Just stay at home and open the door for me," the old man insisted.
With a click, the door opened, and the old man went inside with his things. Zheng Tan followed him in.
There was too much stuff for the old man to carry at once, but now that he was inside the residence building, there was no worry of theft. He trusted the people here.
Thinking it over, and glancing at the black cat which had already darted ahead, the old man took a box off the top of the plastic buckets filled with fish and then picked up the two buckets, steadily ascending the stairs despite his age.
As the old man went upstairs, he noticed the black cat was also climbing, wondering whose cat it was. Jiao Ma's voice then sounded.
"Hey, Dad, how come you're coming up with Heitan?" Jiao Ma leaned over the fifth-floor railing, looking down and catching a glimpse of the old man.
"What Heitan?"
"Our cat, the black one that's right in front of you."
"Ah, turns out this cat is yours. I was wondering whose it was. Well-fed cat, not skinny, no excess fat. Does it catch mice?" he said while ascending.
It was quiet in the stairwell, and there were no other people, so the old man didn't have to speak loudly for Jiao Ma standing on the fifth floor to hear him.
"Definitely catches them. My Heitan is really good at catching mice."
"That's good. Some time ago, I heard people say that many cats in big cities don't catch mice anymore. What's the use of keeping a cat that doesn't hunt mice? Isn't that just wasting food?"
Old Man Gu couldn't understand those people, and knowing his temper, Jiao Ma didn't say much. Any comments would simply invite criticism. According to the older generation's way of thinking, a cat that doesn't catch mice isn't a good cat, and a dog that can't watch the house isn't a good dog. Many of them had lived through dark times and couldn't comprehend the meaning of keeping a pet that only eats and doesn't work.
Jiao Ma was now just relieved that their Heitan was a real mouser, otherwise, the old man would have had an outburst by now.
"What are you moving in there?"
"I'm carrying fish, two big soft-shelled turtles, and some eels. There's also a box of Youzis downstairs, a new variety we're testing out. It's said that this year's harvest is being supplied directly to the city government, not for sale to the public. I managed to get a few with some difficulty. What's the use of a bank card? You've still got to show your face to buy things. These days, having a card without clout is useless."
"Right, you do have such a great reputation."
"Of course, if I didn't have a significant reputation, would I have heard about your accident and hospitalization?" the old man said indignantly.
Jiao Ma chuckled and didn't argue. In front of Old Man Gu, the more you defended yourself, the more he thought you were guilty.
Standing at the stair entrance, Jiao Ma wanted to go down to help several times but she knew the old man's temper too well. If she actually went downstairs, he would definitely explode.
Even when the old man reached the doorstep, he didn't let Jiao Ma help. After finally putting down the plastic bucket, Zheng Tan came over to take a look. Peering through the holes, he saw the two soft-shelled turtles were indeed quite large. As for the eels in the other bucket, Zheng Tan only glanced at them briefly, since the old man watched him like he was guarding against thieves.
After taking a break and drinking a glass of water, the old man went back downstairs to bring up the Youzis. He left the small luggage trolley downstairs, not worried about it being stolen.
Zheng Tan looked at the Youzis Old Man Gu brought out; they were quite large, but how they tasted was unknown.
"Why did you buy so many apples and oranges?" Old Man Gu asked, seeing four boxes in the living room.
Zheng Tan was puzzled as well. He hadn't seen them this morning, and now there were four more boxes, two of apples and two of oranges. And they were the expensive kinds sold in supermarkets.
"A student sent them. Our family helped her with a favor last time. This time, her family's company bought fruit to distribute to their employees, and she sent us four boxes as well."
With that explanation from Jiao Ma, Zheng Tan knew who had sent them.
What Zheng Tan didn't know was that Zhao Le sometimes went back to the Life Science Institute to check on him with Professor Jiao. Knowing that this guy didn't eat cat food, just shared their meals, Zhao Le had not sent cat food but fruit instead. Mr. Jiao and Jiao Ma thought that the Zhao Family was trying to avoid criticism for neglecting this Black Cat.
Old Man Gu sat on the sofa talking with Jiao Ma, mainly about Gu Youzi. Zheng Tan lay on the sofa, listening to their chat without moving, even under the old man's glaring gaze.
Zheng Tan hadn't known much about Gu Youzi's background before, only that she was Jiao Ma's niece, her parents were divorced, and her mother stayed abroad. It was through listening to the conversations between Old Man Gu and Jiao Ma that Zheng Tan came to understand why Gu Youzi had always been so quiet.
Gu Youzi, the "Little Youzi" as Old Man Gu called her, had been living with her mother overseas. Both of her parents were competent, but they fought frequently, until the divorce was finalized this year. Little Youzi followed her mother, and even changed her surname upon returning to the country. Her mother entrusted her to Jiao Ma, who now received monthly or biannual living expenses on the bank card left for Little Youzi as her allowance.
When she first arrived, "Little Youzi" faced some communication barriers. After all, she had spent a long time abroad and suddenly returning was a bit of an adjustment for her. Moreover, she was naturally reticent which made her even more silent. However, after a few months of adapting, "Little Youzi" was no longer as gloomy.
Gu Youzi, like Zheng Tan, shared a sense of commiseration with the disabled. They both had irresponsible parents—one was obsessed with power and wealth, the other self-centered, both young and promising yet heartless as wolves. Zheng Tan had seen plenty of such people, and he predicted their numbers would grow exponentially in Huaxia over the next decade, following a "J"-shaped curve in line with economic development.
Because she had changed her surname, Old Man Gu directly asked the student to call him "grandpa". The old man had only two daughters in his life, and no one had ever called him grandpa before. Now with Gu Youzi around, Old Man Gu cherished this "granddaughter" dearly.
When the two kids came home in the afternoon, Old Man Gu had already peeled a pomelo and handed it to them, then casually placed the pomelo peel on Zheng Tan's head.
Zheng Tan: "..." Fuck!
The old man lifted little Youzi, "She's gotten heavier, our little Youzi is growing up!"
The student, little Youzi, rarely smiled, but this time she did and called out "Grandpa".
After eating the pomelo, dinner wasn't ready yet, so the kids went to do their homework first.
"Off you go, later grandpa will make you some eel!"
Zheng Tan didn't want to stay on the sofa and stare at the old man, so he followed little Youzi into her room.
Little Youzi was in a good mood today because of Old Man Gu's visit, so she talked more than usual.
She whispered to Zheng Tan about something that happened in art class today. She typically talked to Zheng Tan when no one else was around, as people often let their guard down around animals. Some people think talking to animals is similar to talking to oneself, but it's not the same—the speaker feels different.
"The teacher asked us to draw food that we're familiar with or something we often see in daily life, so I drew it but..."
Little Youzi spread her drawing book in front of Zheng Tan, looking somewhat dispirited.
Zheng Tan glanced at little Youzi's drawing book, which displayed her artwork from today. Little Youzi had drawn well, and the teacher had given her a score of 92 on the spot. Zheng Tan thought that was quite high; his own drawings used to look like the work of someone with a hand disability, barely scraping by with 70 or 80 points, and even that was thanks to the teacher's leniency.
However, the focus of little Youzi's drawing book wasn't the drawings themselves but the teacher's comments. Although second graders don't know many characters, teachers still write simple comments when grading, although the handwriting is neater than that of middle school teachers and often includes Pinyin annotations above complex characters, which also helps students learn to read.
On the blank space to the left of the page where little Youzi had drawn her picture, there was a score and a comment written in red watercolor pen. Below the score of "92", it read: "The soybeans and green beans are well-drawn, keep it up!" followed by a juvenile smiley face stamp.
Soybeans and green beans my ass!
Zheng Tan looked sympathetically at little Youzi, who was frowning. The presumptuous comments from the teacher were really discouraging!
The reason being, the picture that little Youzi had drawn was actually based on the cover image of a biology magazine Jiao Ma had subscribed to, which had been sitting on the living room coffee table. And the two organisms on the cover were actually the golden Staphylococcus aureus and a paramecium...
After reflecting on this, Zheng Tan's eyes fell on the Pinyin annotations made by the teacher, where he saw an "a", and this "a" made Zheng Tan think again about the "Project A" mentioned by Buddha. Were the excuses Buddha made to that foreigner during the day related to Xiao Zhuo's participation in Project A?