After finishing the advertisement for kitten food, Zheng Tan did not bother about the effect of the advertisement; his attention was focused on another matter—Jiao Ma was getting discharged from the hospital.
Although her body had not fully recovered, there was no further need for her to stay in the hospital. With employee benefits and some compensation, hospitalization was almost free, but Jiao Ma did not want to keep occupying a bed unnecessarily. Besides, she felt uneasy staying in the hospital. Moreover, Jiao Ma felt sorry for letting the children eat cafeteria food all the time. Not that the cafeteria food was bad, but psychologically, home-cooked meals always seemed better.
So, on a sunny Saturday morning, the Jiao family were all at the hospital to take Jiao Ma home.
Jiao Yuan was carrying a backpack, and Zheng Tan just hid inside it. If a stranger, doctor, or anyone unfamiliar came by, Zheng Tan would tuck his head in, but if no one was around, he would peek out to watch the people busily packing up the belongings.
The mood of being discharged was always cheerful and delightful, and everyone's face bore an uncontrollable smile. During the time Jiao Ma was hospitalized, the family had gradually moved a lot of home items there, not that they had too many items, but packing them up filled a large cardboard box, including the kids' bowls and cups, Zheng Tan's specialized cat bowl, and some small blankets, among other things.
Zheng Tan looked at the people busying inside, then turned his head to look outside the segregated small ward.
A man, almost fifty years old, came out carrying a white plastic bedpan commonly used in hospital rooms, heading to the washroom to clean the bedpan.
After cleaning, when he saw Mr. Jiao carrying the box out of the room, the man greeted him with a smile, "Xiao Jiao, are you taking Little Gu home?!"
"Yeah, although she's not fully healed, she said she didn't want to stay here anymore. She feels uncomfortable all over, better to recuperate at home." Mr. Jiao spoke more relaxedly today.
Mr. Jiao and the man chatted, and Mr. Jiao, a bit tired from packing up, also took the opportunity to rest for a while.
From their conversation, Zheng Tan learned that this man's wife was also injured in the same school bus accident as Jiao Ma and was hospitalized. However, unlike Jiao Ma, this lady was less fortunate, having multiple fractures beyond external injuries, combined with being older with some high blood pressure and heart issues. She had been in a critical condition several times and had only been transferred from the ICU to a regular ward a few days ago. Since her admittance, she had been bedridden, needing her husband's constant care for even basic needs.
For the first few days of Jiao Ma's hospital stay, she too couldn't leave the bed, and Mr. Jiao tended to her. During that time, the phrase Zheng Tan heard most from Mr. Jiao to Jiao Ma was "Don't worry, I'm here."
Sometimes, Zheng Tan felt envious of them. Whether it was Mr. Jiao and Jiao Ma or that couple from the ICU. Perhaps, that's what truly defines "family."
"Alright, let's go home!"
Jiao Ma pulled out a suitcase, and Mr. Jiao hurried over to help her.
Yi Xin, who had just finished an experiment, also came at the last minute to help.
This discharge was not announced to Aunt Ling and others; Mr. Jiao only mentioned it casually to Yi Xin while arranging work, yet Yi Xin still showed up.
Mr. Jiao borrowed an SUV from a colleague in the hospital, loaded the belongings, and drove everyone back to the East Family Courtyard.
When moving things, Mr. Jiao and Zheng Tan were both thinking at the same time,, "We really need to buy a car!"
But right now, Mr. Jiao was a bit tight on money. The readily available funds, including the money earned by their cat, had all been invested in the company, leaving no excess money to buy a car.
As Mr. Jiao drove, he thought to himself,, "Just wait a bit longer,, I must buy one before the end of next year, and then next year I'll drive my family and Heitan back to my hometown for the New Year."
The New Year came a bit early this year,, and because of Jiao Ma's illness, Mr. Jiao decided to stay in Chuhua City for the New Year this year, letting Jiao Ma rest well. He also spoke with both families to plan on bringing all the elderly to stay together; however, Grandpa Jiao rejected Mr. Jiao's suggestion.
On the phone, Grandpa Jiao said, "Your area is just a small spot; it's still more comfortable to live in our town."
To recuperate properly and fully recover without any lingering issues, Jiao Ma did not go to teach at the middle school. She had just been discharged from the hospital and needed to avoid overworking,, so she took paid leave. Many teachers who had been injured in the accident received the same treatment, so Jiao Ma did not feel uneasy about resting at home, taking more care of the two kids and the cat, compensating for the neglect during the time she was hospitalized.
With Jiao Ma at home, Zheng Tan felt that life had regained its luster and was much more comfortable. In the morning, he would get up with the kids, wash up with Gu Youzi, urinate with Jiao Yuan, and then enjoy the breakfast that had already been prepared.
In the morning, there was one more person joining Jiao Yuan on his way to school—Shi Rui, a new student who had just moved into the courtyard. After the theft case, the vice principal's family relatives moved out of the family housing, leaving the house empty, which was perfect for the newly arrived Professor Shi and his family. The house was finely renovated, saving a lot of effort for Professor Shi's family.
Although there were companions, the two kids still preferred to call Zheng Tan to join them. After dropping this group of little rascals at the school gate, Zheng Tan would start his run, heading to the forest to practice climbing trees.
During this period, Zheng Tan seldom saw Xiao Zhuo by the artificial lake, as it was said that the cold weather had him staying at home to rest. "Buddha" had helped apply for a room in the family residence building for him.
It was once again Zheng Tan's turn for an advertising shoot. Xiao Guo visited, bringing along a magazine, the one founded by his friend. Many of the pet advertisements taken by Zheng Tan were published in it,, and it was said to be selling well.
Xiao Guo didn't rush to leave after arriving, but instead called Jiao Ma over, sat down on the sofa, and flipped the magazine to the page where Zheng Tan's advertisements were.
Like the previous issues, it featured a photo story, which consisted of several frames taken from the video advertisement of Zheng Tan and five kitten cubs. Many readers of this advertisement would first check out the story page upon purchasing the magazine, and the response for this issue was particularly good.
Additionally, unlike the previous issues, next to the story page, there was a large clear image showing a large black cat raising its paw to meet the small paw of a kitten lying back on a blanket.
In the bottom right corner of this large image was the usual advertising slogan of Mingming Pet Center,, "Mingming so loves you, won't you take me home?"
After seeing it, Jiao Ma directly cut out the two pages and placed them in an album, then asked Xiao Guo to print out a copy of the photo to keep.
Zheng Tan actually didn't think highly of the photo that everyone praised; he felt that the photo overly sentimentalized his majestic and imposing image, distorting his temperament severely.
No matter how Zheng Tan viewed this kitten advertisement, sales decided everything,, and Xiao Guo's shop received several more orders for kitten food. In fact, many people who contacted Xiao Guo mainly wanted to learn how to achieve such photographic effects. Were there any Photoshop traces? How to get the cats to perform such actions? Xiao Guo always kept them guessing, as there were no real secrets to reveal.
When Xiao Guo and Zheng Tan arrived at the advertising studio in the Pet Center, Zheng Tan immediately noticed something was amiss.
Li Yan was here, and there were also some unfamiliar yet familiar scents around. Zheng Tan walked over to Li Yan and looked down. Li Yan was intently staring at her computer, which displayed some images. Many of the shots were of poor quality, but he could still make out some details.
The images were all about two cats, one large cat, the imposing "Li Yuanba," and a small kitten, only recently born, mainly white with some yellow spots, much smaller than the five kittens Zheng Tan had previously worked with.
Was this "Li Yuanba's" child?!
Zheng Tan then looked at the name of the folder—Li Yuanba and Huasheng Tang.
Looking again at the small kitten in the blurry photo, the pattern did indeed resemble that of peanut nougat candy.
Knowing that the tortoiseshell cat had given birth, Zheng Tan wasn't very interested and just wanted to finish the advertisement and go home early. However, two staff members involved in today's shoot were temporarily unavailable, so it seemed they would have to wait another hour or two before starting.
While waiting, Zheng Tan did as usual, jumping onto the highest cat climbing frame and lying down with his eyes closed to rest.
Not far from Zheng Tan, Li Yan was holding her computer and discussing matters with Xiao Guo. Listening to their conversation, Zheng Tan learned that during this period, both Li Yan and the tortoiseshell cat had been living at the Pet Center.
There were some staff restrooms and living rooms in the Pet Center. Li Yan, being constantly anxious about her pregnant cat and fearing any accidents, moved here after much deliberation. She had paid two months' rent. With Xiao Guo's help taking care of things, she felt much more at ease. As for herself, she wasn't picky about where she lived, as long as she was with her computer and somewhere with internet access.
"Li Yuanba" gave birth just a few days after moving in, unusually having only one kitten, which was bigger than the typical newborn kittens.
Li Yan wanted to take more photos or videos as keepsakes, but every time "Li Yuanba" saw anything like a camera, she would glare menacingly. Already somewhat ferocious, her expression became utterly fierce, which greatly troubled Li Yan. Xiao Guo couldn't help either; he couldn't even get close. The cat, upon seeing any strangers, would immediately go into battle mode, purely seeking a scratch.
Yanzi never used flash when photographing her own cat and always took shots sneakily. Yanzi's tortoiseshell cat had very sharp senses, so many of Yanzi's sneaky attempts failed, often capturing just a tail or a blur. The pictures she had shown Xiao Guo before were only successful after much effort.
Later, Li Yan installed a camera and started spying through her laptop every day.
Now, after reviewing the photos, Li Yan turned on the camera to continue spying.
"I heard people say a while ago that tortoiseshell cats are very gentle and love quiet, better in temperament than the average cat, and they care very well for their offspring. Is that true? I think my 'Li Yuanba' indeed fits this description," Li Yan said proudly.
Xiao Guo thought for a moment, "I've heard my grandma say before that tortoiseshell cats are either very gentle and quiet or they're complete bandits. I think your cat leans more towards the latter."
"Guo Xiaoming!!" Li Yan picked up a cat toy stick beside her and swung it at him.
After frolicking for a while, Li Yan started to worry about her cat's daily needs such as food and warmth.
"Are you being neurotic?" Xiao Guo rubbed his arm that had been pulled, saying, "Many cats don't let you see their kittens, and your cat is actually quite good. In fact, cats don't really need too much attention; as long as you ensure they get proper nutrition, it's fine. Cats aren't like dogs; naturally, most felines are solitary animals. You might often see stray cats sitting on walls or stones, squinting leisurely in the sun, but compared to stray cats, stray dogs are much more miserable because canines in nature tend to live in groups, so you often see stray dogs with their tails between their legs, looking scared and uneasy. Stray dogs die easily, whereas many stray cats can survive alone for a long time. Cats can hunt independently and survey their territory with the eyes of a king, while many dogs prefer to follow their owner, some needing company just to pee or poop...."
Hearing Xiao Guo say this, Zheng Tan looked at a golden retriever lying nearby. It was a female golden retriever which someone might think should be named 'Princess' since the American shorthair male cat in the store was named 'Prince,' right?
Unfortunately, this golden retriever was not named 'Princess' but 'Lord.' It had even won a prize at some pet exhibition, and the certificate was prominently displayed in Xiao Guo's store as a part of advertising. Due to its appealing appearance, many of the canine pet food products produced by Xiao Guo's store featured this golden retriever's image.
The golden retriever's rich golden fur was indeed eye-catching, and with its lively, smart nature and kindness toward family, it was gradually getting recognized and accepted by more and more people.
The moment Xiao Guo mentioned stray dogs, Li Yan also glanced toward the golden retriever. Following Li Yan's gaze, Xiao Guo saw his "Lord" grinning at them, vigorously wagging its tail.
"What are you looking at, I'm talking about you!" Xiao Guo shouted toward the golden retriever.
The golden retriever "Lord" did not seem to understand, for it paused its tail-wagging upon hearing Xiao Guo's words, then continued grinning and wagging its tail.
"You're just a glutton!" Xiao Guo said helplessly.
Turning his gaze away from the golden retriever, Zheng Tan lay down to think.
Xiao Guo's words had prompted Zheng Tan to ponder some questions about how to classify himself, whether he belonged to the solitary or the social type? Humans are social animals, yet he now had the mind of an adult man but the blood of a cat in his veins.
If one day, he found himself lost outside, what would it be like? Could he still squint and leisurely enjoy the sun, or would he anxiously survive in this cramped society with his tail between his legs?
Zheng Tan really did not know.
When the two employees returned, Zheng Tan pulled himself together and started working.
The ad they were working on was not complicated, it wasn't for kitten food, so it didn't take long to shoot, and after finishing, Xiao Guo dropped Zheng Tan off at the East District.
After eating his fill, Zheng Tan lay on the couch at home watching those slow-paced TV dramas with Jiao Ma, slept for a while, and then went outside to roam.
Since Jiao Ma was home, Zheng Tan didn't have to accompany the kids, and sometimes he would stay out a bit later before coming home. At the end of the year, Mr. Jiao also had a lot of work, and recently the experimental project had reached a critical stage; often he wouldn't come home until around eleven or midnight, or even early morning. Sometimes Zheng Tan would hang around the Life Science Building until almost eleven before waiting for Mr. Jiao on his electric bike and returning home together.