That evening, Ye Yun and Qin Zheng took a walk near the garment factory. The snow seemed to reflect the moonlight, illuminating their surroundings.
There were still vendors setting up stalls by the roadside, packing their goods onto their tricycles.
In winter, the temperature is low and business is not good. Usually, when there are no customers, people quickly pack up and go home. It's better to fill their stomachs at home and warm themselves by the fire with their families.
Ye Yun and Qin Zheng also headed back, as it was getting late and large wild animals would come out to forage in the nearby mountains.
It hadn't even been a few steps.
As I passed by the stinking ditch, I saw a man riding a bicycle throw a cloth bag into the ditch with a thud.
The cloth bag broke through the thin ice that had just formed on the ditch surface.
A startled kitten's meow rang out—
Ye Yun was stunned for a moment, then exchanged a glance with Qin Zheng, both seeing disbelief in each other's eyes.
Upon hearing the shout, the man riding the old-fashioned bicycle, as if afraid of being entangled, seemed to have thrown away a hot potato and rode off as if fleeing for his life.
Qin Zheng immediately ran over.
He lay down by the stinking ditch, and with a swift movement of his long arm, he lifted the dark cloth bag.
Water was dripping sparsely from the cloth bag. Qin Zheng hurriedly untied the rope, revealing a litter of kittens inside, their bodies completely soaked in the foul water.
The kitten looked thin and small, and had only opened its eyes a short time ago; it was soaking wet all over.
The feeling of being soaked in ice water frightened the kittens. The small kittens huddled together, trembling and squirming, desperately seeking warmth.
"this……"
Ye Yun was speechless. She untied the scarf around her neck and tried to wipe the kitten clean.
Qin Zheng took off his hat before she could, stopping her from doing so. He whispered for her to wrap her scarf properly, then took off his own hat, put the wet kittens inside the warm hat, and quickly tucked it into his arms.
Holding Ye Yun's hand, he walked towards the garment factory and said gently, "Hurry back and warm yourself by the fire. We'll save as many as we can."
Ye Yun nodded.
Feeling uncomfortable, she turned her head and glanced in the direction the person riding the old bicycle had left.
The person had vanished into the pitch-black night, leaving only a tire track fading into the distance. One wonders if the person felt any remorse for what happened, given the darkness and slippery roads.
Back at the garment factory.
As soon as he entered the house, Qin Zheng quickly took out a few kittens from his pocket and placed them by the stove to warm them up.
The kittens were already soaked in the foul water, their bodies covered in stench and sticky mud. Ye Yun simply asked Qin Zheng to dilute the water with warm water and carefully cleaned them.
Logically, kittens shouldn't be washed, lest they catch a cold and die.
But could things get any worse right now?
Washing them with warm water is the most effective and fastest method.
Of course, while cleaning the kitten, Ye Yun carefully avoided the navel, which is a sensitive area, and simply used her hands to gently rinse away the mud with warm water.
After doing all this, she dried them with a towel and placed them over the stove to dry the down.
There are five kittens in total.
The colors are mixed up: two tabby, two calico, and even a small orange.
The four were doing alright; they would whimper and wriggle their bodies in protest when Ye Yun and Qin Zheng bathed them.
The remaining little orange cat was sickly, breathing heavily with little energy, its head drooping.
Qin Zheng picked it up, shook it a few times with its head down to get rid of the dirty water that had gotten into its lungs, placed it next to the stove opening, gently pressed its heart, and then held its mouth and blew air into it.
Little Orange's belly could be vaguely seen rising and falling slightly, but there was still not much movement.
Seeing this, Qin Zheng repeated the actions of pressing the heart and breathing into the kitten several more times, and finally the little orange cat let out a weak meow.
"It works."
The moment the kitten's faint whimpering sound appeared, Ye Yun's eyes lit up slightly.
Seeing the radiant light in her eyes, Qin Zheng felt much better. "We've done all we can. Whether we survive tonight is up to fate."
Ye Yun nodded. "Mm."
The two had prepared a cardboard box, lined with soft cotton, and placed it by the stove to keep it warm.
Qin Zheng put the sickly little orange cat into its nest, along with the other kittens.
Little Orange didn't have much strength to move, but the other kittens nuzzled against it, encircling it in their warm little group.
Their downy fur, which Ye Yun had dried at the stove opening, was now fluffy.
The five little creatures were entangled together, creating a heartwarming scene that made one feel a sense of peace and tranquility.
only.
Thinking about their plight, no one can laugh anymore.
“Not many city dwellers care about this thing. We mountain folk like to raise them to catch mice. There aren’t that many mice to catch in the city, so not many people raise these things. Some people even think that these things are greedy and like to steal food, so they inevitably look down on them.”
Seeing that she was unhappy, Qin Zheng gently put his arm around her shoulder and whispered words of comfort:
"Don't worry, cats have nine lives. These things are very resilient. There's no way they can be killed in one go."
Hearing him say that, Ye Yun smiled slightly and said, "I know."
"Then why aren't you happy?"
"Which eye of yours saw that I was unhappy?" Ye Yun raised an eyebrow slightly, teasing him.
Qin Zheng couldn't help but chuckle, and pulled her to wash her hands, his voice filled with helpless affection: "Okay, okay, you're not angry. I was just overthinking it."
"Come on, I'll wash your hands and feet, then we'll go to sleep."
...
The next day, as soon as Ye Yun woke up, she rubbed her eyes and went to look at the little kitten by the stove.
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