Chapter 41 Hot Pot and Cats: Providing Cat Insurance for Homeless Cats
Shi Wan was in a great mood.
With Zhou Jianming, a major threat, completely eliminated, Meow Meow Mimi Farm ushered in an unprecedented period of peace.
On Friday evening, Shi Wan looked out the window at the cats playing in the sunset and felt a surge of urge to share.
She picked up her phone and dialed Wang Zhizhi's number.
"Zhizhi! Are you free tomorrow? How about I treat you to hot pot at our usual spot?" Shi Wan's voice carried a long-lost lightness.
Wang Zhizhi's exaggerated cheers came from the other end of the phone.
"Wow! The sun's risen in the west? Our Shi family's big farm owner has finally decided to leave her beloved cats and dogs behind and come to the city? I have to be free! See you at the usual place! I'm going to eat you out of house and home!"
Hearing Wang Zhizhi's familiar yet energetic voice, Shi Wan smiled with her eyes crinkling.
After hanging up the phone, she thought for a moment and opened Miao's chat page.
"Agent: I'm going out of town tomorrow, so the farm is in your hands."
Miao didn't respond with text, but a black cat emoji popped up quickly.
The little black cat lazily sprawled out like a pancake, holding up a sign with the letters "OK" on its paw.
On Saturday morning, after arranging the farm's daily work, Shi Wan patted each of the cats' heads.
"Be good today, okay?"
Tangyuan nuzzled her hand and followed her step by step to the door. Even after Shi Wan got into the driver's seat, he was still squatting on the threshold, reluctant to leave with her.
"I'll be back tonight, wait for me!" Seeing Shi Wan's soft heart, she couldn't help but kiss his little head again.
Tangyuan reluctantly meowed, "Okay..."
On the drive into the city, Shi Wan's mood was as bright as the sunshine outside the car window.
More than an hour later, she arrived at the Chongqing hot pot restaurant that she had arranged to meet with Wang Zhizhi, which was their favorite place.
The red oil sizzled and the aroma was irresistible. Two friends chatted as they cooked tripe in the steaming hot oil.
"Why did you suddenly think of coming to see me? Aren't you busy at your farm?" Wang Zhizhi was quite curious. She had asked Shi Wan out several times, but Shi Wan was always too busy to come.
"Ugh..." Shi Wan was furious just thinking about it, so she immediately embellished the story of Zhou Jianming to Wang Zhizhi.
"What the hell?" Wang Zhizhi slammed her hand on the table in anger. "What a despicable person! Why didn't you tell me sooner? I may not be able to do anything, but I could have helped you curse him out!"
Shi Wan was both amused and exasperated. She quickly put two pieces of tripe and duck intestines on her plate to help her cool down.
"Tell me quickly, what happened next? What trick did you use? Is it resolved now?" Wang Zhizhi asked impatiently, her nose sweating as she ate.
Shi Wan did not reveal what she had done, only vaguely saying that she was about to call the police when she found that evil people would be punished by heaven.
Wang Zhizhi was stunned.
"Wow, Wan! I really don't know if you're lucky or unlucky. You're lucky that he's targeting you, but you're also unlucky that he brought this upon himself..."
She raised her juice glass. "Alright then, let's raise a toast to our incredibly lucky Shi Xiaowan!"
The cups clinked together, making a crisp sound.
After a pleasant chat about the battle, Wang Zhizhi started gossiping again.
"You're living such a comfortable life these days, I'm so envious. You have such a big yard and so many cats, it's like a modern-day Shangri-La."
Shi Wan smiled and picked up a piece of shrimp paste for her.
"Yeah, I'm busy, but I feel at ease. Why don't you come stay with me for a couple of days this weekend when you're free? It'll change your mood and I guarantee it'll be better than you holed up in your apartment watching TV shows."
"Really? That's great!" Wang Zhizhi's eyes lit up. "I've been wanting to visit your territory for a while now! It's settled then, I'll go back with you in a car later!"
After eating and drinking their fill, the two strolled around the streets for a while until sunset before returning to the parking lot with their bags full and embarking on their return journey.
"Wow! When did you pick up the car?" Wang Zhizhi was still a little excited as she sat in the passenger seat.
"I made some money the other day, and I was thinking it would be more convenient to go out," Shi Wan said with a smile as she fastened her seatbelt and started playing a playlist.
As Shi Wan drove, Wang Zhizhi excitedly planned how to take photos at the farm the next day and how to pet every single cat.
As the car drove out of the city and onto the country road leading to the farm, it gradually got dark.
As they passed through an area of abandoned factories, Shi Wan subconsciously slowed down.
The streetlights here are dim, and stray cats often appear.
Suddenly, a dark figure darted out from behind the trash can in front and stopped right in front of the headlights!
"Oh no!" Shi Wan was startled and quickly slammed on the brakes.
The car stopped abruptly, less than half a meter away from the cat.
It was a thin, bony calico cat. It seemed startled, but instead of running away immediately, it raised its head and looked at them through the windshield with eyes that shone brightly in the car lights, making a weak meow.
"Meow……"
"That scared me to death!" Wang Zhizhi patted her chest.
"It's alright, it's not hurt." Shi Wan breathed a sigh of relief and was about to slowly walk around it when she saw that the calico cat not only didn't leave, but instead moved closer and continued to meow, its voice carrying a pitiful tone.
"Is it... trying to stage an accident?" Wang Zhizhi asked in surprise.
Shi Wan's heart skipped a beat. She rolled down the car window and tentatively whispered, "Little one, get out of the way quickly, it's dangerous here."
The calico cat meowed even more urgently when she opened the car window, and even took a small step forward, almost touching the tire.
Just then, two kittens emerged from the shadows of the nearby wall, a cow-shaped kitten and an orange kitten.
It looked to be only two or three months old, thin and small, following behind the calico cat, meowing softly at the car like it did.
"My God, they even brought their whole family to stage an accident!" Wang Zhizhi's heart melted at the sight.
Looking at the three kittens, who were clearly still cubs and looked particularly helpless in the dim light, Shi Wan felt her heart melt.
She thought of DouDou and TangYuan, who might have also experienced such days of wandering the streets, living hand to mouth.
"What should we do?" Wang Zhizhi looked at Shi Wan.
Shi Wan sighed almost without hesitation, her face bearing a helpless yet gentle smile, "What else can we do... meeting is fate."
She unbuckled her seatbelt. "I'm going to get out and take a look. Can you keep an eye on the back for me?"
She carefully got out of the car and took out a cat treat from her bag.
Because of her cat-owning habits, she always keeps some cat treats and snacks in her car or carries them with her.
The rich aroma of meat immediately filled the air.
The little calico cat watched her warily, but didn't back away, while the two kittens behind her couldn't help but move forward.
Shi Wan placed the cat treats on the ground not too far from them and said softly, "Eat up, don't be afraid."
The little calico hesitated for a moment, but ultimately couldn't resist the temptation of the food and quickly stepped forward to lick it.
Two kittens immediately joined in.
Seeing them wolf down their food, Shi Wan's resolve strengthened.
"Zhizhi, could you get that empty cardboard box from the back seat for me?"
"Are you really going to take them back?" Wang Zhizhi asked as she picked up the box.
“What else can we do? If we leave them here, we might not be so lucky next time,” Shi Wan said softly. “The farm is so big, three more mouths won’t make a difference. We can always give them a place to shelter from the wind and rain.”
She patiently waited for the three cats to finish eating, and then slowly approached.
The little floret seemed to sense her kindness and did not resist fiercely, but only dodged slightly.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shi Wan gently and quickly picked up the thinnest little orange cat and put it into a cardboard box lined with soft cloth.
The little orange cat had just let out a startled meow when Shi Wan quickly picked up the little black cat and the little calico cat.
The little girl struggled a bit when she was picked up, but Shi Wan held her steadily, and she quickly calmed down, only making uneasy whimpering sounds in her throat.
After placing the cardboard box under the passenger seat, Wang Zhizhi voluntarily moved to the back seat.
Shi Wan restarted the car.
"Okay, let's go home," she said softly.
When we returned to the farm, it was completely dark.
The farm lights shone warmly. Huanhuan was the first to run out of the house when she heard the car, followed by Tangyuan, Mianmian, Bingbing...
The cats all ran out to greet them.
As soon as Shi Wan's car came to a stop, a whole car full of kittens sprouted up like mushrooms after rain.
The continuous meowing drowned out Wang Zhizhi's excited exclamations.
Before leaving, Shi Wan specifically instructed the furry children not to speak when other people were around on the farm. Fortunately, the furry children weren't particularly interested in talking anyway.
They still like meow meow meow.
Shi Wan got off the bus carrying a cardboard box and introduced the newcomers to the curious locals, "Everyone, please be quiet. We have a new friend, so no fighting is allowed."
Huanhuan leaned closer to the cardboard box and sniffed it, his whiskers twitching. He didn't show any hostility, but just observed it warily.
Tangyuan, however, maintained the demeanor of a farm manager, squatting a little distance away to scrutinize the scene.
Bingbing, that silly boy, also wanted to join in the fun, but Mianmian pushed him away with her head.
Shi Wan carried the cardboard box into the empty storage room, intending to use it temporarily as an isolation observation room. She also placed food, water, and a litter box inside.
The three new cats were so frightened that they huddled in a corner, too scared to come out.
"Let them stay by themselves for a while and get used to their surroundings," Shi Wan said to Wang Zhizhi, who looked on with curiosity.
After settling the new member in, Shi Wan took Wang Zhizhi on a tour of the farm.
The farm has a unique charm at night, with the air filled with the scent of grass and earth, mixed with a faint hint of catnip and floral fragrance.
"Wow! The air here is so fresh!" Wang Zhizhi took a deep breath. "And it's so quiet and comfortable!"
They walked through cat grass fields, passed by factory buildings, and looked at the quail and rabbits in cages.
Wang Zhizhi was full of curiosity about everything, taking pictures non-stop, especially the group of cats with different personalities, and trying to pet each one.
Finally, the two sat on the wooden steps outside the villa, gazing at the starry sky.
The cats were scattered around. Huanhuan lay at Shi Wan's feet, Tangyuan squatted on the tallest cat tree, and Mianmian and Bingbing were having a silent contest over who could lie on Wang Zhizhi's lap.
"It's so nice here." Wang Zhizhi stroked the snowball that had finally managed to occupy her thigh and exclaimed sincerely, "Xiao Wan, you've really become the kind of person many people dream of. You have your own career, so many lovely friends, and you're far away from the hustle and bustle of the city and complicated interpersonal relationships."
Shi Wan smiled, took the small pine cone that Huanhuan had been chewing on and had somehow pulled out, and rubbed it in her hand. Her gaze was fixed on the outline of her family's farm in the darkness in the distance, and her voice was calm and warm.
"Actually, my dream is quite ordinary. It's just to guard this little world of my own, watch the cat grass grow crop after crop, watch the cats play healthily and happily, and make food that the furry kids like to eat and that their owners can trust. Maybe in the future, I can help more homeless little guys like those three just now, and give them a warm home. I don't need to be rich or powerful, just being peaceful and fulfilled is enough."
Looking at her profile, which appeared exceptionally gentle in the night, and listening to her simple yet powerful dream, Wang Zhizhi was momentarily moved.
She knew that Shi Wan was truly content with her current life.
"Oh, right," Shi Wan suddenly remembered something, turned to Wang Zhizhi and said with a hint of excitement and mystery in her voice, "Aren't you suffering from insomnia? I've recently come up with something good, I'll give it to you to take with me, you can try it and see if it works."
"Really? What good stuff is it?" Wang Zhizhi immediately became interested.
"You'll find out when the time comes," Shi Wan said with a smile, feigning mystery.
The two chatted and laughed until very late.
At this moment, on the farm under the starry sky, surrounded by cats and with friends by my side, everything is just right.
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Author's Note: Tangyuan: I feel like my subjects are going to keep growing...
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