Chapter 32 Treasure Island (1) Temple Night Market.
I lingered on the narrow, undulating stone steps, looking up at the old-fashioned buildings that seemed to be stuck to the hillside.
Stone steps of varying heights descend from the mountaintop, connecting scattered houses with red walls and black windows, mottled and unique signs, and eye-catching lanterns.
1221: "We've arrived in a brand new place! This is Jiufen, Taiwan."
"Are all the houses here built on the mountain?" Chi Chi asked.
1221 replied, "This area is a mountain city, so of course it's built against the mountain."
Rows of red lanterns hang along the winding steps, and the air is filled with the fresh scents of sea breeze, earth, and plants. The area is nestled between mountains and the sea, and the sea can be seen at the end of the street.
"Originally, there were only nine households here. Every time someone went down the mountain to buy supplies, they would bring back nine portions, which is the meaning behind the name Jiufen (Nine Portions)."
1221 gestured to look into the distance: "The end of Jishan Street is the sea, and over there is Keelung Harbor. It's a unique landscape with mountains behind and the sea in front."
It wasn't dark yet, and tourists and pedestrians were already going down the stone steps. Chichi followed curiously up.
1221 said that the road she was walking on was called Jishan Street, the most famous old street and main road, commonly known as the "Miaokou Night Market", with densely packed shops on both sides.
The shouts of shopkeepers and vendors mingled with the laughter of tourists. Although it was a bustling street, the atmosphere was completely different from what Chichi had experienced at the Cat City Market.
"This is a mountain with a story. It was very prosperous in the past because of gold mining, but it declined later. Now it is famous again because of its nostalgic style and the legend of an animated film."
1221 said, "Look at these narrow stone steps, don't they look like passageways to another world?"
"cartoon?"
Chi Chi tilted his head, looking at the stone steps of the path. As dusk fell, the red lanterns on both sides lit up one after another, their warm light shining on the dark stone slabs.
It does indeed have a bit of an air of mystery.
However, besides sight, smell is even more attractive to kittens.
Chichi couldn't help but sniffle repeatedly; the aroma of the food was unique and tempting.
"1221, what does this store with the green sign sell?"
“Red fermented rice meatballs,” 1221 said. “The shop ahead is a taro ball shop, which is a dessert. The shop further ahead also has grass seed cakes, which are a local specialty. They are made with mugwort and glutinous rice for the outer skin, and the filling can be either savory or sweet.”
I could still smell the seafood, and I couldn't resist following the rich, salty aroma of the sea.
She couldn't tear herself away from the shop selling all kinds of dried seafood. She squatted down in front of the shop to look at the goods displayed inside, where a large orange had long been "stationed".
The other person was obese and had a lazy expression. When he saw that Chichi had come over, he only raised his eyelids and continued to stare longingly at the seafood in the store with his plump figure.
Perhaps because the two cats looked so pitiful together, the shop assistant couldn't bear to see them like that and fed Chichi and the orange tabby cat a few small shrimp each.
It slowly and chewed the small shrimp like beans, its craving satisfied. It meowed gratefully at the shop assistant and continued on its way.
The big orange cat, not satisfied, continued to squat at the door, trying to further influence the human.
Chichi wasn't a greedy little cat; the main reason was that there were many other food stalls ahead, and there was no need to limit herself to just one.
She followed the transparent orb of light ahead and turned into a side road.
1221 said this road is called Shuzaki Road, with lanterns, the aroma of tea, and carved window lattices... Although she hadn't seen the animated film 1221 mentioned yet, it didn't stop her from feeling a sense of fantasy.
"The humidity here is high, and the mountains are shrouded in mist, which is very suitable for the growth of tea trees, and there are many teahouses here."
1221 talked at length about the street, but the longer they walked, the hungrier they became.
Apart from the two or three shrimps she had eaten earlier, she hadn't eaten much food. Now, listening to any tourist guide was like listening to nothing at all; she couldn't help but sniff the aromas.
"I'm so hungry," Chichi said to 1221. "Let's go find something to eat."
"That's easy. Jishan Street is a food street; there's plenty of food there."
I walked slowly out of Shuzaki Road and followed the directions of 1221. The noisy crowd and the heat of food hit me.
The street was so narrow that it could only accommodate two or three people at a time. We had to carefully navigate around people's feet and be careful not to get stepped on.
Fortunately, the food on both sides made the kitten willingly squeezed back and forth.
The sausages sizzled and dripped oil on the grill, the shrimp jumped on the hot plate, and there were golden and crispy fried chicken cutlets, freshly made oyster omelets, and a small mountain of braised dishes steaming in the dark broth... Just hearing the menu announced by 1221 made Chichi lick his lips.
The kitten began selectively lingering in front of the stalls, targeting those who appeared to be very friendly.
She squatted down at someone's feet, tilted her head back, and stared intently at the food with her honey-colored round eyes. This move, combined with the kitten's adorable appearance that made it look incredibly soft and easy to move, was surprisingly effective.
"Good girl, are you hungry?"
A young girl who had just paid for her chicken cutlet and was waiting for it was the first to notice the kitten. She squatted down and tentatively touched the kitten's forehead.
If you want to make a living off cuteness, you can't be too stingy.
Chichi took the initiative to rub his head against the other's fingertips, his Emperor-level engine whirring incessantly, coupled with his undefeated round-eyed attack—successfully obtaining a freshly fried chicken cutlet.
Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, still juicy, one bite and it's so hot it brings tears to your eyes.
Chichi's tongue couldn't handle such hot food, so she dragged the large chicken cutlet aside and fanned it with her paws to cool it down before starting to devour it.
Seeing her wolfing down her food, passersby assumed she hadn't eaten for days and offered her some of the food they had just bought.
I finally got to eat the oysters in the oyster omelet, a small piece of beef offal, and the cartilage from a spare rib.
The people here are very good at taking care of kittens. Knowing that kittens can't chew the hard bones in the stewed ribs, they even found a piece of cartilage.
The kitten treats all humans who feed her equally, giving them sticker after sticker, and single-handedly attracting a line of tourists to pet her head.
"This place is so crowded it's practically overflowing," 1221 said. "If they keep acting cute, the traffic will be paralyzed!"
"exaggerate."
The kitten was very generous and made sure that all the tourists who came to join in the fun could pet it. It was only after being urged repeatedly by 1221 that it finally emerged from the crowd.
After eating until his belly was round and full, he found a low roof on Jishan Street, jumped up, and looked down at the bustling crowd below, while also grooming his fur which was covered in oil from the food.
Just as the kitten was engrossed in licking its fur, 1221 suddenly flashed.
"Look to your right front, at the person leaning against the stall."
Looking over there, I saw a tall, thin boy wearing a black vest. He looked about eighteen or nineteen years old, with high eyebrows and shifty eyes.
1221 once told her that if you want to observe people through their clothing, you must start with their feet.
The old man's vest wasn't too deformed, but his sneakers were old, with some glue coming undone on the edges of the tongues.
The boy appeared to be leaning casually against the stall, but in reality, he kept scanning the passersby, his eyes particularly fixed on the backpacks and pockets of tourists.
“He looks suspicious,” 1221 said. “He also has tattoos on his arms.”
It was only a moment later that I noticed the two bluish-black characters tattooed on the other person's arm—"No Way Out."
"What do the words on his arm mean?" the kitten asked.
1221: "It probably means he has nowhere to go. Let's keep an eye on him and see what he's up to."
It hesitated to lower its paws, then went from lying down to sitting up, its gaze fixed on the young man.
The tattoo on the other person's arm was quite conspicuous under the light, and he exuded a sense of anxiety that seemed out of place with his relaxed demeanor.
Some perceptive tourists have already noticed something from the tattoos on his arms and his demeanor, and will deliberately keep their distance when passing by him.
After observing for a long time, the other party still did not make any move, and the kitten assumed that the system was overthinking things.
Just as he was about to look away, the boy moved seemingly casually, approaching a female tourist who was focused on taking pictures, his eyes quickly sweeping over the jacket casually draped over the side of her backpack.
The next second, his hand moved with lightning speed, reaching out and retracting, and the brown wallet silently fell into his palm.
The movements were so fast that Chichi initially thought it was an illusion.
After succeeding, the other party quickly put his right hand into his large trouser pocket and hurried down the stone steps.
"Meow!"
He cried out in surprise and quickly jumped down from the sunshade.
Almost at the same time the other person stepped off the stone steps, the person next to her also noticed something was wrong and reminded the woman, "It seems like your wallet was taken by that person just now."
The female tourist quickly checked her coat pockets, her face changing drastically: "It's really gone! Thief, catch thief!"
The place where they had just been was thrown into chaos, and the crowd became restless.
The boy named Ah Kun's expression hardened. He clutched his "stolen goods" tightly, then suddenly plunged into the most crowded part of the crowd and ran forward.
"stop!"
"Grab him."
Shouts, screams, and curses filled the air. My heart raced, and my body instinctively pushed through the crowd and gave chase.
She darted through the forest formed by human legs, relying on her animalistic agility to stay close behind Ah Kun's flustered figure, becoming a little tail that he couldn't shake off even when he wasn't paying attention.
The other party knew the terrain well and deliberately chose to go into secluded and dark alleys, trying to use the complex terrain to shake off the people chasing them.
Chichi's legs moved swiftly, the wind whistling in her ears, along with the rapid breathing of the boy ahead.
They ran for an unknown amount of time, and the hustle and bustle of the night market gradually faded behind them, with the lights becoming sparse and scattered.
Chichi followed Ah Kun out of an alley, and after turning a corner, a relatively open, sloping open space appeared in front of them, with a wall more than a meter high in front of them.
Behind the wall appeared to be a fairly large courtyard. Some rooftops could be seen, and there was a distinctive smell in the air, a mixture of earth and kiln fire.
The streets on both sides are easily blocked, and there is no other way to go except for that wall.
The shouts behind him grew closer and closer. The boy glanced back, gritted his teeth, took a few running steps, and stepped onto the trash can next to him.
He strained against the rough wall, using both his hands and feet to climb up the gray wall, and then jumped overboard.
Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped on the trash can and jumped onto the top of the wall.
The world inside the walls became quiet. It was an unrefined courtyard with an unpaved, un-stoned ground made of raw mud. Some clay bricks and firewood were placed around the perimeter.
An old kiln, which looked like it hadn't been used for a long time, stood silently in the corner, covered in dust.
The boy landed unsteadily, making a dull thud as he jumped.
Something was knocked over, followed by a series of crisp, ear-piercing cracking sounds, clattering and banging as the whole area collapsed.
Chichi had a bad feeling. The other party bumped into a shelf against the wall, and several grayish-white clay blanks waiting to be fired on the shelf fell to the ground, not one of them intact, all of them were broken into pieces.
The scene was extremely tragic.
Not only was he stunned for a moment, but even the boy below was stunned by the shattered pieces on the ground.
The gate to the yard was flung open from the inside with a bang, and a figure rushed out: "Who? Who's causing trouble in the yard?"
A roar of shock and anger came from outside the single-story house, and a middle-aged man with gray hair and sharp eyes strode into the yard.
The other person's trouser legs still had dark clay stains from not washing them properly, and their eyes were incredibly sharp with anger.
The mess in the yard was immediately apparent, especially the scattered pieces of debris.
The newcomer was so angry that his hands trembled. He fixed his gaze on Ah Kun, who was about to climb over the wall again, grabbed a stick from the wall, and pointed it at him.
"You bastard, how dare you climb over the wall and break into my house, and even smash my brickwork!"
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