Chapter 36 Taiwan (5) Just a stubborn but soft-hearted brat. ...
The youth education center is holding a law and life safety class. Long passages of text and pictures are flashing on the slides. The boy sits in the last row with a furrowed brow.
They were clearly very impatient, but due to the rules, they had no choice but to listen, and couldn't leave even if they wanted to.
The lecturer's tone was steady and without much variation, and most of the class's attention had already shifted from the big screen to their cat "teaching assistant" for the day.
Chichi was quickly defeated by the dull atmosphere. Her little head bobbed up and down. She had been listening attentively, but later her eyes narrowed into slits as she became too sleepy to keep them open.
Anyway, she's just a little cat, she doesn't need to understand these things, so she gave up on listening to the lesson, tilted her head, and fell asleep.
He even rolled over halfway through the lesson and almost fell off his desk, which drew laughter from the class and instantly dispelled the drowsy atmosphere.
1221 Joke Cat: "I told you to come out and play with me, not to stay here and listen to gibberish. Now look what's happened, you've become a laughing stock."
After shaking his head for a while, he decided not to waste any more time here.
While the lecturer turned around to write on the whiteboard, she slipped off her desk and left the classroom early without any hesitation.
Outside was the bustling streets of Ruifang. The morning sun was shining brightly, and my lingering drowsiness vanished instantly, making me feel refreshed.
She strolled along the street with light, cat-like steps, curiously looking around at the street she was visiting for the first time. 1221 said, "This is Ruifang Old Street, and it's also a food street."
On both sides are old-style arcade buildings standing close together, their walls faded, and densely packed signs vying for attention on both sides of the street.
Some are old-fashioned wooden signs, while others are illuminated by light tubes. At first glance, these signs all exude a sense of warmth and enthusiasm.
The smoky aroma of fried food, the rich savory fragrance of braised dishes, and the sweet scent of tropical fruits from a fruit stand mingled together, creating a unique and novel symphony of flavors. I lingered in front of a fast-food restaurant, watching the staff pour a generous spoonful of curry sauce over a golden-brown fried pork chop – a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate.
What can a kitten possibly want? Nothing more than eating, drinking, and playing.
It was too difficult to attract the attention of the busy shop assistants, and I was soon drawn to the aroma of rice noodles coming from the next stall.
"These are all traditional pastries: red bean buns, taro buns, and grass jelly that I saw last time."
The round, plump pastries and buns looked adorable, and she lingered there a while longer. The old woman, wearing a scarf and a sun hat, thought she was having a sweet tooth, smiled, and said in a dialect accent, "I'm craving something sweet."
"Little kitty, you want to eat rice cake too? You can't eat this, it's too sticky."
She hesitated for a moment, then moved to a quiet spot, raised her face, and called out softly to the other person, indicating that she understood.
The old woman looked down and was immediately charmed by the kitten's expressive eyes.
The other person turned around and took a meat bun from another steamer, broke it in half, and savory meat juice flowed out from the snow-white and fluffy bun skin. They threw half of the meat-filled bun to the kitten.
Chichi was overjoyed; she never expected to receive such a pleasant surprise just from casually browsing.
She sniffed it, and after it cooled down a bit, she started taking small bites. The outer skin was soft, the meat filling was chewy, and the taste was surprisingly delicious.
He ate slowly and with relish, and even rubbed his head against the other person's leg, making the other person smile. He also lingered in front of the stall for a while, helping to attract customers.
After strolling around the old street for a while, I didn't go back immediately. Instead, I jumped onto an empty set of steps, lay down leisurely, basked in the warm sunshine, and watched people come and go on the street.
Motorcycles whizzed by, one after another, nimbly weaving through the streets, creating a vibrant atmosphere of daily life.
"The steamed buns I just ate were the best I've ever had."
It licked its fur contentedly, filling it with the aroma of food.
“Skipping class has been quite fruitful, but Ah Kun’s class should be almost over. Does he still have to go back to be a supervisor?” 1221 said. “I think he’s been quite self-disciplined these past two days, so we probably don’t need to supervise him anymore. Why don’t we take this opportunity to go sightseeing around the area?”
"He hasn't agreed with Lao Lin yet whether or not he wants to stay in the workshop as an apprentice."
He hesitated for a moment before saying, "I want to know whether he's willing or not."
From the kitten's perspective, staying in the pottery workshop to learn a skill was certainly safer than the other person doing odd jobs and drifting around, but Ah Kun didn't answer whether it was good or bad that day.
She was afraid that the other party would refuse the apprenticeship for the sake of face, and she was also afraid that Ah Kun would not be interested in pottery.
Fortunately, the other party kept their promise and went to Uncle Lin's workshop to clean every afternoon, including today.
After having enough fun in the old street, we returned to the education center and headed to Uncle Lin's place together. It was supposed to be a day off, and we didn't have to go to community service today, so he had an afternoon to himself.
Ah Kun didn't go to the familiar billiard hall, nor did he go to the internet cafe or other places to work. He just bought a bento box on the street and squatted down to eat.
He still had injuries on his back and legs, and his movements of squatting and standing up were not very natural. He would wince in pain as soon as he bent over.
"Uncle Lin gave him money to go to the hospital, but he refused."
He squatted to the side for a long time, watching the other person eat, and said to 1221.
Today's bento box is more lavish than usual, and the price should be slightly higher as well, because on top of the basic dishes and rice, there is an extra huge drumstick.
“He’s trying to save money.” 1221 had already seen through it. “He probably wants to pocket the money for the hospital visit, then tell Lao Lin he’d already been to the hospital, so he can use the money however he wants…”
"Otherwise, why would his bento box have an extra chicken leg today?"
The boy was strong and had a good recovery ability. His wound scabbed over in just two days. However, he still limped a little when walking because of the pain. Combined with his fierce face and "Keep Out" tattoo, it was obvious to others that he was a street kid.
He felt the remaining money in his pants, seemingly quite satisfied with his decision not to go to the hospital. He packed up his lunchbox and headed towards the workshop.
In the courtyard, the potter's wheel hummed.
Uncle Lin sat on the stool, his hands steadily holding a swirling lump of clay. It was impossible to tell what kind of magic he was performing, but in a short while, the clay obediently took on the shape of a bowl in his hands.
After sweeping away the kiln ash, Ah Kun leaned against the wall, watching the other person's hand movements, but he didn't mince words: "It looks very ordinary and simple. I could easily make an identical one."
"All you do is talk the talk." Uncle Lin didn't even look up. "Don't even think about getting on my potter's wheel right now. You're still lacking in attitude before you can learn the craft. Besides, even if you agree to be my apprentice, I'll still need to observe you for a while before I can teach you."
"whispering sound."
Ah Kun scoffed: "I know, you're just using this as an excuse to make me work for free for a few more days."
He flew over and delivered a flying kick to the back, hitting the opponent's unhealed wound squarely.
Seeing Ah Kun's face contort into a ferocious expression, he gracefully landed and finished his stance.
I'll teach you to talk nonsense again.
Blocking the boy's hand as he hissed and made a move to catch the cat, Uncle Lin gave up his chair: "Fine, I'll let you experience it."
Ah Kun sat down defiantly and, mimicking the other person, grasped the slippery mud with both hands.
However, once the machine started turning, the mud became completely uncontrollable, wobbling and collapsing in his hands, like a slippery eel, with mud splattering everywhere, covering his face and body.
"ha!"
Chichi jumped onto the table next to him, watching the boy frantically kneading mud, his honey-colored round eyes filled with schadenfreude.
Just as the lump of mud was about to slip out of control and be flung off the turntable by centripetal force, a pair of calloused hands steadily held Ah Kun's wrist.
"Don't use too much force."
Uncle Lin's instructions rang out: "Straighten your back, stabilize your core, and slowly feel the mud with your hands. Don't fight it; use softness to overcome hardness..."
Ah Kun subconsciously followed the other person's force to adjust the lump of mud. The mud, which he thought he had messed up, suddenly became docile, at least it didn't fly away.
"1221, I understand now." Chi Chi stared at Uncle Lin's hand and Ah Kun's corrected posture.
"Your body and hands should move with the turntable, carrying the mud with them."
"It seems you learn faster than Ah Kun." 1221 praised the kitten generously. "This is about leveraging and guiding; simply having more strength won't be enough to control it."
"I'm a beginner, so it's normal that I can't learn it yet."
Ah Kun stubbornly insisted that he should give up his place so that Uncle Lin could reshape the nascent clay into a more perfect form, and finally, the disdain in his eyes disappeared.
This thing is definitely not as easy as it looks; anyone who tries it will know.
Watching the bowl gradually take shape, she carefully touched Uncle Lin's leg, gazing at him expectantly, wanting to try the feel of the clay herself.
She gently touched the turntable with her soft paw pads, then withdrew her paws in fright at the strange vibration.
Uncle Lin glanced at the kitten that wanted to join in the fun, and deliberately slowed down the speed of the turntable. After a while, he realized that the kitten had slowed down for him, and then raised its front paw to touch the wet clay.
She didn't extend her sharp nails; instead, a clear claw mark with the outline of a paw pad was left on the clay.
Uncle Lin shaped the bowl, took it off the turntable, and turned it over to look at the side with the cute paw prints: "This is your work. Wait, it'll be ready for you to use to hold water when it's done."
Chichi jumped up and down with joy.
"1221, I have my own pottery now, and my own mark!"
1221 also floated closer to examine the ceramic bowl more closely: "This is the first artwork you've personally participated in; it's been a great day. How does the clay feel?"
"It's a bit wet and soft, but not that soft; it's a little smoother than regular mud."
Seeing that Ah Kun was still staring at the ceramic bowl that he had failed to make but that Uncle Lin had saved, he walked over and nudged Ah Kun's leg with his head: "As long as you study hard, you can do it one day too."
I spent the afternoon in the workshop, doing odd jobs and fetching materials as before, but I didn't make anything decent.
Uncle Lin didn't let him use the potter's wheel again, but Ah Kun's mood inexplicably brightened.
As usual, Ah Kun enjoyed a free dinner at the workshop. He patted his pants pockets, followed by his cat, and the two walked home in perfect harmony.
Ah Kun turned around and looked at the kitten that was seriously and earnestly following behind him.
Why do you always follow me?
Chi Chi blinked innocently at the other person: "No, it's just that we always go to the same place."
"Don't come home with me, I can't afford to keep a cat." The other person muttered, kicking an empty can on the side of the road.
He chased after the rolling soda can, picked it up by the edge, and ran back to place it at Ah Kun's feet.
Having gotten used to picking up trash on the beach, the kitten had conditioned him to do so. Instead of kicking the can away, Ah Kun bent down, picked it up, and threw it into the roadside trash can.
"Depend on."
The boy cursed, scratched his head in frustration, and was surprised by his increasingly well-mannered behavior.
He blamed everything on the kitten, complaining, "It's all your fault, following me around all day, making me look like a big brother now."
"What big brother?" Chi Chi jumped onto the other person's shoulder and slapped him on the back. "Just be a law-abiding citizen."
Ah Kun was stunned when the kitten, which was "running wild" on his head, slapped him. He subconsciously tried to pull the cat off his shoulder, but the kitten, like a cat-shaped pendant, sat steadily on his shoulder, as if it had made up its mind to use him as a mobility scooter.
"Hey, you're so heavy."
Ah Kun tilted his head, feigning disgust, but didn't actually shake the kitten off.
"Troublemaker," he muttered. "He's pushing his luck."
Ignoring his protests, he leisurely swept his tail behind the other's shoulder, just a stubborn but soft-hearted little brat.
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