Chapter 14: Unknowingly, Many Major Things Were Accomplished

“Go!” Cao Shujie slowly approached the kitten. Once it relaxed its guard, he reached out and grabbed the scruff of its neck. Ignoring its struggles, he lifted it and placed it into the Electric tricycle’s basket, telling it, “I’m taking you home to eat, don’t move around.”

Seeing the kitten indeed lying still in the basket, Cao Shujie then rode the Electric tricycle towards home.

On the way, Cao Shujie realized something: ever since he returned from Beijing, his car had practically become a decoration. Except for the trip to the county town a few days ago, driving it for daily outings was a hassle; it just sat basking in the sun by their front gate.

Cao Shujie was eager to know how his daughter was doing. He greeted acquaintances he met on the road but didn’t linger, quickly rushing home.

“Mengmeng, Mengmeng, come out quickly and see what good things Daddy brought back for you!” Cao Shujie shouted loudly as soon as he entered the door.

After Mengmeng took her medicine in the morning, her cough improved slightly, but her spirits were still low.

No matter how Cheng Xiaolin and her mother-in-law Wang Yuelan tried to coax her, it was useless. Even saying they’d take her out to play was futile; Mengmeng remained listless.

She couldn’t sit still, nor could she lie down. She just kept leaning in her mother Cheng Xiaolin’s arms, twisting and turning, throwing a tantrum.

As soon as Cheng Xiaolin was out of sight, Mengmeng would cry.

Cheng Xiaolin knew her daughter was uncomfortable, and she felt even worse, so she didn’t blame her for throwing a tantrum.

Cheng Xiaolin thought that if there was magic that could transfer illnesses, she would immediately cast it on herself.

Just as the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were feeling helpless, they suddenly heard Cao Shujie’s shouts from outside. Both were curious what Cao Shujie (their son) was up to now.

But Mengmeng remained sprawled on Cheng Xiaolin’s lap, too lazy to move.

Seeing her mother stand up to go out, she became unhappy, pouting her little mouth, looking like she was about to cry at any moment.

But just then, a weak meow came from outside.

“Meow!”

Hearing this sound, Mengmeng, who had been listless, instantly stood up as if she had taken a miracle cure. Her little face was full of surprise as she shouted, “Mommy, a kitten, it’s a kitten!”

Mengmeng was energized by this and dashed out of the house.

Wang Yuelan, fearing her granddaughter might fall, quickly followed her out.

At the doorway, Mengmeng saw her dad holding a dirty calico kitten. She didn’t care if the cat was dirty or not; the smile on her round face became even brighter: “Daddy, give it to me, the kitten!”

“Haha, Mengmeng, do you like it?” Cao Shujie was happy to see his daughter smile and seem to be in much better spirits.

When Cheng Xiaolin came out of the house, the first glance at the calico kitten in her husband’s hand made her seem to recognize it: “Shujie, isn’t that the cat from our old yard?”

“Yes, it’s her. This morning, after I finished my work and came down On the Mountain, I saw her lying at the foot of the mountain.” Cao Shujie briefly explained the situation at the time and shared his guess: “It’s probably because our old house was torn down for reconstruction, and it had nowhere to go, so it was hiding at the foot of the mountain.”

As he spoke, he swung the kitten back and forth by the scruff of its neck a few times, disregarding its displeased cat face: “Look at this pathetic state, it must not have eaten for days, it’s starving.”

“Oh dear, it really looks like it. I’ll go get it something to eat,” Wang Yuelan said.

While her parents were talking, Mengmeng kept staring at the calico kitten. Hearing her dad say it was hungry, Mengmeng turned and ran into the house. A moment later, she came out with two pieces of steamed bun and extended her hand towards the kitten: “Kitten, here.”

The kitten didn’t know if it understood or not. It stared at Mengmeng with its cat eyes for a while before trying to lean forward to eat.

But its scruff was still pinched in Cao Shujie’s hand, so it couldn’t move. It meowed a few times in frustration, which puzzled Cao Shujie, who thought it didn’t want to eat the bun. He even told it, “You’re a stray cat, why are you so picky? It’s good enough that you’re getting food. If you don’t want to eat, then starve.”

But Cheng Xiaolin said, “Shujie, if you don’t put it down, how can it eat?”

“Uh!” Cao Shujie felt a bit awkward.

Wang Yuelan found a large cardboard box and placed it in their yard: “Shujie, put it in the box. Stray cats are dirty, don’t let it scratch you.”

“Daddy, put it down quickly,” Mengmeng also shouted.

She was still holding two pieces of steamed bun, wanting to feed the kitten herself.

Seeing Grandmother holding a small bowl with vegetable soup and crumbled steamed bun, Mengmeng directly blocked Grandmother: “Grandmother, I’ll feed it.”

Wang Yuelan saw that her granddaughter was more energetic, so she didn’t care about feeding the cat herself and let her granddaughter do it.

But she didn’t leave; instead, she watched the kitten lying in the box very cautiously from the side, fearing it might suddenly lash out and hurt her granddaughter.

This kitten was probably truly starving; it showed no signs of resistance. After Mengmeng threw the steamed bun into the cardboard box, the kitten tentatively pawed at it a few times, then pulled it closer and began to gobble it down. It looked like it hadn’t eaten in eight lifetimes, truly famished.

Mengmeng was especially happy to see this. She even called out, “Kitten, eat slowly.”

Seeing the kitten quickly finish one piece of steamed bun, Mengmeng threw another one in, then shouted, “Mommy, I’m hungry.”

Seeing the kitten eating happily, she also wanted to eat.

Hearing her daughter say this, Cheng Xiaolin, who had been worried about her, smiled: “Okay, Mengmeng, what do you want to eat? Mommy will make it for you.”

Wang Yuelan followed up, saying, “I’ll do it. How about steaming some egg custard?”

“Millet porridge,” Mengmeng said.

Then she added, “And I want something salty.”

She was referring to their homemade pickled mustard greens, which were salty.

No matter what she wanted to eat, as long as she could eat it, that was fine.

Cheng Xiaolin and her mother-in-law Wang Yuelan busied themselves for a while and finally got Mengmeng to eat.

With food in her stomach, Mengmeng’s mental state visibly improved.

Cao Shujie looked at his daughter’s change, then at the kitten lazily lying asleep in the old cardboard box after eating its fill. He knew their family had gained another member.

But as long as his daughter was happy!

One more mouth to feed won’t make them poor!

…

Two more days passed, and in a blink, it was March 26th. Mengmeng’s mental state was getting better and better.

After taking her medicine, her cough was barely audible.

Seeing this, Cheng Xiaolin stopped her medication.

For the past two days, Mengmeng had been constantly watching the little grey rabbit and the kitten. When her parents or Grandfather and Grandmother wanted to take her out to play, she refused to leave, saying that without her, Xiao Huihui and Xiao Huahua would be sad.

That’s right, the little grey rabbit was named Xiao Huihui by Mengmeng.

The kitten, because of its mottled markings and slightly blue eyes, was named Xiao Huahua by Mengmeng.

For Cao Shujie’s family, it didn’t matter what their names were, as long as Mengmeng was happy.

Even so, Cao Shujie still didn’t let his daughter touch them.

After all, they were brought back from the wild, and he didn’t know if they carried germs or other dirt. Cao Shujie planned to observe them for a while, confirm they were fine, vaccinate them, and then let his daughter hold and play with them.

When it came to Mengmeng’s health and safety, Cao Shujie dared not be careless in the slightest.

…

Counting carefully, it had been half a month since he returned from Beijing. During this time, Cao Shujie spent most of his time happily with his family, but he also accomplished quite a few things.

The house had been demolished and under reconstruction for almost 10 days. After all the construction waste from the old house was removed, Cao Zhenggang and his team began laying the foundation.

Because Cao Shujie was building a two-story house, the foundation was dug quite deep. Moreover, Cao Shujie was willing to spend money on building the house, and the materials used were quite solid. In Cao Zhenggang’s words, after their two-story house was built, it would be fine even if it suffered a mudslide.

Safety was undoubtedly the most important thing to Cao Shujie, even ranking above living comfort.
(End of this chapter)