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墨書 Inktalez
I drove my BYD car, following the directions of the Old Man, and arrived at the outskirts of Donghai City. There really was a Stray Cat Shelter there, and from a distance, I could see a large sign hanging above that read, "Stray Cat Shelter: Donations for caring individuals. For every stray cat brought in, you can receive a reward of ten to two hundred yuan!"
I let out a sigh of relief; it seemed that the Flower Girl was really in no danger.
Zhang Yuru spoke up, "Oh, looks like it was just a false alarm. But you, sir, have made a profit. You caught a cat and sold it for two hundred yuan. Now that you're finding another cat, you could earn fifty thousand. You're illegally getting rich!"
The old man smiled awkwardly and had nothing to say.
I parked the car at the entrance and walked in with the Old Man and the others. The shelter was rented from what used to be a Steel Mill. Given the current economic restructuring in the country, traditional Steel Mills have little chance of survival, so it was surprising that the shelter had rented this place.
The Old Man was quite familiar with the layout and led us into an office.
Inside the office sat a middle-aged woman who was watching a TV drama.
"Hello, Comrade," said the Old Man. People of their age still tended to address each other as Comrade or Teacher, while our generation usually called each other handsome or beautiful—definitely a reflection of our distinct times.
The woman looked up at the Old Man and asked, "What’s going on?"
"Well, Comrade," the Old Man began, "some time ago, I sold you a stray cat—a Big Spotted Cat. Do you remember? It was quite large." He gestured to emphasize his point.
The woman shook her head as she looked at him. "With so many people coming here to sell cats—over a hundred—I can hardly remember. Just yesterday during my shift, I received over one hundred fifty stray cats. I can't keep track. Now, what do you need?"
The Old Man replied, "About that cat, Comrade, I'm sorry but it wasn't a stray; it belonged to someone. They've come looking for it now, so I need to return it. I'm really sorry about this. How about I give you five hundred yuan as compensation if you can return that cat to me?"
This Old Man certainly knew how to negotiate.
The woman paused for a moment, "When did you deliver them?"
"Early this morning," the Old Man replied.
The woman sighed, "Oh dear, that's too late. The stray cats have already been taken away."
"What?" The Old Man looked at her in confusion. "Why were they taken away? Isn't this a Stray Cat Shelter?"
The woman explained, "How many cats can we keep here? The cats are all sent to Yunnan, released into the mountains. It's better for them. If you had delivered them yesterday, we might have been able to find them, but those from the day before are gone. A Cat Transport truck left last night; by now, it’s probably already in Yunnan."
Just then, a man walked in through the back door. He addressed the woman, "The truck is loaded; come check it out. We need to get going."
The woman nodded and headed toward the backyard, and we followed her.
In the backyard, there were many cages and cat food scattered about. At that moment, a large truck was parked in the center of the yard, loaded with a big cage divided into several tiers. Over two hundred cats were crammed inside, meowing loudly. Someone was preparing to cover the large cage with a big canvas.
The woman went to count the number of cats while I quickly approached and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, tossing it to the driver.
The driver was taken aback; he initially wanted to refuse but accepted when he saw it was a pack of soft Chinese cigarettes. He smiled at me, "You’re quite generous, brother. What’s going on?"
I chuckled lightly, "I don’t usually smoke; it would just go to waste otherwise. By the way, where are you taking these cats?"
"Yunnan," the driver said as he looked at me and stepped closer. "The Boss has rules against it, so please don’t put me in a tough spot."
I smiled again and pulled out two hundred yuan from my pocket. "No trouble at all."
The driver hesitated for a moment but then accepted the money with a grin, lowering his voice further. "Alright then, no trouble. Honestly, I don’t think it’s a big deal, but the Boss has rules that need to be followed. This is going to Yunnan Pu'er City... to Lancang Lahu Town..."
When I heard this place name, I was completely unfamiliar with it, but I do know Pu'er City, and Pu'er Tea. It is well-known at home and abroad. As a black tea, it is actually quite delicious. I took out my mobile phone, opened Baidu Maps, and searched on Baidu. From Donghai City to Yunnan Pu'er City, it’s 2,600 kilometers! I'm going! I frowned, and after asking for the detailed route, I went to find the woman. "When did the last bus leave?" I asked. The woman glanced at me and said a little impatiently, "Isn't it? The train left the night before last. If your cat was delivered before, it has already arrived in Yunnan. One cat is not worth buying. Buy another one." That's all." I understood. Apparently, this place has two buses per trip, transporting the stray cats collected here to Yunnan, and the two buses come alternately. I waved my hand and walked out. The Old Man caught up with me. I took out 5,000 yuan and handed it to Old Man, saying: "Uncle, please don't just catch other people's cats and sell them. You just met me and met someone else. You must not I'll beat you to death." Old Man nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, actually I never thought about it before, but when I saw the Stray Cat Shelter here, I thought there were a lot of stray cats nearby. "I just went to catch them." I didn't say anything more, so I got into the car with Heizi and Zhang Yuru, and I drove towards the company. "How are your driving skills?" I asked ZhangYuru. Zhang Yuru looked at me with contempt and said, "My skills are better than yours. Even a fool can drive an automatic car like this."
I nodded, "Then let's pack our things and head to Yunnan overnight."
"Huh?" Zhang Yuru looked at me.
I glanced at her, "What's wrong? You don't want to go? I can ask someone else."
"Of course I want to go!" Zhang Yuru immediately chuckled. "A free trip to Yunnan? I definitely have to go. By the way, Boss Song, is everything covered? I'm telling you, Yunnan is beautiful. If we go to the surrounding areas, it will be even more stunning!"
I sighed, "Sister, don't think too much about it. The mission is important. Alright, let's head back and pack our things. We can't leave anything behind. We absolutely must find that cat; it's crucial for my future happiness. If we find this cat, it'll help me deal with my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law—what a bargain!"
"You're something else!" Zhang Yuru scoffed at me.
I drove back to the company, and then we each started packing our things. I brought some dog food and a big bag of kibble because this time we had to take Heizi with us. After all, when we got there, finding the Flower Girl would rely on Heizi's nose.
Besides that, I also needed to get a bucket for Heizi; just in case the dog got sick on the road, it wouldn't be good.
After packing Heizi's things, I finally got around to my own stuff, which consisted of two thick clothes along with my usual ghost-hunting gear and a handgun.
Zhang Yuru was quite efficient; just as I finished packing, she came out with a large suitcase and placed it in the trunk. She grinned at me and said, "Song Fei, this time we're going out together; it’s like our little world. You can't take advantage of me."
I looked at Zhang Yuru's chest and shook my head, "Not interested."
Zhang Yuru kicked me lightly, "Come on! Back in police academy, I was the biggest in the dorm. Bigger than Lin Fan!"
"Well, that's like picking a general from among the lame or choosing a popular bun at an airport," I laughed as I jumped into the driver's seat.
Zhang Yuru lunged at me playfully, grabbing my hair. "Listen here, Song Fei! You can insult me all you want, but you can't insult my figure. I'm just low-key about it; I'm wearing a cotton bra! Not every woman is like those others who wear bras three sizes too big!"
I was tormented by Zhang Yuru to the point of losing a lot of hair. I quickly said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Auntie. Sit tight; let's get going and aim to reach our destination by tomorrow afternoon."
Zhang Yuru settled in and fastened her seatbelt.
I drove straight to Liu Yiyi's hometown to check on the old lady. Fortunately, she was doing reasonably well and wasn't in any immediate danger.
I shared my plan with Liu Yiyi's father.
When Liu Yiyi's father heard that I was heading to Yunnan overnight, he repeatedly thanked me.
I waved my hand, indicating it was nothing special, and then asked Liu Yiyi's father for a blanket that the Tabby Cat usually used so that Heizi could smell it; it would help with scent recognition.
Liu Yiyi's father handed me a cotton quilt.
I placed the quilt in the car, waved goodbye to Liu Yiyi's family, and then hit the highway.
The navigation accurately pinpointed Lancang Lahu Town in Pu'er City, Yunnan Province. Honestly, this car was much more stable than I had imagined. I pressed the accelerator and easily reached one hundred thirty kilometers per hour without any issues.
However, I am a law-abiding person; I set the cruise control at one hundred twenty kilometers per hour and continued toward our destination.
After driving for four hours, I let Zhang Yuru take over. She drove for three hours, and by then it was already past eleven at night. We had just crossed out of Jiangsu Province.
I didn’t want to drive all night; it was too dangerous, and staying up late is exhausting. So, I pulled into a service area to rest for the night. The two hundred yuan room fee wasn’t too expensive, but the room conditions weren’t great. The key issue was that Heizi couldn’t come inside.
Zhang Yuru and I each took a single room for the night. By five in the morning, we got up, washed up, and then I took Heizi out of the car to let him relieve himself in the garden.
After taking care of that and having breakfast, it was still not yet six o'clock when we set off again.
The details of the journey need not be elaborated, but I found that following Zhang Yuru had its benefits; the trip was certainly not lonely. This silly woman had not stopped talking since we entered the highway in Yunnan Province. She would comment on how beautiful the mountains were outside or point out how lovely the grass looked on the ground, leaving me utterly speechless.
However, after driving for quite a while in Yunnan Province, I began to feel that the scenery was almost too beautiful. The highways here were not particularly well-developed, with fewer cars on the road, and some vehicles were simply parked on the emergency lanes while families stood outside admiring the view.
It truly was stunning; there was a stretch of highway that cut straight through a mountain, and during that segment, I felt as if I had entered paradise.
Around four in the afternoon, my car exited the highway and entered Pu'er City, then headed straight for Lancang Lahu Town. The roads began to get rougher, but fortunately, my vehicle was quite capable and even had some off-road abilities.
After a while, I spotted a hill ahead with a chicken farm at its base. I knew this was our destination; however, for some reason, as soon as I parked and stepped out of the car, I suddenly felt a shiver run through my body.
As I got out, I was hit by a wave of chilliness. Instinctively, I looked up at the sky; the sun was still bright and round. It was only five o'clock, and it would be over an hour before it got dark. It was strange how cold it felt.
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