On New Year's Eve, Lao Lin's family closed its doors and stopped doing business.
Whether it is a tobacco and alcohol shop or a cat tea house, they all pull down their shutters and officially close their doors to prepare for their own festivals.
Because it was going to be closed for several days, Lin Lan moved all the portable cat climbing frames, cat bowls, and cat mats that could be moved in the teahouse to her new housing area on the third floor. There is a spacious place for activities, and the little space in the living room of the old house is not enough for a dozen cats to play.
She wasn't doing this work alone. As the only employee in the store who didn't go home for the New Year, Xiao Song naturally helped her out.
"Xiao Song, if you don't go back, why don't you come to my house for the New Year." After moving all the things in the new house, Lin Lan said to her employees, "It's too lonely to celebrate the New Year alone, so come to my house for a year. Let’s have dinner at night, it can be regarded as a little employee benefit of the teahouse.”
Song Xinmin was a little embarrassed that the landlord and boss took care of himself like this: "I won't cause trouble to your family, the store manager, will I?"
"It's not troublesome, it's not troublesome." Lin Lan waved her hand, "I have already discussed it with my parents, not only will I call you for the New Year's Eve dinner at home tomorrow, but I plan to call Miss Wang together. After all, you know that too. , she also celebrates the New Year alone."
"The store manager..." Song Xinmin was quite moved, "You are such a good person!" No matter as a boss or a landlord, you are too human!
Lin Lan quickly waved her hand and refused: "Don't praise me like that, I never thought I was a good person." She never set such a high moral standard for herself, "I'm just an ordinary person, don't think of me that much. Noble. I called you here for the New Year because you are my employee, and Miss Wang is the first VIP customer in the store. You both rented my house, and you didn’t come home for the New Year. It’s as simple as that.”
Just like she accidentally got the golden finger from Greece, she never intended to save the cats all over the world, she just did something within her power to the kittens she could see and reach in front of her, and she was far from being praised as a good person. Far from it.
"It's already very good." Song Xinmin, who has wandered in many places, met many people and experienced many things, smiled, "It's already very good for a private boss like you, the store manager, who doesn't owe wages and has employee benefits from time to time."
The subtext in the words can be understood by anyone who has been in the society. Lin Lan can only sigh and pat the employee on the shoulder: "Remember to come over tomorrow night."
"Thank you, manager." Comrade Xiao Song replied with a smile. Just as he was about to say hello and leave, he saw Lin Lan stuffing bags of cat food and canned food into a large backpack, and couldn't help but pause, "Manager, the cat in our store If you don't eat cat food, why did you buy cat food?"
"Oh, this is not for the cats in the store, but for the stray cats outside." Lin Lan explained while packing the bag, the cat boss has a huge group of feral cats, and she made cat food by herself to deliver it. Not too tired.
Song Xinmin understood in seconds: "Is this going to feed those stray cats?" The store manager would go out for a while every few days just to give food to the stray cats, and he also knew that this was also a breed of cat in the teahouse. primary source.
There seems to be a delicate consensus between the store manager and the stray cats that she gives them food and they let her bring back those beautiful pet cats from time to time.
"Yeah, tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and it's New Year's Eve, so I'll give them some past."
Hearing her affirmative answer and the big bag of cat food that was struggling to be carried on her back, Song Xinmin hurried forward: "Why don't I go with you, the store manager, and it's easier for the two of you to carry them separately."
Anyway, it's okay for him to be on vacation. This time, he went out with Manager Lin to meet the stray cats, which was considered a breath of fresh air.
Lin Lan had never failed the staff's enthusiastic help, and the backpack was quite heavy, so in the end, she brought him, and the two of them carried half of the cat food to the group location of the cat boss.
It has been snowing in Xicheng for the past few days, and there are no cats on the roofs of abandoned houses, but they can be found in another empty house sheltered from the wind.
Song Xinmin followed Lin Lan all the way, and stopped at a desolate community of uninhabited houses. He saw that one of the dilapidated houses had doors and windows that were leaking by people. The store manager walked towards the room and walked to open the door. There were rows of foam boxes stacked in a trapezoid shape in the empty room. Each box had a round hole for the cat to enter and exit freely. Wearing waste fabrics, I can see stray cats of different colors from time to time in some boxes.
Compared with the cold outside, this empty house, which is actually a bit cold, is already quite warm for cats.
Moreover, these cats are already very familiar with the store manager. Almost the moment she pushed the door and came in, many cats were already standing at the door and surrounded her feet.
"Meow..." "Meow-" "Ahhh..."
The meows of various voices came one after another, some gentle or rough. Song Xinmin, who had also gained some cat experience in the teahouse, saw the straight tails of the cats and could guess that they were begging the store manager for food. .
Of course, only Lin Lan could understand the more complicated meow translation.
(Lan Lan, are you coming to see us again?)
(Lanlan, did you bring us food again?)
(Lanlan, the cat litter you gave us is so warm, it won't get cold when you get in!)
Stray cats surrounded her legs, some meowing, and some rubbing their heads against her legs, acting like a spoiled child.
"Don't crowd, everyone has something to eat!" Lin Lan moved carefully, afraid of accidentally stepping on one of them, "By the way, where's the cat boss?"
When the cat group heard her mention the boss, they automatically and slowly gave way.
"Wow..." The familiar hoarse cat meowed, and Lin Lan saw the cat boss sitting there on top of the highest foam box. (Even if you bring the food again, this time there is no cat you want.)
Lin Lan smiled: "I'm here to deliver food this time. It's almost New Year's Eve, and I want you to have a good year too."
Song Xinmin followed behind with cat food. After discovering the existence of the cat boss, he was immediately amazed by this civet cat.
Not because of the appearance, but because of the cat's solitary temperament.
Having wandered in so many cities, he had never seen or thought that a cat could have such a leadership temperament, almost immediately distinguishing it from other raccoon cats of the same suit.
Song Xinmin subconsciously wanted to touch the front of his body, but after touching it for a while, he remembered that he didn't have his camera with him, so he couldn't help but feel a pity. If this cat can be photographed now, it would definitely be a very good photo.
But soon he didn't have time to regret it, and the store manager was already telling him to help open cans for the kittens to eat.
When rows of cans were placed in rows on the open space of the empty house, the pictures of those stray cats were also neatly burying their heads to eat in front of them. The impact caused by the quantity was quite shocking. However, apart from the whimpering noises that these cats make when they eat, they are no different from the cats in the store when they eat.
Perhaps it should be said that it is indeed a cat fed by a store manager who is skilled in cat training? Eating is very disciplined.
The cats were eating, but the cat boss, who only had a charismatic charisma, didn't. He was still talking to the manager one by one... Or the manager's tenth-level cat language was working magically again.
"Wow." (A few more cats wanted to join this time, but I chased them away.)
"What are you driving away?" Lin Lan was surprised.
"Wow." (Food is limited, I can't shelter all cats, it's normal for weak cats to be weeded out by winter.)
Lin Lan was silent. Compared with humans, animals living in the wild have more straightforward and cruel ways of weeding out, competing for more food and more territory, and...the chance to survive.
"You are the cat boss, you have the final say on your ethnic group." After a while, she replied to the cat boss.
The raccoon cat looked at her with its golden vertical pupils and let out a long cry: "Wow woo-woah." (I have seen many two-legged beasts, and some two-legged beasts like you will often take the initiative to feed us. , but they also often disappear suddenly and never come back. I believe in relying on myself more than relying on you for food.)
Lin Lan was suddenly speechless.
How... a straightforward answer that I don't know how to describe.
As a beast, the cat doesn't know how to beat around the bush, let alone learn how to deceive humans. It just uses its own experience and experience to express its own judgment and practice.
"Sorry." Lin Lan could only say that, "In addition to guaranteeing the cats I brought back, I will keep them, but I can't guarantee you the same."
Asking herself, she can't be sure that she can feed these stray cats all her life, there are too many unpredictable variables.
The cat boss's eyes softened at this time, and he also lowered his voice and called to her: "Wow." (It doesn't matter. In this world, only you two-legged beasts are willing to take in and support other groups.)
The food delivery operation ended soon, and after helping the stray cats re-fix the cathouses and doors and windows, Lin Lan left the abandoned dwelling with a heavy heart.
All kinds of thoughts swirled around in my mind, and there were some unrealistic impulses, but in the end, they were all pressed down by reason one by one.
Sure enough... She's just a selfish laity who can't be a savior.
"Manager, are you familiar with the head cat of this group of wild cats?" On the way, Song Xinmin's voice brought her back to her senses, and when she looked up, she saw the excitement on the stray photographer's face, "I want to take a picture of it, you Can you say it?"
I want her to help.
"Don't ask me about this, you have to ask the cat if she wants to." Lin Lan felt that the chances were half and half. "It's too early to mention this now. Let's talk about it after the new year."
Back in the small building, Comrade Xiao Song went back to his room to rest, while Lin Lan went up to the third floor and returned to the new room with the tea house cat.
It was also a series of meowing noises as soon as the door was opened, and the cats with sensitive ears had long recognized that she was coming back from the footsteps outside the door.
(Lan Lan, have you brought food back?)
(It smells like a lot of other cats!)
(Screw off, rub it all off! Mom is mine!)
As soon as she closed the door and stood still, there were already a group of cats around her legs, each of which used her head to re-smell her body. Lin Lan's originally depressed mood suddenly brightened up again.
"Don't rub it, it's all in vain." He reached out and picked up the puppet cat who rubbed the most, and lightly tapped its pink nose, "Don't forget, it's agreed that everyone will take a bath today. ."
As soon as you wash it, the smell is gone.
In an instant, a group of cats that had just been rubbing hard retreated and ran away several times.