cat charm

cat charm

Reply [2]: Relatives of my first and second aunts

That evening, while we were having dinner, my mom suddenly said, "You haven't visited your second aunt in a long time. She even called today to ask how you are doing."

"Oh." I said casually, while engrossed in reading the newspaper. "Okay, I'll go see her when I have time."

Don't wait any longer, just go this weekend! Your uncle has been asking about you several times. When you were little, you lived in their house and always had the best food and clothes. They treated you like their own daughter. Now they don't visit you for months at a time. How am I supposed to explain this to you?

I'm busy! I looked up, made a fake crying face, and continued reading the newspaper.

You're busy?! Everyone knows you don't even have a fixed workplace. Who would believe you're so busy you don't even have time to visit someone?

I covered my head with a newspaper and slowly slipped away from the dining table to return to my computer and continue typing. But I didn't take my mother's words to heart and secretly made up my mind: I must buy some supplements and fruits tomorrow morning and go to my aunt's house.

My second aunt's house is located on one of the city's most culturally vibrant streets. The quiet government compound is like a peaceful and beautiful paradise. I had the taxi stop outside the gate and strolled in. When I was little, my parents were both very busy, so I stayed with my second aunt, which caused them quite a bit of trouble. Passing by the kindergarten outside the government building, I saw the old swing still swaying, and my heart warmed. When I was little, my second aunt's husband and cousin often played on that swing with me. I would laugh and shout, "Second Uncle, higher! Higher!" I called my second aunt's husband "Second Dad" because, supposedly, I had a very unclear speech when I was little. Words like "uncle" were so difficult for me to pronounce, I would struggle to say them even with my bottom sticking out. My parents invented this nickname to save me the trouble.

After passing a few apartment buildings, I arrived at my second aunt's house. I hadn't been here many times since they moved to the new building. I hesitated a little before entering the building and looked around for any signs to confirm my location.

Just as I turned around, I suddenly saw a large tabby cat sitting on the roof of the bicycle shed in front of the building, as if it were sunbathing, with its eyes squinting and its two front paws curled up under its body. I remembered Liang Shiqiu's description of it as "like an old monk in meditation".

"Mimi~~~Mimi~~~~ Come down, come down, play with me!" I called to it, jumping up and down, but it just glanced at me with a dignified air and didn't move. My two meows did manage to call my second aunt out of the third-floor window, who yelled at me, "Xiao Juan! Aren't you coming up here!"

I scratched my head sheepishly and hurried upstairs. My aunt was already waiting at the door, taking the things I was carrying and dusting me off with a duster. Then she tossed a pair of pretty plastic slippers at my feet: "Here! Your cousin bought these especially for you!"

My heart ached, and I almost burst into tears. My aunt's family truly treats me like their own daughter; otherwise, they wouldn't have gone out of their way to buy me a pair of slippers.

After changing my shoes and going inside, I found my second uncle sitting on the sofa in the living room, with a strange man of about forty years old sitting opposite him. I glanced at him curiously and whispered to my second aunt: "Are there guests?"

"Your second uncle's relative, you should call him—what should you call him? Call him Big Brother, right?" Second Aunt introduced calmly.

"Call me Big Brother, calling me Big Brother is fine!" The man sat up from the sofa, bowing and scraping to me. I glanced at him, and for some reason, I felt a bit disgusted, so I didn't say anything more, called him Big Brother, and sat down next to my second uncle.

My second uncle isn't a local. His hometown is in a suburban county of Shanghai. He joined the army at sixteen and left his hometown, eventually settling in Beijing. The only people I know who still live in Shanghai are his older brother and his brother's adopted son. The others aren't direct relatives, and they rarely keep in touch. Perhaps this "elder brother" is just in Beijing on a business trip and asked my second uncle to do something for him?

After sitting for a while, I noticed that the "big brother" didn't seem to have anything to say, and was just sitting there listening to my aunt, uncle, and I ramble on. I felt a little sorry for him, so I casually asked, "Are you in Beijing for a meeting?"

His expression turned slightly embarrassed, but he immediately nodded and bowed, saying, "Ah, yes, a meeting, a short meeting."

His aunt and uncle, both very kind-hearted intellectuals, added, "Brother Songming brought you some pine nut candy; go try it later!"

I stood up and walked towards the kitchen, saying loudly, "Hehe, I'll cook for you guys tonight! I've learned several new signature dishes!"

"No, no!" Auntie rushed towards the kitchen, saying as she ran, "Your mother told me that last time she said she was going to make boiled fish, and she ruined all the chili peppers in the house. The kitchen was so smoky that no one could go in for three days! Don't come and ruin our kitchen!"

I stood in the kitchen with an embarrassed smile, and sure enough, I didn't dare to touch anything.

My aunt opened the refrigerator and took out the vegetables. I took them from her and helped her wash them while asking, "So, 'Big Brother,' will you be having dinner with us too?"

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [3]: My second aunt only showed a little displeasure at this point, saying, "It's not just about eating, we also need to stay."

"Stay? Stay at our place?" I was a little surprised. "Isn't he here for a meeting? Doesn't his company reimburse his travel expenses?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down." Second Aunt stood up, closed the kitchen door, then turned back and lowered her voice, saying, "I heard that this Songming wasn't a good person in Shanghai. He didn't have any proper job when he was young and just messed around. Later, I don't know how he got a job at the neighborhood committee, but now he says he's quitting. He told your second uncle that he wants to come to Beijing to find a job and wants to stay at our house temporarily."

"Like him?" I glanced outside, clicked my tongue twice, and said nothing.

That evening, I didn't leave my aunt's house until long after dinner. My cousin didn't come home from get off work and chatted with me for a long time. Then he insisted on driving me home himself. I refused, pushed him back into the house, slammed the door shut, and ran downstairs.

The early summer night was quite cool. As soon as I stepped out of my building, I felt the fresh air. I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a pair of bright, sparkling eyes in mid-air not far from me. I was so startled that I jumped back a step before regaining my composure and looking again. It turned out to be the same big tabby cat I had seen that afternoon, sitting upright on the bicycle shed, staring intently at me.

"Mimi, it's you again! Come down, come down and play with me!" I called softly. It didn't move, but I felt something moving behind me, its footsteps very light.

This building was located at the far east end of the compound. Because it was a high-ranking cadre building, not many people lived there. Around nine o'clock at night, there was no one downstairs, only the light from the streetlights.

I didn't believe there could be a robber or thug so close to the building, so I turned around to see who was walking around. To my surprise, it was another cat behind me. It stood in the shadows, only its eyes glowing, so I couldn't make out its features.

I simply squatted down and started meowing at the cat in the shadows again: Come here, come here, good kitty!

From somewhere in the corner, a faint "meow" came. But it didn't come from the cat's shadow opposite me, nor from the cat monk on the roof.

I can't say which direction it came from, maybe from behind the row of thick poplar trees by the roadside?

"Why are there so many stray cats here?" I muttered to myself, stood up, stopped playing, and walked outside.

As I walked out of the compound gate, I was still thinking: I never realized that my aunt's house had so many stray cats before.

Second rescue of stray cats

Countless of my friends love animals and have cats or dogs as pets; but Wei is the only truly fervent animal rights activist. It's said she once traveled the Qinghai-Tibet Highway twice in search of Tibetan antelopes, and she has helped countless stray cats and dogs. So, when I happened to meet her online the next day, I told her that there were many stray cats outside my aunt's house. She seemed very anxious and told me a lot, ba

……