I Can Talk to Cats C20

Chapter 20: Preparations for the New Shop (Part Three)

Translated by Lime

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Recap: Lin Lan meets and takes in the Abyssinian cat named Pudding. She also witnesses the argument between the owner and her mother in law.

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The Abyssinian cat is an extremely clever cat that is docile. They are excellent at acting cute to get their owner to get what they want, and at the same time, they are very loyal.

After being sent away by her owner, the two year old Pudding was dispirited. Many of the other cats curiously sniffed at the cage to catch a whiff of the new cat’s scent, but Pudding ignored all of them.

Lin Lan let her be depressed for two days. On the morning of the third day, she carried out the cat and used the cat comb and the silicone cat glove to dutifully groom its fur. The small, slim-bodied, large-eared cat started to purr.

No cat could resist the pleasure of someone brushing their fur, especially pet cats that were used to being served by humans.

“Do you still miss your Mom?” Seeing that Pudding didn’t reject her touch and laid on her legs comfortably, Lin Lan asked her tentatively.

No matter if it was a cat or a dog, they were unable to understand what a human was saying. They relied on a human’s tone of voice to gauge their mood. After becoming accustomed to her surroundings, Pudding did not tense at Lin Lan’s voice.

Hearing the mention of her previous owner, Pudding lightly meowed: “Miaow—” (I miss her, but I know that my Mom doesn’t want me. I have no way of going back home.)

Lin Lan fell silent. This intelligent kitty had come to a conclusion when she sensed Miss Yao’s turbulent words and mood that day. Or maybe, she had known for a long time. 

“Miaowow…” (Ever since my Mom and I moved into that house, I knew that the elderly woman didn’t like me. She always looked at me with a disdainful gaze. Every time, my Mom would staunchly defend me and argue with her, but I knew that Mom couldn’t beat her.)

At the moment, the cat was sensitive and poured out her thoughts, leading Lin Lan to clarify points that she was unclear about.

Thinking back to the argument that the old lady and Mrs. Yao had, the old lady constantly emphasized the effort and work her daughter in law would need to put in to take care of the cat. Now, it was evident that the old lady disliked the amount of money that was spent on the cat, but since that money was earned by Mrs. Yao herself, the old lady could not openly criticize her spendings. She merely used her pregnancy as an excuse to get rid of the cat.

Not only that, the nonexistent male in the household probably agreed with his mother on this and avoided this issue by not being present. Instead, he let all the reproachful feelings fall on his mother so the two could get away with this act.

This was possibly why many mothers in law had a bad reputation while the husbands and fathers in law were relatively unproblematic. In cases like this, the men would profit the most off of conflict between the women.

Without any apparent reason, Lin Lan felt a surge of ill-will, as the cat lover and previous owner of a cat, Mrs. Yao, was unaware of the immorality of the household she married into.

However, she didn’t explain her thoughts to Pudding. She lowered her voice and patted the small kitty’s head.

“Her true intention is not to give up you, it’s just that she had no other choice. She sent you here in order to have a better life with me. Pudding, in the future, you will have a new home and many new friends.”

Pudding allowed her new owner to gently pet her. This person was able to understand her and somehow, could speak to her. Lin Lan was very gentle towards her, so faced with this strange, new environment, Pudding was not terribly anxious and slowly accepted her new home.

“Miaow…” (I know, when kittens grow up, they will inevitably leave their Mom. Lan Lan, I will stay here forever and I won’t run away.) 

Lin Lan secretly thought: this kitty was indeed raised to be an obedient and clever kitty. She lifted it off her legs and set it on the ground. “Pudding, welcome to your new home. Would you rather enter the cage and observe your new acquaintances or do you want to directly play with them?”

This cat had special circumstances and its personality and attitude were decent, so Lin Lan did not intend to separate her for the rest of the week. Instead, she directly asked her if she wanted to join the other cats.

“I promise that they will not bully you at all.”

The petite reddish-gold kitty lifted her head to gaze at her, and her tail, part of which was black, swayed back and forth. She seemed to be thinking and meowed shortly after, “Miaow…” (Lan Lan, you’re going to protect me, right?) 

“Of course.” Lin Lan nodded. “I promised your mother that I would take good care of you.”

With her sincerity, the Abyssinian cat made a decision and ran past the cage.

Officially, there were twelve cats.

Excluding Snowflake, the remaining cats, from the family of black cats to the valuable cats that she picked up from the streets, were to be employees of the cat cafe. While she was taking care of them, Lin Lan was teaching several ways to act meng _{^{(T/N: Cute)}} and countless ways to win over guests.

Before the boba tea shop’s lease was up, Father Lin applied for and received the various permits needed to open a cat cafe. The day after Xiao Zhang moved out, renovations would immediately begin.

Conveniently, the construction crew was introduced to her by Cheng Fengyang, and they were reputed to be an acclaimed interior renovation crew. The types of materials for the renovation and where to buy them were also settled by Cheng Fengyang.

He oversaw the construction progress and inspected the quality of the renovations. All day, he was constantly running around to the Lin family’s apartment and to the noisy construction area, but that did not prevent him from meeting with Lin Lan. The two concluded that if a mistake was made, they would ask the renovation team to fix it.

Lin Lan did not oppose this idea; ever since she realized that Cheng Fengyang and herself had similar tastes, she was willing to chat with him. Both of them had become pretty good friends.

Sometimes, when they weren’t discussing the renovations, the topic of the conversation shifted to their pets—perhaps, they only wanted to brag about their own furry child being sensible and intelligent.

“Cheng Fengyang, let me tell you, my Snowflake…and my Sapphire…my Momo…” 

“My Star is also like that, Lin Lan, I’m telling you…blah blah blah…”  

The two were not far from the Lin family’s shop, only separated by one unit. Naturally, Father and Mother Lin noticed their daughter frequently chatting with a young man while walking. Lin Lan was focused on her shop that was opening soon, but the spectators of the Lin couple were able to figure out the situation with one glance.

“That stinky boy is interested in our Lan Lan!” As he spoke, Lin Youyu’s expression was scary.

“I don’t need you to tell me, I already realized!” Wang Xiuzhi glanced up at her husband and snuck a glance: “Look at Lan Lan! She’s too stupid!”

The Lin family were already acquainted with this young man. They were told that after Lan Lan returned the wallet to the public security bureau, a relative of the policeman wanted to express his thanks. An outstanding senior interior designer helping with the design of the renovations was more than enough. But later, he helped source materials and introduced a construction crew and every few days, he would help inspect the progress. Wasn’t his enthusiasm a little too excessive?

Faced with a young man that was clearly interested in their daughter, the married couple had differing opinions.

“I think it’s fine. If Lan Lan starts dating him, I won’t get between them.” As Lin Lan’s mother, Wang Xiuzhi had asked around about his job and family. She deduced that he was from the same Cheng family who had received four houses after the demolition of the street across from them. Wang Xiuzhi patted her husband: “Heh, you’ve been jealous for fifteen years because of this lucky Cheng family. It’s quite likely that your daughter is going to get those apartments.”

Lin Youyu was not amused and resentfully glared at his wife: “She won’t be able to get all four! When their own daughter married, they gifted her one unit. All that is left are the small villa across from us and a large store in the city centre. They don’t have any right to be arrogant.” Lin Youyu missed the entire point of his wife’s statement.

Well, other than their family owning property, both Old Cheng and his son held jobs, and their salaries were not low either. Wang Xiuzhi silently muttered this to herself, not wanting to provoke her husband’s short temper.

Lin Lan was unaware of her parent’s conversation as she was busy with the renovations. Luckily, the construction crew were diligent. Lin Lan was not stingy and treated them to food at noon each day. They would sit in the snack bar next door and she would order four dishes and one soup that were somewhat oily. When they took a break, she sent them fruit tea that would quench their thirst and replenish their strength—not to mention, the surplus of food that Xiao Zhang resold to Lin Lan came in handy now. 

The workers were given sufficient pay, and on the job, they were served food and drink. Without being prompted by their employer, they voluntarily worked to the best of their ability. After all, it was not nice to take advantage of another’s goodwill.

Originally, the renovation would have taken a month and a half, but it was completed ten days in advance.

The day after the renovations were finished, the first snow of winter fell in Xi City. Three months had already passed since Lin Lan returned to her hometown. 

The calendar displayed the 12th month. Lin Lan sat in her living room and faced the group of cats with a smile: “We will wait a little longer until interest in our cat cafe builds. How does opening on New Year’s Day sound?”

_{^{(T/N: I think the New Year’s Day opening date might be Chinese New Year, because the timeline in the last part of this chapter doesn’t make sense if it is not CNY, but at the same time, things still don’t line up exactly.)}}

On the heating pads that Lin Lan bought, the cats basking on them purred.

Wang Xiuzhi and Grandmother Lin happened to see this and they felt very strange.

“After training with Lan Lan in her apartment, they really aren’t the same anymore.” Wang Xiuzhi was surprised that these kitties were so obedient. “At first, when they moved back into our apartment for the heating system, these cats were running everywhere. I didn’t expect that when Lan Lan asked them to sleep on the heating pads and to be still, they actually stopped crazily running around.”

“They’re probably cold.” Grandmother Lin watched the group of cats, each lump laying on the mat in a meatloaf position. Their claws were retracted, and their paws were tucked into its belly. They looked like dough that had just risen to make steamed rolls, made with white flour, black rice flour, and cornmeal. Looking at them made Grandmother Lin’s heart warm, and she said, “At her apartment, there weren’t many people or a heating system. Of course our place is much warmer.”

“Bringing them here for warmth is only one of the reasons.” Lin Lan explained, “The most important reason why I brought them here was so the kittens could become accustomed to an environment with more people. After the cafe opens, meeting strangers will be common. They need to be less wary.”

“If they don’t wildly run around, it should be fine if they lay still.” Wang Xiuzhi politely pointed out. Fully aware that the cats didn’t understand her, she reached out her hand and patted the lumps: “Let me warn you guys, defecating and urinating must be done in the toilet! If I smell any scent in our house, you will be beaten! Do you understand?!”

She said this while facing the cats, but the Empress Dowager’s eyes were glaring at Lin Lan.

_{^{(T/N: Empress Dowager = Former Empress/mother of current Emperor.)}}

Her daughter started to panic and promptly instructed the kitties: “Do you guys hear her? If you need to poop or pee, you must go to the toilet! Those who don’t follow this won’t receive dried fish. If you agree, meow!”

Almost immediately, all the cats meowed. Some kitties stood up and rubbed against Wang Xiuzhi’s leg and acted cutely.

These kitties were able to tell that the person standing at the top of the food chain in this household was not Lan Lan, but this elderly woman. They must suck up to her.

As the cats rubbed against her, Wang Xiuzhi did not know whether to laugh or cry. Seeing this, Grandmother Lin cracked up, and accidentally dropped the lid of a hand cream. It rolled underneath a low cabinet.

The opening between the floor and the cabinet was too narrow for a human’s hand to fit through. Grandmother Lin sighed and was about to find something to coax it out when Lin Lan stopped her.

“Grandmother, don’t go, I’ll get it.” Although Lin Lan said that she would go, she was staring at the cats sitting on the heating pad. “Mo One, go retrieve the lid.”

After receiving the order, a small black kitten immediately responded and crawled under the cabinet. Shortly, the lid was retrieved. When Lin Lan reached down to pick up the cap, she hugged the kitten in the crook of her arm and proudly smiled at her dumbfounded mother and grandmother.

“How was that? Owning cats has benefits.”

The small black kittens were around nine months old. When the cat cafe opened on New Year’s Day, they would be almost one year old. Then, they would officially be adult cats. Compared to when they first arrived at the Lin house, the cats had grown significantly. Not only did the black cats grow, but the Ragdoll kitten also grew. Sapphire was six months old, and when compared to her at three months old, her head had grown bigger and her fur coat filled in. At one glance, you could tell she was a pretty and amiable kitty.

Lin Lan was very proud of herself for raising these cats, and the other two women heartily laughed.

“Useful! They’re useful!” Grandmother Lin laughed to the point of slapping her thigh: “Lan Lan, the way you taught them was successful! These kitties are clever!”

Lin Lan lifted her head higher: “This is nothing. Once I open my shop on New Year’s Day, there will be even more surprises!”

The Lin family, including Lin Lan, expected December to pass quickly, albeit busily. The cafe would open as planned on New Year’s Day, but the twenty days did not pass uneventfully. 

The first snow signaled the full force of the winter descending, and the most severe challenge showed itself to the stray cats.

Lin Lan anticipated that Cat Boss would still be helpful and sent over supplies every few days. Over time, she noticed that the number of cats following him grew more and more.

“Miaowowow…Wawuwawuwawu…Miaow, miaow, miaow…” (That’s because…awuawu…many surrounding cats know…awuawu…Cat Boss has a two-legged being supporting him…and the two-legged being sends him food…awuawu…so in order to survive the winter…they all decided to follow him.)

A stray cat who was eating out of a can was simultaneously replying to her question. Lin Lan listened to its sporadic explanation and her lips curved into a smile.

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Sorry for the late update, hope you enjoyed this chapter!

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