I Can Talk to Cats C25

Chapter 25: Hiring Staff (Part One)

Translated by Lime

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If you don’t study hard now, in the future you will… 

This sentence was very familiar… Ever since Tang Xiaoya was little, she had heard many variations of that phrase. They all stemmed from one key meaning. After all these years passed, Tang Xiaoya did not expect to hear it again while inside a cat cafe.

The woman’s tone and attitude were familiar, so familiar that Tang Xiaoya’s teeth began to itch and she really wanted to scold her.

No way, no way, she had to respect the elderly and nurture the young. Besides, arguing in someone else’s shop wasn’t too appropriate, keep calm, keep calm… 

F*ck being calm! Just when Tang Xiaoya was about to berate that old woman and tell her that the attendant she made an example of was actually the owner of the shop, a bell sounded, signifying the opening of the door.

A man, wearing a suit and a work tag burst into the shop, yelling, “Is Lin Lan here? I have two clients that want to tour your family’s building’s apartments!”

Tang Xiaoya choked on her sudden intake of breath and started coughing.

Your family’s… building’s… apartments? 

Did she misunderstand something, not only did the shop owner own these two store units, she also purchased housing units?

Lin Lan had been busy preparing tea and pastries behind the counter, but with no other choice, she stopped. With one glance, she recognized the realtor. Standing outside were two strangers. “Why did you suddenly come to find me? Have you tried calling my parents yet?”

“I came to find you precisely because I can’t get ahold of them,” The realtor helplessly replied. “The two out there want to rent a place to live, and the conditions they requested happened to line up perfectly with your family’s building, so I brought them here for a tour.”

“Please wait a moment, let me try calling them again.” When he finished speaking, Lin Lan had picked up her phone. As he claimed, her father’s number did not go through, but when she called her mother, it connected after a few rings. Lin Lan quickly spoke, “Mom, where are you and Dad?……I was about to ask why it was so noisy on your side, turns out you are in the recital hall……The realtor brought over two people who want to tour the apartments. I’m busy looking after my shop right now, hurry up and come home!……That’s right, the people are at the entrance of my shop.”

After she hung up, Lin Lan turned around to face the realtor, who had heard the entire conversation. Nodding her head, she spoke, “You already know where that small recital hall is located. They’ll be here in three to five minutes, tops.”

“Great.” Hearing this, the realtor was at ease and smiled: “One of those two wants to rent an apartment unit while the other wants to rent a small room. If that’s not possible, he is willing to take the basement. Both requested for the location to be close to an entrance of the subway. After scouring through many places, this building was the most convenient for both of them to tour at once.”

Basement?

The moment Lin Lan heard that someone wanted to live in the basement, she couldn’t help but look outside and size the two up. One was a male and the other was a female. Both appeared to be quite young, and concluding from the one meter distance between them, they were not familiar with each other. The woman wore furs and tall boots, seeming well-off. As for the man, he wore old, faded clothes, and seemed a bit impoverished.

Exactly who was renting the apartment and who was renting the basement was obvious.

“Living in a basement with this weather… in another month, we will be celebrating New Year’s,” Lin Lan muttered.

^{_{(T/N: She is talking about Chinese New Year, which usually falls between January-February.)}}

“Who knows?” The realtor shrugged: “Business has come knocking at your door, surely you can’t just reject them? We also need to celebrate the New Year.”

He was right, why should she care about their circumstances. As long as they had not committed a crime, then she would have no reason not to accept them.

“Anyways, seems like your cat cafe is doing pretty well? The renovations are top tier. You probably spent quite a bit.”

“It was so-so.”

“The cats are not bad, wow, there is even a Ragdoll and a Maine Coon? Is that an Abyssinian cat? The value of these few cats combined are over ten-thousand already and you are making them work in a cat cafe? You have a lot of guts!”

“Well, I guess so.”

As the two conversed, the Lin couple arrived in front of the cafe. The two people that the realtor had brought with him were obviously not here for the cat cafe, so they headed to tour the apartments.

Tang Xiaoya heard the faint conversations from outside.

“Is the apartment still available?”

“Yes, the second, fifth, and sixth floor all have an available apartment unit. We don’t have any more single rooms and the basement…” 

As they walked away, Tang Xiaoya stared at the woman behind the counter, her eyes huge.

Before, she had thought that the shop owner was winning in life because she owned a cat cafe and all those pretty cats. Now, she realized that she was too lenient in her definition of ‘winning in life’.

On the surface, she was the owner of a cat cafe, but in reality, she was already a landlord and owned a whole building!

She was so envious that tears were about to flow down her face.

Tang Xiaoya felt her mental had taken a huge hit and gulped down her milk tea. The fragrant and delicious drink calmed her down a bit. She glanced at the shop owner who was carrying a plate of tea and pastries to the grandmother, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. Suddenly, Tang Xiaoya was at ease.

The table that Tang Xiaoya seated at was slanted at an angle, so she was able to see their faces. The conversation that the realtor and the shop owner had was easily heard throughout the cafe. Even she had been taken aback, so the old woman who tried to use the shop owner as an example probably felt so awkward she wanted to die!

If the shop owner did not study diligently while she was young, it did not matter as she already owned a building. Serving customers was her hobby, and she owned many kitties whose value went into the ten-thousands. Old woman, how do you plan on explaining this to your granddaughter?

Presently, the grandmother indeed felt awkward. Her granddaughter was dead set on coming inside to pet kitties and the grandmother and the mother had no choice but to be dragged inside. The grandmother was not happy, and in order to reprimand her granddaughter, used the waitress as an example. Who knew that the waitress actually had this kind of background?

As Lin Lan headed over to their table, the grandmother shamelessly pretended not to see her. Next to her, the mother also lowered her head in embarrassment. Both adults were completely silent.

Seeing this, Lin Lan was also silent. When the old woman had used her as an example, she had not bothered to lower her voice, so she had heard it all. Now, they were quietly backing down, and naturally, Lin Lan would not bring the incident up directly.

The eight year old primary school student was also going to pretend like nothing had happened, but when she came face to face with Lin Lan, she couldn’t help but grab her arm and ask, “Sister, Grandmother told me that if I don’t study diligently, then I will become like you in the future. Is she telling the truth? If I could have a building, such a beautiful shop, and all these cute kitties, I certainly would not properly study… ahhhhhh!”

^{_{(T/N: Sister = in this case, friendly way of addressing a young woman that is older than you. I had a brain fart and still can’t think of a better word.)}}

“What are you saying!…I’m so sorry, my daughter is talking nonsense!”

Watching the mother cover her daughter’s mouth in fear that her child would continue to spout embarrassing nonsense, Tang Xiaoya covered her stomach and tried extremely hard to not laugh.

The lesson was unsuccessful, even resulting in the child learning the opposite message.

Facing the stiff family, Lin Lan was calm.

“It’s not like this, little girl.” Patiently, Lin Lan looked into her eyes: “The reason why I am able to own a building and this shop have no relationship with whether or not I studied when I was young. My Grandfather and Grandmother worked hard in place of me. It was with their efforts and struggles that I am able to live the way I do. Even if I did not study properly, I would still be able to enjoy this prosperous lifestyle.”

After she finished, the old woman’s eyes widened in anger, and red veins appeared on her face full of wrinkles. She wanted to open her mouth and scold the shop owner several times, but was unable to refute anything. When her daughter-in-law and her granddaughter glanced over at her with a certain look in their eyes, she was fuming with rage.

Lin Lan pretended like she did not notice anything and continued: “So, little girl, you need to study diligently. If you work hard to study, and work hard to earn money, you can become like my grandparents. Your future grandchildren won’t have to put in much work and can happily hug kitties while pursuing their dream.”

If you couldn’t be the wealthy third generation, then just become the wealthy first generation.

^{_{(T/N: The first generation is the one that works hard and makes the fortune, and the third generation is said to be the one who inherits and squanders it. There is a saying in Chinese that wealth does not last after three generations.)}}

The young child became determined and held her closed fist in the air: “Okay! I will study diligently so I can become a good, wealthy grandmother who will let her grandchildren do anything they want!”

“Pu—Hahahaha!” Tang Xiaoya could not hold her laughter in any longer and collapsed on the table, laughing.

The grandmother’s face had been slapped multiple times and in a fit of anger, she stood up: “I’m not eating here, I’m going home!” When she said this, she immediately headed towards the exit.

“Mom?” The daughter-in-law followed the old woman, dragging her daughter along with her. The child who had yet to hug a kitty was about to cry, when the old woman started to yell again from the door.

“You two are not allowed to follow me! The bill has been paid already, so don’t waste the money!”

The old woman half-covered her face as she urgently rushed out, the bell ringing as the door closed.

Once the woman left, the roles reversed, leaving Tang Xiaoya in an awkward situation.

“I- I’m sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose…” She knew that because of her hearty laughter earlier, the old woman reached a breaking point. Otherwise, she might have been able to reign her anger in and continue sitting there.

The mother and daughter who were left behind could not say anything in return. At least, the mother was dazed and awkwardly laughed.

Lin Lan was completely unaffected and brought over a kitty with a patient temperament, Sapphire. Gently, she set her in front of the little girl: “Little girl, isn’t she pretty? You are just as pretty as she is. Don’t you like others treating you gently? Well, she likes it as well. Right now, I’m asking you to take good care of her and treat her kindly. Make sure not to bully her.”

The eight year old primary school student was sensible and knew when to be serious. As a little girl, she was eager to take care and play with beautiful and cute things. Now that she had especially been given a mission, the girl’s face became solemn, and she carefully hugged the cat into her embrace: “Sister, don’t worry. I will take good care of Sapphire!”

The mother watched as her daughter suddenly transformed into a mature adult while she hugged the cat: she patiently brushed through the kitty’s fur, played with her, and spoke to her. The little girl who had acted like a typical primary schooler earlier had entirely lost her spoiled attitude. The mother’s face warped into a complicated expression.

Thinking back to her mother-in-law who had run away, she began to think.

Maybe, their way of teaching the child should actually change?

The relaxed atmosphere inside the cafe was restored, allowing Tang Xiaoya exhale a breath of relief. At the same time, she admired Lin Lan. In a few sentences, she had settled the situation with the annoying old woman and still was able to approach the little girl calmly, successfully soothing their troubled states of mind by bringing a kitty over. They possibly could become regular customers. This shop owner was truly skilled at resolving sticky situations.

Suddenly, Tang Xiaoya saw Lin Lan bring out a poster from a storage room and paste it to the display window.

Tang Xiaoya saw the distinct “Hiring” letters on the top. When she collected her thoughts and moved closer, she became excited and shouted loudly towards the counter. 

“Boss, Boss, I am willing to become a part-time _{^{(T/N: hourly)}} worker! I have plenty of time every weekend. Am I allowed to work two jobs at once?”

She could pet kitties free of charge, eat tea and pastries free of charge, and even receive pay. Why wouldn’t she do it!

… 

Lin Lan did not expect for someone to be interested five minutes after she put the poster up. The applicant’s name was Tang Xiaoya. She was 23 years old this year and worked as an office worker six days a week, taking one day off to rest. Her favorite things to do were relaxing and playing with kitties. She was not fond of social customs and especially hated the activities to build good will at her company because it took up her precious alone time.

_{^{(T/N: ‘Build good will’ = eating and socializing with colleagues or exchanging polite (and fake) conversations. In the last chapter, she mentioned not wanting to exchange fake greetings for New Years Day with her colleagues.)}}

Tang Xiaoya wanted to pet cats, but was not able to raise a cat.

“There’s no way I can. The landlord of the apartment that I’m renting doesn’t allow pets. Besides, my place isn’t really suited for a cat; it’s too small.” She described her situation in a helpless manner. “The most important point is that I don’t have much time to myself and won’t have enough energy to take care of a cat after working. It’s better for me to go to a cat cafe when I want to see kitties.”

“You can think about moving to my family’s building. We allow our tenants to raise pets under the condition that the apartment will not be damaged.” Lin Lan joked to her new employee. Unexpectedly, Tang Xiaoya became distracted and began to think.

Ten minutes later.

“Boss, I’ve thought it over. After my lease ends next month, I will move here. It conveniently saves me the trouble of having to commute here each weekend.” The new employee seriously answered.

Lin Lan: “…” Aren’t you a little too impulsive? 

The impulsive woman was equally impulsive to work. By the closing time, Lin Lan had saved a lot of energy and time thanks to Tang Xiaoya’s help.

When she was offered pay, Tang Xiaoya shook her head and refused, “Please use it when I buy cans of cat food and cat treats. I will save all my money for Mercury.”

“…This really is true love.” 

“Right now, if I owned a house and was able to propose to him, I would immediately ask Boss if I could reward him with my body!”

In the middle of the shop, the Maine Coon had already adjusted to the daily life of working in the cat cafe. He had just crawled into the cage and was prepared to be lifted upstairs when his body started to shiver. He wasn’t in the mood to lick his paws anymore. His pair of round, shifty eyes alerted, sweeping his surroundings.

What surrounded him were the cats he was familiar with. Those who licked fur were licking fur, those who napped were napping. There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.

But why did he feel like something was off?

Mercury did not realize what it was even after he returned to the apartment. Facing all the kitties, Lin Lan announced that Tang Xiaoya was now a part-time employee on the weekend. Still clueless, he continued to lick his fur with a light heart.

Lin Lan was happy to have found a part-time employee, but she was hoping to recruit a full-time employee. Miss Tang was hard-working and useful, but she was only able to work on the weekend.

Lin Lan had prepared to find a full-time employee after Chinese New Year’s passed, so she was not in a hurry.

Speaking of the New Year’s, Lin Lan recalled the two people who had come to tour the apartments earlier.

“Have they decided yet?”

During dinner, Lin Lan looked at her parents in shock.

“That’s right, those two young people have decided that they want to stay here. The lease has already been signed, and the deposit has been paid,” Lin Youyu replied as he munched on another mouthful of vegetables. “The girl is renting the apartment on the second floor, and she is moving in tomorrow. The other one is even more decisive. He is moving into the basement tonight.”

“It must be very chilly living inside the basement in this winter weather,” Lin Lan blurted out.

“Without money, there’s no other choice.” Lin Youyu was used to these situations already, “If he had enough money, he wouldn’t live there.”

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter! The “face-slapping” is a little different, and I’m glad the mother started to question her teaching methods.

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