I Can Talk to Cats C27

Chapter 27: Playing with Heat

Translated by Lime

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The workers from the moving company were very professional. For furniture that could not fit through the stairwell, they used a special crane to move the furniture through the window. Each piece of furniture was wrapped in many layers of thick paper to prevent it from being damaged.

Lin Lan had no clue about the quality of the furniture, but judging from the worker observing from the side constantly shouting: “Be careful! Be more careful!” “Don’t bump it!” and from the other workers’ grave expressions, it was obvious.

But… why?

“I know the answer.”

In the evening, the Lin family returned home after a day of work to chat. When the wealthy Miss signed the rental contract, Lin Youyu also asked a similar question. Now, he explained without hesitation.

“Her name is Wang Jiayi, and she moved here from a nearby city. She claimed that she was at odds with her family and didn’t want to go back for New Year’s. She plans on staying here for around three to six months to travel around and live leisurely. Afterwards, she’ll consider if she wants to return.” So, the cause was a conflict. The specifics of these sorts of matters were not easily told to others.

The Lin family was speechless.

Grandmother Lin was the first to express her disapproval: “What are kids doing nowadays? Having one disagreement leads to moving out, why are they so reckless? There’s only around twenty days until the New Year. No matter how large the disagreement, you should still spend time with your family!”

“Exactly! What kind of matters can not be discussed and settled within the family? Surely the family won’t hurt her!” Wang Xiuzhi agreed with Grandmother Lin. She simply couldn’t understand the thoughts of young people these days, no matter the occasion.

Lin Lan quietly lowered her head and refused to comment. Silently, she thought: who knows what details were left out and who was in the wrong? However, Lin Lan did not dare to speak up because she was the sole young person at the table. The elders could express their opinion as they wished as long as they did not turn on her.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Mother Lin still noticed her.

“Lin Lan, let me warn you. If you ever do this in the future, you won’t…”  

“Wait, wait, wait. I just remembered that I need to do something!” Lin Lan interrupted her mother’s lecture and was gone in a flash, running into a room.

That room was filled with junk, including the stuff Lin Lan had brought back with her from Mo City.

Wang Xiuzhi gave her the death stare, but let her daughter escape without continuing to lecture her.

Lin Lan shuffled a few items around inside the storage closet before carrying something out.

“It’s the middle of winter! Why did you bring out the electric fan?” asked Lin Youyu.

“It’s not an electric fan.” Lin Lan set the appliance down and spoke, “This is an electric heater, also known as a heating fan. It helps warm the place up if it is cold.”

As she introduced the appliance to her family, she used a cloth to clean the surface. Although she had covered it with a plastic bag and the heater was relatively clean, it had not been used for a year and might not work. After she wiped it down, Lin Lan had to test it.

“Didn’t you lay electric heating blankets for the kitties already? Why do you need another heater?” Wang Xiuzhi felt like her daughter was wasteful, spending money on items she already had. She glared at her again: “Even the cats are less afraid of the cold than you.”

When her mother mentioned the kitties, Lin Lan glanced at the resting place especially designated for cats in their living room.

Electric blankets covered the sofa, and many kitties of different colors and patterns were sitting on it. They looked like dough that was steadily rising on the heated surface. If they were not in the meatloaf position, they were squatting like mother hens. Otherwise, some were laying down on their side, looking like stretched out baguettes—because of the previous apartment they had stayed in, these cats were used to living in this environment. They knew that this place was safe so they were extremely relaxed, unlike their mindset before when they would run at the sound of wind blowing.

^{_{(T/N: I’m not sure about the difference between the meatloaf position and the “mother hen” position, but from pictures I searched up, it looks like the cat is resting on their hind legs more. EDIT: “icnzzy” left an awesome comment below about the differences. <3)}}

The only cats on alert were the three cats who had arrived today. On the corner of the heating mats, a cage containing the three cats separated them from the others so they could gradually adapt to the new environment. In the future, she might assign them a “trainer” to teach them the essential techniques to sell meng. Anyways, they probably would not work in the cafe and receive customers in the near future… pei, they couldn’t hunt canned cat food from humans.

These were all other concerns to be thought about later. At the moment, Lin Lan still had to settle the issue with the heating fan.

After she wiped it down, she found the plug and plugged it into the electric socket. Turning the knob to the highest temperature, the heating fan radiated a yellow-orange light and the temperature around it began to increase. The light steadily became more and more red, as well as bright.

“It really is warm and cozy.” The Lin family walked over, interested. In front of the fan, they moved their hands back and forth.

Xi City was located in the south and winters were usually chilly and damp. Observing the novelty appliance, the Lin elders were quite impressed.

“It’s just that we don’t have that much use for it.”

Their apartment had a thermostat. If the temperature dropped and it was very cold, they could simply use the central heating system. For their shop downstairs, they installed a transparent insulation curtain that covered the door. A thermostat was also installed there—after all, they owned a whole building. The Lin family were not stingy with their money when it came to the cold during winter. As for Lin Lan’s shop, Cheng Fengyang spent a lot of time and effort scrutinizing the design of the cafe. The exhaust ventilation system and heating would definitely be advanced and one of the best.

“It’s not for me to use.” Lin Lan gestured with her hand and explained to her family, “You know that the tenant who lives in the basement, Xiao Song, became my employee today, right? I want to give this fan to him.”

In the daytime, she had suggested separating work and housing, but this dedicated employee was truly helpful. As his Boss, she should show some gratitude. With this heating fan, living in the basement would be much easier.

When they heard her reason, the rest of the Lin family realized that it had not crossed their minds. Lan Lan informed them that the new employee would only be able to work two months at the most. Living in a basement during the winter in Xi City was hard to endure.

“After we finish dinner, I’ll bring the fan down to him,” Lin Youyu decided. “It’s cold outside. You should stay inside and train the kitties or something.”

“Thanks Dad!” Of course, Lin Lan did not really want to make a trip downstairs. Their house was warm and cozy.

The Lin family cheerfully started their meal and discussed random occurrences in their daily lives. 

Lin Lan was stuffing her mouth when suddenly, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye and her expression morphed. Her family saw her throw down her chopsticks and run. Confused, they twisted their heads to see several cats who had been lying on the heating blanket squatting next to the heating fan, basking in the warmth while squinting their eyes.

“Hey, hey! Don’t get so close!” Lin Lan had advanced closer and tried to shoo them away. When testing the fan, she had set the temperature to the highest possible degree. The heating fan had just reached the exact temperature. Pointing towards the ground, it had attracted the attention of some curious kitties who neared it. But a couple foolish little kitties who didn’t fear death were rubbing against the fan. “Do you want to become roast kitties? Hurry up, your fur is about to be burnt! It’s almost singed!”

Lin Lan discovered the troublemakers just in time, so the foolish kitties were not severely harmed. The ones who were the closest to the fan were Milky, the silver-shaded British Shorthair, and Sausage, the Munchkin cat. On their bodies, when touched, there was a patch of fur that was slightly rougher than other areas. Thankfully, they still looked the same.

“Ah… the IQ of these two to three year old kitties…” Lin Lan carried a cat in each hand as she spoke, “Once I look away for a moment, their true nature shows.” Anything potentially dangerous must be moved far, far away from them.

Others took this situation as something to laugh about, whether it be the rest of the Lin family or the customers of the cat cafe when Lin Lan recounted the events the next day. 

“Boss Lin, you are so antsy!” A fellow cat-raising customer laughed. They liked to share their own experiences as a sh*t shoveling servant: “I look after a cat, my roommate’s bicolored blue and white British Shorthair. Recently, the weather has cooled significantly and we also placed a heating fan inside our living room. While we watched TV, we let it run for a bit. That cat liked to squat next to it and roast there. This happened several days in a row. My roommate and I both paid it no attention.”

At this point, they thought of what happened next, and they couldn’t hold back their laughter.

“What happened next, next…pu, HAHAHA!”

First spit out your words before laughing!

Standing behind the counter, Lin Lan stared at the customer who was howling with laughter and pounding the table. It was not only her; all the customers inside the cafe who were secretly eavesdropping glanced at the person reproachfully. It was almost like a mob of readers waiting for the author to fix a broken chapter. 

^{_{(T/N: I’m not sure if that happened to this series, but LOL. Also, it is so annoying when people don’t finish what they’re saying and just laugh. Like I wanna know too. ｡゜(｀Д´)゜｡ But of course, I’m guilty of it too…)}}

The customer probably sensed the danger and annoyance stemming from the listeners and choked back laughter. “In the morning, my roommate and I noticed that one of that foolish cat’s eyes had swollen up from roasting too long. Do you know what swollen means? One eye was huge and one eye was small. This was the first time I heard of cats being able to have swollen eyes as well… It still acted like a cold and haughty cat, squatting in the meatloaf position next to that fan. When it glared at us with one swollen eye, we were about to laugh to death, it was so funny! After applying medicine, the swelling reduced in a few days.” 

_{(T/N: Let me warn you, don’t look up pictures of cats with swollen eyes unless you are mentally prepared. Kinda gross for people who are sensitive to injuries and stuff.)}

When they finished, they pulled out their phone and showed the listeners a picture. The photo showed a foolish kitty with a swollen eye stubbornly sticking to the heating fan, not wanting to leave. It faced the camera and the expression on its face was indeed cold and haughty. Its one huge eye and one squinting eye caused the onlookers to burst out laughing.

During the winter, many jokes were made about cats doing anything to stay warm. Lin Lan’s and that male customer’s story were only the beginning, inspiring other customers to begin to tell their own story.

“My story is even better!” A customer around the age of thirty began to recall their memory, “During my childhood, the cats in my village were extremely foolish. Do you guys know of the stove used in rural villages? When it was wintertime, every time a family who owned a cat had to manually light the stove, they had to stick in something to scrape inside the stove. Seven times out of ten, a kitty would come running out.”

“Ah, I know this!” Another customer yelled and began to talk, “After the fire burned in the stove, the heat would be trapped inside for a long time, making it extremely warm. Kitties who were scared of the cold would immediately crawl inside and settle in the warmth! When I was little, I saw the same thing. Sometimes, the old lady who went to light the fire muttered and cursed at the cats. No matter what color the cats were before, after they ran out of the stove, they were all black and sooty.”

“That’s exactly right. If you forgot to poke the cats beforehand and started the fire, a dark kitty would come running out before long. Like it was in a horror movie, it would leap out. If anyone was unlucky enough to see this scene, they would start screaming,” added the customer from before. Their story was easy to imagine and the crowd laughed. “The ash from burning plants isn’t that hard to clean off though. Cats are very sensitive to temperatures and being cold can’t be helped. Sometimes, they will unknowingly do some stupid and dangerous things. In our rural village, accidentally killing cats due to lighting the stove was not unheard of. So, if you have a cat, please pay special attention just in case.”

As the customer finished their story, their expression became solemn. The crowd listening also became serious and they took note.

Customers who visited cat cafes obviously liked cats. No one wanted the adorable kitties to be injured because of a careless oversight. The subject of the conversation changed into how to take the proper precautions to protect kitties at home.

The tips ranged from double checking if the balcony door was locked to setting up a safety net so kitties wouldn’t fall from a high place. When going out, make sure the safety lock is working. Otherwise, intelligent kitties would be able to jump and open the door handle to escape. Dangerous appliances must be properly stowed away, etc.… For a while, the cat cafe became a gathering of enthusiastic cat owners.

Lin Lan happily listened as they discussed details on raising cats while she wiped glass cups behind the counter, adding a few words every now and then.

“Boss Lin must be very skilled at training and teaching cats. Could you teach our own kitties to behave?”

Suddenly, a customer raised this request to her.

“No problem!” Lin Lan gladly accepted. “Bring your cat here at any time and I’ll help you train them for a while. Then, you can bring them back with no hassle. If it is unsuccessful, I won’t charge you anything!” With the last sentence, she sealed any room for doubt.

“Boss, I wanted to ask this way earlier. Are you selling any cats in your shop?” another customer proposed a new question. “The first time I visited, I felt that the cats here are more obedient than others. They follow a schedule of work and rest, and they use the bathroom on their own. Even when they are showering, they are obedient. If all little kitties were like yours, then it would save a lot of time and effort.”

“About the selling of cats… our cafe does have a rule.” Lin Lan’s face became serious as she spoke and carefully glanced at the customer, “My kitties are all pretty similar to humans. They will choose their own sh*t shoveler on their own accord. In other words, if you want a kitty, they must be willing to leave with you. Then, we can discuss things like money. If not, my furry children are not for sale.”

Hunting for canned cat food was a short-term gain. What could be more reliable than a long-term relationship where stability was guaranteed?

If there truly were any kitties that willingly wanted to leave with a customer, Lin Lan would offer them her sincere wishes.

As she spoke, the bell at the door sounded again. A young woman dressed in exquisite clothes entered. Her piercing eyes skimmed over the interior of the cafe with interest. Lin Lan instantly recognized the woman, it was the bái fù měi who moved in yesterday.

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School starts tomorrow for me, so I will probably not update next week (Sep. 6). However, on the following week (Sept. 13) I will release two chapters. There’s a slight possibility I might be able to release a chapter next week, depending on how busy I am during the week, but don’t expect it. Thanks for reading! 🙂

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