☆, Chapter 27: Typhoon
After moving, Hao Ren’s life seemed to have suddenly gone from hell to heaven. Not only did she no longer have to endure the expressions of Mr. and Mrs. Hao, but even her three meals a day had become unprecedentedly rich because of Hao Yi’s presence. Hao Ren was even a little worried that she would become a happy fatty after this summer vacation, so she could only run to the city from time to time to burn off the excess energy.
Not all cats and dogs were as fortunate as Princess. Hao Ren still occasionally encountered stray cats and dogs on the street. Those who could take care of themselves were left alone after a greeting, but the old, weak, sick, and disabled were all packed up and brought back to Xiaoshan Villa. The unlucky driver, Old Wang, had completely become the driver for the cats and dogs. Stray dogs and cats more or less had some fleas and lice, which made him miserable.
Fortunately, Hao Yi was quite loyal. He found an opportunity to have his dad give him a raise, which at least appeased his mood.
In fact, in terms of sheer numbers, there were far more stray cats and dogs in the Xiaoshan area than in the park in the city. Perhaps because they had little contact with humans, the stray cats and dogs here were not only much wilder than those in the city, but their personalities were also much more arrogant.
Although the stray cats and dogs in the city were also very wary of humans, they would immediately follow her with a wagging tail if Hao Ren beckoned. But the ones in the Xiaoshan area were different. Although they would eat the food she brought, few were willing to go directly with Hao Ren, not even the old, weak, sick, and disabled.
It didn’t matter on a normal day; after all, the mountain was rich in resources and they wouldn’t starve. What frustrated Hao Ren was that even when she saw the weather forecast and knew that a typhoon was coming, and invited them to her home for temporary shelter, those guys were still ungrateful. They even righteously said something about being born in hardship and dying in comfort.
Seeing that the typhoon was coming, Hao Ren couldn’t just leave them alone. She could only go over and persuade them again and again. In the end, the dogs were persuaded, but those damn cats were still stubborn.
To catch a thief, you must first catch the king. After learning that the leader of the stray cats was a strong tabby cat with a scar on its face, Hao Ren had been deadlocked with it. Unfortunately, that arrogant bastard was impervious to reason and just wouldn’t go with her.
“A king never abandons his territory.” When that bastard said this, it was sitting on a moss-covered rock, looking into the distance with a majestic expression, as if it could play the role of the Lion King.
What king! Every time Hao Ren saw the two eyebrow-like marks on its forehead, like those in a Tang dynasty court lady painting, she couldn’t help but be taken out of the moment. Tabby cats are really the cutest!
Reach out, rub! By the time Hao Ren reacted, she was already sitting on that rock, reaching out with a look of enjoyment and rubbing the head of their leader under the gaze of the group of cats.
“Your… Your Majesty… please be more respectful!” Intimidated by the power of the King of a Hundred Beasts, the tabby cat did not react excessively, but only reminded Hao Ren to pay attention to her image with an embarrassed look.
Although it was a stray cat, the tabby cat’s fur was soft and shiny, and felt excellent to the touch. Hao Ren rubbed it a few more times before reluctantly withdrawing her hand.
“You are the king of the stray cats and must guard your territory. Can I take the old, weak, sick, disabled, and pregnant? At your age, you should know how powerful a typhoon is!” After realizing that it was impossible to change its mind, Hao Ren could only settle for the next best thing.
“Then I thank Her Majesty the Queen on their behalf!” Fortunately, this time, this bastard cat finally did not refuse as it had before.
After bringing all the old, weak, sick, disabled, and pregnant among the stray cats home, Hao Ren let out a long sigh of relief. The remaining ones were all young and strong. With their physical fitness, they would surely have no problem surviving the typhoon.
With the problem in the Xiaoshan area solved, Hao Ren immediately thought of those guys in the park. Although there were a few pavilions in the park, they could only provide shelter from the wind and rain on ordinary days. In the event of a typhoon, they couldn’t provide any shelter at all. After struggling for a period of time, Hao Ren decided to go back to the nursery to live during the typhoon, for no other reason than to provide a place for everyone to shelter from the wind and rain.
Unfortunately, there were too many monks and not enough porridge. The nursery could only take care of the nearby cats and dogs. The remaining ones still had to fight the typhoon in the wind and rain. During this time, Hao Ren could be said to have visited all the major parks in H City and had developed some affection for the stray cats and dogs in each park. She couldn’t just watch and do nothing. After struggling for a period of time, she finally decided to build some shelters for the cats and dogs that had nowhere to hide.
The typhoon had not yet officially made landfall, so Hao Yi was still in class. Hao Ren had to do all this alone. After ruling out a few places that had nearby shelters, Hao Ren began the arduous journey of building shelters. To resist the wind, the shelters could only be built in leeward places. At first, Hao Ren had planned to use sturdy wooden boxes, but there were too many places that needed them, and her budget was limited, so she had to give up the idea. In the end, she chose a combination of cardboard boxes, waterproof tarps, and bricks. Although the sturdiness was average, as long as they were placed in a leeward place, the effect was quite good. And it was also convenient to clean up after the typhoon, so it was not easy to arouse the resentment of the nearby residents.
She had to admit that there were still many kind-hearted people in this world. After learning that Hao Ren was building shelters for cats and dogs, many people took the initiative to participate, which greatly reduced her workload.
So, when the news came from the weather forecast that H City was about to enter the outer periphery of the typhoon, Hao Ren only had one last place left to finish.
Although she had used the fastest speed, by the time she was done, her clothes were still soaked with rain. Seeing the mother cat and her few little kittens crawl into the newly built shelter, Hao Ren turned around in relief, preparing to go home as quickly as possible to take a shower and change her clothes.
Because the typhoon had caused the temperature to drop, although it was summer now, Hao Ren still felt a bone-chilling cold after being soaked. She had only taken a few steps before she sneezed heavily several times. She was about to open her umbrella when she found that the rain that had been hitting her face had suddenly stopped. She looked up and saw Li Fugui’s face.
“What are you doing here in this kind of weather?” After seeing Hao Ren’s face clearly, Li Fugui was obviously a little surprised.
Because she hadn’t gone far, Hao Ren pointed to the shelter in the park.
Seeing the family of cats hiding in the cardboard box, a warm smile instantly appeared on Li Fugui’s face. This guy’s heart was much softer than Hao Ren had imagined.
“What about you?” Hao Ren asked him.
“I just finished delivering water and was about to go home.” After sizing up Hao Ren’s almost soaked clothes, Li Fugui weakly suggested, “Your home isn’t around here, right? My home is nearby. Why don’t you go to my place to change your clothes? Otherwise, you’ll easily catch a cold.”
“Okay!” Hao Ren was freezing. Li Fugui’s suggestion was undoubtedly a timely help. She agreed without a second thought.
With Daizi following, Hao Ren was not afraid that he had any bad intentions. Because there were too many places to go to build the shelters, Daizi, worried about Hao Ren’s safety, had insisted on coming along. When no one was around, it could even lend a hand. Originally, Lucky had also wanted to come, but Hao Ren had forced it to stay behind on the grounds of keeping an eye on Ah Hua.
“Do you take your dog with you wherever you go? I remember you took it with you when you took the college entrance exam last time.” Li Fugui glanced at Daizi, who was following closely behind Hao Ren.
Hearing his words, Daizi shot him a cold glance.
Hao Ren stroked its head and answered with a smile, “Of course, because it’s my family!”
“That’s nice!” Li Fugui sighed faintly, followed by a moment of silence.
After walking for a while, he finally spoke again. “My family’s conditions are not good. I hope you won’t mind.”
“How could I?” Hao Ren smiled and shook her head.
Although Hao Ren was already mentally prepared, the poor condition of the environment there was still far beyond her expectations.
The buildings here were obviously all illegal structures, built in all sorts of crooked shapes to make full use of the space. Although it had just rained, she could still smell a strong, mixed smell of cooking fumes, urine, and the decay of various things. Perhaps because there were too many people, the ground was littered with garbage. Soaked by the rain, the uneven ground was covered with disgusting puddles of dirty water.
Hao Ren was wearing sandals. Although she tried her best to avoid it, the dirty water still splashed on her feet. Fearing that it would irritate Li Fugui’s sensitive nerves, she tried her best not to pay attention to the discomfort on her feet.
Because of the layout, the inside of the house was very dark, but it was clear that the owner was very clean. Although the furnishings inside were old, they were clean and tidy, a stark contrast to the dirty appearance outside. Hao Ren let out a sigh of relief.
“There’s hot water in the thermos. You can go to my room and wipe yourself down. I’ll get you my sister’s clothes.” Li Fugui nimbly handed over a basin and a thermos, then pointed Hao Ren in a direction.
“Sister, I have a friend who got caught in the rain. Can I borrow your clothes? By the way, it would be best if you could also cook her a bowl of ginger soup to warm her up.”
Hao Ren thanked him and entered the room with the basin and thermos. Li Fugui’s room was even darker than the outside. When Hao Ren entered, there was already someone in the room. Because the light was too dim, she could only vaguely make out a girl with long hair. Perhaps hearing the sound of her opening the door, the girl inside turned around.
“Ah—” Hao Ren screamed and barely managed not to drop the basin and thermos in her hands. She was already soaked, and now she was covered in a cold sweat from the shock. She instantly felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
What kind of face was that! The place where her nose should have been was sunken in, there were no lips, and there was not an inch of intact skin on her entire face. It was lumpy and uneven, just like a demon on TV. Coupled with the dark, damp, and moldy environment here, it was just like a classic scene from a horror movie.
“Boom—” To make matters worse, a flash of lightning just happened to strike outside, and the ferocious face was instantly illuminated. Hao Ren could clearly see that the person was staring at her without blinking. For a moment, she almost stopped breathing.
Although Hao Ren had been a staunch materialist in her past life, it was different now. Even something like the King of a Hundred Beasts could exist. What else was impossible in this world? So the first thought that came to her mind when she saw that face was—a ghost!
Just as Hao Ren was so scared by the terrifying scene in front of her that she didn’t even dare to breathe, the ghost suddenly pounced in her direction…