Chapter 452: The Model Father
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ting Ying squatted down and held the cat in her arms. The kitty was three months old and its fur, face, and body were not fully grown yet, or even as pretty as what was in the movies, but it still felt nice to hold.
"Excuse me, could you tell me what kind of cat this is?" She asked quietly, gently touching its soft fur.
Zhang Zian didn't quite understand her situation, but he was very knowledgeable about the types of cats he was selling, so he answered, "This is a Siberian Forest cat. You can call it a Xisen."
"You mean it came all the way from freezing Siberia? No wonder its fur is so long," she said, finally understanding.
Luo Qingyu took out his camera and was about to take pictures, but he put it down. "Wait, a Xisen? Isn't it a Ragdoll? I haven't read that much about it, but don't lie to me! I've seen a Ragdoll before!" Based on appearance, they did look alike. They both had blue eyes, similar hair color, and body shape. Standing next to the other five Ragdoll babies, the Siberian Forest cat looked like their sibling.
"Of course it's a Xisen! This cat is rare in China, and not many people have them, but you can't mix it up with a Ragdoll. Xisens have a longer history than Ragdolls. Their fur is also longer and thicker. If you can't tell from their looks, you can touch one and figure it out," Zhang Zian corrected her.
Ting Ying used her finger to hold a strand of its hair, slowly straightening it, just as she did with her own hair, and awed quietly. "Its so long!"
"It's kitten fur, their hair will grow longer when they mature," Zhang Zian said seriously. "One of the reasons why this kind of cat is so rare in our country is because their hair is too long for the summer. After all, their hometown is freezing cold Siberia, and they couldn't survive there with short fur. However, in most areas of China, it's not that cold in the winter, yet it is really hot in the summer. So if you are planning on buying this cat, you have to make sure the temperature inside is not any higher than 27 degrees, and even then, under 20 degrees would be best. Otherwise, the cat could have a heatstroke."
Luo Qingyu was surprised. "What a sensitive cat! Ting Ying, you really have to pay attention to it! Under 20 degrees in summer, that means you have to turn on the air conditioner all day long. Summer in Binhai is so hot for so long, you'll have to pay a huge electricity bill…"
"That's really true," Zhang Zian admitted. He never hid the the negative sides of his pet breeds, but he cursed Luo Qingyu silently. That fancy, trendy camera he was carrying was a prize from a photography competition, not one he had bought himself, and you could tell he was a loser just from what he was saying. . .
"It's okay." Ting Ying shook her head. Her father had left her enough money, and although he was not an upstart, he could still afford her a decent life. And besides, she would be working after graduation. Having a cat wouldn't be a problem—especially when this cat was not a normal cat, it was a cat living in a magical pet store, a cat raised by a store manager who could speak the language of cats. She believed this pet would bring her good luck, and she hoped her father's heart was invested in the cat, just like the movie had promised. She knew it was a superstition, but so what?
"Have you made up your mind about taking this one?" Zhang Zian studied her facial expressions, and noticed that she had already started treating this cat as her own.
"Hm, I've decided." She held it carefully. The Siberian cat nestled in her arms meekly.
Seeing that Ting Ying wanted to leave, Luo Qingyu said anxiously, "Wait a second! Ting Ying, don't you remember? The cats here can dance. I'm telling you, if you don't ask the store manager to teach you his methods as an owner, you won't be able to command the cat to dance!"
All of these protests were just excuses for him to take pictures of the cats dancing, so that he could post it to Weibo and possibly hook up with some girls who loved cats.
"I'm good," Ting Ying said carefreely. "I won't buy the cat for its dancing talent, I just want it to live with me, safe and sound. Also," she smiled mysteriously at Zhang Zian, "if I lose the cat, I hope it can find its way back here."
She suddenly remembered the movie Nine Lives, where Mr. Fuzzypants only had two lives left at the beginning of the movie, which meant it had helped seven people escape from their deaths before. Then it came back to the mysterious store manager and waited for another lost and confused soul. She believed this cat would do the same thing.
Zhang Zian was a bit confused seeing her smile, but pretended he understood and smiled along.
Luo Qingyu was more confused, and didn't know why either of them were smiling, so he started to doubt their intelligence.
"Oh, right, shouldn't there be cat bowls, a litter box, and a cat carrier?" Ting Ying asked happily, thinking about the scenes in the movie.
"Oh, right, I was thinking about asking you…" Usually Zhang Zian was the one who asked questions to his customers, but this unusual customer did everything differently. At that moment, Zhang Zian felt off and didn't know how to act. To hide his awkwardness, he walked to the outer room and pointed to all the kinds of different cat bowls on the shelf and asked, "What kind do you prefer?"
There were various types of cat bowls: bowls made of fine china with cat and fish patterns, shining aluminum alloy bowls, simple and durable plastic bowls, tempered glass bowls, etc. They all satisfied different types of customers with different needs. The one Fina used was made of aluminum alloy because she preferred shiny things.
"I like this one." Luo Qingyu grabbed a tempered glass bowl and looked for the right angle to take a picture.
Zhang Zian snatched it from his hands and said, "Don't touch it if you are not buying it."
Luo Qingyu said, "Who said I'm not buying it?"
"Show me the money then." Zhang Zian stretched out his hand.
Luo Qingyu didn't have a cat, and it was an expensive bowl. He didn't want to spend his money for no reason, so he asked Ting Ying, "This is a nice bowl and it's very pretty, would you let me buy this for you?"
Ting Ying ignored him, searching the shelves with her eyes. She stood on her tiptoes and picked out a pink china bowl. This bowl was dusty and had been there for a long time. "This one." She decided on it without any hesitation.
Zhang Zian had seen Deng Jie's Decidophobia, and saw other customers who just didn't look around and would randomly buy the cheapest cat bowl. He didn't know what Ting Ying's standards were, or why she chose it this fast.
"Oh and the cat carrier! I also need a cat carrier. Do you have any knitted cat carriers?"
Zhang Zian thought about it and responded, "Um, yeah I do have one, but it's made of willow, is that alright? It might be expensive, seeing as it is handmade."
"It's not a problem, that's the one I want. Cat carriers made of willow have good ventilation, right?" Ting Ying said, squinting her eyes.
"Give me a second, I'll get it for you." Normally, his customers wouldn't ask for a cat carrier made from willow branches because they were not only heavy, but expensive. Zhang Zian ran to the storage upstairs and rummaged through it. He found one unsold willow cat carrier from his inventory, and speedily dusted it with a rag.
When he was passing by the bedroom, he noticed that Richard seemed to be hiding something, but he was too busy to care, and went back downstairs with the cat carrier.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting. Is this okay?" He showed her the cat carrier from different angles.
"Yes, I like it a lot." Ting Ying opened the lid and put the little kitty inside it. The kitty seemed to like this cat carrier very much, and it laid on the soft cushion comfortably as soon as it made contact with it.
She studied it through the willow handrills, and suddenly she remembered something. She asked keenly, "I almost forgot, is this cat a boy or a girl?"
"It's a boy. Do you want a boy or a girl?" Zhang Zian asked.
Luo Qingyu started to persuade her, "Choose a female cat. Male cats are wild and mess around. Once they are in heat, they'll pee everywhere, while the female cats are meeker, plus they can give birth to kittens. How cute kittens are, just like a bunch of fuzzy balls. If you can't take care of all them, you can even give me some." What he was saying was true, and Zhang Zian didn't argue with him. He just waited for Ting Ying's decision.
Ting Ying said, "Oh" and hesitated. She wanted a male cat, just like Mr. Fuzzypants from the movie, but Luo Qingyu's words somehow convinced her. How happy would she be if she were surrounded by a bunch of fuzzy little kittens…
"Has it been sterilized?" She looked down and wanted to check its private parts, but its fur was too long for her to see anything.
"He hasn't. He was too young to be sterilized before, as it would have affected his growing. Being sterilized has its advantages and disadvantages, but in general, being sterilized has more advantages than not. If you want to do it, you can take it to the pet hospital when it reaches a proper age." Zhang Zian took a printed sheet from the cashier's desk and gave it to her. "Here is some more information on sterilization."
"No, I won't need it for now. I'm still deciding whether to sterilize it or not." She waved her hand and refused the paper. "Maybe when it grows up, I'll take it to get sterilized, when it finds a wife and has babies."
Zhang Zian didn't want to push her, so he put the information sheet back, and said, "Something that not many people are aware of is that male Siberian cats are quite special, and they are good fathers. After the female cats give birth to kittens, the male cats help them take care of the babies. This behavior is very unique compared to other cat breeds."
"Oh, is this true?" Ting Ying asked surprised.
"Of course it's true. Unlike other kinds of cats, leaving their babies after intercourse, male Siberian cats are the model father in the cat family," Zhang Zian said with confidence. "In fact, this is the most special characteristic Siberian Forest cats have compared to other breeds. Maybe it's because the weather in Siberia is so cold. If you only rely on the female cats, the new born babies would have a very little chance to survive. It's a shame that sterilization has become a mainstream thing, and the most special characteristic of Siberian forest cats has gradually been forgotten…"
"That's great, so you're a model father." Ting Ying put her hand inside the cat carrier and petted its back, murmuring and thinking about the phrase "model father". Although her father was always busy and left her suddenly, he really loved her and always wanted to be a model father. "It must've been destiny that brought me here to this shop," she murmured.
Luo Qingyu felt like had been treated unfairly. "Excuse me? I'm the one who brought you here!"
The cat felt comforted by her touch and meowed quietly in response to her.
"Oh you're right, it's my birthday today," said Ting Ying.
Zhang Zian was too surprised to respond, but still mumbled without thinking, "Happy birthday."
"Thank you," she said back, tears falling down her face.