Chapter 598: The Shocked Neighbor
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The group of girls followed them into the restaurant out of curiosity, and sat down at a random table. They looked like students on holiday with nothing to do but roam the streets with each other. They settled in since they were already there, and wanted to find out how the cats were fancied in the so-called Supreme Snack Bar for Cat Fanciers. The diner looked normal, and shouldn't have been very expensive. This made them feel comfortable.
Uncle Li hesitated and froze with the newly printed menu in his hands. Zhang Zian took the menu from him, and handed it to the girls. They flipped open the thin menu, and were shocked by the food items.
"What—what kind of dishes are these?"
The menu had several categories, such as Stir-fries, Combos, Specialties, Healthy Soups, and Exquisite Carbs. Each item was correlated with a cat. For example, the "Supreme Cat Fancier's Combo for Two" came with a handful of small dried fish, while the Combo for Four came with two handfuls of small dried fish. The "Cat Teaser's Stir-fried Beef Brisket" came with a cat teaser wand, to be returned at the end of the meal.
The "Pineapple Seafood Cat's Fried Rice" came with a catnip toy. The "Cat's Ribbonfish Bibimbap with Sauce" came with a Whack-a-Mole box. The "Cat's Favorite Sweet and Sour Pork Loin" came with a laser pen. The "Cat's Beloved Beef Casserole" came with a cat ping pong scratch pad.
Most of the Stir-fries and Combos above 30 RMB came with various amounts of small dried fish or other cat toys. The dried fish was cheap, and the cat toys must be returned before leaving. They didn't really come with the meal for free. Most importantly, the prices of the dishes were raised by about 10%. Uncle Li worried that nobody would be willing to pay these prices. To him, only dumb people would pay this much.
But Zhang Zian was confident. In most cat cafés, the cheapest coffee cost around 50 RMB. These dishes were cheap in comparison.
"Are these two cats for cat fanciers?" one of the girls pointed at Fina and Snowy Lionet and asked on behalf of the others.
"No, it's the other cats. You can't afford to fancy these two." Zhang Zian told the truth, although it was harsh.
The girls discussed together and then quickly made a decision. They ordered a Supreme Cat Fancier's Combo for Two with fried rice. They took pictures of the menu and shared it in WeChat Moments.
Uncle Li was shocked and immediately headed to the kitchen to prepare the food. Zhang Zian also walked into the storage room in the back, along with Fina and Snowy Lionet. It was empty and had been transformed into a cat residence. The seven cats from the clinic were being kept in a cage. They crouched on the floor humbly as soon as they saw Fina, as if they were rabbits facing a tiger.
Fina said unhappily, "Why is my Imperial Kitchen so shabby? And with so few cats? Who do you think I am?"
"Meow, meow, meow! I smell raw beef sirloin." Snowy Lionet drooled as it stared into the kitchen.
Wang Qian and Li Kun were still there organizing. Zhang Zian sent them back to watch over the shop.
He told Fina, "You're right, the Imperial Kitchen isn't doing well with business. As their neighbor, I'm shocked. If this goes on any longer, it will cease to exist! That's why I brought a few cats over and am asking for your help to train them, so that you can boost the power and name of your Cat Kingdom!"
Fina agreed. "If this goes on any longer, it will cease to exist. You read my mind. It's impressive that an ordinary guy like you can speak words of wisdom like this."
"Hehe." Zhang Zian smirked. "I may seem lazy all the time, but in fact, I'm a hard working servant of your Cat Kingdom, in spite of all the criticism."
"Really?" Fina didn't quite believe him, based on his usual behavior.
"Of course really!" Zhang Zian pretended to be hurt.
"Stop it! Your words are more flowery than your songs. Would you like to offer the flower from your butt as well?" Snowy Lionet refused to drink its kool aid. "You're a hypocrite with flowery words!"
Zhang Zian automatically ignored Snowy Lionet.
Fina glanced at the other seven grown cats, and shook its head. "They're too old. Learning to dance is hard for them."
"That's fine. You don't have to teach them to dance, just teach them to act cute," he said.
"Play cute?" Fina widened its eyes as if it felt insulted. "The citizens of my Cat Kingdom are fighters. Why should we act cute towards human beings?"
He didn't know why it was suddenly upset, and doubtfully asked, "Isn't dancing playing cute as well?"
"Of course not! Dancing makes the body swifter in order to fight better. It's not just dancing. It's battle exercise!" Fina was full of reasoning.
"Fine. You must be right since you're so loud." Zhang Zian didn't know how to respond, so he played along.
He picked up the cat toys for the customers from the storage room, such as the wooden Whack-a-Mole, laser pen, the cat teaser wand, etc. Then he explained seriously, "These aren't toys. They're training tools to make the cats faster and swifter. That way, they can fight better."
"Really?" Fina was still doubtful.
"Of course. You can ask them to get up first, and then I'll show you." Zhang Zian pointed at the seven cats in the cage.
Fina grunted, and they stood up from their crouching position. But they were still nervous.
Zhang Zian opened the cage to let them out and turned on the laser pen, moving it quickly across the floor. Some of the cats were attracted by the moving light, and stretched out their paws to catch the red dot. After realizing that Fina wouldn't stop them, all of them jumped towards the dot, which was driving them crazy. If the red dot landed on one of them, they jumped on each other, forming a ball of fur.
"Okay, it's really a training tool for response and swiftness." Fina believed him. In fact, the red dot was driving it crazy too. After seeing the other cats' failed attempts at catching it, Fina almost wanted to do it itself. It had to resist the urge in order to look like a queen.
A few other cats weren't interested in the laser pen, or they were simply afraid of Fina and didn't join the game with the others.
Zhang Zian took out the Ping Pong scratch pad. The structure was simple. It was just a cylinder, braided with thick cords with openings at both ends, and a few ping pong balls inside. Each ping pong ball had a small opening to slip a few metal balls inside, then was sealed with tape. They made sounds as they rolled around and attracted the cats' attention.
He shook the Ping Pong scratch pad, and the metal ball sound made a few cats curious. One of the cat gave up the red dot it was chasing, and walked towards Zhang Zian to stare at the scratch pad.
Zhang Zian placed the scratch pad on the floor. All of the cats crowded around it, and put their paws into the side openings of the cylinder to move the ping pong balls. They were having a great time.