Chapter 600: Kneading
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
For business reasons, some cat cafes didn't feed their cats themselves and waited for the customers to do so for them. This gave the cats a better appetite and made the customers feel more satisfied. The cats in the snack bar were fed till they were about 80% full, and then ate the dried fish as snacks. They would stop eating after they were full. Zhang Zian was telling the girls the truth.
After having fun feeding the cats, it was also fun to start battles of intelligence against the smart and swift cats. The girls tried to lure the cats over with the dried fish and the cat toys, so they could hold them in the arms and play with them. But the cats always kept a safe distance, failing all of their attempts.
It was like playing with a claw crane. The girls stared at the cute dolls in the machine, trying to grab one by controlling the machine arm. When they almost succeed, the dolls fell back down. Unwilling to give up, they put in another coin and tried again until they won. Many girls ended up putting in a lot of money into the machine. Or at least their boyfriend's money.
After a quarter or so, the girls had barely touched their food. They spent the entire time playing with the cats.
Zhang Zian observed them carefully. He wasn't mesmerized by their beauty, but was only seeing if anyone was reacting unusually. Ever since Snowy and Vivi came in and did a live broadcast, he always paid special attention to customers with pet allergies, and also told Wang Qian, Li Kun, and Lu Yiyun to do the same.
He waved at Uncle Li, and they both headed into the kitchen. Fina and Snowy Lionet followed them.
"Uncle Li, you should make a sign and hang it by the entrance, where everybody can see. The sign should warn people who are allergic to cats to be careful, and to enter at their own risk," he said.
It was normal to find cats in a pet shop, but not in a restaurant. If a customer allergic to cats didn't notice the name and walked in without thinking, they could end up having severe allergic reactions. It would be a lot of trouble. They could get sued.
Uncle Li always followed reasonable advice, and nodded in return.
Some people liked cats and some didn't. Even some cat lovers might not like watching others play with cats while they were eating. Some customers might think it wasn't sanitary to keep cats in a restaurant. Deciding to be a cat fancier's restaurant meant saying goodbye to customers who weren't fond of cats. Zhang Zian explained this clearly to Uncle Li. iIt was impossible to make everybody happy at the same time.
While they were talking, Fina and Snowy Lionet were checking out the kitchen.
In the kitchen, there were a lot of shiny stainless steel appliances, stoves, fans, and utensils, all catching Fina's attention. It jumped onto the counter, and saw dough inside a stainless steel pot, giving off the sour smell of yeast.
Snowy Lionet also tried to jump up, but failed horribly. It couldn't jump half the height of a table with its poor motor skills. It tried to climb up the table legs by using its four short legs, but still couldn't do it.
Aunt Li collected the customer's dishes and headed back to the kitchen. She saw Fina curiously snooping around the rising dough, and noticed that its nose was almost touching it. Afraid of the dough getting ruined and delaying the food service to the customers, she wanted to take the dough pot away from it.
Fina lifted a paw and hit the dough, staring back at her unhappily.
Zhang Zian finished talking to Uncle Li. He realized that Fina had never seen rising dough before. The curiosity that cats were born with caused it to be deeply curious.
Uncle Li laughed and said, "It's fine. Let it play with it if it likes it. Don't we have plenty of flour?"
"I'm not trying to stop it from playing. It's a shame to throw away half-risen dough though," replied Aunt Li with pity. She hesitantly loosened her hands.
The dough was prepared in order to make hot pies. The Li's hot pies with pork and cabbage filling was a specialty. It had thin crust and a lot of filling, and exuded oil after each bite. They were delicious. The restaurant usually made them in large batches. The dough was heavy, weighing almost 1.5 kilos, and took up almost the entire pot.
Fina scratched some of the flour sticking to the pot wall with its claw, sniffed it with the nose, and found the yeast smell interesting. It jumped right into dough pot, leaving clear claw prints on the yellow tinted dough.
It was comfortable to step on dough as it was neither soft or hard. It was like stepping on sand that was wet from the ocean water. It also had a peculiar sour yeast smell that made it hungry.
After seeing the dough taken up by Fina, Aunt Li sighed and washed her hands. She took another new stainless steel dough pot, and added flour and yeast into it. Then, she poured water into it from a water jar in one hand and stirred with her other hand. She made dough every day and was very familiar with the process. She also knew the perfect ratio of flour and water. Soon, new dough gradually took shape in her hands. She put down the water jar, and made the dough neat and clean by flipping, pressing, and kneading with her strong hands.
"Aunt Li is a pro!" exclaimed Zhang Zian. Each time he tried making dough, it was a mess. He either added too much water or too little. He eventually gave up, and ended up buying dumplings and hot pies from other places.
"Heh. I'm no expert, I'm just messing around!" Aunt Li was a modest woman.
While she was kneading the dough, Fina watched her movements. As she moved with dexterity and rhythm, it couldn't help but imitate her, and kneaded the dough with its two front paws. It seemed to enjoy it.
Uncle Li pointed at Fina and chuckled. "Is this kneading? I've heard about it, but it's the first time I've seen it."
Fina froze with big eyes. It yelled, "Kn—kneading? Nonsense! I'd never do such a childish thing!"
Kneading was typical cat behavior. It started when kittens would knead their mother's breasts to get more milk. Even after they were fully grown, many cats continued with the same behavior, and kneaded soft objects with their front paws. Sometimes they even sniffed with their noses or bit the object slightly while purring through their throats. Kneading was a reflex of pure enjoyment.
Zhang Zian didn't think Fina was kneading. It was merely imitating Aunt Li's kneading movements. Uncle Li had misinterpreted it.
"Meow meow meow? Your Majesty, whose breast are you kneading? Come knead mine!" Snowy Lionet was running around faster under the table.
Fina was still interested in the dough. But now, in order to prove its innocence, it grunted and jumped out of the dough pot, and scraped off the flour against the table. It intentionally looked away, and mumbled, "I'm telling you, I don't knead breasts."