This kitten was all black except for four white paws. It came close to Fan Dazhi's feet, gently swaying its short tail, and its pair of blue eyes eagerly looked at the small fish in Fan Dazhi's hand, " "Meow, meow, meow, meow" softly called.
Fan Dazhi looked down and saw that the kitten was dirty, and some of its hairs were stuck together. The strands were very ugly, but the pair of blue pupils were as bright as stars, and they were extremely beautiful.
This poor little guy didn't know how many days he had eaten. Fan Dazhi felt soft and threw a small fish on the ground.
The kitten devoured the meal, raised its head and meowed again.
Fan Dazhi threw two more pieces to it. The little guy lowered his head and ate it quickly. He climbed up to Fan Dazhi's feet and hugged his ankles happily, calling out "meow meow meow".
Fan Dazhi couldn't help laughing when he saw its cute look. Then he looked at the remaining fish in his hand and said with some embarrassment: "I only have this one fish left, and I want to use it to lure those big cats out. If I give it to you, I won’t be able to do my thing, so go find food elsewhere and be obedient!"
The kitten seemed to understand, and meowed, climbed down from his feet, swooped to the entrance of the alley, and disappeared in an instant.
"Hey! This little thing runs pretty fast!"
Fan Dazhi looked at the last fish left in his hand and felt a little worried. There must be other cats around here, but most of them are rich and powerful, with strict gates and guards. It's hard to start, so it's better to go somewhere else. Go and have a look again?
He was lowering his head and thinking, when a rustling sound came from the alley. When he looked up, his mouth opened wide in shock, and he couldn't believe his eyes.
I saw a large group of cats pouring into the alley, including black cats, white cats, tiger-striped cats, Persian cats, and even butterfly cats that looked like little tigers. They were all white and had long tails. Whipped hydrangea cats.
The little black cat happily ran to Fan Dazhi and knelt down in front of him. The other cats followed behind him without making a sound.
"Uu~meow..."
The little black cat barked at Fan Dazhi as if asking for credit. Fan Dazhi then came to his senses and hurriedly threw the last fish to it.
The little black cat lowered his head and happily enjoyed the delicious food.
Fan Dazhi took out the small pair of scissors from his arms, squatted down, and tried to cut the beard of a big white cat.
The small scissors in his hand gleamed silver in the sunlight and looked extremely sharp. There was fear in the big white cat's eyes, it bared its fangs, and growled unwillingly in its throat. Fan Dazhi almost sat down on the ground in fright.
A low, thunderous roar suddenly sounded.
The little black cat eating fish raised his head and roared to the group of cats.
The big white cat got excited and squatted on the ground obediently. Its body kept trembling, as if it was extremely afraid of it. The other cats were also shocked and frightened.
Fan Dazhi was amazed when he saw it. Could this be the legendary bloodline suppression? Before he could think too much, he picked up the scissors and tried to cut the big white cat's beard again.
This time the big white cat didn't dare to move and allowed Fan Dazhi to cut off his beard.
Fan Dazhi followed suit and then trimmed all the cats' beards. Maybe the scene in front of him was too bizarre. He couldn't suppress his excitement. His hands holding the scissors were trembling a little. It was inevitable that he would accidentally touch the cheeks of some cats. Those cats grinned in pain, but none of them dared to Make a cry.
"Done!"
Fan Dazhi took a long breath, put the scissors and the packed cat whiskers into his arms, leaned over and touched the little black cat's head: "Thank you, little darling, I have to leave quickly!"
He stretched out his pink tongue and licked the palm of Fan Dazhi's hand. The little black cat suddenly jumped into his palm, turned around and cried "meow". The group of cats squatting on the ground stood up and turned around as if they had received a pardon. Leaving the alley, I walked cleanly in an instant.
"They've all gone, you can go too. Goodbye, little darling!"
Fan Dazhi gently put the little black cat on the ground and was about to walk outside. As soon as he raised his feet, the kitten jumped on his instep and hugged his ankle tightly, like a coquettish child and like a spoiled child. I begged to take it with me.
Fan Dazhi leaned over and stroked it. Seeing its dirty, small and pitiful appearance, Fan Dazhi couldn't help but feel a little distressed. If he hadn't seen such a psychic cat with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it.
The little black cat meowed "meow meow meow", hugged Fan Dazhi's arm with two paws, and jumped onto his hand. Fan Dazhi saw that it was getting late, so he simply hugged the cat in his arms and strode out of the alley.
He An paced back and forth near Bao Mo Xuan's shop, his eyes scanning the crowds on the street from time to time, and he touched the piece of bamboo in his sleeve anxiously.
Seeing the familiar figure finally appear, He An happily went up to greet him.
"Xiao An! Are everything ready?"
Fan Dazhi rushed over panting, holding a small black cat in his arms.
"Why did you pick up a cat?"
He An took out the bamboo branch from his sleeve, and Fan Dazhi took it with some confusion. While looking at the bamboo branch, he talked about the strange things that had just happened.
"This... this bamboo is really rare, the material is of the highest quality, it's simply the best! Where did you get it?"
Fan Dazhi rubbed the piece of black bamboo in his hand and marveled at it, completely ignoring the little black cat in his arms that ran up to his shoulder.
After He An told how he returned to Zhixingyuan and met Lu Zhengqing, and how he found the bamboo according to the instructions, the two brothers couldn't help but sigh at the wonder of their encounter today and the wonder of good fortune.
While he was talking, the kitten on Fan Dazhi's shoulder lightly jumped onto He An's shoulder.
When He An was slightly stunned, the kitten had crawled over his arm, its two small paws clinging to his wrist, and burrowed into his sleeve.
"You can't tell how naughty this little guy is!"
He An smiled and grabbed the kitten. As soon as he put it on the ground, the cat jumped up, grabbed the belt around his waist, climbed up his arm, and burrowed into his sleeve.
"Is there something up your sleeve that attracts it?"
Fan Dazhi grabbed the kitten, held it in his arms, and reminded He Andao.
He An took out everything in his sleeve pocket, including a grain of silver, two copper plates, and a few bamboo leaves wrapped in a handkerchief.
"Meow meow, meow meow..."
The little black cat called eagerly, looking at the dark bamboo leaves in the handkerchief with a pair of blue eyes, struggling and twisting in Fan Dazhi's arms.
He An curiously picked up a bamboo leaf and placed it on the tip of its nose.
"Meow", the little black cat couldn't wait to swallow it into his mouth, and actually ate it with gusto.
Fan Dazhi saw it interestingly and took a piece of bamboo leaf. The kitten finished it in three mouthfuls.
"This cat is interesting, it actually eats bamboo leaves!"
Fan Dazhi fed it another piece. After eating, the little guy looked around, jumped to the ground, ran to the corner to urinate, shook his hair, ran back again, stood at Fan Dazhi's feet, and stretched out his arms. He stretched out his two little paws and stood up, as if he were a little person, wanting to be hugged.
Seeing the surprised look on He An's face, Fan Dazhi laughed loudly, leaned over and held the cat in his arms. The little guy stretched out, curled up, and fell asleep in his arms.
Fan Dazhi and He An walked into Baomoxuan. There were not many customers in this shop. A man who looked like a waiter was introducing the inkstone to a middle-aged couple.
The shelves in the store display a variety of pens, inks, papers and inkstones, the four treasures of the study, as well as paperweights, pen holders, pen holders, incense burners, clock pans and other items of various shapes, and there is also a faint smell of ink.
Seeing He An and his two men coming in, the man who was sitting at a table and cutting paper with a knife looked up and recognized that these two people had been here before in the morning. They were poor people who couldn't afford to buy anything. A flash of light flashed on his face. Disdainfully, he raised his somewhat vicious eyebrows, lowered his head and ignored it.
The shopkeeper, who was wearing a satin gown and a goatee, came forward and looked at the two people and the cat in front of him with his usual faint smile on his face.
He An explained the purpose of his visit and wanted to borrow the tools in the store to make a brush.
The shopkeeper's brows furrowed slightly. When he heard that the two of them were students of Zhixingyuan, his brows widened and he happily agreed with a smile on his face.
Where is Zhixingyuan? The leader of the Chen Empire's teachings, how many scholars yearn for it? Among them, the students are even more outstanding.
Although the young man in front of him was dressed in ordinary clothes, he was handsome and handsome, and his gestures were extraordinary. The shopkeeper did not dare to neglect him and invited the two of them into the side room behind the shelves. He turned to the man who was cutting paper and said: "You guys who don't have any sharp eyesight, why don't you hurry up?" Serve tea to the two gentlemen!"
The side room was not big, filled with papers, inkstones, pens and ink, and other goods. The free space was filled with two tables and chairs, on which were two bundles of unopened bamboo tubes and pen tips, as well as knives, scissors, reamers, silk threads, and glue. Glue and other tools are readily available.
Putting the sleeping kitten in He An's arms, Fan Dazhi rolled up his sleeves, took out the collected cat and dog whiskers from his arms, put them in a bowl filled with alkaline water, defatted them and mixed them together according to the proportion.
His fat hands were extremely flexible, and he gathered the messy beard hairs together, combed them finely and neatly with a small comb, then slowly trimmed them with small scissors, and began to apply glue.
The shopkeeper at the door looked at it and was secretly amazed. This little fat man looked unattractive, but he controlled the rhythm very well, and the connection between each process was reasonable, which greatly made up for the shortcomings of a slightly unfamiliar technique.
Pen-making is a meticulous job that tests hand-eye coordination. This little fat guy nailed every "point" just right, even compared to the master craftsman who has been working in the shop for decades.
"The disciples of Zhixingyuan are indeed extraordinary. This little guy may be a master craftsman in the future!"
The shopkeeper Yi squinted his eyes, stroking his goatee, and sighed to himself. The paper-cutting man brought two cups of tea, walked into the side room and put them on the table. He An and Fan Dazhi hurriedly thanked them.
The man stepped out of the side room, curled his lips, and whispered to the shopkeeper standing at the door: "Uncle... they are just two poor guys, more than that..."
"You know nothing! Get out of here -"
The shopkeeper glared at him, interrupted him, and scolded him impatiently. When the obtrusive man walked away, he looked back into the room and was startled.
I saw that the little fat man had made the tip of the brush and glued it to a black bamboo branch. The bamboo branch was bright and glowing with purple light. You could tell at a glance that it was extraordinary. The pen made of this rare bamboo was absolutely outstanding. It is of great value, and it has a price but no market.
