Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 233 Sharing Weal and Woe (3rd update of 10,000 words, please vote)
With Ringo's help, the old cat's hunting operation went very smoothly.

Several times the mouse escaped due to the old cat's sluggish reactions, only to be slapped back into the old cat's threatening range by Lingo. When the old cat was finally panting, Lingo even grabbed the mouse by the tail to stop it from escaping, allowing the old cat to slowly walk forward, grab the mouse again, and toss it away.

In the end, the poor mouse was so tormented that it was on the verge of death, and so it refused to move again, even in the face of death.

The old cat then carried the mouse and placed it in front of Lin Ge, seemingly inviting him to enjoy it.

"Give me some? No no no no no no no! I don't eat rats!"

Faced with the old cat's kind invitation, Lin Ge shook his head frantically. He would never eat anything, not even raw meat or blood, let alone rats. And this was at least ten minutes after the old cat had been playing with the unfortunate rat.

Seeing that Lin Ge refused, the old cat didn't stand on ceremony and began to tear at the rat and chew it viciously.

A small creature was quickly swallowed by the old cat. Aside from a trace of blood and a few gray furs, no other trace was left.

The old cat seemed to have eaten its fill as well, having satisfied its hunger with a single mouse.

It was visibly much better, and its gaze towards Lingo was more affectionate. It licked its lips and paws, then came up to Lingo and rubbed its head against Lingo's neck, as a reward and praise for Lingo's respect for its elder.

Then... it continued hunting mice with Ringo.

The hunts that followed were no longer for sustenance, but for reminiscing about their glorious youth. With Lingo's help, the old cat spent the middle of the night catching more than a dozen gray rats of varying sizes, killing them all and throwing them into the roadside bushes without eating a single one.

I wonder how the sanitation workers will feel when they see these dead rats tomorrow.

"Don't you consider saving it for tomorrow?"

Lin Ge asked curiously, himself also a little out of breath from exhaustion. Chasing mice was no easy task, even more arduous than chasing criminals.

The old cat ignored Lingo's question, having had its fill of playing, it finally tilted its head back and yawned loudly, then flicked its tail and slowly headed back home.

Even though it was late, the old lady still hadn't closed the door. The light in the inner room was still on. When the two cats went in, they saw her lying on the bed looking at an old photo album. Her kind face made Lin Ge feel sorry for her.

Is this old lady's life reduced to nothing but memories?
What a heartbreaking blow it would be for the old lady if her cat, which had been with her all her life, were to leave before her?

"Meow!"

The old cat jumped onto the bed and rubbed against the old lady's shoulder.

"You still know how to come back? If you had come any later, even at my age, I wouldn't have been able to keep up." The old lady chuckled and tapped the old cat on the head, then suddenly her eyes lit up: "Oh? You ate a mouse again? Good for you, you still have the energy to catch mice. Don't move, let me wipe your mouth. Honestly, you're such an old man, what are you catching mice for! Don't think I don't know, Mimi must have helped you, right?"

"Meow!"

The old cat's meows became sharper, as if it was very unhappy with the old lady's slander against it.

But it obediently let the old lady get up and bring over a damp towel, carefully wiping its mouth. The towel was old, and almost all the down on it had fallen out. Without the towel to absorb the moisture, water droplets clung to the old cat's mouth and whiskers.

The old cat wasn't angry. It slowly wiped the water with its paws and then snuggled into the old lady's arms, acting all cute.

"Water's all over me!"

The old lady affectionately tapped its head again, then shooed it off the bed: "Go away! Go away! We have guests today. Why aren't you keeping them company? What are you doing bothering me? Get down here and find a place for the guests to sleep!"

Lin Ge squatted at the doorway, quietly watching this scene. He felt that there was no room for him to interrupt between the man and the cat.

Seeing that the old cat got out of bed and then slapped the light off the bedside table, Lin Ge followed the old cat out of the room in the dark. He saw the old cat wandering around the living room and kitchen, showing no intention of letting the guest sleep.

Lin Ge didn't know when he fell asleep.

Anyway, I was so dizzy from the old cat wandering around the house that I yawned out of boredom. When I woke up, it was already daylight.

He was awakened by the old woman's rusty little cart, which creaked and groaned with every movement. Opening his eyes, he saw the old woman indeed piling the recyclables she had collected the day before onto the cart. Each cardboard box was neatly stacked and dried; no one had cut corners.

The old lady seemed to have collected more boxes today than yesterday, probably because the sun was better yesterday, drying more of the cardboard boxes outside her door. Unlike those who collect recyclables door-to-door on electric tricycles, the old lady usually collects boxes from or around trash cans, as well as wet and damaged boxes from the market. These boxes also contain plastic and foam, and generally need to be dried before selling; the workload is disproportionate to the income.

But the old lady seemed to be used to all of this. She slowly finished her work before she saw Lin Ge and greeted him with a smile: "Oh, Mimi's awake? It's the first time I've seen a cat sleeping so soundly. I called you twice and you didn't wake up."

Lin Ge was so ashamed and angry that he almost wanted to kill himself, but he had to admit that he was indeed not very alert when he was asleep.

Of course, Lin Ge didn't intend to change it.

He is neither a stray cat nor does he need to remain vigilant while resting. Both his status as a police cat and the people around him who love him provide him with a safe resting environment and protect him from threats while he sleeps.

The old cat lazily walked out of the kitchen, its breath still smelling of vegetables. But this time, there was also a hint of fishiness, it seemed the old lady had given the cat an extra meal.

"Mimi, there's fish porridge inside, would you like some?"

The old lady was already ready to leave, but she still said to Lin Ge, "Last night I suddenly remembered that a cat like you should eat that kind of cat food, right? You might not be used to the food at home, so I went to the market early this morning and got some small fish. Would you like to try some?"

Lin Ge shook his head, causing a look of surprise to appear on the old lady's face.

Lin Ge knew his response was inappropriate. A shake of the head or a nod was a gesture of understanding. But in these small places, Lin Ge had become too lazy to pretend with people like the police and the old lady, and he trusted them.

As expected, the old lady didn't say anything, only her eyes brightened a little. She didn't think Lin Ge's refusal of her help was impolite. Leading the two cats out, she said to Lin Ge, "Mimi, thank you for coming with me a little longer. After we sell these things, I'll take you to find your family. Yesterday, I vaguely remembered that boy named Zhang Ke mentioning that you were staying at some hotel. To be honest, it's really unnecessary; staying there for too long is a waste of money." The old lady kept rambling on as they walked, saying things like thrift and saving money is the key to living a good life.

Lin Ge listened without arguing. Of course, everyone has their own way of living, and he wouldn't change it. Thinking about it, there didn't seem to be anything he absolutely had to do today, so he decided to spend another day hanging out with the old lady and the old cat.

"Grandma, you're a little late today!"

The male owner of the recycling station was still very enthusiastic. He greeted the old lady from afar and then came over to help her take the cart.

"Hehe, it's rare for me to entertain guests at home."

The old lady spoke with a smile, without mentioning that the guest was a good-for-nothing lazy cat. Seeing that the male owner of the scrap yard didn't seem to recognize Lin Ge, and was just leading her towards the scrap yard while chatting with her, the old lady didn't explain.

"Oh! Grandma, you look great today!"

The woman who owned the scrap yard also came forward, and as soon as she got close, she grasped the old lady's hand and said, "Grandma, I thought about it again and again yesterday, and I still listened to you and called my youngest son! Look at what you said, the elderly really do have more experience. When my youngest son heard that he could come and live with us, he was so excited that he cried right away. As for me... I felt terrible on this end of the phone, and the tears just started flowing. We've discussed it, and we'll try to help him transfer schools during the winter break!"

As she spoke, the woman's eyes reddened again.

"This is a good thing, why are you crying?"

The old lady was also very happy, and held the lady's hand, saying, "If there's anything I can help you with, just say the word. Don't underestimate me just because I'm an old woman who collects recyclables; there are some things I might actually be able to help you with."

"Then I'll bring my youngest son to kowtow to you!"

Whether the woman believed her or not, she readily agreed. She led the old lady to sit down in the yard, served her hot tea, and then went to help the old lady with her chores, glancing casually at the two cats that had come with the old lady.

"Is this...the one from yesterday?"

Women are more observant than men, and she quickly recognized Lin Ge.

"Ow!"

Lin Ge gave a very distinctive, lazy greeting, which startled the male owner who was about to come over and pet the cat. He quickly turned around and went back to work.

"Cats are all very intelligent. If you treat them well, they will accept you. If you treat them badly, they won't hold a grudge, but there will just be a slight difference in closeness. Everyone says that cats respect the elderly and love the young. Why? Because they can tell what is truly good for them."

The old lady's pointed remark made the male homeowner give an awkward smile.

He quickly explained, embarrassed, "I...I didn't do anything! It's just that some stray cats came here last night and were making a racket, keeping me awake all night. So I just threw a slipper at them, but I'm not even sure if I hit anything."

"Oh, then it's not exactly wrong."

The old lady muttered something to herself.

"Meow!"

The old cat, who had been drowsy and seemed to sleep during the day and be energetic at night, suddenly stood up with its ears perked up.

Lin Ge looked in that direction almost simultaneously and quickly saw a thin, black-scaled snake emerge from a gap in the pile of garbage in the corner. The snake quickly noticed the two cats, immediately raising half its body and flicking its tongue.

"ah!"

The woman who owned the scrap shop followed the cat's gaze and was immediately startled and screamed.

"snake?"

The male homeowner was also taken aback. When did a snake get into his shop? Its color was strange; could it be poisonous? What if it crawls onto his bed while he's sleeping…?

The man shuddered involuntarily.

"I knew it!"

The old lady wasn't afraid of the snake, especially when both cats were protecting her and slowly moving towards it. She remained calm and composed, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"You mean the cat from yesterday..."

The man suddenly realized what had happened and was filled with regret and fear.

Seeing the two cats start clawing at the snake, he stomped his foot angrily and said, "Tomorrow, I'll get a cat too! Even if it can't drive away snakes, it'll catch mice! I have so many mice here; they've chewed up so many of my cardboard boxes!"

‘Crack! ’

The snake's neck was snapped cleanly by Lingo, and it gradually stopped moving.

The old cat glanced at Lin Ge with some regret, showing no interest in eating the snake. Seeing its mistress use tongs to pick up the snake and toss it into the roadside drain, the old cat yawned and lay down at the old lady's feet.

Lin Ge, on the other hand, was somewhat bored.

After thinking for a moment, he walked out without a word.

(End of this chapter)