Chapter 119: Extra Story #12
This is Mushroom City.
In the southeast corner of Mushroom City, there was a bustling market.
In the market, little chestnuts were selling nuts, little birds were selling wine, and little dogs were selling grilled squid…
Everywhere was steaming with heat, and fragrant smells wafted through the air.
In this lingering atmosphere of cooking smoke, the little hamster Chu Jiu nervously arranged his barbecue stall.
This was little hamster Chu Jiu’s first day setting up a stall.
Chu Jiu was not a resident of Mushroom City. He had only arrived in Mushroom City from Hamster Village the day before yesterday.
He had heard since he was little that Mushroom City was so prosperous, selling all sorts of things. As long as you could make delicious food, people would definitely come to buy it!
So Chu Jiu decided to come here and try setting up a stall.
The thing he planned to sell was his specialty, “grilled small fish.”
The tin stove was set up first, the charcoal burned through, the grill was placed on the embers, and the washed and marinated small fish were skewered with bamboo sticks, ready to grill!
Before long, the fish skin gradually turned brown, and the “sizzle” sound continued incessantly, the tempting aroma spreading rapidly.
Chu Jiu puffed out his chubby cheeks, diligently brushing his secret sauce on the grilled fish while he couldn’t help but swallow his saliva. Such fragrant little dried fish, would anyone buy them?
But he wasn’t very sure in his heart.
After all, this was the high-end Mushroom City.
Would the residents here look down on such simple grilled fish?
While he was feeling uneasy, Chu Jiu heard someone ask, “Wow, is this grilled fish? It smells so good!”
Chu Jiu raised his head and, through the smoke, saw three fluffy white customers with rabbit-like split lips, fox-like triangular ears, and big tails.
Chu Jiu had heard from the old ladies in his village that these were residents unique to Mushroom City—Snow Beastmen.
Chu Jiu quickly nodded: “Yes, yes! It’s grilled fish! Very fresh!”
The smallest Snow Beastman blinked its eyes: “How much is one skewer?”
They were asking the price! Customers were asking the price!
Chu Jiu’s heart thumped, and the little ball-like tail behind him couldn’t stop wagging.
He put down the barbecue skewer, unconsciously wringing his little paws, and carefully quoted the price: “One mushroom coin per skewer.”
This price isn’t expensive, is it?
Unexpectedly, the Snow Beastman opposite widened its eyes: “How much? How much did you say?”
Chu Jiu: …?
Oh, no, did I set the price too high?
Before Chu Jiu could answer, the Snow Beastman cheered:
“It’s so cheap!”
“Fifteen skewers—no, twenty skewers! Four skewers each for me, my second brother, and my third brother, and the remaining four skewers to take back for our eldest brother!”
Chu Jiu: …… Twenty skewers!!
Such a big order!
He suddenly smiled: “Okay, okay! Just a moment!”
A moment later, the three Snow Beastmen left, holding the grilled small fish, their big tails wagging contentedly.
While biting into the tender and flavorful fish meat, they exclaimed, “This grilled fish is really delicious! Big brother will definitely love it!”
Chu Jiu breathed a sigh of relief behind them, secretly counting the twenty mushroom coins again, his small eyes squinting with a smile: Hehe, he earned 20 coins all at once! So much money!
After the first big sale, business went very smoothly that day.
After selling grilled small fish for half a day, Chu Jiu earned a total of 190 mushroom coins!
You had to know that back in the countryside, he only spent about 200 mushroom coins a month on food and drink!
Holding the mushroom coins in his pouch, Chu Jiu was overjoyed.
Mushroom City was truly a good place!
He would definitely work hard to sell more grilled small fish, earn more mushroom coins, and take them back to the village to buy cotton quilts, stoves, and repair houses for his grandmothers!
*
The next day.
Little hamster Chu Jiu started work full of energy.
Business was still very good today.
In addition to customers who came to the market to shop, even the little gray bird selling wine next door, and the little dog selling grilled squid further down, all came to him to buy grilled small fish.
Chu Jiu was as busy as a hamster ball that wouldn’t stop rolling.
This is great! Grilled fish is so popular!
Chu Jiu, who was spinning around in circles, felt extremely happy.
Just then.
Chu Jiu, who was puffing out his cheeks and blowing hard into the stove, heard the quiet discussions of the little gray bird and the little squirrels next to him: “Ah, Officer Cat is here.”
“…Hiss, still so scary…”
“Squeak, every time I see Officer Cat, I wonder if I’ve done anything bad recently, and if I’ll be arrested…”
Chu Jiu froze.
Cat… Officer?
There were no cats in Hamster Village where Chu Jiu lived.
He had only seen what cats looked like in picture books.
He had also heard his grandmothers say: Cats are the natural enemies of hamsters!
Those cats were all very bad, they would treat little hamsters as toys and paw them around!
No matter when, as long as you saw a cat, you had to run away!
Chu Jiu hid behind the barbecue stove, cautiously poked out half of his little head, and peeked forward—
He saw on the sidewalk a pitch-black cat wearing a black uniform!
The serious-faced cat, with its tail held high and elegant steps, was silently walking towards his grilled fish stall!
Little hamster Chu Jiu was so scared that he almost stopped breathing.
And just at this moment, Officer Cat looked towards him.
The cat’s ice-blue eyes met his own black, beady eyes.
Chu Jiu’s short legs suddenly went weak, and the whole hamster almost collapsed on the ground.
No, no, no, this won’t do!
He couldn’t just flatten himself into a hamster pancake and wait to be caught and carelessly played with by the cat!
He had to escape!
Chu Jiu darted out like a flash!
Of course, before darting out, he didn’t forget to stuff all the mushroom coins into his little backpack and pour water on the tin stove.
If he hadn’t run, it might have been okay, but as soon as he ran, the Officer Cat behind him actually started running fast after him!
Chu Jiu squeaked, not daring to look back, running faster than he could on a hamster wheel!
He would definitely be able to escape! He was the fastest runner in Hamster Village—
Huh?
Wait!
Ah, something bit the back of my neck!
Ahhh, heavens, it’s a cat!
I’ve been picked up by a cat!
Realizing this, Chu Jiu’s golden fur bristled all over, turning him into an exceptionally fluffy hamster ball.
He closed his eyes, his little paws tucked in front of his chest, trembling as he thought, “It’s over!”
*
The little hamster was carried by the cat for a short distance.
He didn’t dare to open his eyes the whole time.
Until he was put down.
The little hamster twitched twice more, curled into a ball, and cautiously opened his eyes to look upwards—
The black cat was looking down at him with its ice-blue eyes!
The little hamster squeaked, instinctively wanting to close his eyes again, but he heard the other party speak:
“Did you sell fish that wasn’t fresh?”
Chu Jiu sat up straight at once, no longer caring about being scared, and said loudly, “Of course not! It was all the freshest!”
You can take me away, but you can’t slander my grilled fish!
Black Cat: “Did you shortchange your customers?”
Little Hamster: “No! Every serving was weighed properly!”
Black Cat: “Did you use inferior oil?”
Little Hamster: “No! It was the best fresh peanut oil!”
Black Cat: “…Then why did you run?”
Little Hamster: “…Huh?”
Black Cat: “Since you didn’t do anything wrong, why did you run as soon as you saw me?”
The little hamster stared blankly at the black cat, and after a long while, he twitched his still very fluffy fur again and said softly, “Y-you’re not a cat?”
Black Cat: “Hmm?”
Little Hamster: “Cats… don’t they catch hamsters and t-treat them like toys, biting them all over…”
The black cat’s eyes turned into half-circles.
The little hamster immediately didn’t dare to speak.
The air was very quiet.
Until a bright green leaf fell to the ground beside them.
Only then did the black cat flick its tail:
“We don’t randomly grab anyone and take them back.”
“And we certainly don’t treat anyone like a toy.”
“I was just on routine patrol.”
Chu Jiu first widened his eyes, then looked somewhat disbelieving: “But, you were clearly walking towards my stall…”
Black Cat: “……”
He turned his head and lightly scratched his face with his paw, then said nonchalantly, “Saw a new stall, just a little curious.”
Chu Jiu: “Oh… is that so…”
Black Cat: “…What are you selling?”
Chu Jiu perked up at once: “Grilled fish! Small fish marinated in a secret sauce! It’s especially fragrant! You can smell it from far away! Everyone who’s eaten it says it’s especially good, and they all want to come back for more!”
Black Cat: “Is it really that delicious?”
Chu Jiu: “Of course!” With the mindset of “promoting his grilled fish to everyone,” the little hamster said to the black cat, “Um, Officer, if you don’t believe me, you’ll know after you eat a skewer later! You’ll definitely like it!”
The black cat frowned: “No.”
Little Hamster: “Huh?”
Black Cat: “We’re not allowed to eat casually during work hours.”
The little hamster blinked: “Then come eat after you finish work? I—I’ll treat you!”
Little hamster Chu Jiu was going all out to promote his grilled fish!
The black cat frowned again: “No.”
Little Hamster: “Ah?”
Why still no? Aren’t they even allowed to eat after work?
The black cat slowly said, “Ahem, we can’t accept food from others. So, I have to pay.”
Little Hamster: “Oh oh! That’s even better—no no, I mean, I’m still very willing to treat you, but, uh, um, anyway, you will come to eat grilled fish later, right?”
The black cat nodded emphatically: “Yes.”
The little hamster smiled, his chubby cheeks puffed out: “That’s great! It’s settled then!”
After the black cat walked away, little hamster Chu Jiu realized something was wrong:
Didn’t Officer Cat know I was selling grilled fish from the beginning? Then why did he still ask what I was selling just now?
…….Could it be that Officer Cat’s memory isn’t very good?
*
Evening.
Some stall owners in the market had already closed up shop.
Chu Jiu, who had made a promise with Officer Cat, was still busy.
While he was burying his head in brushing sauce on the grilled fish, a very fast-paced voice came from the front: “Roar roar roar, so this is the grilled fish stall! It really smells good! It smells really delicious, roar roar roar!”
Chu Jiu raised his head: Ah, it’s Officer Cat!
Officer Cat had changed out of his uniform into plain clothes, still black.
Behind him was a white rabbit dressed in colorful clothes, its ears constantly twitching towards his grilled fish stall.
Chu Jiu quickly perked up: “Officer Cat! You’re here!”
Officer Cat nodded without any change in expression.
It was the white rabbit behind him who suddenly stared at the little hamster with shining eyes: “Roar roar roar, such a cute hamster baby! Tsk tsk tsk, I really want to take it back and rua—”
Before he could finish speaking, Officer Cat had already turned his head and silently glared at the white rabbit.
The white rabbit immediately fell silent like a cicada in winter.
Officer Cat coughed: “Um, I’ll take ten skewers of grilled fish.”
The white rabbit also raised its paw: “Roar roar roar, I’ll take ten skewers too!”
Chu Jiu: “Alright! I’ll grill them for you two right away!”
*
Chu Jiu grilled twenty skewers of fish for a quarter of an hour.
However, the cat and rabbit finished all the grilled fish in just one minute.
Chu Jiu grilled another twenty skewers.
This time they ate them in two minutes.
After eating, the black cat looked like he hadn’t had enough, and the rabbit directly said:
“Roar roar roar, how can it be so delicious!”
“Is there more? Is there more? Give us another twenty skewers!”
Chu Jiu shook his head regretfully:
“There isn’t any more…”
“You’ll have to come back tomorrow.”
It seems I’ll have to prepare more small fish tomorrow! Otherwise, there won’t be enough to eat!
When the rabbit heard there would be more tomorrow, it made a heart shape with its long ears and said happily, “Roar roar roar, then tomorrow…”
At this moment, the black cat beside him said, “Have you finished writing your case report?”
Rabbit: “…Roar?”
Black Cat: “If you haven’t finished it, you’ll stay at the police station to work overtime tomorrow.”
Rabbit: “..Roar….”
Having said that, the black cat looked at Chu Jiu again: “I’ll come again tomorrow.”
Chu Jiu nodded vigorously: “Okay!”
The black cat thought for a moment and then said to Chu Jiu, “Paw out.”
Chu Jiu subconsciously opened his little paws, while curiously asking, “Hmm? You’ve already paid for the grilled fish…”
Before he finished speaking, the black cat had already placed something in his paw.
Chu Jiu retracted his paw and looked:
Wow!
It was a mushroom cookie!
A little cookie shaped like a red-capped, white-stemmed mushroom!
Chu Jiu looked at the black cat in surprise and delight: “This is…?”
The black cat looked nonchalant: “It’s for you.”
“You were frightened this morning, this is a small gift.”
“Welcome to Mushroom City.”
Chu Jiu hugged the little mushroom cookie to his chest, his eyes curving into crescents with another smile:
“Is that so!”
“Thank you, Officer Cat!”
The black cat coughed lightly, said nothing more, turned around, and left with elegant steps.
The rabbit behind him walked quite a distance before suddenly realizing:
“Did you make me work overtime tomorrow to write the report because you didn’t want me to compete with you for grilled fish?”
“And you went to the gift street for so long just now to buy cookies?!”
Black Cat: “…Shut up.”
Rabbit: …..When did Little Can become so scheming? I must go complain to Kakaba and Glup-Glup later!
Of course, little hamster Chu Jiu was completely unaware of the conversation between the black cat and the rabbit.
He was currently holding the little mushroom cookie, happily munching away with “crunch, crunch” sounds.
Wuwu, such a delicious little cookie!
It seems Officer Cat is really a good person!
I must go back and tell my grandmothers that Officer Cat won’t catch hamsters, and definitely won’t paw us around like toys!
The little hamster thought excitedly.
At this time, the little hamster did not foresee that in the near future, he would still be carried back home by Officer Cat, and pawed thoroughly in a different way.
