Immortal Takeout - Chapter 26

After Ta Nuo returned home from the city, it rained for two more days. A clear breeze brought a fine drizzle, the rainwater dampening the green grass. Green shoots emerged scrambling and contending from all sorts of unimaginable corners. Flower buds burst open, spilling their fragrance. The birds that had stayed hidden all winter jumped out one after another, raising their voices, chirping and chattering, preparing for the annual breeding season. Baiye Forest became lively, filled everywhere with the breath of spring.

And none of this had anything to do with the single little sea otter. Until the weekend, Ta Nuo stayed holed up at home, seriously studying and designing his “Immortal Takeout” signboard.

Although the Little Boss hadn’t fully given his consent, Ta Nuo firmly believed he had already achieved a stage victory. And a business capable of cooperating with Maochun City’s only grocery store for spirits who have attained sentience was something worthy of otter pride. Ta Nuo decided to hang the sign on an auspicious day, announcing the formal opening of “Divine Takeout.”

The signboard was both an advertisement and an auspicious symbol. It had to be eye-catching, grand, simple and clear, and also festive and good-looking. Ta Nuo specially hired Baiye Forest’s famous fashion planning master, Zhang Xiaokui. Zhang Xiaokui is a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo①. He was once a human’s domestic pet, came from an expensive background, was arrogant as a bird, and settled in Baiye Forest after attaining sentience.

Ta Nuo had seen Zhang Xiaokui from afar once—a large white bird whose calls could wake an otter pretending to sleep.

Strictly speaking, Zhang Xiaokui is an invasive species. The Sentience Association had once sparked debate over his issue of belonging. But no matter what, he is now a thoroughgoing resident of Baiye Forest.

It’s said that Zhang Xiaokui’s human was a stylist/designer. Zhang Xiaokui, constantly exposed to this environment and deeply influenced, exudes a captivating artistic aura and has considerable insight into any fashion or design-related issues. Upon entering Baiye Forest, he proclaimed himself the Fashion Master of this domain.

Ta Nuo didn’t really know what a stylist/designer was. He only knew that the final polishing of his signboard design required the help of industry insider, Bird Scholar Zhang Xiaokui. He offered a bag of sweet corn as payment and asked a jay to deliver his design requirements.

Besides the signboard, Ta Nuo also planned to organize a unique grand opening ceremony, paving the way with small dried fish and scattering dried shrimp all over the sky. Just imagining this scene made Ta Nuo laugh happily.

Ah, small dried fish!

Ta Nuo suddenly remembered he still had a debt to pay. He quickly climbed out of bed, gave himself a quick scrub with sea salt, and set off for Otter Mom’s house.

Otter Mom was giving Tatami a swimming lesson at the doorstep. Otter Little Brother wasn’t studying very seriously, paddling his limbs in the shallow water. The moment he saw Ta Nuo, he swished his tail and swam over, clinging to Ta Nuo’s belly and refusing to let go.

Chirp!

He loudly complained to Ta Nuo. An otter’s childhood should be delicious and leisurely; no little otter should suffer like this. He vigorously slapped his own belly with his front paws, making thump thump sounds to express his strong emotions.

Ta Nuo patted Ta Tami’s head and slipped him a strawberry-flavored fruit candy.

Ta Tami was instantly satisfied.

Ta Nuo rubbed his face, lay on a horizontal log over the water, and watched Mother Otter catch fish. “Mom, I feel like having some small dried fish,” he said. “The pepper-salt kind.”

Otter Mom was very happy about Ta Nuo’s visit. She climbed ashore from the water, shook herself dry, transformed into human form, and plunged into the kitchen.

The small dried fish were anchor fish, thin and small. They were placed in a heated wok and toasted until crispy, then cooked in a seasoned sauce until the liquid reduced. Finally, homemade pepper-salt and a bit of chili powder were sprinkled on and mixed evenly. Each small dried fish was coated with just the right amount of sauce and pepper-salt powder, making them crispy inside and fragrant outside, with a wonderfully fresh and spicy flavor.

When the small dried fish were ready, Ta Nuo secretly tasted several pieces, also gave a few to Ta Tami to try, and only then packed the remaining dried fish into a clean glass jar. He licked his fingers, still savoring the taste.

No one could stay angry after eating something delicious. If he gave this jar of small dried fish to the Little Boss, he would surely become the happiest human in the world.

Tatami stared at the glass jar filled with small dried fish, sniffling hard.

Ta Nuo patted his otter little brother’s head, bid farewell to Otter Mom, and set off on the path to Maochun City with a pat-pat sound.

He was already thoroughly familiar with this road. Although the actual distance hadn’t changed, in Ta Nuo’s heart, this road had long become wonderful, and thus also seemed shorter. And the journey itself was no longer a monotonous, boring process; it was gradually turning into an interesting, hopeful trip. He enjoyed it and looked forward to each reunion.

Unexpectedly, the Little Boss wasn’t home, and even the little white umbrella was absent. Ta Nuo stood before the firmly locked Luo family gate, holding the fragrant jar of small dried fish, looking around helplessly. The flavor of the small dried fish wouldn’t be as good if left for too long. He was a bit worried.

Just as Ta Nuo was hesitating whether to go back first and make a new jar of small dried fish to deliver later, the door suddenly creaked open from the inside. Ta Nuo looked over in surprise to see a small, dusty-looking ball of fluff squeezing through the crack in the door.

Cheep!

It was the little white umbrella’s friend, the little sparrow.

Ta Nuo took off his hat and greeted the little sparrow. This little sparrow was very interesting; it hadn’t attained sentience, yet displayed extraordinary intelligence and spirit. It even flapped its wings, patting its plump body in response to Ta Nuo’s greeting.

After finishing its greeting, the little sparrow hopped and skipped back into the courtyard.

Ta Nuo stood at the gate, peeking inside through the crack, and asked quietly, “May I come in?”

The reply was a loud cheep cheep.

Holding his hat in one hand and clutching the glass jar in the other, Ta Nuo pushed the door open and stepped into the Luo family courtyard. The old pear tree in the courtyard had already sprouted countless pure white flower buds, some even beginning to bloom. Before long, the courtyard would be filled with the clear, translucent fragrance of pear blossoms, permeating the entire spring.

Ta Nuo could almost picture the Little Boss sitting amidst a cloud of pear blossoms, a cigarette in his mouth. It would surely be a beautiful sight too.

Ta Nuo placed the jar of small dried fish under the eaves and sat on the steps, watching the little sparrow amusing itself in the grassy patches of the courtyard. It was still young, its wings not strong enough, its flying height limited. Most of the time, it could only flutter its wings like a little chick.

The little sparrow played by itself for a while, probably finding it boring, then tilted its head and began observing Ta Nuo. It seemed curious, wanting to come closer to look at Ta Nuo. But it didn’t do so directly. Instead, it hopped around in a large circle in the courtyard, looking around everywhere, and finally, pretending as if nothing was happening, cheeped and suddenly landed just an arm’s length away from Ta Nuo.

Ta Nuo blinked, looking at the little plump bird. This method of creating a diversion wasn’t unfamiliar to him. In fact, almost all living creatures in this courtyard were like this little plump bird—curious yet unobtrusive—even including that strange little white umbrella.

Ta Nuo reached out his hand, slowly, at a pace that wouldn’t startle the little sparrow, inching it closer until he gently rubbed the little sparrow’s furry belly. The little sparrow cheeped and hopped away, tilted its head, then actively hopped back, landing in Ta Nuo’s palm.

“Hellooo—” Ta Nuo drew out the sound, greeting it softly.

“Hello.”

To his surprise, someone—a bird—actually responded to his greeting. It wasn’t the little sparrow; clearly, it was a new, grey little bird that had just landed in the courtyard.

Ta Nuo squinted and recognized it as a skylark.

The little sparrow looked curiously at the newcomer.

Mr. Skylark was very small, with thin black-brown stripes on his back, and his belly looked round and plump. His voice was clear, melodious, and resonant, speaking as if he were singing. “Sorry to disturb you. I just wanted to ask, if I’m not mistaken, are you a sentient being who cultivates humans?”

Ta Nuo nodded and replied, “Yes, I am.”

Mr. Skylark let out a breath, happily emitting a cheep cheep sound. “That’s wonderful! May I ask for your help?”

“Of course you can.”

“I would like to buy some human food, but I cannot communicate with humans. I was hoping you could…” Mr. Skylark seemed somewhat embarrassed and proactively added, “I will pay a reward.”

Ta Nuo’s eyes widened. Isn’t this my actual job?! He happily agreed.

Upon learning that Ta Nuo ran a delivery company, Mr. Skylark looked very pleased. “That’s wonderful!” he exclaimed. “Having delivery is so convenient. May I seek your help in the future as well?”

“Of course you can!” Ta Nuo nodded vigorously. Who would have thought that delivering small dried fish could lead to picking up a client like this? If he had known, he would have come to deliver small dried fish to the Little Boss every day.

Mr. Skylark introduced himself as Yun Ge (Cloud Song). He had attained sentience just last winter and lived in the grassland area on the edge of Baiye Forest. He wanted to order a human dish called “tomato thick omelet” for his friend.

“I once secretly tasted a bite in the back kitchen of a human restaurant. It was the most delicious food I’ve ever eaten,” Yun Ge smacked his lips, reminiscing, a look of yearning on his face. “I found out my friend has also recently attained sentience. I’d like to order a portion for him, so he can taste this delicacy too. Good food can make a bird’s heart happy.”

Ta Nuo deeply agreed, nodding emphatically. “What’s your friend’s name?” Ta Nuo asked, pulling out his notebook from his bag. “I can deliver the order directly to him.”

Yun Ge hopped on the ground a few times, hesitantly speaking up, “He is a shrike. I’m not sure… he… his temper isn’t very good.”

But Ta Nuo was quite confident about this.

Yun Ge was full of gratitude, then lowered his head again and apologized quietly, “It’s just… I can’t pay you the reward immediately. I’ve only just attained sentience and don’t have any savings yet. If possible, could I put it on credit?”

Ta Nuo had never encountered a client who needed credit before—though, to be fair, he’d only had a handful of clients so far. He was momentarily stunned, but still nodded. Yun Ge seemed like a good sort; it probably wouldn’t be a problem. Moreover, being flexible with strategy was better for retaining clients!

Yun Ge breathed a long sigh of relief and told Ta Nuo the address of the pickup shop.

The little sparrow jumped onto Ta Nuo’s shoulder, watched him write for a while, found it boring, hopped off again, and came to Yun Ge’s side. Yun Ge didn’t mind this little ball of fluff’s closeness at all; he even softly hummed a few lines of a nursery rhyme to amuse it.

Hearing Yun Ge’s song, Ta Nuo instantly looked up. Yun Ge’s song was melodious and beautiful, with excellent rhythm, incredibly pleasant to the ears. Ta Nuo stopped writing, lifted his head, quietly appreciating it, a happy smile playing on his lips.

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head.

The Divine Takeout’s opening ceremony seemed to need a talent performance guest too!

—

Translator’s Note:

① Zhang Xiaokui (张小葵) & 小葵花凤头鹦鹉 (Xiǎo kuíhuā fèngtóu yīngwǔ): The name “Xiaokui” (小葵) literally means “little sunflower.” The bird species, “Sulphur-crested Cockatoo,” is called “小葵花凤头鹦鹉” in Chinese, which literally translates to “Little Sunflower Phoenix-headed Parrot.” So the bird’s name is a direct play on its species name, a common and cute naming pattern. In principle, you cannot keep them [as pets]; you need to apply for a permit.