Immortal Takeout - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Maochun City’s Cat Consultation Office

No matter how he explained it, the black tabby cat  wouldn’t accept it, so he had no choice but to give up. Mr. Black tabby cat held a bunch of lily of the valley flowers in his mouth and stuffed them into Ta Nuo’s arms.

“Hey, this is your turn. If you miss your turn, you’re out of luck. Keep an eye on it yourself,” Mr. Black tabby cat growled sternly. Seeing that Ta Nuo nodded obediently, he stopped nagging and turned to scold the newcomer who wasn’t listening.

Ta Nuo’s branch of lily of the valley had five buds, meaning there were five people ahead of him in line. The lily of the valley emitted a charming fragrance, and Ta Nuo carefully brought his nose close and took a light sniff. It wasn’t the season for lily of the valley, so he wondered what method the cats had used to make the flowers bloom early.

A long-haired stray cat with a white body, black cap, and black tail was lying in front of Ta Nuo, dragging its tail and basking in the sun listlessly. Its body was dirty, with dust clinging to its white fur, giving it a grayish appearance, and there was a bald spot on its back. It occasionally used its paws to fiddle with its four lily of the valley flowers, clearly growing impatient.

 Ta Nuo chose a clean, large rock, struggled to climb up on all fours, and sat down with his back against a nearby tree trunk. His tail was pressed against his buttocks, causing some discomfort, so he reached out with his paw to scratch the fur on his buttocks. The air in the forest was humid, and the heavy dew clinging to his fur was not comfortable.

He continued scratching his butt for a while, feeling a bit cold. He fumbled around in the pouch under his armpit, pulling out a transparent salt jar.

Swish, swish, swish—

The cats that had been lazily lying around in small groups suddenly lifted their heads, twitching their ears, and stared at Ta Nuo warily. The stray cat in front of him was bold enough to come closer and sniff cautiously.

Ta Nuo’s salt jar froze mid-air, looking slightly awkward. He felt a bit embarrassed, stopped sprinkling salt on himself, and explained in a soft voice, “This is salt.”

Although he had never lived in the ocean, as a sea otter, he had not fully adapted to the freshwater environment. Excessive moisture often caused issues with his fur and skin. His mother believed this was due to the water being too fresh, so she specially prepared a salt shaker for him, allowing him to sprinkle salt on himself when he felt uncomfortable.

Ta Nuo loved the sparkling salt crystals. The salt was sea salt, much larger in grain size than ordinary salt. Sprinkling it into his fur and gently rubbing it in could effectively remove dirt from the surface of his fur and skin.

The salt container was a precious gift from the otter mother. Ta Nuo carefully kept it hidden in the pouch under his armpit, his secret treasure trove for storing his most cherished possessions.

Besides the salt container, Ta Nuo also keeps his most cherished stone in the pouch. This stone was carefully selected by Ta Nuo after swimming the entire Hongjiu River, choosing it from millions of stones of various shapes and sizes. Its size, shape, and weight are all perfect, making it ideal for cracking shells , shrimp and crabs.

Thinking of this, Ta Nuo suddenly had an idea. Perhaps he should pick out a stone for the little boss as well? Ah, stones make such wonderful gifts! All animals and humans in the world should have their own stone.

Swish, swish, swish—

The sound of salt being sprinkled continued. The cats were curious for a moment, but soon lost interest and returned to their previous state of boredom.

Ta Nuo evenly sprinkled sea salt on his fur and began to groom it with his paws. He rubbed it in carefully, paying close attention to the pressure and angle of his paws, circling clockwise from the outside in, from the surface to the depths, layer by layer, striving to care for every inch of skin and every strand of fur. The cheeks and belly were the areas requiring special attention, and all four paws must remain dry, as moisture could cause body heat to dissipate rapidly.

The sun hung directly overhead, marking the day’s peak sunlight. A few rays filtered through the ginkgo branches, casting patterns on the large rocks and warming Ta Nuo’s fur into a fluffy, soft texture.

What a beautiful day it was.

After some time, Mr. Black Tabby cat emerged from the corner and approached Mr. Stray Cat and Ta Nuo, roughly plucking a lily of the valley flower from their paws. This signified that Ta Nuo had advanced one position in the group.

After Mr. Black Tabby cat left, Mr. Stray Cat, perhaps feeling bored, began chatting with Ta Nuo.

“What are you here for? You don’t look like a cat,” he said, his tone thick with a northern dialect.

Ta Nuo replied politely, “I am a sea otter.”

What is a sea otter?

The conversation between the otter and the cat was pleasant. Ta Nuo even invited Mr. Stray Cat to sprinkle some salt, but was politely refused. He then took out a lemon-flavored candy from the glass jar and handed it to Mr. Stray Cat. Mr. Stray Cat licked it, and the sourness made him shiver all over, his fur standing on end like he’d been electrocuted.

Mr. Stray Cat told Ta Nuo his name was Guokui.

The name sounded a bit odd. Ta Nuo’s name was given by his otter mother, and all the otters in the family shared the surname Ta. The eldest otter brother was named Yan, and the second brother was named Xing. Later, the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth were born one after another. With so many children, Otter Dad and Otter Mom were too lazy to come up with meaningful names, so the other siblings were named arbitrarily after mountains, rivers, flowers, and plants. He wasn’t familiar with the naming conventions among cats.

“In the cat world, it’s very popular to name cats after pastries,” Guokui explained, with a touch of pride on his face. “This trend originated from a famous cat. Speaking of which, he was once a stray cat too.” He didn’t seem to mind his stray cat identity.

Guokui is a type of pancake-shaped pastry that’s very fashionable, and the fur on Guo Kui’s head is black, which fits the character “kui” perfectly. He was very satisfied with his name.

As they chatted and ate candy, time passed quickly. By the time Ta Nuo stuffed the third piece of candy into his mouth, they were finally told they could enter the office’s waiting area.

The cat office is officially called the Mao Chun City Spirit Cat Consultation Office, affiliated with the “Post-Foundation Spirit Association,” and it’s the city’s only dedicated consulting office for cats. The office is located inside the trunk of a massive ginkgo tree. This ginkgo tree is enormous, towering into the clouds, so large that it takes five people to embrace it. It is said to be over a thousand years old, having been struck by lightning and split in two, with its interior hollowed out, yet it still managed to survive. The cat consul led a group of staff members to clear out the hollowed-out trunk, creating an office space approximately two meters in length and width. Though the space may seem cramped for larger animals, it remains grand, luxurious, solemn, and majestic for the petite cats.

In reality, the Cat’s Office’s style is very feline, exuding a sense of laziness and nonchalance. Directly opposite the office entrance is a circular work area. The managers’ desks and chairs were cut from a single piece of wood, with uneven edges and only a simple polish, their surfaces covered in cat paw prints, suggesting they also serve as exercise equipment for the managers.

About two meters above the ground, a circular window has been carved out. A vibrant green vine winds its way through the window from outside the ginkgo tree, extending all the way to the office desks. The end of the vine is tied with a string of white lilies of the valley flowers. Whenever the managers finish handling a case, the intern manager sitting at the end of the table will use his claws to gently tug at the string of lily of the valley flowers, signaling Mr. Black Tabby cat to arrange for the next consultant to wait.

Due to the limited space in the office, only three consultants are allowed to wait at a time. Ta Nuo is the third one. The first consultant and Mr. Guokui both entered smoothly, but it was quite difficult for Ta Nuo to fully blend into the office without disturbing others. So, he took off his hat, chose a convenient position, lay down on the ground, and stuck his head through the door—waiting quietly.

There were seven managers in the cat’s office, with the cat consul sitting in the central seat. The cat consul was a short, plump, round, short-tailed yellow tabby cat. The cat consul’s age was unknown, but he looked old and frail, spoke indistinctly, had cloudy eyes, and always squinted when looking at people. On either side of the cat consul sat three managers, seated in order of rank from the center outward. At the far ends sat two trainee managers.

The first important client of the Immortal Takeout, Manager Lin, was seated closest to the lily of the valley. He was still young and a trainee manager. It is said that the firm is highly competitive, with hundreds of cats applying each year, and only the smartest and most knowledgeable are selected. Manager Lin’s ability to secure an intern manager position at such a young age speaks to his exceptional cat abilities and extensive experience.

He extended a paw from under his head, wiggling his fingers to silently greet his important client. He received no response, which was natural.

Manager Lin was known for his poor communication skills. Whenever he appeared, his face bore a cold, forced smile, and through the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, he stared at people with a half-smile. He was not a native of Baiye Forest but had moved there after becoming a spirit from Maochun City. It was said that during his time in the human world, he had been abandoned multiple times, leading to a strong sense of rejection and distrust toward others.

Ta Nuo simply pushed both front paws through the door, cupping his face as he listened intently. This posture was quite comfortable. The consultation had not yet officially begun, and the office was quiet. Ta Nuo blinked his eyes and quietly stared at Manager Lin for a moment. His otter eyes were not particularly large, resembling two black beans, and when he looked at people intently, it had a touch of humor.

Manager Lin, either didn’t notice or didn’t care, and didn’t mind Ta Nuo’s scrutiny.

Ta Nuo thought to himself,manager Lin, is indeed a very beautiful white lion cat(Linqing Lion Cat), with smooth, silky fur like a big cotton ball. If he were a bit more gentle, he would probably be very popular.

However, a client is still a client after all. Ta Nuo reminded himself not to judge a cat by its appearance and to treat customers with respect.

Soon, Ta Nuo’s thoughts were interrupted. The short-haired black cat at the front of the waiting area was called to the service counter. The service counter had a roughly carved wooden chair, and customers could choose to sit or lie down on it.

The cat consul spoke slowly. His voice was deep, drawn-out, and monotonous, making it easy to doze off.

Ta Nuo noticed Mr. Guokui sneakily yawn.

The cat consul asked, “What’s your name, and what do you want to ask?”

The black cat sat on the small wooden chair with his claws tucked in, his tail tightly wrapped around himself, looking somewhat uneasy. His voice trembled as he replied, “Good day, Consul. Good day, managers. My name is Black Sesame. I came from the west and plan to settle in Maochun City this spring. I would like to know which district in the city has the best free cat food.”

Ta Nuo stared with wide eyes, his mind full of question marks.

So, the cats come to the office for consultation every day, solemnly get numbers, queue up, and spend most of the day just to ask such questions?