Chapter 414: And What About the Cat’s Life?

“

Meow...”

“Sir, your cat is meowing. Is she thirsty? Or is something stuck in her throat?” Magistrate Lu had drunk half a jug of wine, and his face was flushed red. He bent down, looking at the cat with concern. “Shall I serve her another half-bowl of coconut broth to quench her thirst?”

“She’s saying that she’s grateful to you for the wonderful hospitality, but she’s already full. On the way here, she noticed that your residence has quite a few mice, and to repay your kindness, she’s going to help clear them out.”

“Oh? Is that true?”

“Of course.”

“Just one

meow

, and it meant all that?”

“Yes, cats and dogs communicate differently from humans. A single

meow

conveys an entire meaning, and when translated into human language, it becomes much longer.”

“I see...” Magistrate Lu chuckled, turning to Song You with a grin. “Sir, you have profound insight. Truly, a wise man.”

Just as he finished speaking, a three-colored blur suddenly darted across the floor and disappeared outside. By the time Magistrate Lu looked out, the calico cat was already gone, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

“Your management of Lan'an County is truly remarkable. Among the coastal regions of Langzhou, this county is notably prosperous and wealthy,” Song You said.

“Sigh, I won’t hide the truth from you,” Magistrate Lu said, shaking his head, clearly a bit tipsy. “My appointment as magistrate was not granted through formal imperial edict. Though Langzhou is remote and wild, I was still satisfied with the opportunity to serve as an official.

“At the time, I thought that being assigned to a less developed place would be an advantage—fewer people would look down on me. But when I arrived, things didn’t turn out as I had hoped. The local people didn’t care about the nature of my appointment, but the county assistants and subordinates in the

yamen

often treated me with contempt.

“Their disrespect spread, and soon many of the locals began treating me with the same disdain.”

He sighed again, taking another sip of wine. “With no other choice, I decided the only way to gain their respect was to produce results and prove myself.”

“It seems you’ve been quite successful,” Song You replied.

“Haha, after a few years of hard work, I’ve finally managed to earn a decent reputation.”

“Whether you’re an informally or officially appointed official, as long as you serve the people, you’re a good official.”

“Let me toast to that,” Magistrate Lu said, immediately raising his cup and clinking it against Song You’s.

He paired the wine with roasted pig tail and continued, “It’s a pity that this place is unbearably hot. Though we have large tracts of land waiting to be cultivated and the sea offers endless resources, I’ve spent years humbling myself and inviting various merchant caravans to invest here. But in the end, Lan’an County has too few local people. We have land and plans, but no one to implement them.”

He shook his head, visibly regretful.

“You clearly have grand ambitions,” Song You said.

“What good are ambitions?” Magistrate Lu sighed. “I’m just an informally-appointed official. Staying in this position securely is already an achievement.” Magistrate Lu paused as he spoke, then lowered his voice and sought advice from him, as if he had heard rumors from somewhere that the court intended to abolish irregularly appointed officials, and was trying to gather more information from him.

But how could Song You know?

Back when the northern frontier tribes launched their massive invasion, the war dragged on for years, and several northern prefectures were completely drained. The court, refusing to negotiate and opting to continue the fight, sold many honorary appointments and informally-appointed officials to raise military funds.

If the former State Preceptor were still alive, he would never have done something so fickle and contradictory. But now that the State Preceptor was dead and the emperor was in his twilight years, with the throne soon to change hands, it was only natural for policies in this area to undergo changes.

Had they been in Changjing, Song You could have inquired on his behalf. But here, thousands of li away, there was little he could do.

By the time the meal was nearly finished, the sound of squealing mice echoed from outside, their cries pitiful. Magistrate Lu craned his neck to peek out, but the sky had already darkened. The courtyard was dim, and only under the faint moonlight could he make out a three-colored shadow darting back and forth. The ground was now littered with neatly arranged mouse corpses.

It was only then that Magistrate Lu realized the Daoist’s translation of the cat’s words had been true.

The day’s oppressive heat had finally given way to a cool evening, and the two continued their conversation, thoroughly enjoying each other’s company.

By the time they had nearly finished all the food and drunk the last of the wine, the noise outside had also died down. The cat returned to the Daoist’s side, sitting properly as she licked her paws. Magistrate Lu, concerned, asked the Daoist about the situation, to which the Daoist calmly replied that all the mice in the residence had been taken care of.

When Magistrate Lu lit a lantern and accompanied him to his room, they passed through the courtyard. Under the lantern’s light, Magistrate Lu glanced down and, despite having braced himself, couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh my!”

The ground was littered with over a dozen mice, of varying sizes, all neatly arranged in rows.

“Sir, you have a divine cat!” Magistrate Lu couldn’t help but marvel.

The humble Daoist, who had been modest throughout the meal, simply smiled and nodded, saying, “Indeed.”

With that, he followed the magistrate to his room for the night.

The temperature difference by the seaside was significant—scorching hot during the day but pleasantly cool at night. Song You simply draped the cat-patterned blanket over his stomach without using a quilt and lay on the bamboo mat, enjoying a wonderfully restful sleep.

Magistrate Lu, known for his diligence, was already up early in the morning and had arranged for a local scribe from the county’s household registration office to meet Song You.

Since Lan’an County’s main income relied heavily on the fishing and boating industries, Magistrate Lu had modeled the local governance on the commercial systems of major commerce inland counties, establishing a dedicated office for managing boat and fishery taxes.

The scribe, who specialized in these affairs, was well-versed in boat prices. Upon meeting Song You, he immediately asked how large a boat he intended to buy.

Song You initially considered getting a slightly larger boat—nothing too big, but similar in size to the ones he had taken along the Yin River and Liujing River, large enough to bring his horse onboard.

However, after some thought, he reconsidered. First, being from Yizhou, he had no experience operating a boat. Without using magic, he feared he wouldn’t be able to control a larger vessel.

Second, the sea’s winds and waves were far more unpredictable than those of inland rivers. While his jujube-red horse was extraordinary, it would be too much to expect it to stand steadily on a small boat, constantly tossed about by the ocean swells. Thus, he changed his mind and requested a small boat just large enough for himself.

“That’s easy to arrange!” replied the scribe confidently.

The local scribe, speaking with a heavy accent, said, “We have no shortage of small boats here. Whether you want a used one or a new one, they’re easy to find and not expensive. They’re very easy to find indeed!”

“I’ll take a sturdy, used one,” Song You replied.

“Consider it done!”

“Then thank you for your help.”

“Hehe...” The scribe, unsure how to respond, simply grinned.

Magistrate Lu personally accompanied them to the gate of the county office. He handed Song You an old fishing rod he had once used and even tried to give him half a string of copper coins as travel funds.

Song You, who had no shortage of money, politely declined the coins but accepted the bamboo fishing rod, along with the hooks and line, as a farewell gift from a friend with whom he had shared a good conversation—a gesture of friendship to remember their meeting.

With that, Song You, along with his jujube-red horse and Lady Calico, followed the local scribe out of the city and toward the coast.

From the mountains, he had already caught a glimpse of the sea, but it had been no more than a thin, distant line. Now, after walking for nearly an hour, they finally reached a lively fishing village by the shore.

“In our local dialect, we call this place

Gongerduo

, meaning ‘a place where the people are skilled at building boats.’ After the magistrate arrived, he officially named it

Boat Village

and designated it as the central hub for buying and selling boats. The entire village is now filled with boatbuilders and sellers. The neighboring village is where they sell fish and other seafood,” the scribe explained as he pointed ahead.

He added, “There are people from the county office stationed here, so you won’t have to worry about being scammed when buying a boat.”

“The magistrate is quite capable,” Song You remarked.

“Let me take you around.” Song You followed him as they toured the village.

There were indeed many boats for sale, and while it wasn’t as bustling as the legendary coastal ports of Yangzhou, there was still a wide range of vessels available. Most of them were the small fishing boats commonly used by local fishermen.

The scribe helped Song You select a sturdy second-hand wooden boat, just over one zhang long and four chi wide. The purchase cost him 3 taels and 6 qian of silver.

The contract was drafted, the fingerprint was pressed. After the tax was paid, and with the deal completed, it was now officially protected by the authorities.

“Thank you,” Song You said, taking a small piece of silver that had been trimmed and weighed earlier. It was less than one qian of silver, attached to a bit of wax, which he respectfully handed to the scribe as compensation for the trouble of coming out to assist him.

This wasn’t considered bribery or corruption.

In those times, it was common for

yamen

scribes to provide certain services outside their official duties, and receiving a bit of compensation in return was a regular source of income for them.

The scribe accepted the silver naturally, thanked him, and briefly explained the basics of rowing. After watching Song You successfully navigate the boat, he offered a final piece of advice, “The sea can be unpredictable. With a small boat like this, you must always keep an eye on the weather. If the weather changes, head back immediately, or you’ll risk capsizing.”

With that, he bid Song You farewell and returned to the city.

By now, the sun was slowly setting.

The seaside sunset was large and round, hanging low on the horizon with a massive yellow glow that spread across the sky and reflected off the rippling waves. Many fishermen had returned from the sea, docking their boats and heading home.

Song You, however, remained floating on the water. The waves gently pushed his small boat toward the shore, layer by layer, as he smiled and said to Lady Calico, “We finally have a boat of our own.”

The cat, standing in the middle of the boat, turned her head to look at him upon hearing his words. Then, she glanced around at their surroundings before replying, “Three taels and six qian of silver.”

“But now that we have a boat, we can go out to sea. We can fish, catch squid, and cuttlefish—all the things you love to eat. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“It sounds fun,” she replied with a flick of her tail.

“Then that settles it.”

“Three taels and six qian of silver,” the cat muttered again.

“Lady Calico, you must understand...” Song You said as he rowed the boat.

He then recited a poem, “

Youth is fleeting, it won’t long remain,

So spend freely the coin by your bed for wine's gain.

”

Whoosh!

The swallow swooped down from the sky and landed on the boat’s bow.

At dusk, the small boat glided along the coastline, while the jujube-red horse slowly followed along the shore.

The Daoist on the boat was talking to his cat.

“Wine’s gain?”

“Lady Calico, you’ve studied poetry long enough to know that’s just a metaphor,” Song You explained patiently. “Life is short, and youth even shorter. You must cherish the best of your years while you still have the energy to enjoy them. Don’t be stingy with money—seize the moment and indulge in life’s pleasures. The future Lady Calico will surely thank you for it.”

“Hmm...” The cat seemed thoughtful, staring intently at the Daoist.

The swallow, perched on the bow, lazily preened his feathers.

After a long moment, the cat softly murmured, “I understand... I definitely understand...”

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

She had long been diligently studying poetry, so she naturally understood simple references like “wine’s gain” or metaphors of that sort.