Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 126

Chapter 126

Sunlight dappled the surface of the central park lake, the sparkling ripples quick and gentle. The banks were now filled with more people playing with their children.

The previously withered landscape of the park was quietly bursting with spring colors. The tender buds on the branches, the newly sprouted twigs, and the gradually rising temperature signaled that spring was drawing nearer.

The temperature was up today, and the sun was so warm that it made Nuo Nuo, sitting in the temporary tent, drowsy.

The nearby coffee shop was currently shrouded in an opaque canvas, from behind which the sounds of electric drills and various hammers could be faintly heard. In this environment, Nuo Nuo sat on a chair, propping her head up with one hand, so sleepy her eyes were nearly closing.

Spring fatigue, autumn drowsiness, summer naps—Nuo Nuo felt she was already entering the first stage.

Just as she closed her eyes, planning to take a quick nap in the midday sun, she thought she heard someone calling her name. Initially, Nuo Nuo thought she was dreaming, but when she truly heard a familiar voice, she raised her head in surprise.

Shan Ling, with her back to the sun, placed the milk tea and takeout on the simple folding table in front of her. She bent slightly, looking at Nuo Nuo and saying, “What’s wrong with you? You look like you’re about to fall asleep. Did you not rest well yesterday?”

When Nuo Nuo saw ‘the boss’s girlfriend,’ she yawned widely, resting her head on the table and complaining to Shan Ling: “Xiao Ling, setting up a stall to sell coffee is so boring! I haven’t sold a single packet of coffee today, and I drank two myself, but even that couldn’t stop the overwhelming drowsiness attacking me.”

Shan Ling glanced at the large boxes stacked inside the tent. She heard they were all instant coffee packets, moved out during the day to sell and then returned to the shop at night, repeating the process the next day.

“Business isn’t good today?” Shan Ling pulled up a chair and sat next to Nuo Nuo at the table. She opened the takeout bag and said, “Look what delicious food I brought you today!”

Shan Ling pulled out everything from the bag as if performing magic.

A serving of fish fillet porridge, a serving of lean meat porridge, a vegetable stir-fry platter, a spicy chicken dish, two servings of rice, plus two cups of milk tea they brought—it was a feast that seemed to have dropped from the sky!

“Wow, it smells so good! I completely forgot to order takeout for lunch.” Nuo Nuo didn’t stand on ceremony with Shan Ling. She smiled and said, “I’ll take the fish fillet porridge, how about you take the lean meat porridge?”

“Either is fine with me.” Shan Ling also didn’t hesitate. She quickly tore open the packaging, took a sip of her hot lean meat porridge, and commented, “This porridge is decent, but not as good as the one I had before.”

Nuo Nuo grabbed a piece of spicy chicken and ate it, exclaiming, “I’m not sleepy anymore! Coffee didn’t wake me up, but the spicy chicken did. Looks like I need to have a backup plan in the future.”

The two ate lunch while chatting.

“Hey, why did you come alone today? Where’s the boss?” Nuo Nuo asked curiously.

Shan Ling took a sip of porridge and said, “She went to a professor’s house today. She had been there before. That Professor Hu wants her to help restore a book, and Yiyi is going back to check on it today.”

It was for this reason that Shan Ling didn’t go along. She was truly scared. Just thinking about Professor Hu and Hu Aicai made Shan Ling’s feet sweat.

She admitted she was a coward and simply didn’t dare to approach Professor Hu.

Shen Qingyi naturally saw this. Thinking about how afraid Shan Ling was, she didn’t force her to come along. Since Professor Hu was not a bad person, Shen Qingyi drove over herself and told Shan Ling to go visit Nuo Nuo if she had nothing else to do.

So, Shan Ling was now here accompanying Nuo Nuo.

“I see,” Nuo Nuo said, half-understanding. “I only knew that the boss had a little hobby, collecting and tinkering with old books. I didn’t know she could connect with a professor. Is she restoring a book this time?”

Shan Ling nodded.

Nuo Nuo sighed, “The boss is amazing. She can develop a side hustle outside of work. Unlike me, I just play games and watch TV when I get home, or I tease cats, play with dogs, shop, and travel. How is the boss so rich yet still so hardworking?”

Shan Ling nodded again, agreeing wholeheartedly with Nuo Nuo’s sentiment.

Shen Qingyi was a very insightful person. She knew what she wanted and where to direct her efforts. She lived her life more clearly than most people.

Although she didn’t talk much and often seemed cold and distant, Shan Ling knew she had her own worries and moments of silliness.

Thinking this, Shen Qingyi wasn’t quite the perfect person she seemed.

The two moved on to other topics. Nuo Nuo told Shan Ling, “My little stall hasn’t opened for business these past few days. I suspect all the surrounding customers have forgotten us. Even when the shop only had a few customers a day, it wasn’t this deserted. I wonder if we’ll earn back the renovation costs when the shop finally opens.”

Shan Ling also expressed some concern: “Is the instant coffee not good?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s bad,” Nuo Nuo said, eating her rice. “It’s definitely not as good as the one in the shop, but I don’t think it’s terrible. It’s much better than what’s sold outside, and the price is only a quarter of the original coffee. It’s already very cheap, but no one is coming.”

Shan Ling poked her rice, looking at the large boxes of coffee behind her, and said, “Maybe the promotion wasn’t sufficient? Many people probably don’t know we’ve started selling instant coffee.”

Nuo Nuo thought about it and felt that might be the case.

The two finished their meal. During this time, not a single customer showed up. Nuo Nuo said it was like this every day, and she was starting to get used to it.

Now, the two squatted in front of the large boxes, staring at the rows of coffee packets, deep in thought.

“How about… we give them away on the street,” Shan Ling blinked, suggesting to Nuo Nuo, “One packet per person, just as promotion.”

Nuo Nuo hugged her knees, tilted her head, and asked, “Will the boss hit us?”

Shan Ling pondered for a moment, deciding she probably wouldn’t.

Meanwhile, at Professor Hu’s Bangshan Villa, Shen Qingyi met Hu Aicai, whom she had just seen the other day.

Perhaps the weather was nice today, as Hu Aicai was accompanying Professor Hu to sunbathe in the courtyard. He sat in a solid wood rocking chair, his eyes slightly squinted, looking like a lazy fox.

Shen Qingyi unconsciously slowed her pace. She noticed that the personalities of some sprites could be discerned from their animal nature.

For example, Shan Ling, although human, sometimes felt like a bird.

And Professor Hu, in his sunbathing posture, greatly resembled a content fox who had eaten his fill.

However, she only thought these offensive ideas to herself. Regardless of anything else, Professor Hu was an elder and an academic professor. The respect he deserved could not be taken lightly.

When Shen Qingyi got closer, Hu Aicai looked up at her, her gaze instinctively darting behind her. She was a little disappointed not to see Shan Ling accompanying her.

Shen Qingyi glanced at her, feeling a flicker of annoyance.

Shan Ling didn’t come. Why are you disappointed?

She is my girlfriend.

Hu Aicai had no idea Shen Qingyi was secretly jealous. She sat in her chair and waited for her to approach, then greeted her, “Good afternoon, Miss Shen. Have you eaten?”

“Thank you for your concern, Miss Hu. I’ve already eaten,” Shen Qingyi had grabbed a burger on the way here, quickly finishing her lunch. She came mainly for the book, so eating was not important.

Professor Hu naturally heard Shen Qingyi’s voice. In fact, he knew she had arrived earlier, but sunbathing was too comfortable. As he was getting older, his reactions were slow, and he only opened his eyes when she was right in front of him.

“Miss Shen is here,” Professor Hu got up from his chair, leaning on his cane, and said, “Aicai, make Grandpa a pot of tea. Miss Shen and I are going to the study to talk about something. The weather is so nice today, make the Maofeng tea that someone sent us a few days ago.”

“Yes, Grandpa,” Hu Aicai stood up, tidied the items on the small table, and told Shen Qingyi, “Miss Shen, please go upstairs with my grandpa. He knew you were coming today and has prepared many things.”

Shen Qingyi gently nodded and went up to the third-floor study with Professor Hu.

As a history professor, Professor Hu’s book collection was no smaller than Shen Qingyi’s, and the study was quite large. Even though it wasn’t the first time Shen Qingyi had entered his study, she was always amazed by how much it resembled a small library.

Rows of bookshelves reached directly to the ceiling. Three walls were lined with various books. In the center, there was a redwood desk and a coffee table, surrounded by several armchairs. On the other side of the desk, there was a platform specifically used for calligraphy.

Professor Hu’s study was easily over a hundred square meters. Every time Shen Qingyi was in it, she felt like she was swimming in a sea of books.

Shen Qingyi had observed that most of the books in the study were about history. Even if there were others, they were more or less related to history. Professor Hu didn’t collect many narrative-style books, which Shen Qingyi enjoyed. Most were handwritten historical secrets—unique copies or ancient biographies.

While Shen Qingyi was observing her surroundings, Professor Hu retrieved the box from a nearby bookshelf and motioned for Shen Qingyi to come and look.

“Come here, come here. You didn’t get a close look last time. I’ll open it this time so you can examine it properly,” Professor Hu told Shen Qingyi. “This is a real treasure. I think you changed your mind because you know its value.”

Shen Qingyi walked over, looked at the damaged book, and nodded: “It’s an intangible cultural heritage. There aren’t many Nüshu texts remaining. Every piece is precious.”

“Indeed,” Professor Hu sighed, “Cultural heritage is very precious, so I hope you can restore it and allow it to once again become a witness to history.”

Every book has historical value, just a matter of degree.

When Shen Qingyi first got into this, she only found it interesting. But as she delved deeper, she realized that history was not just about grand, monumental events. Sometimes, a book represented a period of history, recording the memory of a specific person at a specific time.

She looked at the Nüshu lying quietly in the box. Staring at the delicate and elegant script, even though Shen Qingyi didn’t recognize a single character, she inexplicably felt that these characters had a soul, deeply and profoundly recording that significant period of history.

Shen Qingyi could feel the book’s age and weariness. She told Professor Hu, “I will do my best.”

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