Business had come knocking, and of course, she would take it.
Qian Xuan's British Shorthair had long been famous throughout the entire building for its expensive and delicate nature—a true money-guzzling little emperor.
"You trust me to take care of her?" After agreeing, Lin Lan couldn't help but joke.
"Why wouldn't I?" Qian Xuan glanced at the Ragdoll cat still nestled in Lin Lan's arms. "You took such good care of this one when you found it. I'm sure you'll do even better with my Niu Niu."
Back when Lin Lan first picked up Sapphire, nobody in the building was optimistic. Everyone thought the kitten wouldn't make it and that the money spent on its treatment would be wasted.
And now?
Sapphire was the star attraction of this cat café, with customers coming daily to cuddle, hold, and fawn over it.
Moreover, it was incredibly healthy, hardly ever heard to be sick.
"I really don't know how you do it, taking care of so many delicate pedigree cats so well." Thinking about how much effort it took her just to care for Niu Niu, and then looking at how Lin Lan managed a whole crowd in perfect order, Qian Xuan couldn't help but sigh at the stark comparison.
Well, of course. She had strictly ordered all those cats to report to her immediately if they felt any pain or itchiness.
That's what Lin Lan thought to herself, but her words were different: "It's probably because I've become a VIP client at Doctor Liu's clinic. I can take the kittens there for free check-ups every month."
"There's such a thing?" Qian Xuan was shocked, then wore an expression of having missed out. "I've spent quite a bit at Doctor Liu's too, and I never got such a perk. No way, I'm going to talk to him!"
Worried that the pet clinic might be closed by now, Qian Xuan said a quick goodbye and hurriedly rushed out of the tea house, determined to demand a loyal customer discount from Doctor Liu.
"She's certainly a whirlwind of energy," Song Xinmin couldn't help but comment upon seeing this.
"That's how career women should be. Otherwise, how could they work, earn money, and compete with men for promotions and raises?" Tang Xiaoya beside him didn't find it strange at all. This equally decisive young woman turned to Lin Lan. "Boss, since we both have time today, why don't you take me to see the apartments on the upper floors? Let's pick one early, and we can sign the rental contract today. I'm moving in next Wednesday."
Song Xinmin: "..." This female colleague was even more formidable than the last one.
"Alright." Lin Lan didn't dawdle either. She put Sapphire down. "Help me take all the cats upstairs, and then I'll show you the apartments."
The three of them worked together. The cats, who had already proactively entered their carriers waiting to be moved upstairs, were soon delivered to the living room of the Lin family's old apartment on the third floor. Then, Song Xinmin went home, while Lin Lan took Tang Xiaoya to view the apartments.
"All three suites on the second floor are occupied, so let's start looking from the fourth floor upwards." Lin Lan briefly explained the rental situation of the building to Tang Xiaoya. "There happens to be one vacant apartment on each of the three floors above. There are no more single rooms available for splitting and sharing."
Tang Xiaoya waved her hand directly. "Once you plan to have a cat, how can you share an apartment with others? I definitely want a suite. As long as you, Boss, are willing to give me a reasonable rent, and if there's an employee discount, that would be even better!"
Lin Lan laughed heartily, shaking the large bunch of keys in her hand. "There should be a discount, but given the location of this building, I definitely can't give you too much of a break."
Chatting and laughing, the two began viewing the apartments. Tang Xiaoya also carefully observed the building's environment and soon noticed that not only was the exterior wall beautifully constructed, but the interior was also very well-maintained.
The stairwells were clean and tidy, with no clutter or garbage piled outside any household's door. Even the milk boxes were neatly and uniformly nailed in place. Fire extinguisher cabinets were installed on the walls at every staircase landing and corridor. Walking down the hallway, Tang Xiaoya could even smell a faint scent of disinfectant.
"Every month around the middle, we disinfect the stairs and corridors on all floors and check the cleanliness. If any tenant likes to litter in the hallway or tends to pile up clutter, we directly ask them to move out according to the contract they signed." Lin Lan intermittently gave Tang Xiaoya introductions and pointed to a discreet corner of the hallway. "See that? That's a security camera. It captures the entire corridor. Whatever anyone does in the hallway is recorded clearly. Even if it goes to the police, no one can deny it."
"Wow, that's practically apartment-level service," Tang Xiaoya couldn't help but exclaim, her satisfaction and sense of security with the building skyrocketing.
"Of course. This is our family's only property. How can we not take good care of it?" Lin Lan said matter-of-factly.
That's true. Tang Xiaoya nodded in understanding. Being a landlady was also a profession; the main job couldn't possibly be as leisurely as just collecting rent.
While they talked, they had already viewed all the vacant apartments on the three floors. After careful consideration, Tang Xiaoya finally chose the middle unit on the fourth floor.
"The fourth floor is quite good. The tenants on your left and right are both young people. You might have something to chat about if you run into them." Lin Lan introduced to Tang Xiaoya, "One of the tenants you just met—Qian Xuan, who was about to bring her British Shorthair for boarding."
Tang Xiaoya had no complaints about these aspects. The only regret was the floor: "Actually, I don't mind whether it's an end unit or a middle unit. I just think climbing up and down four flights of stairs every day might be a bit tiring. It would be great if your building had an elevator, or if there was a vacant suite on the second floor."
An elevator? In her family's six-story building?
Lin Lan had never considered this question. Having grown up in this building, she was completely accustomed to climbing up and down even to the sixth floor.
Just as she was thinking of how to respond, a surprised female voice came from the staircase below: "You want to rent the second floor? I'll swap with you!"
Lin Lan looked up and saw the second-floor tenant, Miss Wei, looking happily at them as they descended the stairs. She was still carrying her work backpack, clearly just off work.
"Miss Wei, what a surprise. You're actually not working overtime today?" This was the unfortunate tenant whose place had been raided and damaged by the Maine Coon, Mercury. After adopting Mercury, Lin Lan had contacted her again to settle the compensation. Some time had passed, but Miss Wei still looked just as haggard.
Hearing the young landlady's greeting, Miss Wei let out a weak chuckle. "The company's annual party is coming up, so it's just a temporary reprieve from the death sentence. After that, during the Spring Festival, someone has to stay behind to maintain the servers. Who knows which unlucky soul will be chosen."
Yes, Miss Wei was a female programmer (programmeur), earning well but with a high risk of being worked to death—a primary customer base for various brands of ginger-based shampoos.
"Let's not talk about that. You were discussing renting just now, right?" Miss Wei looked up at Tang Xiaoya, her eyes shining. "If you want the second floor, I'll swap with you! I'll move upstairs, and you can have this one."
"Why?" Although it was a good thing, Tang Xiaoya didn't understand.
"Is there something wrong with the second floor?" The young landlady, Lin Lan, grew even more concerned. "If there's any trouble, please tell me. I'll help you resolve it."
"It's not about the apartment," Miss Wei quickly waved her hands, looking somewhat embarrassed. "It's more my own issue, I suppose. Ever since the cat incident last time, I've felt uncomfortable, so I'd like to live a bit higher up."
She put it delicately, but Lin Lan understood perfectly.
Miss Wei was still spooked by the incident of the one-meter-long cat sneaking in to steal food at midnight. Even though the matter had been resolved long ago, it left a bit of a shadow on her mind. She figured living higher up would prevent anything like that from happening again.
Shuiyin, you really are a cat with a heavy load of sins.
No, thinking about how Shuiyin would later move back into that second-floor room with Tang Xiaoya, Lin Lan felt even more that the workings of fate were truly subtle.
After Tang Xiaoya briefly learned the whole story and heard that Shuiyin had been found in that very apartment, she agreed without a second thought.
Miss Wei was also delighted, and the two of them turned their expectant gazes towards Lin Lan.
"No problem," Lin Lan nodded. "If you both have no objections, I'll take you downstairs to find my dad. You can just re-sign the rental contract then."
While inwardly marveling at the twist of fate, she hadn't yet realized that the room next to Miss Wei's was precisely the one rented by Miss Wang. Tang Xiaoya and Wang Jiayi were about to become neighbors in three days. What would happen afterward, no one knew.
But she didn't have time to dwell on it. After settling the tenant matter, Lin Lan went upstairs, changed her clothes in her room, and prepared to go out.
"Mom, Dad, Grandma, I won't be home for dinner," Lin Lan announced to her family after freshening up, giving a quick pet to the kittens rubbing against her legs, and slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago, I'm treating Cheng Fengyang to a meal. He's finally free today, so I'm taking him to Old Zhou's BBQ place on Back Street for some skewers."
The Lin family was aware of this. They didn't react much to their daughter treating someone to dinner, but Lin Youyu, who often hung around Back Street in the urban village, chimed in, "Old Zhou's BBQ place? It got an upgrade on New Year's Day! It's called Old Zhou's Hotpot & BBQ now!"
"Huh?" Lin Lan, who had been busy with the shop opening around New Year's and hadn't had time to visit Back Street, paused while putting on her shoes. "They added hotpot now? Their BBQ business was always good, why add another item?"
As she spoke, the Siamese cat Jintan playfully jumped onto her shoulder: "Meow!" (Lanlan, where are you going?)
Lin Lan was just about to pluck him off her shoulder when the silver shaded British shorthair Naitang also leaped onto her back: "Meow!" (Not staying to eat? I smell salmon cat food!)
"Stop it, I have to go out," Lin Lan had to deal with these clingy little cats first. "The cat food will be brought over by your grandpa and grandma in a bit. Eat it and then go back to your beds to sleep, okay? I'll bring back some dried grilled fish strips for you later, alright?"
Hearing that the food-bringer would bring back treats, the kittens immediately became well-behaved, letting Lin Lan pick them up one by one and put them back, while not forgetting to meow at her: (Lanlan, bring back lots!)
In your dreams. One strip per cat at most. You already have proper cat food and still want more snacks? You bottomless-pit felines will eat yourselves sick.
While she was tangled up with the cats, Lin Youyu continued talking: "It's their eldest son. He worked at a company in the capital for a few years but wasn't doing well, so he came back. Said he always had to act subservient to his bosses at work and even had his credit stolen by them. He couldn't stand that nonsense, had a blow-up, and came back. He chatted with me the other day, said being a white-collar worker isn't as good as being your own boss."
Lin Youyu shared the news he'd heard directly with the family. Glancing at his daughter still playing with the cats, he couldn't help but shake his head. "You young folks are really different from our generation. People back then, if they could get a formal job, would stick with it until they died, never quit."
Finally having returned all the relentlessly affectionate cats to the floor mat area and walked back to the door, Lin Lan chuckled. "Why don't you mention how college graduates were assigned jobs back then? Not like now, where unless you study to the very top, preferably from a prestigious school, an average bachelor's degree is the most awkward—too good for some jobs, not good enough for others, it's the worst. The Zhou family's BBQ place makes a pretty penny every year. Being a profitable self-employed boss is definitely better than being a lowly white-collar worker. On that note, I have to thank the elders of the Lin family. Thank you for letting me become this kind of self-employed person too, and even more relaxed and carefree than the Zhous. I'm off now, love you all!"
At the end, she jokingly blew a kiss towards the elders at home and pushed the door open to leave.
The Lin family elders, momentarily stunned by her final rhetorical flourish, stared blankly as the door closed. Coming to their senses, they could only laugh and shake their heads. This daughter of theirs.
