Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 428 The Perfect Gift

The little brat was beaten so badly that even Lin Ge and Li Siyu, who had been called over, felt a pang of sympathy. It was only because the little brat was tough and resilient, having been beaten so often before, that he might have really been seriously injured.

To be honest, Lin Ge was quite angry at first about what the little brat had done.

But then he thought about how he wasn't doing this for himself, and he'd already been beaten to a pulp, so his anger gradually subsided.

On the other hand, the act of taking advantage of others is actually very common in both cities and rural areas. Children, seeing this, will inevitably imitate it, which is unavoidable.

Sometimes, even over a few cents, someone might get upset and make a scene. Then the argument escalates to the point of ending up at the police station, with the one who gained an advantage feeling smug, and the one who lost suffering no real loss. If children witness this, they're bound to pick up some unhealthy ideas.

Some even escalate into fights and brawls, with both parties ending up in jail for a few days over a trivial matter. When they return, they brag about it, as if having been to jail makes them seem cool in the eyes of children.

As the discussion progressed, it seemed to return to the issue of education.

However, no matter what, it's still a bit too much for a twelve or thirteen-year-old kid to dare to steal a thousand yuan, especially in front of customers.

He directly increased the 2,700 to 3,700, stealing an extra 1,000. To be honest, that's a lot. Even now, Lin Ge still doesn't know where this kid got the guts.
Incomprehensible.

Could it be simply because the victim was a cat?

Looking down at his body, Lin Ge couldn't help but feel a little sad.

But this silly boy doesn't seem to realize that a cat that can go shopping alone and doesn't even blink at thousands of dollars is not someone an ordinary person can easily mess with?
It's only because the little brat's mother is reasonable enough; otherwise, if Lin Ge had brought this matter to the forefront, the entire Jixi County would have been agonizing over how to resolve it. This isn't just a matter of public opinion; it's also because each of them owes Lin Ge one or even several favors! And favors are the hardest things to repay.

"Mimi, what do you think is the best way to resolve this?"

Seeing that the brat was being beaten so badly by his mother, Lu Dingping couldn't persuade them, so he could only come over and speak kindly to Lin Ge.

"Whatever, as long as I get back the extra money he spent, I won't care anymore."

Lin Ge yawned lazily, not caring much about the rest. As long as he got the smoked rabbit and the gift for the police station went smoothly, he could leave the rest to Jixi County to handle as long as he didn't suffer any losses.

This incident did serve as a reminder to him that he should be more careful when buying things in the future. After all, he's just a cat, and not everyone is rational enough not to take advantage of a cat. While QR code payments are very convenient, it's still good to be mindful of not flaunting your wealth.

It's fortunate that we only encountered a brat this time, but it would be troublesome if we encountered someone who is greedy for money and dared to lay a hand on the police cats at the police station.

If you injured him, you'll definitely have to pay compensation, right?
Wouldn't it be even more of a headache if you accidentally killed someone?

Being a cat is so difficult.

Lin Ge sighed.

So in unfamiliar places, I'll still need to find someone to take care of my poop.

He makes a decision.

On the other end, after receiving Lu Dingping's promise not to pursue the matter, the little boy's mother thanked Lu Dingping profusely.

No matter how bad a child is, he's still your own flesh and blood. It's lucky the police let him go this time. It's best to resolve this on the spot; otherwise, if word gets out, wouldn't the child be ruined? He's still young and doesn't understand; he should be given a chance to change, right?
On the other hand, that cat is also a troublemaker! What if my child gets too bold and succeeds, and then learns to do even worse things from it?

Thinking of something unpleasant, the woman turned around and slapped her son hard on the head again.

The little boy had just wiped away his tears when he was hit again, chipping his teeth, and burst into loud sobs. The woman ignored him, only pulling out her phone and pleading pitifully, "Officer, how can I return this money? Can I just transfer it to you directly? Considering it's my son who made a mistake, can I return an extra hundred yuan as compensation? Or, if all else fails, I'll cancel the deal and return all the money, and take the rabbit back exactly as it is?"

"Mimi?"

Lu Dingping called out to Lin Ge from afar.

"Forget about refunding the money, just give Mimi a thousand yuan worth of rabbits! Also, if you bring a few extra this time, we'll charge you for them too, we won't take advantage of you."

After receiving Lin Ge's approval, Li Siyu turned to Lu Dingping and shouted.

Lin Ge nodded seriously beside him, clearly indicating he wouldn't stoop to such petty gains. Seeing Zheng Mingxing and Li Yiduo rushing over from the police station entrance after hearing the commotion, he jumped off the tricycle and walked towards them.

"Mimi, what happened?"

Summoned by Lu Dingping's phone call, Zheng Mingxing was on edge the whole way. Even though Lu Dingping laughed and said it wasn't a big deal, he couldn't help but worry. Luckily, he saw the cat was safe and sound as soon as he entered the door, otherwise he would have really started overthinking.

"It's nothing. Could you help me take these smoked rabbits back and clean them up a bit? They're gifts for the people at the institute, so it'd be better to tidy them up a bit."

Lingo pointed with his paw at the tricycle over there.

"what is this?"

"A gift for the people at the institute?"

Li Yiduo and Zheng Mingxing spoke at the same time, but as expected, Zheng Mingxing, who had recently become a cat lover, understood Lin Ge's meaning faster. Of course, Li Siyu was the first to understand; she immediately guessed that her cat had bought these things and understood their purpose.

Sigh! There's quite a big difference between men and women.

Lin Ge gave Li Yiduo a disdainful look, then unceremoniously handed over the rest of the work to the two of them, before leisurely following Li Siyu toward the inn.

"Next, I need to think about gifts for the kids, but what fun things can I give them in a place like this? A snake or a hedgehog as pets? Hmm... never mind, I feel like Yang Xiaotong will beat me up! Something normal will do."

Lin Ge was deep in thought, troubled and racking his brains.

Some of the handmade items might be nice, but the ones I just browsed were mostly traditional animal or deity designs, which are a bit tacky for today's kids. The few truly creative ones were just those internet memes and emojis—frankly, these are completely worthless. I don't understand why anyone would turn something meant for online amusement into a craft; how many decent people would actually buy it?

"Zhang Yining and Hu Miao are fine; I saw some cute bamboo flower baskets and such before. But those little rascals are a problem. Should I get them some handmade spinning tops? But I don't know where to buy them!"

When Lin Ge returned to the hostel, he was still worried. Then he saw Li Yiduo carrying in the unpackaged smoked rabbit meat in trip after trip.

Zheng Mingxing, however, seemed to have other matters to attend to at the county bureau and did not return with them.

Li Siyu had already bought a bunch of red plastic bags from a nearby shop halfway there. Now she was carefully wrapping each rabbit separately, leaving a little bit of their hind leg bone sticking out, and then tying them tightly with a small string. After that, she found a large cardboard box and carefully put each rabbit inside.

This girl seems to have the potential to be a virtuous wife and loving mother. I wonder what great thing Li Yiduo did in his past life to be able to be with her in this life!
Lin Ge snorted jealously.

After Li Siyu finished sorting through all the rabbits, she counted forty-five in total. She had originally thought there would be fifty. She had unexpectedly overestimated. That old lady was cunning; in the end, she still managed to take advantage of Lin Ge a little bit.

"Tsk!"

Lin Ge pursed his lips and then put the matter out of his mind.

After a simple dinner, Li Yiduo and Li Siyu, having finished packing their luggage, felt embarrassed by Lin Ge's stare. In the end, Li Siyu gave in and obediently went to rest next door. Lin Ge, having finished his prank, wasn't sleepy at all, so he went to the balcony and stared blankly at the moon.

Before he knew it, the matter in Sichuan Province was over. This incident didn't affect Lin Ge much; he only realized how difficult it was for police officers in both big cities and small counties. Other issues, whether theft or corruption, were really just that—otherwise, it wasn't a big deal!

He received the punishment he deserved, and afterwards, a simple "he deserved it" was enough. However, the incident with Le Fan left Lin Ge feeling somewhat disheartened, while the cycling blogger's self-destructive act and the victim's foolishness filled him with contempt. But regardless, the matter is in the past. He only hoped that similar incidents would decrease in the future, and that the children of Jixi County, receiving a better education, would see some positive changes…

Lost in a jumble of thoughts, Lin Ge wondered why he was being so sentimental. He glanced up at the moon and realized it was all the moon's fault!

‘Crack! ’

Suddenly, a strange, crisp sound caught Lin Ge's attention. Looking down, he saw a small figure struggling to climb over the inn's wall.

He didn't dare go through the main gate, and he was still holding some long things in his hands, probably like sugarcane. It wasn't easy to climb over the wall in this situation, so the kid first threw the things in from the other side of the courtyard wall, then took a running start, grabbed the wall with both hands, and tried to climb up.

"Hiss... Isn't that the kid from earlier today?"

The moonlight peeked through the clouds, revealing half of its face, and Lin Ge could immediately see the little figure downstairs. Its face was still filthy, and it was struggling to climb the wall, kicking its legs wildly, but for some reason, it didn't give up for a long time.

Finding the scene amusing, Lin Ge glanced around and, seeing no sign that Li Yiduo would open the door, jumped onto the balcony railing and circled around it, easily yet dangerously leaping onto the second-floor rain shelter. Following the rain shelter to the edge, he jumped down and landed on the wall.

What seems like a dragon-like feat to humans is effortless for a cat. Lingo slowly walked over to the child, swishing its tail, and quietly watched as the child gritted its teeth and struggled.

Twelve or thirteen years old is still too young. The child is not tall either. How could he climb a wall that is more than two meters high? Even if he used his feet to pull his hands up, his body weight made it impossible for him to put his feet up on the wall as well.

Lin Ge ignored him and just looked back at what he had thrown in.

Lin Ge was taken aback when he saw that it wasn't sugarcane at all, but several long, straight branches. The branches had been peeled and polished smooth, and the natural forks at the ends had been carved out with details such as hilts and jaws. Although it looked very rough to Lin Ge, if he assumed that the boy in front of him had made it himself, Lin Ge had to praise him for his skill.

Even more incredibly, there were four such wooden swords, scattered haphazardly in a corner of the courtyard wall.

What does this kid do all day? If he wastes all his time making these kinds of toys, no wonder he only gets five points on his math test.

Lin Ge sighed and turned to look at the child who couldn't even climb the courtyard wall. To his surprise, their eyes met. The child had stopped climbing and was staring blankly at Lin Ge above him.

"Um, I'm not a thief."

Upon realizing Lin Ge's identity, the child immediately snapped out of his daze, swallowed hard, and quickly tried to explain.

"So, what brings you here? Did Mom beat you up, so you're here to get revenge with a weapon?"

Lin Ge stared quietly at this little rascal who was pretending to be a chivalrous knight-errant in the middle of the night, just like how martial arts TV dramas always portrayed it.

"I'm here to apologize!"

The child stopped worrying about the wall and looked up at Lin Ge, saying, "I was wrong about what happened during the day. I shouldn't have taken advantage of you. Then when I got home at night, I found out that my mom had also done something wrong. Well... there's nothing I can do. There are only so many smoked rabbits at home. I didn't mean to take advantage of you. You can't call the police to arrest her, you hear me? My mom has a really tough job. She not only has to take care of me, but also my grandparents."

Lin Ge's ears twitched; he hadn't expected such a thing to happen in the child's family. As for where the child's father was, he didn't say, so Lin Ge suppressed his curiosity and didn't ask.

"Hmm... those four swords are my treasures. It took me a long time to find and make them. My friends offered me money to buy them, but I refused. I originally planned to make a Seven Swords Descending from Heaven set, but I'll give them to you as compensation."

After saying that, the child jumped off the pedal with a nonchalant air, his face clearly showing his deep reluctance, but he pretended to be indifferent. He patted the dust off his clothes, but his hands were even dirtier, making his clothes even more mushy.

Seeing that Lin Ge was still squatting there quietly staring at him, the child looked up at the courtyard wall, thinking about the four treasures on the other side. He pursed his lips, waved to Lin Ge, and then turned and ran away.

After running quite a distance, he suddenly stopped and turned back to shout at Lin Ge, "We're even now! Next time you come to my house, I'll treat you to spicy rabbit heads!"

After saying that, he turned and disappeared around the corner.

"..."

Lin Ge watched the child run away quietly, and he could vaguely hear a sob in his voice. But after thinking about it, he didn't return the four swords on the ground. After all, no matter what, the kid's pride was quite amusing.

"Is that child here to apologize?"

Suddenly, Li Yiduo's voice came from behind. He was holding one of the swords that the child had thrown at him, and he was showing off a sword move, which seemed quite interesting. The main reason was that this sword was indeed rare. The blade was straight without any curves, and it even had a slight ridge shape cut out of it.

Li Yiduo judged that it must have been carved slowly and carefully, bit by bit, using a child's pencil sharpener. Whether it was worth it or not is another matter, but the effort involved was definitely considerable. Add to that the almost perfectly symmetrical natural hilt, and it becomes even rarer and more precious.

Li Yiduo became increasingly interested after playing with the swords for a while, then picked up a second one from the ground and happily twirled around, practicing his double swords.

"A man is a boy until he dies!"

Seeing Li Yiduo's childish behavior, Lin Ge sighed. Li Siyu, who rushed out after hearing the commotion, covered her mouth and laughed as she watched her boyfriend act like a child, even eagerly trying to bite the third sword in his mouth.

"Mimi, behold my Three-Sword Style Zoro!"

Li Yiduo struck a classic pose reminiscent of a Japanese swordsman from a Japanese anime.

"Don't get all that drool on it, you idiot!"

Lin Ge couldn't help but roar, glaring fiercely at the childish boy, telling him to put the swords away obediently. At that moment, he had already made his decision: these swords would be gifts for the three little devils! Swords made by children of the same age would surely suit the tastes of their peers.

To be honest, if he hadn't turned into a cat, Lin Ge himself would have liked to play with it like Li Yiduo; it really seems quite interesting.

"Mimi, can you give me one? I'll find a professional craftsman to polish it a bit, keeping its original color, and turn it into a real natural greatsword."

Li Yiduo was still a little reluctant to part with it, but since Li Siyu had taken the sword, he couldn't take it back. For some reason, the more he looked at it, the more captivated and amused he became, even more so than the wooden swords made by professionals.

"Don't even think about it!"

Lin Ge glared at Li Yiduo. He didn't even have enough swords for himself! Besides giving one to Nie Zhuangzhuang, Xie Zaiqi, and Zheng Jiacheng, he planned to keep the other one for Xie Tailong. The case in Xizhong City was largely thanks to this guy's help.

As for Luo Jue, there's really nothing we can do. I doubt the child would envy something like this; I'll find him a more suitable gift tomorrow.

With regret in his heart, Lin Ge urged Li Siyu to quickly put away the four swords so that Li Yiduo wouldn't steal them.

"mean!"

Li Yiduo was both amused and annoyed. After Li Siyu hugged all four swords to her arms, he put his arm around her shoulder and turned to leave. He pushed Li Siyu into his room, then slammed the door shut, locking Lin Ge out.

"You're asking for it!"

Lin Ge's eyes widened, ready to explode, while simultaneously sneering dismissively that a mere door couldn't stop him. Climbing through a window—wasn't that a piece of cake for a cat?
Just then, Lin Ge suddenly heard Li Siyu's exclamation and the sound of her words being muffled from the other side of the door. He sighed, shook his head, and turned to go to the room next door where Li Siyu's door was not closed.

"I'll let you off this time, you bastard!"

With a kick, Lin Ge slammed the door shut.

(End of this chapter)