Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 528 Climbing the Mountain (Please Subscribe)

"Lili, put this under your butt."

Hu Miao took out a folded large water bag from her backpack, giggled, and told Wei Li to stick his butt out so she could put it under the cushion.

We don't need this now, but we'll need it after lunch. We'll use this big water bag to wash our faces and pots at night; it's said to be able to hold over 100 kilograms of water when fully expanded.

Wei Li glared at Hu Miao with a slight blush, but still used his hands to support himself and stand up slightly so that Hu Miao could put the water bag on the wheelchair and then rearrange the seat cushion.

Sitting down felt a little awkward, with some parts feeling quite stiff. But Wei Li knew he was actually a huge burden on this hiking trip, so he really wanted to do as much as possible to help the team. What did a little discomfort matter?

Wei Li even asked Nie Zhuangzhuang and Zheng Jiacheng to put their backpacks on the armrests of their wheelchairs, but the two boys refused.

Xie Zaiqi came over with a smile, hoping to lighten the burden, but was shooed away by the three girls rolling their eyes at him.

This guy actually brought a game console; doesn't that defeat the purpose of a picnic?

The six of them had originally planned for Xie Zaiqi to bring a deck of cards so they could pass the time in the evenings. But Xie Zaiqi brought a game console and a tablet—wasn't that clearly just a way to let the boys play while the girls listened from the sidelines?

"We can snatch his tablet and watch anime in our sleeping bags at night."

Hu Miao pushed her wheelchair closer to Zhang Yining, then glanced discreetly at the three boys striding ahead and said, "My cousin recommended a classic anime to me. He said if I don't cry while watching it, he'll double my birthday red envelope. I want to see what kind of anime is so amazing that it can make me, Hu Miao, cry? I didn't even cry when I watched Titanic. Is this mere anime underestimating Queen Hu Miao?"

"But when you watched Puella Magi Madoka Magica, didn't you cry buckets from the very beginning?"

Zhang Yining pushed the wheelchair with difficulty while glancing back at Hu Miao.

Hu Miao blushed slightly, then stubbornly pouted and said, "How can that be? One anime like Madoka Magica is already terrifying enough! I don't believe there's any anime that can make people feel more heartbroken than Madoka Magica! Even for a red envelope, I definitely won't cry!"

"What... is that little circle?"

Wei Li spoke up curiously, clearly this was a world she had never been to before, but she hoped to have more to talk about with her good friend.

Knowing Wei Li's family circumstances and her grandmother's personality, Zhang Yining smiled and said, "It's a tearjerker animation! If you want to watch it, let's get together at my house or Hu Miao's house tomorrow or next week and watch it together again."

"Ok!"

"Tch! You want to watch it again? Let me make this clear, I'll only watch the first two episodes at most, I can't stand watching any more."

"Coward! Oh, by the way, you still haven't told me what your cousin showed you."

"He called CLAN something? He also kept saying things like 'CL is my forever fan' or something, but I don't understand any of it. I'll find out once I search it up!"

Hu Miao tossed her hair defiantly, somewhat annoyed by Zhang Yining and Wei Li's curiosity. She admitted to being a sentimental girl, but crying at the drop of a hat was a bit of an exaggeration.

"Let's watch this together tonight."

Wei Li nodded emphatically; it was the first time she had ever watched a cartoon with a friend her own age!

"Should we buy some potato chips? Eating is definitely the best option if you want to stop crying, right?"

Zhang Yining pointed to a supermarket on the side of the road.

"..."

Hu Miao really wanted to criticize Zhang Yining for looking down on her, but remembering her cousin's confident demeanor, she backed down. Nodding and ignoring the three boys, the three girls sneaked into the supermarket.

"What about people?"

Nie Zhuangzhuang turned around by chance and found that the three girls who should have been following behind him, as well as Mimi, had all disappeared.

"what's the situation?"

The three abandoned guys stopped and looked around, but still couldn't see the three girls. They exchanged glances, suddenly panicked, unsure whether to keep going, wait for them, or turn back to look for them.

Fortunately, Lin Ge popped his head out of the supermarket and yelled, finally letting the three idiots know where the girls had gone.

"Hey! Why didn't you call us..."

Xie Zaiqi, who rushed into the supermarket, hadn't even finished speaking when his vision was filled with a bunch of potato chip cans. He hurriedly grabbed the cans, but Hu Miao then casually tossed him two rows of Wahaha drinks.

"Shut up! I'll treat you to food, so just behave yourselves as porters!"

"Didn't we agree to not buy snacks and to be self-reliant?"

Zheng Jiacheng was puzzled. How come the story had changed several times before they even went up the mountain? From half a day to a full day to staying overnight, what happened to the boys' right to voice their opinions?!

"This is for tonight's midnight snack!"

Zhang Yining wrung out several bags of spicy dried fish and stuffed them all into Zheng Jiacheng's arms.

The boy immediately fell silent, and the smartest of them all, Nie Zhuangzhuang, didn't utter a single word from beginning to end. He had already learned a lesson from his time at home: never question a woman who has made a decision, or it will cause a lot of trouble.

Hu Miao and Zhang Yining each bought several tens of yuan worth of items, and Wei Li also bought some, filling two large plastic bags to the brim.

They didn't intend to leave all the hard work to a few laborers. They took Xie Zaiqi's backpack and hung it upside down on Wei Li's wheelchair armrest, then let Xie Zaiqi handle the snacks and drinks before signaling that they could officially set off.

"Well! You cunning little girls, Xie Zaiqi was so eager to play games with Zheng Jiacheng tonight, but now all his equipment has been confiscated."

Lin Ge shook his head from behind.

The sight of the three women snickering and the bewildered expressions of the three fools left Lin Ge speechless.

Of course, Lin Ge didn't intend to remind those three idiots; he couldn't blame anyone else for not realizing it himself. Soon they reached the uphill slope, which was quite steep with narrow, unobstructed steps. Nie Zhuangzhuang returned and took the wheelchair armrests from Zhang Yining.

Of the six little devils, he was undoubtedly the strongest, so he was definitely the one to take charge of this slightly more difficult task.

But Zhang Yining didn't let Nie Zhuangzhuang work too hard; she took his backpack from him. The backpack, filled with pots and pans, was unexpectedly heavy, and Zhang Yining even groaned a little as she carried it, but she still shook her head and refused Hu Miao's help.

The group began their ascent, and this steep slope, over two hundred meters long, was the first major hurdle. The fact that Wei Li had mobility issues added even more difficulty to the hike.

After pushing the wheelchair up a third of the way, Nie Zhuangzhuang was already panting heavily. Xie Zaiqi then offered to help, making it much easier for the two boys to push together. Hu Miao, as usual, took the snacks from Xie Zaiqi, completely taking control of distributing the game snacks.

No one asked Zheng Jiacheng for help, because this kid actually had a tough time.

His backpack contained vital water supplies; if anything happened, the entire outing would be ruined. And to be honest, that full bag of water, plus the fishing rod he'd brought on his own initiative, was quite heavy.

Of all the people present, only Lin Ge seemed completely relaxed. He didn't ask anyone to help him climb up; instead, he looked around as he went.

I hadn't walked more than a hundred meters when I could clearly smell how much fresher the air was. Especially since the sun was just rising and the moisture in the air hadn't completely evaporated, every breath I took in carried the sweet, fresh scent of green leaves.

Lingo wagged its tail contentedly, gradually looking forward to the mountain climbing trip.

After walking for about twenty minutes, we finally finished climbing the steep slope.

The five little ones were all exhausted, panting heavily, which made Wei Li, sitting in his wheelchair, feel even more guilty. But seeing Wei Li like this, they all waved their hands and said it was nothing, Xie Zaiqi even patted his ribcage and said it was no big deal, he could climb it again.

After all, playing together is the most fun for kids. It's always better to have all the friends together; it just doesn't feel right if one is missing.

After climbing this section, the next part is a more comfortable paved mountain path. It has a slight incline and is quite fun with its ups and downs. Especially when Hu Miao is pushing the wheelchair, she will deliberately speed up or even let go on the downhill sections, scaring Wei Li into screaming. To be honest, this behavior is a bit dangerous; if he gets jolted or loses his grip, it could lead to serious problems. Therefore, after realizing that Hu Miao was being somewhat reckless, Lin Ge and Zhang Yining stopped her from continuing her antics.

"The air is so fresh!"

They arrived at a rest stop and relaxed. No longer in a hurry, they leisurely squatted down to eat, looking around. It was a beautiful octagonal pavilion, where the six children chatted and drank water with great interest, gazing into the distance. Through the green forest before them, they could see that distant residential areas and even buildings had become delicate little squares. The cars on the road seemed to crawl like ants, and even the overpasses appeared straight and small. Looking up into the distance, the seemingly endless view was truly breathtaking.

Everyone drank water to lighten Zheng Jiacheng's burden, then rested, chatted, and joked around. They took out their phones and cameras to take pictures of each other, taking funny photos and even maliciously photoshopping them. The playful banter seemed to brighten up the quiet forest.

Occasionally, passersby exercising or elderly people strolling slowly would see these six young faces and smile with admiration, involuntarily thinking to themselves, "It's so good to be young."

After resting for about half an hour, the six people continued their journey.

This time, they decided to climb all the way to the middle TV tower, which was their intermediate goal. Although Hu Miao and Zhang Yining had already taken care of negotiating with the security guards, the kids would definitely need more time to cook, and with limited kitchen utensils, who knew how long it would take? However, the six little ones were quite good at planning, and they had everything arranged in advance, including what to do and when.

Not far ahead, Lin Ge suddenly saw five people gathered and resting by the roadside.

Two women, one slightly older and the other around thirty, were sitting on a roadside bench peeling apples. The younger woman was peeling the apples in thin slices, leaving bits of peel scattered all over the ground, which made Lin Ge frown.

The other three were an old man and two young men, who were smoking and pointing at the scenery below the mountain.

Getting excited, the old man turned to the slightly older young man and said, "Come on! Daqiang, take a picture of me and your brother! Yes, take a picture facing the city center! Your sister's new house is in that area, it's so beautiful!"

"Isn't that because you found her a good son-in-law? Come on, brother, stand next to our dad, I'll take a picture of you two together."

The young man named Daqiang didn't say much, just took out his phone and made a gesture, then gestured to the young man next to him who was probably his son-in-law to quickly go to his father's side.

Once the two were in position, Daqiang snapped several photos in quick succession.

They were still not satisfied and wanted to take more pictures, but the old man suddenly waved his hand.

"Wait a minute, I'm throwing away a cigarette butt."

After saying that, he didn't use his hands, but turned his head and aimed at the ground by the roadside. With a "whoosh," he spat out the cigarette butt, which landed on two unknown green grass leaves.

After finishing, the old man put his arm around the shoulder of the young man who seemed a bit conflicted and helped him get back into position.

"Alright! Let's continue, shoot some younger shots!"

"okay!"

"Grandpa! You can't just throw cigarette butts around like that!"

Suddenly, a clear, crisp voice burst into the frame.

It was Zhang Yining, who was supposed to be just passing by, who brazenly barged into the group.

Ignoring the surprised expressions on their faces, she went over and picked up the still-smoking cigarette butt. "This cigarette butt isn't out yet! It'll be a problem if it ignites something. It's windy today; it could start a wildfire."

As he spoke, Zhang Yining looked around but couldn't find a trash can, so he pinched the cigarette butt and poked it out in the dirt, then took out a tissue, wrapped it up, and put it in his pocket.

"..."

Lin Ge's brows were furrowed deeply.

The cigarette butt was covered in old man's saliva. How could Zhang Yining pick it up with his bare hands? It was so dirty! What if he got infected by the old man's bad breath?
Lin Ge made up his mind that once these people were out of sight, he would force the girl to wash her hands, and she had to wash them several times!
On the other side, Zhang Yining's behavior made the expressions of the others on this side very awkward.

But the other party happened to be a child, and what they said made a lot of sense, so even if they wanted to get angry, they couldn't find a reason to do so.

That must be the young man who is the son-in-law, probably the most moral one. Actually, he had wanted to say that earlier, but since his father-in-law was newly married, it was really difficult to bring it up.

Seeing his brother-in-law's eyes widen as if he was about to explode, he quickly apologized to Zhang Yining, saying, "I'm sorry, little sister, we weren't paying attention. It was our fault, thank you for reminding me! I'll be more careful next time and definitely won't litter cigarette butts anymore."

Zhang Yining didn't respond, but smiled and returned to the team.

The old man was still criticizing something, but Zhang Yining acted as if he hadn't heard him.

"Tch! Littering everywhere, what kind of manners is that? You expect sanitation workers to climb such a high mountain every day to pick it up for you? Humph!"

Hu Miao held her head high with pride, unable to resist supporting Zhang Yining.

The main problem is that these people are really outrageous. If you want to peel an apple, you should use a bag! There's a bag for water and fruit right next to your butt. Why make room for it and waste so much time? Now look what they've done, making a mess of trash everywhere.

"Ow!"

Lin Ge interrupted Hu Miao's rambling and gestured for her to get lost.

Six little ones are getting into a fight with five adults. If they anger them and get beaten up, who will help them soothe the pain?
There were five of them on the other side, and Lin Ge knew that no matter how brave he was, he couldn't possibly stop them all. What if those six little idiots got punched or kicked? How was he going to explain that to their parents?

"You little bitch~"

The old woman was indignant at what Hu Miao said and couldn't help but mutter a couple of things, but her daughter next to her clapped her hands to stop her.

"Let's go! We still have a long way to go! What if they beat someone up? What will happen to Wei Li?"

Zheng Jiacheng was a little scared and quickly urged the others to leave.

With Lin Ge giving her a disapproving look, Hu Miao dared not say anything more. She could only grunt, stride confidently, and avoid the five people.

Lin Ge kept his eyes fixed on the five people, especially the old man who kept cursing and his son. Fortunately, his son-in-law whispered a dissuasion, and nothing else happened. The two sides then separated, and Lin Ge urged the six children to walk away.

"They just litter cigarette butts on the mountain without even stepping on them! What kind of people are these?!"

Xie Zaiqi, that little coward, didn't dare to speak until the person was out of sight. He turned back and shouted twice at the road, looking all righteous and proud.

The others were familiar with his personality, and at this moment they didn't even feel like looking down on him. Nie Zhuangzhuang simply pushed Xie Zaiqi forward, indicating that it was this lazy guy's turn to push the wheelchair, and that he shouldn't pretend to be a hero here.

"Hmph! You won't be allowed to play on the tablet later!"

Xie Zaiqi muttered to himself, but still obediently came over to work. This was something that had been agreed upon from the beginning: the five of them would do their best to help Wei Li and become good friends with her without ever looking down on her.

Even if Xie Zaiqi has many flaws, he won't perform badly in this aspect.

The group walked around, stopping and starting, playing and having fun, and before they knew it, it was noon.

When Lin Ge arrived at the site of the old TV tower, he suddenly realized that the family of five who had almost had a conflict earlier had somehow walked ahead of him.

The five people were eating and drinking in a pavilion at the foot of the TV tower, with a table full of various cooked foods and beer. When they saw Lin Ge and the six little ones coming over, the old man grunted and turned away, ignoring them, and started cursing again.

The old man seemed to wield considerable authority in the household, and the other four could only quietly change the subject without daring to offer any advice. The son-in-law, in particular, looked conflicted, and could only shake his head helplessly at his newlywed wife.

"Let's go away, we don't want to see them!"

Zhang Yining frowned as she made her decision. Anyway, this place was suitable for picnicking anywhere, so there was no need to stick with people she disliked.

However, Zhang Yining wasn't the only one dissatisfied; the others were also very unhappy with this family. Seeing them eating and drinking, leaving packaging bags and bone fragments all over the ground, Hu Miao quickly urged her companions to move away so they wouldn't have to see it and get annoyed.

"That's quite a distance to fetch water."

Nie Zhuangzhuang sighed.

He saw the water collection point that Uncle Zhang Yong had pointed out, but unfortunately, both the security room and the tap water were located near the pavilion. To get water, he would inevitably have to pass by the pavilion, and he would always run into those same people on his way back and forth.

The old man's words were too harsh, and he would definitely curse at us with sarcastic remarks.

(End of this chapter)