Chapter 114: The Diorama

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

It was Sunday morning. Zhang Zian had just finished playing hide-and-seek with Xinghai and was waiting for customers to come. He was laying on his recliner and kept sending WeChat messages. Xinghai continued playing hide-and-seek with the young kittens. Fina was laying on top of the cat tree taking a nap under the sun. Old Time Tea was sitting next to Zhang Zian, curiously watching him play with his cell phone.

Zhang Zian told Sun Xiaomeng what he had learned about the membership system from Xiao Yan and was waiting for her response.

Attacks from the enemies…

He remembered the warning from the man that wanted to buy Fina. He didn’t take it seriously because he thought the guy was just trying to scare him into selling Fina. The warning from Xiao Yan really drew his attention. He only knew that the man was the super moderator of Wang Haige BBS and he wasn’t sure what he did for a living in real life. Nonetheless, he looked like he was pretty well-off. Apparently, he had nothing to do with Xiao Yan. Both of them warned him about attacks from the enemies.

His parents always taught him to keep a clean mind and live a clean life. He had thought it was just another innocuous generality, but now he realized there had to be a deeper meaning to it. When his parents were alive, he didn’t run the daily operation of the store; his never bothered him with any problems from their business. Maybe they also suffered from enemy attacks…he would never be able to find out.

He looked at his store and tried to put himself in the enemy’s shoes to find a weakness.

He had all his required licenses ready.

Drugs and prostitution? Not very possible. Who would do drugs or hire a prostitute in a pet store…?

"My friend, this thing is convenient!" Old Time Tea sighed as he was looking at his cell phone. "Is this the legendary technique that can transfer sounds from thousands of miles away?"

Guessing from Old Time Tea’s vest, she could be a cat from the Qing Dynasty or the Republican Period of Chinese history. Just like when Fina first came, she showed great interest in modern technology.

"A technique that can transfer sounds from thousands of miles away…well, that sounds right. It is a common thing now. Even children own cell phones these days," Zhang Zian explained.

Old Time Tea turned her eyes away. There was new construction not far away from the store. The tall and heavy-duty cranes were busy transferring building materials. She was emotional and said, "This is the best time I have ever seen. Look at all the new skyscrapers! Isn’t this the Great Harmony that I have been longing for?"

"The Great Harmony… we are not that far back! We are in the modern, yet beginning stages of socialism. We are far from achieving a communist society." Zhang Zian was embarrassed.

Old Time Tea was surprised. "To me, this is 100 times better than the golden age of the Qing Dynasty. So, there is a world even better than this?"

"Well, theoretically," Zhang Zian replied affirmatively, "The road to a bright future is always full of struggles."

"Besides, you can look outside. Even though people’s living standards now are a lot better than in the old days, they are far from being perfect. Some people are still suffering from the cold and hunger. Not everyone can afford an apartment. There is a lot of unfairness and injustice in this world."

The Great Harmony…It might come true, but Zhang Zian didn’t think he would see it during his lifetime.

Old Time Tea nodded. "It is too bad that I am old and weak. Otherwise, I would like to travel around China and witness this magnificent era!"

Zhang Zian thought for a second and laughed. "Well, that’s easy. If you really want to see the outside world, there is a convenient tool. Just wait!"

He quickly ran upstairs and moved the LCD TV from his parents’ bedroom to downstairs. He also brought down the TV box. Old Time Tea liked the electric blanket in the corner. Zhang Zian put the TV and TV box over there. Old Time Tea was curious and wondered what he was doing.

Zhang Zian powered the TV and turned it on.

There were pictures and sounds coming from the TV. Old Time Tea was again amazed. "What is it? A diorama?"

"A diorama…hmmm, more or less. This is a television. It allows you to learn about what is going on around the world without leaving your own house!" Zhang Zian tried to adjust the channels. "Look, this is the news channel. This one is the science channel. If you want to know more about the modern world, you can start with these two. Also, this one is the sports channel and after that is the movie channel… you can think of this as a high-end diorama. This one is the Chinese opera channel. Not sure if you’ll like it… This one is the agricultural channel, which will tell you about agricultural stuff and some news."

Old Time Tea was so attached that she couldn’t even blink her eyes. She agreed, "Hunger breeds discontentment. Agriculture is a big deal that affects people’s lives. It should have its own channel."

"This is TV drama channel. I don’t recommend it for you. The drama is a whole bunch of bullsh*t! They are too unrealistic compared to real life." Zhang Zian turned back to a local channel. "This is a local channel. It tells you some of the local news in Binhai. Of course, any reports that reflect the negative side of society are screened out by the government. You won’t see them!"

"Look, this is a TV remote. It is very easy to use. You only need to know five buttons. The left button and right button are for changing channels. The power button turns the TV on and off, and finally, the volume up and down button. The other buttons are pretty much not useful. Now I am going to turn up the volume," Zhang Zian explained as he turned up the volume. He didn’t turn it up too much because he didn’t want to wake Fina.

Remotes for older TV’s were quite complicated, but the developer had simplified it a lot so that older people could learn it in a snap. After explaining a few times, Old Time Tea understood the operation. She tried changing channels using her paws. At first, she wasn’t good at it, but after a while, she started having fun.

There were too many TV stations and it was difficult for Old Time Tea to remember them all. It didn’t really matter though, because every station was new to her.

At this time, three people appeared at the door. They were Zhao Qi, Liu Wenying and Liu’s daughter, Yue Yue.

"Zhang Zian, we are here to fight for our rights!" Zhao Qi was straightforward.

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