Chapter 9

Wu Ji didn’t reply on his phone.

He came over directly.

“Didn’t you hear any noise last night? My parents live downstairs from you, and the rats gnawed on the window screens all night!”

Wu Ji had two large dark circles under his eyes, looking extremely lethargic.

While chatting on the phone, Feng Yi thought Wu Ji was exaggerating, but now, seeing Feng Yi’s state, it didn’t seem like he had been disturbed at all.

Feng Yi replied, “I just got back last night and didn’t see any rats. Maybe I slept too deeply and didn’t hear anything. I almost forgot about it until you mentioned it. I didn’t even throw the takeout trash into the processor, and I only cleaned up this morning. Didn’t the property management hire a pest control company? Wasn’t it effective?”

“It was effective!” Wu Ji said angrily, “They raided a few underground nests, and then the rats all ran upstairs. People even saw rats running up the walls during the day. Not just our neighborhood, but the surrounding areas are also experiencing a resurgence of rat problems. It’s really frustrating!”

Wu Ji took the bottle of purified water Feng Yi handed him, opened it, and took a couple of sips before continuing, “I don’t think the rats stealing food is a big deal anymore. Because of the resurgence, everyone is a bit on edge, and tempers are getting short. A little thing in the group chat can turn into an argument.

“However, the community leader said that a comprehensive extermination will be carried out, and professionals will be sent to handle it, but some services will cost money. I’ve already registered my and my parents’ apartment numbers, and we’re waiting in line for the extermination. If you need it, you can directly contact the property management and register.”

“Extermination at home?” Feng Yi asked.

“Yes, they’ll come to check where the rats are getting in. The apartment next to mine had someone come over last week. The exhaust pipe, air conditioning holes, and various other openings are all places where rats can get in.

“Because of the exterior wall material, some holes are difficult to seal, and the price is about 80 to 100 yuan per hole. Finding the holes costs around 500 yuan. One household in the group had seven holes sealed for 1200 yuan, 500 for finding the holes and 700 for sealing them. But I think if it can solve the problem once and for all, it’s worth the money. I heard that private pest control companies have raised their prices, but the community’s should be cheaper. It’s like a group buy.

“If you’re not sure, you can also have a professional come to check. You might not know, but in another building in the neighborhood, an owner had a technician come to clean the air conditioner. When the technician opened the outlet, he found a pile of rat droppings...”

Wu Ji looked at the central air conditioning outlet in Feng Yi’s home, “You should also consider scheduling a cleaning.”

Wu Ji’s face fell, pointing to his dark circles and then to the ceiling, “Have you ever experienced a ceiling party at 3 AM?”

“No,” Feng Yi said.

“I don’t know what these rats are eating to get so big. They have no sense of their own weight. They must have found a way into the ceiling and are chasing each other around. I had to wear earplugs to sleep. This morning, I saw that the antique Zen-style carved ceiling that my father really liked had cracked!”

Feng Yi said, “Since you don’t have pets or children, you can use rat poison.”

Wu Ji waved his hand, “You underestimate them. There are now some variants that are resistant to common rat poisons. Strong poisons are strictly regulated and mostly banned. I’m now counting on the rat extermination robots to be available.”

“Didn’t you ask Qian Feiyang to borrow a cat?” Feng Yi asked.

Qian Feiyang was their college classmate who rented a place in the same neighborhood. He didn’t live there initially but started taking on photo editing jobs before graduation. After graduation, he turned it into a full-time job and opened a small photography studio in the neighborhood six months ago. Three months ago, the community organized a stray cat capture and Qian Feiyang, like many others in the nearby neighborhoods, adopted one.

Wu Ji: “He won’t lend it! He said his cat doesn’t catch rats anymore!”

Mentioning this, Wu Ji got angry, “How can a stray cat not catch rats! Someone in the group suggested, ‘If you starve it for a couple of days, it will catch rats on its own,’ and Qian Feiyang replied, ‘I thought so too.’ A few days later, he said, ‘No, when it meows, I forget what I was thinking.’ Unbelievable!”

Wu Ji sighed, “So, I’m still looking forward to the rat extermination robots.”

Feng Yi took out a tea can and handed it over, “Someone gave me two cans. You and Qian Feiyang can share this one.”

“What kind of tea is this?” Wu Ji became interested.

He runs a shop called “Jixiang Tea Garden” at the entrance of the neighborhood. Young people like to have afternoon tea or find a quiet place to work. Elderly people can go there to drink tea, play chess, and chat. There are private tea rooms that don’t disturb each other.

When Feng Yi took out the tea can, Wu Ji forgot about the rat problems.

“Some... unknown farm tea?” Feng Yi didn’t recognize the tea, and Uncle Ya didn’t say what it was.

Feng Yi tried a small amount of the tea leaves in the morning with his breakfast. It had a strange sweetness and was very refreshing. Other than that, he didn’t feel anything special. He wasn’t a tea enthusiast.

Wu Ji took the can with both hands and examined it more carefully than when he took the bottle of water.

The tea can had several layers, with only the top layer containing tea leaves. The lower layers contained unknown powders and granules, which Wu Ji guessed were to “cool down” the newly made tea.

“Is it some secret traditional tea?” Wu Ji asked.

“I don’t know. The whole process takes about two hours,” Feng Yi said.

“Two hours to finish?” Wu Ji thought: That sounds a bit rough.

However, Wu Ji liked various new tea-making methods. He smelled it and felt it wasn’t low-quality tea.

“The person who made it said to let it sit for two days before brewing,” Feng Yi said.

“I know, I understand. I’ll give Qian Feiyang his share later,” Wu Ji carefully put it away.

“By the way, I made plans with Qian Feiyang to go fishing this weekend. A few of the fishing enthusiasts in our neighborhood mentioned that there’s an ecological reserve not far from Rongcheng. There’s a farm outside the reserve, and Old Liu said it’s great for the weekend. I plan to take my parents there for a couple of days, as things have been too stressful lately. Qian Feiyang said he wants to take some photos, so he’s coming too. Do you want to join us? My parents are going to pick vegetables, which I’m not interested in, but the three of us can go fishing!”

Feng Yi recalled his previous fishing experiences: “Fishing? The kind where you cast a hundred times and don’t catch a single fish?”

“No, not this time! Old Liu said it’s great for fishing!” Wu Ji showed Feng Yi a video.

The video showed the neighborhood fishing group having a great time and a bountiful catch.

Considering his situation, Feng Yi said, “If I don’t have anything this weekend, I’ll join you. Do we need to bring our own fishing rods?”

“If you have one, bring it. If not, you can rent one there. We’re just going for fun this time, unlike Old Liu who goes frequently, so renting is fine. They have a full set of fishing gear and bait for sale.”

“Okay.”

After Wu Ji left, Feng Yi checked the air conditioning outlets in his home and didn’t see any signs of rats. In the group chat, the queue for home extermination was already scheduled for next week.

Feng Yi searched online, and all the pest control companies were busy, requiring reservations. He didn’t know when he would be able to get an appointment.

He temporarily gave up on finding a pest control company to come over.

A while later, Feng Yi searched on his phone: “Natural enemies of rats”

The search results showed:

[Cat, snake, eagle, weasel, human, etc.]

Feng Yi then searched: “Natural enemies of snakes”

The search results showed:

[Eagle, honey badger, mongoose, human, etc.]

Feng Yi stroked his chin: “Humans are indeed at the top of the food chain!”

Suddenly, he felt a sense of security.

I’m a human, not a snake, at the top of the food chain! What do I have to fear?!

Putting that aside, Feng Yi decided to drive to the supermarket to stock up. Since the old butler said he would have some changes in the coming days, it was better to stay home more. If the changes were too significant, he wouldn’t join Wu Ji’s weekend trip to the farm.

Wearing a mask, he took the elevator directly to the underground parking lot.

He hadn’t been home for a couple of days and hadn’t used the car.

Unlocking the car door and preparing to get in, Feng Yi suddenly paused.

He closed the car door, opened the trunk, and took out an extended handle grabber. He had bought it two years ago and used it less than five times, keeping it in the trunk.

After thinking for a moment, he also took a pair of gloves from the glove box and put them on.

He walked to the front right wheel of the car, took two steps back, and suddenly stomped his foot while quickly extending the grabber.

“Squeak!”