Before the Apprehensive Bird appeared, no one could defeat Zhang Zian in name-calling, whether it be a solo battle or gang fight. But curiously, Zhang Zian kept losing to this grey parrot, who always pulled him down to its level, and then beat him with its rich experience.
Although Zhang Zian seemed to be laughing and joking with the parrot, he was actually shocked by it.
Perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people, Richard was just a bird that liked foul language and telling all kinds of dirty jokes. But the tricks Richard had employed in its jokes were quite incredible, whether it be the different combination of Jeff Richardson and Richard Jefferson, or the homophonic rhetoric and puns it had used in arranging Chinese poetry.
In the linguistics discipline, homophonic rhetoric and puns are always the most difficult obstacles to overcome. This is why they are the ultimate sources of proof that language learners have truly mastered the language. Homophonic rhetoric and puns exist in any language, but homophonic rhetoric and puns in Chinese are the most difficult. Numerous foreigners who have been studying Chinese for years still struggle in grasping the language when they come to China. One reason is the complex tones, and another major difficulty lies in its homophonic rhetoric and puns.
This bird applied homophonic rhetoric and puns in Chinese so flexibly and so subtly that neither Fina, Old Time Tea nor Xinghai understood what he had done. In fact, a lot of Chinese people might not even understand Richard’s tricks. That’s why its pet property was, "The apprehensive bird was never heard before simply because it was not understood". And it was not a coincidence that Richard appeared in the Chinese class and ridiculed the lecturer.
Richard also spoke many other languages that were strange to Zhang Zian. If Richard, a bird, could speak those languages as excellent as a Chinese human being, that would be terrifyingly incredible.
Richard was not thirsty now, but he put forward a new request. "Come on, bring some shelled melon seeds and peanuts for me to eat. Do you even know how to be a host?"
"We are out of melon seeds and peanuts now. Would you like some millet and dry corn?" said Zhang Zian.
Richard was disappointed, "Really? How about vegetables and fruits?"
"There are apples."
"Quack!" Richard lamented, "All right, just bring them. It’s better than nothing."
Zhang Zian went upstairs into the kitchen and found some millet and dry corn, which had been left by his parents. Then, he took an apple downstairs, and placed the food in front of Richard.
Richard started pecking at the millet and dry corn immediately, then added, "Go wash the apple. What if there is pesticide residue inside? I have a very delicate body! So, wash it first and then cut it into small pieces. I can’t eat it like this!"
What a picky bird!
Zhang Zian washed the apple, then used a fruit knife to cut it into small, crescent-moon shaped pieces, and placed them on the plate.
"Hm…That’s what I’m talking about."
While Richard was eating, two men arrived.
"Master! Today, we are..." Wang Qian and Li Kun went into the store and noticed this eye-catching gray parrot immediately.
"Wow! A giant parrot!" exclaimed Li Kun. "I have seen a budgerigar before at my neighbor’s home, but this one is way bigger than that. Master, what kind of parrot is it?"
"An African grey parrot," Zhang Zian said. "It is a large parrot."
Wang Qian leaned closer to watch it. "It’s very expensive, right? Master, can it talk?"
Richard swallowed a small slice of apple, looked up at Wang Qian and Li Kun, and yelled, "Butt buddies!"
"No! Not butt buddies! We are just buddies!" Wang Qian and Li Kun answered simultaneously.
They were so embarrassed that they immediately began to sweat. They wondered how the Master had trained his bird? They had never seen parrots t
hat were able to say something like "butt buddies" before.
Zhang Zian said, "You are early today."
"We have no class today, and we were walking nearby, so we decided to come here to say hello," replied Wang Qian, whose eyes were still fixated on the grey parrot.
Zhang Zian said, "I need to go out later, so you don’t need to help me with my store today. You can just head to Sun Xiaomeng’s place and help her do some cleaning."
"Okay, see you next time." Li Kun gestured to Wang Qian, and the two left the store together.
After they had walked about twenty meters away from the store, Wang Qian asked Li Kun curiously, "What’s wrong? That’s a really rare parrot, why didn’t we watch it for a bit longer?"
Li Kun gestured him to lower his voice, "Don’t you think that parrot is a little bit weird?"
"Weird?" Wang Qian did not make as detailed of an observation as Li Kun did.
Li Kun smacked his lips and complained, "Did you even see that parrot?"
"Of course." Wang Qian grew more confused.
"Did you not see its eyes?" Li Kun made a hint.
"Eyes?" Wang Qian thought for a moment, "I only paid attention to its feathers, and it seemed to be enjoying its meal."
Li Kun sighed, "Big brother, eyes are the window to the soul! Next time you see a creature, you must look at its eyes!"
"All right! Just tell me what’s so special about that parrot’s eyes?" Wang Qian was getting more curious.
Li Kun looked back at the store and said, "Its eyes... make me feel like those are the eyes of a human... ..."
Wang Qian couldn’t agree with him. "Nonsense! I did not look very carefully, but I can tell the difference between humans’ and birds’ eyes."
"No, no, no. I don’t mean that bird’s eyes look like a human’s eyes. I mean…" Li Kun pondered how he should put it. "I mean those eyes have the spirituality that is usually found in humans. Its eyes are so vivid and intelligent, as if a human’s soul is residing in them. When the bird looked at me, I felt like I was glared at by a human.
"Bullsh*t!" Wang Qian laughed.
Li Kun said solemnly, "I mean it! I guess that bird is definitely not a normal bird; it probably is some kind of spirit bird that has been controlled and tamed by the Master. Anyway, let’s just not look at that bird. I don’t want to have anything to do with it."
Li Kun was always the one who came up with ideas. Wang Qian did not completely believe Li Kun’s conjecture this time, but he thought he should watch out for that bird anyway.
It was Sunday, so they had no classes, and Wang Qian's sister and brother-in-law were moving to a new house, so Wang Qian brought Li Kun over to help. Their plan was that after helping Wang’s sister move, they were going to go to the veterinary clinic to do their cleaning. After they left the university, they were going to go to the pet store. With such a busy day ahead, they made their way to the bus station.
On their way to the bus station, a person approached them.
"Hello."
The person was greeting them.
Wang Qian and Li Kun stopped and looked at each other, confused. Neither of them knew this stranger.
The person was in his thirties. He was wearing a cheap suit, no tie, and he looked quite normal, so normal that no one would even notice him in a crowd.
Li Kun waved his hand, "Sorry. We don’t need it."
"What?" The stranger was stunned at first, and then he laughed. "You don’t need what?"
"You are either handing out leaflets or recruiting members for some strange group, which we will not join." Li Kun remained alert.
"No worries, I’m neither." The stranger smiled and explained, "I’m the owner of a pet store. My name is Huang Mingyu."
A pet shop owner?
Wang Qian and Li Kun got even more confused. The only pet shop owner they knew was Zhang Zian. "What do you want from us?" Wang Qian asked straightforwardly.
Huang Mingyu looked around. "Let’s find a place to sit down and talk. My treat."
"No, thanks. We have things to do." Wang Qian refused. "If you have something to say, say it here."
"All right then..." Huang Mingyu pondered for a moment before speaking. "Here’s the thing. You guys work for the Amazing Fate Pet Shop, right?"
"We are actually cultivating there to achieve immortality," Li Kun corrected him, and Wang Qian agreed with what Li had said.
"Cultivating?" Huang Mingyu was surprised, and then laughed snobbishly. "You guys are so funny!"
Wang Qian looked at the time. His sister and brother-in-law were waiting for their help. There was no time to chat with this suspicious figure, "Look, if you have nothing better to say, we will be leaving now..."
"Please, wait a second." Huang Mingyu cleared his throat. "Actually. I was wondering if you were interested in working for me? No matter how much money that store manager offers you, your pay will be doubled with me."
Work for him?
"Sorry, we have no time for that." Wang Qian and Li Kun refused decisively.
They wanted to take another route to walk away, but Huang Mingyu stood up and stopped them.
"Just hear me out." Huang Mingyu finally revealed his real intention. "I know that you have been working at the Amazing Fate Pet Shop. And everyone knows that the cats at that shop can do stunts. Get the secret of cat training from that shop owner for me, and I will pay whatever price you come up with."
Wang Qian and Li Kun were silent for a moment, and then suddenly burst into laughter!
Huang Mingyu looked at them bafflingly, wondering why they were laughing so hard.
"Guys, why are you…"
Wang Qian laughed so hard that his cheeks hurt. He went over to pat Huang Mingyu on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Brother, it is time to wake up from your day-dreaming. We will never betray our Master or help you get his secrets. See you."
"Wait! Don’t you want to know how much I can offer? Maybe you will change your mind?" The unexpected response from them made Huang Mingyu panic, and he tried to keep them in his game, "if you think the money is not enough ..."
Wang Qian just headed to the bus station, ignoring Huang Mingyu.
Li Kun also patted Huang Mingyu's shoulder, "Dude, how easy do you think cultivation is? We have not yet learned our Master’s magic art of immortality, and even if we had grasped the arts, we would never tell you. As a cultivator, I’m warning you not to do anything stupid against our Master, or else you will be doomed. Goodbye!"
They left immediately, leaving only Huang Mingyu standing there looking silly.
"What’s wrong with these people? Is it true that there are people who don’t give a damn about money?" he wondered.