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

  Snowy put the paper with the Bitcoin password to the side and logged into her Weibo account. She saw a comments on her latest post from local fans. They were all about Zhang Zian’s Wechat message, wondering why Zhang Zian was asking for fresh Crucian Carp on Chinese New Year.

  “Fresh Crucian Carp is used for one reason, to help a woman lactate after giving birth.”


  Someone disagreed immediately. “We know that. The problem is, Manager Weak Bird is a single man. Why would he have a woman who just gave birth in his house?”


  “Maybe he’s asking for someone else, like the wife of a friend?” someone suggested.

  “That’s possible, but whoever’s friend with that cheap dude is pathetic.” This comment received a lot of Likes.

  “I just asked the pretentious manager, and the Abyssinian cats in his shop just gave birth last night, but the mothers aren’t producing enough milk to feed the kittens. Since the food market is closed today, he has nowhere to buy Crucian Carps, so he has to ask fans and customers for help.”


  Snowy immediately wrote another Weibo post, asking people to spread the news and help out if they could.

  “Oh, is that so? I knew nobody would be friends with him,” a fan commented after hearing the whole story.

  “I feel bad for the kittens, they were starving as soon as they were born. How come he didn’t get the Crucian Carps in advance?”


  “Maybe he never thought about it. Besides, you never know when the cats will give birth. If you buy the fish too far in advance, they’ll turn bad. You can buy them on any given day, but, unfortunately, today happens to be New Year’s Day.”


  “Aw, we never buy Crucian Carps, but I’d be happy to get a few and send them over. I don’t have anything to do today, and would love to see the kittens.”


  “We don’t have any either, but I’ll go buy a few as well. We have so many relatives visiting today, and they’re all smoking. The smoke is killing me!”


  “Do you know where I can buy Crucian Carps nearby?”


  “You can only find them in the market. I haven’t seen them anywhere else. They used to sell them in the supermarkets, but not recently. It’s not the best time to eat Crucian Carps right now anyway, they aren’t fat enough.”


  Snowy thought for a while, then slipped on her slippers and ran downstairs. She opened the fridge and started searching everywhere.

  Her mother didn’t even look up from baking a cake. “What are you searching for? Can’t you stay still?”


  “Mom, do we have any Crucian Carps?” Snowy asked after a fruitless search.

  “Crucian Carps? No, they have too many bones,” her mother answered grumpily. “We have other fish, though. Salmon. Grouper. Turbot. Are you craving fish?”


  “Not really.” Snowy didn’t explain any further.

  “Crazy girl…” Her mother shook her head and sighed. “You came down just in time, come bake a cake with me.”


  “I’m in the middle of something right now!” Snowy ran back upstairs.

  “What could you possibly be in the middle of right now?” her mother yelled.

  Snowy sat back in front of the computer and saw that many other users were also busy looking for Crucian Carps. Unfortunately, most people had bought expensive fish for the Spring Festival, nobody had bought any Crucian Carps. Even if they did, they wouldn’t be fresh, they had been in the freezer for months.

  Some people did have fresh Crucian Carps at home, and were willing to help, but they were too busy with visiting relatives.

  Most fans were watching the live broadcast for fun, and were willing to pay to reward the host. However, making a trip on this cold day for a few fish was quite a hassle. They’d rather stay in their warm beds and browse Wechat Moments.

  Snowy wanted to help, but she couldn’t. She didn’t know where to buy Crucian Carps, and had to give up.

  “Snowy!” her mother shouted from downstairs. “Change out of your pajamas. Who greets visitors in pajamas on New Year’s Day? Do it quickly! We’ll have more visitors soon!”


  “Fine!” Snowy yelled back, then mumbled in a low voice, “Who says I can’t greet visitors in pajamas?”


  “Meow.” Snowball the Persian cat swung its tail.

  “Snowball, you agree, right?” Snowy patted its back. She felt that Snow Ball could actually understand her. “Let’s play outside.”


  She changed her clothes, and walked downstairs with Snowball. The cake’s smell traveled from the kitchen, and made everyone’s mouth water. Her father was on the phone, greeting his foreign business partners for the Chinese New Year.

  Snowy shouted, “I’m going outside with Snowball for some fresh air.”


  “Come back soon.” Her mother stuck her head out of the kitchen.

  “Got it.” Snowy left the villa, and finally got a moment of quiet.

  The area was quiet even during the Spring Festival. Sure, people came to visit their families, but they were all in a hurry.

  The snow on the road had been cleared. Now, only some snow remained on the grass and in the woods around the lake.

  Around the lake, there were many warning signs that read, “Danger! The ice is too thin. Skating on the lake is prohibited.” The signs were completely unnecessary. Nobody would skate on the lake. The residents of the community were rich enough to pay for a decent skating rink.

  Snowy turned her head from time to time to check on the cat. “Snowball, don’t eat the snow. Zhang Zian said that the best way to melt snow was industrial salt. You’ll be poisoned if you eat it.”


  She didn’t know if Snowball understood her or not, but it wasn’t eating the snow.

  “Woof!”


  A dumb-looking husky suddenly ran out of the alley, and came towards Snowy.

  Snowball jumped in front of Snowy to protect her.

  “Good-For-Nothing, stop embarrassing me!” Uncle Jin’s disappointed voice traveled from the woods.

  Snowy followed the voice and saw someone sitting by the lake with a fishing rod, his back was facing her.