165: Chapter 165 Lin Feng Makes a Sunshade
The idea for a sunshade had popped up yesterday, and Lin Feng started working on it first thing this morning.
He squatted by the tree pit, measuring the space the cat took up while sleeping with a tape measure.
The cat was still snoring on the rocking chair, its tail hanging off the edge.
Lin Feng measured from the cat's nose to the tip of its tail with the ruler.
The cat didn't wake up, just twitched its Ear slightly.
After measuring, he found that the cat took up quite a bit of space while sleeping—about half a meter from nose to tail tip.
Adding in the rocking motion of the chair, the sunshade needed to be at least a meter wide.
He went to ask Molly for some fabric.
Molly rummaged through the storage room and found a piece of old canvas—army green, thick, and a bit frayed at the edges, but it would work.
Lin Feng found a few thin bamboo poles, intending to make a frame for the canopy.
He spread the canvas on the ground, drew lines with chalk, and cut it into a large square.
The cat climbed off the rocking chair, walked over, and squatted beside the canvas, tilting its head to watch Lin Feng cut the fabric.
Every time Lin Feng made a cut, the cat blinked, as if it were counting.
After cutting, Lin Feng whittled the bamboo poles into four equal-length uprights and two crossbeams.
He nailed the uprights and crossbeams together to make a rectangular frame.
The frame was unstable and wobbly.
He thought for a moment and added diagonal braces to the four corners, making the frame steady.
He draped the canvas over the top of the frame and secured it with thumbtacks.
He pressed the tacks in deep, pulling the fabric taut.
The sunshade was finished.
It was twice the size of the cat's rocking chair.
Placed by the tree pit, it looked like a green mushroom.
The cat stood up, walked under the sunshade, and looked up.
The roof was low, and the cat's Ear almost touched the fabric.
It reached out a paw and poked the canvas, but it didn't budge—it was too tight.
The cat poked it again, still nothing.
It jumped into the sunshade, squatted on the ground, and looked up at the ceiling, its tail tip swaying gently.
Lin Feng moved the rocking chair into the sunshade, placing it right in the center, and also moved the cat's bowl in, setting it beside the chair.
The cat squatted on the rocking chair, looked around, then lay down, curled into a ball, and closed its eyes.
The canopy blocked the sunlight, making the pit cool and shaded.
The cat's purring came from inside the canopy, muffled, as if it were coming from deep underground.
Lin Feng squatted nearby, listening to the purring, and felt that making this sunshade had been the right thing to do.
However, less than a quarter of an hour later, the cat ran out of the canopy.
It ran to Lin Feng's feet, looked up at him, and patted his shoe with its paw.
Lin Feng looked down at the cat.
"What's wrong?"
The cat didn't answer; it turned and ran back into the canopy, then ran out again, repeating this several times.
Lin Feng followed it into the canopy and squatted down, discovering that it was too stuffy inside.
The canvas wasn't breathable; wind couldn't get in, heat couldn't get out, and the cat was in a steamer.
Lin Feng reached out and touched the canvas of the canopy roof; it was hot, scalding to the touch.
He lifted a corner of the canvas, and a breeze poured in.
The cat immediately crawled under the opening, looking up with squinted eyes, as if enjoying it.
Lin Feng watched the cat.
"Wait a moment."
He went to borrow a pair of scissors from Molly and cut several small holes in the canvas.
They weren't big, just enough for the wind to slip through.
He draped the canvas back over and secured the thumbtacks tightly.
The wind slipped through the holes, and it became cool inside the canopy.
The cat walked in, squatted on the rocking chair, gave a satisfied yawn, and closed its eyes.
Lin Feng squatted outside the canopy, watching the cat.
The cat's purring drifted out again, muffled, but not as much as before, accompanied by the whistling sound of the wind passing through the small holes, like someone blowing a whistle.
Margaret came out of the Restaurant and saw a green tent over the tree pit, with the cat snoring inside.
She squatted down, crawled into the canopy, looked at the holes in the roof, and then looked at Lin Feng.
"You cut these?"
Lin Feng nodded.
"Not breathable, the cat was stuffy."
Margaret reached out and blew a puff of air toward one of the holes; the wind slipped in, and the cat's Ear twitched.
She smiled.
"It heard that."
Lin Feng said, "It thought it was the wind."
Margaret crawled out and squatted beside Lin Feng.
"So you can also make tents."
Lin Feng said, "A sunshade. A tent is for sleeping; a sunshade is for blocking the sun. They are different."
Margaret looked at the small holes in the canopy roof; sunlight leaked through them, casting spots of light on the ground.
"Like stars."
Lin Feng said, "Mm. You can see stars during the day too."
Margaret asked him, "Have you ever made a sunshade for yourself?"
Lin Feng shook his head.
"No. I squat under the tree, and the tree is my sunshade."
Margaret smiled.
"The tree is yours, and the cat's canopy is what you made."
Lin Feng said, "I didn't make the tree. But as long as the tree is there, I am there. I made the canopy, and as long as the cat is inside, the cat is there too."
Margaret looked at him.
"You're sounding more and more like an old man."
Lin Feng said, "If you squat for long enough, you start to become like one."
In the afternoon, Old Zhou came to deliver mail.
He parked his bike by the tree pit and saw a green canopy over the pit, with the cat sleeping inside.
He squatted down, lifted a corner of the canopy fabric, and looked inside.
The cat was curled up on the rocking chair, with its bowl beside it, still containing the milk it hadn't finished in the morning.
The small holes in the roof let in spots of light that fell onto the cat, looking like a patterned coat.
Old Zhou let the canopy fabric drop, rummaged through his bag, found a letter, and handed it to Lin Feng.
"Yours."
Lin Feng opened it; inside was only a sheet of paper with a single line of text: "Lin Feng, the sunshade is done. The cat isn't stuffy anymore, right?"
There was no signature.
Lin Feng took out a pen and paper and wrote a reply.
"It's not stuffy anymore. There are holes in the roof, and the wind can get in. The cat is sleeping very well."
He taped the letter to the wall and walked back.
Old Zhou was still squatting by the pit, listening to the cat's purring.
He asked Lin Feng, "Are you going to make anything else for the cat tomorrow?"
Lin Feng thought for a moment.
"No more. It has the pit, the fabric, the bowl, the rocking chair, the pinwheel, and the canopy. That's enough."
Old Zhou nodded.
"It has more things than you do."
Lin Feng said, "It needs them. I don't."
Old Zhou stood up and brushed off his pants.
"I'm heading back."
He got on his bike, the chain jingling, and left.
Lin Feng squatted outside the canopy, watching the cat.
The cat turned over on the rocking chair, its paw resting on the edge of the bowl, its tail hanging down, swaying back and forth.
The spots of light on the canopy roof swayed along with it, as if dancing.
In the evening, the sun leaned to the west, and it grew dark inside the canopy.
The cat woke up, crawled out of the canopy, stretched, walked to Lin Feng's feet, and rubbed its head against him.
Lin Feng stroked the cat's head.
"Did you sleep well?"
The cat didn't answer; it ran to the pinwheel, squatted down, and looked up at it.
The pinwheel spun slowly in the evening breeze, its colorful blades turning in circles—red, yellow, blue, and green.
The cat watched for a while, then ran back into the canopy, jumped onto the rocking chair, curled up on the blue fabric, and closed its eyes.
It seemed to feel that it was more comfortable inside the canopy than outside.
Lin Feng stood up, walked into the canopy, and squatted beside the cat.
The canopy was small. He was squatting, the cat was lying down, the rocking chair was swaying gently, and the spots of light on the roof were moving slowly.
He reached out his hand and caught a spot of light.
It landed in his palm, bright and shining like a gold coin.
The cat opened its eyes, looked at his hand, and closed them again.
Lin Feng pulled his hand back, stood up, and walked out of the canopy.
He sat on his little stool, watching the canopy, watching the pinwheel, and watching the tree.
The wind blew over, carrying the faint scent of canvas, the fresh fragrance of bamboo strips, the aroma of coffee, and the light sweetness of mushrooms.
He closed his eyes and took a sniff.
He opened his eyes, stood up, brushed off his pants, and walked toward the Restaurant.
At night, Lin Feng sat on the steps in front of the Restaurant.
Not squatting, but sitting.
Margaret came out carrying a plate of mushrooms and sat beside him.
The two of them sat there, looking at the sky.
Stars lit up one by one, just like yesterday.
The cat crawled out of the canopy, walked to their feet, squatted down, and looked up at the stars.
It watched for a long time, then closed its eyes, curled into a ball, and began to purr.
Margaret looked at the cat.
"It didn't sleep in the canopy today?"
Lin Feng said, "It did. It slept all afternoon. It woke up in the evening and came out to look at the stars."
Margaret asked him, "Are you going to make anything else for the cat tomorrow?"
Lin Feng shook his head.
"No more. It has enough things."
Margaret looked at him.
"Then what will you do tomorrow?"
Lin Feng thought for a moment.
"Sit. Watch the cat. Watch it use those things. The bowl, the rocking chair, the pinwheel, the canopy. It uses them, and I watch."
Margaret smiled.
"You're even lazier than the cat."
Lin Feng said, "It's not laziness. It's enough. If I make too much, it can't use it all. If it can't use it all, it's a waste. If it's wasted, it's not comfortable."
Margaret looked at him.
"When did you become so good at calculating?"
Lin Feng said, "When I made the bowl. The bowl was made too deep, so the cat drank too much. It drank too much, so it got fat. It got fat, so it couldn't run. It couldn't run, so it watched the pinwheel. Watching the pinwheel, its neck got sore. With a sore neck, I made the rocking chair. After the rocking chair was made, I made the canopy. Making one thing after another—it's all because the bowl was made too deep."
Margaret smiled.
"So it's all the bowl's fault?"
Lin Feng nodded.
"Mm. The bowl's fault."
The wind blew over, carrying the scent of canvas, the fresh fragrance of wood, the aroma of coffee, and the light sweetness of mushrooms.
Lin Feng closed his eyes and took a sniff.
He opened his eyes, stood up, and brushed off his pants.
"I'm going to sleep."
Margaret stood up too.
"You're not going to do anything tomorrow?"
Lin Feng thought for a moment.
"Nothing. Just sit. Sit for a whole day."
Margaret smiled.
"Can you sit still that long?"
Lin Feng said, "If I can squat still, I can sit still."
He turned and walked into the Restaurant, with Margaret following behind him.
The door closed, and the lights went out.
The cat jumped down from the steps, walked back into the canopy, jumped onto the rocking chair, curled up on the blue fabric, and closed its eyes.
The rocking chair swayed slowly, the pinwheel turned slowly, the spots of light on the canopy roof disappeared, but the small holes were still there, and the wind was still blowing.
The moon poked out from behind the clouds, casting the shadow of the canopy onto the ground like a green mushroom.
The wind blew over, and the shadow swayed, but it didn't scatter.
Lin Feng stood inside the Restaurant, looking out the window.
He saw the shadow of the canopy, the shadow of the pinwheel, and the shadow of the tree.
He watched for a long time, then pulled the curtains shut and went to sleep.
[Chapter 165 End]