201: Chapter 201 The Currency of Laughter

After the seven cats dispersed, Lin Feng's cat did not leave. It squatted under the Old Locust Tree, its tail covering the pit where the dried fish was hidden, eyes closed like a gray sculpture. Lin Feng squatted beside it, watching the cat, feeling that it was even quieter than yesterday. It wasn't that it had stopped laughing; it was that it had laughed enough. Once it had laughed its fill, it became quiet, and once quiet, it began to think. What was the cat thinking? Lin Feng didn't know. But the tip of the cat's tail flicked occasionally, as if it were working an abacus.

When Old Zhou came to deliver the mail, he pulled a round Iron box out of his bag—the kind used for biscuits—with a cat printed on it, and handed it to Lin Feng. Old Zhou said, "Xiao Ma from Baishi Town asked me to bring this to you. He said inside is an upgraded version of the Cat Laughter Exchange Vouchers." Lin Feng opened the box to find a stack of small colored cards, much thicker than the previous slips of paper. Each card was printed with a cat's paw print, and beneath the print was a line of text: "One laugh, exchange for one piece of dried fish. Redeemable under the Old Locust Tree in Xinfeng Town with this card." On the back of the card was another line of small print: "The cat laughed, and you laughed too. Laughter does not depreciate."

Looking at these cards, Lin Feng felt that Xiao Ma understood economics better than he did. He placed the Iron box by the pit. The cat opened its eyes, walked over, sniffed the box, then nudged the lid open with its paw. It picked up a card in its mouth and placed it where the White Cat usually squatted. It picked up another and placed it at the Black Cat's spot. It picked them up one by one, placing seven cards in the spots where the seven cats had once sat. When it finished, it squatted back on the pit and closed its eyes. Lin Feng watched the cards and realized the cat wasn't just holding spots; it was waiting. Waiting for those cats to return. When they returned and saw the cards, they would know there was still dried fish here. If they didn't return, the cards would stay there forever, like seven empty seats.

Margaret came out carrying a plate of mushrooms and saw the cards on the ground, picking one up to look at it. "Is this money?" Lin Feng said, "Cat money. One laugh for one card. One card for one piece of dried fish." Margaret put the card back and squatted down to look at the cat. "How much dried fish has it saved?" Lin Feng said, "Thirteen pieces. Leftovers from yesterday. It hasn't given any out today." Margaret pulled a piece of dried fish from her pocket and placed it by the pit. The cat opened its eyes, picked up the fish, brushed aside the fallen leaves, tucked it into the pit, covered it back up with leaves, and then squatted on top. Margaret smiled. "It accepted it." Lin Feng said, "Yeah. It accepts but doesn't spend. It saves. By saving, it has security." He looked at the cat's tail. "It's richer than me." Margaret laughed. "You're rich too. You still have twenty million in the system." Lin Feng said, "That's the system's money. The cat's money is its own. It's different." He reached out and stroked the cat's head. The cat didn't open its eyes, but a "Heh" sound escaped its throat.

In the afternoon, the White Cat returned. It squatted in its original spot, a card lying before it. It looked at the card, then at Lin Feng's cat. Lin Feng's cat stood up, walked to the pit, brushed aside the leaves, picked out a piece of dried fish, and placed it before the White Cat. The White Cat ate it. Lin Feng's cat then picked up a card and placed it before the White Cat. The White Cat pressed its paw onto the card and laughed three times at Lin Feng's cat: "Heh—Heh—Heh." Lin Feng's cat didn't laugh; it walked back and squatted on the pit. The White Cat picked up the card in its mouth and turned to leave. Watching this scene, Lin Feng felt the cats' transactions had upgraded. Before, it was dried fish for laughter; now, it was dried fish plus a card for laughter. The card had become a voucher—with a card, there was dried fish; with dried fish, there was laughter. Laughter turned back into cards, and cards turned back into dried fish. It was a cycle, just like money.

The Black Cat, Yellow Cat, Calico Cat, Orange Cat, and Grey and White Cat also returned one after another. They each squatted before their respective cards, waiting for Lin Feng's cat to give them dried fish. Lin Feng's cat gave each cat two pieces of dried fish and took back seven cards—for every laugh a cat gave, it took back one card. If they laughed three times, it took back three cards. Once it finished collecting the cards, it stacked them neatly by the pit, covered the pit with leaves, and squatted back on top. Lin Feng counted; the dried fish in the pit had gone from thirteen pieces to six, while the cards had increased from seven to fourteen. The cat had exchanged six pieces of dried fish for fourteen cards and a bunch of laughter. Lin Feng felt this wasn't a losing trade.

When Old Zhou came by again, he looked at the cards on the ground and asked Lin Feng, "Is this currency issued by the Cat Bank?" Lin Feng said, "Yeah. Cat Coins. One laugh for one card." Old Zhou picked up a card and laughed at the cat, but the cat ignored him. Old Zhou laughed again, and the cat still ignored him. Old Zhou stopped laughing and put the card back. Lin Feng said, "You need to have dried fish first. Only with dried fish will the cat trade with you." Old Zhou fished a piece of dried fish out of his bag—when had he started carrying that? Even he didn't know. He placed the dried fish by the pit. The cat opened its eyes, picked up the fish, tucked it into the pit, then picked up a card and placed it before Old Zhou. Old Zhou took the card and laughed at the cat, but the cat didn't laugh. Old Zhou laughed again, and the cat still didn't laugh. Old Zhou looked at Lin Feng. "It's not laughing?" Lin Feng said, "It took your dried fish and gave you a card. You can take that card and exchange it for laughter from other cats. It doesn't laugh itself." Old Zhou took the card, walked over to the White Cat, and laughed. The White Cat gave him a "Heh—". Old Zhou smiled. "It laughed." He gave the card back to the White Cat, which took it in its mouth, ran to Lin Feng's cat, and placed it by the pit. Lin Feng's cat glanced at the card, picked out a piece of dried fish, and placed it before the White Cat. The White Cat ate it and laughed at him. Old Zhou was stunned watching the process. "This is a cat's bank?" Lin Feng said, "Yeah. Deposit dried fish, withdraw laughter. Laughter is the interest." Old Zhou shook his head. "In all my years, I've never seen a cat open a bank." Lin Feng said, "I haven't either. But it opened one, so I'm just watching." He squatted nearby, looking at the cats and the cards, feeling the world had changed again. Before, people used money to buy laughter; now, cats were using laughter to buy dried fish. Which was more valuable, laughter or dried fish? He didn't know. But he knew that if the cats laughed and the people laughed, that was enough.

That evening, the seven cats formed a circle again. Lin Feng's cat squatted in the middle while the other six squatted on the outside. They weren't laughing; they all had their eyes closed. Lin Feng squatted nearby, watching the circle. Margaret came out with a plate of mushrooms and squatted beside him. "How much was exchanged today?" Lin Feng said, "Six pieces of dried fish for fourteen cards and a bunch of laughter. Cards turned back into laughter, laughter back into cards. Back and forth, the cat didn't lose out." Margaret looked at the cards on the ground. "Can these cards be used in other towns?" Lin Feng said, "Yes. Xiao Ma printed them. The bar in Baishi Town accepts them. You can take a card there and exchange it for dried fish." Margaret picked up a card and flipped it over to read the small print on the back: "The cat laughed, and you laughed too. Laughter does not depreciate." She smiled. "This is better than money." Lin Feng said, "Money depreciates. Laughter doesn't. The more you laugh, it doesn't depreciate; it actually appreciates." He looked at the circle of cats. "The cats' laughter spreads further and further. It reaches other towns, and other cats laugh too. Those cats laugh, and it spreads back here. The laughter goes in a full circle and grows louder." He reached into his pocket and felt the last note from the system—'Host, do you remember if you laughed the first time you made someone else laugh?' He remembered. He had laughed. Now the cats were laughing too. People laughing, cats laughing, laughter going back and forth without end.

The wind blew over, carrying the salty scent of dried fish, the paper fragrance of the cards, the vibration of cats purring, the aroma of coffee, and the fresh sweetness of mushrooms. Lin Feng closed his eyes and inhaled. He opened his eyes, stood up, and brushed off his pants. "I'm going to sleep." Margaret stood up too. "Will you still watch the cat exchange cards tomorrow?" Lin Feng nodded. "I will. It exchanges, I watch. It laughs, I laugh too." He turned and walked into the Restaurant, Margaret following behind him. The door closed, and the lights went out. The cat circle remained under the Old Locust Tree, seven cats huddled together, heads facing in, tails facing out. The moonlight shone on them, turning their gray fur to silver. The cards were scattered on the ground, fluttering slightly in the wind like butterflies. Lin Feng stood in the Restaurant, looking out the window. He saw the shadow of the cat circle, the shadow of the cards, and the shadow of laughter. He watched for a long time, then drew the curtains and went to sleep.

[Chapter 201 End]