350 Into the Wilderness (1/2)
Chapter 350: Into the Wilderness
Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
On the matter of cat training, Zhang Zian put forward several requests to Tim and Lauren.
First, no one could watch him training the cats, and he would only do this in an empty field. The Kellers should drive him to the field and pick him up later.
Second, it took a few days before the training process would be completed. The exact days might differ, so the Kellers should remain patient.
Tim and Lauren gave him their word.
That was why Zhang Zian chose to show his Kung Fu techniques earlier. Since he needed to be alone with their cats, if they were not assured, they probably wouldn’t agree to his requests. Now that they believed he was a Qigong Master and Kung Fu Master, surely, he wouldn’t steal the cats from them.
After having breakfast with Tim and Lauren, Zhang Zian went with them to the room where the kittens were residing. He did not let Fina follow him into the room, otherwise the kittens would have behaved too abnormally. The couple had already been surprised enough today, and should more shocking events occur, they would be numb.
Even so, the kittens still smelled the scent of Fina from Zhang Zian. They showed respect and obedience to him, and even gathered around him, waiting for his inspection.
Although Zhang Zian had seen these kittens from photos, looking at them in person was a completely different experience. He crouched down to look closely at them one by one. With their short fur, these kittens were not as beautiful as fully-grown cats, but more of like adorable little fur balls.
If facing fully-grown cats, Richard wouldn’t dare to come too close to them. Since they were just a few kittens that had just been weaned off not long ago, Richard emboldened itself to stand on the shoulder of Zhang Zian and watched with him.
Tim pointed to the kittens and introduced them one by one, pointing out which had been booked by customers, which were to be retained for participating in competitions and which were to be kept as breeding cats. Zhang Zian could choose half of the rest of the kittens. Since they were both professional, Tim told him this honestly without any reservations.
The most important feature of a Ragdoll kitten was its blue eyes. No matter how much a cat resembled a Ragdoll, if its eyes were not blue, it was not a Ragdoll. The commonly-seen Ragdoll cats were roughly divided into three kinds— colorpoint, mitted and bi-color.
Zhang Zian found that most of the Ragdoll kittens were the bi-color type; more precisely, they were called ”colorpoint plus white color” Ragdoll kittens, which were the most popular kind in China. The key difference between bi-color Ragdoll kittens and the other two patterns lied in the upside down white ”V” markings on their faces. While the other two kinds basically had dark-colored faces, they were not as aesthetically eye-pleasing as the bi-color Ragdoll kittens were.
The emphasis of the breeding of bi-color Ragdoll kittens was to control the genes of white markings. The more symmetrical the white markings on their whole bodies were, the more popular they would be among the public. However, the CFA competition didn’t attach much importance to this aspect. The white markings on the face of the Ragdoll kitten that Tim had saved for the competition were asymmetrical. In ordinary people’s eyes, it was far from satisfactory than the other Ragdoll kittens; however, in the eyes of experts, its bones, body shape and facial structure were more symmetrical than the others’, indicating that it possessed more stable genes, which was more valuable in the CFA competition.
Since Zhang Zian did not intend to participate in the CFA competition in China, he didn’t think these indicators mattered. Rather than choosing the Ragdoll kittens fond by experts, he preferred selecting the consumer-friendly Ragdoll kittens with symmetrical white markings—winning the public’s affection was more important! Who cared what the experts wanted?!
Bi-color Ragdoll kittens were subdivided into two types: the seal point bi-color and blue bi-color. The differences were that the former had a slightly darker color and the latter had lighter colors. The former looked more spiritedly, and the latter appeared more lovable. There were also two bi-color Ragdoll kittens with lynx patterns here, as if they had lost poker games and their faces were painted with a few mustaches, adding a touch of playfulness to them. Normally, the prices of Ragdoll kittens with lynx patterns were slightly lower, which might be a good choice for clients with tighter budgets.
Zhang Zian also asked about the prices of these Ragdoll kittens. Tim was outspoken and told him that the pet-level Ragdoll kittens cost below $1,000, and the better-conditioned, competition-level kittens cost between $1,300 to $1,400. The kitten he specified to be retained was going to attend advanced competitions, and its price depended on how many championships it won when it grew up.
After a simple currency conversion, Zhang Zian realized that the price of a competition-level kitten was less than ￥10,000, while the equivalent conditioned kitten would cost at least ￥30,000 in China, and he must wait a while before picking it up. He did not ask Tim how much he intended to sell a dancing Ragdoll kitten for. Because rich people were everywhere in China and the United States, no matter how high the price was, someone would buy it regardless.
Tim directed Allen to bring a pet air box, put the kittens into the box, and then carried them to the cargo truck, which would be driven by Allen. Tim followed behind Allen by driving the minivan with Zhang Zian and Fina. Lauren stayed at home and watched the two vehicles left.
Zhang Zian's request was very simple. He only needed a desolate, uninhabited field. After passing through several similar places, he finally selected a small mound that the cars could drive up to, and by standing on top of the mound, he could see afar.
Allen and Tim unloaded the kittens from the truck, as well as the barbecue grill, fuel and chicken breasts in the ice bucket that Zhang Zian had specifically required. Besides these, Zhang Zian also prepared camping tools such as tents because he planned to spend the night here. Although Allen once again begged to stay and watch and promised to be tight-lipped, Zhang Zian firmly refused to give him this opportunity.