No need to see more. We can end the story here. But seriously, I found myself taking screenshots of the cat more than anything else. Why? Eh, it’s kind of a setup episode, but it hasn’t quite set us up to a compelling story just yet.

— First, we obviously get to see the cat and how it’s flourishing. Unfortunately, it sounds like Guen is the only one who can care for the cat, so he has to take it back with him to see the family… and perhaps leave Maomao with his sister for good. But unlike Maomao the human, Maomao the cat is super chill and gets along with literally everybody. So I guess it’ll be fine.

— Jinshi wants Maomao to accompany him on short notice, which means there would be no one to fulfill her duties. But as luck would have it, Sazen has an eye for identifying medicinal herbs? She quickly puts him on a crash course to become an apothecary. At the very least, he can fill in for her.

— If you ask me, they look like the same plant.

— Also, I thought wolfsbane was potentially bad to touch. Well, goes to show you I’m no apothecary.

— I don’t think one large rough patch and plain-looking clothes make Jinshi look like much of a servant, but sure… no one else seems to recognize him.

— I don’t blame Maomao for stealing the food. It’s a cat doing cat things. It’s about as smart as a dumb toddler. The kiddos should’ve immediately protected their food as soon as they saw the cat run in. Their fault for not reacting, like, at all.

— So what are we up to? We’re visiting Guen’s home, I guess. Y’know, where they make paper. Unfortunately, they have a new landlord, and the guy seems to have a personal vendetta against their paper-making business.

— Taxex on grains have gone up due to the locust plague, but taxes on paper have gone down in an attempt to boost literacy rates. I guess this is supposed to show us how good intentions can still backfire. These measures might look good on paper, but they affect actual people and thus lead to actual consequences. Guen’s family might lose their home just because the landlord’s feelings are hurt.

— Jinshi must obviously have some thoughts on the matter, but he can’t say much while pretending to be a servant. His voice actor got a much-needed week off, though!

— There’s also this thing with his nephew siding with the farmers. We see a woman crying into his chest right before the credits roll. She might belong to one of those families of farmers? But if you’re cynical, I suppose you might assume she’s manipulating his emotions. Shrug, I dunno these people, so I won’t even hazard a guess.

— Honestly, this story hasn’t hooked me in yet. I just don’t find it very compelling. Maybe it’ll get better once we know more. For now, all I care about is the cat. Show more of the cat. Everything else is immaterial.

— Fun fact: most calicos are female. Calico refers to the color pattern, and the color gene occurs only on the X-chromosome. Since male cats typically only have one X-chromosome, then it can’t have both the color genes required for a calico. So where do male calicos come from? Well, that’s where XXY mutations come in…