I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Dahei the Dog

A playful look came over Zhao Wendong’s face.

”What the hell, comrade? Do I need to give you my whole family tree just to sell a wolf pelt?”

The man laughed awkwardly and waved his hands dismissively.

”No, no, I was just curious! Tell you what, young man. This wolf pelt is perfectly preserved—it’s rare to see one in such good condition. I’ll make an executive decision: twelve dollars, and it’s a deal!”

The pained look on the man’s face seemed genuine, and the price was far beyond what Zhao Wendong had expected. He was just about to nod in agreement.

Suddenly, Zhao Wenwu nudged him.

”Three, I have to pee.”

”What? You want grain ration coupons?”

”He’s already offering so much money! How could you ask for grain ration coupons on top of that?”

Zhao Wenwu was completely baffled. ’Are Three’s ears stuffed with cotton?’

”I didn’t say I wanted grain ration coupons! I said...”

Zhao Wendong clamped a hand over his mouth and looked apologetically at the man from the purchasing station.

”What a mess. I know we’re short on food at home, but we can’t just go around asking for ration coupons!”

The man’s eye and the corner of his mouth twitched. Finally, he grit his teeth.

”I get it, I get it. Everyone’s short on food these days. How about this? I’ll personally add coupons for two pounds of grain. Is that acceptable?”

”Deal!”

Zhao Wendong agreed instantly, afraid the man would change his mind.

Twelve dollars plus coupons for two pounds of grain was no small amount.

The middle-aged man wrote out a receipt, counted out twelve dollars, and fished out two ration coupons from inside his jacket. He placed them on the counter with a look of reluctance before carefully putting the wolf pelt away.

Zhao Wendong counted the money to make sure it was correct. Just as he was about to stuff it in his pocket, Zhao Wenwu pointed at the ten-dollar bill and exclaimed.

”Three, I’ve never seen a bill like this before! Is it counterfeit?”

”No, this is the big black ten-dollar bill!”

Zhao Wendong’s comment made the middle-aged man look up and study him seriously. In the entire Qianjin Commune, you could count the number of peasants with his kind of worldly knowledge on one hand. The man’s frustration began to fade, replaced by a genuine desire to get to know him.

”My name is Zheng Guangrong, young comrade. If you have anything else to sell in the future, just come look for me!”

”Okay, Director Zheng!”

”None of that ’Director’ business. I’m older than you. If you don’t mind, just call me brother.”

Zhao Wendong had no objection, of course. A smile in his eyes, he called out.

”Brother Zheng!”

”Yes, yes!”

Zheng Guangrong answered enthusiastically. When Zhao Wendong didn’t take the bait after a moment, he had to bite the bullet and prompt him.

”Listen, young man, I, Brother Zheng, can guarantee that you won’t find a better price for this wolf pelt in the entire country! Are you sure you haven’t forgotten something?”

Zhao Wendong slapped his forehead.

”Oh, right! Thank you for the reminder, Brother Zheng!”

With that, he pulled out the wolf meat and offal. The cuts were frozen solid as rocks, landing on the counter with a loud CLATTER.

”Brother Zheng, since we’re already doing business, why don’t you take a look at these and tell me what you’ll offer?”

Zheng Guangrong: ...

’This guy is so damn shameless,’ he thought. ’In my thirty-odd years, I’ve never met anyone this shameless.’

He repeatedly told himself to stay calm. Taking a deep breath, Zheng Guangrong suppressed his irritation and weighed Zhao Wendong’s goods.

”Seventeen pounds of wolf meat plus a set of offal... I can only give you five dollars total. The main issue is the fixed price for wolf meat—that’s the absolute maximum. Meat is so scarce these days, but the pricing standard is ancient. You’d be losing out if I bought it from you at this price!”

”Go to the back alley on the west side of the Commune. Look for the house with three big poplar trees out front. Just tell them I sent you. They’ll definitely give you a price you’re happy with!”

”Thanks, Brother Zheng. One more thing: what’s the price for Hai Pangtou per pound these days?”

At this, Zheng Guangrong’s expression lit up with excitement, and his voice rose a few decibels.

”You have Hai Pangtou? How much do you have? For a small amount, it’s twenty cents a pound. If you’ve got a lot, the price is negotiable!”

”Just asking for now. I’ll come find you when I’m ready to sell.”

”Alright, come to me anytime you have some! I guarantee I’ll give you the best price.”

Zhao Wendong nodded. After packing his things, he put on a puzzled expression.

”Hmm? Did I say something earlier about going storytelling? I can’t seem to recall...”

Zhao Wenwu quickly spit out a sunflower seed shell and reminded him, ”Three, you said you were going to the Commune market to be a storyteller. You mentioned something about sneaking into the neighbor’s house at night to ’study’... Mmph—”

Before he could finish, Zhao Wendong clamped a hand over his mouth again.

He shot Zheng Guangrong an awkward glance.

”Er, Brother Zheng... my older brother here isn’t quite right in the head. Nobody takes what he says seriously. I’ll have a word with him, I promise he won’t go around spouting nonsense!”

Zheng Guangrong’s head was buzzing. He waved a dismissive, feeble hand at the two brothers. ’My end is nigh,’ he thought.

Zhao Wendong understood the gesture to mean ’get out’ and started pulling Zhao Wenwu toward the door. As they left, Zhao Wenwu grabbed the plate, tipped the last of the sunflower seeds into his pocket, and then casually stuffed the plate inside his jacket.

Zheng Guangrong was flabbergasted by this ’dine and dash’ maneuver. He stood rooted to the spot, mouth hanging open. An unknown amount of time passed before his anguished cries echoed from within the room.

”Animals!”

”This is a travesty!”

Once they were out of the purchasing station, Zhao Wenwu impatiently dropped his trousers and took a leak. He let out a groan of relief, followed by a full-body shiver. After pulling his pants up, he reflexively sniffed his hand.

Zhao Wendong watched him with a grin, not rushing him at all. ’That piss was worth two pounds of grain coupons,’ he thought. ’Let him enjoy it. Besides, my brother’s ’endowment’ is pretty impressive... just a little smaller than mine, of course.’

As the two walked past Dahei, the big black dog dozing by the door, a half-fist-sized piece of wolf meat, poorly wrapped in their bag, fell out.

’Ooh, meat! Did that human drop it? I’ll just eat it first.’

The big black dog glanced at Zhao Wendong, snatched the meat, and scurried back to its doghouse.

With a cry, Zhao Wenwu lunged forward to get the meat back.

The dog buried its head in the doghouse, its rear end facing out, and wiggled its backside frantically to block Zhao Wenwu’s approach.

In a panic, Zhao Wenwu bent down, grabbed the dog’s two hind legs, and started pulling.

He was pulling so hard the dog was practically doing the splits, but it refused to let go of the meat. It yelped wildly while desperately gnawing on the chunk of wolf, but the meat was frozen solid and wouldn’t break, no matter how hard it bit.

Inside, Zheng Guangrong heard his dog’s pained yelps and jumped in fright. Thinking the ’peerless duo’ had made off with his dog, he scrambled toward the door.

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Zhao Wendong went over to pull Zhao Wenwu away and put a stop to the tug-of-war between man and beast.

”Brother, get up!”

”Three, don’t pull me! It’s going to eat the meat! Let me go!”

Zhao Wendong couldn’t exactly explain that the dog had done him a huge favor. He felt like letting it have a piece of meat was only fair, a little quid pro quo. An idea struck him, and he came up with an excuse.

”Brother, if people eat meat that’s been in a dog’s mouth, they’ll get sick! You could get rabies!”

Zhao Wenwu froze.

”Really?”

”Yeah, really!”

Zheng Guangrong was just about to push the door open when he saw his dog was fine and the brothers had stopped fighting it. He froze. ’Better not go out,’ he thought. ’The sooner those two are gone, the sooner I’ll have some peace.’ He stood there, watching them through the window pane.

Zhao Wendong deliberately looked crestfallen.

”Brother, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I didn’t hold on to our meat tightly enough!”

Zhao Wenwu immediately started comforting Zhao Wendong, completely forgetting about his struggle with the black dog over the meat.

”It’s not your fault, it’s mine. Mom told me to carry everything. If I’d been carrying it, it wouldn’t have dropped.”

”Here, let me carry it!”

Without another word, he snatched the bag, re-wrapped it carefully, and slung it over his own shoulder. He always followed his family’s instructions to the letter.

As they walked out the courtyard gate, Zhao Wendong could still hear the thoughts of Dahei, the big black dog, from behind them.

’Getting a bite of meat is so hard! That big oaf nearly broke my legs... Sniffle... but this meat smells amazing.’

To the left of the purchasing station was an agricultural technology center; to the right was a residential house.

’So this must be the house the dog was talking about,’ Zhao Wendong thought. ’I wonder what that bald guy Zheng Guangrong’s mistress looks like.’

Just as he was peering at the house, a woman in a floral-patterned padded jacket suddenly opened the door. She was carrying a basin of dirty water, which she tossed into the yard.

The woman had smiling, crescent-shaped eyes, a full bust, and wide hips. She swayed as she walked, exuding a kind of femininity that was rare in those days.

”Tsk tsk tsk!”

Zhao Wendong couldn’t help but click his tongue in appreciation. ’No wonder that old goat Zheng Guangrong can’t control himself,’ he thought. ’She’s a real feast for the eyes!’

”Tsk tsk tsk!”

At almost the exact same moment, another tongue-clicking sound of appreciation came from right beside him.