I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Liangzi

Zhao Wendong turned his head, and a familiar face came into view.

”Liangzi!”

The name escaped his lips uncontrollably. This was his childhood friend. In his past life, after his father’s unexpected death, this friend had visited, leaving behind some grain. After that, all contact was lost. He probably didn’t survive the famine years; Wendong had dreamed of him several times.

Zhang Liang, Zhao Wendong’s childhood friend and die-hard buddy, lived right here in the Commune. As kids, they had been forced to attend classes run by the Japanese and learn their language. Then, just a few days later, the Japanese were driven out by the Russians.

Back then, the two of them had led a gang of local kids and gotten into plenty of brawls with the young Japanese from the settlement corps. They had forged a deep, revolutionary camaraderie from a young age. If you were just counting the number of Japanese they’d thrashed, they’d fought as many as any old revolutionary.

”Hahaha!”

”Dongzi! You finally decided to stop lazing around at home and come out for a walk!”

Zhang Liang came out from behind the counter and gave Zhao Wendong a warm hug. Zhao Wendong felt a bit awkward. ’Has my reputation as a lazybones really spread all the way to the Commune?’

The woman at the entrance also managed a smile.

”Oh, you’re a friend of Liangzi’s! My apologies, I was a bit sharp-tongued just now.”

”It’s fine!”

Zhao Wendong waved his hand dismissively. He still hadn’t shaken off his future-era mindset.

’Had I forgotten what era this was?’

’Look at the slogan on the wall: *Do not beat or curse at customers!* If I’d started a fight with her, I’d have been the one kicked out. The customer definitely wasn’t king back then.’

”Liangzi, so you’ve landed yourself a job!”

”Heh heh, just got lucky!”

Zhang Liang said with false modesty, a hint of pride in his voice. Then he extended an invitation to the two brothers.

”Did you just get here? Come over to my place for a bite later! It’s been years since I’ve seen Wenwu.”

”We got here this morning. Already ate!”

Zhang Liang didn’t believe him and turned to Zhao Wenwu.

”Wenwu, did you guys really eat?”

”We ate! Pork stew with potatoes, cabbage, and vermicelli. It was so good, I’m stuffed!”

Zhao Wenwu recognized him too and patted his belly with a simple, honest smile.

Knowing Zhao Wenwu’s condition, Zhang Liang finally believed that they had eaten.

”So what’re you buying? Come on, I’ll get it for you!”

Gazing at the various goods in the supply cooperative, Zhao Wendong could only look on with envy. Most of it was off-limits, as it required ration coupons.

He could buy things like candy, but he knew if he brought any home, he’d be met with Chen Yanmei’s feather duster. In the end, he only bought a bag of coarse salt and a bag of brown sugar. He didn’t have a container for soy sauce, so he emptied the canteen he was carrying and filled it. He didn’t dare squander the remaining money; he had to save it to turn in back home. Once they saved enough, they could build a house.

Spotting a large jar of cold cream, an idea struck Zhao Wendong. ’My mother’s and sister-in-law’s hands are covered in painful cracks from years of hard labor. It doesn’t matter for us men, but the women should take care of their skin. Especially Lin Zhiyin. She used to have such delicate, tender skin... she must be having a hard time now.’

Zhang Liang noticed where he was looking.

”Want to get some?”

Zhao Wendong nodded.

”Yeah, three small jars’ worth.”

Zhang Liang looked him over, but didn’t see what he was looking for. He asked,

”Did you bring any jars?”

Zhao Wendong shook his head. ’It was a spur-of-the-moment idea, I didn’t come prepared. Besides, I don’t think we have any small jars at home.’ In those days, even a glass jar was a prized possession, useful for storing all sorts of things.

Zhang Liang rummaged through his cabinets for a while before pulling out three small, exquisite tin boxes. They were decorated with paintings of several birds and bore the characters for ”Pechoin”!

”These are some old tins we got back. Lucky there were a few left, heh heh!”

With that, Zhang Liang scooped the cold cream, filling the three tins to the brim. When he pressed the lids on, a good amount of the white cream oozed out of the seams.

Zhang Liang wiped up the excess cream with his finger and dabbed it onto Zhao Wendong’s and Zhao Wenwu’s faces.

”Haha, come on! Let’s enjoy the same treatment as the lady comrades. Can’t let it go to waste!”

”Wow, it smells great!”

Zhao Wenwu exclaimed. The next second, he dipped a finger in the cream on his face and put it in his mouth.

”BLECH! Tastes awful!”

His antics made Zhao Wendong and Zhang Liang roar with laughter. Seeing them laugh, Zhao Wenwu started chuckling foolishly as well.

”Damn, thanks, Liangzi!”

This was his good old buddy. Zhao Wendong didn’t stand on ceremony, just clapped him on the shoulder.

’The famine years have only just begun,’ Zhao Wendong thought. ’Things are still relatively okay here in the Northeast. The truly unbearable times are yet to come.’

’When that time comes, if I have the means, I definitely won’t let Zhang Liang just disappear again.’

Remembering he still had to visit Lin Zhiyin at the Educated Youth quarters, Zhao Wendong chatted a bit more with Zhang Liang before saying his goodbyes.

Zhang Liang walked him to the door, watching until the two brothers’ figures disappeared from sight. Only then did he return to the cooperative, a wistful look on his face.

The woman at the entrance watched him, a bit puzzled.

”Liangzi, he’s just a friend, isn’t he? Why the big send-off?”

”He’s not just any friend. He’s my brother. He saved my life.”

With that, Zhang Liang walked slowly back behind the counter. ’Perhaps even Zhao Wendong himself doesn’t remember,’ he thought, ’but I remember it clearly.’

When he was five or six, a few of the Japanese kids had cornered him, holding his head underwater. Just as he was about to drown, Zhao Wendong, who was just a little kid himself, had arrived with that simple-minded older brother of his. They chased off the bullies and saved him. He would never, ever forget that.

Having eaten their fill at lunch, Zhao Wendong and his brother were brimming with energy. With the sled carrying the grain, their return trip was much faster than their journey there.

Halfway there, Zhao Wenwu suddenly clutched his stomach and let out a yelp.

”What’s wrong, brother?”

”I gotta take a shit!”

Without another word, Zhao Wenwu dropped the sled and frantically started pulling down his pants.

Zhao Wendong quickly dragged the sled a safe distance away. He’d only taken a few steps when he heard a noise from his brother like a string of firecrackers going off. Fortunately, they were alone in the vast, snowy landscape, so there were no passersby. Then again, even if there were, his brother wouldn’t have cared one bit.

”Third Bro, get me a stick!”

Zhao Wenwu hollered at Zhao Wendong from his squatting position.

”You’re done already?”

Zhao Wendong asked in disbelief. It felt like his brother hadn’t even been squatting for ten seconds.

”Yeah! Hurry up, my ass is freezing!”

Zhao Wendong looked around and found a reasonably straight little stick for his brother.

”Ah, much better!”

Zhao Wenwu gave himself a quick scrape with the stick, stood up, and then turned to admire his handiwork for a good while before letting out a sigh.

”What’s up? Did you make a pretty shape?”

Zhao Wendong asked with a laugh. Zhao Wenwu shook his head.

”It just feels so good to be able to shit. I haven’t been able to go for days.”

His brother’s words struck Zhao Wendong silent. It was because he’d had thick millet porridge yesterday and this morning, followed by white rice and a hearty meal for lunch, that Zhao Wenwu finally had something to pass. Before this, they couldn’t even guarantee two meals a day. Each meal had been nothing more than thin congee or a handful of dry rations. How could there have been anything to excrete?

When simply having enough in your belly to take a shit becomes a form of bliss, no other problem seems to matter.

”Don’t you worry,” Zhao Wendong said. ”With me around, I’ll have you shitting twice a day from now on!”

”You’re lying! Where would we get that much food?”

Zhao Wenwu’s face was full of disbelief. He then pointed to the still-steaming pile.

”Third Bro, should we take this shit back? It’s a waste to leave it here.”

Zhao Wendong’s face fell. Without a word, he grabbed the sled and took off running. Zhao Wenwu immediately gave chase, hollering and yelling as he ran.

”Third Bro, you’ve changed! Have you forgotten when we used to follow the dogs around and eat poop together?”

”Shut up! Zhao Wenwu, if you keep slandering me, I’ll fight you to the death!”

”Bring it on, bring it on! Hahaha!”

Sometime after three, with the sun just beginning to dip westward, the two brothers finally saw the silhouette of Dragon King Pond Village against the white, snow-covered landscape.

Zhao Wendong changed direction, heading not for home, but toward the sea. Zhao Wenwu immediately tugged on his arm in confusion.

”Third Bro, you’re going the wrong way! Home is over here.”

”Yeah, I know. We’re not going back just yet. Let’s go to the shore and check on the boats.”

”What’s so interesting about those old boats? It’s not like we can take them out.”

When they reached the shore, they could see a few small boats tied to a crude little dock in the distance. The ”dock” was really just a platform made of a few wooden frames. As they got closer, they could see the boats were blanketed in snow. One, which was noticeably larger, had its engine covered with a waterproof tarp. It was the production team’s only motor-sailer.

Next to the dock stood two small houses. This was the Educated Youth quarters for Dragon King Pond Village. The youths had originally been assigned to the county farm. This was before the mandatory rustication campaigns, so most had come voluntarily from the cities to ”support the construction.” Because Dragon King Pond was a designated ”hardship village,” they were sent here to aid production. Reality had long since extinguished their initial fervor, leaving only the hope of one day returning to the city.

One building for the men, one for the women. Eight or nine Educated Youths lived here, also responsible for watching over the dock and the boats. In his previous life, Lin Zhiyin had eventually taken care of all of them.

In the winter, the wind off Bohai Bay was even harsher, feeling like little knives scraping against their faces. The surface of the sea was a dreary gray. A layer of slushy ice had formed near the shore; only in the distance could they see the dark, churning water.

In the distance, by the water’s edge, a lone figure was squatting and washing clothes. It was the slender silhouette of a girl, and against the vast backdrop of the sea, she looked especially small and helpless.

Zhao Wendong’s heart gave a sudden lurch. He couldn’t stop himself from breaking into a run, heading straight for her.