I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Chicken Drumstick Pistol

Handing the rope tied to Xiaobai to Zhao Wenwu, Zhao Wendong carefully cupped his coat pocket and slowly moved out of the cave.

The first few bends were pitch-black, forcing him to feel his way forward slowly. It got easier toward the end, illuminated by the light from the cave entrance. Once outside, Zhao Wendong immediately saw the pit, over a meter deep, beside him. ’My second brother’s strength is just incredible,’ he thought. ’If I had to dig a pit this deep myself, it would probably take me over an hour.’

He carefully placed the hand grenades one by one at the bottom of the pit, making sure each was separated by a layer of dirt. Then, Zhao Wendong quickly lifted the shovel and began to backfill.

Once the pit was just a small mound of earth and all the excavated dirt had been returned, Zhao Wendong finally breathed a sigh of relief. ’I’ll just deal with it like this for now. It’d be a shame to turn them in. Now I can go and properly clean up that stone chamber.’

Back inside the stone chamber, Zhao Wenwu hadn’t moved. He was still squatting down, teasing Xiaobai. The little fox seemed exceptionally friendly toward him, its big tail constantly sweeping against his body.

’This human doesn’t look too bright. I’ll butter him up first, then find a chance to get revenge on that other human later. Anyone who dares to hit me must pay the price.’

Hearing Xiaobai’s inner voice, Zhao Wendong gave a meaningful smile.

’This little guy has some nerve, trying to play the long game with me.’

”Second Brother, don’t you think Xiaobai smells a little gamey?”

”Not at all!”

Seeing Zhao Wenwu’s dead-serious expression, Zhao Wendong’s gaze flickered between his brother’s hands and his crotch a few times before he had an epiphany.

To his second brother, Xiaobai’s musk was probably a perfectly normal smell. You could say they were kindred spirits in stench.

On the opposite stone wall, he found a small hole perfect for holding the torch. The smoke from the flame actually drifted out through a corner of the ceiling, indicating that a vent had been built. The Japanese were known for their meticulous craftsmanship.

After throwing out all the rotten and spoiled supplies, and not counting the buried hand grenades, the usable items in the stone chamber included six Type 38 rifles, over two thousand rounds of ammunition, and a crate of canned beef. Zhao Wendong opened one can and was surprised to find it was still perfectly preserved.

There was also a large iron pot, a few basins, and some tattered clothes and bedding. Although they were in terrible shape, with some crumbling at the slightest touch, Zhao Wendong couldn’t bring himself to throw them away. They would make good kindling.

”Third Brother, come quick! Look what this is!”

Zhao Wenwu, who had been helping clean up with his head down, suddenly shouted.

Zhao Wendong quickly dropped the tattered bedding in his hands and hurried over.

Before him was a small machine. Its surface showed traces of rust, but it was in a high state of preservation. Zhao Wendong recognized it at a glance—it was a small generator.

”Haha, this is a real treasure. We can’t use it right now, so let’s just leave it for the time being.”

”But we’ve really lucked out with these!”

Zhao Wendong pointed at two bundles next to the generator and grinned. They were four leather belts with eyelets, likely made of cowhide. They were extremely sturdy and durable, looking almost new despite the passage of so many years.

Zhao Wendong immediately pulled off the hemp rope around his waist and replaced it with one of the belts.

”Third Brother, I want one too! I want one too!”

Zhao Wenwu watched, his eyes green with envy. Zhao Wendong helped him put on a belt as well, which made him giggle foolishly as he stroked it, unable to let it go.

”WHIMPER! WHIMPER!”

’There’s another gun over here.’

Xiaobai suddenly started yelping, nudging a pile of straw with its head. Zhao Wendong quickly went over and pushed the straw aside. It was a ”chicken drumstick”—a Nambu Type 14 pistol. It was slightly rusty but still usable.

Zhao Wendong pulled out the magazine. It was full, with eight rounds. He looked around but couldn’t find any other magazines or spare ammunition. After carefully checking the safety again, he tucked the pistol into his coat.

The two brothers moved the generator to a corner, tidied up the stone chamber a bit more, and then eagerly took out two of the Type 38 rifles. The gun case also contained maintenance oil and gauze. Zhao Wendong had Zhao Wenwu copy his movements, step-by-step, to wipe the rust from the guns’ surfaces. Then they each grabbed a handful of bullets and left the chamber.

”Third Brother, where are we going?”

Zhao Wenwu puffed out his chest and stuck out his belly, shouldering the rifle. He felt full of swagger, thinking he must look incredibly imposing, tall, and handsome.

”Let’s walk around the area before it gets dark and see if we can hunt something. After all, you can’t eat this stuff, and we don’t have enough food at home to last five days. Oh, right, let’s get some target practice in first!”

”Yeah! Yeah!”

Hearing he could fire the gun, Zhao Wenwu was so excited he literally jumped for joy.

Zhao Wendong first took off the White Fox’s collar, then patted its rump.

”I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll spare your life. Scram, before I change my mind.”

Zhao Wenwu felt a pang of reluctance. He couldn’t quite explain why he suddenly felt sad. In any case, he fell silent, his earlier excitement gone. But he would unconditionally support Zhao Wendong’s decision. He knew he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, so listening to his third brother was always the right thing to do.

The White Fox froze for a moment, then tentatively scampered left and right a couple of times, looking back at Zhao Wendong warily. Seeing that he made no move, it confirmed that it was truly free. It then sprinted excitedly across the snow, quickly disappearing from sight.

’I’m free, haha! I’ll remember you, human! You dared to hit me? Just wait until spring, I’m going to go kill all your chickens!’

”Well, well, would you look at that. The little bastard really holds a grudge! Whoa now, Second Brother, why are you crying? You know where Xiaobai’s den is anyway. If you miss him, you can just go visit!”

Zhao Wenwu’s tears immediately turned to laughter. He wiped his eyes, a little embarrassed.

”Oh yeah! Third Brother, you’re the sly one!”

Getting teased after helping him out, Zhao Wendong rolled his eyes at Zhao Wenwu. He excitedly raised the newly acquired Type 38 rifle and shouted.

”Let’s go, let’s go! Time for target practice!”

BANG! BANG! BANG! The sound of gunshots soon rang out. After firing a dozen or so rounds, Zhao Wendong put his rifle away, satisfied. You couldn’t knock the performance of these Japanese guns. The trajectory was straight and the range was long. The only downside was the lack of stopping power, but with a five-round capacity, it was more than enough for hunting.

Zhao Wenwu’s marksmanship was nothing to write home about. He could manage to shoot in the right general direction, but where the bullet landed was completely up to fate. After a few shots, the novelty of the gun wore off for him, and he began to lovingly play with the bayonet attached to it.

The two brothers had a great time firing off rounds, but the result was that by the time they’d wandered around until dusk, they hadn’t found any prey. The gunshots had long since scared all the nearby wildlife far away.

His excitement faded, and Zhao Wendong now felt like slapping himself. All that remained was endless regret.

”Sigh, I wish we hadn’t been in such a hurry to practice shooting!”

Zhao Wendong said to Zhao Wenwu with a frustrated look. Zhao Wenwu wasn’t too happy either and walked on with his head down.

Even Zhao Wenwu knew that their purpose in coming to the mountains was to get food. If they couldn’t find anything to eat, having more guns wouldn’t fill their stomachs, and it wasn’t like they could use the weapons to rob people for food.

As for selling them or turning them in? The local militia was already equipped with cannons, so these rifles wouldn’t fetch a high price, and their origin would be hard to explain. Most importantly, they needed these guns to hunt. Zhao Wenwu had no lofty ideals or noble character; he lived his entire life for his family.

”Sigh. Let’s go, Second Brother. It’s almost dark. We’ll head back to the cave and sleep. We can come out and hunt again tomorrow.”

”Okay.”

The two brothers walked back, dejected. As they passed a large grove of broadleaf trees, a bored Zhao Wenwu was glancing around when he suddenly pointed in one direction and yelled.

”Third Brother, mushrooms! Third Brother, there are mushrooms over there!”

”What? Where?”

Zhao Wendong followed his second brother’s pointing finger, and his heart leaped with joy.