I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Pickled Cabbage

”Brother, you’ve got so much stuff here. You really want to trade it all for food?”

”Yep!”

Hearing Zhao Wendong’s decisive reply, Big Wang sucked his teeth, looking troubled.

”What’s wrong, Brother Wang? Is this a problem for you?”

”Not exactly!”

Big Wang called his wife over. He took out a notebook and spent a long time scribbling and calculating before rubbing his hands together a bit sheepishly and speaking.

”Brother, it’s no problem to trade these two roe deer and all this meat for food. The thing is, I don’t have enough goods on hand right now. I need to make a trip to the county town. Why don’t you come back tomorrow? Or, if you trust me, you can leave the goods here. I’ll give you everything I have in stock first, and you can come get the rest tomorrow after I get back from the county.”

Zhao Wendong knew what was going on. Big Wang was saying this because he had brought too much; the man couldn’t cover the whole trade with his current inventory. He needed to go to the county town to trade first before he could settle the rest of the deal. If it were anyone else, Zhao Wendong wouldn’t necessarily trust them, but he was absolutely certain he could trust Big Wang. He knew that this man would become famous in his past life, known for being righteous and honest in business, never cheating anyone, young or old.

’Of course,’ Zhao Wendong thought, ’if I give all this to Big Wang, he can definitely flip it for more grain or other benefits than he’s giving me. Couldn’t I just go to the county town and do the trade myself?’

The answer was no.

You had to leave specialized work to the specialists. He didn’t have the channels to immediately turn these goods into a larger amount of grain, nor did he have the connections to ensure his own safety. While speculation and profiteering hadn’t been made a direct criminal offense yet, it was still illegal. Getting caught would mean a world of trouble.

”Heh, Brother Wang, even though we’ve only known each other a short while and have only worked together once, I trust you. The goods are all here. Feel free to take them. I’ll just make another trip tomorrow to get the rest.”

Big Wang was stunned. He truly hadn’t expected a young man he’d known for only a week to trust him so completely. Moved, he patted Zhao Wendong’s shoulder.

”Alright! Since you trust me this much, brother, you just watch and see if I let you down!”

The two roe deer totaled 146 jin. He had left 40 jin of the wild boar meat at home and brought the remaining 280 jin. Big Wang opened the cellar in his house, and a sturdy young man climbed down into it—whether he was Big Wang’s younger brother or brother-in-law, Wendong couldn’t tell. Soon, the young man was passing up sacks of grain one by one.

Big Wang took each sack, inspected it, and then introduced it to Zhao Wendong.

”Here, brother, take a look. This sack is corn flour.”

”This is sorghum rice.”

”Soybean flour, cracked corn, millet, and here’s a sack of old rice from last year...”

Zhao Wenwu rubbed his hands in excitement. Seeing so much food, he almost felt like robbing Big Wang right then and there. Fortunately, he managed to restrain himself with the thought that all this would soon belong to his family anyway.

”Oh, right. Brother, do you want any vegetables?”

In a disaster year, everyone prioritized trading for staple foods. Vegetables weren’t considered filling, so they weren’t a top choice. But Zhao Wendong would take anything he could get. He didn’t just want his family to have full bellies; they had to eat well and get proper nutrition, too!

”Yes! Brother Wang, just add them in. If it’s edible, I want it!”

Big Wang nodded and shouted down into the cellar.

”Bring up the vegetables, too!”

Soon, sacks of vegetables were also brought up: napa cabbage, potatoes, radishes, and a whole gunnysack of sugar beets. No wonder Big Wang was so careful; with a disaster year looming, the things in his house were no less precious than gold.

”Brother, this is everything I have in the house for now. Let’s weigh it all and do the math. I’ll head to the county right after, and I guarantee I’ll have what I owe you by tomorrow!”

”Deal! You’re in charge, Brother Wang. I have absolute faith in you!”

Zhao Wendong’s straightforward demeanor made Big Wang’s wife and the young man look at him with new respect. The expressions on their faces softened considerably.

After everything was weighed, the grain and vegetables totaled over four hundred jin, filling eight or nine gunnysacks. Big Wang calculated the value based on a ratio, which covered about half of the meat Zhao Wendong had brought. The exchange rate was roughly 1:3, and that was even with the fact that Zhao Wendong’s two roe deer were unskinned. In the final calculation, Big Wang still owed Zhao Wendong another four hundred jin of grain, which he promised to deliver the next day.

Finally, Big Wang instructed his wife, ”Go get half of our pickled cabbage and pack it up for my brother.”

His wife was visibly reluctant, but she glanced at Zhao Wendong, turned, and left. A moment later, she returned carrying a net bag containing about ten heads of pickled cabbage. In the winter, pickled cabbage was a top-tier delicacy; it was not only flavorful and nutritious but also a great source of salt.

”Brother, this pickled cabbage isn’t part of the deal. It’s what my family pickled to get us through the winter. You take it. It’s not part of the trade; consider it a gift from your Brother Wang!”

When Zhao Wendong moved to decline, Big Wang’s eyes widened.

”What’s the matter, brother? You trust your Brother Wang this much, so he can’t give you a little something to eat in return?”

’No wonder this guy becomes the first ’ten-thousand yuan household’ and later the richest man,’ Zhao Wendong thought. He gratefully accepted the pickled cabbage. The two men shared a smile, their bond clearly having grown stronger.

The two roe deer and the wild boar meat were left at Big Wang’s place. When they left, the big brown horse’s sled was laden only with a pile of gunnysacks. Zhao Wendong drove the horse, Zhao Wenwu carried the bag of pickled cabbage on his back while also pulling Little Shanghai’s sled, and the three of them headed straight for the Agricultural Technology Station.

Big Wang’s wife looked at her husband with some confusion. Though he was small in stature, his mind was sharp as a tack. That shrewdness was precisely what she had fallen for when she married him, a man so poor he could piss blood. And now, was there anyone who didn’t envy their family’s life?

”Husband, why did you give him so much of our pickled cabbage?”

Big Wang watched the three figures retreat, a smile on his face as he spoke.

”In all these years, have you ever seen anyone bring in so much game in a single week in the middle of winter? Besides, if it were you, would you dare just hand over so much valuable stuff without worrying I’d run off with it? That kid is definitely someone special. There’s no downside to being on good terms with him. Who knows, just by helping him move his goods in the future, we could end up eating until we’re stuffed.”

Big Wang’s wife nodded and said no more. Beside them, her younger brother also had a look of sudden understanding on his face.

The moment they left Big Wang’s house, Zhao Wenjun couldn’t help but excitedly touch the sacks of grain and vegetables on the sled, as if he could feel what was inside right through the burlap.

”Third Brother, this is amazing! This is enough to feed our family until the New Year! If we’re careful, we can make it last until spring!”

”Careful my ass. We’re not going to be careful. We’re eating three meals a day, every day. We need to build our strength back up.”

Zhao Wendong immediately retorted. He had already made up his mind: in this life, not only would his family not go hungry, they would be healthy. Nursing their bodies, which had been weakened by past starvation, back to health was his number one priority.

”Alright, whatever you say!”

Zhao Wenjun was unusually compliant, nodding his head rapidly. Having so much food right in front of him was more persuasive than any words. At this point, if his third brother claimed to be a reincarnated god, he would believe him.

The road was busy with pedestrians, so the three of them hurried on in silence. Just as they reached the gate of the Agricultural Technology Station, they saw Little Shanghai lying by the doorway, leisurely basking in the sun.

”Hey, look at you! Other people go to the beach to sunbathe in the summer, but you’re out here sunbathing in the dead of winter. What are you, a toad on the road pretending to be a little camouflage jeep?”

”Fuck, it’s none of your damn business if I’m sunbathing... Wendong!”