I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 110: Chapter 109: Golden Roc Spreads Its Wings

Lin Zhiyin’s heart was pounding. She was deeply moved by Zhao Wendong’s words. For the first time, she felt that her family background, worldliness, intelligence, beauty, and wisdom—all things she had been so proud of—were laughable and worthless in front of him. It was as if Zhao Wendong was the brightest star in the sky, making all others dim in comparison.

In her eyes, Zhao Wendong grew more mysterious, more dazzling. Her curiosity about him intensified. She desperately wanted to know why this ordinary farmer was so extraordinary. She began to think about all the little things about Zhao Wendong, and as her mind drifted, she fell asleep.

The next morning, after a hot meal at Wang Defa’s house, Zhao Wendong and Lin Zhiyin hurried to the purchasing station. They collected the horse-drawn sleigh, ready to bid farewell to Wang Defa and head straight for their destination: Dahei Mountain.

Wang Defa pulled a note from his pocket and handed it to Zhao Wendong.

”Wendong, this is a note I wrote for you to give to Liu Haisheng. We’re not close, but with this, he at least won’t give you a hard time. As for the bricks, I’ll ask Secretary Weimin for you as soon as I see him in the next day or two. I’ll definitely get it sorted out for you. He thinks very highly of you, too!”

Zhao Wendong nodded, taking the note with gratitude.

”Thanks, Brother Wang!”

Wang Defa’s expression hardened. ”What’s all this, Dongzi? If you’re going to be such a stranger, then don’t bother visiting anymore!”

”Alright, I won’t stand on ceremony with you then, Brother Wang. I’m in a hurry, so while I’m gone, could you help me track down a pair of reading glasses and a set of dentures? They’re for an old lady. And could you also ask around if there’s anything to help an old man’s hearing? Thanks, Brother Wang!”

”Damn, I was just being nice! You really took me at my word, didn’t you!”

As Zhao Wendong’s sleigh receded into the distance, Wang Defa watched in exasperation. Wendong was waving back with a cheeky grin, and beside him, Lin Zhiyin was covering her mouth, trying to stifle a laugh. Wang Defa couldn’t help but crack a smile himself. That kid was a complete rogue with no respect for his elders, but for some reason, you just had to like him.

The distance from the county town to Dahei Mountain was roughly the same as the distance from his home to the county town—a journey that took the better part of a day by horse cart. They had set off in a rush so early in the morning because Zhao Wendong was worried it would be dark by the time they arrived, making it difficult to find anyone. He couldn’t remember where his Second Aunt Zhao Yinhua lived at all, so he would have to ask for directions once they got to Dahei Mountain.

Zhao Wendong’s paternal grandparents, Zhao Chuanhe and Ye Qingmei, had four sons and three daughters.

The eldest son, Zhao Dajiang, had died for his country. The eldest daughter, Zhao Jinhua, was missing. The other two daughters, Zhao Yinhua and Zhao Tiehua, had both married and moved away. The second son was Zhao Dashan, and the third son, Zhao Dahe, had cut ties with the family to live on his own before dying of illness last year. Including the youngest son, Zhao Dahai, these were all the direct elders of Zhao Wendong’s paternal generation.

Zhao Yinhua had been married and living in this area for over twenty years. As far as Zhao Wendong could recall, he had only met this second aunt once and couldn’t remember her face clearly. His only impression was that she loved to laugh. Whenever she did, her mouth would open wide, and a booming HA HA HA would erupt. Zhao Yinhua always sent money back to his grandparents via others—she was a very devoted daughter.

The roads around the county town were much busier, and they occasionally encountered other travelers. When women or children gestured for a ride, Zhao Wendong would usually let them on for part of the way. But he was adamant about not picking up any adult men. With Lin Zhiyin and so much food on the sleigh, he had to be extra cautious.

The journey was rather dull, their only companions being Xiaojin in the sky, the white snow on the ground, and each other. Because of this, the bond between Zhao Wendong and Lin Zhiyin deepened rapidly. Their conversations grew more casual, and at times, they were like an old married couple, able to understand each other with a single glance. Lin Zhiyin found it incredible.

In particular, the more she learned of Zhao Wendong’s knowledge, the more unfathomable it seemed. He had an incredibly clear understanding of and insight into things concerning the future, which made Lin Zhiyin feel inadequate by comparison. ’He’s truly an enigma of a man.’ Lin Zhiyin felt herself falling deeper and deeper, but she savored the sensation.

Aside from chatting with Lin Zhiyin, Zhao Wendong spent most of the journey training the Golden Roc. He gave Lin Zhiyin the honor of naming it. After thinking for a long time, she finally settled on the name Xiaojin.

This made Zhao Wendong feel that he was perhaps too ahead of his time. Even Lin Zhiyin’s naming style was so down-to-earth. ’Maybe when I get home, I should change the dogs’ names back so they don’t seem so out of place in this era,’ he thought.

Zhao Wendong’s plan for Xiaojin was to use it as a living radar. The first step, therefore, was teaching it to identify all sorts of things. He would randomly point out a passerby, giving Xiaojin the command to ”find” them. Then, after a while, he would release Xiaojin and have it track down that same person.

After two days, Xiaojin could already successfully follow Zhao Wendong’s commands on occasion. This made Lin Zhiyin admire him even more. ’A man who can hunt, fish, care for others, who is worldly and can even train a roc... is so unbelievably attractive.’

The first half of the journey to Dahei Mountain was fairly quick, but the second half was slower. This was mainly because the path narrowed; with fewer people traveling it, the road grew more difficult to traverse. Fortunately, it hadn’t snowed in the last two days, so the path was still visible. If there had been a heavy snowfall, they might have lost the path entirely, and their surroundings would have transformed into a vast, white expanse.

Following the paths between villages, asking a few passersby for directions, and aided by Xiaojin’s aerial reconnaissance, Zhao Wendong finally spotted Dahei Mountain Village nestled at the foot of the mountain just before night fell.

As they drew near, Xiaojin became visibly agitated and uneasy. It flew back to land on Zhao Wendong’s shoulder, its eyes wide as it stared straight ahead.

[Up ahead is the place where I was captured.]

Zhao Wendong stroked it reassuringly. He glanced at the setting sun, a sense of relief washing over him, and patted the big brown horse’s rump.

”Come on, we’re almost there!”

The big brown horse flicked its large tail twice. It was thoroughly exhausted from the trip, but on account of Zhao Wendong understanding it so well, it still picked up its pace. CLIP-CLOP, CLIP-CLOP.

In the distance, a village appeared. Dozens of low-slung houses lay nestled in the deep snow. The entire world was just the black of the village against the white of the snow. Whenever Zhao Wendong saw such a monochrome scene, he couldn’t help but think of the vibrant, colorful world of his past life.

The world decades in the future was fast-paced and brilliant, but—and he wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination—Zhao Wendong still felt that the present was more interesting, that it had more of the raw flavor of life.

The horse-drawn sleigh entered the village slowly. Zhao Wendong was planning to find someone and ask for directions to his second aunt’s house. After going a short distance, he saw a tall, slender young man chopping firewood in the yard of a house up ahead. Zhao Wendong stopped the sleigh at the man’s gate and shouted.

”Hey, brother! Let me ask you, is this Dahei Mountain?”

The young man glanced up and answered in a low voice.

”This is Dahei Mountain. Who are you looking for?”

”Where does Zhao Yinhua live?”

The young man’s head snapped up. He sized up Zhao Wendong with a peculiar expression before asking in a bewildered tone.

”What do you want with my mom?”

Zhao Wendong was speechless.