I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Zhao Yinhua lay on the kang, holding Zhao Wendong’s hand and refusing to let go. Zhao Wendong smiled and teased her.

”Second Aunt, I still haven’t unharnessed the horse-drawn sleigh, and I’m not done unloading everything. Can you hold my hand again in a bit?”

”Haha, still as shameless as when you were a kid. My dear niece-in-law, let me tell you, this boy was truly shameless when he was little. We went back to visit family over ten years ago and brought some pastries. Dongzi was just a little tyke back then, and he was craving those pastries. Guess what he said?”

Lin Zhiyin hadn’t expected to hear some old gossip about Zhao Wendong’s childhood, and her interest was immediately piqued.

”What did he say?”

”’I want pastries! I’m hungry! My little fellas down there are all shriveled up from hunger!’ HAHAHA!”

As soon as Zhao Yinhua finished, she burst out laughing, her dizziness forgotten. The others were stunned for a moment before they too erupted in laughter. Lin Zhiyin’s pretty face flushed red as she laughed, and her beautiful eyes darted mischievously toward Zhao Wendong’s lower body.

”Second Aunt, you’re talking nonsense!”

Zhao Wendong shouted and beat a hasty retreat, which only made Zhao Yinhua and Lin Zhiyin laugh even harder.

Zhou Mancang came out with a broad smile to help Zhao Wendong. First, they moved everything inside. Then they unhitched the sleigh, freeing the big brown horse. Zhao Wendong took the tattered quilt used as padding on the bottom of the sleigh into the house and placed it in a corner of the outer room. He had the big brown horse lie down on it as a temporary resting spot, then got it some fodder and water. The big brown horse swished its tail and began to eat gracefully.

Next was feeding Xiaojin. They had set aside two strips of rabbit meat earlier instead of stewing them, specifically for the roc. After feeding it the meat and giving it water, Wendong took out a cloth and covered the cage so it could sleep. Zhou Mancang, who had been watching him bustle about, couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

”Wendong, you’re so meticulous, taking care of these animals so attentively. Someone in our village also caught a Golden Roc a while back. Did you raise this one from a chick?”

Zhao Wendong gave him a sly grin.

”This is the one Chen the Seventh from your village caught. It is Chen the Seventh, right?”

”Ah, yes, yes, yes!”

Zhou Mancang nodded repeatedly, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. He had grown up near the mountains and considered himself something of a hunter, but he had never heard of anyone taming an adult Golden Roc.

”Wendong, how did you do it? Golden Rocs are incredibly proud! If you displease them, they’ll either starve themselves to death or smash their own heads in. How could you possibly tame an adult one?”

”Haha, I was lucky. And maybe I was just attentive, like you said, right?”

Zhou Mancang scratched his head, completely bewildered. When he went back inside and told everyone that Zhao Wendong had tamed an adult Golden Roc, it drew another round of amazed and incredulous sighs from the Zhou family.

”Oh, Dongzi, you’ve really made something of yourself! Second Aunt is so happy for you! You’re so capable, and you even brought life-saving grain to your Second Aunt’s family. If it weren’t for this tiger disaster these past few days, your second uncle-in-law and your older cousin would have gone into the mountains for food. The house wouldn’t have run out of grain.”

”A tiger disaster?”

Zhao Wendong was taken aback. That was a term he hadn’t heard in a very, very long time.

”Yup, a tiger disaster. A tiger appeared in the mountains recently. It’s already killed and eaten two people. It has all the surrounding villages and that labor and re-education farm nearby in a panic.”

Zhao Wendong’s gaze sharpened. ’A man-eating tiger, and it’s already killed two? And it’s connected to the farm?’

’A tiger like that has to be dealt with immediately. Otherwise, more and more people will suffer. Any beast, whether it’s a tiger or something else, must be killed right away once it has tasted human flesh.’

’That’s because in its eyes, humans are now part of its diet. Having eaten a person, it knows that two-legged prey is easier to hunt than four-legged prey. A beast like that has to die, or more people will be killed.’

”Didn’t the Commune organize a hunt?”

”Sigh. The Commune wanted to organize a search of the mountains, but they couldn’t afford the grain rations for it. They could only call on everyone to go up the mountain and kill the tiger themselves. They said whoever succeeded would be recommended for this year’s Model Worker and Advanced Commune Member awards. But no one dares to make a move. Who doesn’t know how dangerous a man-eating tiger is? We’re all weak from not eating enough as it is. If we go into the mountains and get targeted by the tiger, who knows who’ll be hunting who?”

After Zhou Mancang finished speaking, Zhao Yinhua added from the side.

”That tiger is incredibly cunning. The labor farm sent a lot of people up the mountain because they suffered the worst losses—a draft ox was killed, and one person was eaten. But after searching for days, they didn’t even find a shadow of the tiger. No sooner had they returned than the tiger darted over to the next hamlet and ate a child.”

Hearing this, Lin Zhiyin instantly grew tense. Her parents were at that farm. She clenched her hands so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh, but she didn’t even feel the pain. Zhao Wendong noticed and gently patted her, signaling for her to relax.

”Don’t worry. We’ll go tomorrow. It definitely wasn’t your parents.”

”Mm!”

Lin Zhiyin knew she was probably overthinking it. ’They likely sleep in large, collective dormitories. A tiger couldn’t possibly get in with so many people around. If it did, it wouldn’t have just been one person eaten.’

”What parents? What’s going on?”

Zhao Yinhua had been happy to see the loving interaction between Zhao Wendong and Lin Zhiyin, but after hearing that, she sensed something was off. ’Her grandnephew’s wife’s parents work at the farm?’

”Second Aunt, Zhiyin is an educated youth from Beijing. Her parents are in the nearby farm.”

”Ah!”

The Zhou family couldn’t help but gasp, and then they fell silent.

The image of Lin Zhiyin, so beautiful and well-mannered, didn’t match the stereotypes in their minds, leaving them momentarily stunned.

SLAP!

Zhao Yinhua slapped the kang mat.

”I don’t care what family she’s from! All I know is that Zhiyin is a good girl. Wendong, you’re lucky enough for eight lifetimes to marry a woman as wonderful as Zhiyin. You have to cherish her and treat her well. You can’t look down on her because of her background and status, you hear?”

”Yeah, of course I wouldn’t!”

The rest of the Zhou family also came to their senses and chimed in, comforting Lin Zhiyin and telling Zhao Wendong to treat her well. Lin Zhiyin’s tense body gradually relaxed. Zhao Wendong also smiled, especially happy now. The more he looked at his second aunt and her family, the more warmth he felt toward them.

Next, Zhao Wendong explained the purpose of his visit: he had brought Lin Zhiyin to see her parents, and he also wanted to see if he could find a way to help them. He then began asking his second aunt about the situation at the farm and the current conditions of the people confined there.

Zhao Yinhua wiped her mouth, her expression turning grim.

”Even we don’t know where our next meal is coming from. They have to do heavy labor, and their workload is immense. If they don’t get enough to eat on top of that... you can imagine. It’s a very hard life.”

Zhao Wendong nodded. ’When I go to the farm tomorrow, I have to find a way to take care of my mother-in-law and father-in-law,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, if something happens to them, even though Zhiyin is married to me, she’ll likely never be truly happy. I don’t want that. I want to live a happy, joyful little life with her!’

”Dinner’s ready!”

Zhou Cuicui’s call came from the outer room. The main room instantly bustled with activity. Some set up the table, others got off the kang, and everyone pitched in to help. Zhou Cuicui had even carefully selected two intact bowls and washed them thoroughly several times for Zhao Wendong and Lin Zhiyin to use.