I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 122: Chapter 121: Upgrading the Arsenal

”Oh my god, the man-eating tiger was really killed by the Farm Director and his men!”

”Good riddance. It was eating people; it deserved to be killed.”

”Didn’t they go up the mountain twice before and fail to find it? How did they find it this time?”

”An expert showed up this time...”

”That young guy? He’s amazing!”

The people around were buzzing with discussion. The dead man’s wife and two children also knelt down, crying and thanking them for helping find the body so the deceased could be buried. The farm arranged for a sleigh to take the woman, her children, and the remains home.

Zhao Wendong walked over, a wild rabbit dangling from his hand. Xiaojin had just caught it. Nowadays, whenever Xiaojin saw a wild rabbit, it would give chase, kill it without eating it, and bring it straight back to Zhao Wendong.

”No, please don’t!”

The woman kept refusing, so Zhao Wendong pushed the rabbit into the hands of the child beside her and said gently.

”Ma’am, there’s no hardship you can’t get through. The children still need you. Please, take it. It’s just a small gesture from me. Take it!”

Seeing this, Liu Haisheng also had someone bring some grain and gave it to the woman as well. The woman and her two children were so moved they burst into tears again. Finally, the woman had her children kowtow three times to everyone to express their gratitude before taking her husband’s remains and the children home.

With the trouble that had been plaguing him recently resolved, Liu Haisheng’s mood instantly brightened. Even his big eyes seemed to be smiling. Specialized personnel would handle the tiger’s carcass, which would be submitted later along with a report. With that, the incident was considered closed.

Being killed by a tiger was an accident in itself. For the farm to find and kill the man-eater wasn’t just atoning for a mistake—it was a pure, unadulterated achievement. He pulled Zhao Wendong back to his office at a brisk pace and personally poured him a cup of hot water.

”Captain Zhao, I really can’t thank you enough for this.”

Zhao Wendong noticed how warm it was in the room and pulled out the tiger cub, setting it aside. The little fellow had fallen asleep at some point. Zhao Wendong placed it on the kang, but it didn’t wake up, lying there like a little ball of fur.

”Don’t thank me. I just happened to be here. Besides, I’m just serving the people!”

Seeing that Zhao Wendong wasn’t in a hurry anymore and hadn’t brought up the matter they had discussed earlier, Liu Haisheng cleared his throat and had to raise the topic himself.

”Captain Zhao, your father-in-law and mother-in-law have indeed been performing very well recently. So, the farm has decided to arrange some different work for them. Comrade Lin Huaimin’s health hasn’t been great, but he comes from a background as an old merchant. Let’s have him be responsible for the farm’s daily statistical work. It’s light, not tiring, and it’s his old line of work. It’ll give him a chance to recuperate his health.”

”An accountant?”

”Yes! You could put it that way. We have a dedicated accountant; he’d be something like the accountant’s assistant.”

Zhao Wendong nodded without speaking. He understood. After all, Lin Huaimin and his wife were still there to undergo labor and re-education. They couldn’t just become official staff members; that would change the very nature of their situation.

Liu Haisheng mulled it over for a moment before continuing.

”As for Comrade Wang Lulu, our farm is looking for someone for future promotional design work, as well as a representative for daily recreational activities. I think she would be up to the task.”

”Is it tiring?”

”Not at all, definitely not tiring!”

A smile spread across Zhao Wendong’s face. He stood up and happily grabbed Liu Haisheng’s hand, shaking it vigorously.

”Then thank you, Farm Director Liu! If you need anything in the future, just send someone to find me at Dragon King Pond. I’ll be there whenever you call!”

”Haha, excellent! A capable man like you, Captain Zhao, has my admiration. Liu Haisheng is truly impressed. Let’s keep in touch!”

Liu Haisheng gripped Zhao Wendong’s hand in return and shook it enthusiastically.

Zhou Mancang stood by, looking confused. He was listening in a fog, not understanding the details but feeling like something impressive was happening.

”By the way, Captain Zhao, what happened just now was mutual aid, but this tiger should have been your kill. We can’t just take it for free.”

”Captain Zhao, is there any reward you’d like?”

”Can I have my father-in-law and mother-in-law come stay at my place for a few days?”

Liu Haisheng was speechless. ’This kid’s got some thick skin. Most people would climb the pole you offer, but he’s trying to run off with the pole itself!’

”That’s really not possible, Captain Zhao. How about this? Let me ask you, what kind of rifle do you usually use for hunting in the mountains?”

”Me? A Type 38.”

Liu Haisheng and Chen Baoguo exchanged a glance, then Liu Haisheng nodded and said, ”I saw you’re quite proficient with the Type 56 carbine. How about we give you the one you used earlier as a thank you gift? We’ll even throw in five hundred rounds of ammunition. When you run out, you can always come to us for more!”

Zhao Wendong’s heart skipped a beat. The Type 38 was fine, but its sustained firepower was lacking. The last time he ran into a pack of wild boars, if he’d had a semi-automatic Type 56, he could have taken down at least one more large boar. Most importantly, with a Type 56, he would dare to hunt deeper in the mountains!

”Alright, I’ll accept Farm Director Liu’s arrangement.”

Seeing Zhao Wendong agree, Liu Haisheng was also very happy. Although a Type 56 carbine was quite valuable, it could be written off as routine wear and tear. It was a cost the farm could bear.

”By the way, Farm Director Liu, I brought all those gifts in my cart. You can’t make me haul them all the way back, can you?”

”No, I can’t accept your gifts. It would be hard to explain.”

”Not even if I’m just expressing my support for our farm?”

Liu Haisheng and Zhao Wendong were at a standstill for a long time before Chen Baoguo finally spoke up.

”Farm Director, weren’t you just worrying about the farm not having any special local products to send to the district for the New Year? Captain Zhao’s seal is very rare. Why don’t we accept it?”

After speaking, he glanced at the old matchlock rifle slung over Zhou Mancang’s back.

”As it happens, we have a spare Type 53 carbine. How about we trade that rifle and five hundred rounds of ammunition for it, Farm Director?”

Liu Haisheng thought for a moment and nodded.

”That could work. Captain Zhao, are you willing?”

Zhao Wendong shot Chen Baoguo an appreciative look and readily nodded in agreement. ’In the coming years and decades, the equipment of the village militias would gradually be upgraded. Twenty years from now, they would even have submachine guns and cannons, and the gear that common people used for hunting would become more and more powerful.’

’But right now, the militia’s equipment consisted mainly of decommissioned Zhongzheng rifles, and even those had usage restrictions. They usually just sat in the team’s warehouse collecting dust. The main issue was the limited ammunition, unlike in the decades to come when it would be plentiful. Meanwhile, hunters mostly used homemade guns or old rifles.’

’Getting a Type 53 rifle in return... He was quite fond of his second aunt’s family. His cousin, Zhou Mancang, was a good man too, having used his family’s stored grain to host him. Leaving this carbine for them would be a great help in getting through the famine years.’

Only then did Zhao Wendong finally breathe a sigh of relief. The objectives of his trip were basically complete. He had brought Lin Zhiyin to see her parents, caught the man-eating tiger, and successfully arranged for them to receive special treatment and be freed from heavy labor. Not to mention, he’d acquired two rifles and even picked up a tiger cub. This trip to the farm had not been in vain.

”Farm Director Liu, is there really no way for the two elders to get something like medical parole?”

Hearing this, Liu Haisheng’s face instantly darkened, and he looked at Zhao Wendong angrily.

”Captain Zhao, I consider you a friend, and I only agreed to help you out because you helped us. Don’t push your luck! Letting them go—is that the same thing at all? If I let them go today, tomorrow I’ll be the one doing the labor!”

”Alright, I understand. I got ahead of myself.”

Zhao Wendong quickly tried to placate him, but inwardly he thought otherwise. ’Lin Huaimin and Wang Lulu would definitely be exonerated in the future; it was just a matter of time. Leaving them on the farm was certainly not a long-term solution. After all, the period before the spring thaw was the hardest to endure everywhere, and that included the farm.’

’But for now, this was as far as he could go. He couldn’t push his luck with a newly established connection. He’d have to go back and think of another way, to see if any other opportunities arose.’