I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 132: Chapter 131: The Kick from the Heavens

Lin Zhiyin shifted away in disgust. Ignoring him, she said to the salesclerk,

”Please ring me up for these items.”

”Hey, lady, I’m talking to you! Are you deaf or something? How can a girl as pretty as you have such bad hearing?”

Fatty Li was relentless. He sidled up to her, reaching out to put a hand on her, but Lin Zhiyin immediately took two steps back, her face a mask of revulsion.

”Don’t touch me! Get away from me!”

”Whoa there, miss. I’m just trying to be friends. Don’t be one of those people who mistakes kindness for malice, like a dog biting Lü Dongbin!”

”Do you have any idea how much a pearl hairpin costs? It’s worth more than every hair tie and clip in this entire room.”

’Fatty Li was getting impatient. This woman was just too unappreciative. If she wasn’t so damn beautiful—enough to make even his crushed balls stir—why the hell would he be stooping so low for her!’

’But then again, how could there be a woman this beautiful in the county that he’d never heard of? It didn’t make any sense!’

”Come on, come with me. Let’s get to be good friends!”

Lin Zhiyin was just too beautiful, and on top of that, she might be the one to salvage his manhood. Having said his piece, Fatty Li couldn’t wait any longer and lunged to grab her.

”MROWL!”

A cute little furball shot out from Lin Zhiyin’s arms, letting out a fierce little roar as it swiped its claws at Fatty Li’s hand!

”AH!”

Fatty Li yanked his hand back, revealing a fresh scratch mark.

”You... your cat scratched me! If you don’t come home with me today, this won’t be over. I’m taking you to the police station!”

Seeing that Fatty Li was still refusing to back down, Lin Zhiyin’s anger flared.

”You think I give a damn about your offer?”

”Ever heard the phrase ’all style, no substance’?”

”How about ’fair on the outside, foul on the inside’?”

”Haven’t heard of those? Well, surely you’ve heard ’a monkey in a crown’?”

”Why don’t you take a look in the mirror? You look like a freak, yet you still have the gall to come out and scare people.”

The surrounding salesclerks covered their mouths to hide their giggles. This completely infuriated Fatty Li. A moment ago, he had been hoping to sweet-talk Lin Zhiyin and get a taste of her charms. The instant he laid eyes on her, he felt a stirring, a hope that his life as a ”eunuch” might be over. But now, her quadruple-barreled insult had thoroughly provoked him. In this county, no one was allowed to be more arrogant than he was.

”How dare you curse me! I won’t let you get away with this!”

Fatty Li’s face flushed crimson, his beady eyes bulging with rage. He lunged, his massive body hurtling straight for Lin Zhiyin.

Lin Zhiyin hadn’t expected the man to be so brazen as to attack someone in public. She cried out and stumbled back two steps, but she was no match for his speed. Just as Fatty Li was about to tackle her, a furious roar echoed from above.

”Fatty Li, you motherfucker!”

Zhao Wendong had heard what sounded like Lin Zhiyin’s voice and came downstairs to investigate. As he rounded the bend in the staircase, he saw Fatty Li lunging at Lin Zhiyin at the bottom of the steps. With a roar, Zhao Wendong accelerated and launched himself into a flying kick aimed at Fatty Li.

THUD—!

With a sickening thud, Zhao Wendong’s rage-filled kick connected squarely with Fatty Li’s chest. Striking from above, he sent Fatty Li’s massive body flying, rolling two or three times across the floor.

Zhao Wendong landed gracefully. Showing no mercy, he rushed over to the wailing Fatty Li and began kicking him relentlessly in the face and crotch.

”AAGGGHHH!”

Fatty Li, whose recently ”crushed eggs” hadn’t even fully healed, let out a squeal like a stuck pig. His bloodcurdling shrieks echoed throughout the entire cooperative.

The cooperative director, followed closely by Wang Defa and Niu Yuesheng, rushed down the stairs. They were horrified by the scene. Seeing Fatty Li foaming at the mouth, they quickly grabbed Zhao Wendong, terrified he was about to beat the man to death.

The cooperative director recognized Fatty Li as Vice Secretary Li’s son, and sweat immediately broke out on his forehead. Seeing his panic, Wang Defa leaned in and whispered,

”This has nothing to do with you. Zhao Wendong has powerful backing of his own. Just go notify Vice Secretary Li as you normally would, but take your time. I’m going to find Secretary Weimin!”

”Got it!”

The director nodded. The two men left the cooperative one after another. Wang Defa broke into a full sprint, while the director took a leisurely stroll. Only when he was near the county committee building did he pick up his pace for a few steps, knocking on Vice Secretary Li’s office door while pretending to be out of breath.

”Secretary, this is terrible! Your son... he’s been beaten up!”

”What?”

Vice Secretary Li had only one son, whom he had doted on since birth. He was already sick with worry about his son’s ability to continue the family line, so hearing he’d been beaten sent him into a blind rage.

”Call the police! I want to see just who is this arrogant! Is there no law and order left? Is our organization no longer in charge here?!”

「Fifteen minutes later.」

Fatty Li had been taken to the clinic, and the cooperative director’s office was now packed with people.

”Arrest him!”

Vice Secretary Li pointed at Zhao Wendong and ordered the police officers behind him.

”You will not arrest him!”

Jiang Weimin blocked their path, standing in front of Zhao Wendong with an angry expression.

”Secretary Li, do you even know the first thing about what happened? And you’re just ordering an arrest?”

”So what if I don’t? Does that mean you do, Jiang Weimin? Let me tell you, the Li Family has only one heir. Anyone who touches my son is taking a shit on my head! I’m arresting this peasant today, and that’s final!”

”Final? This man is a labor hero! He caught four thousand jin of fish in a single haul!”

”Heh. Four thousand jin, forty thousand jin—so what? He’s still just a peasant. Besides, does being a ’hero worker’ give him the right to assault people whenever he pleases?”

Seeing the man trying to pin the label of a random thug on him, Zhao Wendong refused to be intimidated. He stepped forward, staring defiantly at Secretary Li’s fat face, a face just like his son’s.

”Which one of your eyes saw me ’assaulting people whenever I please’? There are plenty of witnesses here. Why don’t you ask them what really happened?”

”Let’s ignore the facts for a moment. Did you hit him, yes or no? Hitting someone is wrong. Assaulting another person is a serious crime that warrants an arrest. What are you all gawking at? Arrest him!”

Secretary Li obviously realized there was a reason his son had been beaten up, so he decided to ignore the cause entirely and convict Zhao Wendong on the spot.

The police officers exchanged uncertain glances and began to inch toward Zhao Wendong. Jiang Weimin furiously shoved them back.

”What do you think you’re doing? Have you thrown all discipline and principles out the window?!”

”I am ordering you now: launch an immediate investigation! Get to the bottom of this before you do anything else!”

The police chief in charge looked from one superior to the other, frozen in a stalemate, not knowing whose order to follow.

”Officers! Secretaries! I want to file a report. A moment ago, while I was shopping on the first floor, a heavyset man started harassing me without any provocation. The cooperative’s employees can all attest to this. When I refused his advances, he became enraged and tried to attack me. If my boyfriend hadn’t shown up, that man would have beaten me. I ask the organization to grant me justice!”

Lin Zhiyin suddenly stepped forward from the back of the crowd. Her voice was melodious, her account perfectly clear. Both Jiang Weimin and Secretary Li looked up at her, and both were inwardly stunned. ’What a beautiful girl.’

Upon seeing Lin Zhiyin, Secretary Li instantly believed her completely. ’If a girl this beautiful could stir even his own heart, what chance did his good-for-nothing son have?’ he thought. ’This makes it even more critical that they don’t investigate.’ Just as he was about to order the police to drag Zhao Wendong away regardless, another voice spoke up.

”I saw it! I can testify!”

It was Wang Defa. He hadn’t actually seen everything himself, but he’d heard the full account from the salesclerks. Now, he was the first to step forward in support of Zhao Wendong. Secretary Li’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Wang Defa with a cold sneer.

”Well, well, well. Wang Defa. You’ve got some nerve.”

”Me too!”

Niu Yuesheng stepped forward as well.

”We can testify. That heavyset man was harassing a woman.”

”That’s right! The heavyset man was about to hit her. This comrade was just protecting his girlfriend.”

”Us too!”

The cooperative’s clerks also began stepping forward to speak out. It was as if none of them registered Secretary Li’s threat. But did they really not understand? No, they understood perfectly. They just weren’t afraid. The people of this generation had faced down foreign devils; what was there to fear from Fatty Li’s father?