I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 138: Chapter 137: The Calm Before the Storm

Wang Jinzhi was surprised, but Zhao Pandi and Zhao Laidi were much quicker to react. They immediately called out softly.

”Third Sister-in-law.”

”Hello~”

Lin Zhiyin smiled in greeting and took out two hair ties made of red waxed cord.

”You must be Pandi and Laidi. Here, these are for you.”

”Ah, hair ties!”

Zhao Laidi’s face lit up with excitement. She was always so envious whenever she saw other girls with hair ties, while she and her sister could only use scraps of cloth to tie up their hair.

Zhao Pandi didn’t dare to take one right away, looking instead to her mother, Wang Jinzhi.

”Why are you looking at your mom? Your sister-in-law gave them to you, so just take them.”

The words had barely left Zhao Wendong’s mouth when Zhao Pandi and Zhao Laidi snatched the hair ties. They admired their gifts gleefully, shouting happily.

”Thank you, Sister-in-law.”

Lin Zhiyin felt a slight pang in her heart. ’These were things I stopped caring about when I was just a little girl. I can’t believe that more than a decade later, in this new age, two little girls can get this excited over a simple hair tie.’ For a moment, she couldn’t quite put a name to the feeling.

Zhao Wendong led Lin Zhiyin into the west room. The first thing he saw was his grandmother, Ye Qingmei, on the edge of the bed, vigorously slapping his grandfather while shouting.

”Quick, quick, get up, you old coot! Our eldest grandson is back, and he says he brought his girlfriend!”

”Soybean paste? So what if he brought soybean paste? We don’t have any green onions, and you have to eat it with green onions for it to taste good.”

”You’re the one who looks like soybean paste! I said girlfriend! A partner! A wife!”

This time, the old man understood. He shot up from the bed with surprising agility.

”What’s that? It’s Dongzi’s girlfriend?”

And then he saw him—Zhao Wendong stepping into the room with Lin Zhiyin right behind him.

”Oh, my boy! Eldest grandson, is this your girlfriend? She’s a real looker!”

”Such a pretty girl!”

The moment Zhao Chuanhe and Ye Qingmei saw Lin Zhiyin, their faces bloomed into wide smiles. ’Oh my goodness,’ they thought, ’the girl our grandson found is just gorgeous! An absolute beauty!’

”Grandpa, Grandma, let me introduce you. This is your future granddaughter-in-law, Lin Zhiyin!”

Zhao Wendong announced, looking as smug as he possibly could.

”Good, good, good! Wonderful!”

The old woman grabbed Lin Zhiyin’s hand and wouldn’t let go. But her eyesight was getting bad in her old age; she couldn’t see clearly up close and had to squint to get a good look.

Beside them, Zhao Chuanhe was grinning from ear to ear. His eyes crinkled with mirth, and every wrinkle on his face seemed to smile. He even shot Zhao Wendong a thumbs-up.

”Sigh, I’m old, my eyes aren’t good anymore. I want to get a good look at my granddaughter-in-law, but the closer I look, the blurrier she gets!”

As soon as Ye Qingmei finished speaking, Zhao Wendong laughed.

”Come, come, Grandma, don’t you worry. I’ll make sure you can see clearly in a second.”

With that, he pulled a pair of reading glasses from his pocket and placed them on Ye Qingmei’s nose.

”How’s that? Grandma.”

”Oh, my boy! I can see clearly now! Hahaha, this is wonderful!”

”Tsk tsk, look how pretty my granddaughter-in-law is. Huh? Eldest grandson, how come you seem to have gotten uglier?”

Zhao Wendong’s face fell. ’So that’s how it is,’ he thought. ’The moment she gets a granddaughter-in-law, she forgets all about her precious grandson. What is this, burning the bridge after you’ve crossed it? Smashing the bowl after you’ve finished your meal?’

”Hey, you! I just bought you those glasses and you’re already talking me down? Fine, I’m taking them back.”

Ye Qingmei immediately dodged back.

”No way. Once you give it to me, it’s mine.”

”Hahaha!”

Watching the old woman’s childish antics, everyone burst into happy laughter. Zhao Chuanhe was laughing the hardest, which earned him a few more sharp smacks from Ye Qingmei.

Feeling Zhao Wendong’s grandparents’ love for him and their kindness towards her, Lin Zhiyin’s mood slowly relaxed. Zhao Wendong’s family was much nicer to her than she had imagined. They didn’t fixate on her background, and all of this put her at ease.

Zhao Wendong then gave his grandparents a detailed update on his second aunt’s family, which had Ye Qingmei and Zhao Chuanhe grinning from ear to ear.

When Zhao Wendong mentioned finding a chance to bring Zhao Yinhua and her family back for a visit in the spring, the two elders were so happy they clapped their hands. In these disastrous years, how could they not worry about their children? Ye Qingmei took Lin Zhiyin’s hand in one of hers and Zhao Wendong’s in the other, sighing gently.

”My boy, you’ve really made something of yourself. Your grandma is so happy. And now you’ve found such a beautiful wife... even if I were to die now, I could rest in peace. I’m not worried about the others, but I just don’t know how your Third Aunt is doing.”

Ye Qingmei and Zhao Chuanhe had four sons. The eldest died fighting the Japanese invaders, but unfortunately, he was considered a bandit, not a martyr. The third son died of illness, leaving only Zhao Dashan and Zhao Dahai.

They also had three daughters: Zhao Jinhua, Zhao Yinhua, and Zhao Tiehua. Jinhua was separated from the family while fleeing from soldiers and has been missing ever since; it’s likely she’s dead. In those days, people could just disappear. Zhao Yinhua married into a family in Dahei Mountain, at least still in the same county. But Zhao Tiehua married all the way to Yin County. It was so far that she had never once come back after getting married, only occasionally mailing some money to the old couple.

”Don’t worry, Grandma. I’ll go see my Third Aunt when I get the chance. And stop talking about dying. With me, Zhao Wendong, around, you and Grandpa had better live for a few more decades. I’m going to take you traveling all over the country to see its beautiful landscapes.”

”Yes, yes, that sounds wonderful. Your grandpa and I will be waiting for good news from our boy, then. My grandson is the most capable one of all, number one in the whole country!”

Seeing how happy Zhao Wendong had made his grandmother, Lin Zhiyin seized the opportunity to present her own gift.

”Grandma, I bought you a hairpin as a gift. Let me help you put it on.”

It was called a hairpin, but it was really just a large bobby pin with a simple ornament attached. Still, it was a nice thing in those days. Ye Qingmei joyfully accepted her granddaughter-in-law’s thoughtful gift. Once it was in her hair, she patted it several times, her smile so wide it made her eyes disappear into crescents.

Having shown off his girlfriend, Zhao Wendong was ready to head home.

”Eldest grandson, go stand by the door.”

Ye Qingmei winked hard at Zhao Wendong. He didn’t know what she was up to, but he did as he was told, getting up and walking to the doorway. Seeing that he was blocking the entrance, Ye Qingmei secretly pulled a glittering gold ring from somewhere in the bedding.

”Granddaughter-in-law, most of our old family heirlooms are gone. This is the one thing I managed to hide away. Now, I’m passing it on to you. Dongzi can have a bad temper sometimes, so don’t let it get to you. You two need to live a good life, help each other, and be understanding!”

”No, Grandma, I can’t accept this.”

Lin Zhiyin quickly tried to refuse, and the two of them entered into a lighthearted struggle over it. Zhao Chuanhe and Zhao Wendong didn’t intervene, just watching with happy smiles.

”Take it, quickly! Or Grandma will get upset!”

When Lin Zhiyin continued to refuse, Ye Qingmei resorted to her usual tactic of feigning anger. Unaware of the old woman’s routine, Lin Zhiyin could only look to Zhao Wendong for help. Zhao Wendong smiled and nodded; it was a gift from an elder, and the proper thing to do was accept it, keep the gesture in her heart, and repay them with filial piety later.

Seeing Zhao Wendong nod, Lin Zhiyin finally accepted the ring, clutching it tightly in her palm. The smile returned to Ye Qingmei’s face, and she patted Lin Zhiyin’s hand contentedly.

”You two can go now. Come back and chat with Grandma when you have time!”

”Okay.”

Lin Zhiyin nodded obediently.

”Oh, right, Grandpa, Grandma. This is soybean powder. You can mix some with water and drink it every day.”

”A picture book?”

Zhao Chuanhe’s ears perked up at once. He craned his neck, trying to see what kind of picture book it was. ’Hopefully, it’s *Jin Ping Mei*,’ he thought. ’I hear that one’s the juiciest.’ His hopes were dashed when he got a clear look. It was just soybean powder!

”Hahaha, you old coot, you’re this old and you still want to look at picture books?”

”What’s wrong with picture books? I want to read one.”

While the old couple bickered playfully as usual, Zhao Wendong led Lin Zhiyin into the east room.

On the bed, Zhao Dahai had heard the commotion for a while, and Wang Jinzhi had also come in to tell him what was happening. He struggled to get up, but his injuries were no less severe than Zhao Dashan’s, and in the end, he failed.

”I’m sorry, Dongzi’s bride. This old uncle isn’t in any shape to get up and greet you properly!”

”That’s all right, Uncle. Please focus on getting better.”

Lin Zhiyin responded with a smile. Zhao Wendong, however, paid no mind to pleasantries and plopped down carelessly on the bed beside Zhao Dahai.

”Uncle, cut the polite act. Just give us a bigger wedding gift when we get married!”

”By the way, Uncle. The day after tomorrow, I’m going to the Wang Family’s Hut to settle the score with Wang Dana for you.”

Zhao Dahai was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously.

”Good! Then I’m counting on you to handle this for me!”

Zhao Wendong got up and patted his rear, his words sharp and sarcastic.

”What are you saying? Even if you were dead, you’d still be my uncle. When I go to sweep the graves, I’d still have to burn some paper money for you, wouldn’t I?”

He turned and left, leaving Zhao Dahai with a constipated look on his face.

In the outer room, Zhao Wendong peeked into the rice vat. Seeing that there was still plenty to eat, he finally ambled toward the exit. He might look down on Zhao Dahai, but he had to make sure his grandparents wouldn’t go hungry.

”Goodbye, Brother San.”

”Goodbye, Sister-in-law.”

Zhao Pandi and Zhao Laidi bid them an enthusiastic farewell, their voices much louder than usual. Zhao Wendong nodded at them with an encouraging smile. His two younger cousins weren’t ugly, and they had good personalities.

It was just that Zhao Dahai and Wang Jinzhi had always favored sons, so the girls were never well-dressed or cared for. Malnourished, they were as skinny as bean sprouts, and their experiences had made them timid and overly cautious.

Wang Jinzhi walked them all the way out of the courtyard to the roadside. Seeing her hesitant, wanting to speak but holding back, Zhao Wendong naturally knew what she was worried about.

”Auntie, hasn’t one beating been enough to wake you up? Settle down and live a good life with Uncle. Stop thinking about your family all the time. You should spend more time disciplining your own kid. Why isn’t Zhao Wenhua at home, holing up for the winter? Where’d he run off to? Feeling full of energy now that his belly is full, is he? I’m halving his portion for the next meal.”

After saying that, he turned and left. After taking two steps, he saw Wang Jinzhi still had a worried look on her face, so he waved at her.

”I won’t kill him!”

With that, he turned and left with Lin Zhiyin. Watching their retreating backs, Wang Jinzhi sighed.

Suddenly remembering what Zhao Wendong had just said, she immediately grabbed a piece of firewood and headed straight for a house on the back street. That good-for-nothing Zhao Wenhua must have run off to watch people gamble again.