I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 141: Chapter 140: The Power of Dragon King Pond

”Hey, hey! Stop hitting me!”

”Let me finish what I have to say!”

Seeing that Zhao Wendong seemed to have more to say, the crowd finally stopped.

Although it hurt a little, Zhao Wendong knew no one was hitting him hard. It was just that old man, Third Master Zhao, who had snuck in two heavy whacks with his big tobacco pipe. Zhao Wendong decided to hold a grudge for now.

”The county didn’t approve it because that guy named Li kept opposing it. Secretary Weimin is actually very supportive of the idea.”

”Fuck, it’s that Li Dalian again.”

Third Master Zhao flew into a rage the moment he heard this. He pulled a Mauser pistol from his coat and said to Zhao Weiguo,

”Weiguo, take me to the county on the horse-drawn sled tomorrow. I’m going to go blast that son of a bitch and his whole family. That’ll solve Dongzi’s problem and our food problem, and the village will be able to get through the winter. Oh, right, Dongzi! From now on, you help me look after Granny Liu’s place, you hear?”

Seeing the old man was truly furious, everyone quickly calmed him down. Zhao Wendong was both amused and touched. He had never realized this normally smiling old man was so damn tough.

No one continued on that topic, but everyone knew the score. If it really came down to it, killing Fatty Li and his father to help the village’s young and old survive wasn’t out of the question. This was a matter of the village’s very survival.

”Dongzi, are you busy tomorrow? How about we organize the militia for some training?”

Zhao Weiguo changed the subject. Everyone was currently cooped up for the winter. With not enough food, their stamina was low, so they definitely couldn’t go out for intense training. However, it was still possible for Zhao Wendong to make an appearance as the new leader and run an assembly drill just in case. When Li Dalian eventually came, they could also show him the strength of Dragon King Pond.

”I’m planning to go into the mountains tomorrow to call my big brother and the others back. Let’s do it the day after tomorrow. We’ll assemble the militia then. The day after that, I have to make a trip to Wang Family’s Hut. I need to get some answers for what happened to my old uncle and aunt there. They can’t just get beaten for nothing.”

”Yeah, you’re right, you should go. Do you want us to come with you?”

”Haha, no need. If I can’t even handle a single Wang Dana, how am I supposed to take on Li Dalian?”

Everyone nodded upon hearing this. They knew that while others worked, Zhao Wendong was often out loafing around, and as a result, he had a lot of cronies. Although Wang Dana was tough, he was still just a farmer at heart. His level of ”professionalism” was miles behind Zhao Wendong’s. They had faith in him.

”Take the militia with you. Don’t capsize in a ditch.”

Third Master Zhao hit hard, but he was genuinely looking out for Zhao Wendong.

”Alright. I’ll take whoever is willing to go.”

Zhao Wendong nodded in agreement. There was no harm in having more people; it would also be a good chance to establish his authority. Then he remembered he hadn’t told them about his second brother’s situation yet, so he took the opportunity to bring it up.

”Oh, right. The last time we came back from the mountains, we found a woman from the Central Plains on the roadside. After my second brother saved her, she became dead set on being with him. I’m going to bring them both back tomorrow.”

As soon as he said this, the members of the village committee erupted.

”Huh? For real?”

”Wenwu found a wife?”

”How old is she? Is she older than me?!”

Zhao Wendong gave Aunt Liu an amused look.

”What do you mean, ’is she older than you,’ Aunt Liu? She’s still a young woman in her twenties!”

”Oh my god, hurry up and tell us the details! How did that simple boy Wenwu get so lucky?”

”It’s like they say, fortune favors the foolish.”

Zhao Wendong gave them the detailed, prepared story, then pretended to be troubled.

”It’s just that the girl’s identification papers and all that were lost on the road.”

”Hah, that’s not a problem! We’ll just help her get new ones issued at the Commune!”

The others didn’t think it was a big deal either, still absorbed in their happiness for Zhao Wenwu.

”Hahaha, great! Just like that, two of Dragon King Pond’s most hopeless bachelors are taken care of.”

The moment Third Master Zhao’s words left his mouth, Zhao Wendong protested.

”What’s that supposed to mean, Third Master? What do you mean, two hopeless bachelors? My second brother being hopeless, I can accept. But me? That’s not right, is it?”

”Is it hard for *me* to find a wife? You say ’two of our most hopeless bachelors,’ but doesn’t everyone know who the *biggest* bachelor is around here?”

”Hahaha!”

Everyone in the village knew that Third Master Zhao had waited a lifetime for Granny Liu and had been a bachelor his whole life. Seeing Zhao Wendong turn the tables on him, the others burst out laughing.

”Hey! You little bastard, see if I don’t beat you to death!”

Zhao Wendong had really struck a nerve. Third Master Zhao was thoroughly enraged now. He brandished his pipe, ready to raise a field of bumps on Zhao Wendong’s head, determined not to stop until he looked like the Buddha himself.

Zhao Wendong agilely dodged back and forth on the kang, his feet thundering across the heated brick bed in Third Master Zhao’s house, sending up puffs of dust from the mat.

The others watched the old man and the young man chase each other, laughing so hard they were doubled over. No one tried to stop them, because they all knew that despite their constant roughhousing, the two were actually very close.

”Alright, Dongzi. Then tomorrow, we’ll use the horse-drawn sled to take you into the mountains, and we’ll pick you all up in the evening.”

”No, no, it’s not that urgent.”

Zhao Wendong waved his hand, rejecting Zhao Weiguo’s offer. For one, they couldn’t just keep using the brigade’s sled. For another, they had no idea when they would be coming down the mountain. It was no small thing to ask someone to wait for them in the freezing cold.

”But, Uncle Weiguo, could I borrow your family’s sled? I’m worried that if they hunt a lot of game, my family’s sled won’t be big enough to carry it all.”

Aside from the horse-drawn sled, Zhao Weiguo’s was the only other family in the village with a sled. Anyone who needed it would just go and borrow it. Zhao Wendong’s family used to borrow it too, but then they started using Little Shanghai’s sled and just never gave it back. Since Little Shanghai never mentioned it again, Zhao Wendong hadn’t needed to borrow Zhao Weiguo’s sled since.

”Sure, no problem. You can come get it in a bit.”

Seeing that they had discussed most of what needed to be said, Zhao Weiguo uncrossed his legs and got off the kang.

”Alright, let’s end the meeting here for today. Don’t rush the rest. We’ll plan carefully. It’s not the final hour yet. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. No matter what happens, here in our little corner of Dragon King Pond, we’re still the ones who call the shots, right?”

”Oh, right, Dongzi. You haven’t seen the village well yet, have you?”

”No, I haven’t!”

Zhao Weiguo pulled him along.

”Come on, I’ll take you to see it. It’s looking really decent now.”

The others also dispersed and headed home. Zhao Wendong followed Zhao Weiguo toward the village’s old well.

”Wendong, Third Master got a bit hasty today, but we don’t necessarily oppose his idea, you understand? If it really comes to that, it’s not like we have no one in Dragon King Pond. It’s just not the last resort yet.”

”You have to remember, you’re on our village committee. You’re the future and the leader of our brigade. When two armies clash, you don’t send the commander-in-chief out first. If something really happens, you don’t need to feel any burden. It wouldn’t just be for you, but for all of us. Got it?”

”Yeah.”

Zhao Wendong nodded, a feeling welling up in his chest that he wanted to release but didn’t know how. He could only keep telling himself to stay calm. ’Stay calm.’

They soon arrived at the old well. The sound of chipping, KAK KAK, echoed in the air. In the moonlight, a figure was hacking at the ice with a pickaxe. As they got closer, they saw it was Zhao Lao Nian.

”Old Nian, why are you still up so late? You can work on this tomorrow.”

”Captain, I can’t sleep.”

Zhao Lao Nian was called Old Nian precisely because he was so honest and quiet he barely spoke. He stopped what he was doing with the pickaxe, and the moment he saw Zhao Wendong, he dropped it and walked over, his knees buckling as he prepared to kneel.

Thankfully, Zhao Wendong was quick enough to catch and support him.

”What are you doing? Old Uncle Nian, you’ll shorten my life with this!”

”Dongzi, thank you.”

Zhao Lao Nian said just that one word, and his eyes reddened as tears streamed down his face. A few days ago, his children were at home crying from hunger, WAH, WAH. He hadn’t dared to cook the little bit of rice left in the jar, thinking only of holding out for one more day. But he was desperate. He was just a farmer with no other way to get food. Then, right when he was at his most helpless, Zhao Weiguo had arrived with Zhao Wendong and the others.

The very next day, he and a few other families were chosen to clear the ice around the well platform. The brigade gave them grain every day. This wasn’t just giving them work; this was saving their lives!

Seeing his children finally able to have a bowl of thin porridge once a day, no longer tossing and turning on the kang in hunger, he felt like he could worship Zhao Weiguo and the others as gods. And when he heard the idea and the grain had come from Zhao Wendong, he became even more determined to be grateful to him for the rest of his life.

”Old Uncle Nian, don’t be like that. You earned this food with your own labor, right? And now everyone can fetch water without worrying about slipping. Isn’t that great? Let me see how the well platform looks now.”

Zhao Wendong quickly tried to distract Old Uncle Nian. Hearing this, Old Uncle Nian’s spirits immediately lifted. He walked over to the well platform and pointed proudly for Zhao Wendong to see.

”Look!”