I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 153: Chapter 152: Never Retreat

Yang Wenxue and Li Dawei were rather surprised. ’Is the county’s intelligence network this good? Did Zhao Wendong’s fight cause such a huge stir that it’s already alerted the county? No, that’s not right. If anyone were to come, it should be the police. Why are the civilian militia and Vice Secretary Li here? And isn’t that Farm Director Qian from the Youth Farm?’

”Secretary Li, why didn’t you give our Commune a heads-up that you were coming...”

Yang Wenxue stepped forward to greet him, but Li Guangming cut him off before he could finish.

”Yang Wenxue, get in the truck and lead the way. We’re going to Dragon King Pond Village.”

”Huh? Secretary Li, what are you going there for?”

”Oh, there’s an educated youth there named Lin Zhiyin. We’re going to take her back to the county for re-education. Right, and their village also has someone named Zhao Wendong. He’s the one who caught four thousand jin of fish, isn’t he? You’ll come with me and investigate. All of that is collective property. We need to see if he turned over a proportional share of the money the county gave him to the production team. If he hasn’t, we’ll take him back to be dealt with this time, too. No matter how great his contribution, no one is allowed to take advantage of the collective.”

The hearts of both Yang Wenxue and Li Dawei skipped a beat. ’So Li Guangming is here for Zhao Wendong!’

Li Guangming gave them no chance to speak and directly ordered Yang Wenxue to get in the truck. Yang Wenxue shot a look at Li Dawei before climbing into the cab. Li Guangming’s gaze then fell upon Li Dawei.

”I recall your name is Li Dawei, correct? You’re coming too. Maintain order at the scene.”

Li Dawei clutched his stomach.

”Ow, Sir, my stomach’s been acting up today. I drank some leftover congee yesterday and I’ve had the runs all day.”

”Heh heh, a lazy ass always needs to shit when it’s time to work. Fine, Li Dawei. You think I can’t give orders to a mere police liaison? Is that it? Since you love having the runs so much, you can spend the rest of your life here at this lower-level commune taking a crap!”

With that said, Li Guangming shot Li Dawei a cold glare and climbed into the cab. The large truck drove out of the Commune courtyard and sped off in the direction of Dragon King Pond.

”Fuck, what an asshole!”

Li Dawei cursed, then hurried inside to grab something, locked the door, and ran toward Zhang Liang’s house.

Aboard Niu Yuesheng’s large truck, the victorious crowd was full of swagger. One man bragged about how many he’d knocked down, while another described his own valor. In their excitement, they wished they could show off a few more moves, but just like on the way over, they were packed in like a can of sardines and could only run their mouths.

In the driver’s cab, Zhao Wendong had called Zhang Dadan over. He’d just done a quick count. Not including Zhao Wendong’s own men, Zhang Dadan and his group had brought a total of fifty-nine people. Zhao Wendong took three of the ten-yuan notes he had brought, then pulled out the thirty yuan in small bills that Wang Dana had given him earlier, and handed it all to Zhang Dadan.

”Dadan, distribute this to the brothers for me when you get back.”

Zhang Dadan took the money but hesitated for a moment before pushing the three ten-yuan notes back.

”Brother Dong, we told everyone else it was half a yuan per person. Heh heh, this is enough.”

Zhao Wendong smiled and pushed the money back to him.

”I promised you one yuan per person. You can figure out what to do with the extra.”

”Alright!”

Zhang Dadan’s eyes grew a little red. He thumped his chest hard and said nothing more, but in his heart, he resolved to discuss with the other brothers later how they could avoid just taking Brother Dong’s money for free.

He had originally planned to pocket the difference, but now, for some reason, he suddenly didn’t have the nerve to take it on the sly. Only after being honest with Zhao Wendong did the knot of anxiety in his chest finally loosen. He hadn’t even noticed it himself, but he had started to follow everyone else’s lead and call Zhao Wendong ”Brother Dong.”

The truck had just reached the entrance of the commune’s village when they spotted a few figures waiting by the roadside. It’s no wonder Niu Yuesheng was a truck driver; his eyesight was sharp as a tack, and he recognized the people at a glance.

”Brother, Police Li and Liangzi’s parents are by the roadside.”

Zhao Wendong figured Li Dawei just wanted to know the outcome of the fight. ’He already did me a huge favor by not showing his face when we left,’ he thought. ’It would be rude not to give him a report now that I’m back.’

”Brother Niu, stop for a second.”

”You got it.”

The truck hadn’t even come to a full stop before Li Dawei and Uncle Zhang rushed over. Zhao Wendong stuck his head out of the cab.

”Haha, Brother Li, it’s all good, everything’s resolved! I didn’t cause you any trouble. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back; you didn’t have to come all the way to the crossroads to intercept me!”

But Li Dawei didn’t play along, shouting with an anxious expression.

”Li Guangming took people to your village! He’s going after you and Lin Zhiyin!”

”Fuck!”

Zhao Wendong swore loudly. Upon hearing Li Dawei’s words, Niu Yuesheng didn’t even wait for a command. He let off the brake and slammed on the gas. The large truck roared as it swung around and sped toward Dragon King Pond.

Li Dawei’s expression turned even grimmer as he watched the truck speed away, its bed packed with a hundred-odd men. Liangzi’s father was panicking, too. Compared to Li Guangming, Wang Dana was nothing but a fart in the wind.

”Police Li, nothing bad is going to happen, is it?”

”Sigh, how would I know? Let’s just hope nothing happens. If something does happen, it’ll be a monumental disaster.”

Zhao Wendong and his men were fresh off a victorious battle, their morale soaring, and they were all still carrying weapons. To be honest, Li Dawei couldn’t be sure what would happen once they got back to Dragon King Pond.

In the driver’s cab, Zhang Dadan’s face was livid as he cursed.

”Brother Dong, who the fuck dares go to your village looking for trouble? We’ve got all our guys here today, let’s fucking waste them!”

Zhao Wendong slung the Type 56 carbine from his back, removed the magazine, and began pressing rounds into it. He heard Zhang Dadan’s words and let out a cold sneer, his expression as dark as a stormy sea.

”The number three man in the county.”

”Er...”

Zhang Dadan was speechless. ’When did Brother Dong start playing in the big leagues? Just a moment ago, we were brawling with Wang Dana. Turns out that was just a petty squabble. This guy is already going up against someone of Li Guangming’s caliber.’

Meanwhile, at the entrance to Zhao Wendong’s home in Dragon King Pond Village, two groups were locked in a standoff. On one side stood Li Guangming and the civilian militia he had brought with him. On the other were the villagers of Dragon King Pond. Shielding the front were Third Master Zhao, Zhao Weiguo, and Zhao the Fourth. Lin Zhiyin was hidden inside the house, with Chen Yanmei and Jin Xiuying guarding the doorway with their lives.

Li Guangming roared in fury, jabbing a finger at Yang Wenxue’s nose.

”Yang Wenxue, take a look! Just look at this production team from your Commune! You’ve done a fine job leading them, haven’t you? They actually dare to openly defy authority!”

Yang Wenxue kept his head bowed and remained silent. He had a temper of his own. ’Li Guangming came to snatch Lin Zhiyin without even bothering to notify me, and now that he’s being blocked, he’s blaming me for it? What the hell does this have to do with me?’

Seeing Yang Wenxue cowering like a quail, Li Guangming turned to Farm Director Qian.

”Old Qian, you go. Give them one last explanation of why we’re here.”

With a pained expression, Farm Director Qian braced himself, looked toward Zhao Weiguo’s group, and yelled at the top of his lungs.

”Comrades of the Dragon King Pond Team Committee! We are not here to abduct anyone! Lin Zhiyin is an educated youth from our Youth Farm! Due to work requirements, she is being transferred back to the county. This is an internal matter for our Youth Farm. Now, please let us through!”

”Bullshit! Lin Zhiyin is the wife of our team’s Civilian Militia Captain, Zhao Wendong! How can you just take her away whenever you damn well please!”

Third Master Zhao retorted immediately. The old man was well up in years, but his voice was powerful, ringing out even louder than Farm Director Qian’s.

”That’s right! She’s a daughter-in-law of Dragon King Pond! Piss off!”

”Piss off!”

The villagers who had come to help started shouting along with Third Master Zhao.

Li Guangming’s face turned a furious, purplish-red. He once again tried to assert his authority as a leader.

”Do you people have any idea what you’re doing right now? What is this? Are you trying to rebel? Are you trying to stubbornly oppose the Organization?”

”Stop spouting your fucking bullshit, Li Dalian! What damn ’Organization’ do you represent? A worthless one? Do you really think we don’t fucking know why you want to take Lin Zhiyin back? Isn’t it because your son has his eye on her? Hell, for all we know, you’ve got your eye on her, too! You’ve always been a lecherous bastard. You want me to list out for you how many women you’ve ruined?”

”Let me tell you something, Li Dalian! Lin Zhiyin is a daughter-in-law of Dragon King Pond, and no matter who the fuck shows up, they can forget about taking her away! Every man in this village, young and old, refuses to allow it!”

Third Master Zhao’s personal, foul-mouthed tirade completely broke through Li Guangming’s composure.

”Fine, fine, fine! Zhao the Third, you think it’s still the old days? You still think you’re some hotshot, don’t you? How arrogant!”

”Xiaowei, charge in there and seize her! If anyone dares obstruct the county’s business, I authorize you to open fire!”

”Yes, sir!”

The accompanying civilian militia captain bellowed and then shouted to the men under his command.

”Charge! You have permission to fire on anyone who obstructs you!”

Hearing that the other side was about to open fire, many of the Dragon King Pond villagers instinctively took a few steps back. However, a group in the crowd led by Zhao Lao Nian immediately surged forward again, not yielding a single inch. Third Master Zhao reached into his jacket and pulled out a Mauser pistol.

”Fuck your mother, Li Dalian! You think you’re the only ones with guns? Civilian militia, show me your steel!”

CLACK-CLACK-CLACK~

Zhao Wendong had distributed the guns yesterday precisely for a moment like this. Instantly, several rifles were raised from the crowd. The civilian militia Li Guangming had brought immediately stopped in their tracks. A small portion of Dragon King Pond’s militia hadn’t come to help, and the vast majority had gone with Zhao Wendong to fight, but the ones who remained were all here.