I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 157: Chapter 156: Sleepless Night in the County Town

The moment Zhao Wendong and Lin Zhiyin stepped into Zhao Dahai’s home, they saw Zhao Wenhua standing by the door, his cheeks puffed out in a sulk. At the sight of Zhao Wendong, he zipped back into the east room.

”Oh, Dongzi, you’re here!”

Wang Jinzhi came out to greet them warmly. His two younger cousins called out, ”Brother San,” then bounced over to Lin Zhiyin, each grabbing one of her arms.

”Hello, Sister-in-law!”

”Sister-in-law, you’re here!”

After telling Lin Zhiyin and his two younger cousins to go chat with their grandparents in the west room, Zhao Wendong entered the east room, rifle in hand.

In the east room, Zhao Wenhua was lying at the far end of the kang bed with his back to the door. Zhao Dahai was lying on the other end, looking up at Zhao Wendong.

”I’ve taken care of it, Uncle. Here’s your gun.”

Zhao Wendong placed the gun on the kang, then pulled thirty yuan from his pocket and set it down beside the rifle.

”I got a hundred yuan from Wang Dana for you and Wenhua as compensation for your injuries. He’ll pay twenty a year for five years. The extra ten is rent for using the gun these past two years.”

”Oh, right. Wang Dana will also come over to apologize to you two later.”

With that, Zhao Wendong turned to leave for the west room, but Zhao Dahai grabbed his hand.

”Dongzi, I don’t want the money. You’ve spent plenty of your own money and called in favors for my sake. You keep it. It’s enough for me that this matter is settled.”

”Alright then, I’ll take twenty.”

Zhao Wendong picked up twenty yuan and left, leaving the conflicted couple, Zhao Dahai and his wife, behind.

In the west room, Zhao Wendong stuffed the twenty yuan into Ye Qingmei’s hands.

”Grandma, this is from my uncle.”

”Get out of here. Him, give me money? It’s more like my dear grandson is regifting something.”

The old woman’s eyes may have been a little cloudy, but she could still see through everything. She didn’t refuse, simply smiling as she put the money away.

”Did you hear the loudspeaker, Grandma?”

”I did. My dear grandson is treating the whole village to a meal again. So capable! The best!”

”Hehe, we came to get you. Let’s go together.”

”Alright, alright! You old coot, get your clothes on! Our grandson is here to take us to the barbecue.”

Zhao Chuanhe frowned.

”Go get a beating? Forget it. It’ll be a good day if he’s not the one beating up others.”

Ye Qingmei bent over with laughter and whispered to Zhao Wendong and Lin Zhiyin.

”Look at your grandpa, this old geezer. Sometimes you’d think he’s deaf, but then we whisper like this, and he hears every word clear as day.”

”You’re the old geezer! My hearing isn’t bad at all. It’s always been fine.”

”See!”

”Hahaha.”

Everyone burst out laughing. Once Ye Qingmei and Zhao Chuanhe had their padded cotton jackets on, Zhao Wendong and Lin Zhiyin helped them up, one on each arm, and escorted them to the cafeteria.

”Grab my glasses.”

Ye Qingmei didn’t forget the reading glasses Zhao Wendong had bought her, ready to show them off to the entire village. Both of the elders looked exceptionally happy. In this day and age, to have a chance for such a lively event, they couldn’t have been more delighted. As for why Zhao Wendong was treating everyone to a red deer, neither of them asked. If Zhao Wendong was doing it, he must have had his reasons.

The two cousins followed them out, having specially tied their hair with the ribbons Lin Zhiyin had given them. Looking at the patches upon patches on their worn-out cotton jackets, Zhao Wendong turned his gaze to Wang Jinzhi.

”Wenhua isn’t coming for the barbecue?”

”No, he’s staying home with your uncle.”

”Well now, look at him being the dutiful son all of a sudden!”

Zhao Wendong made the sarcastic comment, paying no mind to the complex expression on Wang Jinzhi’s face as he helped Zhao Chuanhe out of the house. ’I don’t even want to hear about their family’s bullshit.’

The two cousins perceptively helped support the elders. Wang Jinzhi grabbed a stool from her home and followed behind, her heart a little heavy. She used to think that Zhao Wendong’s eldest brother was a coward, the second a fool, and the third, Wendong himself, lazy. Surely, none of them could compare to her son. But now, it turned out her own son was the most hopeless one of all.

Just as they stepped out, they ran into Granny Liu’s family. The group grew larger and larger, slowly merging into a stream of people rolling toward the cafeteria.

「Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the county seat」

The sky was already growing dark. A speeding truck came to a silent stop. Little Bastard opened the door, a cloth bag on his back, and got out. He and Niu Yuesheng exchanged a look, and without a word, they nodded. The truck started up again and headed toward the county seat.

Little Bastard glanced back in the direction of his home, then lowered his head. Following the messy tire tracks and footprints, he walked quickly toward the county seat. He placed every step in someone else’s tracks, not leaving a single new print of his own.

The December night fell quickly. In what seemed like an instant, an almost-full moon hung quietly in the starry sky.

In the county seat’s clinic, Li Guangming’s head was wrapped in layers of bandages. He sat with his head down, utterly silent. Fatty Li lay on the adjacent hospital bed, as quiet as his father. From the hallway outside, the roars of Li Guangming’s wife could be heard. The medical staff kept their distance from the Li Family’s room, not wanting to foul their ears.

”Li Guangming, you fucking useless piece of shit! You knocked me up, then ran off to the Japanese and became their live-in son-in-law. If my uncle hadn’t said you were useful, if he hadn’t seen the great service you did for him, the two of us would never have acknowledged you in this lifetime!”

”So many years have passed, and you’re still the same fucking screw-up! You went to grab a farmer and an educated youth, and you couldn’t even handle that! What did you say before you left, huh? That nothing could go wrong? And you came back beaten to a pulp! You took all those men with you and didn’t even dare to fire a single shot. How did I ever get involved with a waste of space like you?”

”And now look! Huh? Our son is half-crippled over here. Is that Lin Zhiyin woman more precious than my son? If she wasn’t the only one who could restore my son’s manhood and make him whole again, I’d slash her face to ribbons, believe it or not! Li Guangming, are you playing dead? You waste! Did that guy scare the piss out of you?”

Li Guangming’s wife stood with her hands on her hips. Tired of yelling but still not satisfied, she kicked Li Guangming twice.

”I’m talking to you! Scared so bad you pissed your pants and can’t even get it up anymore, huh?”

Li Guangming’s face was terrifyingly grim. His wife’s words stabbed him like knives.

He was a man high on a pedestal; whoever saw him had to be utterly respectful. And he had made ample preparations for this trip to Dragon King Pond, not only calling the head of the Youth Farm but also bringing a team of his most trusted militia. But he just couldn’t figure it out. Was Zhao Wendong a magician? How could he have summoned so many people out of thin air, like divine soldiers descending from the heavens?

”Shut up! What the fuck are you shouting for? You of all people should know if I can get it up or not!”

”Tomorrow, I’ll arrest that Zhao Wendong and torture him to death! I’ll drag that Lin Zhiyin into this room for my son’s wedding night! If one militia team isn’t enough, I’ll bring two, or three! All the militia in the entire county! Zhao Wendong attacked me today and tried to kill me. That alone is enough to have him put away. I’ll bring the public security officers with me too!”

”Tomorrow, I’ll bring all our forces. I’ll fucking raze their Dragon King Pond to the ground! I refuse to believe that a tiny little Dragon King Pond is bigger than our family!”

Before Li Guangming could finish, a cold voice suddenly came from the doorway.

”You don’t have a tomorrow.”

The Li’s were startled and whipped their heads around. They saw a man in a hat, his head lowered, walking in quickly. He pulled a pistol from his coat and locked the door behind him.

”Zhao Wendong? No, you... who are you!”

BANG! BANG!

Two shots rang out. Before Li Guangming could finish his sentence, two bloody holes appeared on his forehead. Blood gushed out, quickly staining the floor red. The intruder hadn’t given him a chance to say another word.

”AHHH! MURDER!”

Li Guangming’s wife’s eyes widened in terror, and she let out a piercing shriek that penetrated the entire hospital room and drifted through the clinic.

”I could hear you screeching from a mile away. Since you love screeching so much, you can do plenty of it down below!”

BANG! BANG!

Two more shots. One to the forehead, one to the chest. Li Guangming’s wife collapsed to the ground. The woman who had just been commanding the room with her booming voice was sent quietly to her eternal slumber.

Fatty Li’s teeth were chattering so hard the entire hospital bed shook with his trembling body. He stared at the intruder in disbelief. The man wasn’t Zhao Wendong, but he recognized him. After all, Fatty Li worked on the streets of Qianjin Commune.

”L-Little Bastard, you... you spare me!”

”I... I didn’t do anything! It... it was all them!”

”It has nothing to do with me! I... I don’t know anything! Don’t kill me.”

”Fatty Li.”

A strange smile appeared on Little Bastard’s face.

”You really don’t remember?”

”Once, I was walking down the road and accidentally bumped into you. You slapped me twice and called me a bastard.”

Fatty Li fell silent. He had completely forgotten about such a minor incident.

”Someone was right. Who’s born more noble than anyone else? Your dad abandoned you as a child to become a live-in son-in-law for the Japanese. Doesn’t that make you a bastard, too?”

When Fatty Li saw Little Bastard’s gun pointed at him, he was so scared he pissed and shat himself. He struggled to get off the bed and run, tumbling to the floor. Seeing the cold smirk on Little Bastard’s face, Fatty Li started kowtowing. At that moment, he was filled with immense regret. Why did he have to go to the supply and marketing cooperative? Why did he have to get lecherous and provoke Lin Zhiyin?

’But this shouldn’t be happening,’ he thought. ’Zhao Wendong was just a farmer, and Lin Zhiyin was just an educated youth from a capitalist family. Little Bastard was a nobody, looked down upon by everyone. And his family? They were on a completely different level. How could this be the result?’ He couldn’t understand.

”I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have said that about you! I’m the bastard, not you! I’m kowtowing to you, please, spare me! I’m the bast—”

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A series of gunshots echoed. Before Fatty Li could finish, he was sent to follow his parents. The whole family, reunited at last.

After emptying the clip, Little Bastard quickly swapped in a new one and put two more bullets in each of them. Only then did he leisurely find a plain-looking scarf—he didn’t know whose it was—and wrap it around his face, leaving only his eyes exposed. Little Bastard opened the door and quickly left.

The hallway was eerily silent, completely empty. Only a few doors were cracked open, their occupants peering out. He brandished the gun in his hand, and the doors were slammed shut.

A long time passed before someone dared to venture out and check. When they discovered Li Guangming’s family, horrified screams broke out. More and more people gathered. Someone ran to report it, and lights started turning on in more and more houses across the county seat.

Finally, the air-raid siren on the Public Security Bureau’s American-made jeep began to wail, its ear-splitting alarm waking the entire county. The whole town was destined for a sleepless night.

South of the county seat, a lone figure moved by the moonlight. Following the vehicle tracks and footprints on the road, he hurried toward Mantun Railway Station.