I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Second Brother

’Damn it, how could I have forgotten about this!’

Too many years had passed, and many details had become fuzzy, but he remembered now!

His father, Zhao Dashan, had an accident during this very trip up the mountain, falling into a crevice.

The villagers helped search for three days before finally finding his father, who had long since frozen to death.

From then on, their family lost its pillar of support. They didn’t make it through the great famine, and in the end, the family was shattered and its members dead.

He still remembered his mother taking rat poison, lying on his father’s grave, and the last words she said to him.

"Dongzi, I can’t go on. I’m going to find your father. This will save some food for you all to live."

Zhao Wendong clenched his fists. ’I have to save Father!’

’Only by saving Father can I save the whole family. The regrets of my past life must not be repeated!’

Zhao Wendong put Little Tuanzi down and scrambled off the heated brick bed. In his haste, he lost his footing and tumbled straight to the floor.

"Dongzi! What are you doing?"

Chen Yanmei’s heart tightened. Her youngest son’s crying and jumping around was terrifying.

Little Tuanzi grew anxious too. "Third Brother, Third Brother!"

"It’s nothing. I’ve been lying down too long. Just going out for a walk!"

Seeing the anxious looks on his mother and sister’s faces, Zhao Wendong’s panicked heart suddenly calmed.

’After countless days and nights of hoping, I’ve really been reborn. I have to be careful. I have to cherish this.’

’I not only have to save my father, but I also have to protect myself. I’m going to lead my whole family to a better life!’

The winters now were much colder than in his later life. A person could get frostbite just by going outside for a moment, and amputations were common. If you got drunk, the chance of freezing to death outside was over ninety percent.

Zhao Wendong wrapped the tattered cotton-padded jacket from the wall around himself, pulled on cotton socks and shoes, and reluctantly put on a green, military-style cotton hat. He couldn’t find any cotton gloves, so he had to pull his hands as far into his sleeves as he could.

Once he was fully bundled up, Zhao Wendong gently stroked Little Tuanzi’s head.

"Little sister, be a good girl and listen to Mom. I’ll take you to eat meat in the future!"

The little one’s eyes lit up instantly, and she unconsciously swallowed her saliva.

She hadn’t eaten meat in so long that she’d almost forgotten what it tasted like, only remembering that it was delicious.

"Third Brother, Little Tuanzi will be the best girl! I’ll wait for meat! Meat is the bestest food! Third Brother, you have to promise you won’t forget!"

"Mm, I won’t forget!"

"Mom, I’m leaving!"

Zhao Wendong hugged his mother again and dashed out the door.

He left a dazed Chen Yanmei behind. ’Why has my youngest son become so strange since waking up?’ she wondered. ’He’s acting all peculiar, and hugging people all of a sudden. It’s quite embarrassing.’

’Oh, well. At least he didn’t end up like our second son after the fever. I should be content with that. Let him run wild. He’ll be more sensible when he grows up!’

’It’s just that my youngest son has never been particularly close to Little Tuanzi. Why is he completely different today?’

As Chen Yanmei thought this, she gently stroked her daughter’s little cheek.

"Are you happy that Brother San was so nice to you today?"

"Happy! Third Brother is the best! He’s always been really nice to Little Tuanzi."

"Oh, you. You just take the ones closest to you for granted."

"Mom, you’re mean! Little Tuanzi isn’t stinky, Little Tuanzi smells nice! I’m just a little hungry right now, so I’m not as fragrant."

"Little Tuanzi isn’t that hungry, just a tiny bit hungry... Mom, please don’t cry! Little Tuanzi isn’t hungry anymore!"

Dragon King Pond Village was situated two li from the sea and three li from the mountains. The great mountain range stretched endlessly, and the villagers’ activities were confined to its periphery; few dared to venture deep into the mountains.

In his past life, it took three days to find Zhao Dashan precisely because he was trapped at the border between the deep mountains and the outer edge, an area where people rarely went.

He couldn’t remember the exact location of the accident, but Zhao Wendong could find the general area. In his previous life, he was known as the village’s last Hunter, and he had been to the depths of the mountains and the surrounding sea many times.

Zhao Dashan had entered the mountains yesterday. Accounting for the travel time and the time spent on the outskirts, he must have fallen into the crevice sometime this morning or afternoon.

Zhao Wendong calculated it clearly. Regardless of whether his father was in danger yet, as long as he could get there before dark, he could bring him back safely. But the heavy snow had sealed the mountain, the road was long, and there was simply not enough time to get there on foot!

He had to find some mode of transport. In the dead of winter, the only option was a sled.

He began searching the village. He remembered that there was a horse in the village, used for pulling a cart in the summer and a sled in the winter.

But besides the varying lengths of the icicles hanging from the eaves, every house looked more or less the same. Zhao Wendong couldn’t tell one from another. On top of that, with an empty stomach, he quickly grew tired after just a short while of searching.

A searing pain tore through his lungs, but he didn’t dare stop. His father’s life, and his entire family’s future, rested in his hands.

Gritting his teeth and clutching his stomach, Zhao Wendong was just about to pick a random house to ask for directions when a familiar, simple-minded voice suddenly called out.

"Third! What’re ya doin’? Mom and Dad said not to run, or we’ll get hungry!"

Zhao Wendong froze in mid-stride.

He slowly raised his head. Through tear-blurred eyes, another figure from his dreams appeared before him.

His second brother, Zhao Wenwu—over 1.9 meters tall and so thin his frame looked enormous—was standing there with his hands shoved down his pants, a smug "gotcha!" look on his face.

Zhao Wenwu had also suffered a high fever as a child. Unfortunately, he wasn’t as lucky as Zhao Wendong; he woke up with brain damage, his intelligence forever stuck at the level of a young child.

"Second Brother!"

Zhao Wendong ran over and threw his arms around Zhao Wenwu with all his strength.

In his past life, his second brother had secretly gone out to sea to fish. The once-towering man had wasted away to less than a hundred pounds, so weak he wobbled when he walked. The memory of that image was a piercing pain in his heart. How could Zhao Wendong not be emotional, seeing his vibrant second brother alive and well again?

Zhao Wenwu pulled his hands out from his pants, grabbed Zhao Wendong’s hand, and tried to stuff it down his own pants.

"Third, why’re ya cryin’? Your hands cold? Here, stick ’em in my pants to warm ’em up!"

Zhao Wendong snatched his hand back as if he’d been bitten by a snake. ’Decades have passed; I’d completely forgotten my second brother’s unique way of talking and acting.’

He gave a dry laugh and quickly changed the subject—a trick that never failed with Zhao Wenwu.

"Heh, heheh... You keep yourself warm. My hands aren’t cold. Second Brother, where are the brigade’s horse and sled?"

Sure enough, Zhao Wenwu forgot all about warming his brother’s hands and answered immediately.

"At the old accountant’s house!"

Actually, Zhao Wenwu’s memory was very good. He just had a single-track mind and couldn’t process things in parallel. But sometimes, long after something had happened, he might get bored and suddenly remember it again.

"Take me there!"

"You got it!"

Zhao Wenwu took off running, and Zhao Wendong clutched his stomach and gave chase.

They arrived quickly. Zhao Wenwu pointed at Zhao Wendong and burst out laughing.

"I’m the best! I’m faster than you!"

"Right, you’re fast. A regular three-second man."

"Hehe, I’m three seconds, you’re ten seconds."

Ten was the highest number Zhao Wenwu knew.

Zhao Wendong rolled his eyes and went inside. In the open space of the outer kitchen, a large brown horse was dozing on a pile of hay.

The village accountant, Third Master Zhao, was sitting on the heated brick bed smoking a long-stemmed pipe. His heart clenched when he saw Zhao Wendong. ’This idle brat showing up at my door can’t mean anything good.’

"Dongzi, weren’t you down with a fever? The floor is cold, quick, take off your shoes and get on the bed. Want a bowl of hot water?"

"No thank you, Third Master. I need to borrow the horse and sled. It’s an emergency."

"What? No way! Absolutely not! You might as well be asking for my life!"

The old man’s eyes went wide as saucers, and he waved his hands so fast they blurred.

"Livestock lose weight if they move around in the winter! A large animal like that is more precious than a person these days!"

"My dad’s been in the mountains for over a day! If something’s happened to him, I won’t be able to get him back in time without a horse and sled!"

"Hah! Zhao Dashan is an old hunter. When does he ever go into the mountains for less than a day or two? What could possibly happen? Dongzi, you jinx, did that fever fry your brain too?"

Hearing this, Zhao Wenwu became upset and glared at the old man, his cheeks puffed out in anger.

Zhao Wendong’s eyes narrowed, and a roguish grin played on his lips.

"So you’re really not lending it to me?"

Third Master Zhao’s face was a picture of determination.

"Not lending it, not lending it! Besides, it’s not my decision to make. The brigade would have to hold a meeting to decide."

Zhao Wendong looked at Zhao Wenwu.

"Hah, you old coot! If you couldn’t make the decision, you should have said so earlier! Second Brother, go! Tie him up!"