I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Cracking Sunflower Seeds

Seeing he was back, Zhao Wenwu immediately shouted:

"Brother San, you tell them! Didn’t we sell the wolf pelt for twelve yuan!"

"They don’t believe me! They say I remembered it wrong!"

Zhao Wendong smiled and nodded, backing him up.

"Second Brother is right. It sold for twelve yuan."

Zhao Wenwu immediately puffed out his chest and held his head high, like a proud rooster.

"Really?"

"How is that possible!"

"Oh my god!"

The family exclaimed in disbelief.

Only Little Tuanzi stuck to her hero worship.

"Third Brother is so amazing! Third Brother is the most amazing!"

"How can a wolf pelt be worth so much? Did the price go up?"

Zhao Dashan’s face was full of questions. He had been a hunter for so many years and had never heard of such a price.

"The price didn’t go up. The guy offered five yuan at first, then six!"

Zhao Wenwu’s words confused the family even more.

Zhao Wenjun couldn’t help but pull Zhao Wenwu aside and ask urgently.

"Then how did it end up selling for twelve? That’s a full... a full..."

"Eight yuan!"

Song Xiaoyu chimed in to help her husband out.

"Right, a full eight yuan more!"

Zhao Wendong’s face twitched. ’Big Brother, Sister-in-law, you sure did that math fast, but is the answer even right? Does twelve minus six equal eight?’

’But that’s just how it was in this era. Maybe it was because of the Qing dynasty’s policy of keeping the populace ignorant, but nine out of ten people were illiterate, and the ratio was even higher in the countryside.’

’Thanks to the literacy programs and the widespread technology of the future era, Zhao Wendong’s current arithmetic and reading skills were already the best in the village—oh, wait, Lin Zhiyin was probably an exception.’

’But he didn’t dare reveal it all at once, or he’d never be able to explain himself.’

"Because Third Brother was going to tell a story, the guy gave him twelve!"

"Tell a story? What story?"

The family asked in unison.

Zhao Wenjun mumbled in confusion.

"What kind of story is worth eight yuan?"

Lines appeared on Zhao Wendong’s forehead as he shot his second brother an exasperated look. ’Does he have to run his mouth like that? How am I supposed to explain this to the family now?’

He could only give an awkward laugh and fudge the details.

"Haha, Second Brother misheard. The manager of the procurement station loves storytelling. We hit it off and became good buddies, so he gave me a high price."

"By the way, is all the grain and stuff my second brother brought back stored away safely!"

At the mention of grain, Chen Yanmei’s face lit up with a smile.

"It’s all stored away, all stored away!"

Seeing his mom so happy she couldn’t stop smiling, Zhao Wendong felt a swell of pride. He could provide for his family now.

"Oh right, Mom, we have to guard against rats. There’s a big one that’s always sneaking around our house!"

Zhao Wendong thought of that big rat.

"Don’t worry, the potatoes and sorghum are in the big jars! The rats can’t get in. By the way, my son, Wenwu said you two even had pork stew with vermicelli? And white rice?"

"Oh, right. I met a buddy this time, at the Agro-Tech Station..."

Zhao Wendong gave them a rough summary of what happened. Everyone listened with great interest, and Song Xiaoyu even teased him with a smile.

"Third Brother is really something. Just like the leaders in *Water Margin*, wherever you go, people flock to join you! Even if they’re not buddies, you can turn them into buddies right away!"

"Haha, Sister-in-law, you’re not wrong! When we got to the supply co-op today, some old hag started yelling at me, and I was ready to fight her. But then I ran into another buddy—Liangzi, you guys remember Zhang Liang? We used to play ’Fight the Japanese’ together as kids!"

"Is he the skinny, dark one?"

Chen Yanmei asked, a bit uncertain.

"Yes, yes, that’s him! I’ve got buddies all over the place. Mom, tell me, am I cool or what!"

While Zhao Wendong was boasting, Chen Yanmei found it amusing and started patting him down.

"What are you doing, Mom? What are you doing?"

"Where’s the rest of the money!"

"Geez, it’s not like I was gonna hide your money from you! Here, here!"

Zhao Wendong took out all the money. Chen Yanmei immediately started counting it excitedly. Song Xiaoyu joined in to help, and Little Tuanzi scooted closer, watching with wide eyes.

’Yup, women are all crazy about money. But he seriously doubted whether two illiterate women and a little girl could count it correctly.’

Just then, Zhao Wenwu suddenly handed him a piece of fragrant roasted meat.

"Where’d this come from?"

Zhao Wendong took it and bit into it. Mmm, it was crispy and delicious.

Chen Yanmei looked up and told him with a smile.

"It’s wolf meat. Your big brother roasted it. He spent all day on it and saved some for you two."

"Really?"

Zhao Wendong looked toward Zhao Wenjun. Zhao Wenjun abruptly stood up, a somewhat unnatural expression on his face.

"I’ll go add some firewood to the stove pit."

The family found this amusing. Zhao Wenjun had often given Zhao Wendong the cold shoulder in the past. Now that Zhao Wendong was starting to get his act together, it was normal for Zhao Wenjun to feel awkward about it.

Zhao Wendong himself didn’t mind. He couldn’t help but chuckle. ’This big brother of mine... he’s actually getting shy!’

"Third Brother, Third Brother, the meaty-meat is so yummy! Little Tuanzi loves the meaty-meat most."

"Is that so? Here, have another bite!"

Zhao Wendong smiled and picked up Little Tuanzi, feeding her a piece of the meat from his hand. She opened her mouth wide with a little "Aah," but she only managed to take a tiny bite. Even so, her eyes crinkled in happiness.

The millet porridge was clearly nourishing. The little girl’s complexion was much better than yesterday. The more Zhao Wendong looked at her, the happier he felt. ’In this life, I’m going to spoil my little sister rotten.’

"Brother San, you left with that grubby girl so you didn’t see. I got my revenge! I made that big brown horse throw up too!"

Zhao Wenwu boasted proudly, his mouth full of roasted wolf meat.

"The horse threw up? Did you fart on it?"

"No, I waited but couldn’t squeeze out a fart. In the end, I just dug my finger in my butt, then stuck it in its mouth, and it threw up!"

Everyone in the room: ...

"HAHAHA!"

Zhao Wendong burst out laughing, thinking, ’Serves you right, you stupid horse, for always calling us unlucky. You got what was coming to you.’

But in the next second, his laughter died abruptly.

’Second Brother seemed to have taken a huge dump on the way back today, and he only wiped himself with a small stick. The smell after digging in his ass must have been ferocious... but the problem was, Second Brother just handed me that piece of meat....’

Zhao Wendong’s eyes widened in horror. He looked at the meat in his hand, then at Zhao Wenwu’s grimy hands.

BLEGH~

The wolf meat instantly lost its appeal.

"ZHAO WENWU!!!"

Chen Yanmei was already roaring as she snatched up the feather duster.

In the end, Zhao Wenwu got another "stir-frying" with the feather duster, but he also successfully scored Zhao Wendong’s leftover piece of wolf meat.

"Hehe, Brother San, you really not eating this? It’s delicious!"

"You, shut your mouth! Just eat your food and be quiet!"

Zhao Wendong had a pained expression. He suddenly remembered the sunflower seeds Zhao Wenwu had pocketed and looked at him with lingering fear.

"The sunflower seeds, Second Brother, you didn’t grab them with your hands, did you?"

’This second brother of his was terrifying. On a battlefield, he’d be a biological weapon—the kind that doesn’t distinguish between friend or foe.’

"Oh right, the sunflower seeds! I’ll get them for you!"

Zhao Wenwu suddenly remembered. He was about to get up and grab his clothes when Zhao Wendong lunged and pinned him down.

"No, no, no, just stay put! We’ll get them ourselves!"

Just as Zhao Wendong picked up Zhao Wenwu’s coat, a plate fell out with a CLANG.

Chen Yanmei walked over with a surprised look, picked it up, and examined it closely.

"Well now, this is a tea tray, and it looks pretty new! Where did it come from?"

Her expression then changed, and she looked at Zhao Wenwu with worry and anger.

"Second son, you didn’t steal this, did you?"

Her hand was already reaching for the feather duster on the wall again.

"Hehe, I don’t steal! This was for the sunflower seeds!"

Seeing Chen Yanmei look his way, Zhao Wendong nodded, vouching for his second brother.

’We snatched it, didn’t steal it. Totally different.’

He picked up Zhao Wenwu’s outer coat, turned it upside down, and emptied the pockets into the tray.

RUSTLE RUSTLE, a large pile of sunflower seeds appeared on the tea tray.

"Oh, it really is sunflower seeds!"

Song Xiaoyu cried out in pleasant surprise. It had been a long time since she’d had a snack like this.

"The guy at the procurement station gave them to us. Come on, try some!"

Zhao Wendong warmly invited his family.

"That man at the procurement station must really see you as a good buddy! Not only did he give you a high price for the wolf pelt, but he also gave you sunflower seeds and a tea tray. He’s too generous! Hmm, Xiaoyu, look how pretty the color of this tray is!"

"Isn’t it? It even has red carp on it. It looks so festive!"

Chen Yanmei and Song Xiaoyu were beaming. Not only did they get to eat sunflower seeds, but they also got a new tea tray. This thing would probably cost a whole yuan to buy. Zhao Wendong winked at Zhao Wenwu, wondering if his grinning second brother understood the gesture.

The family began to happily crack sunflower seeds. Chen Yanmei helped Little Tuanzi shell hers, and Song Xiaoyu would also pick out smaller ones to put in Yadan’s mouth.

Little Tuanzi sat there obediently, waiting for her mother to shell the sunflower seeds for her, a happy and blissful smile on her face.

She looked from one person to another before her gaze finally landed on Zhao Wendong.

"Third Brother, you’re the best! Yesterday we had porridge, and today we have meaty-meat and seeds! Third Brother, why didn’t you get a fever sooner! Little Tuanzi is so happy right now!"

Her words made all the family members look at each other, at a loss for words.

It was true!

It seemed that ever since Zhao Wendong woke up yesterday, everything in the house had changed. The constant hunger and worried frowns were gone. For the past two days, the family atmosphere had been harmonious, and everyone was more confident about the future. They were living like gods now.

"Haha, it’s all my fault. I woke up too late and made Little Tuanzi wait so long!"

Hearing his sister’s words tugged at Zhao Wendong’s heartstrings again. He immediately picked up Little Tuanzi and blamed himself.

"It’s not too late! Third Brother is the best, the most amazing! Little Tuanzi was always waiting for Third Brother!"

Listening to the heartwarming conversation between Zhao Wendong and Little Tuanzi, the family CRACK, CRACK, CRACKed away at the sunflower seeds. Cracking sunflower seeds was addictive; once you started, you couldn’t stop.

"By the way, Dongzi, did you get the gun fixed?"

Zhao Dashan was still thinking about the gun. A gun was a hunter’s livelihood. Even though his leg was broken, his third son’s skills in the mountains were now no worse than his own.

"No. They wanted ten yuan just to fix it. A new one costs fifty!"

After saying this, Zhao Wendong’s heart skipped a beat. It felt like he’d forgotten some important piece of information. It was on the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn’t recall it. The feeling was agonizing, like an unbearable itch.

"Ai! What a pity. The militia has plenty of guns and bullets, but we’re not allowed to touch them normally. With your gun broken, you won’t be able to go up the mountain. If only our family had one more gun!"

"In your dreams. How many hunting rifles are there in the whole village? And you want one more!"

BOOM—!

A peal of thunder went off in Zhao Wendong’s mind. He felt his heart pound wildly, his eyes filled with excitement. Because, thanks to his parents’ reminder, he finally remembered what he had forgotten!