I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Entering the Mountain Again

"We’ll see. I’ll probably stay overnight."

Hearing Zhao Wendong’s answer, Zhao Dashan grew a little worried.

"Dongzi, are you sure you can handle it? Spending the night in the mountains is no joke. It’s easy to get frostbite."

"Dad, who can you not trust if not me? Did you forget crying your eyes out yesterday? Did you forget when your jaw dropped after I took down that wolf with a single shot?"

"Get the hell outta here!"

Annoyed by Zhao Wendong’s cheeky words, Zhao Dashan rolled over and closed his eyes. Out of sight, out of mind.

In his heart, however, he wasn’t worried anymore. He understood Zhao Wendong. Although his youngest son was a bit lazy and unreliable, he wasn’t one to brag. His current behavior showed he was genuinely confident.

Early the next morning, the whole family was up. You had to be early whether you were heading to the mountains or the sea. For one, the prey woke up early. Another reason was the human rat race—of course, that word didn’t exist yet. Back then, it was called ’snatching.’

Chen Yanmei and Song Xiaoyu had already prepared a large bag of cornmeal rations, flattened into oval-shaped cakes. Zhao Wendong first organized all of Zhao Dashan’s gear, then carefully wrapped the cracked rifle stock, round and round, with strips of cloth before finally sitting down for breakfast.

Breakfast was cornmeal porridge with the cakes and a few roasted potatoes. Zhao Wendong saw that the men all had full bowls, while Chen Yanmei and Song Xiaoyu had only given themselves and the little ones half a bowl each. He sighed inwardly but said nothing, simply breaking his roasted potato in half and giving a piece to Little Tuanzi and Shitou.

’This sense of crisis my family has—just getting by without starving—isn’t something I can change with a few words. As the saying goes, a full pantry keeps the mind at ease. Only when I start bringing back more and more food will they dare to eat their fill. Just talking is useless.’

Looking at Little Tuanzi, he suddenly remembered something. He held out his open hand to her.

"Little Tuanzi, where’s that yummy cake you wanted to give me last time?"

Little Tuanzi froze, looking at Zhao Wendong suspiciously. Then, she reluctantly pulled her hand back into her sleeve. When she brought it out again, a small, hard, grimy piece of cornmeal cake lay in her palm. It was a mystery how she’d hidden it, like a little magician.

Everyone looked at Zhao Wendong, wondering what he was about to do. Little Tuanzi had been licking that piece of cake for days; the whole family knew about it.

Zhao Wendong took the cake and, with a sudden squeeze, crushed it to dust.

The family was stunned. Little Tuanzi’s eyes immediately reddened, her little mouth puckered in grievance, and tears started streaming down her face.

"Third Brother..."

Zhao Wendong wiped away Little Tuanzi’s tears and looked at her seriously, speaking one word at a time.

"Little Tuanzi, Brother San promises you, you’ll never go hungry again. From now on, we won’t eat old food like this. It’ll give you a stomachache."

He spoke these words slowly and solemnly, an oath meant as much for himself as it was for his family.

Although Little Tuanzi was still a little sad, she nodded obediently and firmly.

"Mhm, Little Tuanzi believes Third Brother. Little Tuanzi won’t go hungry again."

The family resumed eating, the atmosphere in the room noticeably lighter. With that single squeeze, Zhao Wendong had not only crushed the piece of cake Little Tuanzi had hidden for more than ten days, but he had also seemingly crushed a great mountain weighing down on everyone.

At the table, Zhao Wenwu would take a sip of porridge and then glance at Zhao Wendong. His hesitant, furtive expression was comical. After being watched like this for a while, Zhao Wendong ran out of patience and reluctantly set down his bowl.

"Damn it, Second Brother, why do you keep sneaking glances at me? Am I the widow from the Commune or something?"

Zhao Wenwu’s face instantly turned bright red.

"Third Brother, you’re talking nonsense! I-I wasn’t sneaking glances at that widow... Yeah, you’re talking nonsense!"

After speaking, he shyly covered his face with his hands. The whole family burst out laughing, and Zhao Wendong laughed so hard he was rolling on the kang.

Chen Yanmei tapped her youngest son with her chopsticks, exasperated.

"Your second brother wants to go up the mountain with you."

Zhao Wendong had already guessed as much. He’d thought about it seriously, and there was no problem with taking his second brother. At a critical moment, an extra person could be a help. Most importantly, his second brother wasn’t getting enough to eat at home. It would be better to take him into the mountains and find a way to get him more food.

’He’s supposed to be a human tank, but now he’s so hungry he’s almost a beanpole. I have to fatten him up. Then who would dare mess with me wherever I go?’

"Second Brother, you can come up the mountain with me, but you have to listen to everything I say. No running around or shouting. If you can’t do that, I’m not taking you."

Zhao Wenwu excitedly jumped to his feet and saluted like a soldier, though his form was off, making him look more like a collaborationist trooper.

"Third Brother, I promise I’ll listen to you! Take me up the mountain! Haha, take me up the mountain!"

With a wide grin, he grabbed Zhao Wendong and started shaking him.

Zhao Wendong felt like he was being shaken apart. His second brother’s grip was like a pair of pliers, making his shoulder ache. He hastily nodded.

"Alright, alright! We’ll go up the mountain together after we finish eating. Holy crap, stop shaking me, I’m gonna puke!"

After Zhao Wenwu let him go, Zhao Wendong reached out and patted the heads of Little Tuanzi and Shitou, who were watching him with hopeful eyes.

"When it gets warmer, I’ll take you two, too!"

"Yay! Third Brother is the best!"

"Thank you, Third Uncle."

The two little ones danced with joy, their faces lit up with smiles.

Lying on the kang, Zhao Dashan reminded him.

"Your grandpa has a set of mountain gear. Go borrow it for your second brother."

"Mhm, already thought of that. You just lie there and rest your leg. Don’t worry about pointless things; I can handle all this. Oh, right, the doctor is coming to see your leg today, so you be good, okay?"

Zhao Wendong said it as if he were coaxing a child.

"Get lost, you little brat! Just you wait ’til my leg’s better, I’ll whip you! That’ll teach you to get cocky with me!"

Seeing how his son was being so disrespectful, Zhao Dashan was so angry he fumbled around for something to throw at the little rascal, but found nothing. He had to settle for cursing him out.

"Hahaha!"

Zhao Wendong laughed heartily. He wasn’t afraid of life’s hardships. As long as he could be with his family, he was the happiest man alive.

"Oh, right, Mom, we can’t go to Grandpa and Grandma’s empty-handed, right? What should we bring?"

Chen Yanmei nodded and went out. A moment later, she returned with a few potatoes and two jin of cornmeal.

Seeing that Zhao Wenjun had also finished eating and put down his chopsticks, Chen Yanmei remembered something.

"Wenjun, your Granny Liu didn’t charge us for performing the soul-summoning for Wendong. I was originally thinking you and Wenwu could go help her gather some kindling. But now Wenwu is going up the mountain with Dongzi. Can you handle it by yourself?"

"Ai, of course I can. I can do it!"

Zhao Wenjun nodded honestly. He was even a little happy to have a task to do. Seeing Zhao Wendong and Zhao Wenwu both going to hunt for the family, he had been feeling restless and useless.

After the meal, the three brothers got dressed, gathered their things, and left the house.

"Eldest Brother, take this sledge and use it. It’ll be convenient for hauling firewood back and forth."

Zhao Wendong pointed to the sledge from Little Shanghai. ’As expected of something from the agricultural technology station. The runners are even made of iron wire. It’s sturdy and practical. If it weren’t so inconvenient for walking in the mountains, I’d want to drag it up there myself.’

"Mhm, alright!"

Zhao Wenjun nodded, walked over to pull the sledge, and the three of them headed toward the village entrance.

Their grandparents and their uncle, Zhao Dahai, lived near the village entrance. Mrs. Liu’s house was next door to their grandparents’, so it was all on the way.

They arrived at Mrs. Liu’s house first. The three brothers lifted the heavy door curtain and ducked inside.

Mrs. Liu’s family had four members: herself, her daughter-in-law, and her grandson and granddaughter.

Her son had died of illness some years ago. Her husband had disappeared without a trace after joining the Anti-Japanese United Army back in the day—no sign of him, dead or alive. Granny Liu had raised their son all by herself. It wasn’t until a few years ago, when a martyr’s certificate was posthumously issued, that she learned her husband had sacrificed his life long ago in the remote northern region of Changbai and Heilongjiang.

Her family had no able-bodied men. Fortunately, her granddaughter was thirteen and her grandson was eleven, so they could do some physical labor. In addition, Mrs. Liu would occasionally act as a shaman to deal with minor troubles and illnesses. With that and the martyr’s family stipend, their life was a bit better than Zhao Wendong’s family.

"Aiya, Dongzi, you’re here! Just in time, come have a bite."

Mrs. Liu’s family was sitting on the kang, eating. With so few people, they all fit around a small kang table.

There was also a brazier on the kang, which many families in the Northeast used for daily heating in the winter.

"Hehe, let me see what delicious things you’re eating... Aiya, these cornbread buns look amazing!"

Zhao Wendong swaggered forward and glanced at the food on the table: just a small dish of pickled vegetables to go with a few cornbread buns.

"Too bad I already ate. Next time, I’ll definitely have to join you."

Granny Liu watched Zhao Wendong with a wide smile. She was fond of his shameless nerve. In her eyes, the young men who were too honest and simple were the ones who wouldn’t amount to much in the future.

"What brings you to your Granny Liu’s today?"

"Hehe, on my way to the mountain, I brought my eldest brother over to be your long-term laborer. Besides chopping firewood, whatever else you need done, Granny Liu, just put him to work!"

Zhao Wendong was basically selling out his older brother, but Zhao Wenjun wasn’t angry, just smiling honestly.

Grandma Liu grinned happily again, revealing her only two remaining teeth. This time, she swatted Zhao Wendong’s hand with a bit of force, scolding him with a laugh.

"You’re never serious, always fooling around. What era do you think this is? You think your Granny Liu is a landlord like Zhao Lao Nian?"