I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Xiaobai

The snow-white fox twisted its head, trying repeatedly to bite Zhao Wendong. But he was prepared. With one hand pinning its hind legs and the other on its neck, he kept the fox firmly under control, giving it no chance to bite him.

’It’s over. I can’t bite him. It’s a human hunter! This is the end for me!’

Zhao Wendong almost laughed when he heard it. ’This fox sure has a rich inner life.’

Once Zhao Wendong had the fox tied up, he carried it down into the gully. Zhao Wenwu was still squatting there, bent over and stoking the fire.

"Alright, Second Brother, you can stop."

Zhao Wenwu turned his head, his face instantly lighting up with surprise.

"Third Brother, you caught it! Let me see! Holy cow, it’s beautiful! Is the meat any good? Is it gamy? I’ve never eaten fox before!"

The fox couldn’t understand Zhao Wenwu’s words, but it could sense his ill intentions. It started HOWLING and struggling frantically again, but Zhao Wendong had tied it so securely that all its efforts were futile.

"Eat, eat, is that all you think about? I have big plans for this fox!"

Zhao Wenwu scratched his head, completely baffled. ’What use could a fox be, other than for eating?’

"Second Brother, this fire is looking good. Let’s not waste all these coals. We can roast a few potatoes and heat up our flatbreads."

"Sounds good!"

Using the fire they’d just built, Zhao Wendong took out a few potatoes. Zhao Wenwu buried them directly in the hot coals to cook. Then, he took out a few corn flatbreads and placed them by the edge of the fire to slowly warm up.

"Third Brother, what use could a fox possibly be?"

Zhao Wenwu took a flatbread and placed it by the fire to roast, still unable to shake his curiosity.

"Heh heh, for treasure hunting. Aren’t they supposed to be smart? I want to see if it can lead us to some treasure!"

Hearing this, Zhao Wenwu gave Zhao Wendong a look like he was a complete idiot.

"Third Brother, do you still think I’m a three-year-old kid?"

"I’m four years old now, you can’t fool me!"

Zhao Wendong burst out laughing at his brother’s antics. It was a while before he looked back at the fox.

Red foxes were common in the Northeast, but one this white was quite rare. It was likely an Arctic fox, a Siberian subspecies.

It had a sleek, slender body, not even a meter long. Its fluffy tail was almost as long as its body. It had a pair of small, triangular ears and large, dark, soulful eyes that were ridiculously cute.

Reaching for the hunter’s rifle, Zhao Wendong lifted the fox up so it could see the gun.

"Here, take a good look!"

’It’s over. Is this human going to kill me with that gun?’

Zhao Wendong’s heart leaped with joy. ’This might actually work!’

The fox really recognized the gun. Now the problem was how to get it to lead him to the gun it had found. After racking his brain, Zhao Wendong couldn’t think of any brilliant ideas, so he decided to fall back on a simple dog-training method. He’d see if he could train this fox.

Seeing Zhao Wendong pull a dog collar out of his bag—one he’d used before—Zhao Wenwu, who was still roasting flatbreads, had a moment of realization.

"Third Brother, I was wondering what you brought that dog leash for. So you were planning to leash a fox!"

"Heh heh, am I amazing or what, Second Brother!"

"Yeah, Third Brother, you’re something else!"

Zhao Wenwu’s praise was sincere. He would never have thought to prepare something like that in advance.

Zhao Wendong first leashed the fox and then set it back on the ground.

’My chance! I’m outta here!’

The moment its paws hit the ground, the fox bolted. But it didn’t get two steps before the rope in Zhao Wendong’s hand yanked it back, making it yelp as the leash tightened.

After a few more attempts, the white fox finally accepted its reality.

’It’s over. This young master has been snared by this human.’

Zhao Wendong pulled one of Zhao Wenwu’s mittens from his back pocket. Zhao Wenwu looked confused.

"What are you doing with my mitten, Third Brother!"

"This thing has a strong smell. I’m just borrowing it."

He waved the mitten in front of the fox’s nose, then tossed it a short distance away. "Go, fetch!" Zhao Wendong commanded.

The fox just stared at Zhao Wendong, looking utterly bewildered.

SMACK!

Zhao Wendong slapped it across the snout. The fox froze for a second, then reality caught up. It started yelping, baring its teeth at Zhao Wendong and posturing as if to bite him.

Zhao Wendong was ready. He raised the wood axe in his hand, its sharp blade glinting in the harsh sunlight.

’Forget it, forget it. This young master is in a good mood. I’ll let this human off the hook just this once.’

The fox immediately calmed down, even tucking its tail between its hind legs.

Zhao Wendong walked over, picked up the mitten, and repeated the same action.

"Go, fetch!"

SMACK!

’This young master will let you off the hook one more time.’

"Go, fetch!"

SMACK!

’Damn it! What in the world do you want me to do?! This is just bullying a fox!’

After several repetitions, the fox was so traumatized by Zhao Wendong’s slaps that tears started to well up in its eyes.

"Hahaha, this is hilarious! Dongzi, how about you let me hit it!"

Zhao Wenwu was watching the spectacle from the side, roaring with laughter.

"Oh, give me a break! With your strength, one slap would kill it! Go watch the flatbreads, they’re starting to smoke!"

"Oh, got it!" Zhao Wenwu flipped the burnt flatbread over and went back to watching the show. "Third Brother, it’s a fox, not a dog! It doesn’t know how to fetch things!"

But just as he finished speaking, the fox suddenly moved after Zhao Wendong shouted the command again.

It took two tentative steps toward the mitten that had been tossed in the distance, then looked back hesitantly at Zhao Wendong.

’Is this human telling me to go get that thing?’

A smile appeared on Zhao Wendong’s face, and he gave the fox an encouraging nod.

"Yes, that’s right! Go get the mitten!"

Seeing that Zhao Wendong didn’t hit it this time, the fox took a few more tentative steps forward until it was in front of the mitten. It looked back at Zhao Wendong again.

When it saw Zhao Wendong still nodding at it, the fox thought for a moment, then picked up the mitten with its mouth and brought it back.

Zhao Wenwu was completely dumbfounded.

"Holy shit, Third Brother, it actually worked."

"Hahaha, this is great! So interesting!"

Zhao Wendong happily patted the fox’s head a couple of times. This scared the poor thing half to death; it thought it was about to be hit again and kept shrinking back. It only calmed down when Zhao Wendong broke off a small, warm piece of his dry cornbread ration and tossed it to the fox.

’So he just wanted me to fetch things! Why didn’t he say so earlier? Good thing this young master is smart, or I’d have been beaten to death. Mmm, this stuff is tasty. I’ll eat my fill first. Human, I’ll remember you. You dared to hit this young master so many times... I’ll get even with you sooner or later.’

Zhao Wendong wasn’t bothered. ’Heh, the little guy holds a grudge. But trying to outsmart me? You must have a death wish.’

After gobbling up the piece of ration Zhao Wendong gave it, the fox looked back at him with a hint of expectation in its eyes. It wanted more.

Zhao Wendong tossed the mitten a few more times, then gradually used other objects to train the fox. If it brought the item back, it got food. If not, it got a slap. After a dozen more training repetitions, the fox had completely mastered his commands.

Zhao Wenwu watched from the side, overcome with excitement. He clapped his hands and grinned. "Third Brother, you’re a miracle worker! You actually trained the fox!"

"Third Brother, let me give it a name! Other dogs have names. Look, it’s all white, how about we call it Xiaobai?"

Zhao Wendong gave his brother a surprised glance. Although the name had zero creativity, Zhao Wendong didn’t want to spoil Zhao Wenwu’s enthusiasm.

"Sure. If you say Xiaobai, then Xiaobai it is."

"Hahaha, you have a name now, little fox! From now on, you’re Xiaobai! Here, Xiaobai, have some potato!"

Zhao Wenwu pulled the potatoes out of the fire. He gave one to Zhao Wendong, then started peeling another to feed the fox.

’This human seems pretty gullible. I’ll try sucking up to him a bit.’

WHIMPER! WHIMPER!

Xiaobai whimpered a few times at Zhao Wenwu, then stretched its neck out to eat the potato from his hand, its big white tail wagging from side to side.

"Haha, Third Brother, Xiaobai likes me!"

Zhao Wenwu was overjoyed. He excitedly showed off to Zhao Wendong and became even more willing to feed Xiaobai potatoes.

Zhao Wendong shot Xiaobai a look. ’This little thing is probably more cunning than my second brother.’

There was no spring nearby, so Zhao Wendong took out two aluminum mess tins. That’s right, another military-grade product. Decades later, kids in the village would still be using these to bring their lunches to school.

He grabbed a handful of clean snow, put it in the mess tins, and placed them over the fire. Soon, the snow melted into clear water. He handed one tin to Zhao Wenwu, and the two of them ate their afternoon meal, washing down the flatbreads with the melted snow.

Once they had eaten and drunk their fill and the fire had died out, Zhao Wendong took out the hunter’s rifle and held it in front of Xiaobai’s nose. "Go, fetch!"

Xiaobai immediately touched the rifle with its snout, indicating that it had found it.

Zhao Wendong was speechless. He thought for a moment, then held the rifle in front of Xiaobai’s nose again.

"Go, fetch!"

After saying that, he quickly turned around and stuffed the rifle inside his thick cotton jacket.

Xiaobai: ???

’Where did the gun go? If I can’t find it, I’ll get hit again... Wait! This young master knows where there’s a gun!’