I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: The Street Loafer Has Proper Business

Seeing the pained expression on his third aunt Zhang Yufen’s face, Zhao Wendong cursed out loud. He felt her forehead—it was burning hot. He immediately sent Er Gou to get help.

Zhao Ergou froze for a second, then dropped the firewood stick in his hand and bolted.

Zhao Wendong quickly squatted down and pushed the burning firewood back into the stove pit, preventing the exposed embers from setting the house on fire. He saw Sanwa sniffling, two thick streams of snot hanging from his nose, his eyes glued to the basin Zhao Wendong had brought. Zhao Wendong took a cornbread patty from inside and handed it to him.

"Eat up!"

Zhao Sanwa shot out a grimy little hand, snatched the patty, and stuffed it into his mouth. He devoured it ravenously, his cheeks puffed out like a squirrel desperately hoarding food.

The dry patty made him choke, his neck craning and contracting. Snot ran from his upper lip onto the patty, but he just wiped it messily with his sleeve and kept stuffing the cornbread into his mouth.

Zhao Wendong quickly ladled some water from their sand-bottomed water vat and handed it to him. Sanwa cupped the family’s broken gourd dipper, took two huge gulps—GULP, GULP—of the icy well water, and then let out a long sigh of relief.

"What’s the damn rush? Eat slowly!"

After being scolded by Zhao Wendong, Sanwa slowed down, but he still finished the cornbread patty in his hand quickly. Sanwa licked every one of his fingers, not even sparing the grimy cracks of his fingernails.

"Have another one!"

Zhao Wendong felt a headache coming on as he watched. He pointed to the basin, but unexpectedly, Zhao Sanwa just shook his head.

"No more. This is for my brother and my mom."

Looking at the bright eyes in Sanwa’s dirty little face, Zhao Wendong couldn’t help but reach out and pat his head. A pang of sorrow hit him. ’In my previous life, I was the only one left in my family. Weren’t other families in the village also missing members? A few families were wiped out completely, and Zhao Ergou’s was one of them.’

"Brother San, Granny Liu is here!"

Zhao Ergou ran back in a hurry. Zhao Wendong noticed a hole in the front of his cotton-padded shoes, his toes peeking out.

"What’s wrong, Dongzi?"

Granny Liu came into the house, her grandson Zhao Baozhu lightly supporting her.

Although Zhao Baozhu was a year younger than Zhao Ergou, his build was so much larger that he looked like he could fit Er Gou inside him.

"My third aunt has a fever, Granny Liu. Please take a look!"

Zhao Wendong hurried forward to welcome Mrs. Liu into the house. The old woman wasn’t just a shaman; she also treated the villagers for common ailments like headaches and fevers. This was how she, an old woman with bound feet, could support her family. Village gossip said that Third Master Zhao was eternally grateful to Granny Liu because she had saved his life, though no one knew if that was true.

Grandma Liu got onto the kang bed and calmly sat cross-legged next to Zhang Yufen. She first assessed her condition, felt her forehead, checked her mouth, and finally took her pulse before speaking in a composed manner.

"It’s nothing serious. Just hunger and cold."

She reached for the medicine box from her grandson’s hands and took out some dried honeysuckle and dandelion.

"Make some congee for her to drink, and add these herbs to it. Keep an eye on her temperature. Wet a towel and put it on her forehead."

Zhao Wendong nodded quickly. He told Zhao Ergou what to do, then had him take the heated food out of the pot. He forced him and his little brother, Sanwa, to eat a good amount of the meat and patties before boiling water again to make congee. Seeing the look on Er Gou’s face, Zhao Wendong knew they must be out of rice. He gave Zhao Sanwa a gentle kick on the butt.

"Go. Go to my house and find your Second Aunt. Tell her I sent you, and to bring over the last of our millet."

"Okay!"

Zhao Sanwa nodded and ran out.

"Brother San, I’ll definitely pay you back in the future..."

Zhao Ergou had just started speaking when his eyes reddened, and he couldn’t say another word.

"Ha! Dammit, aren’t I your brother? Don’t we have the same grandfather? Your dad cut ties, does that mean you’re going to cut ties with us too?"

"No, of course not!"

Zhao Ergou waved his hands frantically.

"Then that settles it. We’re family, so don’t give me any of that roundabout, superficial stuff!"

After Zhao Wendong finished speaking, Zhao Ergou wiped his eyes and nodded firmly. "Yeah!"

Mrs. Liu watched from the side, her eyes full of gratification. ’That little rascal Zhao Wendong really has his act together now,’ she thought. ’If he keeps this up, he’ll definitely have a bright future.’

"Alright, if there’s nothing else, we’ll be heading back."

The old woman stood up to leave, as decisive and efficient as ever.

"Granny Liu, thanks! I’ll cover the payment!"

"Get outta here. Showing off, are we?"

Zhao Wendong had barely spoken before the old woman shot him down. He could only chuckle and smile sheepishly.

"Uh, Granny Liu, I misspoke. I have some wild boar skin, you can take it for your medicines. I also have some boar meat. The New Year is coming, it’s a little something from us young ’uns to show our respect."

This time, Mrs. Liu was pleased. She gave Zhao Wendong a smiling glance and didn’t refuse. She left, accompanied by Zhao Baozhu. Before leaving, Zhao Baozhu kept shooting glances at Zhao Wendong, signaling him not to forget him next time he went up the mountain.

Sanwa soon returned, followed by Chen Yanmei. She was carrying the bag of millet that Song Xiaoyu had traded her bracelet for, though only a quarter of the bag was left now.

"Son, what’s going on? Sanwa came in saying his mom was sick and you sent him for the millet."

Zhao Wendong explained the situation, and Chen Yanmei nodded.

"Alright, you go on and do what you need to. I’ll help look after this mother and her two sons. You’d just be clumsy and in the way here. Er Gou and Sanwa are obedient boys; they can help me out."

Zhao Wendong knew that with his third aunt being a widow, it wasn’t convenient for him to stay. Hearing this, he nodded, patted Er Gou and Sanwa on the head, and left.

He still had a lot to do. Back when he was a lazy street loafer, every day was aimless. Now that he had purpose, he found that every day was busy, with so many things waiting for him to do.

After returning home and grabbing a pile of things, Zhao Wendong headed out again.

First, he went to his uncle’s house to see his grandparents.

"We haven’t even finished what your older brother brought, and now you’re bringing so much more meat! Dongzi, you’re number one! From now on, my grandson is the number one in the whole village!"

When Ye Qingmei saw Zhao Wendong and the wild boar meat he’d brought, she couldn’t suppress her smile. She grabbed his hand, gave him a big thumbs-up, and praised him nonstop.

"Seventeen? Who’s seventeen? Isn’t Dongzi already eighteen?"

Grandfather Zhao Chuanhe was indeed getting more and more hard of hearing; he had completely misheard her.

"This darn old man, it’s like his ears are stuffed with donkey hair these days. Don’t mind him!"

Ye Qingmei lightly patted Zhao Chuanhe and said to Zhao Wendong with a laugh.

Zhao Wendong held one of their hands in each of his and chatted with them for a while. He finally left his grandparents’ house amidst his aunt’s warm farewells, then ducked straight into Granny Liu’s house next door. He dropped off the wild boar skin and meat, declined Granny Liu’s enthusiastic attempts to make him stay, and then rushed nonstop toward Third Master Zhao’s house.

As soon as he entered, he saw Zhao Weiguo was also there, squatting next to the big brown horse with Third Master Zhao. The two of them were peering at it from every angle, and the sight immediately amused Zhao Wendong.

"Haha, Uncle Weiguo, you’re here too! This saves me a trip."

"What are you two doing?"

Third Master Zhao glanced up at him and said to Zhao Weiguo with a smile.

"The old saying is true: speak of the devil and he shall appear. We were just talking about him, and here he is!"

"Talking about me? What about? I’m a law-abiding, model youth now, you know. If it’s not for something good, don’t come looking for me!"

Zhao Weiguo was also amused by Zhao Wendong’s shamelessness and said with a laugh.

"Third Master was just praising you. Said you’ve really gotten capable lately. Not only are you a good hunter, but you can even treat large livestock now."

"This horse ate some beans yesterday and felt better today. Dongzi, you’ve really got the stuff. From now on, if there’s a problem with the village’s livestock, we won’t always have to go find Zhu Peiniu."

Zhao Wendong was so alarmed he quickly waved his hands in dismissal.

"No, no, absolutely not! I can help take a look at a headache or a fever, but I’m not getting involved in any breeding!"

Zhao Wendong had seen Zhu Peiniu handle animal breeding before. The man would just stick his hand in from behind and rummage around. Just thinking about the scene now made him want to puke.