I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Lighter

"Oh? What do you mean?"

Zhao Wendong perked up instantly. As the saying goes, rarity creates value. The scarcer something was, the higher the price it could fetch!

"Brother Dong, I’ll tell you quietly, but don’t you go telling anyone else."

"This year’s been rough. Over in the Central Plains, people in a lot of places have eaten all the tree bark. Here in the county seat, every household is busy hoarding food. Grain is manageable, and we can still procure some meat, but things from the sea are just too rare right now. The county even organized a few fishing trips, but the catches were pitiful."

"So, the county has instructed all of us at the purchase stations to buy seafood at high prices. Not only can you get a good price, but if I do a good job, I can even earn some merit!"

"Brother Dong, be straight with me. Do you really have some Hai Pangtou?"

Zhao Wendong nodded, giving him a direct, affirmative answer. He was confident he could find a school of Hai Pangtou tomorrow anyway. Even if he couldn’t, he could just say he’d eaten them himself.

Seeing Zhao Wendong nod, Zheng Guangrong’s spirits soared. He originally thought this kid was his jinx, but if he could really get him some Hai Pangtou—even just ten or twenty jin—it would be enough to make him look good in front of his superiors. His jinx would instantly become his lucky star.

"But, Brother Zheng, you said it yourself—times are tough. Everyone’s collecting grain, and the money I’d get from selling fish won’t buy much of it. Why should I sell to your purchase station? Wouldn’t it be better to keep them for myself or trade with my neighbors for some grain?"

After asking, Zhao Wendong stared intently at Zheng Guangrong.

Zheng Guangrong explained, his expression unchanged.

"Hah! That’s all negotiable. For the Hai Pangtou, not only will I give you a price of twenty cents per jin, but I can also give you the equivalent in grain tickets. That’s a much better deal than trading with Big Wang. Besides, if you have a large quantity, Big Wang can’t take it all, can he?"

Zhao Wendong nodded. Just then, the door opened again, and Zhao Wenwu walked in, carrying a pile of things.

Zheng Guangrong subconsciously glanced at the counter. There were no sunflower seeds or tea trays, and he relaxed. Last time, he hadn’t just lost a plate of sunflower seeds; this big guy had even made off with the tea tray. You couldn’t call him stupid, because he never got the short end of the stick. But you couldn’t call him smart either, since he was clearly slow-witted.

"Alright, I get it, Brother Zheng. Tomorrow, after you get off work, don’t be in a rush to go practice your ’work notes.’ You need to wait for me at the station until it’s completely dark, you hear? Oh, right, take a look at these things first."

"Whoa! Damn, Brother Dong, you’re a real badass! You got a wild boar?"

"How big was this boar? This stomach is huge!"

"This pigskin is good too. Why is a big piece missing?"

After carefully inspecting the items, Zheng Guangrong smacked his lips and looked at Zhao Wendong.

"Brother Dong, where’s the pork? This boar must have been at least three hundred jin. You can’t possibly be keeping all the meat to eat yourself!"

"Your price for pork isn’t worth it. I’ll stick with Big Wang for that."

"Fine. That little guy is pretty reliable when it comes to dealing with meat."

Seeing Zhao Wendong’s response, Zheng Guangrong nodded, took out an abacus, and began calculating with a series of CLACKS, calling out the price for each item.

Boar bristles, three twenty. Pig stomach, twenty-six. Pigskin...

Zhao Wendong calculated each item in his head and realized that Zheng Guangrong was giving him very high purchase prices for everything.

"Brother Dong, I calculated everything at the highest price for you. The total is thirty-eight yuan and forty cents!"

"Alright, thanks, Brother Zheng!"

Zhao Wendong watched Zheng Guangrong count out the money, then took the thick wad of cash and stuffed it directly into his pocket. When Zheng Guangrong saw that he didn’t count it again, the smile on his face grew even wider.

"By the way, this is for you. Eat some of this before you study your ’work notes.’ It’ll give you more energy."

Zhao Wendong smiled and took out a piece of pork, which must have weighed a good three or four jin.

Zheng Guangrong was stunned for a moment, then accepted it without ceremony, laughing heartily.

"Well then, thank you, Brother Dong!"

In his heart, however, his estimation of Zhao Wendong rose another notch. You could say that in his mind, Zhao Wendong’s status was now second only to Big Sister Hua.

Zhao Wenjun hadn’t come inside at all, remaining outside the whole time to watch the horse-drawn sledge and their things.

"Alright, we’re leaving now!"

Zhao Wendong turned to leave but saw that Zhao Wenwu hadn’t moved.

"What’s wrong, Second Brother?"

"No sunflower seeds to eat. What a pity, what a pity."

Zhao Wenwu said regretfully. Zhao Wendong’s eyes darted around as he pulled the same old trick.

"A lighter? What lighter?"

As he spoke, his eyes were already glancing toward Zheng Guangrong’s lighter on the counter.

Zheng Guangrong gave a bitter smile. ’These two brothers must have been goddamn bandits before the Liberation,’ he thought. They never left his place empty-handed. Wincing with reluctance, he handed over his diesel lighter.

"Here, Brother Dong. I happen to have a lighter right here. If Second Brother wants it, let him have it to play with."

"Oh, you shouldn’t have!"

Zhao Wendong said this, but his hand moved like lightning to take the lighter and stuff it in his pocket. He then pulled Zhao Wenwu toward the exit, feigning criticism.

"Second Brother, honestly! How could you just ask the man for a lighter? Don’t do that again, you hear?"

Zhao Wenwu blinked, looked at Zhao Wendong, and saw his familiar mischievous grin. He immediately clamped his mouth shut. He knew his third brother; at times like this, all he had to do was keep quiet.

Outside, when Zhao Wenjun saw the two of them come out, he walked up excitedly and asked.

"How’d it go, Third Brother? How much did you sell it for?"

"Thirty-eight yuan and forty cents!"

Zhao Wenjun was overjoyed. He held up ten fingers. "Thirty-eight forty, plus the twelve thirty Mom and your sister-in-law gave you... that’s... that’s..."

He repeated "that’s" for a while but couldn’t figure out the total in the end. He could handle addition and subtraction within ten, but anything beyond that was a real struggle for him. Then again, their family had never been this well-off before.

The three of them pulled the sledge with the remaining items and headed for Big Wang’s house. As they passed Dahei, Zhao Wendong paused for a moment before quickly catching up with his two brothers. The dog’s thoughts kept replaying in his mind.

’So much wild boar meat. A shame about Xiaohuang and the others. They’re clearly the best hunting dogs—they could even survive on their own in the mountains—but now they’re about to starve to death.’

Behind him, Dahei’s sorrowful whimpers continued. Zhao Wendong’s mind raced, trying to figure out whose hunting dogs Dahei was talking about. In his past life, his family had run into trouble around this time, and it was their most difficult period, so he naturally hadn’t paid any attention to the goings-on in the Commune. He thought for a long time but couldn’t remember, so he decided he would have to ask someone later.

When they reached Big Wang’s house, they found his main gate tightly shut.

After knocking for a long time, Big Wang finally poked his head out of the house. He looked around cautiously, and only when he saw it was Zhao Wendong did he hurry out to open the gate. Zhao Wendong noticed an axe tucked into the back of his belt and the stock of a firearm visible in his coat. The man, who was less than 1.6 meters tall, was radiating a murderous aura.

"What’s going on, Brother Wang?"

Zhao Wendong asked calmly, subconsciously patting his chest. He, too, was carrying that "drumstick" pistol in his coat.

"Hah, it’s nothing. Come inside and talk."

He welcomed the three of them into the courtyard and shut the main gate again before saying with a wry smile.

"I’m just being careful, trying to keep people from getting ideas. It’s all because of the recent fights over grain. Yesterday, two families got into a brawl over it, even used weapons. The public security bureau had to come."

Zhao Wendong nodded in understanding. "Yeah, it’s better to be careful!"

With that, he called for his eldest and second brothers to start unloading their things. Big Wang helped them carry everything. When he saw the two large roe deer and the pile of wild boar meat, even the worldly-wise Big Wang couldn’t help but exclaim in shock.

"Holy crap, brother, you’re too damn amazing! You just took down a wolf, and now you’ve got all this stuff?"

"Heh, our family’s just been lucky lately!"

Zhao Wendong and Zhao Wenwu followed him into the house, while Zhao Wenjun remained outside, watching the horse-drawn sledge.

"Brother, you should come in and warm up too. The gate is bolted, and the horse is tied up. It definitely won’t run off."

"No, I’m not cold!"

Zhao Wenjun shook his head and continued to stand guard motionlessly beside the horse-drawn sledge. Zhao Wendong knew his eldest brother’s personality, so he just nodded at him and followed Big Wang into the house.