I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

"Heh, heheh... Dongzi, you’re such a kidder. A whole tray of dumplings this big... that’s enough for all of us to share."

"I said I didn’t bring any for the three of you, and I meant it. These aren’t for you. If they can’t finish them, they can save them for tomorrow. If any of you three dares to eat one of these dumplings, I’ll knock out one of your teeth for every single one you eat."

Without another word, Zhao Wendong ignored Wang Jinzhi, whose expression had turned utterly foul, and strode into his grandparents’ west room. Zhao Pandi kept her head down and hurried in after him. Zhao Laidi glanced at her mother, inwardly cheering. ’I never expected Brother San to be so ruthless when he finally decided to drop the act,’ she thought. Her steps were light as she ducked into the west room as well.

On the heated bed in the east room, Zhao Dahai rolled over, a complicated look on his face. Zhao Wenhua’s face was as black as charcoal as he sat there in silence. When Zhao Wendong entered the west room, Ye Qingmei and Zhao Chuanhe were both sitting on their own heated bed, smiling as they waited for him. They had heard every word he’d said in the outer room, and they were both inwardly thrilled.

"Grandson, are you cold? Quick, get up on the heated bed."

Ye Qingmei took Zhao Wendong’s hand and pulled him onto the heated bed. Zhao Wendong scooted further in, leaving only his shoes and lower legs dangling off the edge. He lay his whole body down on their bed, soaking in the warmth.

"Here’s a pillow. This will be more comfortable."

Ye Qingmei had gone out of her way to find a pillow for Zhao Wendong, and she placed it under his head so he could lie more comfortably.

"Grandpa, Grandma, eat the dumplings. If you can’t finish them all, save them for tomorrow. But don’t give them to anyone else, you hear?"

"Heheh, yes. We’ll eat them ourselves. We won’t give them to anyone else."

He lay on the heated bed and chatted with Ye Qingmei and Zhao Chuanhe for a while. Seeing they were still upset about Zhao Dahai’s family, he decided against bringing up his plan for them to formally split the household. ’Better to wait until the house and everything else is ready,’ he thought. ’If I tell them too early, they’ll just start to worry.’

"Grandpa, Grandma, the day after tomorrow I’m going out to pay a call. I’ll have a surprise for you when I get back."

"A surprise? What kind of surprise?"

Ye Qingmei and Zhao Chuanhe looked at each other, their curiosity piqued by the surprise Zhao Wendong had mentioned.

"Heheh, you’ll both find out the day after tomorrow. It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you now, would it? It’s getting late, you should eat your dumplings. I’m going back to have dinner myself."

Zhao Wendong left them hanging. With that, he got up and left. When he came out, he saw the door to the east room was shut tight. He gave a cold smirk and paid them no mind. ’If they behave, everything will be fine,’ he thought. ’But if they dare to cause trouble...’ With his current abilities, dealing with them would be child’s play.

When he got home, Third Master Zhao and Grandmaster Ai were already there. Seeing Zhao Wendong return, Third Master Zhao was, for once, uncharacteristically polite.

"Well now, Dongzi, we just finished lunch and here you are calling us over to eat again. Look at you, being so hospitable."

Zhao Wendong rolled his eyes at him. "You wish Granny Liu would invite you over to eat, but she won’t have you. Besides, I mainly invited Grandmaster Ai for dinner. You’re just a tagalong."

"HAHAHA!"

Zhao Wenwu laughed heartily, not holding back in the slightest. Third Master Zhao regretted his politeness, pointing the bowl of his pipe at Zhao Wendong.

"I never should have been polite with a young rascal like you. Just you watch, I’ll eat you out of house and home."

"Heheh, that’s more like it. I’m loaded right now. You can eat your fill and you still won’t make a dent. Grandmaster Ai, don’t follow this old man’s example. You make sure to eat a lot."

Grandmaster Ai smiled and nodded, so happy the wrinkles on his face seemed to vanish. Compared to the past, life now was simply too good to be true. He hadn’t even thought about his own grandson in days. While it was nice having his grandson around, the boy truly didn’t know how to care for a person. ’If he were half as capable as Zhao Wendong,’ Grandmaster Ai mused, ’I wouldn’t have nearly frozen and starved to death on his watch.’

The dumplings went into the pot, and the family laughed and joked as they set the table. Zhao Wendong found the firecrackers he’d bought earlier, ready to set them off outside. ’Good thing I bought so many last time,’ he thought, counting them up. ’There are still seven strings left. One for the first day of the New Year tomorrow. Three for the wedding on the third. Two for tonight. And one for the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth. Perfect.’

"Brother San, I wanna set them off! Give ’em to me!"

"Third Uncle, I want to set them off too! Me too!"

Zhao Wenwu and Zhao Shitou were both scrambling to set off the firecrackers, and Zhao Wendong didn’t try to compete with them. ’It’s funny,’ he mused, ’you love setting these things off as a kid, but not so much when you grow up. Back then, I’d dare to hold a firecracker in my hand as it went off, but now that I’m older, I’m even a little scared just lighting the fuse. I wonder why that is.’

All of Dragon King Pond Village was silent; Zhao Wendong figured his was probably the only family that could afford firecrackers. Zhao Wenwu and Zhao Shitou debated for a long time before finally settling the order with a game of rock-paper-scissors. Zhao Wenwu lost to Zhao Shitou and pouted, unhappily waiting his turn.

Zhao Shitou carefully hung the string of firecrackers on the courtyard gate. He could have lit it with a burning stick from the fire, but he insisted on using Zhao Wendong’s lighter. The wind outside was strong, so Zhao Wenwu had to cup his hands around the lighter to block the wind before it would catch. Once the fuse was lit, the firecrackers erupted with a loud CRACKLE-POP-POP. A hundred-shot string in those days was a true one hundred shots, and the racket continued for nearly a full minute before finally stopping.

Soon, the second string of firecrackers went off. With the two strings lit, the house instantly burst into chaos. It was a scene of utter pandemonium—chickens flying, dogs jumping, tigers roaring, pigs squealing, and the fox was so scared it wet itself.

The CRACKLING of the firecrackers echoed through the night sky over Dragon King Pond Village. Many villagers stepped out of their homes, looking toward Zhao Wendong’s house with smiles on their faces. The firecrackers didn’t just drive away the mythical Nian beast; they brought the spirit of the New Year to everyone.

And so, to the sound of Zhao Wendong’s firecrackers, Dragon King Pond Village celebrated the first Spring Festival of the famine years. It wasn’t an extravagant feast, but at least everyone could eat their fill on New Year’s Day. Compared to his past life, not only was there more food, but every family even got to eat some seafood. Most importantly, the village wasn’t missing its people, its streets weren’t lined with the white funeral banners of his previous life.

The first year of the famine was over, and many people hoped for a better life in the year to come. Everyone except Zhao Wendong. Only he knew that an even more difficult year was approaching. But he wasn’t afraid. This year, he had kept his family safe and even made sure they ate dumplings for the New Year. He was confident he could provide an even better life for them in the year to come.