I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

The secretary looked just as frustrated. During the New Year, who wouldn’t want to be at home celebrating in peace? "What’s the use of saying that? The person who reported him for profiteering was his own brother."

The villagers whispered amongst themselves, shaking their heads.

"This is just sinful."

"Sigh, Wei the kid had no other choice. It’s just him and his old mother. Are they supposed to just wait around and starve to death during the New Year?"

"Exactly."

The deputy secretary of the Commune standing nearby overheard the villagers’ chatter, and his face darkened.

"All of you, shut up! What’s all this nonsense? Don’t you follow the rules anymore? If everyone acted like that, it would be chaos! I hope you all take this as a warning. From now on, the private sale of these goods is forbidden, especially grain."

After he finished speaking, the Commune’s deputy secretary waved his hand dismissively, ordering his men to take Wei Laishun away. Wei Laishun’s face was ashen. He struggled and dropped to his knees, turning his head to kowtow to Zhao Tiehua.

"Mom, you have to take care of yourself. If things get too hard, go back to Grandma’s family. Wait for me. If I don’t die, I’ll come back and fulfill my duties as your son."

"Laishun, my son!"

Zhao Tiehua’s sobs grew more frantic. She clung on, refusing to let go no matter how others tried to pull her away. Just then, a large truck drove right up, its driver unapologetically honking the horn and scattering the terrified crowd.

The truck door opened. A young man with a serious expression stepped out, dressed in a crisp, handsome officer’s woolen overcoat, black leather gloves, and a mink fur hat. He was followed by two other young men, one short and one tall, who also climbed out. Both were carrying rifles. The shorter one, who looked quite young, was carrying the newest Type 56 semi-automatic rifle. Everyone knew how valuable those were. Seeing the imposing aura of the newcomers, the crowd couldn’t help but take another two steps back.

Zhao Wendong put on a stern face, acting the part of a leader according to the plan they had quickly devised in the truck. Behind him, Zhao Wenwu and Zhao Ergou played the roles of his subordinates. Seeing how convincing the trio looked, Niu Yuesheng stifled a laugh, stuck his head out, and yelled, "Chief, we need to hurry back. We still have to report to Secretary Yang soon."

The Commune’s deputy secretary’s heart skipped a beat when he heard that. ’Secretary Yang? Isn’t he the top official in Yin County?’ He quickly hurried over to greet them.

"Hello, Comrade. I’m the deputy secretary of Chengzi Commune. May I ask who you are?"

Zhao Wendong extended his hand for a brief shake but didn’t answer his question. Instead, he said directly, "So much trouble during the New Year. We were told to come pick someone up. What crime did he commit?"

The deputy secretary was instantly certain that Zhao Wendong was here to take Wei Laishun. He cursed inwardly, ’Damn that Wei Laixi! It was bad enough he came to the Commune to report him, but he fucking took it all the way to the county. Isn’t he just trying to make trouble for us? I’ll have to investigate him thoroughly later.’

Seeing Zhao Wendong’s demeanor and attire, the deputy secretary drew his own conclusions about his identity. ’These are definitely people you don’t mess with.’ "Oh, sir, it’s like this."

The deputy secretary explained the whole situation. A sharp glint flashed in Zhao Wendong’s eyes. He suppressed the rage in his heart and looked at Zhao Tiehua, his third aunt, who was silently weeping on the ground.

"This woman is obstructing, is she? Fine, take her too. Let’s not let this delay other matters during the New Year. The county will handle this case now, so your Commune doesn’t need to worry about it. You’ve done your job very well. I’ll report that to Secretary Yang. Thank you for your hard work!"

"Not at all, not at all."

The deputy secretary’s face lit up with a smile. He then took a half-full sack of cornmeal from a nearby militiaman.

"This is the evidence. Wei Laishun sold a Jade Bracelet for money and then used it to privately buy this food. Some of it has been eaten, but the rest is here. His own brother, Wei Laixi, reported all of this. We’ve already verified it. The only thing is, the bracelet’s whereabouts and the person he traded with are transient. And since he found the person in the county before the New Year, it’s hard for us to investigate."

"Mm, just hand it all over to us. We’ll investigate once we’re back in the county."

The deputy secretary glanced at the large truck several times. Zhao Wendong immediately understood that he wanted to hitch a ride and said with a smile.

"How about this: could you trouble yourself to bring them to the Commune headquarters for us, Comrade? I’ll pick them up from there."

"Excellent, excellent! We’ll do just that."

Zhao Tiehua and Wei Laishun were escorted onto the truck. Zhao Wendong and the deputy secretary got into the cab, while Zhao Ergou pulled Zhao Wenwu into the truck bed. Having received a signal from Zhao Wendong, Zhao Wenwu kept his mouth shut and didn’t say a word.

As the villagers watched the truck drive away, they erupted in conversation.

"Wei Laixi went too far! He even reported them to the county!"

"He’s trying to drive his own mother and brother to their deaths!"

"Sigh, what a sin."

"It’s such a shame. The Weis’ were such good people, so hardworking all these years. To think they raised four ingrates. The only one who was a devoted son got reported."

The production team leader’s face was also grim. He was deeply unsettled that something like this had happened in the village.

"Alright, alright, everyone disperse. The matter is settled."

"Let’s go. Sigh, that mother and son have no way out now."

"Yeah. Now Wei Laixi gets exactly what he wanted. The old house and everything in it will be his."

"I wouldn’t be so sure. The other three are no pushovers. Just you wait, there’s going to be a good show to watch."

The villagers dispersed in twos and threes, still chattering. When they saw the thirty-year-old Wei Laixi running toward them, they immediately turned their faces away, pretending not to see him. Wei Laixi paid them no mind, gleefully rushing to his family’s old house and locking the front door with a padlock he’d brought. Now the house and everything inside belonged to him.

The truck drove all the way to the Chengzi Commune headquarters. Zhao Wendong declined the deputy secretary’s enthusiastic invitation, claiming he was in a hurry to return to the county and report back, and promptly departed. The truck headed toward the county seat for about a mile or two, and only after the Chengzi Commune was completely out of sight did it slowly come to a stop.

When Wei Laishun saw the truck stop and Zhao Wendong climb into the truck bed, he thought they were going to be "dealt with" right there in the desolate, snowy landscape. He immediately dropped to his knees before Zhao Wendong.

"Sir! My crime of profiteering deserves death, but please don’t make things hard for my mother! Just shoot me, I accept my fate! Please, let my mother go! She’s worked hard her whole life and never had a day of comfort!"

"My dear son, don’t cry, don’t cry. In times like these, the two of us can’t survive anyway. Let’s just go down and join your father together."

Zhao Tiehua hugged her youngest son, her heart aching, an expression of utter despair on her face.

"Third Aunt, stop crying and get up! It’s me, Zhao Wendong! I’m Zhao Dashan’s third son, your nephew!"

"Cousin, you stop crying too. You’re both safe now!"

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Zhao Wendong and Zhao Wenwu helped the stunned pair to their feet. Zhao Tiehua was completely bewildered.

’Zhao Dashan? Isn’t that my second brother?’

She stared in disbelief at Zhao Wendong, who was dressed in handsome clothes and giving her a warm smile. ’What did he just call me?’

’Third Aunt?’