I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

The next day, Zhao Wendong and his group woke up early. They planned to head back, grab their fishing nets and gear, and then return to the waterfall pool for a big haul. After a breakfast of sorghum porridge and red bean buns, they started down the mountain, carrying the wolf and badger they had hunted the day before yesterday, along with yesterday’s harvest.

Their descent was even slower than the day before because they had a lot more to carry. Luckily, they were familiar with the path. After more than an hour, the group finally emerged from the mountains, approaching the spot at the base where they had left the sled.

"Dongzi, the sled won’t be able to hold all this stuff. What should we do?"

"How should I know? What trick do you expect me to pull? It’s not like I can conjure a big truck out of thin air for you, Brother. We’ll just have to take turns carrying the rest!"

Zhao Wendong was exasperated. ’Does my brother think I’m some kind of god? The sled can’t hold everything, so he asks me? What else can we do but take turns carrying it back?’ But as soon as the words left his mouth, he noticed everyone staring at him in horror.

Even Lin Zhiyin’s mouth hung slightly open, her expression one of someone who had just seen a ghost. That’s when Zhao Wendong also saw the large truck parked at the foot of the mountain. He turned to the others with a look of utter innocence.

"If I told you I was just speaking off the cuff, would you believe me?"

Everyone shook their heads in unison.

"Brother San, you’ve definitely got some kind of power!"

Zhao Ergou declared with absolute certainty. Zhao Wenjun nodded in deep agreement, while Jin Xiuying frowned in thought.

"Is this what they call spirit channeling? Is Third Brother the channeler now?"

"It’s called being a shaman, and I think he definitely is one now!"

When he saw that it was Lin Zhiyin who had chimed in, Zhao Wendong despaired. ’My lady, where’s your worldliness? Your belief in science? But I really can’t explain this. I just said it casually, but I never expected Brother Niu to play along so perfectly, waiting at the foot of the mountain this early. It’s making me start to doubt myself. Could it be that, aside from my inner voice, I’ve awakened a "golden finger" that makes my words come true?’

"Dongzi! HAHAHA!"

Niu Yuesheng walked up to them, laughing happily. He was accompanied by two others: Liangzi and Zhao Weiguo.

Seeing the smiles on all three of their faces, Zhao Wendong let go of the worry in his heart. He had been concerned about what might have happened with the maternal uncle of Li Guangming’s wife.

"Brother Niu, Liangzi, Uncle Weiguo, what are you all doing here?"

"Haha, we came yesterday afternoon! When you didn’t come down by evening, we went back. Then we came again first thing this morning to wait for you!"

Liangzi came over and helped Zhao Wendong unload the game he was carrying, remarking casually.

"Whoa, there’s a live roe deer! Look at those legs kick, it’s so strong!"

Zhao Weiguo’s attention was also on their haul. Seeing how heavily laden everyone was—even the three dogs were dragging a roe deer—his eyes widened so much they nearly popped out of his head.

"Dongzi, did you get all this in just two days?"

"Hehe, just got lucky. Yesterday felt like my lucky day. I ran into two different groups of prey and bagged all these roe deer and two sika deer."

Niu Yuesheng and the others exchanged a look and burst out laughing.

"No doubt about it, yesterday really was your lucky day!"

Seeing their expressions, Zhao Wendong grew even more curious.

"What on earth happened? Why are you all being so mysterious?"

"Haha, we’ll tell you in the truck. Come on, let’s get everything loaded up. We’ll take this stuff back for you. Besides, there’s someone waiting for you!"

Now Zhao Wendong really couldn’t guess what had happened. ’Someone’s waiting for me?’

’Who? And for what?’

Zhao Wendong loaded all the game into the truck bed and gave the cab to Lin Zhiyin and Jin Xiuying, while the rest of them sat in the back. The truck hadn’t gone far when he asked Niu Yuesheng to stop. Zhao Wenjun jumped down, retrieved the sled, and tossed it into the truck bed. Only then did the large truck speed toward Dragon King Pond Village.

"What? Someone gifted me a piece of calligraphy? ’Man Will Triumph Over Nature’?"

After hearing the story from Zhao Weiguo and Liangzi, Zhao Wendong leaped to his feet, then immediately fell silent. The others watched him with understanding. Any of them would have been over the moon with joy. Zhao Wendong was already showing the composure of a general; he was just momentarily stunned.

"Uncle Weiguo, this... this sounds like a dream!"

Zhao Wenjun still couldn’t believe it. ’My good-for-nothing third brother... a high-ranking official gifted him calligraphy?’

"Hahaha, Wenjun, don’t say it sounds like a dream to you. Even after a whole night, we still feel like we’re dreaming!"

"Is that calligraphy you’re talking about valuable?"

"Zhao Wenwu, shut up!"

Inside the cab, after Niu Yuesheng finished explaining the whole story, Lin Zhiyin and Jin Xiuying stared at each other. Their faces wore identical expressions of pure shock. One was the daughter of a powerful family, the other the descendant of a general. They had assumed they would be living an ordinary life with the Zhao Family from now on. And now they were being told that the man right beside them was someone who had received a personal gift of calligraphy from a high-ranking official?

"Third... Third Brother?"

In the truck bed, Zhao Wenwu waved a hand in front of Zhao Wendong’s eyes. When he got no reaction, he couldn’t help but pout.

"It’s over, Third Brother’s gone stupid. I was already the dumb one and was counting on following him. Now he’s stupid too. Who are we supposed to follow? Don’t tell me we have to follow Eldest Brother?"

He finished by glancing at Zhao Wenjun, his expression growing even more hopeless.

Zhao Wenjun was instantly indignant. ’Hey! Zhao Wenwu, what’s that look supposed to mean!?’ Zhao Weiguo, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, gave Zhao Wenwu a nudge.

"He’s fine, Dongzi is just thinking about something!"

Zhao Wendong was indeed deep in thought. He truly couldn’t understand it. He was just a farmer. Even though he had been reborn, he was still nothing more than a farmer. What qualifications did someone of his status have to receive such a gift of calligraphy?

Man Will Triumph Over Nature!

In those five simple words, Zhao Wendong felt immense encouragement and expectation. ’Is this how the older generation thinks? What I see as an ordinary struggle to survive and provide for my family, they see as a struggle between man and nature, as the path of social progress. I’m just trying to give my family a better life. Do I really deserve such a high honor?’

The big truck drove all the way into Dragon King Pond Village. People were gathered in small groups by the village entrance. No one was holing up for the winter anymore; everyone knew Zhao Wendong was a big shot now.

He never came back empty-handed from a hunt. He went out to sea once and brought back over four thousand jin of fish. He stood up for his uncle and completely flattened the Wang Family’s Hut, putting Wang Dana in his place so thoroughly that the man had shown up at Zhao Dahai’s door yesterday to formally apologize. That was all before he beat up Li Guangming. And now, there was this business with the calligraphy. Despite all this, the vast majority of the commune members supported Zhao Wendong without a hint of jealousy.

And why was that? Because everyone knew Zhao Wendong was the one who had helped come up with the current spring plowing plan. This plan allowed them to earn grain by working with their hands from the warmth of their homes during the winter. Everyone had friends and relatives in the surrounding production teams, and if you asked around, you’d find that Dragon King Pond Village was the only one with a deal like this—it was one of a kind.

Of course, people were now gathering by the roadside to chat not just because they had hope of not going hungry, but for a bigger reason: they were afraid of missing out on the latest excitement, especially if it involved Zhao Wendong. It was no exaggeration to say he was the hottest topic of conversation—the biggest celebrity—in Dragon King Pond Village, Qianjin Commune, and maybe even the entire county.

"Look, it’s Dongzi and the others! They’re back!"

"Quick, go tell Dashan’s family."

The big truck drove right up to Zhao Wendong’s house. Liangzi stayed with the vehicle to watch their things, as Zhao Wendong didn’t plan on unloading anything yet; he would take the haul to be processed directly later. When he went inside, he had barely exchanged a few words with Chen Yanmei and Zhao Dashan before they were urging him to hurry to the county seat. "Don’t keep the officials waiting," they said. Zhao Wendong nodded and turned to Zhao Wenjun and the others.

"If you’re tired, rest at home. If not, come with me to the county seat."

"Not tired!"

The whole group shouted in unison. It was so difficult to leave the village that a trip to the county seat felt like a vacation. Who wouldn’t want to go?

"Alright, let’s go then!"

"Third Brother."

Little Tuanzi suddenly spoke up, looking at Zhao Wendong with her big, pleading eyes, hesitating to speak.

Zhao Wendong glanced at her and smiled. Then he looked at Song Xiaoyu, and finally at his mother, Chen Yanmei.

"Ma, let Little Tuanzi and my sisters-in-law come with us to the county seat for a look around. There’s plenty of room in the truck bed for them to sit. You can hold down the fort here. We should be back by tonight!"

"Alright, go on!"

Chen Yanmei agreed with a nod.

"Yay! Little Tuanzi is going to the county seat!"

Little Tuanzi jumped for joy, and Shitou leaped up excitedly beside her. He had heard clearly: his third uncle said his mom could go, which meant he would be going too! Song Xiaoyu’s face lit up with a pleasant surprise. She glanced from Zhao Wendong to Zhao Wenjun, then quickly got up and started bundling the children into their warm clothes.

"Where’s the calligraphy?"

Zhao Wendong looked around but didn’t see the piece gifted by the old gentleman.

"It’s at the brigade office!"

"Alright, I’ll go take a look at the brigade office, and then we’ll head to the county seat."

Zhao Wendong and Zhao Weiguo hurried to the brigade office. The room was packed with people, all of their eyes involuntarily glancing toward the heated kang bed. A brand-new quilt was laid out on it, and on top of the quilt sat a frame. As Zhao Wendong entered, he could hear Aunt Liu shouting.

"No smoking and no lighting any fires! Don’t you dare ruin Dongzi’s treasure with smoke."

"Hahaha, Aunt Liu, where is this treasure of mine? Let me see!"

The crowd slowly parted to make a path. Zhao Wendong strode forward, took off his shoes without a word, and climbed onto the kang. He went to the frame and studied it intently. As he gazed at it, he couldn’t stop his hand from reaching out to trace each character and every stroke through the glass, as if he could feel them. It was as if he could see a smiling old gentleman speaking directly to him.

"Young Comrade Zhao Wendong, you are really something else. With great ability comes great responsibility. Keep up the good work, young comrade!"

A teardrop fell, splattering on the glass. Zhao Wendong hastily wiped it away, rubbed his eyes, and forced himself to stop thinking about it. ’Focusing on the present is what’s real. With Niu Yuesheng’s truck available today, I can take care of a few other things at the same time.’

"Third Master, I need you to issue some hunting permits for my second brother, Er Gouzi, my second sister-in-law, and Lin Zhiyin. Oh, and I also need that identification document for my second sister-in-law."

Third Master Zhao nodded, pulled out a special notebook, and began to write.

"Uncle Weiguo, besides those cast nets I used last time, doesn’t our brigade also have a dragnet?"

"We do. Why?"

"Have someone get it ready. I’ll need it in the next couple of days."

Zhao Weiguo assumed that the calligraphy gift had spurred Zhao Wendong on and that he wanted to go out to sea again. He was about to say that a dragnet wasn’t very effective with only one boat and that it was best to have several coordinating, but at this critical moment, he swallowed his words. ’Listening to Zhao Wendong is always the right move.’

"I’ll have your Fourth Uncle take some men to the warehouse to get it ready in a bit."

"Uncle Weiguo, one more thing. When Secretary Jiang and his group were here yesterday, did they say what the decision was on that matter we discussed?"

Zhao Wendong asked about the issue he was most concerned about, and Zhao Weiguo’s face instantly lit up with joy.

"They did, they did! The county is in full agreement and offers its strong support. And it’s not just about the bricks; they said they’ll do their best to provide anything else we need as well."

"Great! In that case, I’ll get it all sorted out on this trip!"