I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

"Brother Dong has spoken! Get ’em, brothers!"

The thugs and their young followers, a dark, dense mob, swarmed the man in the red sweater and his cronies, immediately starting to pummel them. Zhao Wendong looked at Yang Wenxue’s conflicted expression and gave him a meaningful smile before shouting again.

"Militia, on guard! If anyone draws a weapon to hurt someone, open fire!"

"Sir!"

Many of the Dragon King Pond militiamen had already rushed in to join the brawl. Upon hearing the order, they quickly slung the rifles off their backs and drew the bolts with a series of sharp, metallic clicks.

A few of the thugs from the county had considered resisting, but they quickly pulled their hands from their satchels, obediently covered their heads, and braced for the beating. ’This is the man who took down even Li Guangming,’ they thought. ’Compared to losing our lives, a beating is nothing.’

The crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger. They never expected to see such a spectacle while just out for the market. Amidst the chaos stood Zhao Wendong, proud and tall in his officer’s wool coat. The image of his commanding presence was seared into everyone’s minds, destined to become the first story they’d tell whenever they wanted to brag.

"Comrade Wendong, stop the fighting! Someone’s going to get killed if this continues."

Yang Wenxue walked up to Zhao Wendong’s side, a pleading look in his eyes. Even though he was the Commune Secretary, he knew his place. These militiamen and thugs only listened to Zhao Wendong; he couldn’t command them at all.

"Secretary Yang, what’s your relationship with that kid?"

Zhao Wendong’s tone was icy. A sense of panic gripped Yang Wenxue; for some reason, he subconsciously feared Zhao Wendong having any negative opinion of him, and he hurriedly explained.

"That’s Tao Dongdong, the old secretary’s youngest son. The old secretary discovered my talents and promoted me; I worked by his side for over four years. Wendong, don’t worry, I’ll support you no matter how you decide to handle this. I just think this lesson is enough. He’ll definitely remember it."

"Is it enough?"

Zhao Wendong’s gaze shifted to the young man, meeting his eyes, which were filled with gratitude. He gave the young man a small smile, then turned and shouted to his men.

"Keep going! Don’t stop!"

Hearing this, the men redoubled their efforts, beating the group until they were screaming for their mothers. Tao Dongdong, in his open-front red sweater, received special attention from Zhao Wenwu. His face was beaten until it was swollen like a pig’s head. Every fist that landed on him sent pain shooting to his very bones. He felt like he was about to gag, but only bitter bile and tears came up. In that moment, he truly knew fear. It was as if he was about to meet his maker.

"I give, don’t... don’t hit me anymore."

Tao Dongdong reached a hand out toward Zhao Wendong, but saw Zhao Wendong only glance at him before coldly looking away. A chill of terror shot through him. ’He’s not really going to kill me, is he? I’m Tao Dongdong! My father is—’ But then he remembered what happened to Li Guangming, and suddenly his own status didn’t seem so impressive. The shadow of death loomed, and he couldn’t help but start crying.

"Enough."

Zhao Wendong’s voice rang out, and the one-sided battle came to a halt. Tao Dongdong and the thugs from the county were left groaning in a heap on the ground. Zhao Wendong walked over to the young man and opened the sack of cornmeal in front of him. He plunged his hand inside and pulled out a fistful. It was mostly sand, mixed with a little cornmeal. This wasn’t cornmeal mixed with sand; it was sand mixed with cornmeal.

’So Tao Dongdong and his gang were just out to scam people. Was he really hurting for this little bit of cornmeal? Obviously not. So why do it? To put it plainly, they were just doing it to mess with people, to have some fun. And this young man was unlucky enough to become their target. In my past life, this even cost him his life.’

He dragged the sack of sand over to Tao Dongdong. When Tao Dongdong saw Zhao Wendong approach, he shuddered violently, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"Zhao Wendong, don’t kill me! I was wrong, I was really wrong!"

"What were you wrong about?"

"I was wrong... I was wrong to make an enemy of you."

"Wrong. Your mistake wasn’t making an enemy of me. It was bullying him!"

Zhao Wendong pointed at the young man, then turned back and continued.

"You thought he was just a commoner, someone you could bully and get away with it, right? Let me tell you something. The Great Leader taught us why all our government bodies are named for ’The People.’ It’s because the people are supreme! Everything here belongs to the people! So, do you understand your mistake now? You, who are supposed to serve the people, turned around to bully them instead. Aren’t you rebelling against the natural order, just asking to die?"

"Yeah!"

"Well said! Beat him to death! Teach him for bullying people!"

"Kill him!"

The shouts from the surrounding crowd made Tao Dongdong tremble again. He was truly terrified now. He, who had always run wild relying on his father’s influence, silently swore an oath. ’If I can just get out of this alive, I swear I’ll turn over a new leaf. I’ll stop messing around and never bully anyone again.’

"Did you hear that? Everyone thinks you should be beaten to death. But I’ll give you a chance."

After speaking, Zhao Wendong threw the sack of sand-laced cornmeal down in front of him.

"Didn’t you say it was still edible? Either prove to me that you were right, or you’ll be buried here!"

"I’ll prove it! I’ll prove it!"

Tao Dongdong hurriedly grabbed a handful from the sack, inwardly cursing his men. ’I told them to add a little sand, why did they add so much?’ Seeing Zhao Wendong’s eyes fixed on him, completely devoid of emotion, Tao Dongdong gritted his teeth and shoved the sandy handful into his mouth.

The mixture of sand and cornmeal crunched loudly as he chewed, and he didn’t dare stop even though he felt like his teeth were about to break. After a few bites, he squeezed his eyes shut and forced the gritty mouthful down his throat. The moment he swallowed, it felt like a chunk of iron had settled in his stomach, and Tao Dongdong couldn’t help but start crying again.

Zhao Wendong gave him a small smile, then slowly stood up. He looked at the other thugs from the county lying on the ground and spoke in an icy tone.

"You all crawl over here right now and eat a mouthful. Anyone who doesn’t eat isn’t leaving today."

Hearing this, the thugs scrambled over, each grabbing a handful and swallowing it just as Tao Dongdong had. Zhao Wendong nodded in satisfaction.

"Tao Dongdong, out of respect for Secretary Yang, we’ll let this go for today. But you’d better remember this taste. If I ever find out you’re bullying people again, there won’t be a next time. I’ll come looking for you at your house. Now, get lost!"

A jolt went through Tao Dongdong. He first looked up gratefully at Yang Wenxue, then nodded vigorously at Zhao Wendong.

"Don’t worry, Brother Dong! I really know I was wrong! I’ll never dare to bully anyone again!"

With that, he scrambled to his feet and led his gang away in disgrace. By now, the crowd mostly understood the whole story. Seeing Zhao Wendong so masterfully help the young man and take down the thugs from the county, they burst into applause and cheers.

"Badass!"

"Brother Dong is badass!"

"That’s the way!"

Yang Wenxue was relieved to see that Zhao Wendong was still rational, and had even given him face in the end. ’With what happened to Tao Dongdong here, I’ll have to report it to the old secretary one way or another,’ he thought. After a quick word with Zhao Wendong, he also left.