I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

"Heh, ’know him’ is an understatement. Didn’t your father ever tell you the name of the man who went to Shanghai with your grandfather?"

"He did! He said his name was Zhao Dasheng... Zhao San. Ah! So you’re the Third Master Zhao my dad was always talking about?"

Guan Yongguang knew the man who went to Shanghai with his grandfather was named Zhao Dasheng and also went by Zhao San. But he never imagined it was the same "Third Master" that Zhao Wendong kept mentioning. After all, there were countless men called Third Brother, Third Uncle, and Third Master back then, all ranked by seniority.

"Zhao Dasheng?"

Zhao Wendong’s eyes widened. This was the first time he had ever heard Third Master’s formal name.

"What’s with that look? Piss off, you little bastard! You look at me like that again and I’ll gouge your eyes out!"

"Haha, look at you, getting all worked up."

Seeing that Third Master Zhao was genuinely angry, Zhao Wendong quickly backed down. Third Master Zhao shot him a fierce glare, ignored him, and turned back to Guan Yongguang, his face softening into a kind smile.

"Haha, that’s right, I’m Zhao San. What brings you and Dongzi to our Dragon King Pond? Did your father come with you?"

The moment Third Master Zhao’s words left his mouth, Guan Yongguang, who had been holding it in all day, could no longer contain himself. He threw his arms around Third Master Zhao and began to wail.

"Third Master, my dad is dead! My uncle is dead, too! WAAAH..."

Guan Yongguang’s cry gave Third Master Zhao quite a shock. It was clear the boy was overcome with grief, and it was best to let him vent first. Otherwise, bottling it up could easily make him sick. Third Master Zhao quickly began patting his back to comfort him.

"Ah? It’s alright, son. Third Master is here for you. Go on and cry. It’s better to let it all out."

Guan Yongguang cried for a good ten minutes. Neither Zhao Wendong nor Grandmaster Ai said a word, simply watching as Third Master Zhao ceaselessly comforted the boy. After waiting a little longer, when Guan Yongguang’s sobs finally subsided, Zhao Wendong started to straighten up, only to see Third Master Zhao make a hushing gesture at him.

"Quiet down. The boy’s fallen asleep. He’s exhausted from grief and physical fatigue. Dongzi, where did you find this kid? How did he end up in such a state?"

Zhao Wendong quietly got to his feet and helped Third Master Zhao gently lay Guan Yongguang down on the kang. Guan Yongguang let out a soft snore, completely oblivious to the world, as if he had retreated into a protective slumber.

He had seemed fine just a moment ago. Zhao Wendong had assumed that with his father and uncle missing for days, the boy had already mentally prepared himself. But now it was obvious he’d just been forcing himself to be strong. Hearing Third Master Zhao’s question, Zhao Wendong’s lip curled.

"What do you mean, *I* wore him out? Why would I do that? This kid and I, we were brought together by fate."

Zhao Wendong then recounted the whole story. He told them how he’d been hunting in the mountains and found the Wolf Pack attacking Guan Yongguang’s father and uncle, and how he helped recover their bodies. Then he described running into Guan Yongguang at the market today, where he was being beaten by Tao Dongdong, and how he’d stepped in to help. Third Master Zhao questioned him carefully on several key points, obviously deeply concerned about Guan Yongguang.

"What a poor child," Grandmaster Ai lamented after hearing the story, his expression dimming. Zhao Wendong knew he was thinking of Ai Zhongguo and quickly squeezed his hand.

"Grandmaster Ai, after the Spring Festival, my friend from Shanghai will be back. When he’s here, I’ll have him give you some news about Zhongguo, okay?"

"Mm."

Zhao Wendong then turned to Third Master Zhao, who was silently smoking his long-stemmed pipe.

"Third Master, I haven’t asked you yet. How did you recognize who this kid was at a single glance?"

Third Master Zhao took a couple of hard puffs from the bowl of his pipe, his gaze gradually deepening as if he had traveled back in time thirty or forty years.

"His grandfather, Guan Xiangying, and I were good friends. More than that, we were brothers-in-arms and comrades. Back in ’23, we went to Shanghai together and took part in..."

Here, Third Master Zhao suddenly stopped and said no more. For the first time, Zhao Wendong felt a flicker of curiosity about the old man’s past. In his previous life, Third Master Zhao had passed away by this time. He had fallen on his way to the Commune to ask for grain and, by a terrible stroke of luck, hit his head on a wooden stake and died. It was a year of famine, and everyone was just trying to survive, so naturally, no one paid much mind to the history of a dead old man. It wasn’t until much later, during a casual chat, that he heard Baozhu mention that Third Master Zhao had once been a remarkable person.

Seeing the old man fall silent, Zhao Wendong tactfully chose not to press him. ’I’ll have to find out more from Granny Liu later,’ he thought. He simply followed the old man’s train of thought and said with a grin,

"When you went to Shanghai, did you go check out that... what’s it called... Shili Foreign Field and Paradise?"

"Get outta here, you little rascal!"

The somber atmosphere was instantly shattered. Third Master Zhao gave Zhao Wendong a couple of light kicks with his foot before continuing.

"The boy is the spitting image of his grandfather. His grandfather was just as sharp and handsome as he is. Back then, he was famous in all the villages around here as a handsome young man. On top of that, he studied at the Fujimida Public School and got excellent grades. A lot of rich men’s daughters wanted to marry him back then. That’s why as soon as I saw this boy, I knew he was from Guan Xiangying’s line."

"So what happened later? His grandfather, your brother Guan Xiangying... where did he go?"

"He died. Sacrificed during the counter-encirclement campaigns."

"He’s from the second son’s family, right? The eldest son had all daughters at first, only having a boy a couple of years ago, I think. But the second son’s firstborn was a boy. Now his father and uncle have both been killed by the Wolf Pack... That makes this kid the pillar of the Guan Family. But how old is he? Fourteen? Fifteen? ’Sigh... what a tragedy!’"

Hearing Third Master Zhao recount the Guan Family’s affairs as if they were his own, knowing even the details of their children, Zhao Wendong understood that the family truly held a place in the old man’s heart.