I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

When Zhao Wendong got home, dinner was almost ready.

"Dad, what did you have for lunch?"

Zhao Wendong asked out of concern, but all he got from Zhao Dashan was the side-eye.

"So now you remember your old man? If I’d waited for you, I’d have starved to death. Er Gou brought me something for lunch."

Seeing Zhao Dashan’s petulant expression, Zhao Wendong wanted to laugh. But he was afraid of setting his dad off, so he held it in and looked at the menagerie of animals filling the house. Right now, his head felt like a meeting room full of people, the chatter making his ears ring.

The sow: ’I’m so hungry.’

Dahuang: ’These are all my people. I have to protect them.’

Piglets: OINK OINK OINK.

Dahei: ’I’m the strongest!’

Erhei: ’I’m the fastest!’

The rooster: ’Oh no, I sense killing intent!’

The hens: CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK.

Little Xiaobai: ’So many friends!’

Xiaobai: ’Finally, some chickens! I should probably take one from outside. Which one should I bite first? This young master is going to piss off those stinky humans!’

Zhuangzhuang: ’It’s the smell of milk! I smell milk!’

Xiaojin: ’A bunch of idiots.’

Fortunately, he was now sleeping alone at the house by the sea. He resolved not to keep these animals near him from now on. One or two had been fine before, but now with a house full of them, just listening to their thoughts made it impossible to sleep.

"Mom, don’t forget to fix some extra food for the sow. Dad, do you think it’ll work if we have the tiger cub drink the sow’s milk?"

"It should. We’ll give it a try in a bit."

Zhao Dashan’s eyes lit up when he heard Zhao Wendong. He’d been worrying quite a bit about the little tiger cub lately. He’d even considered asking Zhao Wendong to try and get some milk powder, but then he thought about how wasteful that would be. If Ye Qingmei and Zhao Chuanhe heard about it, they’d probably come over and break his other leg, so he’d given up the idea.

For dinner, they had chicken stew with mushrooms. The chicken was a wild pheasant, and the mushrooms were the hazel mushrooms they had traded for today. They added some glass noodles, and the huge, full pot was absolutely divine. As usual, they set aside a bowl for Zhao Wenjun to take to their grandparents. Chen Yanmei mixed some cornmeal into the slop, giving the sow a hearty dinner as well. As the family ate, they could hear the sow gobbling down its food outside.

"Big Bro, did you tell Grandma that it’s just for her and Grandpa? And that at most, they can give a little to Pandi and Laidi?"

Seeing Zhao Wenjun return, Zhao Wendong casually confirmed with him.

"Yeah, I told them."

Zhao Wenjun answered honestly. ’Truthfully, he felt Zhao Wendong was going a bit too far. He had a soft, good-natured personality and believed that, no matter what, Zhao Dahai’s family were still relatives. Treating them so differently didn’t sit right with him. But he couldn’t change Zhao Wendong’s mind and was now used to doing as he was told. So he decided not to think about it. Besides, his own parents hadn’t said anything, so as the older brother, he should just obediently follow orders.’

"This sow has a really good temperament. Even being this hungry, she hasn’t bitten her piglets. Once she’s full, we’ll try bringing the tiger cub to her."

Zhao Dashan praised the sow in the outer room as if he hadn’t heard Zhao Wendong’s words about Zhao Dahai’s family. Zhao Wendong knew what his father meant. After giving birth, it was common for sows to kill their own piglets due to stress from their environment or hunger. But this one was clearly overflowing with maternal love. She was being suckled down to skin and bones but still hadn’t harmed a single piglet. After all, who enjoys being forcefully suckled when there’s no milk to give? Probably no one but a human woman.

Unlike the rest of his family, who ate slowly and savored every bite as if they were afraid of going hungry again, Zhao Wendong ate quickly. Even Little Tuanzi would carefully place food in her mouth, chewing slowly until it was completely soft and tasteless before swallowing. Zhao Wendong was the first to put down his bowl and chopsticks. After a quick word with Lin Huaimin and Wang Lulu, he left the table.

"I’m done. Uncle, Auntie, please take your time. I’m going to go feed the eagle and the dogs."

Lin Huaimin and the others knew Zhao Wendong was a fast eater and nodded with a smile. Only Chen Yanmei mumbled in disapproval.

"How can you even taste your food when you eat that fast? You’re always in such a rush, even when you’re just eating a meal. What’s the hurry? Got a wolf chasing you or something?"

"Hehe, no wolf’s chasing me. I’ve just got a fast metabolism. Things digest quickly!"

Zhao Wendong bantered with his mom before starting to feed Xiaojin, followed by Dahuang and the other two dogs. These few were his inner circle, and he insisted on feeding them himself every day. He didn’t want them to be like Xiaojin, who refused to eat from anyone besides Zhao Dashan and Lin Zhiyin. As for the other animals, Zhao Wendong had divided them into two categories: "livestock" and "pets."

Seeing that the old sow had eaten every last scrap of the large bucket of feed prepared for her, not even leaving the bits that had spilled out, Zhao Wendong suddenly felt a fondness for her. The piglets had no inner voices, but this old sow did. Zhao Wendong still hadn’t figured out the mechanics of this ability. He’d originally thought it was species-based, but here were pigs where some had voices and some didn’t.

"If you let him drink your milk, I won’t kill you for meat."

Zhao Wendong placed the little tiger cub under the old sow’s belly. The front eight spots were already taken by the piglets. The moment Zhuangzhuang touched the ground, he made a beeline for one of the sow’s teats, accurately finding one and latching on immediately.

"OINK OINK OINK!"

’What is this thing?’

The old sow grunted and started to get up, but Zhao Wendong quickly reached out to soothe her, muttering under his breath.

"Let him eat, let him eat! Or I’ll kill you for meat!"

Whether it was the sow’s maternal instinct or Zhao Wendong’s threat that worked, her mood began to stabilize. She lay back down on her side and slowly closed her eyes, seemingly enjoying Zhao Wendong’s touch.

"Zhuangzhuang’s drinking milk!"

"It really worked!"