I Overhear Animals' Thoughts to Feed My Family

"So what if the team leader comes? This is our family’s business. No one can interfere. Besides, Li Daya is the captain of our Li Village Production Team, and he’s our cousin. You think he’d turn his back on his own family?"

Li Heihu’s father was clearly the head of the household, the decision-maker. After laying out his analysis, he looked again, impatiently, toward Zhao Ergou in the corner of the kang.

"Er Gouzi, don’t think you can raise a ruckus in our home just because you have a pathetic kitchen knife. Put it down, and we can talk this out civilly. Ah? If you don’t, then don’t blame us for what comes next."

"Bring it on! If I take one of you motherfuckers down with me, I break even. If I take down two, I come out ahead! Just you watch and see if I, Zhao Ergou, am afraid of the Li Family! You try to starve my sister, and I’ll fight you to the death!"

Zhao Ergou stood on the kang, his small frame shielding Zhao Damei and her two children. His expression was savage, his eyes filled with grim resolve. Zhao Damei looked weakly at her younger brother, hugging the infant in her arms as tears fell silently.

"Er Gouzi, you’ve misunderstood! My parents really don’t mean to starve your sister! It’s just that every family is out of grain right now, isn’t it?"

Li Heihu tried to intercede from the side, but he had barely opened his mouth before Zhao Ergou silenced him with a furious glare.

"Fuck you, Li Heihu! My sister married you, and this is how you take care of her? No grain? If there’s no grain, how come only my sister is starved to this point? Was she just skin and bones like this when she married you? How come you motherfuckers aren’t all starving? Instead, every last one of you looks perfectly fucking decent! Li Heihu, get the hell out of my sight! In a minute, you’ll be the first one I kill!"

"Grain is so precious these days. Why should a hen that can’t even lay eggs get to eat it? We told her to throw out those money-losers, but she refused. Insisted on raising them. Serves her right!"

Although Li Heihu’s mother spoke softly, Zhao Ergou’s sharp ears caught her muttering. He glanced back at the little girl his sister was holding by the hand and the infant in her arms, a cold sneer of realization spreading across his face.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"I fucking get it. I get it all now. It’s because my sister had two girls in a row, right? You wanted to throw the children out, but she wouldn’t let you, right? You think she can’t give birth to a boy, right? Who came up with this idea? Fucking ruthless. We’re in a famine, so you’ll just starve my sister during her postpartum confinement, right? Let her and the babies die of hunger together, so no one will notice later on, right?"

Zhao Ergou’s barrage of questions left the Li Family speechless. This was precisely their plan; they just kept their mouths shut, refusing to admit it now that they’d been exposed.

"Li Heihu, are you still fucking pretending? You didn’t fucking know about this? Are you a complete idiot? You were just waiting around for it to happen, weren’t you? Waiting for my sister to starve to death so you could marry a new wife, right? You motherfucker!"

Zhao Ergou cursed with abandon, his words making Li Heihu hang his head in shame. Over on the side, however, Li Heihu’s mother was having none of it. Every insult Zhao Ergou hurled was landing on her, as she was, quite literally, Li Heihu’s mother.

"All you grown men, and you’re just going to let this little prick run wild in our house? What’s the matter? Are you all waiting for me to handle him?"

Li Heihu’s mother’s words made up her husband’s mind. He glared at Zhao Ergou.

"Zhao Ergou, I’ve given you face but you’ve refused to take it. Go on, all of you! Go grab some weapons! What’s he trying to prove with one shabby cleaver? If it weren’t for all the fish you brought, we would’ve dealt with you ages ago."

Soon, Li Heihu’s older brother and sister-in-law returned, carrying a pile of "weapons": an axe, a sickle, a spade, and a pickaxe. The old saying is true: an inch longer is an inch stronger. Zhao Ergou was suddenly at a severe disadvantage. Seeing the Li Family itching to make a move, he let out a cold sneer, showing no fear.

"You lay a single finger on me today, and tomorrow we’ll flatten your Li Village Production Team. Don’t think we have no one in Dragon King Pond, that my family has no one to back us up. Have you not heard? Just a few days ago, the Wang Family’s Hut was wiped out. The man leading the charge was my Brother San, Zhao Wendong."

"Oh, wow, listen to you acting so tough. ’My Brother San, Zhao Wendong.’ What the hell is a Zhao Wendong? You think he can stretch his influence all the way to our Li Village?"

The moment Li Heihu’s mother finished speaking, she noticed the expressions on her family’s faces turn sour. She had a terrible temper and a vicious, sharp tongue, so none of the village women would gossip with her; they all kept their distance. As a result, her information was a little out of date. Li Heihu, his father, and his brothers, however, had been hearing plenty of stories about Zhao Wendong lately.

"Shut your fucking mouth! What do you know? This Zhao Wendong is the real deal. He didn’t just flatten the Wang Family’s Hut; he even wiped out the Li Family from the county when they crossed him. That’s not someone we can afford to offend."

After Li Heihu’s father spoke, the rest of the Li Family slowly lowered their weapons, becoming hesitant and timid. The standoff held for a moment, then Li Heihu once again tried to mediate.

"Come on, Mom, Dad... Er Gouzi... we’re all relatives. Let’s just talk this through. We can sit down and talk. Your sister... we’ll make sure she gets more nourishment, how about that? Come on, everyone, put the weapons down..."

Li Heihu hadn’t finished speaking when his mother let out a sudden shriek, startling everyone. Her son’s words had sparked a realization. So what if Zhao Wendong was formidable? He wasn’t even related to Zhao Ergouzi’s family anymore, so why would he meddle in this business!

"Hahaha! What ’relatives’ and ’Brother San’? You’ve all been bluffed by Zhao Ergouzi! Have you forgotten? When their Damei got married, only her family of four came. Damei’s good-for-nothing father died the very next year! And do you remember what her father said? That he had cut ties with all their extended family! No matter how incredible Zhao Wendong is, if they’ve already cut ties, why would he ever stick his neck out for them?"