Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Qin Huairu took a deep breath, as if using all her strength. Her eyes were actually a little red, and her voice was choked with sobs as she launched her "weakling" offensive once again:

"Brother Wei Chen... Sister-in-law... Sister-in-law knows she shouldn't have asked this. But... but there's really no other way!" She raised her hand to wipe away non-existent tears. "That child, Bang Geng, is at the age where he's growing, and he cries for meat every day, it breaks my heart... Look at my body..."

She patted her belly again. "Being pregnant with this little one has made me very sick. I have no taste in my mouth, I just want... I just want to smell meat... The ration at home... Dongxu's ration is barely enough to feed the whole family, where would we get the money to buy meat... Brother Weichen, you... you're so capable, you can hunt so much game, look... this rabbit... could you..." Her hopeful gaze was fixed on the plump gray rabbit again, as if it were a lifeline.

Wei Chen listened quietly, his face expressionless. Qin Huairu's performance was undeniably impressive; her mournful tone, reddened eyes, and the gesture of rubbing her stomach were enough to move many soft-hearted people.

Unfortunately, Wei Chen wasn't a fool. His extraordinary mental strength was like an invisible radar, allowing him to see every subtle movement within a radius of over fifty meters.

Behind the window of the Jia family, covered with old newspapers and with a small hole, Jia Zhangshi's mean face was pressed tightly against the window crack. Her turbid eyes gleamed with undisguised greed and eagerness, like a vulture waiting for its prey to take the bait.

Beside the hanging flower gate in the front yard, three middle-aged women were pretending to sweep snow, but their ears were perked up, and they didn't move their brooms for a long time.

At the entrance of the east wing of the central courtyard, Aunt Liu, who was sewing shoe soles, stopped her needlework and glanced in this direction with a complicated expression. Even near the moon gate in the backyard, there seemed to be several discreet eyes watching the movements in the central courtyard.

This wasn't just Qin Huairu pleading; it was clearly a silent test, with countless eyes secretly assessing Wei Chen's bottom line!

If he softens his heart and gives in to the Jia family today, tomorrow more "Qin Huairu" will come knocking on his door with children, elderly people, and tears in their eyes, demanding more with even more "pitiful" reasons.

Human greed is insatiable; once the floodgates of moral blackmail are opened, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Wei Chen wasn't short of meat; his game world was overflowing with resources. But he knew all too well that giving without principle would never earn gratitude, but rather entitled demands and insatiable greed!

He wanted to help people like Grandma Li and Little Stone who were truly in trouble and knew how to be grateful, rather than being held hostage by the logic of "the squeaky wheel gets the grease".

"No." Wei Chen's voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear, crisp, and resolute! Like an icicle hitting the ground, it instantly shattered all of Qin Huairu's performance and expectations.

The color drained from Qin Huairu's face instantly, and her feigned pitifulness froze into shock and embarrassment.

Wei Chen looked at her, his tone calm, yet each word clear, carrying an undeniable power: "Sister-in-law Jia, Brother Jia Dongxu is a first-class fitter at the steel rolling mill, earning a monthly salary of twenty-seven yuan and fifty cents. He has an urban household registration and all the necessary food and ration coupons."

No matter how difficult things are, surely a pregnant wife and child shouldn't be deprived of even a bite of meat? If the family truly lacks something, you should discuss it properly with Brother Jia and let him figure something out. That's the right thing to do. Instead, you're... pulling and tugging, crying and begging other men for things…

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the window of the Jia family's house, and said meaningfully, "If word gets out, it won't sound good for Brother Jia's reputation, and it'll be even worse for you... To put it bluntly, it'll easily make people... look down on Brother Jia."

These words were like a resounding slap across Qin Huairu's face, and even more so, a heavy blow to the tightly closed window of the Jia family! A soft rebuff?

No, this is a blatant and unequivocal statement! It directly points out Jia Dongxu's lack of responsibility and mercilessly exposes the inappropriateness and potential risks of Qin Huairu's behavior—the issue of reputation! In this era, especially in the compound, a woman's reputation is sometimes more important than her life.

Qin Huairu's face turned from red to white, then from white to pale; her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a single word. Wei Chen's words were like knives, completely tearing away her petty thoughts and pretense of modesty, revealing her shameful true nature. She felt a chill run from her feet to the top of her head, more piercing than the ice water in the washbasin.

Wei Chen stopped looking at her, carrying the rabbit and pheasant, and strode across the central courtyard toward the moon gate leading to his own courtyard. His mental field clearly "saw" that, the moment he turned around, behind the window of the Jia family's house, Jia Zhangshi's distorted face instantly erupted in rage, her mouth opening and closing rapidly and silently, clearly cursing viciously.

Sure enough, the moment Wei Chen's figure disappeared behind the moon gate, the anger that had been suppressed for a long time erupted like a volcano inside the Jia family's house!

"Useless thing!" Madam Jia whirled around from the window, her wrinkled old face contorted with rage, her triangular eyes blazing with venomous fire, her finger almost poking Qin Huairu's nose as she walked in, looking utterly dejected.

"Three! Three whole game pieces! I couldn't even get a rabbit from you! Are you dead? Huh? You're all pregnant, tears are streaming down your face, and they didn't even blink! You useless piece of trash! You've got a mouth but no brains!"

Qin Huairu lowered her head, bit her lip, her body trembled slightly, and tears welled up in her eyes, half of them filled with grievance and half with embarrassment.

"That little bastard surnamed Wei! A short-lived glutton who eats alone!" Seeing that her daughter-in-law remained silent, Jia Zhangshi cursed even more fiercely, spittle flying everywhere, her voice sharp and piercing, penetrating the thin wall.

"They hide away any good stuff! They have no respect for elders or children! Our Banggeng is such a good boy, how long has it been since he's had any meat? This old woman, at her age, just wants a bowl of hot meat soup!"

"And what a fool he is! He'd rather give the things to that old hag Li, the childless widow in the backyard! And that little bastard from the Li family! What's he up to? Huh? Does he dislike our Jia family? Is he cursing our Jia family to die out? That heartless bastard! He deserves his parents to die young!..."

Vicious curses, like sewage, poured out of Jia Zhangshi's mean mouth, echoing in the small, sour-smelling room.

Jia Dongxu huddled in the corner of the kang (a heated brick bed), holding a tattered technical manual in his hand, pretending to be engrossed in reading it. He ignored his mother's scolding and his wife's grievances, as if none of it concerned him.

Banggeng hid behind his grandmother, his small eyes flashing with the same greed and dissatisfaction as Jia Zhangshi, muttering under his breath, "That's right! Wei Chen is bad! He won't give us any meat!"

Behind the moon gate, in Wei Chen's neat and tidy little house.

He had just hung the plump rabbit on the kitchen hook when, within his mental perception range, Jia Zhangshi's "inner voice," filled with resentment and curses, transmitted clearly like tangible noise. Those unbearable curses, especially the vicious attacks on his deceased parents, stung him like a cold needle.

Wei Chen paused for a moment, his eyes suddenly turning cold and sharp, like the deepest ice in a frigid pool. A chilling, almost tangible killing intent flashed around him, making the temperature in the room seem to drop several degrees.

However, this chilling anger lasted only a moment.

Wei Chen slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his eyes were calm and still. To argue with such a petty shrew? That would be beneath him. Jia Zhangshi's curse was nothing but the lament of impotent rage; it couldn't even harm a hair on his head.

He walked to the window, his gaze seemingly piercing through the wall, landing on the low, dilapidated little house of the Li family in the backyard.

With his mental power, he could clearly "see" that Little Stone was squatting on a small stool by the door, carefully handling the two pheasants.

Although his movements were still a bit clumsy, he was exceptionally earnest and focused. Grandma Li sat on a small stool next to him, her cloudy eyes filled with a rare warmth and comfort, as she quietly instructed her grandson.

Little Stone's thin face was full of solemnity, as if he were undertaking a sacred mission. He knew that Brother Chen had entrusted him with such good things and even left them the "odds and ends" that could satisfy their cravings; this was an immense favor.

He had to make sure he was spotless; he couldn't let Brother Chen down. His young heart was filled with gratitude and a sense of fulfillment at being needed.

Grandma Li looked at her grandson's focused profile, then at the two plump pheasants. Her dry lips moved slightly, but in the end, it turned into a barely audible sigh, which contained too much bitterness and cherished this kindness.

In the front yard, the third auntie finished sweeping up the almost untouched trash, then went back into the house dejectedly. She muttered to Yan Bugui, who was still sulking about not getting his way, "Old man, I think that Wei Chen is shrewd! Qin Huairu, with her huge belly, went to ask for it and didn't get any! I bet from now on, no one but that poor old couple in the backyard will get a piece of his pie!"

Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses and snorted, "Young man, you don't understand social etiquette! You won't get rich by hoarding good things! Just wait and see, he'll have to ask for favors someday!"

Beside the sink in the courtyard, Qin Huairu had already wiped away her tears. She silently squatted down and continued to scrub the pile of cold clothes with all her might. But her back was even more stiff than before, revealing an indescribable embarrassment and loss.

Aunt Liu watched her retreating figure, shook her head, and continued sewing the soles of her shoes, thinking to herself: This Jia family daughter-in-law is too clever for her own good... That kid Wei Chen isn't stupid, he won't fall for this trick!

Wei Chen withdrew his gaze, walked to the stove, picked up the fire tongs, and poked at the burning coals in the firebox. The orange-red flames danced, illuminating his calm and deep eyes.

The courtyard house is a microcosm of the human condition. It contains scheming, greed, weakness, and apathy, but also a glimmer of warmth and perseverance as people stubbornly survive in the cracks.

Wei Chen has his own principles and bottom line. He only gives his kindness and resources to those he deems worthy.

The crackling fire in the stove dispelled the winter chill. Wei Chen picked up the kettle and started boiling water. Tonight, he planned to stew himself a pot of fragrant wild rabbit meat as a treat. As for the noise and curses outside? They were nothing more than insignificant noises in this long, cold winter night.