Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Wei Chen felt a sudden surge of warmth coursing through his body. He knew this was more than just a few prescriptions; it was his master truly regarding him as his successor, a trust and entrustment made without reservation.

He wiped the smile from his face, his expression becoming extremely solemn. He took a half-step back and bowed deeply and respectfully to Zhao Gensheng: "Thank you, Master! For your life-saving grace! I will definitely return next week, even if it means facing mountains of knives and seas of fire!"

"Alright, alright! Stop with all this pretentious formalities!" Zhao Gensheng waved his hand impatiently, as if trying to dispel the invisible politeness in the air.

Pointing to the tiger carcass on the ground, still radiating an invisible sense of oppression, he shouted, "Quickly move this big guy to the house next door! What's the point of leaving it in my yard? You expect me to carry it inside? It's covered in blood; even the chickens won't lay eggs!"

He paused, then emphasized, as if issuing a command, "Don't forget the important matter! Five hundred catties of grain liquor! It must be genuinely brewed from pure grains, even sweet potato liquor will do, don't try to fool me with some 'horse urine' diluted with alcohol! Also, fifty catties of truly aged, high-quality liquor! It must be strong liquor, aged sorghum red for at least five years! This is crucial for infusing the medicinal ingredients and activating their properties, we can't be careless! It must be brought back by next weekend!"

"Understood! Mission accomplished! Five hundred catties of pure grain liquor, fifty catties of top-quality aged sorghum liquor!" Wei Chen straightened his back, patted his chest, and guaranteed with unwavering certainty, a smile involuntarily spreading across his face. "Master, you can handle it! You'll be absolutely satisfied!"

"Get lost! Just looking at you makes me dizzy! Hurry up!" Zhao Gensheng waved his hands repeatedly with extreme disgust, as if shooing away annoying flies. But when he turned and walked towards the main room, his slightly hunched back seemed to straighten up a bit, and a barely perceptible smile finally slipped out from his deep-set eyes.

Wei Chen chuckled, then, without further delay, with a thought, he retrieved the tiger carcass from the ground back into his spatial storage. He clasped his hands in a fist salute towards the main hall again before turning and leaving the courtyard, which reeked of tannins. He needed to get home as soon as possible and then go to the village office to complete the final step—calling the factory.

Pushing open the familiar courtyard gate adorned with faded door gods, the familiar sounds of spatulas clattering and firewood crackling mingled with the faint aroma of cooked food emanating from the kitchen.

Their mother, Wang Xiulan, was busy at the stove wearing an apron, while their younger sister, Wei Ran, sat on a small stool, her little hands red with cold, carefully picking at a bunch of wilted spinach leaves. They were both surprised and delighted to see Wei Chen's tall figure appear in the doorway.

"Xiao Chen? How...how come you're back so soon? Didn't you say it would be a few days?" Wang Xiulan quickly wiped her hands on her apron and hurried out to greet him. The wrinkles etched on her face by the elements were all squeezed together with concern. "Were you cold on the way? Did you catch a chill? Come inside and warm up!" She habitually reached out to pat the cold off her son, but found that apart from a little mud on the soles of his shoes, his cotton-padded jacket was quite clean.

It only snowed a little in the deep mountains where Wei Chen was hunting; it hasn't snowed at all in Beijing this year.

"Mom, Ranran." Wei Chen walked over with a smile, his big hand habitually ruffling his little sister's hair, which was tied in pigtails, earning a sweet smile from the little girl. "The factory's task... well, it's starting to look promising ahead of schedule. This trip is mainly to contact the purchasing points."

He spoke naturally, following the lines he had prepared on the way, "I was lucky enough to run into a few reliable hunter friends I knew before. They happened to have some wild boars on hand and were willing to sell them to the factory. I came back this time to act as a middleman and connect the two sides."

"Look, I need to quickly borrow the village phone to call the factory and tell them to send a truck to pick it up as soon as possible, or they might change their minds." He deliberately downplayed the "wild boar" and vaguely described the number.

"Wild boars? There must be quite a few, right? Can you manage alone? Those things are incredibly fierce!" Upon hearing this, Wang Xiulan's face immediately showed worry, and she subconsciously grabbed her son's arm. In her memory, wild boars were ferocious creatures capable of knocking down earthen walls.

"Don't worry, Mom!" Wei Chen gently patted his mother's rough hand, his tone reassuring. "I'm just a messenger; the actual handover will be handled by people and vehicles sent by the factory. It's perfectly safe. Once this batch of supplies is handed over and things settle down, I'll take leave and bring you and Ranran to the city so we can have a proper New Year!" He made a promise that touched both his mother and sister.

Sure enough, upon hearing "going to the city for the New Year," Wei Ran's big, dark eyes immediately lit up as she looked at her mother, full of anticipation.

Although Wang Xiulan felt sorry for her son who had just entered the house and hadn't even had a sip of water before leaving again, the thought of going to the city to reunite with his family for the New Year warmed her heart. Remembering that her son was working for the government, she could only suppress her reluctance and nodded repeatedly, "Then...then go quickly! Business is important! Don't delay the factory! Be careful on the road! Watch out for cars!"

Wei Chen hurriedly drank a large bowl of hot water that his mother had just poured for him at home to warm his stomach, and then, without further delay, turned around and strode towards the village office.

Just as I reached the bare old locust tree at the entrance of the village office, I ran into Uncle Wei Changsheng, who was walking out with his hands behind his back and his brows furrowed. He looked like he had just finished dealing with some troublesome village affairs, and his face was very serious.

"Uncle," Wei Chen stopped and called out.

"Xiao Chen?" Wei Changsheng looked up and saw his nephew, clearly startled. His tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly. "Weren't you... going to find hunters to contact the farm for game? You're back so soon? Did you... have a catch?" He looked Wei Chen up and down, seeing that although he was travel-worn, he was full of energy and his eyes were bright, not like he had suffered any hardship. However, his hands were empty, which made him a little puzzled.

"Yes, Uncle is back." Wei Chen clearly repeated the same words he had just spoken to his mother. "The main thing is that I've made some connections and helped the factory purchase a batch of wild boar meat. So, I need to call the factory right away to send a truck; the stuff can't be stored for long." He deliberately blurred the concept of "how many heads."

Upon hearing this, Wei Changsheng's solemn expression completely vanished, replaced by undisguised praise and satisfaction. He even patted Wei Chen's sturdy shoulder forcefully: "Good! Good lad! You've got potential! Getting meat for the government is a real skill! You've brought honor to our old Wei family! Come on in! The phone's in the inner room, Old Clerk's there, I'll just tell him!"

In the eyes of this old-fashioned rural cadre, being able to procure scarce meat outside of the planned quota for large factories in the city was a symbol of real ability and connections, and something to bring honor to one's ancestors.

With Wei Changsheng, the production team leader, personally making arrangements, Wei Chen was able to smoothly enter the inner room of the village office, which served as an office, warehouse, and duty room.

Inside the room, a small cast-iron coal stove was burning brightly, making a "whooshing" sound that dispelled some of the chill but also made the air feel stuffy and choking.

On the wall hung an old-fashioned, black bakelite-cased crank telephone, next to which lay a worn-out, oil-stained notebook and a stubbed pencil. An elderly clerk, wearing reading glasses and a bulky cotton-padded coat, was dozing off at the table.

Wei Chen picked up the receiver, gripped the cool crank on the side of the phone, and shook it vigorously and rhythmically, making a "crackling...crackling..." sound.

"Feed? Where do you want it?" The county switchboard operator's somewhat lazy female voice with a local accent came through the receiver, with background noise from other lines also audible.

"Hello comrade, please connect me to the Beijing-Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill switchboard." Wei Chen clearly stated the destination and number. "Beijing... wait a minute, the line is busy right now." The operator's voice carried the detachment and impatience characteristic of long-distance calls, and then fell silent.

The receiver was filled with a crackling, buzzing electrical noise, like the chirping of countless insects, mixed with a muffled busy tone that required a great deal of patience to hear.

Wei Chen held the receiver, waiting patiently, his gaze fixed on the dim red light shining through the cracks in the coal stove. His fingers unconsciously tapped lightly on the dusty tabletop, producing a soft "tap-tap" sound. Occasionally, the coal in the stove would crackle and pop.

Time seemed to stretch out, thick and long, during the wait. After a good seven or eight minutes, a relatively clear male voice with a distinct Beijing accent finally came through the receiver: "Hey? Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill switchboard, what are you looking for?" It was the factory's operator.

"Please transfer me to Purchasing Department Group 3 and ask for Group Leader Liu Yuan. Tell him Wei Chen needs to see him; it's urgent," Wei Chen said quickly.

"Purchasing Department Group 3... Liu Yuan... Wei Chen... Wait a moment, let me check the line." Another long, anxious static interrupted the connection, the crackling sound rising and falling, as if the signal was struggling to travel along a distant line.

This time, the wait was so long that Wei Chen almost thought the line had been cut off. He could imagine that the weak electrical signal had to travel thousands of miles, passing through countless transfer hubs, before finally reaching the dusty office building of the steel rolling mill. The old clerk was completely awakened by the phone ringing. He adjusted his reading glasses, glanced at him curiously, and then looked down again.

Finally, just as Wei Chen was about to shake the phone again, Liu Yuan's familiar voice suddenly came through the receiver, but now it was noticeably hoarse, anxious, and extremely tired. There was a lot of noise in the background, as if someone was arguing fiercely: "Feed?! Purchase three sets of Liu Yuan! Who?! Tell me quickly!" The tone was urgent, and he was obviously in a very bad mood.

"Brother Liu, it's me, Wei Chen," Wei Chen replied in a deep voice, which was not loud but exceptionally clear.

"Wei Chen?!?" Liu Yuan's voice instantly rose eight octaves, filled with unbelievable ecstasy and a tremendous sense of relief, like a drowning person grabbing onto a piece of driftwood.

"My dear brother Wei! My goodness! You've finally sent word! It's been five days! The department head has been asking eight times a day! Even the factory director has personally inquired! If you hadn't come out soon, I'd have to take some men and dig up the whole village you left behind! Are you... are you alright?!" The rapid-fire questions and undisguised concern clearly conveyed the immense pressure he had been under these past few days and his worry for Wei Chen's safety.