Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

"Don't worry, Brother Liu, I'm fine, perfectly fine." Wei Chen felt a warmth in his heart and reassured him in a steady tone, "The thing... has been contacted." He paused deliberately, using a vague word that the other party would surely understand.

"Got contact?!" Liu Yuan's voice suddenly became sharp and excited, almost shouting, making the receiver buzz. "How much?! What quality?!" The background noise seemed to subside instantly, clearly his words had attracted the attention of those around him.

"Quite a few." Wei Chen said succinctly, while subconsciously pressing the receiver closer to his ear and lowering his voice to ensure only he could hear him. "The usual place, by the main road outside the village, at the abandoned watchtower. The situation is special, so hurry up and come, bring a few more reliable men, we need to load them onto the truck." He emphasized the importance of the location and the number of people, implying that the items were quite large and heavy.

A brief, suffocating silence fell on the other end of the phone. Wei Chen could almost picture Liu Yuan covering the receiver, his mind racing, weighing the weight of "a lot," the difficulty of deploying manpower, and how to deal with possible inquiries from the factory.

Just two or three seconds later, Liu Yuan's resolute voice, filled with a do-or-die determination and barely suppressed excitement, rang out, his words coming at a rapid pace like a machine gun: "Understood! Brother Wei! You truly... truly my savior! Don't say anything more! I'm off! I'll personally lead the men and get there as fast as I can! You wait there! Don't go anywhere! Be careful! Stay alert!"

He was clearly aware that speaking on a public phone in the village office was extremely inconvenient, so he didn't ask for any details and only conveyed the top order to act immediately.

"Okay, Brother Liu, be careful on the road. I'll be waiting." Wei Chen said, and hung up the phone crisply. The receiver clicked as it was put back on the stand, a clear sound that echoed in the suddenly quiet room.

He counted out a thick stack of small bills and a few large bills from the price list on the wall, and handed them to the old clerk for registration. After thanking him, he walked out of the village office hut, which reeked of coal smoke. The biting cold wind outside instantly invigorated him, clearing his muddled mind.

He looked up at the gloomy, leaden sky that seemed to press down, and estimated that given the transportation conditions of this era, Liu Yuan and his group would not arrive until evening at the earliest, or even after dark.

Wei Chen wasn't planning to go home, but his mother chased him to the village office and dragged him home, saying he couldn't refuse to eat.

The embers in the stove at home had not yet been completely extinguished, and the air still held the aroma of oil and firewood from the eggs that Mother Wang Xiulan had just fried.

Two steaming hot poached eggs rested at the bottom of a rough porcelain bowl, their golden yolks trembling slightly, and a few precious grains of salt sprinkled on top. Wei Chen finished them in a few bites, feeling a warm glow in his stomach, and then gulped down a large bowl of warm water.

"Mom, Ranran, I'm out running errands. If all goes well, I'll be back in Beijing tonight. Don't wait for me." Wei Chen wiped his mouth, grabbed the old cotton hat from behind the door, and put it on his head.

Wang Xiulan was tidying up the stove when she heard this. She immediately turned around, still clutching a rag in her hand, her face full of worry: "We just got home, and we haven't even had a chance to sit down properly! It's freezing outside, what's the rush? Can't you rest for a bit? Look, your face is turning blue from the cold!"

"Work at the factory can't be delayed." Wei Chen smiled, pinching his younger sister Wei Ran's little face, which was red from the cold. "Once this is settled, I'll take you and Mom to the city to buy new clothes and eat white flour dumplings!"

Wei Ran's eyes instantly lit up like stars in the sky. She nodded vigorously, her voice crisp and clear: "Yes! Brother, you keep your word!"

"Oh, you child..." Wang Xiulan watched her son's tall figure, which showed a hint of weariness that was barely perceptible, disappear at the gate of the courtyard. She could only sigh helplessly and swallow her worries and concerns.

She knew her son was now working for a big factory in the city, a respectable job with a promising future, and she couldn't hold him back. But that remote mountain area was still a place that filled her with apprehension.

After leaving his house, Wei Chen checked his direction and headed straight for the bumpy dirt road outside the village that led to the capital.

The target was the old watchtower in my memory, abandoned for many years, with only half a mud wall and a few broken bricks remaining. It had a wide view, far from the village and people, making it the best place to hand over the twenty "wild boars".

The biting north wind, like countless fine ice needles, seeped into the collar and cuffs of his clothes. Wei Chen wrapped his old cotton-padded coat tighter around himself and trudged along the dirt road leading to the capital outside the village.

The sky was overcast, with leaden clouds hanging low as if they were about to collapse at any moment. At the edge of the field of vision, only half of the dilapidated mud wall and a few scattered blue bricks remained of the old watchtower that had been abandoned for many years, standing alone in the desolate wilderness like a forgotten skeleton.

It was still early, and the road was deserted. Only withered yellow grass trembled in the cold wind, making a whimpering sound. Wei Chen walked to the sheltered spot of the watchtower ruins, his eyes scanning the surroundings as quickly as a hawk's—there was no other movement except for the sound of the wind.

Thoughts raced through my mind.

The next moment, just like the mythical "scattering beans to create soldiers", a mountain of flesh exuding a strong aura of blood and death appeared out of thin air on the open ground behind the watchtower ruins!

Twenty robust wild boar carcasses were dumped out as if by an invisible giant hand, piling up on top of each other with a thud! Each one was the size of a calf and weighed well over three hundred pounds!

Dark purple, congealed blood smeared rough fur, enormous fangs pierced the air menacingly, and thick limbs stretched stiffly out. The mountain-like body almost completely obscured the shadow of the watchtower ruins. An intense, pungent stench instantly filled the air, causing Wei Chen to frown slightly.

These were all "works" hunted in the game world's mountains and forests by him using the bow and arrow imbued with the "Nine Heavens Sun Shooting Technique," and then "processed" by him with five or six semi-automatic weapons next to their fatal wounds. Each one had one or more bloody, mangled gunshot wounds with rolled-up edges, covering the traces of arrows.

Looking at the terrifying "mountain of flesh" before him, Wei Chen had another thought.

Eight more equally large wild boar carcasses fell heavily next to the twenty "gunshot wound" wild boars, forming another, slightly smaller pile.

These eight were completely different. They each had only one fatal penetrating wound—either in the throat or the heart. The wounds were clean, deep, and perfectly executed, proof that Wei Chen had personally hunted them with his bow and arrow deep in the Yanshan Mountains! Fresh blood soaked into the fur around the wounds, and its color was fresher than the congealed dark purple of the surrounding fur.

Those twenty were "bought" by Wei Chen through other hunters, while these eight were hunted by himself this week.

Twenty-eight wild boars! A total of nearly ten thousand kilograms of wild boar meat! Like a fortress built of flesh and blood, it silently tells of terrifying power and a bountiful harvest.

Wei Chen nodded in satisfaction. The quantity was impressive, and the sources were clearly distinguished. He stepped back a few paces, leaned against the cold, rough mud-brick wall, took out half a grain cake from his pocket, and slowly chewed it in the cold air. His gaze was fixed on the snow-covered road that wound its way to the distant capital, and he waited quietly.

Time slipped away slowly in the howling wind. Wei Chen's breath condensed into white mist in the cold air, only to be quickly dispersed by the wind. He closed his eyes to rest, the internal energy of the "Nine Heavens Shooting Sun Technique" flowing slowly within his body, dispelling the biting cold and restoring some of the fatigue from days of travel.

After an unknown amount of time, the roar of an engine finally came from afar. The sound was exceptionally clear in the silent wilderness, growing louder as it approached, carrying a reassuring sense of industrial power.

A familiar Jiefang CA-10 truck, like a steel behemoth, struggled to roll over the bumpy snow road, its front belching thick black smoke as it headed towards the watchtower.

The truck came to a stop a few dozen meters from the watchtower, kicking up a cloud of snow. The cab door was pushed open with a bang, and team leader Liu Yuan practically jumped out. He was wrapped in a worn-out military overcoat, his face was red from the cold, his hair was messy from the wind, and his eyes were bloodshot from staying up all night, but at this moment they were shining with anxiety and anticipation.

Following closely behind was driver Wang Aiguo, who rubbed his frozen hands and looked in Wei Chen's direction.

"Wei Chen!" Liu Yuan rushed over, his voice hoarse but loud, "You little brat! I've finally seen a living person!" He rushed up to Wei Chen and looked him up and down carefully, as if to make sure that Wei Chen was missing some part.

"Seven or eight days! Seven or eight days! No news at all! The factory calls three times a day, the section chief is practically bald from exhaustion! Deputy Factory Director Li has personally inquired several times! If you don't show up soon, I... I really will have to lead a search party into the mountains!" He patted Wei Chen's shoulder forcefully, the force tinged with lingering fear and excitement. "Are you alright? Are you hurt? What did you encounter in the mountains? A pack of wolves? A bear? Or...?"

Wei Chen was jolted by the pat, and apologetic smile appeared on his face: "Brother Liu, I'm sorry to have worried everyone. I'm fine, I'm doing great. It's just that the factory ordered too much this time, and the nearby mountain produce has already been sold out."

There was no other way but to venture deeper into the mountains. I contacted a few reliable hunter friends I knew from before; they happened to have some stock and were willing to sell it to the factory. Wandering through the deep forests, the round trip took up a lot of time.

At that moment, the green canvas tarpaulin on the back of the truck was suddenly ripped open, and several heads eagerly popped out, followed by the sounds of people jumping off the truck with a series of "plop" sounds.

"Brother Wei!" "Comrade Wei Chen!" "Oh my god, I've finally found you!"

The young people in the purchasing team three: Liu Guoqing, Hu Songnian, Jin Dong, and Wu Xiaojun.

They were all wrapped up like rice dumplings, their faces blue from the cold, but at this moment they were all filled with excitement and curiosity at finding their leader, and they surrounded them, chattering away.