Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

My mother and sister are coming tomorrow, and I won't be living alone anymore. Although the things in my space are easy to access, I must be more careful.

For high-value items like rice and flour that are consumed daily and easily attract attention, a sufficient quantity must be prepared in advance and placed in plain sight to avoid arousing suspicion.

Wei Chen walked to the first large vat and lifted the heavy wooden lid. He focused his mind on the space, locking onto the mountain of rice piled up in the hunter's cabin's storage room.

With a thought, the space inside the jar slightly distorted, as if an invisible hand was tilting it. In the blink of an eye, the once empty bottom of the jar was filled with half a jar of crystal-clear, plump grains of rice! A pure white expanse, emitting the unique fragrance of new rice. This half-jar weighed at least fifty or sixty pounds.

Next came the second vat. Inside the space, wheat he had cultivated and harvested using his planting techniques was piled up like a mountain. Guided by his will, a whole bag of fine white flour, weighing at least a hundred pounds and wrapped in a thick burlap sack, appeared out of thin air in the vat, filling it to the brim! The snow-white flour was almost overflowing. Wei Chen carefully smoothed the opening of the bag and pressed it down firmly.

The third vat contained cornmeal. Also produced by the space, it was golden, finely ground cornmeal. With a thought, another hundred or so pounds of fragrant cornmeal filled the large vat. This cornmeal was finely ground without bran, unlike the "cornmeal" of this era, which was ground with the corn cob intact.

Wei Chen secretly took the grain to grind when he went to the commune below to purchase it, so he dared not take out too much, even though he had countless grains in his space. He only managed to grind a few hundred kilograms after many attempts. That's why Wei Chen had the idea of ​​installing an electric mill in the hunter's hut to grind the grain himself.

Looking at the three heavy vats filled with grain, Wei Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief. This grain was enough to feed his family of three for a long time. He closed the wooden lids and carefully checked them again to make sure they were sealed tightly and wouldn't get damp or be damaged by rats.

"We still need our own mill..." Wei Chen straightened up, dusted off his hands, and started thinking again. Secretly hiring someone to grind grain in the countryside was not only troublesome, but also quite risky.

This little bit of refined rice and flour I ground this time was already a result of pulling strings and still having a lot of worries. If I could get a stone mill from the hunter's hut, even a small one, I could grind grain myself anytime, and the mountains of rice and wheat piled up in my storage space would finally come in handy. I need to urge Tiger again.

The cellar was chilly. Wei Chen turned off his flashlight and, using the dim light coming from the doorway, took one last look at the full stock before turning around, stepping up the stairs, closing the cellar door, and returning to the gradually warming main room.

Wei Chen had just sat down inside when several clear knocks sounded on the door, from the small moon gate in the east courtyard.

"Tap, tap, tap." The sound was neither fast nor slow.

Wei Chen raised an eyebrow slightly. The east wing was in a secluded location, and apart from the occasional peek from the third uncle in the front yard, few people would knock on this door. He got up, walked to the door, unlatched it, and opened the moon gate.

Three people were standing outside the door. The one in the lead, wearing a slightly worn dark blue cotton-padded jacket and a gray scarf, had a serious yet kind expression on his face; he was Director Wang from the neighborhood committee.

Behind her, on her left, was Uncle Yi Zhonghai, dressed in a faded Zhongshan suit, hands behind his back, with a "fair and prudent" expression; on her right was Uncle Yan Bugui, pushing up his signature round-framed glasses, a habitual calculating smile on his face. All three were enveloped in the chill of the outside air, their cheeks reddened by the wind.

"Director Wang?" Wei Chen was a little surprised, then stepped aside. "Please come in! It's cold outside." His gaze swept over Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui, and he already had a guess in his mind. This group was probably not just a simple neighborly visit.

"Excuse me, Comrade Wei Chen." Director Wang nodded and walked into the courtyard first. Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui followed him in.

Wei Chen led the three of them toward the main house. Just as they reached the bottom of the steps, they heard a series of slightly hurried and deliberately heavy footsteps coming from the direction of the hanging flower gate leading from the front yard to the middle yard.

Then, Uncle Erda, with his rather large belly, came running over, his face beaming with an overly enthusiastic smile. His voice preceded his arrival:

"Oh dear! Director Wang! How could you not have told me beforehand that you were coming? I could have organized everyone to welcome you! I'm so sorry for not welcoming you properly!" As he spoke, he squeezed half a body away from Yan Bugui and moved closer to Director Wang, acting as if he were the person in charge of welcoming the superior leader in the courtyard.

Director Wang was clearly used to Liu Haizhong's behavior, even somewhat helpless about it. She stopped and glanced at Liu Haizhong indifferently, her tone carrying a subtle distance: "Comrade Liu Haizhong, I just happened to be passing by and wanted to find out some information from Comrade Wei Chen. There's no need to make such a fuss."

"Yes, yes, yes! Director Wang goes deep into the community and understands the people's conditions; he's a role model for us to learn from!" Liu Haizhong, completely unfazed, immediately seized the opportunity, his official tone booming, "Wei Chen, Director Wang's personal visit must mean he has important instructions! You must carefully understand them and resolutely carry them out!"

Director Wang, too lazy to waste any more words with him, strode directly into Wei Chen's main room. Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui followed closely behind. Seeing this, Liu Haizhong also quickly followed inside, closing the door behind him to keep out the cold air.

Inside, the stove was burning brightly, and the warmth from the fire wall dispelled the chill the four had brought. Wei Chen invited everyone to sit down, then took out several rough porcelain teacups and poured a cup of hot water for each person from the tin kettle that was warming on the stove.

"Director Wang, Uncle Wang, Uncle Wang, Uncle Wang, Uncle Wang, have some hot water to warm up." Wei Chen handed over the cup.

Director Wang took the cup, held it in her hand, and got straight to the point: "Comrade Wei Chen, I'm bothering you so late because there's something I need to discuss." She paused, her gaze falling on Wei Chen's face with a mixture of apology and expectation, "I won't beat around the bush. I just heard that you've done a great service this time, securing twenty-eight wild boars for the steel mill?"

Wei Chen understood and nodded: "Yes, Director Wang. The factory has a heavy workload, and we were also lucky to have contacted a few skilled old hunters in the mountains. It took quite a bit of effort to gather the necessary resources." He deliberately emphasized "gathered resources" and "twists and turns," implying that this was no easy task, let alone the norm.

"Twenty-eight heads!" Liu Haizhong gasped, his eyes widening as if the wild boars were right in front of him. "Wei Chen, you're really something! You've solved a big problem for the factory! Good! Well done!" He gave a thumbs up, his tone exaggerated, with a hint of pride, as if he had a share in the credit.

Director Wang ignored Liu Haizhong's flattery and continued to say to Wei Chen, "Comrade Wei Chen, you have helped our street office purchase some scarce materials during the holidays before, so you know the situation in our street."

Her voice lowered, carrying a barely perceptible heaviness. "In our area, there are many families of martyrs, and quite a few households facing hardship. With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, every family is hoping for some meat on their plate. In previous years, we could use meat coupons to queue up at the grocery store, but this year... sigh, you know the situation, the supply is too tight."

She looked at Wei Chen with genuine pleading in her eyes: "The street office has limited resources, but we always want to do something for those who have contributed to the country and are struggling financially. So... I've come here today, even though it's a shame, just to ask you... could you also help our street office find a way to purchase a wild boar? Just one! So that these families of martyrs and those in need can have some meat during the New Year. It would be a small token of our appreciation from the street office."

She paused, seemingly feeling that mentioning only those in need wasn't enough, and added, "If... I mean if, there's a real surplus, and we could provide for both groups, that would be even better. The staff at the neighborhood office have worked tirelessly throughout the year, dealing with neighborhood disputes, sanitation and epidemic prevention, fire prevention and theft prevention, and they've put in a lot of effort. With the New Year approaching, we'd like to give everyone some tangible benefits to boost morale. Of course, this latter point isn't mandatory; the main focus is on those in need."

Director Wang spoke with sincerity and humility. She was well aware of the scarcity of wild boar meat and knew that her request was somewhat unreasonable, so her words were full of phrases like "let's give it a try," "shamelessly," and "not forcing," without any intention of using her position to pressure anyone.

Before Wei Chen could speak, Liu Haizhong, the second uncle standing to the side, seemed to have received some kind of signal to perform a task. He suddenly slapped his thigh and, before Wei Chen could speak, loudly proclaimed in his usual official, lecturing tone:

"Wei Chen! Director Wang is speaking to you on behalf of the subdistrict office, the organization, and the people in need! This is such an honorable and arduous task! It's a sign of trust in your abilities! What are you hesitating for? You must resolutely agree! Overcome all difficulties to complete this task! This is a political mission! Show the same enthusiasm you have for purchasing goods for the factory! Bring honor to the subdistrict office and to our courtyard!..."

He spoke with spittle flying, his finger pointing forcefully in the air, as if Wei Chen would be lacking in awareness and betraying the organization's trust if he didn't immediately pat his chest and guarantee it.

Director Wang's brows furrowed instantly, her face revealing undisguised annoyance. She abruptly turned her head, glaring fiercely at Liu Haizhong, her gaze sharp as a knife, carrying the authority honed from years of grassroots work: "Comrade Liu Haizhong! Let Comrade Wei Chen finish speaking! I'm discussing this with Comrade Wei Chen, not giving you orders! What political task? Don't throw accusations around!"

Liu Haizhong was caught off guard by Director Wang's merciless glare and reprimand, and the rest of his words caught in his throat. His face turned red, and he shrank back sheepishly, muttering incoherently, "I...I was just...encouraging him..." His momentum instantly vanished.

Director Wang stopped looking at him and turned back to Wei Chen, his tone softening with deep helplessness: "Wei Chen, don't listen to his nonsense. I know this is difficult; wild boars aren't like cabbages, readily available. I only thought of coming to you because I had no other choice. Do your best; it would be best if you could get one, but if not, don't feel pressured. The neighborhood committee will pay you every penny you're owed, according to market price."