Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

"Purchasing clerk?" Wei Chen's heart skipped a beat. This was an unexpected delight, better than the ordinary worker position he had anticipated. It offered more freedom and would be easier for him to "operate" in the future. However, his face only showed a perfectly measured expression of "gratitude" and "longing": "Thank you for your help, Brother Xu! And please thank Deputy Factory Director Li for me!"

"Hey! We're all family, it's only right!" Xu Damao readily agreed, but then, as if remembering something, his smile faded, and he lowered his voice to ask, "But Brother Wei Chen, so many wild boars... that's quite a commotion. Bringing them out of the mountains and moving them to that dilapidated house... won't that cause some trouble? What if the villagers see them and get jealous..." He had been around the streets and knew the wickedness of people's hearts; a thousand pounds of meat was enough to make many people take risks, or even report him.

Before Wei Chen could speak, his uncle Wei Changsheng, who had been listening, immediately chimed in, his face displaying the typical caution and simplicity of a farmer: "Comrade Xu's concerns are valid! Chenzi, we need to be careful about this! Although according to the old rules, whoever hunts the wild animals in the mountains keeps them, this time the quantity is too large. If someone insists that everything in the mountains belongs to the collective and demands confiscation, it will be a troublesome matter! You might even be labeled a 'speculator'!"

Wei Chen nodded; this was exactly what he was worried about. He looked at his uncle and said sincerely, "Uncle, so I need your help to cover this up. Around three o'clock this afternoon, please keep an eye out for the villagers and make sure they don't wander off that road. As for the moving..."

He paused, a simple, honest smile spreading across his face, a hint of admiration for his master's exceptional skills. "My master and I are enough. He has a way to kill and dispose of the wild boar quietly, then carry it over. Don't worry, we'll try our best not to disturb anyone."

Looking at his nephew's calm eyes, and thinking of Zhao Gensheng, the elusive and skilled old hunter, Wei Changsheng felt much more at ease.

He nodded vigorously: "Okay! I trust Master Zhao's skills! I'll keep an eye on things for you under the big tree at the village entrance this afternoon. Chenzi, you guys be very careful, safety first!"

"Yes, don't worry, Uncle," Wei Chen replied.

The three of them whispered to each other to confirm the details of the handover, including the time and place. Xu Damao wished he could sprout wings and fly back to the factory immediately to report the news.

"Well... Brother Wei Chen, I'll hurry back and get the car ready! See you at three o'clock this afternoon!" Xu Damao said, eagerly heading out.

"Brother Xu, wait a minute!" Wei Chen called out to him, turned around and went into his uncle's kitchen. He quickly brought out a heavy coarse cloth bag and handed it to Xu Damao. "I hunted this pheasant. Take it back and have a taste. Thank you for your hard work." Although he knew that Xu Damao was working hard for his future, he still had to do his part in maintaining good relationships.

Xu Damao was taken aback, then his face lit up with a smile, and he thanked him repeatedly: "Oh! Brother Wei Chen, you're too kind! This... this is too much! Okay, I'll take it! I'll definitely bring the car and people on time this afternoon!" He weighed the bag containing the pheasants in his hand, and in his heart, he looked at Wei Chen's "sensible" attitude with even greater admiration.

Watching Xu Damao hurriedly push out his bicycle, pedaling so fast that his buttocks were jolted off the seat, his figure disappearing into the dust raised at the village entrance, Wei Chen also greeted his uncle and went home to tidy up a bit.

He returned to his low, mud-brick house, scooped out about ten pounds of mixed flour from the grain jar, and carefully packed it into a clean cloth bag. His mother, Wang Xiulan, had already heard a brief explanation from her uncle. Although she knew her son was going to take care of important business, her eyes were still filled with worry and reluctance.

"Chenzi, be careful on your way into the mountains. Give my regards to your master." Wang Xiulan straightened her son's collar, her rough hands warm. "Master Zhao sent you into the city because he wants what's best for you. Once you're in the city... be honest and do your job properly. Don't cause trouble, but don't be afraid of trouble either."

"Mother, I know." Wei Chen looked at the wrinkles at the corners of his mother's eyes and the gray hair at her temples, his heart aching slightly, but his tone was unusually firm. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Once I've settled things, I'll take you to the city to enjoy a comfortable life."

"Your mother is doing well in the village, as long as you are safe and sound..." Wang Xiulan didn't say much, but just stuffed the cloth bag containing the mixed flour into Wei Chen's hand, "Go quickly, don't keep your master waiting."

Wei Chen said no more, slung his cloth bag over his shoulder, and strode out the door, heading towards the vast western mountains behind the village. The sunlight cast a long shadow of him, conveying an unwavering determination.

The mountain path was rugged, and the forest grew deeper. Wei Chen walked briskly, the weight of ten pounds of flour feeling like nothing to him. He knew the way well, choosing the less traveled paths, and moved extremely fast. After about four or five miles, he crossed a mountain ridge, and a sunny valley appeared ahead.

Nestled in the mountain valley, several low adobe houses built along the slope come into view. The houses are old, with peeling paint revealing the adobe bricks and rubble inside, but they are still quite sturdy overall. A fairly large fence surrounds the houses with thick logs and brambles.

Most strikingly, the yard fence, under the eaves, and even the wooden frames erected nearby were covered with various processed animal pelts: grayish-brown rabbit skins, colorful pheasant feathers, dark brown badger skins, and even a few spotted deer hides, exuding a primal and intense aroma in the sunlight. A faint scent of saltpeter and wood ash permeated the air.

This is the residence of Wei Chen's mentor, the old hunter Zhao Gensheng.

"Master! I've come to see you!" Wei Chen pushed open the creaking fence gate and called out in a clear voice.

"Creak—" The wooden door of the middle earthen house was pushed open, and a lean figure walked out. It was Zhao Gensheng.

He looked to be in his fifties, with gray hair casually tied back with a wooden hairpin. His face bore the marks of time, but he stood ramrod straight, and his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, without the slightest hint of the cloudiness of old age.

He was wearing a faded, patched, indigo-blue coarse cloth jacket, his trousers tucked into thick mountain socks, and a pair of worn-out leather boots. He was also holding an oil-stained deerskin in his hand, seemingly wiping something.

"You little rascal, your voice is still so loud! It's making my old ears ring!" Zhao Gensheng said with a stern face and a tone of disdain, but a subtle smile flashed in his sharp eyes.

He sized Wei Chen up and down, his gaze sweeping over the cloth bag on his back. "Sending me food again? Didn't I tell you I don't need your meager rations?"

Although he was cold and aloof to others, even somewhat eccentric, he genuinely loved and valued his exceptionally talented, resilient, and filial apprentice. Over the years, Wei Chen's family had faced difficulties, and he often had Wei Chen bring meat home.

Wei Chen grinned as he untied the cloth bag and placed it on the stone millstone in the courtyard: "Master, this is my gift to you! It's made from two kinds of flour, freshly ground; it'll make wonderful steamed buns!"

Zhao Gensheng snorted, said nothing more indignantly, and turned to walk into the house: "Come in, what are you doing standing outside like a doorman?"

Wei Chen quickly followed him inside. The room was small and the furnishings were extremely simple, yet exceptionally clean. A kang (a heated brick bed) occupied half the space, covered with a thick wolfskin rug. Against the wall was a rough wooden table and two equally rough wooden stools.

Hanging on the wall were a hard bow, a quiver, several hunting knives of different designs, and a fox pelt, not yet fully tanned, stretched taut in a wooden frame. In the corner were piles of saltpeter, salt, and some dried herbs. The air was filled with the mingled scents of saltpeter, herbs, and a faint smell of tobacco.

Zhao Gensheng gestured for Wei Chen to sit down, then sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), picked up a copper pipe, and slowly stuffed tobacco into it. Wei Chen didn't stand on ceremony; he poured himself a bowl of cool boiled water and gulped down a few mouthfuls.

"Tell me, you little rascal, what trouble have you gotten yourself into this time that you need this old man to cover for you?" Zhao Gensheng lit his pipe, took a deep drag, exhaled thick white smoke, and squinted at Wei Chen. He knew his disciple too well; he was usually very diligent in training and hunting, but whenever he came carrying provisions, it usually meant something was wrong.

Wei Chen suppressed his smile and said seriously, "Master, it's like this..." He explained in detail how he traded a wild boar for a job at the steel mill and why he needed to use his master's name as a cover.

This includes how he met Xu Damao, how he made contact with Deputy Factory Director Li, the handover at the abandoned outpost at 3 pm, and the need for the master to agree on the same story that he had trapped and kept the wild boar, etc.

Zhao Gensheng listened quietly, puffing on his pipe. In the swirling smoke, the wrinkles on his face looked as deep as if they had been carved by a knife.

Only after Wei Chen finished speaking did he tap the ash from his cigarette on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), his voice hoarse yet carrying an all-knowing understanding: "I know." His tone was flat, as if Wei Chen was merely asking about the weather today.

He raised his eyes, his sharp gaze piercing through the smoke and landing on Wei Chen's face: "If your mother and your uncle ask, I'll say it was me who set this up, and let you try to see if I can change your future."

This wasn't the first time this had happened to him. He had taught Wei Chen martial arts and knew Wei Chen's extraordinary skills; hunting wild boars was child's play for him. But Wei Chen didn't want his family to worry, nor did he want to expose his abnormality, so he always attributed the credit to him, the "old hunter." He understood and was willing to take the blame for this disciple he treated like his own son. But what he didn't know was that his disciple's skills were now developing in a superhuman direction.

"Thank you, Master!" Wei Chen breathed a sigh of relief, a genuine smile appearing on his face.

"Thank me, my foot!" Zhao Gensheng glared at him, but his eyes were warm. "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet, Master."

"Wait!" Zhao Gensheng stood up, his movements still swift and efficient. He walked to a basket covered with an oilcloth in the corner, lifted the oilcloth, and inside was half a carcass of processed, frozen solid venison! He deftly chopped off a large piece of rib, and then took out a few dried mushrooms and some pickled vegetables from an earthenware jar.

Soon, a fire was lit in the simple stove. Hot oil sizzled in the iron pot, and when the deer ribs were added, a rich aroma of meat burst forth, mingling with the unique wild scent of mushrooms, instantly filling the entire hut.