Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Jia Dongxu opened his mouth, but seeing his master's unwavering and composed expression, he knew that saying anything more would be futile. He was both annoyed by Sha Zhu's meddling and resentful of his master's cold-heartedness. He could only force a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Oh...oh, is that so...then...master, you and Auntie and the old lady have a good New Year. I'll...I'll come to see you again after the New Year." He lowered his head dejectedly, looking at the meager piece of meat in his hand, which felt even lighter, and felt a tightness in his chest.

Sha Zhu shrugged indifferently, got back on his bicycle, and said, "Alright! You go ahead with your business. I'll just have to take care of my own mouth! I'm off!" With that, he sped off.

Yan Bugui stood awkwardly at his own doorstep, unsure whether to stand or sit. Even the faintest aroma of meat wafting from each house in the courtyard tugged at his heart like tiny hooks.

He watched enviously as Yi Zhonghai carried the thick piece of meat into the house, then watched his second uncle Liu Haizhong hang the meat up, and finally his gaze fell on Jia Zhangshi's smug back. His heart felt like it was being scratched by a cat.

Finally, he saw Yi Zhonghai, Jia Dongxu, and Sha Zhu return, and he quickly put on a smile and went up to them: "Hey, Lao Yi, you're off work? Wow! The benefits at this steel mill are really good! Look at this meat, such good fat!" His eyes seemed glued to the oil paper package in Yi Zhonghai's hand.

Yi Zhonghai nodded politely: "It's alright, the factory has been quite benevolent this year."

"Yes, yes!" Yan Bugui echoed, then changed the subject urgently, asking, "Old Yi, did you see Wei Chen on your way back?"

Yi Zhonghai shook his head: "I didn't notice. Our workshop finished work a little early, so I guess the logistics team isn't done yet. Wei Chen should be here soon too."

"Oh...oh, not back yet..." Yan Bugui couldn't hide his disappointment. He stood on tiptoe, craned his neck, and looked towards the gate again. Dusk was falling, and the alley was sparsely populated.

"Third Uncle, what are you waiting for Wei Chen for, all this time? You're not thinking of using your 'Fu' character to exchange for something, are you?" Sha Zhu teased.

"Cough! No...nothing!" Yan Bugui, as if his tail had been stepped on, quickly waved his hands to cover up, "It's just...I just wanted him to write a few 'Fu' characters! Yes, 'Fu' characters! It's the New Year, you know, just for good luck!"

He smiled sheepishly, but inside he was like a cat on a hot tin roof: Wei Chen, Wei Chen, please come back soon! I've already prepared the red paper! I'm just waiting for your piece of meat!

The courtyard was much livelier than usual, with adults who had left work early and children on winter vacation all gathered there. In addition to the usual smells of coal smoke and cooking, there was a new, restless aroma in the air today—the fishy smell of raw pork mixed with the fragrance of oil, wafting out from the half-open doors of each house.

However, the atmosphere in the courtyard was tense at this moment. Madam Jia's signature, slightly shrill voice, raised in pitch, echoed through the courtyard:

"...Oh! Granny Li, what are you saying! Are you jealous? My Dongxu works at a steel mill, a legitimate state worker! The factory gives him meat because the leaders think highly of him, because Dongxu is capable! Your family makes paper boxes on the street? How can that be compared? You're just temporary workers! Meat? More like the northwest wind! You can only watch and smell it!"

Aunt Li, furious at being rebuked, turned pale and pointed at Jia Zhangshi: "Jia Zhangshi! You...you stop showing off! It's just a pound of meat! Look how smug you are! Who doesn't have some New Year's treats?"

"Chew grain? Your meager radishes and cabbages? You call that chewing grain?" Jia Zhangshi stood with her hands on her hips, chin held high, spitting almost onto the other person's face. "Ours is real, solid fat! Issued by the steel mill! Don't you understand? Legitimate worker benefits! You people without connections can only be envious!"

Several women were gathered around, some looking at Jia Zhangshi with envy, while others, like Aunt Li, had expressions of resentment and indignation on their faces.

Those whose family members work at the steel rolling mill, such as the second aunt of Uncle Liu Haizhong's family, wear a proud and reserved smile on their faces, carrying their own oil paper package in their hands.

Those whose families don't work in large factories, like Sun's wife who makes a living by doing odd jobs in the front yard, could only shrink at the back of the crowd, staring at the oil paper packages with complicated eyes, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes, her heart filled with indescribable bitterness.

Just then, Jia Zhangshi, with her sharp eyes, spotted Jia Dongxu entering the courtyard and the oil paper package he was carrying! She jumped up like a shot of adrenaline, her voice rising an octave, filled with an exaggerated sense of triumph: "Oh my! My son's back! Dongxu! Come quick! Come here! Let everyone see! See the good meat our steel mill is giving out!"

She rushed over in a few strides, snatched the oil paper package from the still somewhat dazed Jia Dongxu, held it high above her head like a trophy, and spun it around halfway around the yard. The oil paper package dangled in her hand, attracting everyone's attention.

"Look! Open your eyes wide and take a look!" Jia Zhangshi's voice was full of pride and boasting. "This fat! So thick! This weight! It's exactly what it should be like for the New Year! Some people, just keep being jealous! Staring your eyes out won't do you any good! You can only look and smell it!"

She emphasized the words "only able to look and smell" very heavily, and her provocative gaze swept over Aunt Li and the other women whose homes had no meat.

Aunt Li was trembling with anger, her lips quivering, but she couldn't utter a word in rebuttal. The other women, who were also thin, felt their faces burning, as if they had been slapped in public.

They glared hatefully at Jia Zhangshi, then greedily and resentfully took one last look at the piece of flesh that had been raised high, muttering curses under their breath as they turned and walked heavily home. Their backs were filled with despair.

Watching their dejected figures, Jia Zhangshi gave a smug snort, then contentedly lowered her arm, clutching the piece of meat tightly to her chest as if it were a precious treasure. With her other hand, she tugged at the still-dazed Jia Dongxu, saying, "Come on! Son! Let's go home! Mom will stew some meat for you!"

She swaggered through the crowd with her plump waist, heading towards her house, leaving behind a complex silence in the yard and the lingering smell of raw meat in the air.

The brief disturbance caused by Jia Zhangshi was quickly overshadowed by the stronger festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year. Every household closed their doors and began to carefully plan their New Year's Eve dinner and year-end preparations, all centered around this hard-won pound of meat.

The entire courtyard is like a huge, sophisticated machine composed of countless small units, running at high speed around the core of "New Year", playing a symphony full of life and warmth at the end of the year.

When Yi Zhonghai returned to the house, an older woman was sitting on the edge of the bed mending something, her face somewhat pale.

Yi Zhonghai placed the meat on the table and said gently, "This is meat issued by the factory. Keep it safe. I'll see how to make some tender meat to send to the old lady tonight."

The older woman looked at the thick piece of meat and smiled with satisfaction: "Good, good. The old lady loves a piece of tender, well-cooked meat. Don't overwork yourself."

Yi Zhonghai nodded, thinking to himself that he would have to make a good batch of dumplings for the New Year this year. He walked to the cabinet, unlocked it, and inside, besides some fine grains, there was a small bag of white sugar and two bags of pastries, which were his extra "perks" as an eighth-grade worker.

He carefully took out some sugar and a packet of pastries, intending to give them to the old lady. For him, the year represented responsibility, dignity, and a heavy burden; he needed to maintain this image.

In the backyard of the Liu family's house, Uncle Liu Haizhong, with his hands behind his back and a slightly overweight belly, paced back and forth in the house, watching Aunt Liu happily hang a rather heavy piece of meat under the rafters in a well-ventilated spot.

He cleared his throat and began his "important speech": "Well, this year's factory benefits reflect the organization's care for us working class! This meat is good stuff! We need to plan how we eat it! On New Year's Eve, cut half of it and make braised pork to show off our family's standard of living! Render some oil from the other half, and save the cracklings to make dumplings! A little saving is good, understand?"

While agreeing, the second aunt was thinking to herself: the old man loves to eat fatty meat, so this braised pork should have more fat. Her eldest son, Guangqi, will be coming back for the New Year, and there are also her two half-grown sons, Guangye and Guangfu, who are at the age where they can eat a lot. As for herself... she'll be lucky to get some pork cracklings to mix with rice.

In the front yard of the Yan family's house, the third aunt was carefully dividing the pitiful amount of peanuts and melon seeds that Yan Bugui had earned in exchange for writing couplets into several small piles.

Yan Bugui sat at his precious square table, but his eyes were not on the book at all. Instead, he would anxiously look towards the courtyard gate through the window every now and then.

He hadn't turned a single page of the book in his hand for ages. On the table, he had prepared several neatly cut square sheets of red paper, intending to write the character "福" (fortune/blessing) for Wei Chen. But the person he was waiting for was nowhere to be seen!

"Why isn't Wei Chen back yet?" Yan Bugui muttered to himself, his fingers tapping the table unconsciously. "This meat... please don't..." His mind was filled with that piece of meat. A pound of meat!

If he could get even half a pound, that would be perfect! Paired with some cabbage and radish, it would make dumplings, and the New Year would be so delicious! The more he thought about it, the more restless he became. He simply stood up, put his hands behind his back, and walked around the room twice. In the end, he couldn't resist and pushed open the door and went out.

The atmosphere inside the Jia family compound was a bit strange. Madam Jia Zhang placed the piece of meat on the cutting board like a precious treasure, examining it from all angles, clicking her tongue in amazement: "Hmm, not bad, not too thin. Dongxu, the factory didn't skimp on your pay, did they?"

Jia Dongxu sat sullenly on the stool: "Mom, they're all the same weight, what's there to cut?" He was still thinking about the failed invitation to Yi Zhonghai, feeling that he had lost face and missed an opportunity to take advantage of him.

Qin Huairu, heavily pregnant, carefully picked vegetables to the side, her head bowed and not daring to interrupt. She knew her mother-in-law had offended someone by showing off outside, and she also knew her husband was unhappy that he hadn't been able to invite the old man. She only hoped that the meat would turn into the New Year's Eve dinner peacefully, without causing any more trouble.

After looking at the meat for a while, Madam Jia Zhang ordered, "Huai Ru, hang this meat outside the window to freeze! It'll attract mice if you leave it inside! Dong Xu, go chop some more firewood; stewing the meat tonight will use a lot of firewood!"