Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Li Huaide straightened up, picked up his teacup, gently blew away the foam, took a sip, and asked casually, "By the way, Xiao Wei, you're from the countryside, right? Now that you've moved to the city, have you found a place to stay?"

Wei Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he timely feigned embarrassment and bewilderment: "Reporting to Director Li, I'm from Baoyuquan Village. I just arrived in town... and haven't had time to find a place to stay yet..."

"Hey! How can that be!" Li Huaide put down his teacup, his voice suddenly rising a few decibels, carrying the unique concern and unquestionable authority of a leader. "You're a formal employee of our steel rolling mill now! We have to solve your accommodation problem, or else outsiders will laugh at us for not caring about the lives of our employees." He opened a drawer, took out a piece of stationery with a red header and a fountain pen, wrote a few lines in a flamboyant style, and then stamped it with a bright red seal.

"Here you go!" Li Huaide pushed the approval slip in front of Wei Chen. "After you finish the formalities, go directly to Section Chief Zheng in the Logistics and Housing Management Section. Just say that I approved it and ask him to solve your housing problem. Although housing is difficult for our factory's employees, comrades like you who have made special contributions must be given priority!" His words were resolute, full of "cherishing talent" and "care".

Wei Chen took the approval slip, which still smelled of ink. He looked at this light piece of paper, which represented the foundation of his foothold in this city—a place to shelter from the wind and rain.

A huge weight was lifted from his heart, and genuine excitement and gratitude welled up on his face. He stood up and bowed deeply to Li Huaide: "Thank you, Director Li! Thank you so much! I will definitely work hard to repay the factory and you for your guidance!"

"Sit down, sit down!" Li Huaide gestured with satisfaction, indicating that Wei Chen should sit down. He picked up another document on the table, which was Wei Chen's job application form, and began to fill in the key information. "Your situation, well, I've already spoken with the personnel department and the purchasing department. Considering your strengths, I'll arrange for you to join the purchasing department, purchasing group three, as a purchasing agent. This will maximize your advantages." He wrote "purchasing agent (purchasing group three)" in the "position" column.

"Purchase three sets?" Wei Chen asked, feigning a hint of doubt.

"Oh, our purchasing department is divided into several groups. Group three is mainly responsible for purchasing 'unplanned supplies'," Li Huaide explained. "For example, this batch of wild boar meat today, as well as chicken, duck, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, and even some scarce industrial spare parts—sometimes we purchasing staff have to use our unique skills to get them! This is a place that really toughens you up, and the responsibility is heavy!"

"Understood! I will definitely learn from the team leader!" Wei Chen immediately replied.

"Hmm." Li Huaide nodded, wrote "Level 9 Clerk" in the "Level" column, and "Monthly Salary 30 Yuan" in the "Salary" column.

Then he said, "Our purchasing staff follows the administrative route. You've made a huge contribution to our factory since you joined, so we'll make an exception and classify you as a 'Level 9 Clerk,' equivalent to administrative level 27, with a monthly salary of 30 yuan."

"Thank you, Director Li!" Wei Chen stood up and bowed at the right moment. He believed that the deer had definitely played a key role in setting this level.

"Sit down, sit down..." Li Huaide put down his pen, looked at Wei Chen, and gave him a "thinking of you" smile: "Little Wei, those two wild boars you have are of good quality and have plenty of weight. If you get this job, the factory will make a profit. However, we can't let you suffer too much loss, after all, you and your master took the risks to get them."

He picked up the notepad on the table, scribbled a few more lines, tore it off, and handed it to Wei Chen. "Here's the deal: those five small ones, consider them as personal purchases from the factory! Go by market price! This is the purchase order, take it. Go to the personnel department to complete the onboarding procedures first, then take this order to the logistics warehouse to have Director Zhang sign off on the actual weight, and finally go to the finance department to collect your payment with this order!" His last sentence carried a hint of experienced advice, and also subtly revealed his "care" for Wei Chen.

Wei Chen took the purchase order, which read, "We hereby purchase five wild boar meats (approximately 566 jin) provided by Comrade Wei Chen, at a market price of 0.6 yuan/jin, equivalent to RMB 339.6. Approved by: Li Huaide."

More than three hundred yuan! In an era when the average worker's monthly salary was only twenty or thirty yuan, this was an absolute fortune! It was equivalent to his salary for a year and a half! This was not only Li Huaide fulfilling his promise of "not letting you suffer a loss," but also a disguised way of winning him over and rewarding him.

"Thank you, Director Li! You've been so thoughtful!" Wei Chen thanked him again, his gratitude now even more sincere. He knew that this money was perfectly legitimate; it was Li Huaide's "first pot of gold" for him, and also the crucial start-up capital for him to settle down and make a living in Beijing.

Seeing the undisguised excitement and gratitude in Wei Chen's eyes, Li Huaide felt even more certain. He leaned back slightly in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the polished desk, as if he were considering something. The atmosphere in the office became somewhat subtle; a tacit understanding had seeped into the otherwise businesslike atmosphere.

"Good!" Li Huaide leaned back in his chair with satisfaction, looking at Wei Chen with eyes that now truly considered him "one of our own." "Go on, take care of your onboarding and paycheck collection first. Arrange the housing too, and work hard from now on! I won't let you down if you follow me!"

"Yes! Thank you, Director Li! I'll be going now!" Wei Chen stood up again and respectfully took his leave.

Holding his job application form, Li Huaide's approval slip, and purchase order, Wei Chen walked out of that office filled with an aura of power.

The corridor was much quieter. He took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart. The first step had gone even more smoothly than expected. A job, a house, some start-up capital, even getting in touch with Li Huaide, and the foreshadowing of the "deer" had been laid. He knew this was just the beginning.

The personnel department was on the first floor. Just as Li Huaide had said, they had already made arrangements. A male clerk in his thirties with black-rimmed glasses and a stern expression took Wei Chen's application form, routinely checked the name, age, and place of origin, and upon seeing Li Huaide's flamboyant signature and bright red seal, he didn't say a word more, quickly filled out the file card, stamped it, and issued the employment notice.

The entire process took less than ten minutes, an astonishingly efficient pace. Only when handing Wei Chen his work permit and ration book did the officer briefly raise an eyelid and say in a formulaic manner, "Comrade Wei Chen, welcome to the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill."

"Thank you, Officer Wang." Wei Chen glanced at him and thanked him politely.

Holding his brand-new work ID, still smelling of fresh ink, Wei Chen felt a strange sense of security. From now on, he, Wei Chen, was an organized person, a person with a work unit, and a government job! In the 1950s and 60s, this was a change of status that countless rural youths dreamed of.

The office of Purchasing Department, Group Three. The door was open, and Jiang Dashan's hearty laughter and Liu Yuan's steady voice could be heard from inside. Wei Chen walked to the door and gently knocked on the open door.

"Report! Section Chief Jiang, Team Leader Liu, the Personnel Department has notified me to report to the Purchasing Department!"

The laughter and conversation inside the room abruptly stopped. Jiang Dashan and Liu Yuan, who were standing by the window talking, turned around at the sound.

Upon seeing Wei Chen, Jiang Dashan's face immediately broke into a smile, and he rushed over to greet him: "Hey! Speak of the devil! Wei Chen, are the formalities finished? Great! You've come at the perfect time!"

He warmly put his arm around Wei Chen's shoulder and led him to the center of the office, then loudly announced to the three people sitting inside: "Come on, everyone, put down what you're doing! Let me introduce you all! This is our great hero who has made outstanding contributions to our factory today—Comrade Wei Chen! From today onwards, he's part of our purchasing department. Team Leader Liu, don't say I'm not taking care of you; such an outstanding talent deserves a special welcome from your team three! Everyone, give him a warm welcome!"

Besides Liu Yuan, the group leader of Group Three, there were three other people in the office. Sitting by the window was a man in his forties with thinning hair, drinking tea from a large tea mug. He had a somewhat worried look on his face and had the air of an old bureaucrat.

Opposite him was a young man in his early twenties, wearing blue overalls, who looked somewhat reserved. In the corner was a man in his mid-thirties, stocky and hunched over, engrossed in reading a newspaper.

Upon hearing Jiang Dashan's introduction, all three of them looked up, their gazes fixed on Wei Chen with curiosity, scrutiny, and a hint of barely perceptible examination.

Sparse applause broke out, neither enthusiastic nor indifferent.

"Alright, Team Leader Liu, please give Wei Chen a proper introduction to the work of your third group, and find someone to mentor him. I'll be leaving now." Jiang Dashan said and walked away in a hurry.

After seeing Jiang Dashan off, Liu Yuan took Wei Chen back to the office of Group Three.

"Wei Chen, welcome, welcome!" The sturdy man who had been reading the newspaper put it down and smiled. "Welcome, new comrade!" The man with the worried face also put down his teacup and forced a smile. "Welcome!" The young man seemed a little shy.

Liu Yuan pointed at them and introduced them to Wei Chen one by one: "This is Lao Zhao, Zhao Dashan, hey... he shares the same name as our section chief. He's our section's veteran purchasing agent, very experienced!" Zhao Dashan nodded in acknowledgment.

"This is Liu Guoqing. He joined the factory six months earlier than you and is also in our group three." The young man smiled shyly.

"This is Lao Hu, Hu Songnian!" The sturdy man nodded with a smile.

Liu Yuan finally looked at Hu Songnian, his tone carrying a hint of entrustment: "Old Hu, Wei Chen will be assigned to our Group 3 from now on. You'll have to mentor him a lot! He's a gem we found in our department! A top-notch hunter! He's the one who brought those seven wild boars today! You'd better take good care of him and get him familiar with the job as soon as possible! I think our group's meat purchasing quota will be secured!" He said this half-jokingly and half-seriously, his words revealing his high regard for Wei Chen's abilities and his "guidance" for Hu Songnian.