Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Wei Chen is a formal employee of the Third Purchasing Department of the steel rolling mill. In the eyes of the people in the compound, he has real authority to purchase materials. He spends most of his time running around to find unplanned material channels. He has a wide network of connections and is resourceful. He never lacks grain, oil, or any kind of scarce non-staple food.

Wei Chen himself was not afraid at all. He had his own game world to back him up. His warehouse was stockpiled with fine white flour, plump rice, whole bags of cornmeal, and barrels of grain and oil, which were more than enough to eat and use. The food supplies that ordinary people could not obtain were just spare items that he could take out at will.

Everyone in the courtyard knew perfectly well that in this day and age, with resources becoming increasingly scarce, whoever could get on Wei Chen's good side would have an extra mouthful of food and a little more oil to eat, and would be able to get through this difficult and barren spring in peace.

Ever since Yi Zhonghai led the moral blackmail campaign before the Lunar New Year and was confronted by Wei Chen on the spot, losing face, the entire hospital has thoroughly figured out Wei Chen's temperament and character.

This young man appears calm and composed, but in reality, he is very principled and principled. He is the type who responds best to gentleness but not to force, and he dislikes moral blackmail and scheming to take advantage of others. He clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment, and he is very clear about human relationships. He never offends anyone without cause, and he will never tolerate ungrateful people.

Wei Chen had already made up his mind. In this courtyard where all sorts of people lived together, there was no need to befriend everyone or be at odds with everyone. The best way to live was to win over some people, stabilize others, and fight against others. He kept clear boundaries between people of different backgrounds and those he didn't, which saved him a lot of trouble and effort and allowed him to live a peaceful life.

He always had his own scale in dealing with people and things, remaining impartial and clear about gratitude and resentment.

Like Grandma Li and Little Stone in the backyard, Grandma Li is clumsy and can't do heavy work. She relies on a meager amount of relief food every month to make ends meet, and her life is really difficult.

Grandma Li was kind-hearted and honest her whole life. She never got involved in gossip in the yard or talked behind people's backs. Whenever she saw Wei Chen's mother, Wang Xiulan, hanging out laundry or looking after the yard, she would always lend a hand. She was kind and generous to everyone.

On windy and snowy days, Grandma Li would quietly help guard the gate of the east courtyard, preventing the naughty children in the yard from playing around and bumping into things around the gate. She was honest and kind in everything she did.

Wei Chen saw it all and kept it in mind. Such an elderly person who was truly in need, knew how to be grateful, and was law-abiding deserved a helping hand.

So every ten days or so, Wei Chen would quietly set aside a small bag of cornmeal and a piece of dried bacon from his own surplus supplies and deliver them to Grandma Li. He never made a fuss, never sought anything in return, and simply helped his neighbor, doing good deeds and accumulating merit.

The grateful little stone would often run to Wei Chen's house to do whatever he could, and escort Wei Ran to and from school. This was something Wei Chen could see, since no one wanted to help an ungrateful person.

There's also Aunt Liu's family in the Intermediate People's Court. For neighbors who are truly in need, know their limits, and are grateful, Wei Chen is always willing to lend a helping hand and do what he can. He neither wrongs himself nor neglects good people, and the neighbors get along peacefully and comfortably.

As for the third uncle, Yan Bugui, that's a completely different story in terms of how they get along.

The third uncle, Yan Bugui, was a man who loved to calculate and take advantage of others his whole life. He was more shrewd than anyone else when it came to money, and he would split every penny in half. He was stingy and always wanted to calculate everything clearly, never willing to suffer any loss. Everyone in the courtyard knew his character.

But Yan Bugui has one major advantage, which is also the key to Wei Chen's willingness to maintain a superficial harmony with him—he loves money and is calculating, but he is extremely concerned about his reputation, his calculations are measured, he will never break off relations, and he will never be an ingrate or engage in underhanded schemes.

He was clear about the priorities and knew that Wei Chen was now highly capable, powerful, and not to be trifled with. He had ample resources and wide connections, so he dared not offend him easily. Even if he wanted to take advantage of someone, he would only do so indirectly. He wouldn't dare to openly use moral blackmail like Yi Zhonghai, let alone resort to tantrums, shamelessness, and malicious slander like Jia Zhangshi.

With food becoming increasingly scarce, teachers at school were also facing a shortage of rations, and families with many children were struggling to keep up with their own food supplies. Yan Bugui was extremely anxious. After much thought, he made up his mind that he had to rely on Wei Chen and cultivate good neighborly relations. If he could maintain a good relationship with Wei Chen, he wouldn't have to worry about getting scarce food rations and food coupons in the future, and his family's life would be much easier.

The astute Yan Bugui immediately put aside his usual petty scheming and stinginess. Whenever he encountered Wei Chen, he would greet him with a smile, be polite and courteous.

At school, he paid extra attention to Wei Ran, giving her patient guidance in class and gentle reminders after class, afraid that he might offend Wei Chen and cut off his own benefits if he didn't take good care of her.

Wei Chen saw all these subtle gestures of goodwill and knew exactly what they meant.

Wei Chen had always looked down on the mountain of coarse cornmeal that his family had piled up. His family ate refined rice and flour, fresh meat and game every day. These coarse grains were just taking up space in the warehouse and they didn't like to eat them. Keeping them was just a waste.

Since the Third Uncle is sensible and knows how to avoid trouble, and even takes the initiative to look after his younger sister Wei Ran, Wei Chen doesn't mind doing a favor and helping her achieve her goal.

Every now and then, he would casually spare half a bag or a bag of surplus cornmeal, or a few grain coupons, and exchange them privately with Yan Bugui for the same price. This way, he wouldn't take advantage of anyone or lose face, and it was convenient and respectable for both of them.

Yan Bugui was overjoyed to receive the much-needed food rations and took even better care of Wei Ran. The neighbors maintained a peaceful and harmonious relationship, neither too close nor too distant, and it was a win-win situation.

However, Yi Zhonghai, the eldest uncle, and the Jia family were completely blacklisted by Wei Chen. He would never associate with them again.

Yi Zhonghai is hypocritical, selfish, and scheming. He only wants to control the power in the compound. Under the guise of neighborly harmony, he does selfish and self-serving things. Before the New Year, he openly led the moral blackmail, trying to get the wild game that Wei Chen worked hard to get for free. He is shameless, wicked, and has ulterior motives.

Jia Zhangshi is even more of a scoundrel, lazy, mean-spirited, and only interested in taking advantage of others. She is ungrateful and only knows how to be envious and slanderous. She is a complete ingrate. Qin Huairu is narrow-minded and only wants to leech off the well-off families in the courtyard to make money for her own family. She is shrewd in her calculations but cold-hearted and selfish.

This group of people are all greedy, ungrateful, and scheming individuals who only know how to cheat and swindle others. They live off others without working and can't stand seeing others doing well. They try to use moral blackmail, take advantage of others, and leech off others whenever they have the chance.

Wei Chen knew exactly what was going on. He never gave this group a kind look, never spoke to them, never interacted with them, never helped them, and treated them with cold indifference, keeping his distance without showing them any mercy. Let them be envious and jealous behind his back, gossip and spread rumors, Wei Chen didn't care at all. He lived his life peacefully, avoiding entanglements with bad people, trouble, and unnecessary effort.

Wei Chen handled the intricacies of human relationships within the courtyard house perfectly, demonstrating a keen sense of propriety. He lived a peaceful and stable life, undisturbed by the trivial matters of his neighbors.

Even though life was peaceful, Wei Chen never relaxed his cultivation. Every night, after his family had fallen asleep, he would return to the game world to kill monsters and level up. He would also close his door to meditate and devote himself to cultivating the "Nine Heavens Sun Shooting Technique". He never slacked off and made progress every day.

With daily, dedicated practice, coupled with the subtle nourishment of his physical body and the tempering of his soul by the spiritual energy of the game world, Wei Chen's physique grew increasingly powerful. His strength far surpassed that of ordinary people, and his agility and sharpness far exceeded that of all the security guards and young and middle-aged employees in the factory. More importantly, his mental strength, under continuous tempering and refinement, surged rapidly, becoming increasingly refined and powerful, and his perception abilities increased exponentially.

When he first started cultivating, his mental energy detection range was only a few dozen meters, which could only sense nearby movements and abnormalities in the surroundings. But now, after many days of hard work, his cultivation technique has broken through layer by layer, and his mental energy is as vast as the sea, condensed and transparent, spreading around him all day long, unaffected by walls, debris, or the darkness of night. His effective detection range has steadily reached 120 meters.

Within a radius of 120 meters, every rustle of wind, the weight of footsteps, the rhythm of breathing, the whispers of voices, and any unusual behavior is clearly perceived, down to the smallest detail. He can instantly discern and pinpoint who harbors ulterior motives, who acts suspiciously, and who behaves abnormally with a mere sweep of his mental energy, without any deviation.

This unique and powerful perception ability can protect one's own safety in ordinary times, preventing the schemes of neighbors and unexpected risks in the factory area; in special times, it can detect hidden dangers, detect abnormalities, and safeguard the safety of the factory area, proving extremely useful in critical moments.

That morning, the sky was slightly overcast, and the spring breeze carried a chill, causing the factory flags to flutter in the wind. The entire production line of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill was running at full speed, with blast furnaces glowing red, machines roaring, vehicles coming and going, and people shuttling back and forth, creating a bustling production atmosphere.

Following the department's work arrangements, Wei Chen, armed with a formal procurement voucher, went out alone to carry out a special off-plan procurement task. This task was not complicated; it only required liaising with a hardware supply transfer station on the outskirts of the city, verifying a batch of urgently needed special fasteners and mechanical seal consumables for the factory, counting the quantities, obtaining receipts, and ensuring the normal operation of the workshop production line.

Alone, dressed in neat work clothes, with his work permit and travel permit clipped to his waist, he walked briskly along the secluded section of the outer wall of the steel rolling mill, taking a shortcut to the material transfer station.

This area surrounding the factory is rarely visited. It is remote and far from the main road. On one side is a high brick wall surrounding the factory, inside which are densely packed production workshops, material warehouses, and power rooms, all of which are the core and critical production areas of the steel rolling mill. On the other side are messy weed slopes, abandoned old warehouses, and piles of scrap steel and waste materials. Apart from the occasional security guards on patrol, almost no employees approach it. It is deserted and remote, with few people around.

Under normal circumstances, in such a remote and desolate area, apart from the howling cold wind and swaying weeds, no one would stay, and no idlers would approach the key perimeter wall of the factory area.