Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

By the end of the morning, all the veteran colleagues in the office genuinely recognized and trusted this new young backbone. Reliable, efficient, eager to learn, humble, highly capable, and with a proven track record of merit—who wouldn't like such a down-to-earth and outstanding young colleague? No one ostracized him, no one made things difficult for him, at least not outwardly. Everyone was willing to proactively help him and cultivate good relationships.

In the afternoon, Jin Aimin came to inspect the post. He saw that Wei Chen had become proficient in all the internal affairs work, and was orderly and calm. He got along well with his colleagues and performed his duties conscientiously and responsibly. Jin Aimin was more and more satisfied and nodded repeatedly, completely relieved.

Meanwhile, Wei Chen reported his fieldwork in advance and quickly completed two urgent procurement tasks in his spare time. He handled them efficiently without delaying important logistical matters, perfectly balancing security and procurement work. The whole process was orderly, relaxed, and reliable.

At the end of the day, everything went smoothly and came to a successful conclusion. Wei Chen firmly established himself in his new position, with a bright future ahead.

Wei Chen became the most unique figure in the steel rolling mill.

Guns were being cleaned in the security department's armory, and meat was labeled on the purchasing department's order form.

The basement of the security office building at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill was perpetually filled with the chilling scent of steel and gun oil. Wei Chen followed Li Zhijun through the heavy iron door and into his new battlefield.

The armory was poorly lit, with only a few low-wattage bulbs hanging from the ceiling, their dim yellow light barely outlining the gun racks.

Rows of gleaming, cold-blue Type 56 semi-automatic rifles, polished to a high shine, leaned neatly against the shelves like silent guards. Beside them stood neatly stacked Type 54 pistols, their black barrels exuding undeniable authority. In the corner, three locked ammunition boxes stood like silent fortresses.

"Kid, did you see that clearly?" Old Li's hoarse voice broke the silence of the warehouse, carrying a metallic sound honed by the smoke of battle. His thin but unusually steady fingers were holding a piece of velvet cloth stained with gun oil, slowly and evenly sliding it along the barrel of a rifle, his movements filled with an almost devout focus.

"A gun is a soldier's lifeline, but also a sword hanging over his head." Old Li didn't turn around; his gaze remained fixed on the cold gun barrel, as if he were talking to an old friend.

"Here, you need sharp eyes, steady hands, and an upright heart! Every gun, every peanut—its entry into the warehouse, its exit, its wear and tear, its maintenance—must be meticulously recorded in this notebook! If there's even the slightest discrepancy, I, Old Li, might recognize you, but I won't recognize this whole warehouse of 'iron lumps'!"

"Although Section Chief Jin and the others have told me that my main task is special operations and procurement, and that I'm just a figurehead here, I should learn this since I'm here, just in case."

Wei Chen stood a step behind him, his back ramrod straight. The heavy smell of gunpowder and the chill of steel in the air didn't bother him; instead, it subtly awakened fragments of memories of the top-tier equipment in his game character's inventory. He took a deep breath, the scent of gunpowder residue and cold, hard metal filling his lungs.

"Understood, Master Li!" Wei Chen's voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear and steady, like a rock falling to the ground. "Don't worry, I've memorized the rules. I won't miss a single detail; I won't hide a single speck of dust from anything that needs to be seen."

Old Li paused almost imperceptibly in his wiping motion, and the corners of his wrinkled eyes seemed to twitch upwards for a moment. He didn't say anything more, but simply placed the cleaned rifle back steadily on its rack, picked up another one from the side, and repeated the same set of actions steeped in the marks of time.

Wei Chen immediately understood, silently walked to the register, picked up another clean velvet cloth and a small box of gun oil, and began to wipe the pistols on the shelf next to him, imitating Old Li's posture.

His fingers were long and strong, and his movements were slightly clumsy at first, but he quickly found the even rhythm that covered every inch of the metal surface, steady and focused. Only the soft rustling of cloth rubbing against steel and the two men's even breathing filled the warehouse.

A few days later, one morning, Wei Chen had just finished registering a servicing Type 54 pistol into the warehouse, locked the warehouse door, and was about to go upstairs for some fresh air when he was stopped by a slightly chubby figure in the corridor on the first floor of the security department.

The man was about fifty years old, wearing faded but clean blue overalls, with a friendly smile on his face honed from years of dealing with people. He was Liu Yuan, the old team leader of the purchasing department.

"Hey, Wei Chen! I've finally found you!" Liu Yuan warmly extended his hand, his face beaming with smiles. "You haven't even gone back to your 'mother's house' since you came to the security department! So many days have passed, and you haven't even gone to visit her!"

"Team Leader Liu, hello." Wei Chen shook hands with him politely, feeling the other's thick and warm palm.

"Forget about team leader, from now on just call me Brother Liu!" Liu Yuan waved his hand, then leaned closer, lowered his voice, and his face showed a mixture of anticipation and anxiety. "Wei Chen, you're our purchasing department's savior! No, you're the whole factory's savior! Those extra pork and eggs you got before the New Year really solved our immediate crisis! Old Zhao from the canteen praised me to everyone he met, saying that with oil in their bellies, the workers are working like crazy!"

He paused, looked around to make sure no one in the corridor was paying attention, and lowered his voice even further, with a hint of pleading and awkwardness: "Comrade Wei Chen, you see... the meat supply is really too tight! It's getting harder and harder to get meat from outside."

The factory's planned quota is barely enough to fill a gap in their teeth. The workers are practically begging for a little bit of meat to keep them motivated! Brother... I'm shameless enough to come here today to ask... could you perhaps broaden your connections a bit more? Any kind of meat is fine! Pork is best, but if that's not possible, chicken, duck, fish, even offal or bones will do! As long as there's a hint of meat in the canteen's pot, and the workers can smell some meat, that's enough! Price and receipts are all negotiable; the factory will definitely not shortchange you!"

Liu Yuan finished speaking in one breath, staring expectantly at Wei Chen, fine beads of sweat even appearing on his forehead. He rubbed his hands, his eyes filled with an almost humble expectation. In these years of extreme scarcity, being able to provide thousands of workers with a little meat occasionally was a huge achievement, and the pressure was immense on his shoulders as the purchasing team leader. Recently, the pressure had increased significantly, especially after Wei Chen was transferred; it hadn't been so noticeable when Wei Chen was around.

Seeing the heavy anticipation in Liu Yuan's eyes, Wei Chen understood. The inexhaustible resources of meat in the game world had become a powerful trump card in his hand. He remained expressionless, pondering for a moment as if seriously considering the difficulty, before solemnly nodding:

"Team Leader Liu, don't worry. It's all for the factory, for the workers' stomachs. I, Wei Chen, will do whatever I can to help." He spoke sincerely.

"Well, I do have some connections. I have many relatives and friends in the countryside, so I've pieced things together. But as you know, these days, getting anything isn't easy. It takes time and effort, and you have to rely on luck. So, I'll try my best to find a way to get something. I can't guarantee anything, but I'll definitely do my best!"

"Oh! That's great! That's great!" Liu Yuan was so excited when he heard Wei Chen agree that he almost jumped up. He grabbed Wei Chen's arm tightly and shook it vigorously. "Comrade Wei Chen! Thank you so much! You've done the purchasing department and all the workers in the factory a huge favor! Whatever procedures or certificates you need, just ask! I, Old Liu, will personally run the errands for you! As for transportation? We have handcarts and tricycles in the department, use them as you like! If you need a vehicle, it's the same old rule, just give me a call and I'll apply for it."

He was so excited he was almost incoherent, the worry on his face instantly vanishing as if he could see chunks of meat bubbling in the canteen pot and the workers' satisfied smiles. This gratitude was genuine and came from the bottom of his heart.

"Okay, Team Leader Liu, I'll make some preparations and go out to check it out this afternoon," Wei Chen replied with a smile, already having a plan in mind. Going out to "procure" supplies was an essential step for him to rationalize the resources in the game world.

After lunch, Wei Chen greeted Old Li and briefly reported to Jin Aimin about his task of "purchasing unplanned materials for the factory".

Jin Aimin was racking his brains over a clue in a workshop theft case when he heard this. He just waved his hand and said, "Go ahead, be careful and come back soon! Thousands of mouths in the factory are waiting for the meat that Wei Da buys!" His tone was teasing, but it also revealed his trust.

Wei Chen pushed a slightly worn-out cart out of the purchasing department. The creaking wheels rolled over the cinder road in the factory area and merged into the slightly lazy streets and alleys of Beijing in the afternoon.

After wandering around outside for half a day, seeing that it was getting late, he navigated the area with practiced ease, turning and twisting his way through the maze of ruins before finally parking his cart in a secluded corner behind an abandoned factory, piled high with construction debris and overgrown weeds. Far from the main road, this place was rarely visited, with only a few stray cats darting warily among the crumbling walls.

After confirming that no one was around, Wei Chen's mind stirred slightly. The next moment, as if by magic, a heavy load of goods appeared out of thin air on the cart: two thick, freshly cut pork hindquarters covered in glistening white fat; a large basket of plump potatoes speckled with mud; and a sack of golden cornmeal, exuding the scent of sunshine. The weight was so heavy that the cart's axle almost groaned.

Wei Chen patted the dust off his hands with satisfaction, and then deliberately rubbed some dust on the edge of the cart and his clothes to create the illusion that he was returning home dusty and laden with goods.

He took a deep breath, pulled the heavy cart, turned around, and headed steadily towards the steel mill on his way home. The golden rays of the setting sun began to embellish the city's outline with a fuzzy gold edge, and the faint smell of cooking smoke drifted in the air.