Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Wei Changsheng stood on the steps, surveying the dense crowd. He cleared his throat, his voice booming with undeniable authority: "Quiet down! Listen to me!"

The noisy crowd fell silent instantly, and countless eyes focused on him.

"These two wild boars are from Wei Chen! Wei Chen from our village! He risked his life to snatch them from the jaws of death!" Wei Changsheng pointed forcefully at Wei Chen standing beside him, his voice filled with pride. "This is life-saving meat for our Baoyuquan Village, a timely gift in the snow!"

A thunderous applause and cheers erupted, filled with gratitude. Wei Chen bowed slightly, his face humble, but his gaze calm.

"Chenzi said," Wei Changsheng raised his hand to suppress his voice, and continued, "On one hand, he wants to take them back to the city; they are the lifeline for hundreds of disaster victims at the street office's relief station! On the other hand..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, his voice heavy, "Chenzi said to leave it to our village! Wei Chen remembers the kindness the village has shown him, remembers the good deeds the villagers have done for his family! Our Baoyuquan Village must remember this kindness!"

"Good!" "I'll remember!" "Wei Chen is righteous!" The crowd erupted in an even more enthusiastic response.

"So, how this pig is divided is up to me!" Wei Changsheng declared decisively. "Zhu Zi! Go and fetch Butcher Zhang! Cut it open and clean it thoroughly!"

Butcher Zhang, the only one in the village who knew how to slaughter pigs, was already waiting by the side with his gleaming pig-slaughtering knife. Upon hearing the call, he immediately stepped forward, and several strong young men also quickly helped to lift a wild boar onto the sturdy door panel that had been temporarily erected.

Wei Changsheng began to give instructions methodically: "Fengzi's mother, third son's wife, go to the stove and boil several large pots of water, piping hot! Zhuzi's wife, you quick-witted aunties, help with scraping the fur and cleaning the offal later! Men, get all the utensils ready, we'll be dividing the meat later!"

The entire Wei family courtyard instantly transformed into a bustling, well-organized slaughterhouse. Boiling water was poured over the pigs, and the scraping knives made a "swish, swish" sound as they cut. Butcher Zhang skillfully gutted the pigs, removing the steaming entrails. The rich stench of blood and the distinctive odor of the offal filled the air, yet strangely, it filled every villager with immense excitement and peace of mind—this was the real smell of meat! It was the hope of life!

Wei Changsheng pulled Wei Chen aside, away from the busy crowd. His wrinkled face showed relief, emotion, and a heavy sense of entrustment.

He patted his nephew's shoulder forcefully, his voice low and solemn: "Chenzi, your uncle... on behalf of the whole village, thank you! This kindness is profound! Dividing this pig properly will keep everyone calm and allow us to hold on for a while longer. You... have grown up! You're even more thoughtful than your father was back then!" In his eyes, there was remembrance for his deceased brother, but even more so, admiration for the composed and responsible nephew before him.

Wei Chen shook his head: "Uncle, please don't say that. I'm a member of the Wei family, my roots are here. The village has helped us a lot in the past. This meat should belong to everyone."

Wei Changsheng nodded with satisfaction and said no more. He turned and walked towards the busy chopping board. By this time, the first pig was almost ready, with its white fat and red and white lean meat spread out on the chopping board, gleaming with an enticing sheen.

"Third Uncle!" Wei Chen called over his third uncle. His eldest uncle was the village chief and had to be fair, so he couldn't say anything. Wei Chen stepped forward and said, "Your family and my eldest uncle's family, each get ten catties of good meat! Ribs and the tip of the rump!"

"Big brother!" he called to his cousin Wei Feng, "You're quick on your feet, take these five pounds of the best hind leg meat to our eldest sister's house! She's having a hard time with her husband's family!" He pointed to the fattest piece of meat on the cutting board. His eldest sister had married into the next village, not far away. Wei Feng could get there in no time.

"Hey! Chenzi! I'm coming right now!" Wei Feng responded loudly, his face beaming, and carefully took the heavy piece of meat that was strung on a hemp rope.

"Give the rest to Uncle, and share it with everyone in the village so that everyone can have a few good meals." Wei Chen handed the rest to his uncle.

Wei Changsheng picked up the boning knife and personally selected the meat on the cutting board. His eyes were sharp and his movements precise as he cut off a rib with a beautiful marbling, weighing about five or six pounds. He picked up a clean lotus leaf that had been prepared nearby, carefully wrapped the best piece of meat, tied it with straw rope, and then solemnly handed it to Wei Chen.

"Chenzi," his uncle's voice was deep and strong, "you personally go and deliver this spare rib to your master, Old Man Zhao. Although he's an old hunter and doesn't lack meat, this is a token of our Wei family's goodwill! When your father was alive, he and Old Man Zhao were sworn brothers. You've come back this time with such a big catch; it wouldn't be right not to go and see him! We can't neglect our manners!"

Wei Chen accepted the heavy bag of ribs, which exuded the fresh smell of meat, with both hands, his heart warming. This was not just meat, but also his uncle's wisdom as the village chief and as an elder, and his respect for his master. "Understood, Uncle! I'll go right away!" he nodded solemnly.

As dusk settled, a cool mountain breeze swept across Wei Chen's shoulders. He carried five pounds of spare ribs in his hand; the heavy weight represented the Wei family's goodwill and, more importantly, his uncle's tactful approach.

Reaching a secluded ravine halfway up the mountain, he paused briefly, quickly glancing left and right. His mind drifted into the magical spatial backpack, and when he pulled his hand out, two square, white porcelain bottles with red labels were now between his fingers—authentic Beijing Erguotou, the labels pristine, exuding a robust, city-dwelling quality in the fading light.

He carefully stuffed the bottle into the cloth bag containing the ribs before taking another step and heading towards the familiar cliffside hut halfway up the mountain.

In the open space in front of the wooden house, Zhao Gensheng was hunched over, using a chipped old shovel to pat the clods of earth on the edge of the vegetable patch, which had hardened from the dry wind.

Hearing footsteps, he straightened up and squinted his hawk-like eyes to look over. When he saw that it was Wei Chen, his face, etched with deep lines by the mountain winds and the years, showed no particular expression, except that his nostrils twitched slightly, as if he had caught a faint, distinct aroma of grain and liquor in the air, different from the scent of the mountains.

"Master!" Wei Chen walked up and respectfully called out, handing over the cloth bag containing meat and wine.

Zhao Gensheng didn't take it immediately. His gaze lingered on the cloth bag for a moment, as if he were weighing its contents through the rough cloth. He lifted his eyelids, glanced at Wei Chen, and said in a voice like coarse sandpaper scraping against stone, "Does this old bone of mine need your meat? We forage for food in the mountains, we won't go hungry." Even as he said this, his rough, large hand had already reached out and taken the cloth bag.

As his fingers touched the outline of the hard object in the cloth bag, Zhao Gensheng paused, his brows twitching almost imperceptibly. He untied the bag, first pulling out the package of spare ribs wrapped in fresh lotus leaves and seeping with oil, then casually placing it on a flat stone beside him.

Then, his gaze fell on the two bottles of Erguotou. The bottles were cool to the touch, and the red labels stood out starkly against the white porcelain. He stretched out two fingers, pinched the bottle neck, lifted it up, and brought it close to his eyes to examine the label carefully. He then shook it, listening to the sound of the clear liquor sloshing inside.

A faint, almost imperceptible smile finally appeared on his usually expressionless face, like a glimmer of water on a dry riverbed.

"Tsk," he clicked his tongue, the coldness in his voice seemingly softened by the smell of alcohol. "This stuff... is alright. I'll keep it to relieve fatigue." With that, he carefully tucked the two bottles of liquor into his pocket, keeping them close to his body, while the spare ribs seemed like an extra.

Wei Chen smiled and said, "The meat is a gift from my uncle. He specially selected the best ribs and asked me to bring it to you so you could try it. As for the wine... I bought it while I was in town. I know you like strong liquor."

"Your uncle is very kind." Zhao Gensheng mumbled a reply, clutching the wine bottle, and turned to push open the creaking, heavy wooden door. "Come in, why are you standing outside getting chilled?"

The cabin was furnished simply, almost rudimentary, yet exceptionally clean. There was a sturdy wooden table, two equally solid wooden stools, a stone stove, and in the corner piled animal hides, ropes, and some dried herbs whose names I didn't know.

The air was perpetually filled with a unique aroma, a mixture of gunpowder, herbs, and animal fur. The only light sources were the dying embers in the stove and the flickering, dim kerosene lamp on the table.

The master and apprentice sat down at the table. Zhao Gensheng didn't mention wine or meat; he simply used his gleaming copper pipe to slowly and methodically stub out golden tobacco. The orange flame flickered in the pipe, and bluish-white smoke rose, blurring the deep lines on his face.

"How's it going in the city?" Zhao Gensheng took a drag of his cigarette, his voice sounding somewhat ethereal in the smoke, but his sharp gaze pierced through the smoke and landed on Wei Chen's face.

Wei Chen sighed and briefly recounted the horrific scene he had witnessed at the rescue station: the children with bloated bellies, barely alive, and Director Wang's words about the lack of food and oil to save their lives. "So, that wild boar needs to be sent back as soon as possible," he added at the end.

Zhao Gensheng listened silently, the embers in his pipe flickering with his deep breaths. After a while, he tapped his pipe, the greyish-white ash falling in a soft rustling sound. "Hmm, it's time to go back," he said in a low, emotionless voice, "It's a matter of life and death."

The conversation seemed to have come to an end. Zhao Gensheng took a few more puffs of his cigarette, as if pondering something. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he raised his eyelids: "Oh right, the tiger bone wine I got for you before the New Year is almost ready. It's ripe."

Wei Chen's eyes lit up. The thrilling tiger hunt in the deep mountains years ago seemed like only yesterday. That large, white-browed tiger with piercing eyes finally fell to his arrow.

The enormous tiger carcass was dragged to his master's place, where Zhao Gensheng used his calloused yet incredibly skillful hands to skin, debone, and process it bit by bit.

It was under that dim oil lamp that his master passed on to him the "pharmacopoeia" he had kept at the bottom of his trunk. The paper was yellowed, and there was no name on it. It was just a book with pictures of various exotic herbs and health-related items such as medicine making, wine making, and medicinal cuisine.

Wei Chen went to great lengths to obtain a full 1,100 catties of top-quality sorghum liquor from the city through connections. Right there in this small house, Zhao Gensheng taught him step by step how to identify and process tiger bones and tiger penises, how to combine them with warming and nourishing medicinal herbs, and how to control the heat and timing of the soaking.

In the end, the thousand catties of tiger bone wine and the hundred catties of even more potent tiger penis wine were divided into several huge earthenware jars and sealed in the dry and cool cellar behind the small house, waiting for the passage of time to settle.