Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Wei Chen returned to his master's hut. Zhao Gensheng was still sitting at the table, the oil lamp flickering dimly, the fire in the copper pipe glowing in the dim light.

"Is everything settled?" Zhao Gensheng asked without looking up.

"All done, Master." Wei Chen's voice carried a slight pant from carrying the load.

"Okay." Zhao Gensheng responded, waving his hand. "Go back. Be careful on the way."

Then, as if remembering something, he turned and walked into the house, leaving behind only the words, "Wait."

A moment later, he came out carrying a heavy earthenware jar and handed it to Wei Chen. The jar was cold and heavy to the touch, and its mouth was sealed tightly with oiled paper and hemp rope.

"Take it," Zhao Gensheng said, his tone leaving no room for refusal. "Freshly pressed peanut oil. My teeth aren't good enough to chew that stuff, it's just a waste to leave it there." Without waiting for Wei Chen's reaction, he turned and went into the house, slamming the door shut.

Holding the heavy, cold jar of peanut oil, Wei Chen looked at the closed wooden door, a warm feeling welling up in his heart. Wei Chen didn't lack food, but this was his master's kindness. He silently bowed to the door, then turned and descended the mountain. The mountain wind ruffled the stray hairs on his forehead, carrying the chill of late autumn, but it couldn't dispel the warmth in his heart or the heavy responsibility on his shoulders.

Back in his own little house, Wei Chen felt no sleepiness whatsoever. He sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), his mind sinking into the space around him.

In the hunter's cabin's underground storage room, four huge earthenware jars stood quietly, their rich aroma of medicinal wine seemingly trying to penetrate the barriers of space.

The flawless tiger skin was carefully laid out on the large, soft bed in the second-floor bedroom of the villa. Under the soft, virtual light, the golden-brown and jet-black stripes flowed with a luxurious yet wild luster, awaiting the return of its true owner. Satisfied, he exited the space, then lay down fully clothed, forcing himself to close his eyes and rest.

It seemed like he had just closed his eyes when a hazy, bluish-gray light shone through the window. Wei Chen sat up with a swift, effortless movement.

In the courtyard, Uncle Wei Changsheng and Uncle Wei Laishun were already there. The wild boar that belonged to Wei Chen had already been butchered into eight pieces, each piece tightly bound with strong hemp rope. The fattest hind legs and ribs were tied to both sides of the bicycle seat, forming two mounds of flesh.

Smaller chunks of meat, along with offal and bones wrapped in oilcloth, were cleverly stuffed into the frame's triangular section and front beam, then secured tightly with thick hemp rope. The entire Forever 28 heavy-duty bicycle was almost completely covered in wild boar meat, resembling a strange animal laden with prey.

On the handlebars, besides the cloth bag containing a few hard cornbread buns, hung the heavy can of peanut oil that the driver had given him. The can gleamed with a dark, somber light in the morning sun.

"Tie them all up securely. Ride slowly on the road. If you can't go on, push the bike for a while." Wei Changsheng carefully checked every knot on the rope, then shook the frame vigorously to make sure it wouldn't budge. Only then did he pat Wei Chen on the shoulder, his voice hoarse from a sleepless night and filled with deep concern, "When you get there, send a message home to let them know you're safe."

"Okay, Uncle, Third Uncle, you can go back now." Wei Chen nodded and took a deep breath of the crisp morning air of the mountain village.

He gripped the cold handlebars tightly with both hands, stepped onto the pedal with his left foot, and pushed off with his right leg! The bike suddenly lurched, making a teeth-grinding "squeak," the weight almost causing the tires to deflate instantly. But with his arm muscles bulging and his core muscles working, he managed to keep the bike stable.

The wheels began to roll forward with extreme slowness and difficulty. Deep ruts, like two fresh scars, were etched on the yellow dirt road at the village entrance.

The heavy loads of wild boar meat on the back seat and crossbeam, and the swaying peanut oil can on the handlebars, outlined a silent yet resilient silhouette in the dim morning light, slowly driving away from this barren land that had just been briefly warmed by the aroma of meat and hope.

The mountain wind whipped up the dust from the roadside, swirling and chasing after the overburdened bicycle, as if silently bidding it farewell.

Under the old locust tree at the village entrance, Wei Changsheng and Wei Laishun stood there until the figure carrying wild boar meat completely disappeared at the end of the winding mountain road. Only then did they let out a long sigh in unison, turn around, and walk heavily back to the village, which was still shrouded in hunger.

As the wheels rolled over the last stretch of potholed dirt road, the gray, sprawling city walls of Beijing, resembling the spine of a giant beast, finally came into view.

Wei Chen's tense nerves did not relax; on the contrary, they became even more serious as the target drew nearer. Sweat had already soaked through the front and back of his coarse cloth jacket, clinging wetly to his bulging muscles, and the chilly autumn morning wind stirred up a fine layer of goosebumps on his skin.

Not far ahead, a grove of poplar trees, overgrown and neglected, loomed in the morning mist, forming a natural barrier. Without hesitation, Wei Chen gripped the brakes, and the heavy vehicle slid forward several meters with tremendous inertia, screeching as it finally came to a stop in the densest shadow at the edge of the grove, like a weary beast temporarily lying dormant.

All around was silent, save for the rustling of the wind through the withered yellow poplar leaves and the faint sounds of people and carriages coming from the city gate in the distance, which only highlighted the desolation of the place.

Wei Chen quickly got out of the car, his movements swift and silent, as he untied the rough hemp ropes that had cut into the flesh. He carefully unloaded the chunks of wild boar meat, still warm from his body and exuding a strong smell of blood and earth, and piled them on the damp, decaying leaves in the forest.

With focused concentration, the invisible "spatial backpack" quietly opened. What he took out was not a small item, but two enormous bamboo baskets, each half a person's height, woven from old bamboo strips, their strips glossy black and showing signs of years of use!

The basket is dark brown with thick bamboo strips. The edges and handles are repeatedly reinforced with thin rattan and tough hemp thread, giving it a rugged and sturdy appearance.

He worked nimbly, securing the two heavy bamboo baskets to the sturdy steel frame on the back of the bicycle, the rope digging deep into the bamboo strips.

Then, with a burst of strength in his arms and a taut muscle, he precisely divided the more than 300 pounds of already butchered half of the wild boar meat into two bamboo baskets, one on the left and one on the right, according to the size and weight of the cut.

The thick, millstone-like rump, the tempting snowflake-like marbling of the pork belly, the heavy, crescent-shaped ribs... filled the bamboo basket to the brim, leaving only a pitiful gap at the edge of the basket. The basket creaked and groaned under the weight.

After doing all that, he didn't stop. His mind sank into the depths of the space again, and on the open ground next to the hunter's hut, which he regarded as a "mobile warehouse," a wild boar that was also plump and strong and had just died appeared out of thin air. He quickly took it out of the space and slammed it heavily onto the fallen leaves with a "thud," splashing up a bunch of withered branches and fallen leaves.

This pig, also weighing over 300 pounds, remained in its original form, with its tusks gleaming white and exposed, its bristles as thick and stiff as steel needles, and a dark bullet hole in its neck as its only fatal wound, silently signaling its end.

Wei Chen took a deep breath, the cold air filling his lungs and dispelling a trace of fatigue. He bent down, his arms encircling the heavy wild boar like iron hoops, his core tightening suddenly, and his entire body's strength erupting instantly!

"Lift!" A suppressed shout echoed through the forest. He actually managed to lift the huge wild boar's body off the ground! He staggered slightly, then steadied himself and carefully placed the whole pig across two bamboo baskets that were already half-filled with meat.

The pig's head drooped menacingly over the left side of the basket, its thick tail hanging over the edge of the right basket. Then, he picked up the thicker and longer spare hemp rope that he had just taken off and began a binding operation that required a great deal of skill, strength, and patience.

The rope, like a giant python come to life, nimbly weaves and coils between the rough fur of the whole pig, the tough strips of the bamboo basket, and the cold steel frame of the bicycle.

He used the "dragon knot" and "cross-shaped back binding" that mountain hunters kept at the bottom of their trunks when transporting large game. Each knot was deeply embedded in the skin and bamboo strips, and then tightened and reinforced with wooden sticks.

The rope cleverly looped around the triangular frame under the seat, passed through the gap above the wheel bearing, and then tightly tied to the thickened steel spoke support point of the rear wheel...

Finally, as if shackled a giant beast, he pulled and tightened every crucial joint, ensuring that the entire pig, the two heavy baskets, and the bicycle were completely integrated into one, forming a terrifyingly stable whole. What was originally just the weight-bearing rear seat now even had its sturdy rear wheel rim bearing a tremendous amount of pressure.

When everything was finished, Wei Chen stepped back to examine the scene. The sight before him was nothing short of spectacular: a bicycle, its rear half completely swallowed up by two mountains of flesh and an even larger mound of flesh. The neatly cut pieces of meat, their red and white stripes faintly visible, were covered by the grotesque whole pig on top.

The bicycle's steel frame structure, especially the thickened and reinforced rear fork and robust bearings, stubbornly supports the terrifying weight of over 500 pounds, causing the frame to exhibit a startlingly slight downward curve due to the immense pressure.

This "Forever" vehicle is now embodying the meaning of its name through its steel frame.

He got back on his bicycle.

This time, starting was incredibly difficult, like pushing a small mountain. With both feet pedaling hard, the chain emitted a teeth-grinding, near-breakage groan, the bike shook violently, and the center of gravity became unstable.

He had to rely on his strong core strength and exceptional balance to keep the car firmly in place, barely managing to get the overburdened wheels to start rolling forward extremely slowly, inch by inch.

With each stomp, his thigh muscles bulged like iron, and his calf tendons tightened like a fully drawn bow. He pushed this veritable "mountain of flesh" towards the city gate, each step sinking deep into the mud, leaving a clear and heavy footprint.

Even a hundred meters or so from the city gate, pedestrians and vehicles on both sides of the road had already noticed this astonishing scene. Shock, greed, disbelief, and an intense longing filled the air as countless eyes focused like searchlights on the two mountains of flesh.

The strong, pungent smell of meat that filled the air was like an invisible, greedy hand, gripping the stomachs and nerves of every hungry person, causing an uncontrollable commotion.