Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

"My God! This...this must be...how much meat?!" A gaunt old man pushing a wheelbarrow with two bundles of dry firewood tied to it suddenly stopped, his eyes wide open as if they were about to pop out, his withered fingers trembling as he pointed at the bicycle, and a hoarse, bellowing sound coming from his throat.

"Wild boar! Alive... no, dead! My God! And all that in the basket... it's top-quality meat!" A young woman holding a pale, thin baby suddenly raised her voice, her eyes fixed on the tempting, fatty ribs peeking out from the gaps in the bamboo basket. The baby in her arms seemed to have caught the smell too, letting out a weak, anxious cry.

"Comrade! Young comrade! Please wait! Please wait!" A middle-aged man dressed in a faded blue cadre uniform with four pockets, carrying a faux leather briefcase under his arm, suddenly darted out from beside a dilapidated bicycle on the roadside. He rushed to Wei Chen's car, his face plastered with an eager, almost fawning smile, waving several crumpled receipts in his hand impatiently.

"I'm Liu, the purchasing agent for the Second Food Store in Xicheng District! Liu Dehai! How about we share some of your wild boar meat? The price is negotiable! We definitely won't let you lose out! We'll buy it at the highest price, seven cents! No, eight cents! Eight cents a pound! What do you think? Cash! Pay upfront!" He patted his chest to assure them, but his eyes were fixed on the meat like hooks.

"Young man! Young man! Don't listen to him! Look this way!" Another middle-aged man in gray overalls, wearing glasses and looking like an intellectual, squeezed through the crowd, his tone anxious. "I'm Zhang, the logistics officer from the Third Machine Tool Factory of Red Star! Our factory workers are working day and night to complete the tasks assigned by our superiors, and their physical strength is greatly depleted! They urgently need to replenish their energy! Give us half a machine, no, give us a whole leg! Name your price! Besides money, our factory can also get you some internal benefits! In-demand industrial vouchers! How about that?"

Wei Chen had to stop, instantly surrounded by a surging crowd and a cacophony of questions. Beads of sweat rolled down his temples and dripped onto the dusty handlebars.

He wiped his face, his voice not loud, yet exceptionally clear, piercing through the cacophony, carrying an undeniable resolve: "Comrades, I'm sorry!"

He raised his voice, his gaze sweeping over the gathered crowd before finally settling on the two purchasing agents. "This meat isn't for sale!"

He patted the grotesque whole pig on the cart frame, then pointed to the bamboo basket. "These are for the temporary relief station in Nanluoguxiang! They're for the villagers who fled from the disaster area, who are starving and barely clinging to life, and for the children suffering from edema, whose bellies are swollen like drums and who are on the verge of death! I know everyone is hungry and lacking in food, but the people over there can't wait any longer! If we're even a little late, some of them might not make it through today!"

"A shelter?" The crowd fell silent for a moment, then erupted into low, complex murmurs.

"So it was the meat that saved my life..."

"Well, there's nothing more to say then, we have to focus on that side first..."

"This young comrade... is so kind! He brought so much meat himself, but instead of selling it at a high price, he donated it to save lives! What a good person!"

"Look at their awareness! And look at us...sigh!"

Just moments before, Purchasing Manager Liu and Cadre Zhang had been arguing heatedly, but their eagerness froze instantly, replaced by embarrassment and a hint of barely concealed shame. They silently stepped back a few paces, clearing the already narrow path.

Liu Dehai sighed, his smile turning bitter yet sincere. He stepped forward and patted Wei Chen's taut arm forcefully: "Young comrade, you're doing a great job! Saving lives is the priority! We...we were anxious! You hurry! Get him there quickly!" His tone was filled with genuine admiration and helplessness. Officer Zhang adjusted his glasses, said nothing more, and simply nodded silently.

The crowd spontaneously parted to make way, their eyes still greedily fixed on the meat, but their steps retreated with understanding and a hint of respect.

Wei Chen said no more, gritted his teeth, and his bulging arm muscles burst forth with power once more. He used all his strength to control the direction, pushing the incredibly heavy bicycle towards Nanluoguxiang, step by step, with difficulty but determination.

Sweat streamed down his face, dripping onto the dust and leaving fleeting, damp marks. His goal was crystal clear—to get this meat into the mouths of those who needed it most!

When Wei Chen finally turned into the familiar alleyway of Nanluoguxiang, pushing that "meat mountain chariot" that seemed to have broken free from the ancient wilderness, and appeared in front of the peeling paint and endlessly weary gate of the temporary relief station, the sun had already climbed high in the sky, and it was almost noon.

The atmosphere in the shelter courtyard was as oppressive as the deathly silence before a storm. Thin rays of sunlight pierced through the holes in the roof, casting beams of light that carried tiny dust particles.

Director Wang stood in the shadows under the eaves, his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed into a deep frown, gazing at the dark, silent crowd in the courtyard, who stood like statues.

Breakfast, cornmeal porridge, had already been distributed, but the cloud of hunger did not dissipate; instead, it weighed even heavier on everyone's hearts.

The children huddled listlessly in their mother's or grandmother's thin arms, their eyes half-closed, having exhausted even the strength to cry.

The adults, some squatting, some sitting, stared blankly at the ground, their faces etched with the numbness of long-term hunger and despair. A sense of bewilderment about the future shrouded them like a layer of gray fog. The air was thick with the smells of sweat, cheap herbs, and a suffocating atmosphere of despair.

Jin Aiguo, along with several equally exhausted young security guards from the steel rolling mill, stood like nails in several key positions, vigilantly scanning the crowd and maintaining the precarious calm.

Suddenly, an unusual commotion, like rolling thunder, and explosive exclamations erupted from the direction of the doorway! "Meat! My God! What a huge wild boar!" "Meat! It's meat! So much meat! It's piled up like a mountain!" "It's Wei Chen! Wei Chen is back! He really got the meat! He wasn't lying!"

This exclamation was like throwing a red-hot iron into a scalding oil pan!

"Boom—!" The entire aid station was instantly ignited! It was completely boiling over! The previously deathly silent crowd was as if pierced by a powerful electric current, exploding with a bang! Countless pairs of empty eyes instantly burst forth with a terrifying, wolf-like green light, locking onto the figure pushing the "mountain of flesh" at the entrance!

The pent-up survival instinct, suppressed to the extreme by despair, erupted like a volcano! The crowd surged towards the door like a black torrent bursting its banks, instantly surrounding Wei Chen and his bicycle!

Countless withered, filthy hands reached uncontrollably and tremblingly towards the tempting chunks of meat in the bamboo basket, towards the thick hide of the enormous wild boar! The air was filled with heavy, bellows-like breathing, screams distorted by extreme desire, and broken, tearful pleas:

"Meat! Give it to me! Give me a little! My baby... my baby is dying!" "Comrade! Brother! Please! Just a small piece! Just a tiny piece, the size of a fingernail! Please!" "I'm hungry... I'm so hungry... let me have a lick... just one lick..." "Don't take it! That's mine!"

The scene instantly spiraled out of control! The crowd pushed and shoved, like a boiling, raging torrent, threatening to engulf Wei Chen and his bicycle completely! The fragile order was utterly vulnerable in the face of the overwhelming instinct for hunger!

"Back off! Back off!!" Jin Aiguo roared like a wounded tiger! He and several young workers had bloodshot eyes and charged into the surging crowd like human tanks, spreading their arms and using their bodies and brute force to hold back the hands that were frantically reaching for flesh!

Jin Aiguo's face was ashen, veins bulging on his forehead, and his eyes were sharp enough to kill. He suddenly drew his rubber baton from his waist, but instead of swinging it, he stabbed the tip of the baton hard into the chest of several men who were pushing the front the most, roaring fiercely, "What do you think you're doing?! The meat is for everyone! Anyone who dares to grab it again, my weapon doesn't discriminate! You won't get a single piece of meat! All of you, get back! Follow Director Wang's instructions!!" His voice, filled with an iron will and unquestionable killing intent, temporarily intimidated the frenzied crowd at the front.

Director Wang charged to the front of the crowd like an arrow, her voice distorted with extreme excitement, anger, and urgency, yet carrying a resolute determination and undeniable authority: "Fellow villagers!! Comrades!! Quiet!! Listen to me!!"

She was practically jumping up and down, shouting and waving her arms frantically, trying to get everyone's attention, "The meat's here! Comrade Wei Chen got us this life-saving meat! Everyone gets a share! I, as the head of the neighborhood committee, guarantee you! Lunchtime! Today at noon! The canteen will be open! Big pots of stewed meat! Plenty! All you can eat!!"

She gasped for breath, her voice suddenly rising, filled with thunderous fury: "But! Anyone who acts recklessly now! Anyone who dares to steal! Anyone who ruins the meat! Anyone who makes sure no one gets to eat! That's a black sheep! That's the enemy of all of us! Security personnel! Keep a close eye on them! Anyone who dares to touch the meat, throw them out! Line up! Everyone line up properly! Follow the rules! For your children! For your own lives! Follow the rules!!"

"Director Wang is right! Line up!!" "Stop pushing! You won't get any even if you push! Follow instructions!!" "For the children's sake! Everyone step back! Step back!"

Some of the more rational men in the crowd began shouting at the top of their lungs, and even reached out to pull back their out-of-control relatives and friends.

Under the forceful, almost armed, obstruction of Jin Aiguo and his entourage, and under Director Wang's almost oath-like, resounding promise, the surging, violent crowd was finally forcibly dispersed little by little.

Although his gaze remained fixed on the flesh like hooks, his steps were reluctant, carrying a great sense of loss and suppressed longing as he retreated. The chaotic scene was gradually reorganized into crooked but finally formed lines. However, the countless gazes cast upon him were like tangible flames, scorching the air and burning Wei Chen's back.

Wei Chen finally exhaled a breath of stale air from his chest. His back was soaked with cold sweat, which clung to his skin, leaving it icy cold. He glanced gratefully, yet with a hint of lingering fear, at Jin Aiguo, who glared like an angry Vajra, and at Director Wang, whose face was pale but whose eyes were resolute.