Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

"Master Zhang! Master Li! Quick! Bring some people over here! Help Comrade Wei Chen push the car in! Be careful! Be careful of the meat!" Director Wang shouted hoarsely toward the kitchen, not even bothering to wipe the waterfall of sweat from his forehead.

Several chefs wearing greasy aprons stumbled out at the sound, and when they saw the staggering amount of meat on the bicycle, they all gasped and their eyes widened in shock.

"My goodness!" The head chef, surnamed Zhang, was a well-traveled and knowledgeable old cook. He circled the "meat mountain chariot" once, and his jaw almost dropped to the ground.

"Wow! Such big two?! This...this must weigh five or six hundred pounds in total?! Comrade Wei Chen, you...you've brought the ancestor of wild boars out of the mountains?" He couldn't help but reach out and carefully touch the ribs with thick fat sticking out of the bamboo basket. The cool, slippery, and elastic texture made the gourmand's Adam's apple bob violently several times, and he almost couldn't hold back his saliva.

While helping unload the truck, Wei Chen explained quickly, "Master Zhang, Director Wang, Team Leader Jin, here's what happened. This time, I went back to the deep mountains near my hometown and spent more than three days in the forest. Luckily, I ran into two big guys."

He pointed to the wild boar that had already been killed and butchered, "This one, I hunted it myself in the old forest over Eagle's Beak Cliff. There were two in total! I donated the other one to my hometown village!"

I saw that the situation in my hometown village was also very difficult. Hunting in the mountains was harder than climbing to heaven, and every family's children were so hungry that they were skin and bones and could barely walk. So I left one of the pigs with them. The villagers were very kind and grateful. They insisted on helping me clean up the pig so I could take it back directly, saving our rescue station the trouble and effort." He showed a hint of helplessness on his face, as if he couldn't refuse their kindness.

He paused, his tone revealing a palpable weariness and relief: "As for this whole pig, it was a lucky find that some of my old hunter friends searched through over a dozen mountain strongholds. These days, the mountains are cleaner than the city, and wild animals are as cunning as ghosts, running away at the sight of people. It was really difficult to get one! We almost came back empty-handed, too ashamed to face you." He shook his head, his face a mixture of lingering fear and relief at completing the task.

"Oh my! Comrade Wei Chen! You...you really are..." Director Wang was so excited that his lips were trembling. He stepped forward, grabbed Wei Chen's hands tightly, his eyes instantly reddened, and his voice was thick with nasal tone.

"This is incredibly difficult! It's absolutely amazing! Those two wild boars! You've truly been a godsend! You've solved our immediate crisis! You've saved our lives!"

Her gaze toward Wei Chen was filled with indescribable gratitude and heartfelt admiration. Then, her voice suddenly rose, carrying a powerful and infectious quality, addressed not only to Wei Chen but also to all the onlookers who had their ears perked up: "What's even more admirable is that you still think of your fellow villagers back home! You haven't forgotten your roots! You've risked your life to hunt the game, and you still think of sharing it with the villagers who are also suffering!"

This friendship! This awareness! It truly reflects the deep bond between our working class and peasant brothers! The profound affection between workers and peasants as one family! Good! Well done! Comrade Wei Chen! You are excellent!" Director Wang's voice was loud and clear, full of undisguised praise and excitement.

"Yes! Comrade Wei Chen has a high level of awareness!" "He doesn't forget his hometown, what a good man! He has a conscience!" A chorus of heartfelt praise immediately rose from the crowd.

"Director Wang, you're too kind. It's all what I should do." Wei Chen waved his hand, pointing to the neatly divided pile of meat on the ground—the portion he had "brought." "The village has already helped process this meat; I brought it back directly, so don't worry about the cost! It's my personal donation to the relief station! To give the children and the affected villagers a hearty meal! To help them recover!"

"What?! No way! Absolutely not!" Upon hearing this, Director Wang's expression instantly shifted from excitement to seriousness, and he shook his head vigorously. "Comrade Wei Chen! You're wrong! You risked your life to go into the mountains! You risked your life to bring back the meat! And you went through so much trouble to push it back from so far away! We see your hard work and your contribution clearly! How can we let you put in your effort and resources for nothing? Absolutely not! Public is public, private is private! Not a penny less than what's due! This is a matter of principle!"

She turned to Mr. Zhang decisively and shouted, "Mr. Zhang! Go! Bring out that big scale from the warehouse! Weigh it! Weigh it now! Pay the nationally stipulated unified purchase price for wild game, not a penny less!"

Soon, two young laborers laboriously carried over a huge iron scale. Under the watchful eyes of countless people, the whole wild boar was hooked onto the heavy iron hook and slowly lifted off the ground. The massive weight slid and adjusted along the long scale beam, bending it into a dangerous arc.

"Three hundred and fifteen jin! That's high! The scale is bent over!" Master Zhang, who was in charge of watching the scale, shouted the number at the top of his lungs, his voice carrying a hint of shock.

Next, the cut meat in the bamboo basket was carefully poured into a large basket, weighed, and the skin removed. "Net weight: exactly 282 jin!" Master Zhang announced again.

Director Wang, holding a notebook and pen, looked serious, as if he were performing an extremely important ceremony: "Comrade Wei Chen," he said, looking at Wei Chen, his tone leaving no room for doubt, "this whole pig weighs 315 jin. According to our country's unified purchase price for wild game, it's 6 mao per jin, so it's a total of 189 yuan."

"And this basket of meat, 282 pounds, I'll charge you 0.8 yuan per pound!"

"No, Director Wang, I can't accept this money!" Wei Chen said.

"Our organization has discipline too! You have to take this money!" Without further ado, Director Wang shoved a stack of banknotes, carefully wrapped in old newspapers and tightly bound with rubber bands, into Wei Chen's hand. The stack of money was as thick as half a brick, heavy and weighty.

Wei Chen felt the banknotes in his hand were burning hot, like a red-hot iron. The mountain of supplies in his spatial storage made him feel nothing for this small amount of money; instead, he felt unworthy of it, even a burden.

"Director Wang, really, you don't need to! I..."

"Take it!" Director Wang abruptly interrupted him, his eyes sharp and carrying an undeniable authority. "What time is it now?! You can't buy anything with the money! What's the price of this meat outside? Two yuan? Two yuan and fifty cents? I'd probably fight tooth and nail for it even at three yuan a pound!"

"You've already done us a huge favor by bringing this to us! It's a life-saving grace! If you don't accept this money, you're disrespecting me, the director of the neighborhood committee! We wouldn't feel at ease eating this meat! We'd feel guilty!!" Director Wang's voice was loud, full of sincerity and persistence, but also carrying a hint of barely perceptible guilt and anxiety.

He knew all too well that the money could not reflect the value of the meat at the moment, and he understood even more the great risks and hardships that Wei Chen had undertaken.

"No, Director Wang! I purchased this whole pig for the neighborhood office, so naturally I have to pay for it and settle the accounts with the hunters! But the other one was hunted by me, and I voluntarily donated it to the rescue station to do my part for everyone. You can't stop me from doing what I want!" Wei Chen had to persuade Director Wang quite a bit before he finally agreed! He only accepted the money for the whole pig.

"Alright! You're a good kid! We at the rescue station and all the villagers who have received our help will remember your heartfelt sentiments and deep affection for the disaster victims! On their behalf, I extend our highest respect and sincerest gratitude to you!" Director Wang bowed slightly to Wei Chen.

Then Director Wang turned to Xiao Zhao, the young clerk who had been following him and carrying a tin ticket box, and said urgently, "Xiao Zhao! Quick! Bring out all the usable tickets in our station! Pick the good ones! The useful ones!"

"Director Wang, we really don't need the tickets! I've already taken the money!" Wei Chen quickly stopped him. "What do you mean, 'don't need them'!" Director Wang glared at him. "Money is money, and tickets are tickets! What good is money now? Without tickets, you can't even buy a needle!"

Without a word, he tore off several different colored coupons from the coupon box that Xiao Zhao had opened, and shoved them into Wei Chen's hand without even looking at them. "Here! Five industrial coupons! Ten feet of cloth coupons! One pound of sugar coupons! Two soap coupons! And a few snack coupons! Not much! Consider it a reward from the neighborhood committee!"

"You're a grown man, working and living in the city, what doesn't require ration coupons? Buying clothes, buying some candy to replenish your energy, doing laundry... you can't do without them! Don't be so polite with me! If you're too polite, I'll get angry!" Director Wang's tone carried an unquestionable paternalistic command and a hint of undeniable concern.

Looking at the small stack of colorful receipts in his hand, which were more valuable than money in this era, and then at Director Wang's expression that said, "If you dare to push them back, I'll get angry," Wei Chen could only smile wryly and stuff them all into his bulging pocket.

A profound sense of helplessness and an indescribable sense of guilt spread through his heart. He wished he could immediately move all the meat out of his space and pile it up at the shelter, but this inexplicable source would only bring utter destruction.

"Director Wang, Team Leader Jin, and all you guys, please get back to your work." Wei Chen pointed to the whole wild boar and found the most reasonable excuse. "I need to get the money for that boar to my hunter friend right away. He risked his life to get it, so I have to deliver the money to him. As for how to handle the meat here, I'm leaving it entirely to you!" His tone carried a sense of urgency.