Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

"Alright, alright! Go quickly! Don't keep them waiting! Be careful on the road!" Director Wang nodded repeatedly and waved his hand vigorously.

"Don't worry about this, Lao Zhang!!" She suddenly turned to Master Zhang, who was already rubbing his hands together, her voice booming with a long-lost joy and energy, as if she had won a battle. "Get everyone together! Boil water! Remove the hair! Gut the animals! Clean them up! This noon! Our Nanluoguxiang Rescue Station! We're having our first meat dish! Stewed pork!!!"

"Yes, sir! Just you wait and see!" Chef Zhang's face was beaming with excitement, his voice booming as he responded. He rolled up his sleeves and yelled at the kitchen staff and the young helpers, "Brothers! Grab your gear! Get the big pots ready! Boil the water! Today we're going to have some fun and show off our real skills to the men, young and old!"

The entire shelter instantly sprang into action, like a tightly wound-up machine! Several strong young cooks, as if injected with adrenaline, scrambled to move firewood and carry water. A giant iron pot, large enough to cook half a pig, was slammed onto the makeshift brick stove, nearly half a person's height, in the center of the yard. Thick, dry firewood was stuffed into the firebox, and flames leaped up, greedily licking the cold bottom of the pot.

The heavy, whole wild boar was lifted by the group and placed onto a large, sturdy door panel that had been temporarily erected as a cutting board. Master Zhang personally took charge of the knife, wielding a thick-backed machete on the whetstone with a series of sharp, whistling sounds, sparks flying everywhere.

He walked up to the pig's head, his gaze focused and sharp, as if facing a worthy opponent. With a flick of his wrist, a flash of light appeared from the blade, carrying a peculiar rhythm and power, marking the beginning of his conquest of this behemoth.

"Sizzle—!" Boiling water poured onto the wild boar's rough and tough hide like a waterfall, sending up thick plumes of white steam that carried a primal and domineering stench that instantly filled the air.

"Splash—!" The pig's body, now stripped of its large hair, was washed over by several buckets of icy well water. Its thick, pinkish-white flesh, with its beautiful texture, was exposed to the sunlight, shimmering with an alluring luster.

"Crack! Crack!" The thick-backed cleaver struck the large bone joint with tremendous force, producing a crisp and clean breaking sound.

"Dot! Dot! Dot!" The sharp cleaver cut and separated the thick chunks of meat quickly and precisely, producing a dull and rhythmic sound, like a war drum beating in everyone's heart.

The noise that would normally be irritating sounded like heavenly music to everyone at the shelter! The children were no longer lifeless; they struggled to peek out from their parents' arms, their little faces pressed against the kitchen window covered with tattered newspapers, their little noses twitching as they greedily, almost greedily, captured the increasingly rich, primal aroma of oils and proteins in the air.

Although the adults were still in line, the numbness on their faces was completely dispelled by a light called "hope." Their eyes shone brightly as they whispered to each other, their voices filled with boundless anticipation for the upcoming greasy lunch and the gurgling sounds of swallowing saliva.

Even Jin Aiguo and his young workers who were maintaining order completely relaxed their tense faces, revealing long-lost, heartfelt smiles. Their Adam's apples bobbed uncontrollably, and their eyes kept glancing at the steaming cutting board.

The entire shelter seemed to have suddenly stepped from a long, deadly winter into a vibrant spring! The cold, despairing air was dispelled by the roaring flames in the stove, warmed by the white steam rising from the boiling water, and completely ignited by the increasingly domineering, rich, and mouthwatering aroma of meat!

Every sallow face regained its color and vitality, and every deep-set eye ignited with the most primal desire for life!

The clatter of pots and pans, the chef's shouts, the crackling of burning firewood, the children's excited whispers and swallowing sounds... these ordinary yet heartwarming sounds intertwined and converged into a powerful torrent called "survival," breaking through the heavy gloom of hunger and suffering. In this small Nanluoguxiang rescue station, a magnificent hymn of life's resilience resounded!

Wei Chen stood at the entrance of the rescue station, taking one last look back at the bustling and vibrant courtyard. He watched the red and white chunks of meat gleaming in the sunlight as Master Zhang slicing them with his knife, watched the warm, bright flames leaping in the stove, and watched the faces, now tinged with hope and the aroma of meat, no longer numb and desperate…

The heaviness in his heart seemed to be slightly soothed and diluted by the vibrant, bustling human life around him. He subconsciously tightened his grip on the heavy stack of banknotes and receipts in his pocket, then turned and strode away without hesitation, his figure quickly disappearing into the noisy crowd at the alley entrance and the glaring midday sun.

Behind me, the increasingly rich, comforting aroma of food filled the air, along with countless grateful farewells.

As the wheels rolled over the last stretch of potholed dirt road outside Beijing, Wei Chen pushed his bicycle and disappeared into the depths of the alley leading to the Nanluoguxiang Rescue Station.

Unbeknownst to Wei Chen, during the few days he was away, another storm, fueled by hunger, was brewing and fermenting in the cramped house of the Jia family in the nearby Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill courtyard, eventually sweeping across the entire compound.

Jia Zhangshi sat cross-legged on her cold earthen bed, her sallow, swollen face so gloomy it looked like it could be wrung out. Her small eyes, squeezed into slits by her fat, were now staring fiercely at the empty grain sack on the kang table, as if she wanted to squeeze a few more grains out of the deflated bag with her gaze.

At the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), Qin Huairu held Banggeng, who looked particularly listless from hunger, her head hanging low, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes. Banggeng's little head lay limply in his mother's arms, too weak to even cry, only occasionally letting out a few soft whimpers.

"How many days has it been? Huh? How many days!" Jia Zhangshi slammed her hand on the pitted kang table, her voice sharp and shrill, like a dull knife scraping the bottom of a pot. "At this time of year, your uncle's grain from Jiajia Village should have been delivered long ago!"

"White rice, golden cornmeal! They piled up so high our big vat was overflowing! And this year? It's almost the twelfth lunar month! Not a single grain of rice in sight! Did someone in the Jia family die or catch a plague? Have they lost all their conscience?!"

Qin Huairu was startled by her mother-in-law's sudden outburst, and the baby in her arms whimpered louder. She quickly patted the child gently, her voice barely audible, filled with exhaustion and a hint of barely perceptible resentment: "Mom... please keep your voice down, don't frighten the child... Uncle... Uncle's village, this year's harvest... I'm afraid it's really bad..."

"Bullshit!" Madam Jia spat almost onto Qin Huairu's face. "Bad harvest? Even if the harvest is bad, we still have to send over our share! That's our land! It's our roots in Jiajia Village! The Jia family cultivates our land, eats our grain, and dares not pay rent?! They've gone too far!"

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She jumped off the kang (heated brick bed), shuffling restlessly on the floor in her tattered cloth shoes. Her obese body, like a moving mountain of flesh, made the few remaining pieces of broken furniture in the room sway. "Where's Dongxu? Where the hell has Dongxu gone? I told him to ask for leave and go back to the village to check! It's been days! He's so slow! He's completely useless! If we rely on his ration, the whole family will starve!"

Just as he was cursing, the door creaked open, bringing in a blast of cold air. Jia Dongxu, wearing a faded old cotton-padded jacket with frayed cuffs, walked in with his neck hunched and head drooping.

His face was ashen, his lips were blue from the cold, and his hair and shoulders were covered with dust he had brought back from outside the city. He looked like a wilted eggplant, exuding a strong sense of dejection and wretchedness.

"Dongxu! You're finally back!" Jia Zhangshi's eyes lit up like a hungry wolf eyeing meat. She pounced on her son, grabbing his arm so tightly her nails almost dug into his cotton-padded coat. "Where's the grain? What did your uncles say? When will the grain arrive? Where's the grain cart? Is it behind us?"

Jia Dongxu stumbled as his mother shook him. He lifted his eyelids, his eyes darting away, his lips trembling as he managed to squeeze out a dry voice from his throat: "Mom... there's... no food..."

"What?!" Jia Zhangshi's anxious expression froze instantly, then twisted into an incredulous rage. "Nothing?! What do you mean 'nothing'?! Where's our land?! The Jia family cultivates our land, and they dare say they have no grain?!"

Jia Dongxu closed his eyes in anguish, seemingly unwilling to recall the humiliation he had suffered in the village: "I...I went to Jiajia Village. I found the village chief...it's Jia Laogen from my uncle's village...I said, my mother's household registration is still in the village, and the land belongs to our family. In previous years, they would send us grain, but this year there's been no response..."

"Yes! That's what he said! What did he reply?!" Jia Zhangshi asked anxiously.

Jia Dongxu's voice trembled with tears: "That Jia Laogen... he... he pointed his finger at me and cursed! He spat all over my face! He said... he said, 'Jia Dongxu! You son of a bitch, you still have the nerve to come asking for grain?!'"

Jia Dongxu tried his best to imitate the village chief's rough local accent and furious tone: "'The cooperative has been around for several years! The land has long belonged to the collective! Where is there any private land left for you?!'"

Your mother, Jia Zhangshi? It's true she's registered in the village! But she's been living a life of luxury in the city for years. Has she ever worked in the fields? Has she ever earned a single work point?

"Without work points, what right do you have to come here asking for food? Don't you understand the principle of distribution according to work?! Food grows from the ground, it doesn't fall from the sky! You think you can eat for free without doing any work? Dream on!"

Jia Dongxu's voice grew softer and softer until it almost broke into a sob: "He also said... that we were 'eating city food while still coveting the village's life-saving grain,' that we were 'eating what's in our bowl while eyeing what's in the pot'... The whole village gathered around to laugh at us... I... I..."