Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

"What?!" Yan Bugui sprang up from his small stool as if he had a spring in his butt. His old glasses almost slipped off his nose. He frantically steadied them, his small eyes wide and almost bulging out. "You...you say that again? Who? Who is so amazing? How many did they catch?" His voice was trembling with disbelief.

"Just now! A super energetic young man! He looked about seventeen or eighteen! Good heavens!!" The angler was so excited he was spitting as he gestured wildly, "He acted like the fish in the water were his precious ancestors! He sat there for less than two hours! Guess what? He caught seven or eight fish in a row! And every single one of them was this—huge!"

He spread his arms wide, making a huge arc, "Later he said he was a purchasing agent from the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill. He finished his task, took two big buckets of fish, and left! And then! Amazingly! As soon as he left, others took over his spot and, guess what? They caught huge fish too! Then that area of ​​water was like boiling dumpling soup! Bubbling and bubbling! Goodness, big fish were darting around! So many people followed suit! Now that place is packed! A sea of ​​people! If you go late, there's not even a crack in the ground to put your foot down!!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui felt a deafening roar in his mind! It was as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning! A seventeen or eighteen-year-old lad? A purchasing agent from the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill? He instantly identified Wei Chen, who had carried pheasants and rabbits back to the courtyard that afternoon!

An indescribably powerful torrent, a mixture of extreme shock, overwhelming jealousy, and immense regret, surged up to the top of his head like a volcanic eruption!

He seemed to see countless large fish shimmering with golden and silver scales—no, countless brand-new large unity notes, stacks of precious national grain coupons, and pieces of glistening pork belly—grow wings and flutter away before his eyes! Flying into other people's pockets and pots!

"Ouch!! My God!!!" Yan Bugui suddenly let out a heart-wrenching wail, like a rooster whose neck had been stepped on!

He slapped his thin, bony thigh hard, his face contorted with grief and despair. "I...I...I, Yan Bugui, have been shrewd my whole life, but I made a foolish mistake this time!! I...why didn't I stay and watch over Houhai?! I...I've lost everything!!!"

He could no longer care about his beloved little stool and the empty bucket that symbolized his shame. He grabbed his precious, gleaming bamboo pole and the empty fish basket, and like a monkey whose tail had been set on fire, he sprinted towards the Yinding Bridge in Houhai, his thin legs kicking up a trail of dust on the dirt road.

When he finally reached the west side of Yinding Bridge, panting heavily and his throat churning like a bellows, the sight before him completely petrified him, as if struck by lightning: people! People everywhere! A vast, dark mass, densely packed! As far as the eye could see, there were only throngs of heads and fishing rods reaching out into the water!

The shore was surrounded like an iron barrel, completely packed! Forget about squeezing in front of Wei Chen's legendary "divine seat," even getting close to the shore to absorb some of his "divine aura" was a luxury! Countless fishing rods stretched haphazardly towards the churning water like dense reeds.

A deafening roar of noise assaulted the senses: the ecstatic shouts of those who had caught a fish, the frustrated curses of those who had lost one, the heated arguments over positions, and the hoarse voices of the management staff trying to maintain order... all mixed together to form a dizzying torrent of noise.

He stood on tiptoe, craning his neck as far as he could, but could only see through the gaps in the crowd the huge splashes of water rising from the surface in the distance and the excited waving arms of the people on the shore. Occasionally, he could see a large fish being held high, shining brightly in the setting sun, being quickly stuffed into a fish basket.

"Make way! Please make way! Gentlemen, please have mercy! Let me through just a little bit! Just a little bit!" Yan Bugui was sweating profusely, like an ant on a hot pan, his thin body desperately trying to squeeze into the gap between people.

"What are you pushing for! Are you blind? Can't you see there's not even room to put your feet down? Get in line at the back!" A burly, bald man with a face full of scars impatiently shoved him aside. The force was so great that Yan Bugui staggered and almost fell.

"I...I just wanted to see...and maybe get some luck..." Yan Bugui said, supporting his aching back, his voice pleading.

"What are you looking at! Get out of the way! Don't block my way from catching fish! If you push again, I'll beat you up!" Another young man with a fierce expression also scolded him angrily, glaring at him fiercely.

Yan Bugui was pushed and shoved like a leaf in a storm, futilely weaving in and out of the surging crowd, but he could never get even half a step closer to the core area that exuded a "fishy, ​​wealthy" aura.

Hearing the excited shouts from inside, "Another one!", "Good heavens! This one is even bigger!", "We're rich!", and seeing the heavy fish baskets filled with big fish that were occasionally glimpsed through the gaps in the crowd, Yan Bugui's heart felt as if it were being devoured by countless poisonous insects!

He seemed to see ten-yuan bills, stacks of grain coupons that could be exchanged for flour, and chunks of fatty meat that could be boiled to extract thick layers of oil, all right in front of him, yet like flowers in a mirror or the moon's reflection in water, impossible to grasp!

"Wei Chen! Wei Chen, that little bastard!! Wasteful son!! Stupid as a pig!!!" He stood on the outskirts of the noisy, chaotic crowd, completely out of place with him, trembling with rage. His withered chest heaved violently as he cursed wildly in his mind. He had already confirmed from other people's descriptions that it was Wei Chen who had just been fishing here!

"This number one idiot! Fool! Blockhead!! He caught a big fish and didn't he keep fishing?! Fish until dark! Fish until the moon sets! Fish until all the fish in the water have died out before he leaves!! Giving away this prime location to someone else? Leaving the fat meat that's already in his mouth to someone else?! What is this if not stupidity?! This... how much will this cost?! How much!!!"

He beat his chest and stamped his feet, so annoyed he felt like his guts were turning green. He wished he could immediately use a time-reversal spell and stay under that old willow tree west of Yinding Bridge that afternoon! His cloudy old eyes were filled with gnashing hatred for Wei Chen's "utterly stupid" behavior and a bone-chilling jealousy that almost seemed to spew hellfire from his fellow anglers who "got a huge advantage from him, Yan Bugui"!

The setting sun cast a long, hunched shadow over his face, illuminating his gaunt, contorted face, contorted with intense resentment and twisted calculation. He felt he hadn't just lost a fish, but a glittering mountain of gold! One hundred million! No, a billion!

As dusk settled, the gray brick walls and tiled roofs of Beijing were dyed a somber indigo. A lingering sliver of molten gold-red hue struggled to fade from the horizon.

Wei Chen hunched over, pedaling hard on the pedals of his Forever 28 heavy-duty bicycle. Inside the specially made, thickened metal buckets on either side of the rear seat, a dozen plump and robust fish were crammed together, their salty steam and slimy smell spreading in the evening breeze like an invisible tail trailing behind the bike.

The wheels rolled over the smooth cement threshold of the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill gate with a dull thud. The small window of the guardhouse creaked open, and Old Wang's deeply lined face peeked out. His cloudy eyes blinked hard, and his nose twitched a few times like a hunting dog.

"Hey! Officer Wei!" Old Wang's face instantly broke into a familiar yet slightly obsequious smile, his voice booming, "This smell... pungent! Really pungent! Good heavens, another bumper harvest! The canteen workers are in for a treat today! Just the smell is enough to satisfy their cravings!" His gaze swept intently over the two heavy, water-splashed iron buckets.

Wei Chen steadied the slightly wobbling handlebars, smiled and nodded: "Delivering tasks to the factory, Master Wang, you're busy!" He increased the pressure on his feet and rode the bicycle towards the familiar area of ​​the logistics warehouse, which smelled of rust and machine oil.

The wheels rolled over the auxiliary road paved with coal ash in the factory area, making a monotonous and persistent "rustling" sound. The rich, fresh, and slightly fishy smell, like a drop of water thrown into boiling oil, instantly exploded in the somewhat dull pre-work closing factory area.

Although the work bell hadn't rung yet, many workers who had already left early or were waiting for their shift to end were already gathered in twos and threes by the wall smoking, or squatting by the roadside chatting. This unusual smell immediately captivated everyone's senses.

"Look! Wei Chen! It's that kid again!"

"My goodness! What...what's in this bucket? Fish? Good heavens, I can see fish tails thrashing around the edge! Before it was wild boar, and now they've brought in fish. Wei, the purchasing manager, is really something!"

"Tsk tsk, so fresh! Look how reflective those scales are! If only I could get a small piece..."

"Goodness, this fishy smell... it's making my stomach rumble even more! If I could just have a sip of the soup, I'd be absolutely thrilled!"

The low murmurs of conversation, the sounds of swallowing uncontrollably, and the rumbling of stomachs due to hunger intertwined in the cool evening air, creating a vivid backdrop to an era of famine.

Countless gazes, filled with naked envy, deep longing, and even a hint of indescribable awe, clung tightly to Wei Chen and his bicycle carrying the "fish," following him all the way until his figure was completely swallowed up by the heavy, peeling, dark green iron gate of the logistics warehouse.

Inside the logistics department's warehouse, the light was fragmented by the tall shelves, and the air was filled with a unique smell that was a mixture of machine oil, rust, old paper, and other indescribable old items.

Wei Chen parked his bicycle against the wall and untied the rough hemp rope that had been tightening around the water bucket, worn rough by the fish's struggles. The tin bucket landed with a dull thud, echoing briefly in the empty warehouse.

"Who is it? What's all this noise?" A slightly hoarse but strong and capable voice came from the inner room of the warehouse. Immediately, Liu Yuan, the leader of the third purchasing team, poked his energetic face out.