Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

"Hey! What a rare guest! Isn't this our Wei Da's capable man?" Zhao Dashan, a sharp-eyed purchasing agent, was the first to spot Wei Chen outside the door. He stubbed out the cigarette butt that had burned down to the filter and forced a warm smile to greet him, but behind that smile was an undisguised exhaustion and deep envy.

The others, Lao Hu, Xiao Liu, and Da Wu, also looked up, forcing smiles that were either sincere or forced, and crowded around, making the small office feel even more crowded.

"Xiao Wei! Come on! Come in and sit down! What are you standing for!" "Good heavens! The warehouse was buzzing with excitement just now! They said you brought back a huge bunch of prime fish! You've saved our Group Three from a major crisis! Awesome! Really awesome!"

"You've got the inside scoop, kid! Tell us the real secrets: where exactly is that fishing spot in Shichahai? Keeping it a secret isn't how we brothers operate!"

Wei Chen was half-pushed and half-forced to sit on a creaky wooden chair. He took the enamel-covered jar with several chipped pieces from Old Zhao's hand and waved his hand with a smile: "Brother Zhao, Brother Hu, and all you big brothers, I really don't have a fixed spot. It was pure blind luck. I just happened to run into a school of fish, and the bait was probably right. I caught a few big ones in a row, but the noise was so loud that it attracted all the fish around here."

"How many big connecting rods are there?" Old Wang smacked his chapped lips, his face filled with longing, as if the scene were right before his eyes. "That scene... just thinking about it is exciting! You have no idea, Xiao Wei,"

He leaned forward, lowering his already hoarse voice, his sorrow spreading like a thick fog, "Ever since you were poached by the security department, our group three's life... sigh, it's getting worse every day, like Wang Xiaoer celebrating the New Year—it's getting worse every year!"

Add to that this year's situation! Those communes and production teams down there are practically starving! Eggs? Before, they could at least scrape together a few by tightening their belts, but now? Even eggshells are a rare sight! They've collected plenty of chicken feathers, but can they even feed them? Mountain produce? It's been completely stripped bare—not a blade of grass remains!

Those warehouse clerks at the supply and marketing cooperative are all so arrogant, looking down on everyone! Begging and pleading for any extra quotas is harder than getting a penny-pincher to treat everyone to a meal! This month's shortfall..." He sighed heavily, smoke billowing from his nostrils, filled with endless anxiety, "It's hanging by a thread! Very hanging by a thread!"

"Old Wang is absolutely right!" The younger Liu chimed in, his handsome face now clouded with gloom. "I've worn my legs thin, my lips are worn down, I've said all the nice things I could think of, I'm practically begging for alms, and I'd be grateful if I could even get a few radishes or potatoes back! And they're all crooked, worm-eaten, rat-gnawed junk! The factory leaders are like death knells chasing us around every day, and the workers gossip about us behind our backs... Being a purchasing agent is fucking suffocating!" His young fist clenched unconsciously.

A suffocating sense of frustration and immense pressure to survive instantly filled the office, making even the smoke seem heavier.

Wei Chen listened quietly, sipping his tasteless plain water, his mind perfectly clear that what they said was true.

The existence of this space allowed him to transcend the cruel crushing reality, but looking at the deep lines of sorrow on the faces of his former comrades-in-arms, he felt little sense of superiority, only a deeper understanding of this difficult era.

"It's not easy for anyone," Wei Chen put down his enamel mug, his tone sincere. "If I have the opportunity again in the future, I will definitely help Group Three with anything." He left room for maneuver in his words. The space fish catch could not be supplied to Group Three indefinitely, but doing so occasionally could maintain the camaraderie among colleagues and also leave himself more options in this complicated factory area.

"That's great! Xiao Wei! Just for saying that!" Old Zhao patted Wei Chen's shoulder hard, finally managing a genuine smile on his face. "You're the one who remembers old times! Compared to those..." He didn't finish his sentence, but his eyes glanced meaningfully in the direction of the first office, and everyone understood the unspoken meaning.

Wei Chen chatted with a few of his old colleagues for a while about the factory's recent situation, listened to their complaints, and briefly talked about his work in the security department.

Outside the window, dusk had deepened, swallowing the last glimmer of light on the horizon. He rose to say goodbye: "Brothers, it's getting late. I'll come see you all again when I have time. My family is waiting for me, so I'll be going now."

"Okay! Go back quickly! Be careful on the road! Give our regards to your aunt!" "We'll definitely come visit sometime!"

Amidst the warm farewells of his colleagues, Wei Chen left the office, which was filled with the smoke of anxiety and the pressure of survival. As he walked out of the tall, arched gates of the steel rolling mill, the city lights were already on, and the cold night wind, carrying the smell of coal smoke, rushed towards him.

The bicycle glided briskly into the familiar Nanluoguxiang, the mottled walls and closed doors on both sides casting long, distorted shadows under the dim streetlights.

As he approached the familiar, peeling red gate of the tenement courtyard, Wei Chen's mind stirred. Three plump, robust fish, each weighing around ten pounds and brimming with energy, vanished instantly from his spatial backpack.

The next second, they appeared with splashes of water, making a "pitter-patter" sound, in the previously empty, thickened tin bucket in the side basket of the bicycle. He had put some cool water in the bucket beforehand, and the fish, suddenly entering the water, seemed to be reborn, immediately thrashing their tails powerfully, stirring up water and making dull thuds against the bucket walls.

Just as Wei Chen pushed his bike to the bottom of the stone steps at the entrance of the courtyard house, a thin, hunched figure, like a hyena smelling blood, suddenly darted out from the shadow of the old locust tree beside the gate, grabbing Wei Chen's handlebars with a gust of wind! The force was so great that the heavy bicycle wobbled violently.

"Wei Chen! Wei Chen! Wait! Wait!" The person who came was none other than the Third Uncle Yan Bugui. His face was as red as a pig's liver, and his eyes were covered with spider web-like blood vessels, as if he hadn't slept for days and nights, or as if he was about to vomit blood due to a sudden heart attack.

His withered fingers gripped the cold handlebars like iron clamps, his voice shrill and urgent, carrying an overwhelming bitterness and a sense of utter frustration:

"Xiao Wei! Tell your third uncle the truth! This afternoon! Around Shenshi (3-5 PM), were you fishing on the west bank of the back sea of ​​Shichahai?! Just a hundred or so steps west of Yinding Bridge, next to that crooked old willow tree?! Was it you?! Was it you?!" He spoke so fast it was like a machine gun, his spittle almost spraying onto Wei Chen's face.

Wei Chen steadied the car, looking at Yan Bugui's expression as if the sky had fallen. He understood, but nodded calmly, "Yes, Third Uncle. I had nothing to do this afternoon, so I went to Shichahai Lake to cast a couple of lines and try my luck."

"It really was you! I knew it! I knew it!!" Yan Bugui slapped his thin thigh hard, the force so great that he gasped in pain, his face contorted instantly, and his voice rose sharply, filled with heartbroken accusation.

"Oh, my silly boy! How could you... how could you be so impatient! You caught a fish, especially such a big one, which means the fish are coming! It's like the God of Wealth is knocking on your door with a money bag! How could you... how could you just leave like that?!"

You should stay right there! Even if you don't eat, drink, or relieve yourself, you have to fish! Fish until the moon is high in the sky! Fish until even the smallest fish in the water are rolling their eyes back before you leave!

He spoke with spittle flying, his fingers jabbing excitedly into the cold air, as if Wei Chen had committed an unforgivable crime, "Young man! Inexperienced! Can't calculate! To live a good life, you have to be able to make the abacus beads click loudly! Be thrifty!"

"Where are those fish you caught? Huh? Such big fish! Golden scales and red tails! Did you sell them to the steel mill? Or send them to the recycling station? That's all money that's practically jumping around! Money that can be exchanged for grain coupons, meat coupons, cloth coupons! If you sent them to the ghost market, they could be worth three times that. You...you're just wasting money! This...how much is this loss?! How much?!" He beat his chest and stamped his feet, as if Wei Chen hadn't thrown away fish, but flesh torn from his heart.

Wei Chen patiently listened to Yan Bugui's machine-gun-like tirade and "earnest admonitions," but before he could even speak, Yan Bugui's gaze, like a searchlight, greedily and precisely swept over the water bucket in the front basket of the bicycle.

When the three enormous fish, with their dark blue backs, silvery bellies, and enormous size, crammed into the cramped space and their tails still powerfully slapping against the barrel wall, came into view, Yan Bugui was as if struck by an invisible lightning bolt, instantly freezing in place!

He opened his mouth, making a "hoarse" sound in his throat, the rest of his words stuck in his throat, his eyes wide open as if they were about to pop out of their sockets, staring intently at the three fish, his breathing becoming as heavy as a broken bellows.

"Hiss—!" He gasped, his withered fingers trembling as he pointed at the bucket. His voice was dry and hoarse, trembling with disbelief. "This...this big?! How many...how many did you catch? I heard...I heard there were more than a dozen? And the rest...were all...sold?" Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Hmm," Wei Chen responded casually, subtly prying open Yan Bugui's cold, stiff fingers that were still gripping the handlebars tightly. "I'm a purchasing agent for a steel mill. Most of the fish I catch are used to meet the factory's quota. These three are for my family to enjoy." He pushed the bike, preparing to walk around Yan Bugui into the yard.

"Eat them all by yourself?! Three?! Three of these big?!" Yan Bugui's voice sharpened again, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, filled with disbelief and heartache. "This...this would take forever to eat! What a waste! What a squandering of food!"

His eyes darted around quickly, and a very "amiable" smile instantly appeared on his face. He leaned forward and lowered his voice, speaking in a coaxing tone: "Little Wei, look... Uncle San has a bottle of his best wine that he's kept hidden away! Genuine Erguotou! Authentic!"

"How about we have a couple of drinks tonight, you and your father? Let your auntie cook! Her fish cooking is the best in the neighborhood!"

He gave Wei Chen a thumbs up and waved it in front of him. "I guarantee it will taste better than your mom's... better than Aunt Wang's! Let's... eat and chat, and I'll explain the ins and outs of fishing to you. From now on, the two of us will team up, and I guarantee we'll make a fortune every time!"

"We'll split the profits 50/50... No, you're young and strong, you'll take 70%! Uncle only needs 30%!" He rubbed his hands together, his eyes scanning eagerly back and forth between the bucket full of fish and Wei Chen's face, as if he could already see the beautiful scene of fish and meat with wine and the jingling "profit sharing" beckoning to him.