Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

The dilapidated house fell silent for a moment, with only the faint crackling of the burning kerosene lamp and the whistling wind outside. Wei Chen sat there silently, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on his knees, making a rhythmic "tap-tap" sound, as if he were carefully weighing his options.

Tiger's heart was in his throat. He stared at him expectantly, even his breathing became shallow.

In fact, Wei Chen already had a plan in mind. The game world refreshes between twenty and fifty pigs every day, and Wei Chen stores them in his backpack after "killing" them each day, with a maximum capacity of 999 pigs in one slot. He can accumulate more over time when needed.

He doesn't lack pork, but he must strictly control the outflow to avoid attracting attention. Previously, the two outings per month were a test, and also a way to keep a low profile. Now it seems that Tiger's supply line is quite stable, his appetite has grown, and... he happens to have new needs.

After about half a minute, Wei Chen stopped knocking, raised his head, and stared at Tiger Brother with lightning-fast eyes: "Five heads a month."

"Five...five heads?!" Tiger was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened, his breathing became heavy, and an incredulous joy surged across his face. He almost jumped off the wooden stump. "Brother! You...you mean it? Five heads a month?!"

This number far exceeded his expectations! Five plump, high-quality pigs were enough to elevate his status on the black market to a new level in these times! How many scarce goods could he exchange for them? How many connections could he make open? He could almost see the golden road ahead!

But Wei Chen's next words were like a bucket of cold water, calming his heated mind a little.

"However, the terms of the trade need to be changed."

Tiger's heart tightened, and he quickly said, "Brother, just say the word! As long as I can get it, I won't hesitate!"

"Five pigs," Wei Chen said slowly, his voice exceptionally clear in the quiet, dilapidated house. "The price is three yuan, as you said! I only need half the money and the daily necessities' tickets. I want to exchange the other half for something else."

"Change to what?" Tiger asked eagerly.

"Gold. And old objects, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, jade... anything of good quality and with a long history, I want it all." Wei Chen said, word by word, his tone calm but carrying an undeniable air of authority.

"Gold? Antiques?" Tiger was stunned again, his face showing astonishment and confusion. "Brother, you...you're trying to hoard valuables? But in this world, these things...they're worthless! They're far less valuable than grain and meat!"

Those former wealthy families, the old remnants of the old regime, had hidden treasures at home. They were practically giving them away for free just to exchange for food! They were practically dirt cheap, and nobody even wanted them! He was getting a little anxious, wondering if "Iron Tower" had lost his mind, abandoning real food and scarce resources to exchange for those "useless" things.

"Don't worry about that, Brother Tiger." Wei Chen's tone remained calm, as if he were talking about something insignificant. "I have my uses for it. Just tell me, can you get these things consistently and reliably? I don't want junk, I want high-quality gold, antiques in good condition with a provenance. The price will be based on the market rate; I won't make things difficult for you."

Looking into "Iron Tower's" calm, deep eyes, Tiger suddenly understood something. This mysterious "Iron Tower" brother was probably not after this small, insignificant gain.

Hoarding gold and antiques? Either it's long-term stockpiling, and these things will eventually become valuable; or there's a larger force behind it that needs these things to operate. Either way, it means that Tiger Brother might have latched onto an even more powerful patron!

Having figured this out, Tiger's doubts were instantly replaced by even greater excitement. Buying gold and antiques at near-junk prices and then reselling them for scarce pork—the profits were unimaginable! And he could even use this to connect with potential connections behind the "Iron Tower"...

"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!" Tiger almost slapped his thigh. He suppressed his excitement, lowered his voice, and said with a hint of mystery and confidence, "Brother, to be honest, I happen to have two connections that specialize in dealing with those down-on-their-luck Manchus and former officials. These people might be struggling to make ends meet, but they still have some old treasures hidden away! Trading pork for these? They'd be more than happy to do it! Leave it to me! I guarantee I'll get you the best stuff!"

"Then it's settled." Wei Chen stood up, his tall figure casting a long shadow under the kerosene lamp. "Draft a detailed agreement outlining the specific conversion rates, priority items, and prices. We'll follow that agreement for the next transaction. Same old rules: no face-to-face meetings. Leave the items here, and I'll collect them myself."

"No problem! Don't worry, brother!" Tiger quickly stood up, patted his chest and assured him, "I know the rules! I guarantee I'll handle it perfectly and won't let you worry about it!" He was already thinking about how to mobilize resources, how to lower the price, and how to select those old items.

With the business settled, both sides breathed a sigh of relief. Tiger was eager to go back and digest this incredible news and begin preparations. "Iron Tower," on the other hand, indicated that they could leave first.

"Brother, what about this oil press..." Tiger pointed to the heavy iron machine in the corner.

"Leave it here, I'll handle it myself," "Iron Tower" said.

"Alright! Let's go! I'll bring people to pick up the goods in three hours!" Tiger clasped his hands in a fist salute, said no more, gave Stone a wink, and the two quickly packed up, glanced warily at the door, and then, one after the other, silently disappeared into the darkness outside the door like cats. Their footsteps soon faded into the distance and disappeared in the howling wind.

Inside the dilapidated house, only Wei Chen remained, along with the dim kerosene lamp.

He didn't act immediately, but stood still again, spreading his mental energy to its fullest extent, like the most sophisticated radar, scanning a radius of a hundred meters centered on the abandoned courtyard. Every rustle of wind, every chirp of insects, every scurrying of rats was clearly detected. He confirmed that Tiger and his companion had indeed gone far away, leaving no spies behind, and that there were no other lurking figures nearby.

well.

He walked to the heavy oil press, bent down, and grasped the cold cast iron base with both hands, as if to lift it with force. With a slight thought, the invisible door in his mind quietly opened.

The heavy machine, weighing several hundred pounds, along with its scattered parts, vanished from his hands in an instant, as if it had never existed. In reality, it had been safely moved to a storage corner of the hunter's cabin in the game world.

Then he walked to the open space in the center of the room. It was relatively cleaner there. He stood still for a moment, seemingly adjusting his breathing. The next instant, something strange happened—

An invisible ripple seemed to spread through the air, and then, as if by magic, seven plump, strong, and glossy adult pigs appeared out of thin air in the open space!

Each of them weighed over 300 pounds, with clean, fresh cuts on their necks—deliberately left by Wei Chen, after all, they couldn't all be "arrow wounds"! The blood in the wounds hadn't completely congealed, gleaming a dark reddish sheen under the dim light, and one could even feel the lingering warmth of the corpses. A strong, fresh smell of blood and the distinctive odor of animals instantly filled the dilapidated house, mingling with the previous smell of rust and dust to create a peculiar and intense presence.

These are seven fat pigs that Wei Chen hunted in advance in the game world and stored in the game's "backpack" where time was frozen. Two were extras from the oil press, and five were "deposits" for the next transaction, demonstrating his strength and sincerity.

After doing all this, Wei Chen's face remained expressionless. He glanced one last time at the seven fat pigs on the ground, which could be described as "a fortune," then turned around and blew out the flickering kerosene lamp.

The room was plunged into complete darkness in an instant, with only a strong smell of blood filling the air.

His figure blended into the darkness outside the door. Instead of taking the original route, he chose another direction and disappeared behind the broken walls and ruins after a few leaps.

This time, he was faster and more elusive, like a true ghost, traversing the maze-like ruins and alleys, taking detours and turning back many times. Only after confirming that there were absolutely no tails behind him did he quietly return to the secluded corner where he had initially changed his identity.

Entering the hunter's hut in the game world again, a warm atmosphere enveloped him. He walked to the bronze mirror, circulated his inner energy, and his muscles and bones underwent subtle changes once more. His burly figure gradually shrank, and his rugged facial features softened, restoring Wei Chen's original handsome and gentle appearance. He changed back into his ordinary dark clothes and removed his headscarf.

The person in the mirror has returned to being that somewhat frail-looking young worker who works quietly in the machine repair workshop of the steel rolling mill.

His thoughts shifted, returning to that cold corner of the real world. The night remained deep, and the wind howled. He carefully sensed his surroundings; all was silent.

His figure unfolded once more, like a wisp of smoke in the dark night, quietly slipping back to No. 95 Nanluoguxiang along a complex yet safe path. Upon arriving at the outer wall of the east courtyard, he did not climb over directly, but instead clung to the shadows like a gecko, once again using his mental power to sense the interior of the courtyard.

Everything was as usual. Mother's breathing was steady and long. Big Yellow rolled over in its nest. The other three hospitals remained immersed in sleep or tossing and turning.

He took a deep breath and leaped lightly, pressing his palm against the wall. His body flipped silently over, landing as lightly as a feather. He walked to his room's window, listened intently, then gently pushed open the slightly ajar window, nimbly slipped inside, closed the window behind him, and locked the latch.

The whole process went unnoticed; even the most alert dog, Big Yellow, only twitched its ears in its sleep.

Inside, the chill hadn't yet dissipated. Wei Chen quickly took off his coat and lay back down in the still-warm bed. He closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, as if he had never left.

But his consciousness was lost in the game world. In the hunter's cabin, the rusty oil press stood quietly in the corner. In the "farmland" area outside the city, on a specially designated plot of land, peanuts, soybeans, and rapeseed were thriving under the game's rules, soon to be harvested. Before long, the first batch of oil would be produced here. Oil freedom was within reach.

The expanded trade with Tiger, exchanging seemingly "useless" pork for future "hard currency," is a strategic move already in place. A stable output of five pigs per month will bring him a large amount of gold and antiques. This demonstrates the time traveler's grasp of future trends and is a huge investment hidden in the shadows. Tiger's connections and influence may also have other applications.

The wind outside the window seemed to have subsided a bit, and the faint crowing of roosters could be heard in the distance; dawn was approaching.