Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

"You still have the nerve to howl! You should be thinking about how to handle this! This isn't over!" Wei Chen's voice suddenly turned fierce, like a drawn steel blade. "Today, while I was away, you maliciously spread rumors, cursing me to be buried in the wilderness, to die a gruesome death! This isn't just idle gossip, it's a vicious curse, your heart is despicable!"

"You took advantage of my mother living alone at home, in poor health, and made a scene in public, stabbing her in the heart with these baseless and absurd words! You've made her restless day and night, constantly in tears! Jia Zhangshi, if anything happens to my mother, can you bear the responsibility? You're bullying a martyr's family member, you're utterly heartless!"

"I, Wei Chen, was sent by the factory to Inner Mongolia, risking my life in the freezing cold, all to find a way for the factory, the country, and the families of thousands of employees in our steel rolling mill to make ends meet at the end of the year! While I was working myself to the bone, what were you doing behind the scenes? Instead of hoping for peace for our neighbors, you used the dirtiest heart to scheme against people and the most venomous tongue to curse them! You insulted my mother! You coveted my family's property!"

Wei Chen's voice grew louder and louder, unleashing the chilling aura he had brought back from the battlefield of life and death without reservation:

"This slap is to wake you up and remind you that you can eat anything, but you can't say anything! Especially not such vicious things!"

"Mrs. Jia! I'm telling you, and I'm telling all the neighbors here!"

Wei Chen turned to face the entire academy, his voice deep and powerful:

"My trip this time was an emergency procurement mission personally assigned by Li Huaide, the deputy director of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill! I have official documents and a letter of introduction from the mill! I have successfully completed the mission! The procured materials were all transported back to the mill this afternoon, and Deputy Director Li personally led a team to inspect and count them! The mill will issue a report on this soon, and Director Wang of the street office will also know!"

His words were like a bombshell, exploding once again in the crowd. Deputy Factory Director Li personally assigned the task? The mission was accomplished? And he even made a contribution? The way everyone looked at Wei Chen completely changed; shock, curiosity, and awe replaced all the previous suspicions.

Wei Chen's gaze, sharp as lightning, once again pierced Jia Zhangshi, whose face was deathly pale and who was covering her face, too ashamed to utter another sound:

"This matter is not over yet!"

"This slap is interest! When your son Jia Dongxu returns, your Jia family must issue a public and formal apology to my mother, to me, and to the entire compound for spreading rumors, cursing, and bullying my mother today!"

"If your Jia family is not sensible enough to do this..."

Wei Chen spoke each word slowly and deliberately, as if delivering a verdict:

"Tomorrow morning, I'll take the factory's certificate and go to the steel rolling mill's security department to accuse you, Jia Zhangshi, of spreading rumors, undermining the unity of the working class, and maliciously attacking the family members of meritorious employees! Then I'll go to the street office and ask Director Wang and all the neighbors to judge the matter!"

If that doesn't work, we'll go to the police station, to the district government! I, Wei Chen, am telling you this: I won't rest until I get justice! Let's see what kind of crime it is to bully the families of those working tirelessly on the front lines of the steel mill, to bully the families of martyrs! I want to see if this new society will tolerate a spewing filth and cowardly old hag like you!

These words were forceful and menacing! Especially the last phrase, "old hag," was utterly ruthless and completely tore off the mask of civility.

Terrified by the barrage of questions and the ultimatum, Jia Zhangshi was especially shaken by the mention of "factory security," "street office," and "police station." Coupled with the fact that Wei Chen had indeed performed a meritorious service, and even Deputy Factory Director Li knew about it… she felt dizzy, her legs went weak, and she would have collapsed to the ground if Aunt Liu hadn't been supporting her. The burning pain on her face was nothing compared to the fear in her heart. Her son Jia Dongxu's future… she dared not think any further.

The entire courtyard fell silent, trembling with fear. Their gazes towards Wei Chen were filled with terror and disbelief. This usually quiet kid, how could he be so ruthless? How could he speak so harshly? And even threaten to take this to the factory, the neighborhood committee, and the police station? Was he determined to fight the Jia family to the death?

After Wei Chen finished speaking, he stopped looking at Jia Zhangshi, whose face was ashen, and the neighbors who were standing there dumbfounded. He turned around, the coldness on his face instantly melting away, replaced by gentleness. He gently took his mother's arm and said softly, "Mom, it's cold outside, let's go home. I want to eat your hot soup noodles."

Hearing her son's heartfelt words and how protective he was of her, Wang Xiulan was overjoyed! In fact, seeing her son standing in front of her unharmed, even more energetic, the heavy stone that had been weighing on her heart for almost a month finally fell to the ground with a thud.

Tears welled up again, but this time they were hot, joyful tears. She nodded vigorously, holding her son's arm tightly, as if she were holding onto a lost treasure that had been found again, and also holding onto all her hopes and reliance for the future.

"Hey! Come home! Mom will make it for you right away! The dough was rolled out a long time ago, and there are eggs too. We have scallions from the vegetable patch in our yard, they're so fresh!" Wang Xiulan's voice was still choked with emotion, but it was already full of vitality and joy.

Under the complex and awe-inspiring gazes of everyone in the courtyard, Wei Chen, supporting his mother, steadily and step by step, crossed the front yard and headed towards the east wing of their home.

The low, mottled wooden door was pushed open, and the figures of the mother and son disappeared behind it. Then, the door was gently closed with a "click," shutting out the shock, fear, embarrassment, and lingering apprehension that filled the courtyard.

The last rays of the setting sun lingered on the bare branches of the old jujube tree in the courtyard, casting long, twisted shadows on the ground.

The light illuminated Jia Zhangshi's pale, paper-white face, filled with fear and dejection, and also the bewildered expressions of the other neighbors.

Everyone understood that from today onwards, something was different in courtyard number 95. The Wei family boy who used to just nod when he saw people, didn't talk much, and seemed to have no temper, had returned from outside this time as if he were wrapped in an invisible, hard shell. Anyone who tried to easily manipulate him would probably break a few teeth.

In the east courtyard.

As the small wooden door closed gently behind me with a soft "click," it seemed to shut out all the noise, malice, and disturbances of the front yard into another world.

The courtyard fell silent instantly. The chill of the early winter evening seemed to be kept out, and although there was little warmth in the courtyard, there was a sense of peace and tranquility.

The three north-facing tile-roofed houses were kept clean and tidy. The old window paper on the window frames was neatly pasted, and several strings of dried red peppers and golden corn hung under the eaves. Neatly stacked honeycomb briquettes and chopped firewood were piled up in the corner.

In the small vegetable patch, the cold-resistant spinach and scallions still stubbornly retained a bit of green. This was Wei Chen's home, simple, yet filled with the warmth of life carefully tended by his mother and sister.

As soon as Wang Xiulan entered the door, all the strength she had been holding on to in the front yard seemed to have been drained away, and she swayed slightly. Wei Chen quickly helped her up and sat her down at the old, well-worn square table in the main room.

"Chenzi, let Mom take a look!" Wang Xiulan disregarded her own feelings and grabbed her son's arm, examining him carefully from head to toe.

Her hands trembled slightly as she touched her son's broad shoulders and strong arms, then checked his face and neck. "You've lost weight and gotten darker... Did you get hurt outside? Did you catch a chill? Are you eating on time? Did you encounter any danger?" A barrage of questions came like a flood, mixed with an overwhelming sense of worry and lingering fear.

Wei Chen let his mother examine him, his heart filled with warmth and a bittersweet feeling. He grasped his mother's hands, rough from years of hard work but now icy cold, and squeezed them tightly, a warm smile spreading across his face: "Mom, I'm fine, perfectly alright. Look, I'm all right here, not a single hair is missing. How dangerous could the task the factory assigned be? It was just a bit far, and the journey was a little tiring."

He deliberately downplayed the events, making no mention of the wolf packs on the grasslands, the blizzards, or the life-or-death struggles.

"It's alright, it's alright..." Wang Xiulan murmured repeatedly, tears welling up in her eyes again, but this time they were tears of complete relaxation and joy.

She pulled her son to sit on the long bench, then sat opposite him, watching him intently, as if she couldn't get enough of looking at him. "You have no idea, this past month, my heart has been fried in oil. I've been hoping day and night, fearing something might happen to you out there. The gossip in the neighborhood... sigh!" She sighed, her eyes reddening again as she spoke, not for the injustice she had suffered, but for the vicious curses her son had been subjected to.

"Mom, I heard everything." Wei Chen's smile faded, his tone calm but firm. "I'm sorry you had to suffer. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing, and I won't let this go. From now on, I will never allow anyone to bully our family again."

Looking into her son's calm and determined eyes, Wang Xiulan's last lingering unease and anxiety dissipated. Her son had grown up; he was truly capable of carrying on the family name. She wiped away her tears and nodded, "Mom knows, Mom knows you have a plan. It's just... it's just that old woman from the Jia family, her mouth is so sharp. Just now... sigh, you ended up taking action. I'm afraid she'll hold a grudge even more in the future."

"Holding a grudge?" Wei Chen sneered. "Mom, some people, the more you give in to them, the more they take advantage. This slap today is to tell her, and everyone in the compound, that our family isn't pushovers. From now on, she'll have to think twice before spewing nonsense." He paused, his tone softening. "Mom, don't worry, I know what I'm doing. We're in the right here."

Then, Wei Chen began to tell his mother about his experiences on this "business trip".

Of course, he only talked about the interesting and safe parts: the endless snowfields on the grassland, the frozen lakes like mirrors, the hot milk tea in the herders' tents, the marmots that looked like small mounds, and the clumsy wild horses that shook the earth when they ran (he omitted the hunting part)... He deliberately spoke in a relaxed, even exaggerated way, making his mother exclaim in surprise, "Are there really such big rats?" and then worry, "Walking on the frozen lake is so dangerous."

Although the fire in the stove had not yet been lit in the small main room, the warmth of the mother and son sitting around talking had already dispelled the chill.