Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Inside the east courtyard, life is peaceful and warm.

However, just a wall away, other families in the courtyard were experiencing their own unique lives.

The front yard, the Yan family's house.

Uncle Yan Bugui sat in the main seat, with a plate of pork and cabbage dumplings in front of him, the quantity of which was accurate to the last digit. There was also a small dish of vinegar and a dish of minced garlic next to him.

The dumplings were made from a mixture of wheat flour and other wheat flours, but they were still dumplings, and each one actually contained a bit of meat. This was a significant leap forward for the Yan family, who in previous years could only make dumplings with cabbage stalks and pork cracklings.

"Is everyone here?" Yan Bugui adjusted his glasses, his gaze sweeping over the three aunts, Yan Jiefang, Yan Jiekuang, and Yan Jiedi at the table. He cleared his throat. "Today is New Year's Eve, a time to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new. In the past year, our whole family..."

As usual, he began his ten-minute New Year's speech, nothing more than the same old clichés about thrift, hard work, and mutual assistance. The children listened absentmindedly, their eyes fixed on the plate of dumplings.

"...In short, in the new year, we must continue to carry forward the spirit of hard work and frugality!" Yan Bugui finally summarized, then picked up his chopsticks. "Let's eat. As usual, twelve dumplings for each person. Jiefang and Jie Kuang are still growing, so we'll add two more. Jie Di, you're the youngest, so you'll add one too. Eat slowly and carefully, appreciate the hard-won fruits of labor, and savor the taste of this meat filling. You know, this meat is hard-earned..." He then began to elaborate.

"Okay, Dad!" Yan Jiefang couldn't wait any longer. He picked up a dumpling, dipped it in vinegar, and stuffed it whole into his mouth. It was so hot he gasped, but he chewed it with a happy expression. "Mmm...it has meat! So delicious!"

Yan Jiekuang and Yan Jiedi quickly picked up their chopsticks, afraid of eating too slowly. The three aunts smiled as they watched the children wolf down their food. They ate their own portions of dumplings in small bites, thinking about the remaining filling and dough, wondering if they could make another batch tomorrow.

This year, thanks to the replacement of the wild donkey meat, the Yan family's New Year's Eve dinner finally had a real "New Year's flavor".

In the west wing of the courtyard, at Aunt Liu's house, the lights were on, brighter than usual. On the table sat a bowl of stewed cabbage with sliced ​​pork; the slices were thin and few in number, but glistened with oil under the light. Next to it was a large plate of plump cabbage and pork dumplings. There was also a dish of stir-fried shredded potatoes and a dish of pickled vegetables.

Aunt Liu, Niu Dali, and Niu Xiaocao sat around the table. Niu Dali, with a憨厚 (honest and simple) smile, rubbed his hands together: "Mom, there's so much meat in the dumpling filling this year! It smells amazing!"

Niu Xiaocao nodded vigorously, staring longingly at the dumplings.

Aunt Liu's eyes were a little red. She touched her son's head and hugged her daughter. "Yes, it's all thanks to your brother Wei Chen... If it weren't for him, the three of us wouldn't know if we could have eaten dumplings with meat this year."

She remembered the heavy bag of meat that Little Stone and Little Grass had brought back two nights ago, and her heart was filled with gratitude. "Here, eat up, eat more. Dali, you're growing, eat more. Little Grass, you eat too."

The mother and her two children started eating. Although they were still poor, the house was filled with a long-lost warmth and contentment. The aroma of the meat slices and the steam from the dumplings dispelled the bleakness of previous years.

In the backyard, in Grandma Li's little house, the fire in the stove wasn't very strong, but it was warm enough. On the small table sat a bowl of stewed radish and pork; the pork pieces weren't large, but they were stewed until tender, and the broth was rich and flavorful. There was also a small bowl of dumplings and a few steamed buns made from a mixture of wheat and water.

Grandma Li and Little Stone sat facing each other, eating slowly. The room was quiet, with only the soft sounds of their chewing and the faint sound of firecrackers outside the window. She had no other relatives, only her little grandson, Little Stone, and the two of them depended on each other for survival! In previous years, on New Year's Eve, the two of them would eat cornbread with pickled vegetables, listen to the festivities outside, and silently shed tears.

But this year was different. The meat in the bowl was substantial, and the dumplings smelled delicious. She chewed slowly, her cloudy eyes gazing at the hazy night outside the window, then at the small oil lamp on the table. Little Stone wolfed down his dumplings, occasionally glancing up at his grandmother! Grandma Li's withered lips twitched slightly, revealing a rare smile, and she murmured softly, "That child from the Wei family... is a good one. Xiulan is blessed... Little Stone, remember the kindness of your brother Wei Chen..."

In the backyard, at Xu Damao's house, the doors and windows were tightly shut, it was dark and desolate. Xu Damao had gone back to his parents' house early for the New Year. In the empty house, only moonlight streamed through the windows, casting a cold glow. Compared to the faint sounds of laughter and chatter coming from next door, the silence here was eerily quiet.

The backyard, Liu Haizhong's house.

Uncle Liu Haizhong sat in the main seat, with several dishes laid out before him: a plate of scrambled eggs, a plate of cabbage and vermicelli with a few slices of fatty meat, a small dish of peanuts, and a plate of dumplings. The dishes were more lavish than those of an average family, but not particularly impressive. Liu Haizhong held up his wine glass, which contained loose-batch baijiu (Chinese liquor), cleared his throat, and said solemnly, "Today is New Year's Eve, a time to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new. As the pillar of the family, let me say a few words first..."

He began a long lecture, covering everything from the international situation to domestic development, from factory work to family responsibilities. The core idea was simply to emphasize his authority as a father and head of the family, and to demand that his children be more obedient and hardworking in the new year, so as to make him, their second uncle, proud.

Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu kept their heads down, but their eyes kept glancing at the plate of scrambled eggs and dumplings, their throats bobbing. Taking advantage of Liu Haizhong tilting his head back to drink, Liu Guangfu quietly reached out with his chopsticks to pick up a peanut, but was tapped on the back of the hand by the sharp-eyed Liu Haizhong with his chopsticks.

"No manners! I haven't finished speaking!" Liu Haizhong glared. Liu Guangfu winced in pain, too angry to speak. Liu Guangqi sat to the side, wearing an awkward but polite smile, inwardly disapproving of his father's behavior, yet daring not to show it.

"Guangqi, you're the eldest, and a vocational school graduate, you're the pride of our family! Say something and set an example for your younger brothers!" Liu Haizhong called out.

Liu Guangqi pushed up his glasses, coughed dryly, and forced himself to say a few platitudes such as "thank you for raising me," "study hard," and "serve the country in the future," which were rather uninspiring.

After Liu Haizhong finally finished his lecture and announced that dinner was served, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu immediately pounced on the food like hungry tigers. If it weren't for the fact that it was Lunar New Year's Eve, Liu Haizhong probably would have already given them a beating with a belt. Even so, the atmosphere at the dinner table remained oppressive and far from warm.

In the middle courtyard, at the Jia family's residence, the atmosphere was heavy and strange. On the table sat a pot of stewed cabbage with vermicelli, with a few slices of pork floating in it, a dish of pickled vegetables, and a plate of a small number of dumplings.

Jia Zhangshi decided to chop half of the half pound of meat and mix it into the cabbage to make dumplings, while the other half was cooked into this stew.

Jia Dongxu sat there silently, his face pale. Qin Huairu quietly distributed the dumplings into everyone's bowls: six for Banggeng, four for Xiaodang, six for Jia Zhangshi, six for Jia Dongxu, and only two for herself.

"Dinner's ready!" At Jia Zhangshi's command, her chopsticks flashed like lightning to the largest pieces of fatty meat in the stew pot. In an instant, she grabbed two pieces, stuffed one into her mouth, and put the other into the rice bowl.

"Good grandson, eat more, grow strong!" Banggeng followed suit, quickly picking up meat, especially the fatty pieces. Jia Dongxu frowned, said nothing, and also reached for some meat with his chopsticks, only to find that the better slices of meat were all gone, leaving only some minced meat and cabbage.

He felt stifled, but couldn't show it. Qin Huairu put some cabbage and vermicelli on Xiaodang's plate and soaked half a cornbread in the vegetable broth for her. She herself ate the two dumplings with pickled vegetables, her gaze lowered, lost in thought. The aroma of meat filled the air, but it seemed to have nothing to do with her.

Under the table, Xiao Dang timidly ate the softened cornbread, glancing at the meat in his grandmother's and brother's bowls, swallowing hard, but not daring to utter a sound.

As Jia Zhangshi chewed on the fatty meat, she mumbled curses, "You heartless bastard, you hide away any good stuff, you ungrateful wretch... My eldest grandson is the most filial..."

He didn't know who they were cursing. Jia Dongxu was annoyed by what he heard, and he shoveled down a few mouthfuls of rice. He felt that the New Year's Eve dinner, which he could barely tolerate in previous years, tasted particularly bad this year.

Zhongyuan, Yi Zhonghai's house.

Yi Zhonghai sat facing an older woman. The dishes on the table were quite good: a plate of scrambled eggs with scallions, a plate of stir-fried cabbage with cured pork, a small braised fish, a dish of peanuts, and a plate of dumplings.

With his salary as a level-seven worker and no children to support him, the old man's standard of living had always been among the best in the neighborhood. But at this moment, the two of them were eating in silence, the house unusually quiet. The faint sounds of laughter and firecrackers outside the window only accentuated the desolation inside.

An older woman placed a piece of fish in Yi Zhonghai's bowl with her chopsticks and sighed, "Old Yi, eat more."

Yi Zhonghai grunted in response, his appetite gone. The frustration he felt that afternoon with Wei Chen still lingered in his mind. Wei Chen's seemingly impenetrable yet subtly sarcastic words felt like a thorn stuck in his heart.

He felt that his authority as an elder was being challenged like never before, and what worried him even more was that Wei Chen's rise seemed to be breaking the balance he had carefully maintained in the compound and shaking the foundation of his retirement plan.

"Has it been sent to the old lady's side?" Yi Zhonghai asked.

"It's been delivered. As you said, I added a few extra pieces of meat." The older woman nodded. "The old lady said she wasn't feeling well and didn't want to come and eat."

Yi Zhonghai knew that the old lady wasn't actually feeling unwell; she was clearly upset and embarrassed after being rebuffed by Wei Chen that afternoon. She didn't want to come out and see anyone, especially not to see the potential excitement at other people's homes.

He didn't say anything, but just sighed again. Families without children dread the Lunar New Year the most. The usual festive atmosphere was something they deliberately created to maintain appearances, but this year, that festive spirit seemed to be slipping away from them.

Hearing the faint sounds of children laughing and talking coming from the courtyard, Yi Zhonghai felt even more choked up.