Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

"Mom, Ranran, I'm back." Wei Chen pushed open the door, and a warm, food-scented breeze wafted in.

"Brother! You're back!" Wei Ran put down her pen and skipped over. "Why are you later than usual? Is something wrong at the factory?" Wang Xiulan asked with concern, her hand still holding the spatula.

"It's alright, Mom. I've gone to get the photos." Wei Chen smiled and took out the bag of peach shortbread from his bag. "I also bought some peach shortbread. You and Ranran can try some."

"You're wasting money again!" Wang Xiulan scolded playfully, but a hint of a smile still flashed in her eyes when she saw the oil paper package. Wei Ran had already cheerfully accepted it.

Then, Wei Chen carefully took out the brown paper bag and placed it on the clean square table. "Look, our family photo."

Wang Xiulan quickly turned off the stove, wiped her hands with her apron, and came over. Wei Ran, forgetting about the peach pastries, moved closer to the table, her little face full of anticipation.

Wei Chen carefully opened the paper bag, took out the photo frame, and turned the photo so that the front of the photo faced his mother and sister.

Under the dim light, the three people in the black and white photograph looked incredibly lifelike. The room fell silent instantly, with only the occasional crackling of the fireplace.

Wang Xiulan's gaze fell on the photo. She stared at it blankly for several seconds, then her eyes visibly reddened. She reached out her finger, as if wanting to touch her daughter's smiling face or her son's tall figure in the photo, but stopped just before touching it, afraid of soiling its smooth surface.

Her lips moved slightly, but no sound came out. Her eyes, however, were filled with complex emotions—gratification,感慨 (a sense of感慨, deep emotion), remembrance of her deceased husband, and profound love and contentment for her two children. This photograph seemed to encapsulate the hardships of most of her life and the peace she felt at this moment within a small space.

"Mom, the photo is great! Look how beautiful your smile is!" Wei Ran broke the silence, pointing to her mother in the photo, then to herself, "Me! My brother! The three of us are in it!"

"Yes, good, really good..." Wang Xiulan's voice choked slightly. She quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and forced a smile. "The photo turned out really well. The photographer at this studio is quite skilled. I... I never thought I'd get such a decent photo taken in my life..."

"Mom, let's take a picture every year from now on!" Wei Chen put his arm around his mother's shoulder and said gently, "Let's hang it in the house and watch us change year by year."

"Yes! We take photos every year!" Wei Ran clapped her hands in agreement.

"Nonsense, that would cost so much money..." Wang Xiulan said, but she couldn't stop smiling. She examined the photo for a while, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh right, Chen'er, isn't that certificate you got for your merit last year kept in a box? Go frame it and hang it up! Put this photo in that certificate frame and hang them together on the wall, how about that? On one side, it's your achievement at the factory, and on the other side, it's our whole family being happy and harmonious."

Wei Chen's heart skipped a beat. The "Advanced Individual in Righteous and Courageous Acts" certificate jointly issued by the steel mill and the street office was for his previous meritorious service. He also had two other certificates: one for advanced worker issued by the factory, and one for advanced individual issued by the district! They were all his honors.

The mother had always treasured it, carefully wrapping it in a red cloth and storing it at the bottom of a box. Now, she suggested putting the family photo and the certificate together, the meaning of which is self-evident—in her heart, her son's honor and the family reunion are equally important, even mutually reinforcing sources of pride.

"Okay, Mom, I'll do as you say." Wei Chen nodded.

Wang Xiulan immediately took action, carefully rummaging through the bottom of the box to find the red cloth bag. Inside, the certificates bearing red medal designs and commendations were still brand new. She then found a slightly larger old glass frame she had kept from before and carefully wiped it clean.

Then, she gestured and placed the certificate at the bottom of the frame, and then placed the family photo neatly on top of the certificate, slightly above the center. This way, the contents and signature of the certificate could be fully displayed, and the family photo could become the most prominent visual center.

"Ranran, go and get the hammer and nails. Hang them on the wall in the main room, right opposite the door," Wang Xiulan instructed.

Soon, the framed photograph was securely hung in the center of the north wall of the main room. The light from the kerosene lamp reflected off the glass, creating a slight glare, but the solemn handwriting on the certificate and the warm smiles of the three people in the photo were still clearly visible. Wang Xiulan took two steps back, looking at the photo from left to right, her face beaming with satisfaction and pride.

"Alright, now everything's complete." She let out a long sigh of relief, as if she had accomplished a major life event.

The hanging photo and certificate seem to have infused this small home with a more solid soul, making Wei Chen's connection and sense of belonging in this world more real and concrete.

……

Time flows like the Yongding River, seemingly calm, yet never ceasing. The harsh winter has receded unnoticed, and after several howling north winds swept through Beijing, the wind gradually softened and shifted southward.

The stubborn snow and icicles on the rooftops, in the corners, and in the shaded areas finally melted completely, turning into trickles that seeped into the parched earth. On the bare branches, the dark brown buds seemed to have swelled up a bit overnight, with a hint of tender green tips peeking out.

The sky was no longer the monotonous leaden gray of winter, but began to have a light, washed-out blue. The biting, dry cold in the air was replaced by a slightly damp, crisp chill. Taking a deep breath, you could smell the faint, earthy scent of awakening soil, and the faint, fresh aroma of unknown plants and trees in the distance.

Spring has quietly returned with an unstoppable force.

In the steel rolling mill, production has long since returned to normal. In fact, thanks to the call for a "good start" at the beginning of the year, every workshop is working with full vigor. The blast furnaces are burning day and night, and the rolling mills are roaring deafeningly. Even the thick smoke billowing from the chimneys seems to carry a touch of vitality.

The security department's training has also entered a "normalized" phase. Although the intensity is still considerable, the team members seem to have gradually adapted to this rhythm. There are fewer complaints, and instead, they have developed a slightly tired but more capable demeanor.

Wei Chen continued his daily morning exercises, trained Da Huang in the afternoon, and then spent time with Li Zhijun in the equipment depot. Everything proceeded smoothly and without incident.

Life in the courtyard was like a wound-up pendulum, swinging rhythmically amidst the daily grind of cooking, cleaning, and mundane family matters. Wang Xiulan meticulously managed the household chores and the increasingly lush vegetable garden; Wei Ran went to and from school every day, her studies seemed to be improving, and she smiled more often; Wei Chen went to and from get off work, maintaining his usual, neither too close nor too distant, interactions with his neighbors in the courtyard.

The third uncle in the front yard was still scheming his own little schemes, Sha Zhu in the middle yard was still making a lot of noise, and Xu Damao in the back yard... well, Xu Damao seemed to be much more "well-behaved" than in previous years.

However, beneath this seemingly stable and peaceful surface of everything recovering, some old grudges, like grass roots buried deep in frozen soil, have never truly died. They are just waiting for the right temperature to quietly sprout and even brew more vicious venomous buds.

The farce that happened last December—Sha Zhu's blind date was ruined by Xu Damao halfway through, and then Sha Zhu, in a fit of rage, beat Xu Damao up. At the general meeting of the whole courtyard, Uncle Yi Zhonghai clearly took sides, and in the end Xu Damao was only fined five yuan to settle the matter—this matter seemed to have passed on the surface.

Sha Zhu vented his anger. Although he didn't get to marry Xu Damao, he felt he had taught Xu Damao a lesson. The others in the courtyard had seen enough of the commotion and gradually forgot about it. Even the three stewards felt that the matter had been "satisfactorily resolved."

But there is one person who has never forgotten, or rather, who simply cannot forget.

Xu Damao.

Every punch and kick that day, every time Sha Zhu pounded him like a sandbag, the horrified or snickering looks from the neighbors, Yi Zhonghai's seemingly fair but actually biased "mediation," and the humiliation and helplessness he felt when he finally had to hand over five yuan... all of these things, like a red-hot iron, left deep bloodstains on his narrow-minded and vindictive heart.

Five yuan wasn't a serious loss for him; the physical pain from the beating had long since subsided. But the humiliation of being publicly shamed, having his dignity trampled upon, and becoming the laughingstock of the entire hospital gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake, day and night.

Who was Xu Damao? A film projectionist, a worldly-wise man who had traveled all over the country, quick-witted, and considered himself a hundred times better than these country bumpkins and big, dumb brutes in the compound! Yet he was publicly beaten by He Yuzhu, a brute who only knew how to grab the ladle, and forced to admit defeat and pay compensation! He could never swallow this insult!

He knew perfectly well that even three of him tied together wouldn't be a match for Sha Zhu in a fight. A direct confrontation would only result in him suffering losses. He had "remembered" the lesson from last time. Therefore, throughout the spring, Xu Damao had behaved unusually "low-key" and "well-behaved" in the courtyard.

He was no longer like before, making a fuss over every little thing or deliberately provoking Sha Zhu. When he saw Sha Zhu, he would either lower his head and walk past quickly, or he would go around him from a distance. If he couldn't avoid him, he would force out an extremely strained, even timid, smile and give a vague greeting, never saying a word more.

In public places within the compound, he tried to keep a low profile, no longer talking loudly about his "experiences" or "methods" of showing movies. He behaved properly at work and after get off work, as if he had truly been scared by Sha Zhu and had become a taciturn and cautious person.

Even some of the gossipy aunties in the compound were a little surprised: "Da Mao, what's wrong with you lately? You've been so listless, and you act like you've seen a cat when you see Sha Zhu? This isn't like Xu Da Mao at all!"