Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

In just half a day, the bizarre story of "the canteen idiot Zhu going crazy and running to the union to ask for a wife" has replaced production progress and current events, becoming the hottest and most entertaining topic of conversation at the steel rolling mill that day.

The name "Sha Zhu" resounded throughout every corner of the factory in a way that he could never have imagined and was full of comical absurdity. When people mentioned him, they no longer just called him "Master He, who was good at cooking" or "Sha Zhu, who had a bad temper," but also added "that oddball who went to the union to ask for a wife."

Xu Damao was, of course, one of the first to hear the news. He was in the film crew's small projection room setting up an old projector when a propaganda officer, who was on good terms with him and was equally gossipy and inquisitive, rushed in as if he had discovered a new continent, excitedly gesturing as he recounted the story.

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao dropped the screwdriver he was holding onto the concrete floor with a clatter. He first widened his eyes in shock, a look of utter absurdity and disbelief flashing across his face, as if he had heard a fairy tale.

Immediately afterward, the corners of his mouth began to stretch uncontrollably upward, and a gurgling sound, like he was choking or suppressing a wild laugh, came from his throat. The more he thought about it, the funnier it became, the more ridiculous it seemed, until finally he couldn't hold back any longer and suddenly burst into an extremely exaggerated, even hysterical, laugh:

"Hahaha! Hahahaha! He Yuzhu! You idiot! You're a fucking genius! A genius among idiots! Hahaha! Going to the trade union to ask for a wife?! Why don't you go to the Women's Federation?! Why don't you go to the police station to register and get one?! Hahaha!"

He laughed so hard he bent over, patting the metal casing of the projector, tears streaming down his face. This was simply the funniest and most satisfying thing he'd heard all year! That idiot, Sha Zhu, without Xu Damao having to go to great lengths to frame him, had already disgraced himself in the entire factory, becoming a laughingstock, a clown driven mad by lust for women!

After laughing for a while, Xu Damao straightened up, wiped away the tears from his laughter, but the expression on his face quickly changed from maniacal laughter to cold mockery and an excited gleam of having discovered new prey.

"Fine... Sha Zhu, you've laid bare your biggest weakness for everyone to see!" Xu Damao muttered to himself, his eyes flickering uncertainly. "What kind of image will a bachelor who's so 'desperate,' so 'eager to get married,' to the point of losing his mind and making a fool of himself at the union... have in other people's eyes? Reliable? Stable? Trustworthy? Bah!"

He keenly realized that Sha Zhu's absurd act of exposing his own shortcomings, although different from his original plan to bring him down, had greatly damaged Sha Zhu's "social image" and "personal reputation" on another level.

What impression will a person who is the talk of the entire factory as a joke, a person so eager that he disregards his reputation, leave on the leaders? What image will he have in the eyes of the female workers? And what will his ordinary coworkers think of him?

It's unlikely that anything positive will be associated with him. This will undoubtedly further isolate Sha Zhu, making him more prone to making mistakes, and making it much more difficult for him to go on blind dates in the future—which decent girl would want to date someone who is a "laughing stock" known throughout the factory?

"And..." Xu Damao stroked his smooth chin, his eyes growing brighter and brighter. The outline of an even more insidious plan began to take shape in his mind. "His eagerness to find a wife is a ready-made weakness that can be exploited."

If... if an opportunity were created for him to "think" that a female worker was interested in him, or if a "misunderstanding" were arranged so that someone "happens" to witness him "behaving inappropriately" towards a female worker... given his current reputation for being "sexually horny," who would people believe? Wouldn't they naturally assume that he's a lecherous harasser who can't control himself?

The thought of using someone else's strength to frame someone made Xu Damao's heart beat slightly faster. Sha Zhu himself had the label of "eager to start a family" plastered on his forehead, so wouldn't it be much more effective to use this to weave a trap about his "lifestyle"? With a well-thought-out plan and carefully chosen "targets" and "witnesses," he might actually be able to plunge Sha Zhu into an abyss of no return!

Xu Damao began rubbing his hands excitedly, pacing back and forth in the cramped screening room. He needed to find a suitable target—not someone too shrewd, but preferably a timid, easily manipulated female factory worker with some minor flaws; he needed to design a seemingly accidental, but actually meticulously planned, "encounter"; he also needed a "reliable" "witness," preferably someone with no apparent connection to him; the time and place had to be just right…

"Silly Zhu, you handed me the knife handle yourself..." Xu Damao's face revealed that familiar, cold, and cruel smile, as if a venomous snake had finally found its prey's weakness and was flicking out its scarlet tongue. "This time, let's see how you die!"

In the steel rolling mill, the gossip about Sha Zhu continued unabated, providing people with amusement during their leisure time. But beneath this noisy laughter, an even more insidious and deadly plot was quietly brewing and perfecting itself in Xu Damao's mind.

The warm spring sunshine bathed the towering factory buildings and bustling factory area, yet it couldn't penetrate the dark, cold corners of some people's hearts. Beneath the seemingly peaceful daily routine, undercurrents surged; a more vicious storm, targeting He Yuzhu, was quietly gathering strength.

Like a venomous snake that has finally found its prey's weakness, Xu Damao began a sinister and meticulous operation. He knew that conventional methods would not work to completely destroy Sha Zhu; drastic measures were necessary.

After Sha Zhu's farcical "union courtship" incident, he earned a reputation throughout the factory as "desperate for a wife," which became the perfect breakthrough in Xu Damao's eyes. If such a "hungry" and "disreputable" bachelor were accused of "being a scoundrel," who would doubt it? People would only think, "Just as expected," and "His true nature has been revealed."

However, deciding who to hire to carry out the plan took Xu Damao some thought. What respectable girl would risk her innocence and reputation to do something so immoral? Even if he offered money, the risk was too high, and she might easily turn against him. What he needed was someone who operated in a gray area, was willing to go to great lengths for money, and was someone he could easily control or extricate himself from afterward.

He thought of someone—Lotus. It was a half-closed door he had "visited" in a chaotic area on the outskirts of the city when he went to the countryside to show movies a couple of years ago.

She was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with some remaining beauty, and her eyes revealed a world-weary and shrewd look. Xu Damao remembered that she was greedy for money, quite bold, and seemed to have no stable backing. She was the type who would do anything for money and could easily absolve herself of responsibility if something went wrong.

On a moonless night, Xu Damao dressed up carefully. He changed into a dark blue work uniform that he had never worn in the factory or the yard before, which was neither new nor old. He put on an old hat pulled low and covered most of his face with a dusty gray scarf, leaving only his eyes exposed.

He pocketed the twenty yuan he had prepared beforehand—a considerable sum for him, but he was willing to part with it for revenge. Under the cover of night, he rode his bicycle, winding his way through the streets, until he arrived at the shantytown he remembered.

The air was thick with the mixed smells of coal smoke, sewage, and cheap tobacco. A dim, yellowish light shone from the low, crooked windows of the houses. Xu Damao pulled his hat down low and, following his vague memory, arrived at a half-open, peeling wooden door. He glanced around warily, making sure no one was watching, before quickly slipping inside.

The room was dimly lit and filled with the smell of cheap face cream and mildew. Lotus was applying makeup in front of a small mirror when a masked man entered. She was startled at first, then put down the mirror and put on a professional smile: "Sir? This is…"

Xu Damao deliberately lowered his voice, making it hoarse: "Lotus, don't ask who I am. I need you to do something for me. If you do it, this twenty yuan is yours, and there will be another twenty yuan afterward." He pulled out two brand-new ten-yuan bills, which looked particularly tempting under the dim light.

Lotus's eyes lit up, but she quickly became wary again: "What are you doing? I won't do murder or arson."

"It's not that serious." Xu Damao put the money on the table and pushed it over. "Tomorrow night, around seven or eight o'clock, a man will pass by the quiet alleyway where you turn from Nanluoguxiang to the back street of the steel mill. His name is He Yuzhu, he works in the steel mill canteen, he's tall and strong, with a ruddy complexion, and he might have had a few drinks."

All you have to do is wait for him to get close, then pretend to bump into him accidentally, and immediately shout "Pervert!" or "Catch the pervert!" as loudly as possible to attract attention. Stick to the story that he touched you inappropriately and had malicious intent. Ignore everything else.

Lotus picked up the money, counted it, and confirmed it was real. Her eyes darted around. "He Yuzhu? That man… I think I've heard of him before. Isn't he the cook at the steel mill?"

Xu Damao's heart tightened. He hadn't expected this woman to be so well-informed, but that was actually better: "Yes, it's him. A bachelor who's gone crazy for women. If you say he's a pervert, no one will doubt it. After it's done, if the police station asks, just insist it was him. This twenty yuan is a deposit. If... if you need to lay low for a while afterward, or if you run into any trouble, I can give you another twenty yuan."

Lotus weighed the money in her hand, then glanced at Xu Damao's tightly masked face, calculating in her mind. Twenty yuan, plus any other possible twenty yuan, was enough to cover her hard work for several days. The other party was masked, clearly not wanting to be exposed, and would be difficult to find later.

The target is a notoriously desperate, foolish cook, making the accusation easy to believe. The risk is that the false accusation might be exposed and cause trouble, but given his position, he's already operating on the fringes; if things get really bad, he can just run away. This deal is worthwhile.