Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

However, all these reactions, whether overt or covert, when they reach another person's ears, become the perfect fuel for catalyzing his wicked schemes.

A young colleague from the same department, surnamed Sun, known for his excellent connections and love of gossip, swept in like a gust of wind, his face glowing with the excitement of discovering a new continent, without even knocking on the door.

"Brother Da Mao! Brother Da Mao! Breaking news! Explosive news!" Xiao Sun lowered his voice, but couldn't suppress the excitement in his tone.

"What's all the fuss about? Did the sky fall or the earth cave in?" Xu Damao didn't even lift his eyelids, continuing to slowly file his nails, his tone languid.

"Even more exciting than that! It's about that idiot Zhu in the kitchen!" Xiao Sun leaned forward, his hands on the tabletop, his body leaning forward.

Xu Damao's movements paused almost imperceptibly, the file tip hovering at the edge of his fingernail. He raised his eyelids, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his narrow eyes, but his tone remained calm: "Shazhu? What happened to him this time? Did he smash the pots in the cafeteria, or beat up Director Ma?"

"No, it's not! It's a good thing—at least it's a 'good thing' for him!" Xiao Sun deliberately kept him in suspense, only revealing the answer when he saw Xu Damao's slight impatience. "The union! The union gave him a spot! An invitation to next Wednesday's social gathering! A formal invitation, personally given by Director Ma!"

"What?!" Xu Damao sat up abruptly as if he had a spring in his butt, and the small file in his hand fell to the cement floor with a "clang".

The languidness and nonchalance on his face froze and shattered instantly, replaced by extreme astonishment. Then, that astonishment vanished as quickly as the tide receded, and deep within his eyes, two dark yet blazing flames suddenly ignited! Those flames contained disbelief, ecstasy, and an almost trembling excitement at seeing the prey finally step unknowingly into the very center of a meticulously laid trap!

"You... what did you say? The union social event? Invite Sha Zhu?! Are you sure?!" His voice suddenly rose, then he forcefully suppressed it, sounding somewhat sharp and distorted.

"It's absolutely true! Several people in the cafeteria saw it with their own eyes! Sha Zhu was so happy, his mouth was practically stretched to his ears! He held the invitation like he was holding a royal decree!" Xiao Sun gestured wildly, as if he were a witness himself.

Xu Damao took a deep, slow breath, then exhaled extremely slowly, as if trying to suppress the intense emotions surging in his chest. He slowly bent down, picked up the small file from the ground, wiped it with his sleeve, and put it back on the table.

Then, he leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and began unconsciously tapping his elbows lightly. An uncontrollable upward curve appeared at the corners of his mouth, starting as a slight arc, gradually widening until it formed a cold, sarcastic smile filled with endless malice.

An opportunity! The perfect chance for revenge, which had been agonizingly awaited, planned day and night, and endured humiliation and hardship, had finally arrived in such a dramatic and almost absurd way!

Xu Damao knew He Yuzhu too well; he understood this brute as well as the lines on his own palm.

What does Sha Zhu value most? Face! What does he care about most? Starting a family and continuing the family line!

What do I crave most? To be respected, to have a warm home with a cozy bed, and a woman who cares for me!

If it's just physical harm, even if you beat him ten or eight more times, as long as he doesn't die, with his weed-like vitality, he'll get back up sooner or later and continue to stubbornly oppose you.

That's not enough, far from enough! To completely destroy a person, you must crush their most cherished dreams, taint their deepest desires, drive them to a mental breakdown, and turn them into a piece of stinking dog shit that everyone avoids on their most longed-for path!

At the moment when he was most likely to find hope, I personally extinguished that glimmer of light, making him watch helplessly as happiness eludes him, severing all possible connections because of his infamy! This is more satisfying, more insidious, and more soul-crushing than any physical pain!

"Silly Zhu, silly Zhu, you're really... so desperate for a wife that you'll barge into any kind of trap." Xu Damao almost burst into silent laughter, his eyes gleaming with a calculating glint, cold and sticky like a viper's venom. "Since you're so eager to become famous and find a partner, how can I, your old neighbor and old rival, not 'lend a hand' to make your 'reputation spread far and wide' and 'become deeply ingrained in people's hearts'?"

Almost in the blink of an eye, a complete and malicious plan took shape in his mind. The old dirt (fighting, drunken brawls, foul mouth) would of course continue to be spread, but these were "personal conduct" issues. Although they were disgusting, they were not fatal enough, especially in some considerations that valued "background" and "labor power," and might even be ignored.

He needs a bombshell, one that can fundamentally negate a person's "character" and "family traditions," thus deterring all respectable families from approaching him.

Soon, he clearly retrieved a story that had been buried in the corner of his memory and was only known to the older generation in the courtyard house—He Daqing, the biological father of Shazhu and He Yushui, the man who was said to be a good cook, ran away with a widow from Baoding many years ago!

They abandoned Sha Zhu, who was still a minor at the time, and He Yushui, who was young, and took away the family's meager savings. They disappeared without a trace and took no further responsibility!

This incident was indeed a topic of conversation among people in the courtyard and surrounding alleys in the early years. However, it happened a long time ago. He Daqing disappeared completely, and Sha Zhu raised his sister with difficulty. In addition, similar tragedies of separation were not uncommon in that turbulent era. This old story has long been buried by time, and only fragments remain in the vague memories of a very few old residents.

Some of the factory's most senior employees may have vaguely heard about it, but most consider it an unfortunate past event and don't bring it up intentionally. Now, almost no one mentions it anymore. In fact, Sha Zhu's experience of supporting his family independently has led some older-minded people to think he is responsible.

But in Xu Damao's mind, which is full of twisted malice and "propaganda" skills, this old story is a ready-made dagger coated with deadly poison!

He could skillfully interpret "father eloping with widow" as "bad family values", "a corrupt parent leads to a corrupt child", and "a deep-seated tendency to be restless and irresponsible"; and portray "abandoning young children" as "extreme selfishness and cold-bloodedness", and "utter lack of humanity and family responsibility".

It could even be implied that, growing up in such a family environment, influenced by what he saw and heard, Sha-zhu himself might harbor similar dangerous tendencies in his attitudes toward relationships, marriage, and family. Could he repeat his father's mistakes?

Xu Damao was well aware of this, and even more adept at exploiting the human traits of curiosity, gullibility, and a willingness to spread negative information. He knew that blatant insults and accusations were the least effective, easily arousing suspicion and resentment.

What he needs to do is play the role of an "insider," a "worried bystander," to "inadvertently" reveal those half-true, half-false, processed information, guiding the listeners to "understand," "supplement," and "spread" it themselves.

He stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, carefully straightened his crisp, four-pocket cadre uniform, smoothed his hair in front of his blurry reflection in the window, adjusted his expression to a mixture of sympathy, worry, and a little helplessness, opened the office door, and walked out.

His first stop was the rest area in the forging workshop, where the machines were humming. Several experienced workers, their bodies steaming and towels draped around their necks, were gathered around a toolbox, drinking water and smoking from chipped enamel mugs.

Xu Damao walked over with a beaming smile, took out his own "Xiangshan" cigarettes with filters (which were of a higher grade than the "Zhanji" cigarettes used by the veterans), and offered them to each of them.

"Thank you for your hard work, fellow workers! Just finished your shift? You must have been busy today, right?" He spoke familiarly, as if he were a regular customer.

The veteran workers recognized Xu, the projectionist who often showed movies in the propaganda department, and politely accepted his cigarettes. After chatting about production progress for a while, Xu Damao seemingly casually changed the subject and sighed, "Ah, doing revolutionary work is glorious, but one's personal life cannot be neglected. Our factory's union is going to hold another social gathering, which is supposed to be a good thing, but this time I think there will be problems."

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Social gatherings are a good thing, they create opportunities for young people," said an experienced worker surnamed Zhou, exhaling a smoke ring.

"It's an opportunity, but I heard that even He Yuzhu from the first canteen received an invitation. This... I'm worried that some comrades' family situations... might not be suitable for this kind of occasion. I don't want a good thing to turn into a bad thing and delay the ladies' time."