Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Yan Bugui was quite satisfied with Xu Damao's reaction. He curled his lip, snorted, and then deliberately imitated Sha Zhu's stiff, boastful tone from the previous night, saying in a affected manner, "Him? He stiffened his neck, raised his voice, and yelled at me: 'That's all! Boring! The women inside aren't even as pretty as Sister Qin, I don't even like them!' Listen to that! Listen to that tone!"

Yan Bugui spread his hands, his face full of mockery and knowing smiles. "Does this look like a success? It's obvious they've been humiliated and can't save face, so they're coming back here to talk tough and act tough!"

"Is that so?" Xu Damao's face revealed a knowing smile that said, "Just as I expected," and "Everything is under control." The smile contained undisguised sarcasm and gloating.

He took a deep drag on his cigarette, shook his head and sighed, his tone perfectly balanced, conveying both "regret" for Sha Zhu and "insight" into the situation: "Sigh, I knew it! Sha Zhu, with that silly look... he's just not suited for that kind of occasion."

"You know, what kind of people go to those social gatherings? You have to be good at speaking and knowing how to behave appropriately. Sha Zhu's temper, his blunt way of speaking... sigh, what a pity, what a waste of the union leaders' good intentions and painstaking efforts." He said "what a pity," but his eyes were full of delighted laughter.

Just then, the soft sound of a bicycle chain turning and footsteps approached. Wei Chen, pushing his bicycle and with Da Huang quietly following beside him, walked out of the alley.

He went to the post office in the afternoon to pick up the letters and packages sent from home, and also went to the grocery store to buy some things, so he returned a little later than usual. Seeing Xu Damao and Uncle San talking at the door, he nodded calmly as a greeting, and without stopping, prepared to push his cart directly into the courtyard to return to the east wing.

"Hey! Wei Chen! You're back!" Xu Damao was in high spirits, so how could he let this "listener" who had come to his doorstep pass by? He immediately raised his voice and greeted him warmly, his smile widening as if he were seeing an old friend of many years.

"Come on! Don't rush back. Have a smoke, take a break, and chat for a bit!" As he spoke, he very "generously" popped a "Xiangshan" cigarette out of the pack and handed it to Wei Chen without saying a word.

Wei Chen paused, glanced at the cigarette offered to him, then at Xu Damao's overly enthusiastic smile and the equally excited look on the Third Uncle's face, and hesitated for a moment.

He rarely smoked, but in the social interactions among men at the gate of the compound, sometimes refusing outright would seem like being out of place. He ultimately reached out and took it, saying simply, "Thank you."

Seeing this, Xu Damao felt even more smug, thinking he was very proud. He quickly took out a match, struck it with a "hiss," and first lit it for Yan Bugui, then for Wei Chen, and finally relit his own nearly burnt-out cigarette. The three men stood there in the dimming light at the entrance of the courtyard, puffing away.

A brief, slightly eerie silence fell. Wei Chen silently brought the cigarette to his lips, took a drag, and then coughed softly, his brow furrowing slightly, at the somewhat pungent smell of tobacco. Unlike Xu Damao, he didn't exhale a cloud of smoke; he simply let the smoke linger around his lips for a moment before dissipating.

Big Yellow sat quietly at his feet, its tail occasionally brushing the ground lightly, its bright black eyes calmly watching the three men.

Xu Damao, however, didn't care at all. Or rather, he needed such a seemingly "neutral" listener to set the stage for his upcoming "performance." He turned back to Yan Bugui, his excitement and the euphoria of spreading "major exclusive news" even more pronounced. His voice rose a few decibels, and he began to describe it with exaggerated gestures, deliberately amplifying and embellishing every detail, full of dramatic exaggeration and undisguised mockery.

"Third Uncle, you didn't see it with your own eyes or hear it with your own ears! Last night's scene, oh my, it could be written into a play! Our silly Zhu was definitely the 'protagonist'!" He deliberately emphasized the word "protagonist," full of sarcasm.

"You wouldn't believe it, when he stood at the club entrance wearing that brand-new, stiff blue khaki shirt, good heavens, it was like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden—no, even more ridiculous! It was like Zhang Fei embroidering flowers—completely awkward! His neck was stiff, he didn't know where to put his hands and feet, his eyes darted around, but he just didn't dare to look at anyone!" Xu Damao said as if he had seen it with his own eyes.

Yan Bugui listened with great interest, making "tsk tsk" sounds in response, his small eyes behind his glasses gleaming.

Xu Damao got even more excited, mimicking how Sha Zhu might have looked back then. He hunched his neck, his eyes darting around, and awkwardly took a couple of steps, so lifelike that Yan Bugui couldn't help but laugh out loud. Even a few neighbors who had just returned from get off work were attracted by the commotion, slowing down and looking over curiously.

"The real show begins once we're inside!" Xu Damao practically spat out his words. "Other men are so polite when they talk to women. They ask, 'Comrade, which unit are you from? Are you busy with work? What kind of books do you like to read?' Listen to that, how refined! How progressive! And what about our silly Zhu?"

He slapped his thigh suddenly, making an exaggerated forward-rushing gesture, his face turning bright red (imitating Sha Zhu), and deliberately stuttering: "He...he rushed straight up to a really pretty, really shy girl at the textile factory, so close they were practically touching! Her face turned as red as a purple eggplant!"

He opened his mouth like a firecracker: "I...I'm the head chef at the steel mill! A full-time employee! Thirty-three yuan and fifty cents a month!" My God! Xu Damao made a gesture of covering his forehead with his hand, "The whole place went silent! Everyone was staring at him! That little girl, she screamed 'Ah!', her face turned pale, and she turned and ran, almost losing her shoes! Hahaha!"

He burst into unrestrained laughter, and Yan Bugui chuckled along, while the neighbors who were quietly listening also let out suppressed laughter. This scene, described by Xu Damao's mouth that could make the dead speak, was indeed extremely comedic.

Xu Damao laughed enough, wiped the corners of his eyes (there were actually no tears), and continued to laugh animatedly: "This is not the end! This is just the opening act! Later, Sister Zhang from our factory warehouse, who is soft-hearted, saw him standing there all alone and felt sorry for him, so she went over to say a few words to him to ease the atmosphere."

Well! We hadn't even exchanged two sentences when I asked him what level of chef he was and what dishes the cafeteria usually made. For some reason, our Brother Zhu seemed to have a screw loose. Maybe he felt that Sister Zhang looked down on him for being a chef? Or was he remembering the humiliation he suffered at the factory during the day?

Wow! His face immediately darkened, turning as black as the bottom of a pot! His fists clenched tightly, the fleshy bumps on his arms bulged, and his eyes widened like saucers, staring intently at Sister Zhang! My goodness, it looked like he was about to throw a punch at her any second!

He mimicked the clenched fist and angry glare perfectly. "Sister Zhang has never seen anything like this before! She usually only deals with workers who move things in the warehouse, she's never seen such a fierce 'blind date'! She was terrified and ran away before she could even finish her sentence!"

The women who had been watching the commotion earlier, upon seeing this, exclaimed, "Good heavens! This isn't about finding a partner; it's about starting a fight!" In a flash, they all scattered far away, and within three meters of Brother Zhu, not even a mosquito dared to fly past! Hahaha!"

One person got in! The story had only been passed on to a few people, but by the time it reached Xu Damao, it was a completely different version!

Xu Damao laughed so hard he almost fell over, as if he were talking about the most ridiculous thing in the world. Yan Bugui also laughed and shook his head: "That silly Zhuzi! He really... he's really gone to the very end!"

Xu Damao finally finished laughing, took a breath, and put on a concluding expression that was a mixture of disdain and pleasure: "Third Uncle, tell me, this isn't a social gathering, it's more like going to a social event jointly organized by our steel mill and textile mill, and putting on a show of 'The Fool's True Colors'!"

Finally, our Chef He stood there alone, looking foolish and dazed, in the corner, like a plague god in a temple. No one dared to approach him, and no one wanted to talk to him.

I reckon he felt ashamed, too embarrassed to stay any longer. Before it was even completely dark, he seized an opportunity, like a thief, head down, pressed against the wall, and slunk away! He didn't even dare to say goodbye to the union leaders! Tsk tsk tsk..." He shook his head repeatedly, his tone almost overflowing with sarcasm.

As he spoke, he glanced at Wei Chen out of the corner of his eye, observing his reaction. Wei Chen had only taken two or three puffs of the cigarette in his hand, letting most of it burn out on its own. His face remained expressionless, calm to the point of indifference.

He neither laughed with Xu Damao and the Third Uncle, nor did he refute or stop them. He just occasionally flicked off the long ash from his cigarette, his gaze falling on the quiet Big Yellow at his feet, or looking towards the houses in the yard where lights were gradually coming on.

This unusual calm made Xu Damao feel somewhat bored, even a bit like punching cotton.

But then he thought again. Wei Chen and Sha Zhu were not related, and might even have had a grudge. It was normal for him not to be interested or too lazy to get involved. Maybe he was secretly watching the show, but just didn't like to show it because he was a quiet person.

Xu Damao's attention then returned entirely to Yan Bugui. The two of them engaged in a deep and "thorough" analysis of the topic of "Shazhu's failed blind date."

From Sha Zhu's bad temper, thoughtless speech, and lack of manners, to his father's "stain" of eloping, his lack of family upbringing and background, and then to his destiny of being a bachelor and dying alone, his words are filled with a sense of superiority that seems to know everything.

Xu Damao took the opportunity to slip in his own thoughts, implying how Sha Zhu was arrogant and bullied his colleagues in the cafeteria because he had some cooking skills. Yan Bugui nodded repeatedly, agreeing wholeheartedly.

Whether Yan Bugui truly agreed or only agreed because of Xu Damao's cigarettes, we cannot know!