Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Wei Chen put down the jujubes in his hand, stood up, and walked to the window. Outside, the vegetable patch was bathed in moonlight, a thin layer of dew clinging to the leaves, shimmering faintly in the moonlight. The shadows of the jujube trees fell on the ground, like a perfectly balanced ink painting.

The courtyard was quiet, with only the occasional soft clatter of pots and pans coming from afar. Wei Chen watched for a while, then turned back to the bedside, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and slipped into his own game world to prepare for a new round of gains.

The following evening, the sky was overcast, and the wind carried a dry, cold chill.

When Wei Chen returned home from get off work and pushed his bicycle into the yard, he saw Grandma Li squatting in front of her few broken washbasins, carefully plucking the leaves of scallions. Her movements were slow, as if she were afraid of damaging the delicate scallion seedlings. Wei Chen parked his bike, went over to take a look, and smiled, "Grandma Li, these scallions are growing quite well."

Grandma Li looked up, a gentle smile on her face. "Yes, thanks to you. I was thinking that if these scallions grow a few more days, I can pick a bunch, chop them up, and mix them into the porridge. That would at least add some flavor." As she spoke, she carefully picked two leaves, looked at them in her palm, and said, "These days, having a bunch of scallions is a blessing."

Wei Chen didn't reply, but just smiled. He bent down, as if casually fiddling with the soil in the pot, his fingertip lightly tracing the surface of the soil, and an invisible green light silently seeped into the earth.

Grandma Li, oblivious to the fact that her scallions were still talking about them, said, "Isn't it strange? I don't know why, but my scallions are growing exceptionally well this year. Even Grandma Liu from next door said when she came to visit me last time that these scallions are even fresher than those sold at the market."

Wei Chen straightened up: "Perhaps it's because you took such good care of them. Grandma Li, you grew these scallions so well, they could make a delicious salad!"

Grandma Li nodded with a smile: "That's true. Once this crop has grown well, I'll pick a handful and take it to your mother."

Wei Chen responded and turned to walk towards the east courtyard. As he passed the middle courtyard, he saw Xiao Cao, the daughter of Aunt Liu, squatting under the eaves, holding a twig and drawing something on the ground. When Xiao Cao saw Wei Chen, he looked up and grinned, "Brother Chen, you're back?"

"You're back." Wei Chen patted his head. "Where's your mother?"

"They're cooking inside," Xiao Cao said, then lowered his head to continue drawing.

As Wei Chen walked into the courtyard, he passed by Aunt Liu's house. The curtain was lifted, and Aunt Liu poked her head out, holding a bowl half-filled with thin, watery vegetable porridge. "Wei Chen, have you eaten? Let me get you a bowl."

"No need, Aunt Liu, I'll go home to eat." Wei Chen waved his hand, and was about to leave when he stopped and lowered his voice, "Aunt Liu, if you run out of vegetables later, don't be shy, there's still plenty in the field in the east wing."

Aunt Liu paused, her eyes slightly reddening. "Wei Chen... you always think of us. Okay, I'll remember. But don't worry, those few vegetables in the corner of my house can last a while. Unless it's absolutely necessary, I won't trouble you."

"What are you saying? How is our relationship troublesome! My vegetable garden was all planted with your help, wasn't it? My mom said it's half your credit!" Wei Chen said with a smile before turning to leave.

Back in the east courtyard, Wang Xiulan was busy at the stove. A pot of cornmeal porridge was cooking, a steamer of cornbread was steaming beside it, and a dish of pickled vegetables was placed next to the stove. Seeing Wei Chen enter, she looked up and said, "Wash your hands, dinner's ready."

"Yes," Wei Chen responded, scooped a ladle of water from the water vat, washed his hands, and sat down at the table. The mother and son sat facing each other, each holding a bowl, silently drinking their porridge.

After a while, Wang Xiulan spoke up: "This afternoon, Yi Zhonghai's wife came to visit and we chatted for a bit. She told me that the vegetable patch in the corner of their house is growing particularly poorly this year; the leaves are all yellow and the insects are biting it badly. She wanted to ask you if you had any ideas on how to fix it."

Wei Chen took a sip of porridge: "The vegetables aren't growing well, mostly because of the soil. That patch of land in the corner is shady, so the sun doesn't shine on it, and the soil is so compacted that the roots can't take hold. Add to that pests, and naturally, they won't grow well."

"She said she wanted to borrow some vegetable seeds from us to replant a new crop, probably because she saw how well our vegetables were growing! I told her that you got the seeds, so I'll have to wait until you get back to ask her."

"I have rapeseed," Wei Chen said. "I'll send her some later. But if we plant it now, it'll be too cold, and it won't grow much. Tell her not to get her hopes up too high."

Wang Xiulan nodded and said nothing more. After a moment of silence, she spoke again: "And then there's Jia Zhangshi from the Jia family—this afternoon, she had a fight with Liu Haizhong's wife at the gate. What was it about? Just a rotten vegetable leaf. Jia Zhangshi said that Liu Haizhong's wife stole the spinach she planted in the corner of her wall, but Liu Haizhong's wife denied it, saying that the spinach was hers. The two argued for a long time at the gate, and in the end, Yi Zhonghai came out to mediate and things calmed down."

Wei Chen didn't reply, but just hummed in agreement and continued drinking his porridge.

Wang Xiulan looked at him and suddenly whispered, "Wei Chen, our vegetable garden... we should keep a low profile from now on. There are a lot of people in the yard who are cunning. If we grow our vegetables too well, it will easily attract envy."

"I know," Wei Chen put down his bowl. "I know what I'm doing."

After dinner, Wei Chen went to the jujube tree again. The old jujube tree stood quietly in the twilight, its branches laden with bright red jujubes, in clusters like countless dark red beads.

He reached out and picked one, put it in his mouth and chewed it. It was sweet, even sweeter than yesterday. He picked another handful, put it in his pocket, and planned to take it to the factory tomorrow for Li Zhijun to try.

The next morning, when Wei Chen arrived at the factory's security office, Li Zhijun was already there. He was cleaning a rifle, and seeing Wei Chen enter, he said without looking up, "You've come at the right time. There are three new rifles to be put into storage today. Could you register them for me?"

"Okay," Wei Chen replied, taking a handful of dates from his pocket and placing them on the table. "Try some."

Li Zhijun looked up, his eyes lighting up: "Hey, dates! Where did you get them?"

"The jujube tree in our yard is laden with fruit, so I picked some."

Li Zhijun grabbed a jujube, popped it into his mouth, chewed it, and mumbled, "Sweet! Your jujube tree has yielded so many. Mine only produced about twenty this year, and they're all shriveled and tasteless." After finishing one, he grabbed another. "Are you selling these jujubes? I'll pay for two pounds for my son."

"I'm not selling," Wei Chen said. "I'll get you one later, why buy it?"

Li Zhijun didn't stand on ceremony and grinned, "That's great. You're a true friend."

The two squatted on the ground, cleaning their guns and chatting idly. Li Zhijun suddenly lowered his voice: "Hey, Wei Chen, I need to ask you something. You know a lot of people, do you know where we can still get flour? My wife says we're almost out of flour at home and want to get a few more. We adults don't have much, but our grandson is small and just learning to eat solid food; his digestive system is weak! The rations at the grain stores aren't enough, and it's ridiculously expensive on the black market. I see you have a wide network, could you help me ask around?"

Wei Chen continued cleaning his gun without stopping, and after a moment of silence, he spoke: "Flour is hard to come by. Even grain stores might not have it now. If you really want some, I can ask around for you, but don't get your hopes up too high. These days, flour is rarer than meat."

"Okay, just ask around for me." Li Zhijun sighed. "If we really can't get any, then so be it. Cornmeal is fine too, it's just that the child is too young."

Wei Chen didn't reply and continued cleaning his gun. But he made a mental note of it—he had plenty of flour, more than he could ever finish! But he needed a reason and a time! He'd consider getting some flour for Li Zhijun later.

Just before leaving get off work in the afternoon, Wei Chen was packing up to leave when Jin Dong suddenly appeared at the security office entrance. He was wearing a slightly worn blue work uniform, holding an enamel mug in his hand, and his face showed a hint of anxiety: "Wei Chen, perfect timing, I was just looking for you."

Wei Chen put down the cotton yarn in his hand: "What's wrong?"

Jin Dong walked in and lowered his voice: "The factory canteen needs to prepare a batch of supplies for a reception tomorrow, but we're short on flour. The little flour in the warehouse won't even make half of it. The situation is urgent, and our purchasing department can't get any more in time! Brother Hu said you might have some connections, so he asked me to ask you if you could get some flour. We don't need much, just fifty or sixty jin will be enough to tide us over. The price is negotiable; the factory will cover it."

Wei Chen was silent for a moment before speaking, "Fifty or sixty catties of flour is not easy to obtain. But I can ask around for you and give you a message first thing tomorrow morning."

"Okay, I'll wait for your news." Jin Dong patted him on the shoulder. "Wei Chen, you're a real savior for our purchasing team. If this is done, I'll treat you to a drink."

Wei Chen smiled and said, "No need for alcohol, let's talk about it after we get it done."

Well, I was originally planning to wait and get the flour for Li Zhijun, but I'll get it all at once this time!

After Jin Dong left, Wei Chen packed his things, pushed his bicycle out of the factory gate, and the evening wind was colder than yesterday, carrying a hint of winter approaching.

He got on his bike and slowly rode back along the street, but in his mind he was thinking: fifty or sixty pounds of flour, he could just take it from the game world, it was a piece of cake for him!

When Wei Chen got home that evening, he went to the vegetable garden in the yard again. Under the moonlight, the vegetable garden was still lush and green, with rows and rows of cabbages, radishes, greens, and green beans, which looked particularly abundant in the night.

He crouched down, silently chanting "Planting Technique." A warm green light seeped from his palm into the soil, spreading along the roots and nourishing the growing crops. He could feel them trembling slightly beneath his hands, like living creatures breathing. He stood up, patted the dirt off his hands, and turned to go back into the house.

The jujubes on the tree are almost ripe. Tomorrow, he plans to pick a batch and dry them under the eaves to make dried jujubes, which can be stored for a long time. The cabbages and radishes should also be harvested; he'll pickle a jar of sauerkraut to eat with porridge in the winter.

The temperature in Beijing was dropping day by day, and fewer and fewer people were on the streets. But in the east wing of Wei Chen's house, the vegetable garden was still lush and green, and the jujube tree was still laden with fruit. In this year of famine, when everyone was starving and weak, and food supplies were exhausted, this small courtyard, like a silent granary, quietly awaited the arrival of winter.