Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

The next morning, before dawn, Wei Chen got up. The late autumn morning was dry and chilly, and his breath condensed into a white mist in the air. He put on an old, faded blue work uniform, took a rough porcelain bowl from the stove, scooped out a bowl of corn porridge, squatted on the doorstep to finish it, washed the bowl, and put it back.

Wang Xiulan got up to cook for her son, then lay in bed dozing off, but fell asleep and hadn't gotten up yet. Wei Chen didn't wake her either, quietly closed the door, and pushed his bicycle out of the east courtyard.

A bamboo basket was tied to the back seat of the cart; he had found it last night in the backyard storage room. It was tightly woven and could hold quite a lot. He pushed the cart through the alley and onto the main street. The streets were still quiet in the early morning, with only a few workers rushing to their early shifts and street cleaners, all heads down, busy with their own tasks. A few streetlights were still on, their dim yellow light casting a thin layer of frost on the empty road.

He rode for a while, then turned into a secluded alley. The alley was flanked by gray-tiled walls, topped with clumps of withered vines. There was no one around. Wei Chen stopped his bicycle, not moving immediately. He closed his eyes for a moment, his spiritual energy rippling outwards, covering an area of ​​about a hundred paces. No one, no gazes, no one watching. He opened his eyes, and with a slight thought, a coarse cloth bag appeared out of thin air in his bamboo basket.

The heavy bag landed at the bottom of the bamboo basket with a dull thud. He reached out and squeezed it; inside was finely ground white flour, weighing about seventy or eighty pounds. He quickly covered the basket with a cloth, then tied it twice with hemp rope to ensure it wouldn't spill out, before mounting his bicycle again and riding towards the steel mill.

By the time he arrived at the factory, it was already broad daylight. A line had already formed at the factory gate, and workers were walking in in twos and threes. Some were pushing bicycles, some were carrying lunch boxes, and some had their heads down, as if they hadn't woken up yet. Wei Chen pushed his bicycle and followed behind the crowd. After entering the factory gate, he didn't go to the security office but went straight to the row of bungalows for logistics.

The purchasing team's office was the one furthest inside the logistics area. Wei Chen knew this office all too well—he had sat here for over a year. The planning chart on the wall was the same one he had put up before he left, and the enamel mug on the windowsill was also left behind by him; the tea leaves inside had long since dried up, but Liu Guoqing hadn't thrown it away. When he pushed the door open, only Liu Guoqing was in the room, squatting on the floor, looking at a stack of reports with a troubled expression.

"Brother Wei Chen!" Liu Guoqing jumped up when he saw him. "You've finally arrived! Jin Dong hasn't arrived yet. Please have a seat and I'll pour you a cup of tea."

"No rush." ​​Wei Chen waved his hand, about to speak, when the door to the inner room suddenly opened. Liu Yuan, the leader of the third purchasing team, came out. He was taken aback when he saw Wei Chen, then smiled and said, "Wei Chen? Why are you here so early? Perfect timing, I was just looking for you."

Liu Yuan was in his early forties, of medium build, with a square face. He wore a gray Zhongshan suit, old but clean, clearly a man of taste. A veteran purchasing agent with over a decade of experience, he was well-liked in the factory and served as the head of the third purchasing group. He walked over and, without a word, grabbed Wei Chen's arm: "Come, come, come into my office."

Wei Chen was pulled into the inner office by him, and Liu Yuan turned around and called out again, "Liu Guoqing, pour me a cup of tea."

Liu Guoqing responded and quickly brought in a steaming cup of tea, placing it in front of Wei Chen. The teacup had a layer of tea stains at the bottom, indicating it had been used for many years, but the tea itself was new—clear and bright, with a faint jasmine fragrance. In the factory, being able to drink a cup of tea was considered a high-class privilege.

Wei Chen didn't rush to drink, and went straight to the point: "Team Leader Liu, about what Jin Dong told me yesterday—flour—I got a bag of it, about seventy or eighty pounds, it's in the bamboo basket by the door."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuan was taken aback at first, then slapped his thigh, his smile widening: "Wei Chen, you really saved me from a crisis! I was just worried about this, and yesterday I asked Jin Dong to ask you, as a last resort, but I didn't expect you to actually get it for me!"

As he spoke, he stood up, walked to the door, and opened the office door. Sure enough, he saw the bicycle parked at the door, with a bulging coarse cloth bag in the bamboo basket on the back seat.

He walked over, reached into the pocket and squeezed the flour, then untied the closure, grabbed a small pinch, put it in his palm, brought it close to his nose to smell it, then rubbed it between his fingers, and nodded. "Good flour, very fine, no off-flavors at all, top-quality."

He turned around, looked at Wei Chen, and said with a hint of emotion, "Wei Chen, to be honest, I really feel bad about it. You've already been transferred to the security department, and I'm still making you run errands for our group. I don't know where to put my face."

Wei Chen waved his hand: "Team Leader Liu, you're being too polite. Although I've been transferred to the security department, I'll still lend a hand with the procurement matters if I can. Besides, Team Three has treated me well before; my mentor, Hu Songnian, has guided me for so long, I remember that kindness. Moreover, didn't we agree back then that I have to manage both sides? If there's anything you need, Team Leader, just give the order!"

Liu Yuan sighed and patted his shoulder: "Okay, hearing you say that warms my heart a lot." He thought for a moment, then lowered his voice, "Come on, let's go to the logistics department together and hand this over. You push the cart, and I'll go with you."

Wei Chen nodded, pushed his bicycle, and followed Liu Yuan out of the office. The two walked one after the other through the factory area, heading towards the logistics warehouse.

On the way, Liu Yuan started talking non-stop, as if he had a lot to say and finally found someone to confide in: "Wei Chen, you have no idea how close this matter was. Logically speaking, with such a big factory like ours, hundreds of workers, what's a few dozen kilograms of flour? But we just got stuck here."

He sighed. "I heard from Wang Jianshe, the logistics manager, that they usually reserve some flour specifically for entertaining visiting leaders. Last month, Deputy Factory Director Li entertained a group of people from the city, and used up most of the flour in their reserves. They were hoping to replenish it this month, but who knew—with the food shortage like this, where would they find any flour to replenish?"

Liu Yuan continued, "You know Deputy Factory Director Li, he's capable and has connections. This time, he coordinated with various parties and finally managed to get a batch of grain for the factory. But as you know, it's all coarse grains—cornmeal, sorghum, dried sweet potatoes, that's all. Wheat flour? Only 300 jin in total, not even enough for one meal of steamed buns in the canteen."

He paused, "Some small factories are in even worse shape than us. They're struggling to keep up with the food shortage, and the workers are working on empty stomachs. They're almost at their breaking point. Our batch of grain was supposed to arrive three or four days ago, but it's late again. We even borrowed the coarse grains from several surrounding factories to keep the canteens busy. Once our own grain arrives, we'll have to return it to them."

Wei Chen said, "What about wheat flour? Three hundred catties of wheat flour should last for a while."

"What are we holding on to?" Liu Yuan said with a wry smile. "We've used up last month's hospitality supplies, and tomorrow's hospitality is urgent—Deputy Factory Director Li specifically requested white flour steamed buns, saying that since higher-ups are coming, we can't be too shabby. He's put this task on our third group, saying that we're responsible for unplanned procurement, and no matter what we do, we have to get white flour by noon tomorrow."

You tell me, isn't this making things difficult for us? These days, even people in the countryside don't have enough to eat, where are we supposed to buy anything? I was so worried the other night I couldn't sleep a wink. I even went looking for a solution, and I asked Jin Dong to ask you—and I didn't expect you to actually manage to get it for me!

As they talked, they arrived at the entrance of the logistics warehouse. The warehouse was a large, single-story building with a tin door and a wooden sign hanging beside it that read "Logistics Warehouse." Liu Yuan pushed open the door. Inside, it was dimly lit. Rows of wooden shelves lined the walls, piled high with various supplies: sacks, tin buckets, old parts, and bundles of straw rope. In the corner were several bags of grain—newly arrived coarse grain that hadn't yet been distributed.

The warehouse manager was a tall, thin man in his forties named Zhang Guangcai. He wore an old blue work uniform with frayed cuffs and carried a well-worn register. Seeing Liu Yuan enter, he looked up: "Team Leader Liu, what is it?"

"Put it into inventory." Liu Yuan pointed to the bicycle Wei Chen was pushing. "A bag of flour, seventy or eighty jin, record it under the name of Purchasing Group Three."

Zhang Guangcai walked over, untied the cloth bag, grabbed a handful of flour, rubbed it in his palm, and then looked at it closely: "Good flour. How many pounds?"

"Seventy-eight jin," Wei Chen reported.

Zhang Guangcai made a note in the register, then wrote out an inbound slip, tore it off, and handed it to Liu Yuan: "Take this and go to the finance department to collect the money."

Liu Yuan took the inventory receipt, glanced at it, carefully folded it and put it in his pocket, then patted Wei Chen on the shoulder: "Let's go to the finance department."

The two left the warehouse and headed towards the finance office. Wei Chen pushed an empty cart, and Liu Yuan walked beside him, still nagging, "Wei Chen, you have no idea how much harder things have become since you left our group. When you were here, we always exceeded our procurement targets every month. After you left, we couldn't finish many tasks. We're being pressured by everyone, and I'm starting to feel uneasy about being the group leader."

Especially now, in this year of famine, even the farmers themselves are running out of food, let alone able to buy supplies. I contacted a few production team leaders I used to know, and they simply said, "Old Liu, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that we're all starving ourselves." So what do you think we should do?

Wei Chen didn't reply, but just hummed in response.

Liu Yuan lowered his voice again: "I heard you know quite a few hunter friends, and you have connections and ways to get wild game. Wei Chen, if you have the chance, please take care of our Group Three. It doesn't have to be much, just bring back some dried goods every now and then, pheasants, rabbits, roe deer, anything will do. The factory canteen has no shortage of skilled cooks, but it lacks ingredients."