Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Wei Chen was silent for a moment before asking, "If we manage to get it, how will it be settled?"

Liu Yuan immediately said, "You can come directly to me, or go directly to the logistics warehouse. Whatever you submit will count as our group's task. This is something we agreed on before. Even though you've been transferred, your name is still on our group's roster. Every purchase you submit will count as our group's achievement."

Wei Chen nodded: "Okay, I understand. I'll ask my friends when I'm free this weekend. If I find anything, I'll hand it over."

Liu Yuan was overjoyed and patted him on the shoulder: "Good! Wei Chen, I feel much more at ease knowing that you said that! Don't worry, we definitely won't shortchange you on the price. The factory has approved special funds now, so as long as we can get food, we'll accept a higher price."

As they talked, they reached the door of the finance office. Liu Yuan pushed the door open and went inside. A middle-aged woman wearing glasses was sitting there, looking down at an abacus. Liu Yuan handed her the receiving slip: "Accountant Zhao, the third purchasing team has purchased a bag of flour, seventy-eight jin. Settle at the extra-plan purchase price."

Accountant Zhao took the order, glanced at it, then looked up at Wei Chen. "Flour? You can still get flour these days? Your group three is quite capable." As she spoke, she opened an account book, her finger gliding across the paper. "Seventy-eight jin, at the unplanned purchase price of one yuan and twenty cents per jin, a total of ninety-three yuan and sixty cents." She counted the money and handed it to Liu Yuan. "Sign."

Liu Yuan signed the papers, took the money, and handed it to Wei Chen: "Here, this is yours."

Wei Chen took the money, didn't count it, and put it directly into his pocket.

After leaving the finance office, the two returned to the purchasing team's office. As soon as they entered, Liu Guoqing greeted them: "Team leader, has it been put into storage?"

"It's in." Liu Yuan sat down in the chair and let out a long breath. "Seventy-eight catties of flour, enough for tomorrow's hospitality. At least we've got it sorted out."

Jin Dong arrived at that moment. When he entered, he saw Wei Chen sitting in the office, paused for a moment, then laughed, "Wei Chen, you're here early! I was just saying I'd come find you later, but you're even more eager than me." He walked over and patted Wei Chen on the shoulder, "Got it?"

"Got it," Wei Chen said. "Seventy-eight jin of flour, already in the logistics warehouse."

Jin Dong breathed a sigh of relief: "That's great. You wouldn't believe it, yesterday Deputy Factory Director Li called to urge us to get the flour, but none of us dared to answer the phone. It was Team Leader Liu who answered and said, 'It will definitely arrive before noon tomorrow,' and that's how we got away with it. Now that the flour has arrived, our team's task is complete."

Liu Guoqing laughed and said, "Wei Chen, you really are our group's lucky star. Things have been really tough since you left. When you were here, we always exceeded our purchasing quotas every month. Now, we can't even get anything decent. In this year of famine, even the villagers themselves don't have enough to eat, so where are we supposed to buy anything?"

Jin Dong chimed in, "Exactly. I get a headache just looking at those reports. The higher-ups are constantly pressuring us, saying our third group is inefficient. But don't they realize what era we're living in? We've run out of food; are we going to conjure it up out of thin air?"

Wei Chen sat there without replying, only taking a sip of his tea. Seeing that he didn't want to talk about it anymore, Liu Yuan changed the subject: "Alright, alright, stop complaining. The flour issue is resolved today, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief. Lunch is on me, let's go to the cafeteria and have a good meal." He turned to Wei Chen, "Wei Chen, don't leave for lunch, come eat with us."

"Okay," Wei Chen replied.

Liu Guoqing refilled his tea, and Jin Dong took out a pack of "Daqianmen" cigarettes from his pocket, handed one to him, and lit one for himself. The group sat around in the office, chatting idly about the factory's recent situation.

Liu Guoqing talked about which family in the workshop had a new baby, and Jin Dong mentioned the news he had heard at the street office a few days ago: the city was organizing people to go to the countryside to dig for wild vegetables, but the villagers themselves were almost starving, so it was hard to say how much they could find. Liu Yuan sat there, listening to their conversation, occasionally chiming in, but mostly just silently smoking, as if lost in thought.

At noon, Liu Yuan took Wei Chen to the canteen for lunch. The two of them, carrying enamel bowls, lined up in the food queue. The canteen was noisy; dozens of workers crowded around the window, bowls in hand, craning their necks to look inside. Inside, two canteen cooks were working diligently, one shoveling food while the other served it, their movements swift and efficient.

When Wei Chen reached the window, the chef looked up—it was Sha Zhu. Upon seeing Wei Chen, Sha Zhu's previously tense face immediately broke into a wide smile: "Hey, Brother Wei Chen! What brings you here today? You're a rare guest!" He said, scooping up a large spoonful of food without further ado, then adding another, stuffing the lunchbox to the brim. "Come on, try my cooking today. This big pot of food, to say the least, tastes absolutely better than anything cooked in a small kitchen."

Wei Chen was stunned for a moment: "Silly Zhu, you just..."

"Don't be shy!" Sha Zhu waved his hand and lowered his voice, "Brother Wei Chen, I've always remembered your kindness in getting me and Xu Damao out of the security office last time. From now on, whenever you're eating, as long as I, Sha Zhu, am on duty, just come over, and I'll make sure you get a full meal!"

Wei Chen, holding the lunchbox full of food, nodded: "Thanks, Sha Zhu."

"Don't mention it!" Sha Zhu grinned, then turned to the next person, "Next!"

Wei Chen, carrying his lunchbox, found a seat by the window with Liu Yuan. Liu Yuan looked at Wei Chen's full lunchbox, then at his own half-full one, and clicked his tongue: "You really have a lot of influence. I've known Sha Zhu for so many years, and he's never offered me an extra spoonful."

Wei Chen smiled and said, "He's alright, he's sentimental."

The two ate with their heads down. Wei Chen took a bite of the food; it was indeed quite good—although it was still made in a large batch, Sha Zhu's cooking skills were better than most cafeteria chefs; the seasoning was just right, and it was a bit oily. As he ate, he glanced at the queue on the other side of the cafeteria and saw a familiar figure.

Xu Damao stood in the middle of the food queue, chatting and laughing with a young woman. The woman, dressed in clean work clothes and with a braid, giggled as Xu Damao amused her, her cheeks flushed. Xu Damao, wearing a nearly new Zhongshan suit and with his hair slicked back, stood slightly to the side, holding a lunchbox, seemingly making room for the woman, or perhaps intentionally or unintentionally showing off.

Liu Yuan followed Wei Chen's gaze and saw Xu Damao. He couldn't help but shake his head: "This Xu Damao is quite famous in our factory now. He's a movie projectionist, very popular. Girls ask him to watch movies every few days. He has a silver tongue, he can talk the dead back to life, and with that outfit, many girls fall for him."

He picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and mumbled, "But then again, his job as a movie projectionist is really a good one. No need to go to the workshop, no need to do any physical labor, and he can run around everywhere while showing movies, seeing a lot of people. The girls in the factory love that kind of thing."

Jin Dong walked over with his lunchbox, sat down beside him, and added, "He's not just famous, he's not. I heard from people in the workshop that last month he started dating Xiao Zhou from the factory office, and then he got very close to Sister Li from the broadcasting room. And now, he's changed girlfriends again, I think she's from Workshop Two." He shook his head, "This Xu Damao, he may not have any other skills, but he's got a whole repertoire when it comes to chasing girls."

Liu Guoqing chimed in, "He's got a real silver tongue. Once, he was chatting with some women in the screening room, and I happened to pass by and overheard—he was spouting off a whole bunch of things, like, 'The lighting in this movie makes you look especially good,' and 'I replayed this scene three times just to see your smile clearly'... Listen to that, who could resist?"

Liu Yuan scoffed, "His skills are only good for charming young girls at the factory. He's useless when things get tough." As he spoke, he glanced at Wei Chen, "But speaking of which, Wei Chen, you're not young anymore. Haven't you thought about finding a girlfriend? With your looks and qualifications, you won't have trouble finding a good girl."

Wei Chen took a bite of rice but didn't reply. Liu Yuan, seeing that he didn't want to talk about it, didn't press further and steered the conversation back to the main topic: "Wei Chen, don't forget about going to see your hunter friends this weekend. If you can get any game, just hand it over to the logistics warehouse. I'll talk to Zhang Guangcai later; just mention our group's name."

"Okay," Wei Chen replied. "I'll bring it over if there's anything."

After lunch, Liu Yuan chatted with Wei Chen in the office for the rest of the afternoon. Having not seen each other for a long time, the old colleagues from Purchasing Group 3 were very welcoming. Liu Guoqing brewed him tea three times, and Jin Dong pulled out a pack of "Daqianmen" cigarettes that had been stored for who knows how long, offered him one, and lit one for himself as well.

Several people sat around the office, chatting about the factory's recent situation, the difficulties of procurement, and their respective family lives. Wei Chen didn't say much, just listened, occasionally responding. He liked this atmosphere, a group of familiar people sitting around, talking casually, without any scheming or backstabbing.

As he was about to leave work in the afternoon, he got up to say goodbye. Liu Yuan saw him all the way to the door, and then added, "Remember about the weekend."

"I remember." Wei Chen nodded, pushing his bicycle out of the factory gate. The evening wind had grown a bit colder, carrying the scent of winter on his face. He got on his bike and rode towards home.

He was still thinking about how he needed to come up with an explanation for visiting his "hunter friend" over the weekend. He had quite a few prey items in his inventory, all hunted in the game world, including pheasants, rabbits, and roe deer.

These items can be set aside a little each week and given to the purchasing team three. This will not only help the team but also give you an added layer of prestige for having "connections." However, it shouldn't be too much at once; a gradual, consistent approach is the best way.

As he rode through a quiet alley, he suddenly slowed down. Deep in the alley, a hunched figure was squatting against a wall, holding a small shovel, digging something in a patch of ground no bigger than the palm of his hand. It was a common sight on the street—someone was looking for wild vegetable roots.

Wei Chen didn't stop and continued cycling forward. But he memorized that figure—in these times, more and more people were searching for anything edible in corners, roadsides, and ruins. Winter hadn't arrived yet, but the shadow of famine had already enveloped everyone.