Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

By the time I returned to the courtyard house, it was already dark. A few lights were on in the courtyard, their dim yellow light shining through the windows, appearing especially warm in the twilight.

Wei Chen pushed his cart into the courtyard. Uncle Yan Fugui was squatting at the door smoking. When he saw Wei Chen return, he stood up and asked, "Wei Chen, you're off work? You're back early today."

"Hmm, nothing much at the factory." Wei Chen propped up the bike and took a gray coarse cloth bag out of the basket.

The old man, with his sharp eyes, noticed the bulging bag and leaned over to ask, "What's this?"

"Pheasant." Wei Chen opened a corner of the bag, revealing a plump pheasant inside. "I caught this today. I'll take it home and stew it."

The old man's eyes lit up immediately: "Pheasant! Good heavens! To be able to get a pheasant these days, you've got some really wild connections! Um... Wei Chen, is one chicken enough for you? If not, I have some dried mushrooms. Take them back and make soup; they'll taste delicious."

Wei Chen smiled and said, "Alright, thank you, Third Uncle."

Uncle San wasn't stupid; he was shrewd and knew how to treat different people! He knew Wei Chen wouldn't let him suffer. Last time he went fishing, Wei Chen gave him bait so he could catch a big fish. He was still looking forward to fishing with Wei Chen on Sunday! Besides, Uncle San had a sense of right and wrong. Wei Chen had given him dates and fish, so giving him some mushrooms was just a way of returning the favor!

Wei Chen took the mushrooms, thanked him, and carried the pheasant into the east courtyard. Wang Xiulan was busy in the kitchen. Seeing him return, she asked, "You're back? Why are you here so early today?"

"Nothing much happened at the factory, so I came back early." Wei Chen placed the pheasant and dried mushrooms on the cutting board. "Mom, we're having stewed chicken tonight."

When Wang Xiulan saw the pheasant, she was taken aback: "A pheasant? Where did you get it?"

"I asked someone to buy it for me. Today, while I was making purchases for the factory, I encountered a hunter who had shot wild boars and pheasants. There were quite a few pheasants, so I bought one for myself as well," Wei Chen said.

Wang Xiulan didn't ask any further questions. She picked up the pheasant and weighed it in her hand. "Good, plump and meaty. We'll stew it tonight, so the whole family can have some meat." She then looked at the packet of dried mushrooms. "Where did these come from?"

"It was given to me by my third uncle. He said it would make a delicious soup."

Wang Xiulan nodded: "This old Yan, who is usually so stingy, is being generous today!" She tied on her apron, picked up a knife, and began to prepare the pheasant.

Wei Chen stood to the side for a while, then turned and went into the yard, turning over the dried dates. He then looked up at the sky. Dusk was falling, and in the distance came the sounds of dogs barking and children crying. The aroma of food wafted from the yard, mingled with the sweet scent of dates that had been drying all day, creating a particularly comforting atmosphere in the late autumn evening.

Wei Ran ran out of the house, smelled the delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen, and sniffed, "Mom, are you stewing chicken?"

"Yes, your brother brought back a pheasant," Wang Xiulan replied from the kitchen.

Wei Ran jumped for joy: "We can eat chicken! That's great!" She ran back into the house, and a moment later, she poked her head out again, "Mom, when will it be ready?"

"What's the rush? I'll call you when it's done." Wang Xiulan's tone carried a hint of a smile.

Wei Chen stood quietly under the jujube tree for a while. Most of the leaves had fallen, leaving the branches bare and looking somewhat desolate in the twilight. But the two mats of red dates spread out like a heavy harvest, laid out in the center of the yard, gleaming a dark red under the dim lamplight. He looked at them for a moment, then turned and went inside to wash his hands and prepare to eat.

The next morning, Wei Chen practiced his boxing routine in the courtyard as usual. It was just before dawn, and a thin layer of morning mist still shrouded the courtyard, the air carrying the crisp scent unique to late autumn.

His punches and kicks were steady and solid, and his breath slowly dissipated in the morning light. Wang Xiulan was already busy in the kitchen, and the aroma of corn porridge wafted out of the window, mixed with the smell of firewood, making the whole courtyard warm and cozy.

He stopped, let out a long breath, and went into the kitchen. Wang Xiulan was ladling porridge when she saw him come in. Without turning her head, she said, "Wash your face and call Wei Ran to get up and eat."

Wei Chen responded, scooped half a ladle of water from the water vat in the yard, washed his face hastily, and then went to the west room to knock on the door: "Wei Ran, get up, it's time to eat."

A muffled response came from inside the house. A moment later, the door opened, and Wei Ran came out rubbing her eyes, her hair disheveled, still not fully awake. She sniffed, smelling the aroma of corn porridge, and perked up a bit. She ran to the kitchen, sat down, picked up the bowl, took a sip, and gasped from the heat, but still swallowed it: "Mom, there's porridge and steamed buns today, that's great."

"Okay, then eat more." Wang Xiulan pushed a plate of pickled vegetables in front of her. "Don't just drink porridge, eat some vegetables too."

After the family finished their breakfast in silence, Wei Chen wiped his mouth and stood up: "Mom, I'm going out today to take care of some things."

Wang Xiulan glanced at him: "Where are you going?"

"Take the money and tickets to that hunter friend from yesterday." Wei Chen said casually, "He hasn't settled the payment for the wild boar from yesterday. I'll take it to him today and see if he has any other good stuff."

Without much thought, Wang Xiulan nodded: "Okay, go early and come back early, don't be late for work."

Wei Chen responded and pushed his bicycle out of the courtyard gate. One by one, the doors of the houses in the courtyard opened, and people went to work or school and began to leave. Uncle Yan Fugui, the third uncle, was squatting by his door brushing his teeth, his mouth full of white foam. Seeing Wei Chen push his bicycle out, he mumbled, "Wei Chen, going fishing again today?"

"I'm not going fishing, I have some errands to run." Wei Chen replied, got on his bike, and drove out of the alley.

He rode his bike out of the city, heading south along the same dirt road he'd taken yesterday. On either side of the road, the stubble of the harvested crops remained in the fields, a withered yellow expanse. After riding for about half an hour, he turned into a small grove of trees. Making sure no one was around, he stopped, closed his eyes, and entered the game world.

Everything in the game world remained the same; under the gray-blue sky, the wilderness stretched as far as the eye could see. He spent over an hour clearing out all the poultry in the city and the wild monsters outside, gaining more than two hundred experience points.

Then, on a whim, three rabbits and two pheasants appeared out of thin air in the bamboo basket on the back of the bicycle. He looked down and inspected the basket. To complete the charade, he said he was going to deliver money and tickets to a hunter friend, and after spending almost two hours outside, he started riding his bicycle back.

He emerged from the woods, rode onto the road, and slowly made his way back. The sun was already high in the sky, its warmth making him feel cozy. When he reached the same intersection as yesterday, he saw a figure standing by the roadside in the distance.

As he got closer, he recognized her as the woman who had wanted to buy pheasants yesterday. She was wearing a faded floral blouse, carrying a bamboo basket, and standing under a poplar tree, craning her neck to look around. When she saw Wei Chen riding over, her eyes lit up, and she quickly walked towards him, her face beaming with undisguised excitement: "Young man! You're here! You really came!"

Wei Chen braked the car, bracing one foot on the ground, and looked at her with some surprise: "Big sister, you were really waiting?"

The woman nodded repeatedly: "I've been waiting for over an hour! Yesterday you told me to wait here this morning, and I thought you seemed honest enough not to lie to me. But I was also worried that if you didn't come, I would have waited for nothing."

But then I thought, these days, how hard it is to get meat, you don't know, and neither do I. Even if I had to wait all morning, let alone an hour, I'd still wait here. What if you come? What if you really have a pheasant? Then my dear daughter-in-law could have some meat soup.”

She rattled off a string of words in one breath, her voice not loud, but her tone conveying urgency and seriousness. Wei Chen looked at her sunburnt face and sighed inwardly. He glanced around; there were still a few passersby walking by the roadside. He lowered his voice and said, "Sister, there are too many people here. Let's talk over there."

The woman understood and followed Wei Chen as he pushed the bicycle behind a large locust tree by the roadside. There was a clearing there, shaded by the tree, so passersby couldn't see it. Wei Chen stopped the bicycle and pointed to the bamboo basket: "Sister, look."

The woman leaned closer to look and saw three wild rabbits and two pheasants neatly arranged in the basket, their plumage bright and their weight substantial. Her eyes widened instantly, she swallowed hard, and looked up at Wei Chen, a slight blush on her face. She said somewhat shyly, "Young man, I... I was originally thinking I'd be content with just one pheasant. But seeing how much you have in your basket, I... could I take one more pheasant? Both, please."

My daughter-in-law is pregnant, about seven or eight months along. The doctor said she needs to eat more meat so the baby will grow well. But these days, forget meat, you can't even buy a chicken feather. I told my son about it yesterday, and he said I was dreaming, that the doctor was just saying it casually, and I took it seriously! But I wasn't giving up, so I thought I'd try my luck again today, and you actually came! So… if it's convenient for you…”

As she spoke, a hint of embarrassment crossed her face, as if she felt she was being too greedy, but for the sake of her daughter-in-law, she still shamelessly spoke her mind.

Wei Chen looked at her, remained silent for a moment, and then asked, "Big sister, where do you work?"

The woman paused for a moment, seemingly not expecting Wei Chen to ask this, but still answered, "I work at a department store."

Wei Chen was somewhat surprised: "A department store? Do the people there lack food?"

The woman gave a bitter laugh: "Who doesn't lack? Department stores sell general merchandise, not meat. I stand at the counter there every day, watching people come and go, but I still don't have any meat at home. These days, lacking food and drink has nothing to do with where you work. The most worrying thing is having money but not being able to buy things."