Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Wei Chen then took out a pack of "Daqianmen" cigarettes, pulled one out, and respectfully handed it to Yan Bugui: "Third Uncle, please have a smoke. I'll need your help in the future, so please take care of me." He knew that Yan Bugui liked cigarettes, and that smoking was a good way to get closer to men.

"Ah! Good! Good cigarette!" Yan Bugui's eyes lit up even more. He quickly took the cigarette, lit it with Wei Chen's famous match, took a satisfying drag, and his face showed a look of intoxication and satisfaction. His goodwill towards Wei Chen instantly soared. "Comrade Wei Chen is so young, yet so thoughtful and generous! We, the Yan family, will accept you as our neighbor!"

The commotion in the front yard was quite significant, and people from the middle yard gradually returned as well. Wei Chen grabbed a handful of candy from each household in the front yard, chatted for a few minutes, and explained the situation. After exchanging a few more polite words with the Yan family, Wei Chen, carrying his bag of candy, pushed his cart through the hanging flower gate amidst the enthusiastic greetings of the three aunties, "Take care," and "Come visit often," and entered the more spacious, but also more crowded, middle yard.

The atmosphere in the middle courtyard was noticeably more somber than in the front courtyard. At the entrance of the east wing stood a tall, square-faced man, around fifty years old, wearing faded but clean blue overalls. He carried a habitual seriousness and composure in his expression; he was none other than Yi Zhonghai, the eldest resident of the courtyard and an eighth-grade fitter at the steel rolling mill.

The door to the Jia family's house on the west side was open, and a young man dressed in the same work clothes, but with a pale face and a somewhat weary look, was squatting by the sink at the door washing his hands.

A young woman, wearing a floral cotton-padded jacket, with a plump figure, a pretty face, and a natural air of fragility and pitifulness in her eyes, stood beside him, holding a towel in her hand.

When she saw Wei Chen come in, her big, watery eyes immediately turned to him with curiosity, carrying a hint of scrutiny.

On the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) in the room, an old woman in her forties, with her legs crossed, wearing a dark cotton-padded jacket, with a sagging face and shrewd eyes that revealed a hint of fierceness, also peeked out. Her shrewd gaze swept back and forth between Wei Chen and the candy bag in his hand.

At the entrance to the main house, a burly young man with a buzz cut, square face, and a large mouth, wearing a greasy, twisted chef's uniform, was carrying several lunchboxes. He had a loud voice and shouted as soon as he entered the yard, "Sister Qin, there were some leftover meat scraps from the factory's kitchen today, I brought them back for you! Tonight, give them to Bang Geng and the others..." Before he could finish speaking, he saw Wei Chen's unfamiliar face, his voice stopped abruptly, and his gaze also fell on the conspicuous candy bag.

Wei Chen understood immediately; this Central Courtyard was indeed a place where "dragons and tigers hid," with almost all the key figures present. He wore a perfectly appropriate smile, tinged with the awkwardness of someone new to the place, and took the initiative to greet the most imposing figure, Uncle Yi Zhonghai.

"You must be the old man? Hello, I'm Wei Chen, the new resident. I just finished the paperwork today and I'm moving into the east wing." Wei Chen bowed slightly, his tone respectful.

Yi Zhonghai turned around, a smile befitting his status—a smile that conveyed both the authority of an elder and a kind heart—and extended his hand: "Oh, Comrade Wei Chen, hello, hello! Welcome, welcome! Officer Liu from the Subdistrict Office has already spoken to me."

From now on, we'll be neighbors in the same courtyard. A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. If anything happens, we'll look out for each other, care for each other, and make progress together! His words were steady and watertight, full of "leadership"-style care and a call to unity. His gaze was calmly scrutinizing Wei Chen, as if assessing the "quality" of this new neighbor.

"Of course, I'll definitely need to learn more from you in the future, Uncle Yi," Wei Chen replied modestly, opening the candy bag as he did so. "You see, I've just settled in, and now I'm rebuilding my house. It's quite a project, and the noise will definitely disturb the neighbors. I feel really bad about it, so I bought some candy to share with everyone in the courtyard, young and old, as a way of apologizing in advance. Please bear with me." As he spoke, he also grabbed a handful of fruit candies and handed them to Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai looked at the handful of candies that shimmered temptingly in the setting sun as they were handed to him. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly masked by a deeper smile.

He took the candy and nodded, "Comrade Wei Chen, you're too kind. Building houses is a good thing, it's about improving living conditions, everyone can understand. Don't worry, things in the courtyard will be handled by us old men in charge, there won't be any problems. Neighbors should be considerate of each other."

He emphasized the words "manager" and "coordinator" slightly, both accepting the "kindness" and reiterating his status and influence within the hospital.

"Thank you, sir!" Wei Chen said gratefully, then turned to Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu at the door of the west wing.

"This must be Brother Jia, right? Hello, sister-in-law!" Wei Chen greeted him with a smile, grabbing a handful of candy and handing it over, "Just a little something to sweeten the child's mouth."

Qin Huairu's eyes lit up when she saw the candy offered to her. A gentle, slightly shy smile quickly spread across her face, and she said softly, "Oh, Comrade Wei Chen, look at you... you're going to such lengths. Thank you!"

She reached out to take the candy, her fingers pale and her movements a little cautious. Jia Dongxu, who was beside her, also stood up, forcing a slightly restrained and tired smile, and nodded: "Thank you, Comrade Wei Chen." He didn't seem to be in good spirits, his eyes somewhat unfocused.

At this moment, Jia Zhangshi, who was inside the house, finally couldn't hold back any longer. She moved her body off the kang (a heated brick bed) and walked to the door. She didn't look at Wei Chen, but her eyes were fixed on the candy in Qin Huairu's hand like hooks. She muttered dissatisfiedly, "Hmph, what can this little bit of candy do? What about the two children..." Her voice wasn't loud, but everyone present could hear it.

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Qin Huairu's face. She quickly handed the candy in her hand to Jia Zhangshi and whispered, "Mom, look, Comrade Wei Chen gave this to me specially..."

Only then did Madam Jia lift her eyelids and quickly glance at Wei Chen. There was no gratitude in her eyes, only scrutiny and a kind of "taken-for-granted" criticism.

She reached into the candy Qin Huairu was holding and quickly grabbed several of the largest fruit candies, stuffing them into her pocket while muttering, "It's good that you know you're bothering people! There's a lot of dust from building a house, don't let it blow into our house!" After saying that, she turned around and went back into the house.

Wei Chen sneered inwardly, but his face remained impassive, as if he hadn't heard a thing. Jia Zhangshi's attitude was exactly what he expected. He noticed a flicker of helplessness and numbness across Jia Dongxu's face, while Qin Huairu gave him an even more apologetic and pitiful smile.

"Brother Zhu!" Wei Chen turned to He Yuzhu, who had been watching with great interest, and handed him a handful of candy. "I heard from Auntie that you're the head chef at the steel mill? This is your specialty!" Wei Chen gave a thumbs up. "I'll definitely need to learn from you in the future. Here, have some candy to sweeten your mouth."

He Yuzhu, being straightforward, was immediately delighted by Wei Chen's frankness, praise of his cooking, and generous offer of sweetness. He beamed and accepted it without hesitation: "Haha! No problem! Wei Chen, right? You're a true friend! Just let me know what you want to eat next time! I can't speak for the factory, but at home, I'll take care of things for you!"

He patted his chest, looking quite boastful, then took a step closer, lowered his voice, and said with a touch of familiar gossip, "Hey brother, I heard you brought those wild boars yesterday? Good heavens, they were so plump and strong! Where did you catch them? Are there any more in the mountains?"

Wei Chen chuckled inwardly; this silly Zhu really was exceptionally interested in food. He smiled mysteriously, "Brother Zhu's got great connections! He just happened to run into it in the mountains, lucky him. If he ever comes across anything good again, he'll definitely think of our factory first!"

"That's great, bro! If anyone in the compound dares to bully you in the future, just tell me!" Sha Zhu was very pleased with Wei Chen's flattery, and with the added effect of the sugar, he immediately included Wei Chen in the category of "one of us". His voice also became louder, which made Yi Zhonghai frown slightly.

The distribution at the middle courtyard had come to an end. Wei Chen, carrying a noticeably lighter bag of candy, pushed his bicycle through the narrow passage connecting the middle courtyard and the back courtyard, and arrived at the back courtyard.

The backyard was quieter and more dilapidated than the front courtyard. The light was blocked by the tall rear building, making it somewhat dim. The low-lying hut in the western corner was the old deaf woman's dwelling; its doors and windows were tightly shut, and it was eerily quiet. Uncle Liu Haizhong's house occupied the best spot in the backyard, and it appeared more orderly.

Liu Haizhong was a short, stout middle-aged man with a protruding belly. He was standing at his door with his hands behind his back, looking like a leader on an inspection tour. He had obviously heard the commotion ahead. When he saw Wei Chen come in, he immediately puffed out his belly, cleared his throat, and tried to put on an expression that was both authoritative and approachable.

"You're the new Comrade Wei Chen?" Liu Haizhong's voice was loud and clear, with a hint of affected manner.

"Hello, Second Uncle! I'm Wei Chen." Wei Chen stepped forward, using the same old words, and handed over the candy. "I was worried about disturbing everyone while building the house, so this is just a small token of my appreciation. Please have some with your family."

Liu Haizhong took the candy, but unlike Yan Bugui, he didn't show any obvious joy, nor did he possess the composure of Yi Zhonghai. Instead, he looked at Wei Chen with the same scrutinizing gaze one would give a subordinate's work report: "Hmm, Comrade Wei, your attitude is good! Recognizing the potential impact on the neighbors and taking the initiative to do so demonstrates your awareness!"

He paused, then continued in a very official tone, "However, building a house is a big deal, but we can't just think about our own convenience! We must strictly abide by the rules and regulations of the compound! Construction time must be controlled so as not to disturb everyone's rest! Construction waste must be cleaned up in a timely manner! We must follow the rules, have all the necessary permits, and not start construction without permission or damage collective property! Otherwise, I, as the person in charge of the compound, will be held responsible! I will deal with it seriously!"

While speaking in an official tone, he gripped the candy in his hand tightly, showing no intention of refusing it.