Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

In the home of Second Uncle Liu Hai, as a level seven blacksmith, his income was among the top in the courtyard. However, he had a large family, including three young boys who were at the age where "young boys can eat their fathers to death," resulting in huge expenses.

The search revealed over 960 yuan in cash, along with some cloth coupons and grain coupons, the amounts of which were generally consistent with his family's circumstances.

The second aunt gasped in distress as she watched the police rummage through her carefully organized cabinet, muttering repeatedly, "Be gentle, be gentle, don't mess it up."

Liu Haizhong himself, seeing his family's meager "assets" being dug up and registered, felt a little uncomfortable, but mostly straightened his back, even with a hint of barely perceptible pride on his face—look! Although our Liu family doesn't have gold bars, we earned them honestly and openly! We're not thieves!

Especially after witnessing the tragic state of Yan Bugui and Jia Zhangshi, the flames of power burning within him intensified. The Third Master was down, his reputation ruined! The First Master was crippled, his prestige shattered! In this courtyard, who else but me? He could almost see himself standing in the central courtyard, commanding absolute obedience.

The deaf old lady's house was the last one. As an elderly resident of the compound and a recipient of the "Five Guarantees" (a government welfare program for the elderly without family support), the search was merely a symbolic formality.

The old woman sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), squinting her eyes, fiddling with a string of polished prayer beads in her hand, seemingly oblivious to the police officers rummaging through her belongings, as if she were truly hard of hearing.

Finally, they found over 120 yuan and some loose tickets in a small wooden box about the size of a palm on her kang (heated brick bed). Liu Fuguo politely said, "I'm sorry to have disturbed the old lady's rest," and then ended the search.

No one noticed that when Wei Chen's spiritual power swept across the depths under the old lady's kang (heated brick bed), he clearly "saw" a hardwood box that was larger, heavier, and made of more solid material than the wooden box in Yi Zhonghai's house, buried three feet underground!

The box seemed to have faint patterns engraved on its surface! What was inside? Gold and silver valuables? Or something more important? Wei Chen was too lazy to investigate.

Although the old woman was a bit confused and somewhat arrogant due to her age, she hadn't provoked Wei Chen so far, nor had she been involved in any of his dirty deeds. As long as she behaved herself and didn't bother him, Wei Chen was too lazy to dig up her past. It was better to avoid trouble; this quagmire was already murky enough.

When the door to the last deaf old lady's house closed gently, it signaled the end of the search storm that had swept through the entire No. 95 Nanluoguxiang courtyard and lasted for several hours.

As a result, Yi Zhonghai, whose last glimmer of hope had been dashed, was plunged into utter despair. Nothing! His 5,300 yuan was nowhere to be found! His large yellow croaker was nowhere to be found! Not even a single banknote or a trace of packaging could be found! It was as if that enormous sum of money, the culmination of half a lifetime's work, along with that heavy wooden box, had truly vanished into thin air like water!

Yi Zhonghai's face was ashen, his eyes had completely lost their last spark of life, staring blankly at the ground, his body hunched over like that of an old man in his twilight years, as if his soul had been completely snatched away by an invisible thief, leaving only a cold, numb shell.

A profound sense of loss and a deeper, clinging fear gripped him—not someone from the compound? Then who could it be? How could someone outside know about his hidden stash of money? Would he ever find it again? Hope… was utterly shattered. He felt his world plunge into boundless darkness.

Looking at Yi Zhonghai, Liu Fuguo felt a deep sense of helplessness and heaviness in his heart. He walked to the center of the courtyard, facing the complex and conflicted gazes of all the residents, and cleared his throat. He announced in a deep voice: "Neighbors, after a comprehensive and thorough search of all the residents of No. 95 Nanluoguxiang Courtyard, we have not yet found any clues related to the 5,300 yuan in cash stolen by Comrade Yi Zhonghai."

His voice carried a formulaic calmness, yet also revealed a subtle weariness and a lack of confidence. "Our preliminary assessment is that the perpetrator is likely not a resident of this building. Of course, this is not the final conclusion. Our police station will continue to expand the scope of the investigation, mobilize more resources, and do our utmost to solve this case and recover Mr. Yi's losses! Please have faith in the determination of the public security organs! And please, Mr. Yi... take care of your health and wait patiently for news."

"Patience...wait?" Yi Zhonghai let out a desperate sneer, like sandpaper rubbing against rotten wood, so low that only he could hear it. He felt a chill run through his body, as if the last bit of strength to support him had been drained away, and his vision blurred.

Liu Fuguo's announcement was more like a signal to lift the alarm. The complex emotions that had been suppressed all day—shock, anger, contempt, lingering fear, schadenfreude, and the exhilaration of having one's understanding overturned—exploded in the courtyard like a floodgate being opened! The murmur of discussion suddenly rose!

"That's all for today's investigation. We'll expand our investigation team later and do our best to find them!" Deputy Director Liu said to the old man and the second old man, Liu Haizhong, who was still in charge. Then he said a few words to Wei Chen, praised Da Huang, and left.

As soon as the police left, the compound erupted in chaos!

"Disperse! Disperse! Go home! Stop huddling around here!" Uncle Liu Haizhong was the first to react. He puffed out his chest, unleashing an unprecedentedly loud voice, like banging a gong, waving his thick arms, attempting to exercise the power he had long considered his new "new leader." "The police officers have worked hard all day! Everyone knows the result! Go do what you were doing! Don't gather here and gossip! It's not a good influence!"

However, who would listen to him? The crowd didn't disperse; instead, like iron filings attracted by a magnet, they quickly gathered in twos and threes, like boiling water, fiercely discussing, sharing, and digesting the shocking revelations that had broken out in this day that were enough to overturn their worldviews! The voices rose higher and higher!

"My God! Today is truly an eye-opening experience!" Old Sun, squatting on his doorstep in the front yard, puffed on his pipe and exclaimed in amazement, "Old Yan hid gold bars! Fourteen of them! They were so bright yellow! They made my eyes water!"

Granny Jia is even more amazing! She stuffed over a thousand yuan into her pillow! And a gold coin too! That silly boy, Sha Zhu, always bragging, turns out he only has a hundred or so yuan to his name! Tsk tsk, this courtyard is full of hidden talents!

"Who says otherwise!" Zhao's wife, holding her child, spoke in a shrill, disdainful voice. "I always thought Uncle San was so stingy and calculating, practically licking the weight off the scale to make a measly amount of vegetables. I never imagined he was such a hidden tycoon! Fourteen small yellow croakers! My goodness! Now he's been completely exposed! He'll definitely have to hand them over to the state! He might even have to spend a few days in jail!"

Serves him right! Let him pretend! Let him be stingy! He even kept it from his own son! That kid Yan Jiecheng, his face was as white as paper just now! Look at the way Uncle San looked at him, like he was looking at an enemy!

"Serves him right! Who told him to hide gold without reporting it? And pretend to be poor! He's been scheming his whole life, even deceiving his own flesh and blood! Now he's ended up in jail, isn't he? Karma!" The young Zhou family boy in the backyard, full of youthful vigor, loudly echoed, drawing nods from the crowd.

"The Jia family is truly disgusting! Like a toad crawling on your foot—it doesn't bite, but it's still annoying!" Aunt Li, hands on her hips, her voice trembling with agitation, exclaimed. "They're always crying poverty! They say the corn cob is hungry, or that Xiao Dang is so skinny he's practically skin and bones, trying to get our pity! Turns out, that old hag hides all the money under her pillow! And that gold ring! Bah! If they ever dare to show their faces at my door again, I'll throw my foot bath water on them! I'll throw it all over their faces!"

"Exactly! Think about all the money we donated before, it would be better to feed the dog than give it to her! At least the dog knows to wag its tail! But she's just hoarding our hard-earned money like her own private stash!" Another neighbor, who had been "mobilized" to donate five yuan, chimed in indignantly.

"That old man...sigh, he's getting senile! He was completely fooled by that woman's pitiful act! He was used as a pawn!"

"An old man? I don't think he'll ever be able to call himself an old man again!" Xu Damao had somehow joined the crowd and interjected sarcastically, "Not only did he lose his money, but he's also guilty of misjudging people and letting a wolf into the house (he can't use the idiom, but he's forcing it!). His prestige is ruined! From now on, in this courtyard, those who keep their word..." He deliberately dragged out his words, glancing at Liu Haizhong, who was trying his best to maintain order.

"That's right!" someone immediately chimed in, understanding the unspoken message. "I think from now on, Second Uncle should be in charge of this courtyard! He's an upright man, earns a high salary, and has a clean financial background!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Second Uncle is in charge! We all admire him!" "Second Uncle, you'll have to put in a lot more effort in managing the yard from now on!" The tone of the discussion began to shift in the direction Liu Haizhong had hoped for. Although it was supposed to be a compliment, there was still a hint of mockery in it!

As Liu Haizhong listened to the discussions about "it's time for the second uncle to take charge" and "we all agree," he tried his best to keep a straight face and appear serious, fair, and authoritative. However, the uncontrollable joy and smugness deep in his eyes were like boiling bubbles, constantly rising to his head, and his mouth was almost stretched to his ears.

He walked around the courtyard with his hands behind his back, trying to straighten his back, his gaze sweeping over the chattering crowd with an air of authority, as if inspecting the territory he was about to officially take over.

Yan Bugui is down, Yi Zhonghai is finished, and the Jia family is infamous! The world at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang is finally about to change completely! Liu Haizhong, after all these years of hard work, is finally going to rise above his circumstances and become a truly powerful and influential figure!

The thought of power made his heart tremble with excitement, and every pore on his body felt comfortable! He was already planning how to make his first move after officially "taking over" so that everyone would be completely convinced and that Wei Chen would see the methods he had up his sleeve!

Wei Chen stood at the moon gate of the east courtyard, coldly observing the myriad aspects of life. He saw the undisguised smugness and arrogance in Liu Hai's hair, Yan Bugui lying slumped at the Yan family's door like a dead dog with vacant eyes, Jia Zhangshi still jumping up and down cursing her daughter-in-law at the Jia family's door, being pointed at and whispered about by the neighbors, Qin Huairu holding her child and silently weeping, her figure frail, and Yi Zhonghai being helped back into the house by a policeman and an older woman, moving like a walking corpse...

A faint, cold, all-knowing smile curved his lips. Big Yellow sat quietly at his feet, its warm head gently nuzzling his trouser leg, as if offering silent comfort.

The storm seems to have subsided for the time being. But can this courtyard, which has been the site of so much scheming and greed, truly return to peace? The vanished Wu Qiansan, like a huge, invisible ghost, still weighs heavily on everyone's hearts, casting a shadow that is difficult to dispel.

The power vacuum, the inherent greed, and the resentment that may arise after the facade has been completely torn apart all indicate that new undercurrents are quietly surging beneath the seemingly calm surface, like venomous snakes lurking in wait, ready to erupt again.

As dusk settled, the stars above the courtyard were sparse, as if they were also coldly observing the embers of this human farce.