Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Night completely enveloped Baoyuquan Village. The cold wind howled and whistled through the mud-brick houses and bare treetops, making the winter night seem even more desolate and long. However, on this cold night, the hearts of the two branches of the Lao Wei family felt as if they were being roasted over a fire, burning and churning, unable to find peace.

Unlike the atmosphere at my eldest uncle's house, where everything was settled almost without suspense, and everyone was immersed in great joy and anticipation, the atmosphere at my third uncle Wei Laishun's house, which lived on the other side of the village, was heavy with a mix of excitement and anxiety, and a tension between hope and responsibility.

Inside the three slightly dilapidated but exceptionally tidy adobe houses, the tiny flames of kerosene lamps flickered, casting the shadows of the family of four onto the mottled mud walls, their lengths shifting and changing.

Wei Laishun, Li Xiuzhi, and their eldest son Weiguo (eleven years old) and youngest son Weimin (six years old) sat around the cold edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). To save firewood, the kang had only been heated for a short while before they went to bed, and it was now completely cold, but no one cared.

The dim oil lamp on the table illuminated several faces with different expressions. Wei Laishun frowned, puffing on his pipe one after another, the pungent smell of cheap tobacco filling the small space.

Li Xiuzhi unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes with both hands, sometimes looking at her husband, sometimes at her two bewildered sons, her eyes filled with excitement, confusion and a deep worry.

Wei Guo seemed to realize that his parents were discussing something important, and sensibly kept quiet, just watching with wide eyes. Wei Min, being younger, was already a little sleepy, leaning against his mother, his little head nodding.

"His father..." Li Xiuzhi finally broke the suffocating silence, her voice dry with tension, "This spot... what should we do? Guo'er is only eleven, and Min'er is even younger. This... this factory definitely won't take him? The only one who can go is you..." Her heart was pounding like a rabbit's. A huge windfall had fallen on her head, but after the initial surprise came a fear that she didn't know where to begin.

Wei Laishun slowly exhaled a thick plume of smoke, the smoke obscuring his thin, somewhat frail face. He didn't answer immediately, but instead twirled the pipe between his thumb and forefinger, his gaze fixed on the flickering lamplight, as if trying to find the answer within it.

His role as a village security guard gave him more literacy and a greater capacity for thought than farmers who simply farmed the land. Because of this, he understood more clearly what this "formal employment position" meant—it was a golden road to escaping the land, changing social class, and securing his future! But it also meant that he needed to consider things more deeply and further ahead.

"The child definitely won't make it... Chenzi said there are certain conditions." Wei Laishun finally spoke, his voice a little hoarse. "Guo'er is too young, definitely not." He paused, as if making a decision, then looked up at his wife. "This spot can't be wasted. What I mean is... I'll go."

"You're going?" Li Xiuzhi blurted out, her heart skipping a beat. The thought had crossed her mind before, but hearing it aloud from her husband still gave her a powerful shock.

"Hmm." Wei Laishun nodded heavily, as if trying to convince his wife, and also as if trying to convince himself. "I'll go. I'm thirty-eight this year, and according to Chenzi's conditions, I should still be able to qualify. At least I've been to school a few times and can read. If I get into the factory, I can either learn a new skill, or become a warehouse manager, keep track of work points, or learn something else. It'll be better than what I'm doing now."

He analyzed each point one by one, "I'm a militiaman in the village now, but I work just like everyone else. It looks respectable, but in reality? I don't earn many more work points, and the subsidies are pitifully small and sometimes nonexistent. My family only has that little plot of land, and you know how the harvest is."

Li Xiuzhi listened and nodded subconsciously. What her husband said was true. Given the current situation in the village, if there's a disaster next year, they won't receive much grain, and they're constantly running out of food! The family mainly relies on her, a single woman, to manage the small plot of land; they're barely making ends meet.

"If I went to the city and became a regular worker," Wei Laishun's eyes gleamed under the lamplight, a longing for a different life, "I would have a fixed monthly salary, food coupons, and labor insurance. Even the lowest apprentice's wage would be more than what I earn in the village, and it would be more stable! With money and food coupons, I could send money home, and your and the children's lives would immediately be much better! Guo'er and Min'er could eat better, dress warmer, and their education... would be hopeful." His tone became even more resolute when he spoke of his children's education. He himself had received some education and deeply understood the importance of knowledge, even in these times.

Li Xiuzhi was moved by the future her husband described. Yes, if her husband became a worker, the family would have a stable income and would no longer have to rely on the weather for their livelihood, worrying about meager work points and food rations. The children could also…

"But..." Before the bubbles of joy could rise high enough, the cold reality slapped down, and Li Xiuzhi's face paled. "You went to the city, leaving only me and the two children at home... I have to do all the work in the fields by myself... and fetching water, chopping firewood... Guo'er is still too young to help much..." What she didn't say was how difficult life would be for a woman raising two young children in the countryside without the support of a strong laborer. The gossip of others, the heavy farm work and housework, the upbringing of the children—each one was a heavy mountain to climb.

Wei Laishun's face dimmed slightly. He knew all too well what was going on. He took a deep drag on his cigarette, the smoke making him cough twice. "I know... I know it's difficult," he said, his voice lowering. "But this is such a rare opportunity! If we miss it, we might never have another chance! Are we just going to let this opportunity go to waste? Give it up..." He spoke the last sentence with great difficulty. Giving it up—not only was he unwilling, but even his wife would likely be reluctant.

"Give up?" Li Xiuzhi repeated subconsciously, then shook her head violently, as if trying to shake off the terrible thought. "How can that be! This was given to our family by Chenzi! It was given to us by Father! Why should we give up?" Her voice became sharp with agitation, then slumped down. "But... if you leave, the three of us..."

She couldn't go on; her eyes began to redden. On one hand, there was a golden opportunity to change her entire family's fate; on the other, she had to abandon her wife and children and face a harsh reality alone. This choice was too cruel.

"How about..." Li Xiuzhi said urgently, as if grasping at a straw, "How about... once you've established yourself, you bring us over too? Didn't Chenzi say that if we do well, we can get housing?"

Wei Laishun gave a bitter laugh, shook his head, his smile full of bitterness: "Xiuzhi, you're thinking too simply. Chenzi's situation was special; he caught the policy wave, plus he was capable and willing to spend money to buy that dilapidated courtyard and renovate it himself. Where are you going to find such good fortune these days? Even if there were houses available, the line of people waiting to be allocated housing stretches from the factory gate to Yongdingmen! So many people have toiled for years in the city with their families and still can't get a single room! I'm just a newcomer, with no connections or background, what makes me think I can compete?"

He paused, his voice lower, carrying a resigned clarity: "Even... even if we're lucky enough to get a house in the future, even just a small room, what about our family of four's household registration? What about our food rations? I can transfer them, but what about you? If you can't transfer your rural household registration to the city, you won't get urban food rations! Relying on that meager salary to buy overpriced food on the black market? Do you know how much that costs? How long can that last!"

Wei Laishun's concerns were realistic. At that time, children's household registration followed their mothers. Without urban household registration, there was no food ration! The Jia family was a prime example. Jia Dongxu's salary wasn't low; supporting his family wasn't a problem, but that depended on them having food rations. Back then, Jia Zhangshi coveted the rural food supply and insisted that she and Qin Huairu's household registration remain in the countryside. However, when the policy changed, everyone in his family except Jia Dongxu had rural household registration. They had no food rations in the city; they either had to return to the countryside or buy expensive grain like they do now. That's why his family became increasingly poor.

Wei Laishun's words were like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing the last bit of unrealistic fantasy in Li Xiuzhi's heart.

Yes, if the husband goes alone, he can barely make ends meet and occasionally help the family. But if he takes the whole family to the city without a household registration or food ration book, relying solely on one person's salary and ration to buy expensive food on the black market to feed the whole family? That's simply a pipe dream. They would instantly fall into abject poverty, possibly even worse off than in the countryside.

The room fell silent again. Only the occasional crackling of the kerosene lamp wick and the howling wind outside the window could be heard. Two choices, like two mountains, stood before the couple; whichever they chose, it seemed they would have to bear an unspeakable weight and sacrifice.