Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

After the loudspeaker sounded, the waiting time was noticeably longer than that of the village chief of Shangyuan Village. A few villagers arrived sparsely, bringing meager gifts.

A pale and thin woman had only eight small eggs in her basket.

An old man was holding a small handful of mushrooms that had been sun-dried until they were black and of poor quality, weighing less than a pound. Wei Chen bought them at eight cents a pound and gave him seven cents.

An old woman, trembling, brought over a handful of dried wild vegetables, weighing about half a pound. Wei Chen gave her three cents as a token gesture.

There was also a boy who was about a year old, carrying two small dried fish, each about the size of a palm, strung on willow branches. Wei Chen politely declined, but secretly slipped him two candies instead.

The atmosphere was somewhat somber. Li Youtian squatted to the side, puffing on his pipe, his wrinkles deepening. Wei Chen also felt a pang of unease. He counted the money; it had cost less than four yuan in total.

Finally, an old woman dressed in patched-up clothes, carrying a chipped earthenware bowl containing a few steamed, cooled, dark-colored wild vegetable dumplings, timidly offered them to Wei Chen: "Comrade... we really... have nothing else at home... could this... exchange for some money for salt?"

Wei Chen looked at the rough wild vegetable dumplings, then at the old woman's cloudy eyes filled with a humble expectation, and his heart ached. He waved his hand, "Auntie, the factory really won't take this. You keep it." He took out a white flour bun from his bag, which he had prepared as his lunch, and stuffed it into the old woman's hand, "Take this, it'll keep you full."

The old woman froze, staring at the soft, white steamed bun in her hand, which smelled of wheat. Then she looked at Wei Chen, her lips trembling, tears welling up in her cloudy eyes. She murmured, "No...no..." In the end, she trembled as she tightly clutched the bun in her hand and walked away, turning back every few steps. Li Youtian watched this scene and sighed silently.

Wei Chen packed his things and said goodbye to Li Youtian: "Uncle Li, thank you. I'll come again if I have anything good." He thought for a moment and then stuffed the "Da Qianmen" cigarette, which he had only smoked one cigarette, into Li Youtian's hand. "Uncle Li, keep this cigarette. The village is struggling, thank you for your help."

Li Youtian held the pack of cigarettes, watching Wei Chen push the cart away. His lips moved, but in the end, it turned into a long sigh filled with complex emotions.

Leaving Xiayuan Village, Wei Chen felt somewhat heavy-hearted. The situation in Xiayuan Village was the norm in this era, and the situation in other villages would only worsen in the next three years. If it weren't for his hunting skills and the cheat code of the game world, Wei Chen really wouldn't dare to take on the job of a purchasing agent in this era.

Wei Chen ate a steamed bun with braised pork by the roadside and pedaled his bicycle toward his last destination—Qinjiatun. The name stirred something within him.

Qinjiatun was built against a small earthen slope, with houses scattered about, looking slightly better than Xiayuan Village. Wei Chen pushed his cart into the village and, after asking around, found the brigade headquarters—a small courtyard that was fairly clean. At the entrance of the courtyard, a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a slightly worn blue cadre uniform and with his hair neatly combed, was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back. He was Qin Fuhai, the village head of Qinjiatun.

Wei Chen parked his car and greeted him with a beaming smile: "Village Chief Qin? Hello! I'm Wei Chen from Baoyuquan Village! My uncle, Wei Changsheng, often talks about you! I'm currently a purchasing agent at a steel rolling mill, and I'd like to come to our village to see if I can buy some supplies?"

Qin Fuhai turned around, sized up Wei Chen, his gaze sweeping over his bicycle and sacks. Hearing "Wei Changsheng" and the praise, a reserved yet polite smile appeared on his face: "Oh? Old Nian's nephew? Good for you! Going to work in the city? How's your uncle's health?"

"Thanks to you, I'm in great shape!" Wei Chen expertly pulled out a "Daqianmen" cigarette, offered it to Qin Shu with both hands, and said, "Uncle Qin, please have a smoke!"

Qin Fuhai took the cigarette, looked at the brand, nodded in satisfaction, lit it with Wei Chen's light, and took a puff. Wei Chen casually slipped two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes into his pocket as well. He nodded, not refusing, his demeanor more "official" than the previous two village chiefs. "Hmm, good cigarettes."

Wei Chen explained his purpose and took out his work ID. Qin Fuhai glanced at it and nodded: "Purchaser? Good job! Supporting national construction and also bringing benefits to the members! A good thing!" He was enthusiastic and immediately turned and went into the broadcasting room.

A moment later, Qin Fuhai's booming, slightly official voice blared from the loudspeaker: "Attention, comrades of Qinjiatun! Attention! This is an announcement! Purchasing agents from the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill in the city are coming to our brigade headquarters today to purchase agricultural and sideline products! This includes all kinds of dried and fresh vegetables, eggs, duck eggs, and seasonings such as peppercorns and star anise! The purchase price will be in accordance with the supply and marketing cooperative's standards, fair and reasonable! Weighing will be done on the spot, and cash will be settled immediately! Communards with surplus products at home who are willing to sell, please hurry and bring your items to the brigade headquarters to complete the process! Hurry!"

Qin Fuhai's broadcast was clearly more "formal" and had a good effect. Soon, more than a dozen people gathered at the entrance of the brigade headquarters, making it more lively than Xiayuan Village, but the items were still distributed in small groups by household.

A neat and tidy young woman carried a basket of about thirty eggs. An old man held two bundles of dried daylily buds, which had been sun-dried to a golden brown. Several women carried dried green beans and dried eggplants. Someone else brought a small cloth bag of dried red chilies and a small packet of Sichuan peppercorns.

Wei Chen worked efficiently and calmly, inspecting the goods, quoting prices, weighing them, recording transactions, and making payments. The sacks bulged more and more, and several more lines were added to his notebook. Qin Fuhai watched from the side, occasionally chiming in to maintain order, secretly nodding in approval of Wei Chen's efficiency and fairness.

Just as the transaction was nearing its end and the crowd was gradually dispersing, Wei Chen caught a glimpse of a small, withered head peeking out from behind a pile of firewood.

She wore a large, tattered jacket and worn-out straw sandals. Her face was thin and sallow, and her large eyes held timidity and longing. In her hand, she tightly clutched a bulging little pocket made of old cloth.

She had been hiding on the periphery of the crowd, watching others make transactions and receive money, but she didn't dare to go forward. Now that there were fewer people, she finally mustered up her courage and hesitantly shuffled over, standing a few steps away from the table, not daring to get too close.

Wei Chen sighed inwardly. He pretended not to see and continued to pay the last old woman selling dried green beans. After she left, he turned to the small figure who had been standing timidly, his voice softening: "Little girl, what's your name? Is there anything you want to sell?"

Like a startled deer, the little girl suddenly looked up, met Wei Chen's gaze, and then quickly lowered her head again, twisting the corner of her tattered clothes tightly with her fingers, her voice barely audible: "I...I'm Qin Jingru, I have...cicada nymphs here...do you want them?" She mustered her courage and handed the small cloth bag forward, but dared not hand it out completely, as the strong earthy smell was already wafting out.

Wei Chen was taken aback, not expecting to encounter a character from the drama here. However, Qin Jingru wasn't the beautiful young woman from the series yet, but rather an eleven or twelve-year-old girl with blond hair. It seemed this was Qin Huairu's family from the drama.

Come to think of it, it's only 1958 now, and the plot started around 1965. There are still six or seven years before the TV series started, so it's reasonable that she's this old now.

Wei Chen crouched down, bringing his eye level with hers, trying to appear friendly: "Cicada nymphs? The factory canteen doesn't accept them."

The light in Qin Jingru's eyes dimmed instantly, her face fell, her hand clutching the pocket limply, and she lowered her head even further.

"However," Wei Chen changed the subject, a smile appearing on his face, "I quite like eating them myself. I used to often fry them when I was in the countryside, they were very fragrant."

Qin Jingru looked up in disbelief, a faint glimmer of hope rekindling in her dim eyes.

"How many do you count?" Wei Chen asked. "I'll buy them two for one cent each, and take them home to enjoy. Is that alright?"

"One...two for one cent?" Qin Jingru thought she had misheard. This was much better than she had expected! She immediately squatted down, carefully emptied the cicada nymphs from her pocket onto the clean ground beside her, and stretched out her dirty little hands, counting them one by one with utmost seriousness, muttering softly, "One, two, three...ten...twenty...thirty...forty, fifty..." She counted until she was covered in sweat, finally raising her head and saying with a mix of pride and nervousness, "Fifty-six! Fifty-six in total!"

"Fifty-six, two for one cent, that's twenty-eight cents." Wei Chen counted out three crisp one-cent bills and handed them to her.

Qin Jingru stared wide-eyed at the three small bills, her breathing becoming rapid. Trembling, she stretched out her small hand and vigorously wiped it on her tattered clothes before carefully pinching the money between her fingertips, quickly clutching it in her palm and pressing it tightly against her chest.

"Here...here you go!" She stuffed the cloth bag into Wei Chen's hand.

Wei Chen took the warm bag, poured the cicada nymphs into the top of his own sack, and handed the empty cloth bag back to her. He lowered his voice and said earnestly, "Girl, take the money. Don't make a sound when you get back. I just wanted to try some myself; I won't take it from anyone else. Understand?"

Qin Jingru nodded vigorously, her little face full of "I understand" cleverness: "Okay! I know! I won't tell anyone!" As if guarding a huge secret, she quickly stuffed the money into the innermost pocket of her tattered jacket, patted it down, gave Wei Chen a sincere and grateful smile, and then turned and ran away quickly.

Wei Chen watched her disappearing figure, then stood up. Qin Fuhai walked over, looking at the opening of the sack with a half-smile on his face: "Chenzi, your... taste is quite unique, isn't it?"

Wei Chen smiled and said, "Uncle Qin, I apologize for making you laugh at my childhood memories."

As they left Qinjiatun, the setting sun painted the western sky a brilliant golden-red. Wei Chen pedaled his bicycle, the heavy burlap sack on the back seat filled with dried vegetables, eggs, a small bag of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, and dozens of cicada nymphs.

The bicycle chain rattled, and the evening breeze rustled the corn leaves. Though just scraps of paper, the notebook clearly recorded: Shangyuan Village: 8.37 yuan; Xiayuan Village: 3.47 yuan; Qinjiatun: 6.34 yuan. Total: 18.18 yuan.

Wei Chen's purchases today were quite good. The villages cooperated well out of respect for his uncle, which is why he had such a good harvest. Often, a purchasing agent might not even be able to purchase ten yuan worth of goods in a day.

Although it was still far from the weekly quota of fifty yuan, this amount of income for a day was quite substantial. This first step, taken steadily and solidly amidst the smoke from cooking fires and the evening glow of the neighboring village, was a testament to this. As the wheels rolled over the dust of the return journey, Wei Chen's lips curled into a slight smile. Purchasing agent Wei Chen's first "rural trip" had come to an end.