Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

In the early morning, the city of Beijing has shed the silence of the night, but has not yet been completely overtaken by the hustle and bustle of the day. A thin mist, like a semi-transparent veil, shrouds the gray bricks and tiles of the alleyways.

Wei Chen returned to the reality of Beijing from the warm and comfortable bedroom of the hunter's cabin, his final destination still the dead-end alley piled with clutter. He straightened his clean and tidy work clothes and walked out of the alley. He stopped in front of a steaming breakfast stall by the roadside.

"Comrade, two fried dough sticks, a bowl of tofu pudding, and lots of chive blossoms." Wei Chen's voice was fresh from just washing up.

"Alright! Please wait a moment!" The stall owner deftly picked up the golden-brown, glistening fried pancake, scooped on some snow-white, smooth tofu pudding, and drizzled it with dark brown sauce and chopped bright green chive blossoms.

He quickly finished breakfast. The warmth of the food dispelled the morning chill and invigorated him.

As he pushed his bicycle and turned into the entrance of Nanluoguxiang, he encountered a stream of people going to work from the courtyard houses. Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu walked side by side.

Yi Zhonghai still stood straight, his steps steady, though his eyes were slightly dark, revealing the fatigue from last night's steelmaking work. Jia Dongxu beside him was a completely different sight: he was hunched over, his steps unsteady, his eyes puffy, his complexion an unhealthy sallow, his lips chapped, each step feeling like walking on cotton. A flicker of surprise crossed Yi Zhonghai's eyes as he saw Wei Chen pushing a cart towards them.

"Wei Chen?" Yi Zhonghai stopped, his voice slightly hoarse. "Back so early? Something's up at the factory?" He subconsciously wondered if Wei Chen had some "special" mission again.

Jia Dongxu barely lifted his eyelids, letting out a muffled murmur that seemed to have no meaning, as if to say hello. He felt like every bone in his body was groaning, and all he wanted was to get to the factory quickly, find a corner to lie down and take a nap.

Wei Chen stopped his bicycle, a perfectly timed, relaxed smile on his face: "Good morning, Uncle Yi, good morning, Brother Dongxu. There's nothing going on at the factory, but the carpentry work in my east courtyard starts today. Master Liu Changming took some people there early this morning, so I need to go back and check it out, make sure everything is clear, so the dimensions and style aren't wrong."

"Oh, right, now that the house is built, it's time to make the furniture." Yi Zhonghai suddenly realized, nodded, his face expressionless, but a hint of understanding flashed in the depths of his eyes.

He naturally knew that the cost of furnishing a whole house with new furniture was no small sum, and Wei Chen's "family fortune" seemed to be even more substantial than he had anticipated. He glanced at Wei Chen's brand-new, clean work clothes and the equally well-maintained old-fashioned motorcycle, and said nothing more, "Alright, then hurry up and go, don't delay the master's work."

When Jia Dongxu heard the words "carpenter" and "furniture," a complex mix of envy and self-mockery briefly flashed in his cloudy eyes.

His home was so cramped that even the small bed was made of bricks propped up with broken wooden planks... He gasped for breath, too weak to speak, and could only manage a weak smile at Wei Chen as a response. Then he continued to drag his heavy steps behind Yi Zhonghai, like a puppet being pulled by invisible ropes, moving towards the steel mill.

When Wei Chen pushed the cart into the yard, the front yard was relatively quiet, and most people had already gone out. Only Aunt Yan Bugui's family was at their own door, vigorously washing several dirty clothes, which were also covered in stove ash, with alkaline water in a broken earthenware basin.

Seeing Wei Chen push the cart in, she looked up, her face immediately breaking into a smile, her voice carrying a deliberately lowered warmth: "Oh, Wei Chen's back? So early, is the carpenter coming? Oh my, this is quite a project, you have to furnish the house inside and out, tsk tsk, the expenses..." Before she could finish speaking, her eyes, sparkling behind her glasses, clearly wrote "How much did it cost?" on her face.

Wei Chen gave a vague reply, "Yes, Master Liu said he'll be here today. Auntie, you're busy." He didn't want to talk any further, pushing his cart straight through the central courtyard to the east wing. He took out the brand-new brass key, inserted it into the equally brand-new lock, and gently turned it.

"Click".

The courtyard gate opened with a click. The cool morning air rushed into the courtyard, carrying the unique fresh scent of new bricks and wood, mixed with the fresh smell of mud and lime water, instantly filling the nostrils and completely shutting out the stale air from the alley outside.

Sunlight slanted across the north courtyard and the passageway, which were paved with blue bricks, giving them a warm glow. Sparrows hopped and chirped on the brand-new roof ridge, adding a touch of life to this new and slightly empty little world.

Wei Chen had just propped up his bicycle against the courtyard wall when he heard the creaking of wheels and heavy footsteps coming from outside the gate on the south side, which he had opened himself.

He walked to the courtyard gate and saw carpenter Liu Changming and two young apprentices struggling to push a flatbed cart loaded with large logs, which came to a stop at the gate. The logs included dark brown hardwoods and lighter-colored pine with clear grain, emitting a rich resinous and woody fragrance.

Master Liu had been here a few times before and knew this gate. If he wanted to go through the main gate, he would have to carry the materials through the front yard and the middle yard, which was too far.

Liu Changming was thin but strong, wearing a faded, coarse cloth jacket covered in sawdust. His face was dark, with deep wrinkles as if carved by a knife and axe. His hands were covered with calluses, scars, and various marks left by years of working with wood. His knuckles were large and deformed, yet unusually steady and powerful.

Seeing Wei Chen, he wiped the sweat from his brow, revealing a set of teeth slightly yellowed from smoking, and said in a loud voice with the characteristic cheerfulness of a carpenter: "Comrade Wei Chen! Good morning! Did you manage to rush here without delaying your business? All the materials have arrived, just as we agreed beforehand. Hardwood for the important cabinets and bed frames, and pine for the tables, chairs, benches, and side room furniture—guaranteed to be sturdy and durable!"

"Master Liu, you've come at the perfect time!" Wei Chen quickly helped stabilize the heavy cart shaft. "Quickly, push it in and put it on that open space to the south." He pointed to the reserved patch of dirt ground.

Under Master Liu's direction, the two young apprentices quickly unloaded the truck, rolling the heavy logs onto the open ground and stacking them neatly. The heavy logs hit the muddy ground with a dull "thump-thump," causing the ground to tremble slightly.

While his apprentices were moving the wood, Liu Changming pulled out an old notebook with curled edges and a worn-out pencil from his pocket and called to Wei Chen, "Comrade Wei Chen, come on, let's double-check the numbers and finalize the dimensions and styles one last time, so there won't be any discrepancies after we start cutting the wood." He opened the notebook, which contained some simple furniture sketches drawn in pencil, with dimensions and types of wood marked next to them.

The two stood on the brick-paved path, carefully checking the blueprints and the timber on the open ground once again.

"The main house, the east room, and the west room," Liu Changming pointed to the sketch, "each has a large bed, two meters long and one and a half meters wide. The bed frames are made of hardwood, with mortise and tenon joints, and the load-bearing beams are thickened. The headboards... as you said, no carvings, just flat boards, simple and elegant. The bed boards are made of thick pine strips, with tight gaps, so that they won't feel uncomfortable when a mattress is laid on them. Right?"

"Yes, Master Liu, that's it." Wei Chen nodded.

"In each bedroom," Liu Changming turned a page, "a floor-to-ceiling wardrobe should be built against the wall, also with a hardwood frame and pine core, double doors, and three shelves inside, with a few movable partitions in the middle for storing bedding and clothes. Above the wardrobe, a row of wall cabinets should be built, also with a hardwood frame and pine core, single doors, for storing infrequently used odds and ends."

Each room will also be provided with a four-legged square table, with a tabletop measuring 1.2 meters by 60 centimeters, hardwood edging, and a sturdy pine core; it can be used as a desk or a dining table.

Wei Chen listened carefully and confirmed that it was correct: "Yes, the doors of the wall cabinets and hanging cabinets should be flat, and the hinges should be of good quality, so that they open and close smoothly without making any squeaking noises."

"Don't worry, Old Liu has been a carpenter for decades. He can make no mistakes with door hinges even with his eyes closed." Liu Changming patted his chest to assure him, then pointed to the sketch of the main room, "This set of cabinets in the main room is the big deal! A whole row against the wall, with space left in the middle for hanging the central painting."

On either side are display cabinets with glass doors, in the middle is a storage cabinet with double doors below, and above is a writing desk with small drawers. The entire frame is made of hardwood with a pine core, and the glass cabinet doors are made of 5mm clear glass—clear and bright! This set uses a lot of materials and the workmanship is meticulous; it's a bit expensive, but it's impressive and will last for decades without breaking!

Looking at the sketch, Wei Chen imagined the finished cabinet standing in the main room. It certainly met the era's dual pursuit of "respectability" and "practicality": "Okay, let's go with this. What about the sofa?"

"Sofa..." Liu Changming clicked his tongue, a "you really know how to manage money" look on his face. "Are you sure you don't want to buy a ready-made spring sofa? It's really soft to sit on."

Wei Chen smiled wryly: "Master Liu, aren't you making things difficult for me? Not only do you need tickets for those things, but you can't buy them even if you have money if you don't have connections. Besides, they're too conspicuous. Let's stick to what we agreed on before and make a set of wooden frame sofas, with curved backrests and seats to fit the curves that make it comfortable for people to lean against and sit on. The dimensions will be three seats plus two single seats."

"Once the wooden frame is finished, I'll figure out how to get some sponges and sturdy canvas, then stretch out a few thick mats and lay them on top. It'll be just as soft, and completely unobtrusive."

Liu Changming gave a thumbs up: "Great idea! It's practical and not flashy! As for sponge mattresses... I know someone who makes cotton carding and palm fiber mattresses. He might be able to get some mattress cores made from crushed sponge. I'll ask him for you later."

"Thank you so much, Master Liu!" Wei Chen said sincerely.

"The east wing is simple," Liu Changming said, pointing to the sketch. "The living room will have a square table and four chairs, something simple and sturdy, made of pine. Each of the two bedrooms will have a 1.8-meter by 1.5-meter bed, a wardrobe, a row of wall cabinets, and a small table, all made of pine—it's economical and sufficient. All things considered..."

He flipped to the back of the notebook and quickly added and subtracted on the rough pages with the stub of a pencil, muttering to himself, "...how many cubic meters of hardwood, how many cubic meters of pine, labor costs...glass costs...miscellaneous...hmm..."

He pondered for a moment, then gave a figure: "Comrade Wei Chen, the whole set, including materials and labor, will probably cost around 850 yuan. The main expense is the hardwood wardrobe and two hardwood beds in the main room, plus the cost of the glass. This is already my most reasonable price; the materials are all good, and the workmanship will absolutely be top-notch!"