Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

The village canteen was filled with the distinctive aroma of stew cooked in large pots, a mixture of radishes, cabbage, and a touch of oil. It was lunchtime, and the canteen was packed with villagers who had just finished work and steelworkers, creating a noisy atmosphere.

Wei Chen, along with Wei Feng, Wei Yan, Wang Tiezhu, and Li Shuanzi, found an empty table in a corner and sat down. He took out a few grain coupons and a few cents' worth of vegetable coupons and handed them to Wei Feng: "Brother Feng, you know the place, so get as much as you want! Get a lot of dry food! And meat... if you have any, bring some too!" He knew that the canteen's conditions were limited, and meat was a rare commodity.

Wei Feng responded and squeezed into the line for food. A little while later, he returned carrying a large basin piled high with steamed buns made from a mixture of wheat and water, as well as a large basin of stewed radish and cabbage, along with a considerable amount of fatty meat.

"This is really juicy! The food in the village is so good!" Wei Feng put the bowl on the table, and Wei Chen said. "It makes me want to live in the village and never leave."

"The food in the village canteens is pretty good now, but in our village, it's only because my dad is watching over things and doesn't let anything go to waste. I heard some villages eat white flour buns and fatty meat every day! They're wasting food!"

"This is good enough, we can't waste it! Come on, eat up! Everyone, start eating!" Wei Chen didn't care at all, picked up a steamed bun and started eating.

The others were already starving, so they didn't bother with formalities and devoured the food like a whirlwind. Each person had three large steamed buns, along with plenty of meat and vegetables, and they ate them in no time.

Wei Chen ate quickly, his mind preoccupied with the handover that afternoon. He pulled out two one-yuan bills and handed them to Wei Feng: "Brother Feng, take this money and buy a pack of cigarettes for us. We've all worked really hard today! Later, when the fruit trees in my yard bear fruit, I'll treat everyone to fresh fruit in the city!"

Wei Feng declined for a moment, but seeing Wei Chen's insistence, he accepted it and said with a simple smile, "Alright! Chenzi, you're a true friend!"

Wei Chen then said to Wei Feng, "Brother Feng, go back and tell Uncle that the tree has been delivered to the outpost. I'm going to wait for the factory's car now, and I'll go back to the city with it this afternoon. Tell him not to worry about it."

"Okay, Brother Chen!" Wei Feng nodded and said.

Wei Chen walked to the window where his mother, Wang Xiulan, was getting her food, and said goodbye to her across the queue: "Mom, I'm leaving now! The trees are all done, waiting to be loaded onto the truck at the outpost! Please take care of yourself at home, don't overwork yourself! If anything happens, send a message to the factory!"

Wang Xiulan was busy serving food to the villagers when she heard this. She looked up, her face showing both reluctance and relief: "Okay! I know! Be careful on your journey! Let us know when you get to the city! Take good care of yourself!"

"Okay! Don't worry!" Wei Chen nodded vigorously, then glanced at his younger sister, Wei Ran, who was eating steamed buns with a few girls in the corner of the canteen. The little girl waved to him. Wei Chen smiled, turned around, and strode away from the noisy canteen, heading towards the abandoned outpost at the east end of the village.

The abandoned outpost stands alone on a small hillside at the east end of the village. Most of the mud-brick houses have long since collapsed, leaving only ruins. Some faded slogans and bullet holes remain on the walls, telling the story of bygone years. Below the hillside, a dirt road, barely passable by trucks, winds its way into the distance.

Wei Chen walked to the two large trees leaning against the broken wall. The huge mounds of earth of the jujube and peach trees were tightly bound with hemp rope, and the pruned branches looked somewhat sparse. They stood quietly in the afternoon sun, like two giants ready to set off.

Wei Chen patted the rough tree trunk, feeling the vitality surging beneath the bark, his heart filled with anticipation for the future. He found a relatively flat spot on the huge mound of earth around the jujube tree and sat down.

Beneath me lay the rich, damp scent of earth, and before me stretched open fields and the distant silhouette of the Yanshan Mountains. All around was quiet, save for the rustling of the wind through the wild grass and the faint sounds of distant villages.

He waited patiently. Time passed second by second. The sun climbed overhead and began to move westward, casting a long shadow. The sun wasn't as scorching as it had been a while ago, and Wei Chen waited in the shade of a tree. He checked his watch; it was almost two o'clock. The steel mill truck should be arriving soon.

Just then, Wei Chen's eyes narrowed slightly as he listened intently. In the distance, the deep, powerful roar of a diesel engine could be faintly heard, growing clearer as it approached. He stood up, brushed the dust off his trousers, walked to the roadside, and looked in the direction of the sound.

A military green Jiefang brand truck was seen, kicking up clouds of yellow dust, bumping along the winding dirt road towards the outpost. Inside the cab, figures could be vaguely seen moving about.

The steel mill's trucks have arrived!

Without the slightest hesitation, Wei Chen instantly focused his mind into the invisible backpack space. Inside the space, the pre-prepared "goods" were precisely "deployed" by him.

Just as the truck rounded the last bend, and its view was about to fall on the roadside next to the outpost—

"Thump! Thump! Thump!" A series of dull, heavy thuds as objects fell to the ground suddenly rang out!

Dust flying everywhere!

The carcasses of ten wild boars, each of varying sizes but all enormous, appeared out of nowhere and were neatly stacked by the roadside!

The two enormous boars, as big as calves, had menacing tusks and glossy black fur like steel needles; their weight was estimated to be over 350 pounds! The three slightly smaller but equally plump sows weighed around 270-280 pounds! There were also five wild boars that were clearly half-grown piglets, each weighing around 130-140 pounds!

They lay on their sides or prone, their enormous bodies piled together to form a visually striking "mountain of flesh"! The strong smell of blood and the unique stench of wild beasts instantly filled the air, dispelling the freshness of the fields, just like a wild boar that had just been hunted.

Wei Chen stood beside this awe-inspiring "mountain of flesh," with two equally eye-catching trees beside him. His expression was calm, even carrying a relaxed smile of "finally, I've been waiting for you," as he waved vigorously towards Liu Yuan's astonished face, which was now clearly visible in the driver's seat and almost popped out of its socket.

Before the dust had even settled, the roar of the truck's massive engine was already close at hand. Wei Chen straightened his back and met the gaze of the green steel behemoth that carried the mission and expectations.

The deep, powerful roar of the Jiefang CA-10 truck's engine rolled like thunder across the desolate hillside at the eastern end of Baoyuquan Village, the billowing yellow dust forming a long plume of smoke in the afternoon sun.

The car screeched to a halt on the bumpy dirt road next to the abandoned outpost, making a piercing screech. The heavy vehicle swayed a few times before coming to a stop.

The driver's cab door was pushed open with a "bang," and Liu Yuan, the leader of the third purchasing team, practically jumped out of the car, his face a mixture of fatigue from the long journey and barely suppressed anxious anticipation.

Behind him, two capable young men in their early twenties jumped down. They were Liu Guoqing and Wu Xiaojun from Group Three. Both were wearing the blue work clothes commonly seen in steel rolling mills, and their faces showed the curiosity and drive unique to young people.

Finally, the one who calmly stepped out of the cab was Wang Aiguo, the driver who had come to transport wild boars last time. He was still wearing that faded blue cloth hat, his face covered in the dust of a long drive, but his sharp eyes swept over the roadside next to the outpost.

Then, four pairs of eyes, eight gazes, froze the moment they saw the scene on the roadside.

The air seemed to have been sucked away by that enormous thing, leaving only the whistling of the wind blowing through the broken walls and the indistinct clamor of the distant village as background.

Ten! A full ten wild boars! As if casually tossed by an invisible giant hand, yet piled up on the roadside weeds with a chilling sense of order.

The two boars, resembling calves, had menacing tusks that curved like sickles and gleamed white in the sunlight. Their thick, black manes stood on end, and even when they fell, their massive bodies exuded a suffocating sense of oppression. The largest area of ​​the pool of dark red blood that had seeped out beneath them was...

Three slightly smaller but equally plump and strong sows, with dark brown fur and short but still deadly tusks, lay side by side like several sturdy little hills.

Five half-grown wild boar cubs, their fur still bearing stripes, weighed over a hundred kilograms each. They were curled up or rolled over, filling the gaps between the giant beasts.

The intense, overwhelming stench of blood, mixed with the pungent, animalistic smell, crashed against Liu Yuan and the others' faces like a tangible wave, causing them to instinctively hold their breath.

This is hardly prey! It's clearly a small mountain of flesh, constructed from blood, gore, and fangs, exuding a primitive and savage aura!

The combined visual and olfactory impact instantly instilled in the city dwellers, who were accustomed to the steel torrents of factories, a sense of instinctive shock and a touch of awe.

"My God..." Liu Yuan was the first to find his voice, which was dry and hoarse, trembling with disbelief.

He staggered forward, his eyes wide open, staring intently at the mountain of meat. Then he abruptly turned to Wei Chen, who stood beside it, calm and even slightly smiling. "Wei...Wei Chen! You little brat! You...you've wiped out the whole wild boar's den?!"

"I...I was just hoping you could get a few heads to tide me over! This...this must weigh...it must weigh at least two thousand jin, right?!" He was so excited that he was incoherent, pointing his trembling finger at the enormous creatures, as if he couldn't confirm the reality of what he was seeing without doing so.

Liu Guoqing and Wu Xiaojun also recovered from their initial shock. The two young men gasped and marveled at the pile of wild boars, their eyes filled with undisguised admiration and respect for Wei Chen.

"Brother Wei! I'm almost ready to call you 'brother'! You're amazing!" Liu Guoqing, young and impetuous, gave him a thumbs up and exclaimed in a loud voice, "This is even more impressive than last time! Did they raid the Wild Boar King's lair?"

Wu Xiaojun squatted down and carefully poked the thick, needle-like bristles of a boar with his finger. He then gestured to the length of its terrifying tusks and exclaimed, "My goodness! Those tusks! Wouldn't they pierce right through a person's heart? Wei Chen, you're amazing! You took down this whole brood by yourself? How did you do that?" His tone was full of disbelief.