Raising a Family

Fuck, a cheat?

Chen Sanshi did not react for a moment.

Originally, even with a bow and arrows, he had not held much confidence in hitting any prey.

After all, hunting was a technical craft.

If it were truly that easy, everyone would have been eating meat long ago.

But now that he had the System Panel, the situation was vastly different!

"What are you spacing out for? Is there something wrong with the arrows?"

Old Xu waved a hand before the dazed youth.

Chen Sanshi came back to himself and quickly found an excuse. "Nothing. I thought of my father."

"Ah... Your father was a good man. What a pity!"

At the mention of the original owner's father, Old Xu sighed endlessly as well.

Chen Sanshi said no more. After paying the Copper Coins and collecting his things, he immediately left.

With bow and arrows on his back, he walked and stopped along the way, heading straight for the foot of Tiger Head Mountain more than ten li away.

The mountain was the nearest place to Poyang County where prey could be found, and it was also the rice bowl of many hunters.

Chen Sanshi had only just recovered from a serious illness, and after walking so far without pause, he was panting from exhaustion. He sat on a rock and rested for quite a while before recovering.

He carefully examined the bow and arrows his father had left behind.

Judging from its construction, it was a typical Recurve Bow.

The bow core was made of bamboo, willow wood formed the bow belly, hard wood the grip, and ox sinew the string. Its draw weight was around forty jin, still within the range of a light bow.

Chen Sanshi raised the bow, and the System Panel from before appeared in his mind once again.

Skill: Archery (Not Initiated)

Progress: (20/100)

Effect: None

This time, nobody disturbed him, allowing him to calm down and figure out the System Panel's function.

Put simply, it meant grinding!

As long as he repeatedly and earnestly did something, he could gain progress. Once the progress was full, he would definitely break through.

"With this, as long as I practice hard, won't I have a chance to become the greatest Master Archer in all of Poyang County?"

Chen Sanshi's heart immediately brimmed with hope. Recalling the lessons his father had taught him in childhood, he slowly raised his bow and arrow.

"Is a forty-jin bow really this heavy?"

Drawing the bow took immense effort. He practically had to grit his teeth to pull it to full draw, and he could not imagine what sort of people could wield the legendary stone bows and stronger ones.

"Stand upright, apply force evenly; grasp the bow correctly, nock the arrow calmly; push forward, pull back; when the bow is full, the form is complete."

Reciting the mnemonic in his heart, Chen Sanshi straightened his body, drew the bow and nocked an arrow. Standing sideways to a tree trunk as thick as an embrace forty meters away, he pushed the bow forward with his left palm and pulled the string with three fingers of his right hand. He aimed slightly below the target, then released.

"Whoosh—"

The arrow flew out, veered off target, and struck another tree...

Chen Sanshi was not discouraged. He immediately took another arrow from his quiver, aimed at the target, and fired again.

This time, the arrow shot straight into the grass.

"Again!"

Chen Sanshi fired five times in a row before finally hitting the trunk.

He stepped forward and carefully pulled the arrow from the tree trunk, then repeated the earlier motions.

After several repetitions, he worked out the pattern behind the increase in Archery progress.

As long as he wholeheartedly fired an arrow, whether it hit or missed, his proficiency would increase.

If he was not focused enough, it would not.

Moreover, hitting the target successfully increased progress by even more.

After firing more than sixty arrows in succession, Chen Sanshi began to cramp up.

His body had been weak to begin with, and he was malnourished besides. Being able to fire so many times in a row was already no easy feat.

Fortunately, every arrow he fired raised his proficiency, and his aim became more accurate the further he went. At a distance of twenty paces, he rarely missed anymore.

Skill: Archery (Not Initiated)

Progress: (70/100)

Effect: None

Initiation was no longer far away, but Chen Sanshi truly had little strength left.

After resting for a while, he began wandering through the woods with his bow and arrows, hoping to use his remaining strength to bring home some meat.

Unfortunately, this area was too close to town. Most of the easily caught prey had already been caught clean.

He wandered until dusk before finding several wild pigeons, but they were too far away for him to hit.

"I always came home empty-handed when fishing in my last life. Am I coming home empty-handed from hunting now too?"

Fortunately, he had not come home completely empty-handed.

Before going down the mountain, Chen Sanshi found a patch of wild shepherd's purse. He hurriedly dug it up with his bare hands and stuffed it into his robes before heading home.

Along the way, he passed through the market and learned that grain prices had risen again.

Due to years of poor harvests, the price of rice in Poyang County had soared to one hundred Copper Coins per dou. Meat was even more outrageously expensive—one jin of pork actually cost seventeen Copper Coins. Then there were oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, cloth, firewood, charcoal, candles, and all manner of harsh levies and taxes...

Chen Sanshi could not imagine how many common people would fail to survive this winter.

He reckoned grain prices would rise further, so he simply used all the Copper Coins he had left to buy rice and mixed grain flour, along with several salted duck eggs.

"One dou of rice and half a dou of mixed flour is only enough for two people for three to five days. If I traded it all for millet mixed with rice husks, it could last several more days."

But Chen Sanshi had no choice.

Since he intended to become a hunter, he absolutely could not keep eating nutrientless rice husks. He needed to ensure he always had sufficient strength; otherwise, if he encountered danger in the mountains, he would not even have the energy to run.

He was already starving, so after gathering his grain, he quickened his pace, eager to return home and start cooking.

"Yo, Little Stone!"

Just as he was about to reach his front door, someone suddenly called his name from behind.

Chen Sanshi turned around to find a tall, burly Rough Man standing before him.

Qin Xiong.

A notorious local tyrant in town. He had a gang of hooligans and scoundrels under him, making money through usury and trafficking respectable women. Many poor townsfolk had been cheated by him until their families were ruined and lives destroyed.

"Well, well, a bow and arrows?!"

Qin Xiong stared at the bow and arrows on Chen Sanshi's back, surprise mingling with mockery. "You, this 'Xiucai scholar,' are planning to learn from others and go up the mountain to hunt too?"

"Necessity drives me."

Chen Sanshi kept his distance from him, taking half a step back. "Brother Qin, did you need something from me?"

Qin Xiong curled his lips. "How have you considered that matter from last time?"

Last time?

Chen Sanshi's heart skipped a beat as unpleasant memories surged into his mind.

Half a year ago, after his father died, the household had fallen on hard times.

Qin Xiong happened to come knocking then, and the original owner had entertained the thought of selling Gu Xinlan in exchange for money.

If it were him, naturally, he could never do such a thing.

"Brother Qin."

Chen Sanshi refused. "I've thought it through. I'd better not take your money."

At those words, Qin Xiong's face instantly darkened. "You've really thought it through?"

"I really don't need it, Brother Qin."

Chen Sanshi clutched the grain in his arms and took a detour home, unease stirring in his heart.

In his memories, Qin Xiong was not someone who would let things go easily. This matter was probably not over.

Misfortunes never came singly, while blessings never came twice.

Before his food problem had even been settled, a local tyrant had set his sights on him.

Chen Sanshi touched the quiver at his waist.

One bow and five arrows—this was his greatest source of confidence for surviving at the bottom of a chaotic age.

He did not know what changes the System Panel would bring once its progress reached Initiation.

"Fill my stomach first. Only then will I have the strength to practice archery!"

Chen Sanshi pushed open the door and found that Lan Jie'er had not returned yet.

Every morning, she worked at a tailor shop, and every afternoon she went to wealthy households to wash clothes for their womenfolk. She was terribly busy and overworked.

He took the initiative to chop firewood and light the stove, preparing the meal ahead of time.

Snow-white rice with salted duck eggs, along with boiled wild vegetable soup.

For many households, this was already a very fine meal.

When Gu Xinlan returned home after finishing work, it was the first time in her life that she had seen steaming hot food already prepared for her. She could not help but be startled. "Shi Ge'er, where did the white rice and salted duck eggs come from?"

"Eat."

Chen Sanshi beckoned her to sit down, then grabbed his chopsticks and wolfed down the food.

He had been starving for ages.

"Shi Ge'er..."

"Hmm?"

Only after eating with his head down for quite some time did Chen Sanshi realize that Gu Xinlan had not touched her chopsticks at all.

He did not know when her eyes had reddened. Crystal tears trembled on her eyelashes as she choked out, "C-can you not sell me?"

"Huh?"

Chen Sanshi froze, somewhat bewildered.

"I heard people say that Shi Ge'er made a deal with Qin Xiong today..."

Gu Xinlan's voice trembled.

Otherwise, where could their household have gotten money to buy white rice, and even salted duck eggs?

In a panic, she took a patched purse from her waist, poured out the few Copper Coins inside, and pleaded, "Shi Ge'er, I was wrong.

"I won't urge you to work anymore. You can stay home and study. I can earn money, I can pay the taxes. I'm begging you, don't sell me."

Who in all of Poyang County did not know Qin Xiong's reputation?

If she fell into his hands, there was a ninety percent chance she would be sold to a brothel.

The reason Gu Xinlan had remained utterly devoted to the Chen family all these years was because Chen Sanshi's father had bought her from a human trafficker back then, keeping her from becoming a prostitute. She had remembered that kindness ever since.

Could it be that, in the end, she still could not escape a fate worse than death?

"Lan Jie'er, you're overthinking it."

Chen Sanshi understood. Someone had probably been spreading rumors.

He comforted her. "You're part of my Chen family. How could I possibly sell you?"

Having just arrived in this world, how precious was it to have someone by his side who felt as close and caring as an older sister? No matter what, he would not push her away with both hands, or would that not be unbearably pathetic?

Gu Xinlan said nothing. She sat there and began to sob, clearly unconvinced.

Helpless, Chen Sanshi grabbed her red, swollen hand and led her into the inner room. "I sold my books for the grain. Qin Xiong didn't give it to me."

Gu Xinlan saw the empty desk and the bow and arrows hanging on the wall, and could not help staring blankly. "Shi Ge'er, you sold your Four Treasures of the Study and traded them for bow and arrows?"

"Yes."

Chen Sanshi patiently explained, "From now on, I'm planning to carry on Father's trade and hunt to support the family. How can I let a woman like you work so hard when your hands are washed raw?"

"Support the family..."

Gu Xinlan had never expected to hear Shi Ge'er say those words.

She realized that her ulcerated hand was still being held by him and tried to pull it back in embarrassment, only to be swept into his embrace instead.

"Don't worry!"

Chen Sanshi understood that she desperately lacked a sense of security. In a deep voice, he said, "Father said you were meant to be my wife. How could anyone give his wife away?"

Gu Xinlan was startled by the sudden embrace. Feeling its warmth, she raised her head and looked at him in disbelief. "Shi Ge'er, you... you don't despise me for being lowborn anymore?"

"I don't."

Chen Sanshi said firmly, "I like you too much to even have time for that."

"Shi Ge'er, you're my only family left in this world. Don't lie to me."

Gu Xinlan stopped trying to break free. After testing him several times, she finally pressed her cheek against his chest, savoring this rare warmth.

"Lan Jie'er."

"What is it?"

"My body hurts a little today. Let's go to bed, and you can give me a massage?"

"All right."

"Ah... Shi Ge'er, wasn't it supposed to be a massage?"

"I'm massaging you."

"Mmm, mmm~"