Tax Collection

Chen Sanshi excitedly ran over, picked the rabbit up from the ground, and weighed it in his hand a few times. He estimated it weighed at least seven or eight jin.

"At current prices, it can sell for no less than sixty Copper Coins!"

He did not hurry down the mountain. Instead, he tied the rabbit up with rope and hung it from his body before continuing to search for new prey.

"Coo, coo—"

Birdsong still rang out endlessly nearby.

With the help of Tracking, Chen Sanshi quickly locked onto two pigeons perched on distant treetops.

He drew his bow, nocked an arrow, pulled the string, and loosed it, the entire sequence flowing like drifting clouds and running water.

A blur flashed past, and the two pigeons were shot straight into a string before dropping from the tree with a "splat."

Chen Sanshi smoothly claimed them for himself.

Pigeons were highly nourishing, and their price was even slightly higher than rabbits. The two pigeons together were worth thirty Copper Coins.

He wanted to continue, but unfortunately, the sky had already grown dark. He could only pack up and head down the mountain.

To sell wild game, he needed to go to a restaurant in the County Town.

Along the way, he passed many villages even poorer than Yanbian Village. The people here were all gaunt and sallow-faced. Some lay motionless on the ground, and it was impossible to tell whether they were dead or alive.

When they saw the prey in Chen Sanshi's hands, they all cast envious, greedy looks his way. But upon seeing the bow and arrows on his back, they could only forcibly suppress their wicked thoughts.

"Eight Treasures Restaurant."

Half an hour later.

Chen Sanshi stopped beneath the lofty plaque emblazoned with gilded characters.

This was the restaurant where his father had often sold his goods in the past. It was also one of the finest restaurants in the city. It was said that even an ordinary meal here cost at least three to five taels of silver.

Just moments ago, the roadside had been filled with people on the verge of starvation, yet now he personally saw a wealthy man dump an entire plate of fresh meat dishes onto the ground to feed a dog.

"Truly, 'behind vermilion gates, wine and meat rot, while frozen bones lie along the road'..."

Poor harvests?

If all the grain from every granary were brought out, it might not be insufficient to feed the entire city through this winter.

Chen Sanshi sighed inwardly.

The restaurant manager who came to receive him was an acquaintance of his father's.

"Eight jin and two liang of rabbit meat, and one pigeon weighing half a jin. I'll give you eighty-five Wen Qian in total."

The slightly plump middle-aged man deftly flicked the beads of his abacus with his fingers. "Does that sound fair to you?"

"Fair. Thank you, Uncle Liu."

Chen Sanshi knew the prices well.

Liu Hongda smiled. "If you have any good goods in the future, bring them straight to me. I guarantee I won't short you by even half a coin."

Chen Sanshi accepted the Copper Coins.

Nearly one qian of silver in a day would normally be more than enough to live on.

But taxes are due soon, and I still need to repay debts. This little money is nowhere near enough.

I still need to bring down large prey!

As he counted the Copper Coins, a dark, skinny youth came over to sell fish.

"Brother Shi?!"

The youth recognized him at once.

The corresponding name quickly surfaced in Chen Sanshi's mind.

Zhang Shun.

Aunt Li's child. They had played in the mud together naked as children.

Over the past half year, if Aunt Li had not taken Lan Jie'er out to work and occasionally helped them out, they would probably have starved to death long ago.

"Shunzi, you came at just the right time."

Chen Sanshi took out the Copper Coins that had not even warmed in his hands yet. "What I owe your family..."

Before he could finish, Shunzi interrupted him.

"Brother Shi, there's no need to hurry. I don't need the money for now."

As Zhang Shun spoke, he lifted the fish basket by his feet and showed off the bountiful catch inside. There were even large fish weighing seven or eight jin. "Besides, Brother, you've only just recovered from your illness, and there are plenty of places where you'll need money. Pay it back whenever your hands are more flush!"

"Alright. Thanks, Shunzi."

Chen Sanshi did not insist too much.

He owed them two qian of silver. One qian was not enough anyway, so he might as well save up and repay everything, principal and interest, in one go.

"Brother, why are you being so polite? You were the one who taught me how to read when we were kids!"

They both lived in Poyang County, so they simply headed home together.

As they chatted along the way, Chen Sanshi learned that Shunzi's family had saved over ten taels of silver and planned to go learn martial arts at a martial arts school after some time.

"Martial arts."

Chen Sanshi knew that one could practice martial arts in this world, and that martial artists held extraordinary status.

For the child of an ordinary family to enter a martial arts school was already considered making something of oneself. If they achieved even modest success, it would bring glory to their ancestors.

He possessed a System Panel that let him grind progress, so naturally he wanted to practice martial arts as well. But it required a considerable amount of tuition. He could only first survive the immediate crisis and save enough silver before thinking about it.

After entering the town, Chen Sanshi bid farewell to Shunzi.

Before he even reached home, he saw a graceful figure standing anxiously at the door from afar.

It was naturally Gu Xinlan.

She had deliberately finished work early today and returned home to cook, but she had waited and waited without seeing her husband return. Seeing that the sky had gone dark, she had nearly rushed up the mountain to look for him.

"Brother Shi!"

Gu Xinlan hurried over and said, half concerned and half reproachful, "You only came back after dark. Were you trying to scare me to death? Didn't I tell you that it didn't matter whether you caught anything or not?"

Chen Sanshi did not answer immediately. Smiling, he lifted a gray pigeon from behind his back.

"Ah, Brother Shi, you caught something?"

Before Gu Xinlan could recover, a bag of Copper Coins was stuffed into her hands, and a gentle voice sounded by her ear at the same time. "Tonight, we eat meat."

Half an hour later.

Besides salted duck eggs and rice, there was also a basin of fragrant pigeon soup on the table.

Ever since the original owner's father had left, their family had not eaten meat for half a year.

"Brother Shi, you're really amazing."

Gu Xinlan still found it hard to believe. "I heard that even Uncle Zhao from the village came back empty-handed today."

"I was just lucky. Uncle Zhao and the others are all veterans of Second Mountain. Whenever they bring something back, it's big prey."

Chen Sanshi gnawed on a pigeon leg and ate rice mixed with salted duck egg. His stomach was immensely satisfied.

He had deliberately not sold everything for silver, just so both he and Lan Jie'er could nourish themselves properly.

Yet Gu Xinlan still could not bear to eat the meat.

Only after Chen Sanshi repeatedly urged her did she finally eat a pigeon wing.

After eating and drinking their fill, he pulled Lan Jie'er over to sit with him on the edge of the bed. She lowered her head, her face flushed, her fingers nervously clasped together.

Come to think of it, today was the first day after their wedding.

Under the flickering candlelight, Chen Sanshi carefully observed Lan Jie'er's pretty face for the first time.

Her slender willow-leaf brows were as lovely as spring wind, her almond eyes reflected the candlelight like autumn waters reflecting the moon, and her faintly reddened cheeks resembled peach blossoms. From head to toe, she emitted an inescapable charm.

On top of that, she could read and knew embroidery. If not for the Coarse Cloth Clothes she wore, she would have been every bit a noble young lady from a distinguished family.

"Lan Jie'er."

Without realizing it, Chen Sanshi had leaned close.

"What is it, Brother Shi?"

"You smell so nice."

"Brother Shi, I... I'm still sore."

Late that night.

Chen Sanshi leaned against the headboard, one of his arms still tightly hugged.

"Brother Shi~"

Gu Xinlan wore a worried expression. "Did our family offend that Qin Xiong?"

"Qin Xiong?"

"Mm."

Gu Xinlan nodded. "I heard from the neighbors that the man surnamed Qin wandered around outside our door for quite a while during the day."

"..."

Chen Sanshi remembered this.

It seemed that bastard truly refused to let the matter rest. I'll need to be more careful from now on.

He comforted her, "Sleep, Lan Jie'er. I'm here."

"Mm."

Gu Xinlan had long been exhausted and groggy. She quickly fell asleep.

These past two days, she had inexplicably felt at ease.

Leaning against the headboard, Chen Sanshi noticed an old book that had been missed and not sold. He casually picked it up and began flipping through it.

Skill: Reading (Beginner)

Progress: (15/300)

Effect: Spirit Revitalized, Eidetic Memory

"Looks like it really works."

When he had comprehended Tracking while hunting during the day, he had wondered whether reading might work too.

The facts proved that he had guessed correctly.

Not only that, but it had directly entered the beginner level.

It seemed the original owner had accumulated quite a bit before. So why had he failed to become even a Xiucai scholar?

With the System Panel in hand, Chen Sanshi figured that if he took the imperial examination again, he would definitely pass.

Unfortunately, the next imperial examination was still two years away. He could not wait that long.

He had to survive first.

After reading for a while, Chen Sanshi also sank into deep sleep.

"Bang, bang, bang—"

"Open the door!"

"Open up at once!"

The next morning.

Chen Sanshi was awakened by urgent pounding on the door.

He had Lan Jie'er get dressed and hide in the inner room while he got up to open the door.