Forcing the Issue

Outside the door were two officials.

One held a ledger, the other a long whip.

Tax collectors.

There was no need to guess what they were here for.

Chen Sanshi said politely, "Your Excellencies, please give me another half a month, and the taxes will be collected!"

According to previous years' regulations, the deadline for paying taxes should have been about twenty days away.

If he tried hard, collecting three taels of silver shouldn't be difficult.

The tax collector sneered and said, "Now the barbarians to the north are constantly harassing us, and there are bandits causing trouble to the south. The Great Sheng Dynasty needs your contributions now more than ever. How can we wait that long?"

Chen Sanshi asked, "Then how long do you expect?"

"Seven days!"

The tax collector held up three fingers: "Within seven days, no matter who it is, anyone who cannot pay the tax silver will be sent to Hezhou to repair the canal!"

After saying this, the two clerks turned and left, knocking on the next door of a household that hadn't paid their taxes as if they were delivering a death notice. If they encountered someone with a bad attitude, they would give them a couple of lashes.

"Why are the taxes due so much earlier?"

"It must be related to the war."

Chen Sanshi's Yanbian Village in Poyang County was already located on the northern border of the Great Sheng Dynasty. Further north were garrisons and the Great Wall, and beyond the Great Wall were the barbarians.

In the past ten years, barbarian incursions had become increasingly frequent. There had even been instances where small groups of barbarian cavalry broke through the border, plundered an entire village, and then left at their leisure.

It wasn't until three years ago that the imperial court sent a new elite army to guard the area, and the situation stabilized. However, small-scale conflicts near the Great Wall had never ceased.

Not only the north, but the south was also restless.

Chen Sanshi's information wasn't very up-to-date, but he knew that uprisings were frequent in the south. Although they were suppressed quickly each time, new rebels would always rise up.

"Seven days!"

"What's the use of rushing so much? Can the common people conjure silver and grain out of thin air?"

As a modern person with basic historical knowledge, he knew that this was the end of a dynasty, and chaos was approaching. The lives of the common people would become increasingly difficult.

"Shi Ge'er, what's wrong?"

Gu Xinlan, inside the house, asked worriedly about the situation.

"It's nothing."

Chen Sanshi didn't want to worry another person. He pretended that nothing had happened, and as usual, after practicing archery, he ate breakfast, then packed some dry food and his bow, and headed out.

Since he had arrived at the bottom of this chaotic world, he could only follow the rules and find a way to survive.

Collecting three taels of silver in seven days was not an easy task.

Chen Sanshi felt considerable pressure.

It wasn't just him; the villagers were all complaining bitterly.

As he was about to leave the village entrance, he saw a few familiar figures and frowned, wanting to avoid them.

"Little Stone."

Qin Xiong, leading two ruffians, deliberately surrounded him: "Why are you hiding from me?"

Chen Sanshi could guess that the man intended to take advantage of the situation.

He said directly, "Brother Qin, if it's about the same matter as last time, there's no need to talk about it."

"Don't you remember what the tax collector said? If you can't gather the silver, you'll be taken to repair the canal."

Qin Xiong put on a kind facade and said sympathetically, "I've never heard of anyone who was assigned that task coming back alive. How about this, I'll take a loss. You give me the wife you're hiding at home, and I'll pay your taxes for you. What do you say?"

"If I'm really taken to repair the canal, I'll accept my fate. You don't need to worry about it, Brother Qin."

Chen Sanshi said expressionlessly and was about to leave.

After learning archery, he was confident in his strength and spoke a lot more assertively.

However, there was no need for a direct confrontation.

Firstly, Qin Xiong had a group of ruffians under him.

Secondly, this guy also had a brother who practiced martial arts and was said to be very skilled, making him difficult to provoke.

Qin Xiong didn't stop him, but his face turned cold as he let him walk away.

"Big brother, if you ask me, we should just rob him. Why bother with all this talk about silver?"

One of the ruffians grumbled.

"Idiot!"

Qin Xiong hit the man on the head: "Do you think the Great Sheng Dynasty has no law anymore?"

Such acts as forcibly abducting women used to happen frequently, but ever since the new Governor-General of Liangzhou arrived, no one dared to do such things anymore.

"Then what should we do?"

The rogue asked, "Isn't Big Brother still waiting to use that woman to send a gift to Second Brother?"

"What's the rush? Does he really think he can gather three taels of silver that quickly?"

Qin Xiong snorted disdainfully. "When the time comes, he'll be dragged off to repair the canal and won't have to spend a single coin!"

"Three taels of silver within seven days."

"It seems I absolutely must hunt a big one."

"Once I've dealt with the tax issue, I'll figure out how to handle that Qin fellow."

It was still early after Chen Sanshi arrived at Tiger Head Mountain. Many large animals only appeared at sunset, so he wasn't in a hurry. He found a clearing and started practicing archery.

When he practiced archery, it was no longer difficult; instead, he felt a sense of mastery.

Not only was he a hundred percent accurate within forty paces, but he also had an eighty percent hit rate within fifty paces.

It was just a bit hard on the arrows.

"Crack!"

Another arrow hit the bullseye, but the arrow shaft snapped.

Chen Sanshi felt a pang of heartache.

A new arrow would cost at least ten wen!

However, arrows were consumables, and the ones he had were old, so breakage was normal.

Skill: Archery (Novice)
Progress: (128/200)
Effect: Can use the Six-force bow, arrows are never missed within forty paces.

The panel appeared.

"If I work hard tomorrow, I should be able to enter the next stage."

Chen Sanshi ate some dry rations to fill his stomach and then started working.

His senses were sharp, and he didn't miss any subtle tracks. Without much effort, he found another rabbit near the bushes by examining its droppings.

Without any suspense, he shot it through with an arrow and put it in his bag.

"Aren't there any bigger prey?"

Chen Sanshi was naturally not satisfied with this.

But even with his tracking skills, he didn't find any signs of large animals in the afternoon. It wasn't until sunset that he found a pheasant on the mountainside by its feathers.

The arrow struck like thunder!

The arrow pierced the pheasant's body, and its momentum carried the carcass flying, pinning it to a nearby tree trunk.

"It weighs about four catties."

"Pheasant is delicious and its price is second only to pork. This one could sell for around seventy wen."

"But it's still far from enough."

Chen Sanshi was now certain that there were no large prey in the outer areas of Tiger Head Mountain.

After all, he had the ability to "track," and he wouldn't miss any traces. If he couldn't find any, it meant there truly weren't any.

Skill: Tracking (Novice)
Progress: 101/200
Effect: Keen observation, light footsteps.

"Tracking is also close to entering the next stage."

"Perhaps I can try going into the deep mountains."

The deeper he went, the more prey there was, but also the more dangerous it became. Usually, only experienced hunters ventured there, like Uncle Zhao from the same village.

Starting from the Second Mountain, wild boars, even tigers and black bears, could be found. Many hunters died there every year.

Previously, Chen Sanshi, being new to hunting, didn't dare to venture too deep for safety. Now, it seemed he had to.

However, with his archery skills about to advance, he might still have a chance.

"I'll go back and prepare properly."

"Tomorrow, I'll check out the Second Mountain!"