Snake-Style Deft Hand

"Crack!"

The woodshed was quiet, and Zhao Han chopped wood without anyone rushing him, feeling quite leisurely.

However, after chopping, Zhao Han's hands still felt a bit sore.

The Black Wolf Fist, merely an unranked introductory technique, couldn't make Zhao Han too relaxed.

He left the woodshed and pretended to go to the water tank to drink raw water. While there, he glanced at the six people; they were all busy in the kitchen preparing dinner.

There was enough firewood in the kitchen for tonight and tomorrow morning. Zhao Han had chopped wood for noon and evening.

Since they didn't have time to bother with me, I'll practice martial arts.

Zhao Han returned to the woodshed and began tentatively assuming wolf-like stances.

Standing, running, charging, pouncing, curling up, leaping...

After trying for five minutes, he managed to awkwardly complete one stance, and the Black Wolf Fist's proficiency increased slightly.

"It's still quite fast. Once I get the hang of it, it'll be very simple," Zhao Han smiled and continued.

Zhao Han was right.

Once he got the hang of it, it would be simple!

After finding the rhythm, he watched his proficiency soar!

It wasn't until someone from the kitchen called out that dinner was ready and asked Zhao Han to help carry the rice bucket and vegetable bucket that Zhao Han stopped.

He glanced at the Simplification System panel floating beside him.

Martial Artist: Zhao Han

Realm: None

Martial Skill: Black Wolf Fist

Simplification: Black Wolf Fist [Simplified, Unranked, Introductory 10/50, Learn wolf stances]

"Give me a little more time, and going from introductory to proficient will be a piece of cake."

"Little Zhao, what are you spacing out for? Don't be lazy, hurry up and help carry the vegetable bucket," A Shun said unhappily, looking at Zhao Han.

Pretending to be dumb and lazy, huh? There's no such thing as a free lunch.

"Coming, coming."

He reached out and, together with A Shun, lifted the hot vegetable bucket.

Immediately, the aroma of the dishes wafted over.

It was all boiled wild vegetables, with just a little salt added, so the mine slaves wouldn't lose strength while working.

After carrying the vegetable bucket to the open space outside, the two then carried a rice bucket.

It wasn't plain white rice inside, but a mush made from mixed sand, wild vegetables, bran, rice husks, and so on, ground together.

Mush was the staple food for most commoners and the poor in this world. It was similar to the mush made by Ah San, but Ah San's was more nutritious.

It wasn't pasta or rice; white flour and rice were very precious.

Even the coarser, yellowish flour was something ordinary people couldn't afford, only eating it on holidays.

The mine slaves' dinner consisted of boiled wild vegetables and mush, and nothing else.

It was enough to keep the mine slaves alive and allow them to continue working and contributing to the Poisonous Snake Gang.

Next was the food for the regular gang members. It was still ordinary, but much better than the mine slaves'.

The staple food was steamed corn buns, and the dishes were wild vegetables and tofu with cabbage. The nutrition was barely sufficient.

Finally, there was the food for the elite Skin Refining gang members who practiced martial arts regularly. The quantity was even more than for the regular gang members.

Although there were fewer people, they ate more.

There was oil and meat. The staple food was yellow steamed buns, the dishes were lettuce stir-fried with two ounces of meat, tofu and cabbage, and cucumber and egg soup.

After Zhao Han and A Shun finished moving the buckets, they didn't need to serve themselves food and returned to the kitchen. Wang Dawei and the other four had already started eating without them.

On the table were two dishes and one soup, no different from what the elite gang members ate, but the portions were small, and there was very little meat.

Clearly, this was a special meal for their own people in the kitchen.

It wasn't surprising that the kitchen ate well; the cooks often indulged themselves.

A Shun, used to it, quickly grabbed a seat and then picked up the last shred of meat, savoring it with a happy little bite.

"I finally get to eat meat. Little Zhao, I have you to thank."

A Shun almost shed tears.

In their kitchen, the newest arrivals not only had to do the hardest work, like chopping wood, but also didn't get to eat meat.

Even if there was meat in the food, it was all distributed by Wang Dawei. Wang Dawei ate the largest portion, the sous chef ate a slightly smaller one, and so on.

Rules couldn't be broken.

Zhao Han glanced at the stir-fried lettuce with meat, which was completely devoid of any oily residue, shook his head, and honestly sat down to eat the tofu and cabbage.

Nothing beats cabbage and tofu for nutrition, not even lettuce.

Eating too much lettuce can also damage your eyesight and induce night blindness.

Before Zhao Han transmigrated, he was a corporate slave.

His eyesight had already been ruined by his phone, computer, and games, leaving him nearsighted. He basically never ate lettuce.

Fortunately, after transmigrating, his vision was 5.0. Seeing lettuce didn't make him want to pick it.

Actually, many people in this world suffer from night blindness, and the original host was no exception. Eating more lettuce would only worsen it.

A Shun ate while provocatively picking at shredded meat as thin as his second brother's, showing off to Zhao Han with a smug look.

The others couldn't stand it. It was just a single strand of meat, was it really worth it?

Zhao Han quickly finished eating. Since they were tired of eating tofu and cabbage, he would eat heartily.

And the cucumber and egg soup was also delicious.

After eating his fill, he had to go back to carry the buckets, and the bowls and chopsticks needed washing.

This task fell to Zhao Han and A Shun again.

The so-called washing dishes involved wiping them with a very dirty rag dipped in water, then rinsing them off.

After washing, they were basically free to do nothing.

What Zhao Han didn't expect was that Wang Dawei, A Shun, and the others, under the torchlight, were all holding the Snake-Style Deft Hand manuals and studying them.

They even practiced a few moves, and they looked quite convincing.

However, it was only superficial, all form and no substance.

It was nothing like how a Skin Refining Warrior would use Snake-Style Deft Hand, which carried momentum and considerable power.

But looking at them, it seemed no one in this world wanted to fall behind others; everyone had a dream of becoming a Martial Artist.

Only by becoming a Skin Refining Warrior could one escape the ranks of ordinary people and live a much better life.

At the very least, a Skin Refining Warrior wouldn't have to worry as much as ordinary people about the costs of getting married and having children.

You could call them weak, but you couldn't call them lazy, nor could you say they lacked ambition or dreams.

In response, Zhao Han didn't train as hard as they did. He had a cheat, putting him far ahead. As for them, they could only train harder if they were weak.

Instead, he put on an exhausted act and went to the large dormitory to rest early.

One large dormitory could house thirty people.

The dormitories for the elite gang members were separate from theirs.

Beside him were familiar faces like Zhao Da, Li Er, and others.

Zhao Da and the others were chatting, not yet mingling with the older gang members.

The next day, as dawn broke.

Zhao Han got up early and went with Zhao Da and the others to the mine entrance to find Liu Gang.

He gave each of them a handwritten copy of Snake-Style Deft Hand.

Many of them were stained with blood, with the text and illustrations obscured.

These were clearly the Snake-Style Deft Hand manuals from the gang members who were killed yesterday.

Even if some parts were unclear, the ten of them dared not show any dissatisfaction.

"Cultivate well and contribute to our Poisonous Snake Gang," Liu Gang said a brief word of encouragement before rushing off.

[Scanning...]

As soon as he got the Snake-Style Deft Hand manual, the System began to scan it automatically.

Martial Artist: Zhao Han

Realm: None

Martial Arts: Black Wolf Fist, Snake-Style Deft Hand [Unsimplified, Unranked]

Simplified: Black Wolf Fist [Simplified, Unranked, Novice 10/50, Learn wolf's posture]

Snake-Style Deft Hand was obtained, but it unfortunately required five taels of silver to simplify, otherwise it would be useless.

Five taels of silver was a significant amount. Based on the purchasing power of this world, it was equivalent to ten thousand yuan on Blue Star, which Zhao Han couldn't afford right now.

For the time being, with Black Wolf Fist as a foundation, Zhao Han wasn't in a hurry.

Returning to the kitchen, he had a simple breakfast with the others – gruel and pickles. Wang Dawei then urged Zhao Han to go chop wood.

However, the area around the Fine Iron Mine was all forest, and it wasn't safe. Wild beasts roamed within, and there might even be more ferocious "demons."

If they went chopping carelessly, they might lose their lives.

This was something he needed to ask A Shun about, to find out where he usually chopped wood.