Night Walker

"Chicks for sale! Ten wen each!"

Outside the north gate, beside the straight road, Cui Hao and his wife set up a stall to sell chicks. Next to them was their fellow villager, Old Man Lin, a military household selling arrows.

"You're charging too much," reminded Old Man Lin, who had dark skin and a thin build. "You'll only sell them for five wen each."

Cui Hao didn't listen. Facing the passersby, he continued to shout, "My chicks eat little and grow fast. Last eight left! We're leaving once they're sold!"

A girl with a bun hairstyle, cute appearance, about 1.8 meters tall, with a bulging figure under her clothes, came to inquire, "Are you selling them for five wen each?"

"Miss, my chicks are different from others. They eat little and grow a lot of meat. Ten wen each, no bargaining."

"Seven wen each. If not, I'm leaving."

"Wait," Cui Hao called out to the customer, "Sold!"

The girl squatted down and carefully inspected each chick. She found one with slightly shorter toes and only took seven chicks.

She paid 49 copper coins and took them away in her own bamboo basket.

After the strong young woman left, Old Man Lin clicked his tongue in amazement. "Xiao Haozi, I didn't expect you to be so good at business."

"Uncle Lin," Cui Hao looked at his stall, "How much are the Wolf Fang Arrows?"

"I sell them to others for twenty-five wen each, but for you, twenty wen. No less."

A jin of pork belly was twenty wen. An arrow cost twenty wen. Cui Hao gritted his teeth. He added 51 copper coins to the 49 he got from selling chicks, totaling 100 wen, and bought five Wolf Fang Arrows.

He hadn't brought a bow or a quiver. He wrapped the five carefully selected Wolf Fang Arrows in rags and put them in Su Yun's bamboo basket.

He also put the one unsold chick in the basket.

"Uncle Lin, you keep busy. I'll take Sister Yun into the city."

"Go on, go on!" Old Man Lin was quite happy. His old friend was gone, but it was a blessing that his children and grandchildren could live well.

"Brother Hao," Su Yun gently refused as they passed under the city gate tower, "I don't need new clothes."

"Sister Yun, winter is coming. If you get sick from wearing too little, it will cost more in the long run."

With money in hand and no shortage of food at home, and her husband insisting, Su Yun compromised.

They went around the city, buying cloth, shoe soles, salt, needles and thread, brown rice... and lime powder.

Brown rice is rice that has had the outermost hull removed, retaining the bran, germ, and endosperm. This was Cui Hao's insistence, otherwise Su Yun would have bought finely milled rice with the husks ground in, which would cook into mush.

Three dou of brown rice and three dou of mixed flour.

Five jin of pork belly, for rendering oil.

Finally, they bought two loads of firewood. Seeing the old man selling firewood looked pitiful, and the price was cheap, Su Yun bought it.

With a full harvest, Cui Hao carried the shoulder pole, with his wife by his side. They walked more than a mile back to the village and saw four familiar figures from afar.

"Yo! Xiao Haozi brought his wife to the market?" Zhou Menghu's face was beaming with a smile. He seemed to be talking to Cui Hao, but his eyes were fixed on Su Yun.

Su Yun hid behind Cui Hao.

"Yes, Brother Zhou," Cui Hao appeared weak. "Have you eaten?"

Zhou Menghu ignored Cui Hao and sniffed the air. He could actually smell meat.

He shifted his gaze from Su Yun and bent down to look at the two loads of firewood, trying to see what was hidden beneath them.

When he saw the rice, flour, and meat piled under the firewood, Zhou Menghu's expression darkened. They had money to buy meat! That meant they weren't short of silver!

Zhou Menghu straightened up and directly demanded, "The four of us are going into Yuanmeng Mountain tomorrow to hunt big game. We're still short one person. You're coming too."

Yuanmeng Mountain was the Second Mountain. The previous two times they went hunting, Cui Hao had only stayed on the periphery of the Second Mountain. Zhou Menghu's intentions were clear.

"Brother Zhou, I know my limits. I don't want to hold you back."

"Xiao Haozi, don't push your luck."

Deciding to act tonight, Cui Hao agreed, "Alright, we'll go to the Second Mountain tomorrow. Please take care of me, Brother Zhou."

"I will take care of you..." As he spoke, Zhou Menghu looked greedily at Su Yun.

Arrived home.

Su Yun had a premonition. "Brother Hao... Zhou Menghu doesn't seem like he'll let me go."

"Don't worry," Cui Hao comforted his wife. "Go make dinner."

Su Yun nodded and went to the kitchen to busy herself.

Cui Hao cleaned the dry toilet at home and secretly soaked the tips of the five newly bought Wolf Fang Arrows in waste liquid.

He finely sharpened the blade of the chopping knife.

After lunch, Su Yun was washing clothes in the yard, airing out quilts, down, and dried vegetables. She was taking care of a chick. There was always something to do.

Cui Hao picked up the discarded book and began to read intently.

[Reading: Beginner]

[Progress: 30/300]

[Effect: Reading Speed +5, Memory +5]

Compared to past reading speed, +5 is about 20% faster.

Memory is similar. I can clearly feel my memory has improved significantly. My mind is clear, my thoughts are coherent, which is very beneficial for Archery.

Night fell, and the bright moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the land.

The wind outside wasn't strong, but the ground was frosted, and the air was freezing.

The hole in the window was patched by Su Yun during the day. Now, a rhythmic creaking sound emanated from the wooden bed inside.

After a long while, Su Yun lay softly and weakly in her man's arms, fast asleep.

They held each other close, the warmth inside the quilt a safe haven in the cold late autumn.

To protect this small, humble shelter from being kicked open by bandits, Cui Hao slowly pulled out his arm and gently instructed, " Sister Yun, I'm going to the outhouse. Don't come out while I'm gone."

Su Yun slept like a confused little pig, softly humming in her dream. She turned her warm, fair body to the other side.

Cui Hao quietly got out of bed, quickly put on his clothes, and grabbed the large bow and quiver from the wall.

He went out the door, trying his best to conceal himself in the shadows cast by the moonlight using Stealth.

If he encountered someone coming out to relieve themselves, Cui Hao would stop and wait. Once they returned to their rooms, he would continue his advance along the shadows.

Panel Update.

[Stealth: Novice]

[Progress: 1/100]

What took Cui Hao about seven or eight minutes during the day took him about two hours to reach the outer wall of Zhou Bahu's courtyard. There was an old tree nearby, with four or five graves around it.

These were Zhou Bahu's ancestral graves.

This old tree was one of the few in the village and couldn't be cut down, or Zhou Menghu would retaliate.

Conveniently, Cui Hao climbed up the main branches using his hands and feet, allowing him to see the situation in the courtyard.

One wall away.

Zhou Menghu was taking a bath in a wooden tub in the main hall. A rather attractive woman was helping him by scrubbing his back, giving him a shoulder massage, and pouring him wine.

"Master," the woman asked with a smile, "I heard that many people in Xiaoshizi Village couldn't pay their taxes, and some even sold their wives and daughters. Is that true?"

"Of course, it's true. I bought quite a few and made a lot of money selling them to brothels."

"How tragic."

"Tragic my ass," Zhou Menghu reached out and grabbed her chest, "Many who couldn't go on lived, and their whole families committed suicide."

The woman giggled.