Do You Have Any Bows and Arrows?

Zhou Fusheng nodded. "There are plenty of branches. I'll sharpen them later and stick them in all the nooks and crannies. Anyone who dares come will hurt like hell."

Zhou Wanwan nodded. She had originally wanted to keep the big wild goat for a while longer, but there was no time, so she could only sell it.

They had been unable to find the culprit behind the rabbit incident, but to her surprise, the spider plant at home spoke up. "That man was called Shen Dalu. Isn't he the one next door?"

The goldthread in the field nodded. "There was a fat one too. That should have been Shen Dalu's wife."

"Yes, yes, that lazy, gluttonous wife of his."

"The family next door seems to have six sons, right? Shen Dalu, Shen Erlu, Shen Sanlu, Shen Silu, Shen Wulu, Shen Liulu..." one of the goldthread plants couldn't help chiming in.

The lilac in the corner suddenly spoke up.

"You don't know enough. I know more than all of you.

Brother Pomegranate next door said Shen Dalu loves hiding money. He hid some things under the pomegranate tree!"

Zhou Wanwan's ears immediately perked up. Wasn't this like being handed a pillow just when she was getting sleepy?

She was terribly short of money right now, but for the moment, Zhou Wanwan went to find Lin Shouyi and asked her to take Zhou Qingyan and her to town first.

Lin Shouyi took them straight to the restaurant. The manager let out a "Hey" and said:

"Shouyi, you folks are really something, aren't you? You actually caught another wild goat, and this one's quite good. It's even alive.

But I can give you at most one tael and five hundred wen. If it weren't alive, I couldn't even offer that much."

That was a fairly good price, so Zhou Wanwan nodded and gave Lin Shouyi another hundred wen. Lin Shouyi quickly waved her hand. "Why are you being so polite? You're making me feel embarrassed. I always feel like I'm taking advantage of your family."

Zhou Wanwan smiled. "Uncle Lin, there's no question of anyone taking advantage. If someone else rode into town in your ox cart, you'd earn a little money anyway. Please take it!"

"All right, then I won't stand on ceremony. If you ever need Uncle Lin for anything, just say the word." Lin Shouyi truly thought the child handled things well.

Zhou Wanwan went straight to the general store and asked, "Shopkeeper, do you have any mousetraps?"

The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes. "Yes, yes. My mousetraps work very well. I'll get one for you to see."

The shopkeeper pulled a mousetrap out from under the counter. It looked decent enough, but when she squeezed it to test it, it wasn't very strong.

Zhou Wanwan shook her head and asked, "Shopkeeper, do you have any animal traps?"

The shopkeeper chuckled and rubbed his hands together.

"Animal traps cost much more than mousetraps! But they really are powerful, not in the same league as these mousetraps at all.

I have several kinds here. I'll get them out for you to see."

With that, he turned and went into the back room. Before long, he carried out several iron traps of different sizes and set them on the counter.

He pointed to the largest one. It was lined with iron teeth and looked sturdy. The shopkeeper said:

"Take a look at this one. It's a real marvel! Whether it's a wild rabbit or a pheasant,

if one accidentally steps into it, the trap's guaranteed to snap its leg. Even a big creature like a wild goat would be held fast, unable to move."

Zhou Wanwan narrowed her eyes. "Is this kind of trap expensive?"

"This kind is quite expensive. It costs five hundred wen, but the quality is excellent."

Zhou Wanwan shook her head. "Shopkeeper, that's too expensive. Do you have anything cheaper?"

"This kind. This one only costs eighty wen, but it can only catch small prey..."

Zhou Wanwan looked at the trap. "Eighty wen is too expensive. How about this? Sixty wen, and I'll buy twelve..."

"Oh, miss! I'm running a small business here. I can't afford to cut the price that much. How about seventy wen?"

Zhou Wanwan shook her head. "Sixty wen. I still need to buy other things!"

The shopkeeper sighed. "All right, you can have them. I'm selling these at a loss. If you need anything else in the future, come have a look here. I have quite a variety of goods."

Zhou Wanwan walked around the shop. "These herb hoes are quite nice. How much for one?"

"One hundred wen..."

"One hundred and fifty wen for two..."

"All right, sold." The shopkeeper immediately took out two herb hoes.

Zhou Wanwan continued looking at the goods in the general store. "Do you have any bows and arrows?"

Zhou Wanwan swept her gaze over the counter and asked again, "Shopkeeper, do you have any bows and arrows?"

The shopkeeper burst out laughing.

"Miss, you must be joking!

This is just a general store selling needles and thread, oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar. How could I have something like bows and arrows?"

He paused and pointed toward the east side of town.

"Bows and arrows are weapons. Ordinary shops wouldn't dare sell them! You'll have to go to the military equipment shop in the east of town.

They specialize in bows, arrows, swords, and blades. They also have old bows sold privately by military households, which are cheaper.

But you have to be careful when buying bows and arrows. The authorities keep a tight watch, and without a legitimate reason, the shop might not even be willing to sell them to you!"

Lin Shouyi coughed. "Let's go outside first."

Once they were outside, Lin Shouyi said with a half-smile, "You certainly have plenty of ideas, girl. Where are you going to buy a bow and arrows with that little bit of money you have?"

Zhou Wanwan turned to Lin Shouyi beside her, a hint of expectation in her eyes. "Uncle Lin, how much would it cost us to buy a bow and arrows?"

Lin Shouyi rubbed the stubble on her chin and pondered for a moment.

"If you go to one of those legitimate military equipment shops in town, or a smithy that specializes in making weapons, bows and arrows are naturally expensive.

A good bow with good arrows would cost no less than seven or eight taels of silver. Ordinary families couldn't afford that.

But there's a cheaper way. I'll take you to have a look around the county yamen.

There are some old bows and crossbows piled up in the yamen storeroom. They were left over from when the constables used them on cases or the yamen requisitioned them.

Most have loose strings, slightly cracked limbs, or aren't very accurate. They don't look like much use, but a few repairs would make them good enough to get by.

They're old things nobody wants, and the authorities can't be bothered with them. They're very cheap-a tael of silver at most.

If you're lucky, you can get one for a few hundred wen. See if there's one you like, and I'll help you fix it up when we get back. I guarantee you'll be able to use it."

Zhou Wanwan nodded. To be honest, she didn't feel very safe in ancient times. Fortunately, this was still an age of cold weapons, and she had been thinking of finding something to defend herself with.

Now that the problems of food and water had basically been resolved, she finally had time to deal with this.

Lin Shouyi's second uncle was quite helpful. He took them straight to a storeroom in the back and said, "Have a look around in here! It's all scrap metal and junk. If you see anything you like, take it. I'll give you a cheaper price when the time comes."

Having someone you knew in the county yamen really made things easier. Zhou Wanwan walked straight into the room, which was full of dust and cobwebs.

Zhou Wanwan couldn't help coughing a few times...