Heaven-Shaking Thunder

Zhou Wanwan and Lin Shouyi were overjoyed. Zhou Wanwan found 10 bows and arrows and 20 large machetes. Although some were rusty, they could be sharpened and still be used.

Lin Shouyi, watching from the side, couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing with so much stuff?"

Zhou Wanwan smiled, her eyes crinkling. "I'll take them all!"

She continued searching through the storeroom, and after a short while, she spotted a rare item.

It was a deafening thunderbolt; it would explode if thrown.

I also saw two crossbows, they were a bit rusty, but they still looked usable.

There were also two halberds, quite well-designed, and considered rare and valuable items.

Zhou Wanwan moved all of these next to her own pile of things, then went to pay the money, a total of fifty taels of silver.

With only twenty taels left, she went straight to buy a large pile of quilts before heading to the pharmacy.

The shopkeeper beamed when he saw him. "Oh! I've been waiting for you for so long! Do you still have any Silver Frost Charcoal?"

Zhou Wanwan took out three baskets of Silver Frost Charcoal and ten baskets of black charcoal, saying, "All the charcoal we made is here. Shopkeeper, please give me an estimate! I'll exchange it for medicinal herbs."

"Then I'll give you four taels! This black charcoal isn't worth much, but those Silver Frost Charcoal are highly sought after by nobles. Make more Silver Frost Charcoal, however much you make, I'll take it all," the shopkeeper said with a smile.

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "Okay, I'll bring it to you when I have it."

All of these were replaced with two large baskets of medicinal herbs, Little Ginseng bag kept jumping around, saying, "I'm going to have something delicious again! I'm going to have a bath tonight!"

"Okay, I'll give you a bath, then let's go home!"

But as soon as they reached the road, they saw many people kneeling on the ground, kowtowing and pleading, "Miss, please give us some food! We've been starving for days, we're almost starving to death!"

Zhou Wanwan looked at them and said, "We don't have any food in the car, just blankets for winter."

"Even a blanket would be fine with us!"

Zhou Wanwan sneered, "We don't even have enough blankets here! Get out of the way."

Lin Shouyi said softly, "How about we give them some food?"

Zhou Wanwan shook her head and said, "No, there are at least dozens of people here. Even if we give them food, they won't be able to share it all. It's better to fight violence with violence."

Several burly men from Liu Family Village immediately drew their bows and arrows, shouting, "Get out of the way! If you don't, we'll kill you!"

Those people, instinctively frightened at the sight of the bow and arrow, all retreated.

The villagers from Liu Family Village then drove their oxcarts back home.

Lin Shouyi looked at Zhou Wanwan and said, "You little girl, you're really brave. At worst, you'll just have to give these people some food."

Zhou Wanwan looked at him and said, "Uncle Lin, let me give you a piece of advice: don't be overly kind during a year of famine, or you'll suffer the consequences."

Lin Shouyi frowned and said, "Isn't it normal to lend a hand when someone is in trouble? I think it's not good to be so heartless and ungrateful."

Zhou Wanwan didn't say anything more; the thoughts of the ancients were not compatible with hers.

It's not that she doesn't help others, but she helps others during famine years because if people find out she has food at home, it would be a disaster.

After finishing dinner Zhou Wanwan went to Liu Family Village. Torches were lit in the ancestral hall of Liu Family Village, and it turned out that there was even a student who had passed the imperial examination in Liu Family Village.

Zhou Wanwan asked this student to teach the children to read. There were more than 130 children in Liu Family Village, divided into three classes.

The children in the small class were taught by a literate old man from the village, the children in the middle class were taught by Tong Sheng, and the children in the large class were taught by Zhou Wanwan.

At first, the young scholar was full of resentment. "Master, I know you mean well by teaching them, but how old are you? You don't even know many characters. Why don't I do it?"

Zhou Wanwan said with a half-smile, "I know just as many words as you do, and I can recite just as many texts as you do. Why don't we give it a try?"

The young scholar was full of confidence, but when Zhou Wanwan could recite the Four Books and Five Classics from memory, he immediately deflated.

Zhou Wanwan looked at him with a half-smile and said, "Teach the children what you know well, and strive to ensure that all the children in our Liu Family Village can pass the imperial examination and become scholars."

Zhou Wanwan has extremely high expectations for the children in her class. There are only ten students in her class, three of whom are her brothers.

She required them to practice calligraphy for an hour every day, and they also had to wear sandbags on their wrists every day.

The others didn't understand Zhou Wanwan's intentions either; they just did whatever she said.

Then came the practice. They hadn't expected Zhou Wanwan to actually know kung fu. Every night after finishing her writing and classes, she would go for a one-hour run, with sandbags strapped to her legs.

After their night run, I started teaching them the most basic kung fu, beginning with stance training, various footwork techniques, and punches.

This isn't just for the children in the village; the young people in the village also have to practice.

Every day is like this. The villagers don't know why Zhou Wanwan is so strict with them, but fortunately, the people of Liu Family Village are obedient.

After running this lap, the people of Liu Family Village were exhausted, but after resting for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they still had to practice archery.

Zhou Wanwan watched as their archery accuracy improved and nodded, saying:

"We have more than 50 bows and arrows in our village now. If you all learn how to shoot arrows..."

That would greatly increase our village's chances of survival. Are you confident?

"Have..."

"There's no other way to improve archery than to practice more and have the village carpenter make more arrowheads."

Liu Xiuyuan said softly, "But we don't have that much iron."

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "Iron is indeed quite important; I'll figure out a way to deal with it."

She looked at the Little Ginseng and said, "Lingbao, where do you think we can get so much iron?"

Lingbao thought for a moment and said, "I do know a place where you can get iron, and there's a lot of it. I'll take you there!"

Zhou Wanwan led more than twenty people from Liu Family Village, following Lingbao further and further away.

The twenty-odd people from Liu Family Village, carrying baskets on their backs, whispered among themselves, "Where is our young master taking us?"

Zhou Wanwan didn't know either!

The Lingbao led them deeper into the mountains. Liu Xiuyuan coughed and said, "Master, isn't it a good idea for us to go any further? Those mountains are full of..."

Suddenly, Zhou Wanwan shushed them, and they saw several wild boars walk past them. Zhou Wanwan raised her hand, and everyone took out their bows and arrows.

Then Zhou Wanwan fired a shot, and dozens of people aimed at the wild boars. Soon, three wild boars fell to the ground, and two more charged at them desperately.

Zhou Wanwan picked up the crossbow in her hand and shot it at their eyes.

Zhou Qingyan was also extremely fast, picking up his crossbow and shooting at the eye of another wild boar.