Start practicing archery

Chapter 2 Raising a Family
Shit, hang up?

Chen Sanshi didn't react for a moment.

Originally, even if he had a bow and arrow, he didn't have much chance of catching the prey.

After all, hunting is a technical job.

If it were that easy, everyone would have eaten meat long ago.

But now with the addition of a panel, the situation is very different!
"What are you standing there for? Is there something wrong with the arrow?"

Old Xu stretched out his hand and waved it in front of the dazed boy.

Chen Sanshi came back to his senses and quickly found an excuse: "It's okay, I just thought of my dad."

"Alas~your father is a good man, what a pity!"

When mentioning his original father, Old Xu also sighed.

Chen Sanshi didn't say anything more. He paid the copper coins, took his things and left immediately.

He walked and stopped along the way carrying a bow and arrow, and came straight to the foot of Hutou Mountain, which was more than ten miles away.

The mountain is the nearest place with prey in Poyang County, and it is also the livelihood of many hunters.

Chen Sanshi had just recovered from a serious illness and had walked such a long distance. He was so tired that he was out of breath. He sat on a rock and rested for a long time before he recovered.

He looked carefully at the bow and arrow left by his father.

From the structural point of view, it is a typical recurve bow.

The bow frame is made of bamboo, the bow lure is made of willow, the bow line is made of hard wood, and the string is made of cow tendon. The pulling force is about 40 kilograms, which is still considered a soft bow.

Chen Sanshi raised his bow, and the previous panel appeared in his mind again.

[Skill: Archery (Not yet started)]

[Progress: (20/100)]

[Effect: None]

This time, no one disturbed him, so he was able to calm down and figure out what the system was doing.

Simply put, it’s the liver!
As long as he keeps repeating and doing something seriously, he will be able to make progress, and when the progress is satisfactory, he will definitely make a breakthrough.

"In this case, as long as I practice hard, won't I have the chance to become the most powerful archer in the entire Poyang County?"

Chen Sanshi's heart was suddenly filled with hope. Recalling the experience his father taught him when he was young, he slowly raised the bow and arrow.

"Is a 40-jin bow so heavy?"

He had great difficulty pulling the bow, almost gritting his teeth to pull it all the way. He couldn't imagine what kind of people who were said to be able to pull a crossbow were like.

"Stand upright, use gentle force, hold the bow properly, set the arrow calmly, push forward and walk backward, and the bow will be in full swing."

Reciting the formula silently in his mind, Chen Sanshi stood up straight, drew his bow and arrow, facing sideways at a tree trunk as thick as his arm about 40 meters away. He pushed the bow forward with his left palm, pulled the bowstring with three fingers of his right hand, aimed at the arrow head slightly downward, and released the bow to shoot the arrow.

"call out--"

The arrow flew out, deviated from the target, and hit another tree...

Chen Sanshi was not discouraged. He immediately took another arrow from the quiver, aimed at the target and shot another arrow.

This time, the arrow hit the grass directly.

"Come again!"

Chen Sanshi shot five times in a row and finally hit the tree trunk.

He walked forward and carefully pulled the arrow out of the tree trunk, repeating the previous action.

After repeating this several times, I figured out the rules for improving my archery skills.

As long as you shoot the arrow with all your heart, regardless of whether it hits the target or not, your proficiency will improve.

If you are not focused enough, it won’t work.

Additionally, successfully hitting the target will increase the progress even more.

After shooting more than sixty arrows in a row, Chen Sanshi began to suffer from cramps.

He was weak to begin with, and coupled with malnutrition, it was not easy for him to ejaculate so many times in a row.

Fortunately, his proficiency improved with each arrow shot, and his accuracy became higher and higher, and he rarely missed at a distance of twenty steps.

[Skill: Archery (Not yet started)]

[Progress: (70/100)]

[Effect: None]

They were not far from the entrance, but Chen Sanshi really didn't have much strength left.

After resting for a while, he began to wander in the woods with his bow and arrow, trying to see if he could use his remaining strength to hunt for some meat to eat.

Unfortunately, this area is too close to the town, and the easy prey has basically been caught.

He wandered around until evening before he found a few wild pigeons, but they were too far away to hit.

"In my previous life, I always came up empty-handed when I went fishing, and now I come up empty-handed when I go hunting?"

Fortunately, it’s not completely empty.

Before going down the mountain, Chen Sanshi found a piece of wild shepherd's purse, dug it out with his bare hands and put it in his arms, then went down the mountain and went home.

On the way, he came to the market and learned that the price of food had risen again.

Due to consecutive years of poor harvests, the price of rice in Poyang County has skyrocketed to 100 coins per dou of rice, and the price of meat is even more ridiculous. A pound of pork costs 17 coins, plus oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, cloth, firewood, charcoal, candles, and various exorbitant taxes...

Chen Sanshi couldn't imagine how many ordinary people would not be able to survive this winter.

He estimated that food prices would continue to rise, so he simply used all the remaining copper coins in his hand to buy rice and whole-grain noodles, plus a few salted duck eggs.

"One bushel of rice and half a bushel of mixed noodles are only enough for two people to eat for three to five days. If they were all replaced with corn mixed with bran, they could last a few more days."

But Chen Sanshi had no choice.

Since I am going to be a hunter in the future, I must never eat nutritionless food like bran again. I must always ensure that I have enough physical strength, otherwise if I encounter any danger in the mountains, I won’t even have the strength to run.

He was already starving, so he took the food and quickened his pace, wanting to go home and make a fire to cook.

"Hey, little stone!"

When I was almost at the door of my house, someone suddenly called my name from behind.

Chen Sanshi turned around and saw a tall and burly man appear in front of him.

Qin Xiong.

He is a well-known bully in the town. He has a group of scoundrels under his command. He makes money by lending money at high interest rates and buying and selling decent women. Many poor people in the town have been harmed by him and their families have been broken up.

"Oh my goodness, a bow and arrow?!"

Qin Xiong stared at the bow and arrow behind Chen Sanshi, and said with surprise and joking: "Are you, the 'scholar', planning to learn to hunt in the mountains?"

"boy."

Chen Sanshi avoided him and took a half step back and said, "Brother Qin, what's the matter with you?" Qin Xiong raised his lips and said, "How have you thought about the last matter?"

Last time?

Chen Sanshi's heart skipped a beat, and bad memories flooded his mind.

After my father passed away half a year ago, our family became very financially tight.

Just as Qin Xiong came to the door, the original body had the idea of ​​selling Gu Xinlan for money.

If it were him, he would certainly not do such a thing.

"Brother Qin."

Chen Sanshi refused and said, "I've thought it through. I don't want to use your money anymore."

Hearing this, Qin Xiong's face darkened instantly: "Have you really thought it through?"

"It's really not necessary, Brother Qin."

Chen Sanshi hugged the food tightly in his arms and took a detour home, feeling a little nervous.

The image of Qin Xiong in his memory was not someone who would give up easily, so this matter might not be over yet.

It is true that good fortune never comes alone, and misfortune never comes singly.

Before he could even get food, he was targeted by a bully.

Chen Sanshi touched the quiver around his waist.

A bow and five arrows are his greatest confidence in living at the bottom of troubled times.

I don’t know what kind of changes the panel progress will bring to him.

"Fill your stomach first so you can have the strength to practice archery!"

Chen Sanshi opened the door and found that Lan Jie'er had not returned yet.

She worked in the tailor shop in the morning and washed clothes for the women in wealthy families in the afternoon. She was very busy.

He took the initiative to chop wood and make a fire and prepare the meal in advance.

White rice is served with salted duck eggs and boiled wild vegetable soup.

For many people, this is already a very good meal.

When Gu Xinlan came home after finishing her work, she was surprised to see the hot and ready-made meals for the first time in her life: "Brother Shi, where did you get the white rice and salted duck eggs at home?"

"Eat."

Chen Sanshi asked him to sit down, then grabbed the chopsticks and started eating voraciously.

He was already very hungry.

"Brother Shi..."

"Ok?"

After eating for a while, Chen Sanshi realized that Gu Xinlan hadn't even touched her chopsticks.

She didn't know when the corners of her eyes turned red, and crystal tears hung on her eyelashes and trembled non-stop. She choked and said, "Can...can you not sell me?"

"what?"

Chen Sanshi was stunned and a little confused.

"I heard that Brother Shi did business with Qin Xiong today..."

Gu Xinlan's voice trembled.

If this were not the case, where would the family get the money to buy white rice and even salted duck eggs?
She frantically took out a patched purse from her waist, poured out a few copper coins from it, and begged, "Shi Ge'er, I was wrong.

"I won't persuade you to go to work. You can stay at home and study. I can make money and pay the taxes. Please don't sell me out."

Who in the entire Poyang County doesn't know Qin Xiong's reputation?

If she falls into his hands, she will most likely be sold to a brothel.

The reason why Gu Xinlan has stayed in the Chen family so wholeheartedly all these years is not because Chen Sanshi's father bought her from a pimp so that she would not become a prostitute, so she is grateful for the favor.

Is it true that in the end, there is no way to escape a fate worse than death?
"Sister Lan, you think too much."

Chen Sanshi understood and guessed that someone was spreading gossip.

He consoled her: "You belong to my Chen family. How could I possibly sell you out?"

When he first arrived, it was so precious to have someone as kind as a sister by his side. He would never push her away no matter what, otherwise it would be too cowardly.

Gu Xinlan said nothing, just sat there sobbing, obviously not believing it.

Chen Sanshi had no choice but to grab her swollen hand and take her to the inner room: "The food was earned by selling books, not given by Qin Xiong."

Gu Xinlan saw the empty desk and a bow and arrow hanging on the wall and was stunned: "Brother Shi, you sold all the four treasures of documents and exchanged them for bows and arrows?"

"Correct."

Chen Sanshi patiently explained: "I plan to inherit my father's business and support the family by hunting. How can I let a woman like you work so hard that your hands will be sore after washing them?"

"Supporting a family..."

Gu Xinlan never expected to hear Shi Ge'er say this.

She realized that her festering hand was still being held by the other person. She wanted to take it back out of inferiority, but was instead embraced by the other person.

"Do not worry!"

Chen Sanshi understood that the other party was extremely insecure, and said in a deep voice: "Dad said that you would be my wife, how can I give my wife away?"

Gu Xinlan was startled by the sudden hug. Feeling the warmth, she looked up at him in disbelief: "Shi Ge'er, you... you don't despise me for being a slut anymore?"

"I don't mind it."

Chen Sanshi said firmly: "It's too late to like it."

"Brother Shi, you are the only relative I have left in this world, please don't lie to me."

Gu Xinlan no longer tried to break free. After trying a few times, she finally put her face on the other's chest, feeling this rare warmth.

"Sister Lan."

"What's wrong?"

"I feel a little pain in my body today. Let's go to bed and you can give me a massage?"

"it is good."

……

"Ah... Shi Ge'er, isn't this a massage?"

"I'll press it for you."

"Hmm, hmm~"

(End of this chapter)