Ink panel: Hunting the sun and surveying the sky from the bow.

Chapter 5 Looks Like a Human Being
The Chen family’s house is located in the center of Hongshan Village.

Compared with the simple adobe houses built with mud and straw of the surrounding villagers, the Chen family's house, which is mainly made of blue bricks, is particularly conspicuous and out of place.

Chen Yuan, who rushed back from Shen Qing's house, pushed the door open and walked in.

The snow in the yard has been cleared.

The second son of the Chen family, Chen Tai, and the third son, Chen An, were lifting stone locks to build up their strength.

"Brother." Chen Tai put down the stone lock and asked, "Is everything going well? Did Shen Fang agree?"

"I was almost convinced, but Shen Qing happened to come back and messed things up." Chen Yuan walked back into the house and said regretfully.

The youngest, Chen An, interrupted, "If you ask me, there's no need to go through so much trouble. Just tie her up and send her over."

"Mr. Song is opening a brothel and is in need of people. He is willing to offer a high price of thirty taels to recruit beautiful women. If you miss this opportunity, you will miss this shop forever."

"Shen Fang is not bad looking, she should be worth the price. After we get the money, maybe the three of us can join a martial arts school, become martial arts masters, move to the county town, and no longer have to stay in this mountain valley."

Chen Yuan glanced at his younger brother and said, "It's about 50 to 60 miles from Hongshan Village to the county town. It's snowing heavily and the wind is strong. The road is not easy to walk on. Are you going to carry such a big person or am I going to carry him?"

"Wait until the snow stops. If the Shen siblings still don't agree, we'll take action. When the merchants from the city come, it will be much more convenient for us to rent a mule cart or a horse carriage to go to the city."

"Before that, let me see if I can convince the siblings. If they do something stupid, we'll save ourselves a lot of effort."

"Brother, as long as you have an idea, that's all." Chen An suddenly remembered something and asked, "Brother, do you still have the Jiugongjin martial arts that Dad gave you?"

"It's still in my hand, what's wrong?"

Chen An said, "I suddenly had some insights these two days, and I want to think about it more. If you don't need it, please lend it to me for a few days."

"Okay, I'll find it for you later. You've all started to train your strength recently, so you've consumed a lot of meat. If you have nothing to do tomorrow, remember to go to the mountains and hunt some game for a tonic. When it comes to martial arts, training your body is the most important thing."

Chen An agreed, "Brother, my second brother and I know about it. We plan to go to the mountains for a walk tomorrow."

Chen Yuan looked around and found that they were the only brothers at home. He asked curiously, "Where's Dad?"

Chen Tai, who had already picked up the stone lock again, replied, "He said this morning that he was going on a long journey to meet a friend and would be back around tomorrow."

"Oh."

……

Shen Fang cleaned all the pheasants and picked up their feathers one by one.

She held a pot of meat and said reluctantly, "I don't have a big appetite, so I can't finish so much. How about leaving the remaining half to dry and eat it later?"

"It's just one chicken, how can we two be full with only half of it?" Shen Qing said as he sat under the stove and made a fire. "We two eat bran cakes every day, and we can't even poop. We need some oil and water to moisten our stomachs."

When she said this, Shen Fang's face looked a little embarrassed, as if she had some bad memories.

"Relax, I will go up the mountain again tomorrow, and I will not come back empty-handed."

In the end, Shen Fang couldn't defeat Shen Qing.

The brother and sister finished off the entire pheasant.

Shen Fang gently placed a bowl of hot chicken soup on the table.

The golden chicken soup exudes a faint meaty aroma, with a few slices of green onion floating on the surface of the soup.

Although only some salt was added without any other seasoning, the deliciousness of the ingredients themselves is enough to make people linger on the taste.

The pheasant, which has been cooked for a long time, is tender and juicy.

Gently tear it and you can feel the silky texture of the chicken and the aroma.

It tastes much better than the bran cakes they eat every day.

Shen Qing picked up a bowl of chicken soup and drank it. His whole body felt warm, as if he was soaking in a hot spring and felt refreshed.

"Finally, I have a chance to offer some food to my stomach."

In the middle of winter, we had meat to eat and hot soup.

After more than a month in this world, Shen Qing finally felt like a human being.

He put down the bowl, scooped himself another bowl of hot soup, and asked, "Sister, what did Chen Yuan say to you today?"

Shen Fang took a sip of chicken soup, held the bowl in her palm to warm her hands, and recalled: "It was the same ones before, asking me if I was willing to be sold to a wealthy family in the city as a maid." "What do you think?"

"I want to give it a try. If I go, I can get some money, and you will be better off, brother."

Shen Qing knew that ideas like Shen Fang's were very common in Da'an County.

In order to get a meal, many poor families squeezed into the rich families in the city and were willing to become slaves.

For people like them at the bottom of society, serving wealthy families is a good way out.

If one day you can please your master and get rewarded, you can become successful.

At least you don't have to starve to death.

Shen Qing pondered for a while and said, "Sister, do you want to listen to me?"

"You are the only male in the family. I will definitely listen to you."

"If it were you, I'd say you shouldn't go, even if you want to be my concubine."

Nowadays in the Great Zhou Kingdom, people are divided into different classes.

Emperor, nobles, officials, doctors, warriors, farmers, workers, craftsmen, and slaves.

To put it simply, the so-called "maidens" are slaves who have signed a contract to sell their bodies.

They are hunters who live in the mountains and obtain their living needs through hunting. Their status is higher than those houseboatmen who have no fixed place to live, but lower than farmers who own fields.

In the end, the household registration belongs to the agricultural registration.

As for slaves, they were the lowest class of people in the Zhou State, with a status only slightly higher than that of low-class prostitutes.

Once someone becomes a slave, it means that they become the private property of their master and can be killed or beaten at will.

Their descendants, generation after generation, were all slaves, with no chance of survival.

Being a maid in a wealthy family, although life seems glamorous, her life is actually precarious.

Of course there is another more important point that Shen Qing did not tell Shen Fang.

I'm afraid what Chen Yuan wants is not as simple as making her a maid.

And he sold his own sister for money.

Shen Qing asked himself, he would never do such a shameful thing.

The money felt hot in his hands.

"Okay, I'll listen to you. If Chen Yuan comes again, I'll refuse him."

Perhaps because she felt Shen Qing's care for her, although Shen Fang showed little expression on the surface, she was extremely happy in her heart.

"Drink the soup quickly, or it will get cold."

Drink up the whole pot of chicken soup.

The hungry body seemed to be nourished by rain and dew.

The complexion of both of them became much rosier.

After tidying up a bit, Shen Qing did not delay. He grabbed his bow and arrow and went into the bamboo forest behind the house, intending to practice archery while there was still day.

Time waits for no one, and he doesn't want to waste too much effort.

I don’t know if it’s because of the chicken soup, but Shen Qing didn’t feel as cold as before when he stood in the snow.

Just as Shen Qing drew his bow, a cry of surprise came from the village.

"Murder! The Chen brothers have killed someone!"

The shouts instantly spread throughout the village.

Shen Qing saw many people in the village walking out of their homes and heading towards the Chen family.

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(End of this chapter)