Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 225 The meaning of life

Putting the bow down, Chen Xuan took out some money and placed it on the table, saying, "The bow is very good, I am very satisfied. Here is the money, three thousand taels of silver notes from the Tong Bank. They only recognize the notes, not the people. They are guaranteed by royal background and are used in neighboring countries. Please count them."

"I'm sorry," Wu Sanniang said with a smile, picking up the banknotes and carefully counting them to check their authenticity.

After all, it was a huge sum of money, three thousand taels, which countless common people could not earn in their entire lives. They had to be cautious. The two parties did not even know each other, and their trust was not at that level.

No matter what era, the gap between people is at two extremes. Ordinary people earn money one penny at a time, while for some classes, money is not considered money.

A bow, worth three thousand taels, is so valuable in the eyes of the right person. But in the hands of those who don't need it, it is worthless and even burning it as firewood will not make the fire burn brightly enough.

At this time, Chen Xuan could see that among the couple, Wu Sanniang was the head of the family.

This amount of money is enough for them to live comfortably for several lifetimes, given their quality of life.

But the account is not calculated in this way. Making a bow requires materials and technology. Strictly speaking, the net profit is not much, at most three hundred taels, but it is also a huge fortune that an ordinary person cannot earn in a lifetime.

Wu Sanniang was particularly careful when counting the money, because this money was not only for her future living needs, but also had extremely special meaning. It was not even enough, because the savings accumulated by herself and Zhuo Erniu over the years might be enough.

After the two were together, she never revealed her thoughts to Zhuo Erniu. She had once injured her stomach and wanted to cure it so that she could give Zhuo Erniu a child in the future. Only then would her life be truly happy.

It was originally a matter between two people, but she didn't dare to mention it, fearing that if there was no result, she would be even more disappointed.

If you can have your own child, who would be willing to adopt someone else's abandoned one...

After counting, she said with gratitude: "The money is correct, thank you, Brother Chen."

"You're welcome. It's a fair trade, and it's what I deserve. Besides, this bow is worth the money," Chen Xuan waved his hand.

After putting the money away, Wu Sanniang stood up and said, "Brother Chen, please wait a moment."

Soon she brought out a large wooden box, which was covered with copper on all sides and inlaid with patterns of animal bones. It was quite beautifully made.

Under Chen Xuan's puzzled gaze, she opened the box and said with a smile: "Brother Chen, this is specially used to store bows. It is convenient for storage when not in use. It is best not to string a weapon like a bow when not in use. Just string it occasionally to prevent the bow arm from becoming stiff. In addition, there is a set of maintenance tools in it. I also made a spare bowstring with the snake tendon last time. In addition, there are a hundred arrows and a quiver. There are three kinds of arrows: iron arrows, wooden arrows, and bamboo arrows. The arrowheads are also different to deal with different situations. I won't introduce the armor-piercing whistle arrows one by one. I think Brother Chen is not unfamiliar with these. There are also three finger guards. These are all a set. They are within three thousand taels. I wonder if you are satisfied?"

"Sister Wu is thoughtful," Chen Xuan said sincerely. He could only say that she was very professional and had considered every aspect.

Nodding, she smiled and said, "That's good. I guess Brother Chen won't be using it for the time being. How about letting me help take the strings off and put them away?"

"No, I'll do it myself. It's quite tiring."

Chen Xuan smiled, and then, while they were hesitant to speak, he easily bent the bow arm, removed the bowstring, and put it into the groove of the wooden box. It fit perfectly, clearly tailor-made.

Zhuo Erniu couldn't help but exclaimed in amazement: "Brother Chen is really good at what he does. He's so skilled at such a young age. He must have either acquired extraordinary skills or possessed some superior martial arts technique. I admire you so much."

Chen Xuan smiled but said nothing. He did not practice martial arts and his knowledge was limited. He could only think of these things by exaggerating and connecting them. He did not even dare to think about the word "innate".

Wu Sanniang did not dwell on this aspect. She practiced martial arts, and judging from Chen Xuan's performance, she roughly judged that his strength in the acquired realm was far above the average, much stronger than herself. After all, he was too young, so she did not dare to think too deeply about it. He was either a disciple of a master, or came from a famous sect, and it was certain that he possessed superb skills.

She gently stroked the bow in the box. This was the best one she had made so far. Almost all the precious materials she had accumulated over the years were used up. She couldn't guarantee that she could make a better one in the future, let alone a comparable one.

After a brief pause, she looked at Chen Xuan and said, "Brother Chen, the bow already has an owner, but it hasn't been named yet. How about you, the owner, come up with a name? It's just a small request, so that there won't be any regrets."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan smiled and said, "Since it was created by Sister Wu, how about you name it?"

It was clear that she truly loved the bow, which was perfectly normal, as she had made it herself, and to describe it in a less accurate way, it was like her own child.

In fact, she is quite restrained. Generally speaking, many skilled craftsmen will name an item directly without asking others for their opinions after making it. This is a recognition of their own craftsmanship and a promotion of their reputation.

Her eyes lit up and Wu Sanniang asked, "Really?"

"Of course," Chen Xuan nodded without hesitation.

Wu Sanniang had actually had this idea in mind for a long time, and she didn't refuse the opportunity. She pretended to think for a moment, then said, "This bow is completely black. When strung, it looks like an eagle with its wings spread. How about calling it Mo Yu?"

"Okay, let's call him Mo Yu. It's a good name and very appropriate," Chen Xuan clapped his hands in response.

It was considered a wish come true. Wu Sanniang looked at Mo Yu reluctantly, closed the lid, held it with both hands and handed it to Chen Xuan, saying: "Brother Chen, Mo Yu is handed over to you. I hope you can treat it well in the future, and I hope it will not let you down." After all, it is a murder weapon. Talking about mercy is nonsense. Weapons and people complement each other.

"Don't worry, I will make good use of it. Now that things have come to this, I'll take my leave," Chen Xuan took it and nodded.

The deal is done, there's no need to stay here any longer.

"Well, we won't try to keep you. Let's just see you off..."

After sending Chen Xuan out of the courtyard, the two of them didn't look away until his figure disappeared.

Feeling Wu Sanniang's reluctance, Zhuo Erniu held her hand and comforted her: "Sanniang, there is no need to be so. We will collect materials in the future and will definitely be able to create a better one. Then you won't have to sell it and will keep it for yourself."

"Brother Zhuo, I'm not sad. I don't care whether I can make something better in the future. Being with you is enough for me." She shook her head and then joked, "What about the thirty-stone bow? Even if we can make it, we can't use it. What's the point of keeping it? Will it just gather dust?"

"That's right," Zhuo Erniu scratched his head.

Gently leaning on Zhuo Erniu's shoulder, Wu Sanniang pondered and said, "Brother Zhuo, the affairs here are finished. Let's leave in two days and settle down somewhere else."

"Well, okay, I'll listen to you. I'll be happy no matter where I am with Sanniang." Zhuo Erniu put his arm around her shoulders and nodded, then asked, "Have you decided where to go, Sanniang?"

Looking into the distance, Wu Sanniang said with longing, "Let's go to the Western Desert, on the border of Huizhou. I know a place called Tuoling Town. It has about a hundred households and is far away from the hustle and bustle. To the west is the desert, and to the east is the grassland. It's not a must-go route, but merchants do pass through occasionally. Brother Zhuo, you can open a shop there and make some tools to earn some money. When we have nothing to do, we can go and see the desert sand, or gallop on horseback on the grassland."

"Okay, I'll listen to you. Everything has been packed. Let's set off tomorrow and settle down there," Zhuo Erniu nodded.

"Well, we'll set off tomorrow and start our new life..."

In fact, when Wu Sanniang went there, she didn't just intend to live a simple life away from the hustle and bustle of the world. Firstly, with their craftsmanship, they had enough living conditions there, and even if Zhuo Erniu went back to his old job of making weapons, it would not attract attention. Secondly, she had her own plans.

A few years ago, when she was making bows for someone, she occasionally heard from customers that there was a famous doctor living in seclusion in that place. She wanted to try her luck there and see if she could cure her stomach and give birth to a child for Zhuo Erniu.

For this reason, she had carefully calculated the couple's income and savings over the past period of time, plus the money from selling the house, shop, and materials, which amounted to nearly ten thousand taels. She was still worried that it was not enough. After all, it was caused by an injury many years ago. She had secretly consulted many doctors, and they all pronounced a "death sentence."

The famous doctor who lives in seclusion is the only hope. There are better doctors in the world, but they cannot reach them.

She had never mentioned this to Zhuo Erniu, fearing that he would be disappointed. She planned to secretly find the famous doctor and give Zhuo Erniu a surprise after curing him.

I just heard that the famous doctor has a strange temper. There are three conditions for asking him to treat you. Money is the second most important. You also need to provide a prescription or precious medicinal materials that the other party does not have. Finally, the disease cannot be cured by others. All of these are indispensable. Otherwise, he will not treat you even if you kill him.

In a profession like doctor, when you reach a certain level, you just have to be coaxed by others, so it's normal to have a weird temper.

They have already lived in seclusion and obviously don't want to be disturbed. They put forward three conditions in order not to cut off their own retreat. They can stop more than 99% of the people and still leave them in peace. Everyone can understand that.

Ten thousand taels of silver should be more than enough to ask the other party to help, but where can I find prescriptions or precious medicinal herbs that the other party doesn't have? That all costs money. Also, is the infertility caused by my injury within the range of the other party's treatment?

The continuation of life is engraved in genes, and this is true for all things.

When life cannot achieve immortality, then continuing offspring becomes the most essential meaning of life...

Chen Xuan brought Mo Yu, which he had spent three thousand taels of silver on, back to his residence. Upon hearing the news, Gao Jingming couldn't wait to try it out, and Chen Xuan let him go.

He helped to string the bow, but Xiao Gao didn't pull it at all, which made him blush. He saw A Xuan stringing the bow very easily.

Then he used all his internal energy, his face flushed, and he barely managed to pull the thirty-stone strong bow into a full moon.

After all, he possessed superior internal strength, and his strength should not be underestimated. However, he still released the bowstring after just a moment.

Buzz~!

The vibration of the bowstring was like a long-lasting muffled thunder, which blew a strong wind in the study, blowing the manuscripts everywhere.

What can Chen Xuan do? He has to deal with it himself.

Fortunately, the Mo Yu was of excellent quality, and Xiao Gao's empty bow did not cause any damage, otherwise the three thousand taels would have been too unfairly spent...

(End of this chapter)