A daily intelligence report; in chaotic times and famine years, grain is plentiful.

The Chen family's half-bag of grain weighed at least twenty or thirty catties. If they sold it to Master Liu at this price, they could easily get one or two taels of silver!

One tael of silver!

His greed was instantly ignited.

"Damn it, we have to get our hands on it!"

……

The darkest hour is before dawn.

Chen Mo hid most of the grain and money back in the cellar, only putting two jin of coarse grain in the rice jar as a formality.

He quietly walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

My sister's breathing has calmed down a bit, and her little face doesn't look so scary anymore.

Although my father was still coughing, he no longer coughed up blood.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He began to take stock of his current assets.

Wild vegetables that can last for three days.

Six eggs.

Two pounds of coarse grains on the surface.

The eighteen catties of grain that were hidden, along with those silver dollars and copper coins.

This amount of food won't last long.

Wang Mang, that mad dog, will definitely come back again.

You must have the power to protect yourself.

He needs weapons.

Tomorrow, once the system refreshes, no matter how high the risk, he will prioritize choosing weapons or armor!

Time passed second by second.

As the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, the system panel in my mind finally flashed.

[Daily information has been updated, please select:]

[1: Behind the statue of the abandoned earth god in the east of the village, there is a broken hunting bow and five arrows. (Low risk: may be discovered by early-rising villagers)]

【Second: Three injured wild rabbits are found inside a cave on the back mountain. (Medium risk: The cave structure is unstable, and carnivores may be present nearby)】

[Three: About 30 jin of wild yams were found deep in Black Wind Ridge. (High risk: Wolf-infested area, long distance away)]

Chen Mo's gaze was fixed on the first message.

Hunting bow!

[Information 1]

Chen Mo made his choice without hesitation.

The panel in my mind vanished instantly.

At the same time, an image appeared in his mind.

Behind the statue of the Earth God in the temple, there is a rough hunting bow, with five arrows scattered around it.

He acted immediately, tiptoed to get dressed, and went out in the dark.

We mustn't disturb Dad and my sister.

The land temple is located at the far east end of the village, a remote place, but at this hour, there might already be some diligent people up early gathering firewood.

We must act swiftly and decisively.

He walked briskly along the shadows at the base of the wall, his head down the whole way.

Soon, a dilapidated little temple came into view.

Chen Mo slipped inside and headed straight for the back of the statue.

He remembered the system's interface, groping around in an inconspicuous recess behind the statue's base.

I touched it!

A long, narrow object wrapped in tarpaulin.

He quickly untied the tarpaulin.

A bow!

The bow was covered in scratches, and the bowstring looked old, but it was still sturdy.

Next to it were five wooden arrows, their arrowheads rusted, but still very sharp.

We have weapons!

Chen Mo quickly checked it and tried to draw the bowstring without a bow.

hiss

A wave of soreness and numbness washed over my arm; my body was too weak, and it felt very difficult to draw the bowstring.

Moreover, he was also very unfamiliar with the subject.

Sudden!

Footsteps came from outside the temple, along with a man's muttering voice.

"It's not even fully light yet, and we have to go out and gather firewood. This life is fucking awful."

Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat.

Someone's there!

He immediately ducked down and slipped into the shadows beside the statue, even stopping his breathing.

A tall, thin villager peeked into the temple.

He was Zhang San from the village, known for being timid and afraid of trouble.

"Pah! What bad luck!"

Zhang San spat on the ground, muttered something, didn't dare to come in, and turned to leave.

The footsteps faded into the distance.

Chen Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief; his back was already soaked with sweat.

He dared not delay, so he quickly wrapped the bow and arrows again with oilcloth, stuffed them into a tattered burlap sack he had brought, and covered them with a handful of dry grass as camouflage.

After doing all this, he quickly left the local temple and took a more secluded path home.

By the time I got home, it was already daylight.

Chen Ling'er woke up and leaned against the headboard, her eyes brighter than yesterday.

Chen Mo boiled another egg and fed it to her.

"Brother, it's delicious."

Chen Ling'er ate in small bites, her eyes squinting with happiness.

"Where did it come from?"

"I was lucky, I found it," Chen Mo replied vaguely. "Remember, don't tell anyone."

He then fed his father some warm water.

Chen Dashan seemed a little better. He looked at Chen Mo and asked, "Where did you go so early this morning?"

"I didn't go anywhere, I just wandered around the edge of the village to see if there were any wild vegetables left."

Chen Mo wasn't telling the truth.

We mustn't let them know about the bow and arrows now, lest they worry, and it would be even more troublesome if they let it slip.

He returned to the earthen bed where he slept and carefully stuffed the burlap sack containing the hunting bow under the mat.

in the afternoon.

Chen Mo made an excuse to go out and dig for wild vegetables, and came to the small hill behind the house by himself.

He made sure no one was around, then got into position and tried to draw the bow, trying to recall the vague impression in his memory.

call out!

The first arrow was shot out, but it landed crookedly on a dirt slope a dozen steps away, a far cry from where he had aimed.

He was panting heavily, his forehead covered in sweat.

Getting your hands on this thing doesn't mean you can use it right away.

Not far away, on a ridge between fields, Li Laogen was walking slowly with a cane.

He glanced at Chen Mo on the hillside unintentionally.

Li Laogen didn't say anything, stood there for a while, then turned around and quietly left.

……

Wang Mang's family.

Wang Mang's leg injury had healed somewhat, and he was able to walk with a limp.

His anger flared even more.

"Zhao Si! Sun Gouzi! Get over here!"

The two of them scrambled to his feet.

"Go! Go check on the Chen family again! Is that old bastard still alive or not!" Wang Mang roared furiously.

After a while, Zhao Si ran back.

"Brother Mang, Chen Dashan is still alive."

He paused, then added, "Besides, I noticed that Chen Ling'er seems to be in a slightly better state. I also saw Chen Mo on the hillside behind the house, gesturing wildly."

"Gesturing nonsense?" Wang Mang didn't believe it and slapped Zhao Si on the back of the head. "Are you blind? A man who's about to starve to death has the energy to gesticulate nonsense?"

At this moment, Lin Qingxue, who had been silent all along, suddenly whispered something.

"He left very early this morning, before dawn. When he came back, he was carrying a cloth bag, which looked rather stiff."

Wang Mang's suspicions immediately arose.

Hard as a rock?

That kid must have hidden something!

Even if it's not food, it's definitely something good!

"Let's go!" Wang Mang slapped his thigh. "Come with me to visit Chen Dashan! I want to see what secrets his family is hiding!"

Just as he was about to leave, Sun Gouzi suddenly slapped his forehead and shouted.

"I remember now! Brother Mang! This morning, when it was just getting light, I went to the local temple to gather firewood, and I think, I think I saw Chen Mo rushing out of the temple! His arms were bulging!"

Wang Mang's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

"Land God Temple?"

He grinned maliciously.

"What kind of treasure could be hidden in that run-down place? Let's go check out the local temple first!"