Eternal Immortal Dynasty: Starting as a Petty Official

As noon approached, a rich aroma of millet wafted from the inner room.

After the ancestral worship ceremony, the clan banquet begins.

Whether it's the sacrificial offerings or the subsequent clan banquet, everything is prepared with money pooled together by the clan members.

Of course, not all clansmen contributed money. Some clansmen from poor families naturally did not need to contribute money, but only their labor.

Although it's called a clan feast, it's really just a gathering of all the men, women, and children of the clan to share the offerings after the sacrifice, drink some homemade wine, and then have a hearty meal of millet rice.

There are no fancy dishes or expensive drinks.

A sheep, a pig, several bushels of wine, and a bushel of millet—for these alone, Zhao Xian's family paid twenty-five coins and ten catties of millet.

Of the more than fifty households in Yangpingli, only a dozen or so could be considered to have some wealth.

In every ancestral worship ceremony and clan banquet, these dozen or so households contributed the most money, and Zhao Xian's family was naturally among them.

Although the millet rice was already cooked, the lamb and pork were already cold and needed to be warmed up for a while longer.

The clan banquet was held in the inner threshing ground, where rice was mostly dried after the autumn harvest. The terrain was quite flat.

Mother Zhao Xu had brought straw mats from her own home and laid them out according to seniority. To her left and right were the families of her uncle Zhao Ren and her other uncle Zhao Li.

It was a cold winter day, and a thin blanket was laid on the mat.

The straw mats formed a circle, with a bonfire burning brightly in the center.

Taking advantage of this free time, the clansmen continued to chat, focusing on the attack by bandits that night.

There was no other reason than that the sheer number of over a hundred bandits was truly astonishing.

Moreover, more than ten Taoist priests died and dozens were injured, making it the most serious incident since the establishment of Shanghuting.

Zhao Xian was naturally praised by his clansmen once again.

Before long, some of the clansmen started a commotion, wanting to see Zhao Xian's archery skills.

When invited by his clansmen, Zhao Xian could not refuse and had to order Zhao Hong to hurry home and fetch a horn bow and a quiver of feathered arrows.

Then a neighboring clansman brought a target from his home and set it up sixty paces away.

"Ku-lang, is sixty paces enough?"

A shout came from the distance from the tribespeople.

"Fourth brother, eighty paces!"

The clansmen started making a fuss, and Zhao Xian, wanting to show off, immediately shouted loudly.

"Wow! Eighty paces!"

"Jiulang's archery skills have reached such a level!"

"Last September, during archery practice at the pavilion, Jiulang could hit the target ten times out of ten, even from fifty paces away!"

"Three months have passed, and he's already practicing archery at eighty paces! Impressive!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, the clansmen immediately began whispering among themselves and discussing the matter.

There were those who questioned Zhao Xian, and those who had complete confidence in him, but no one made sarcastic remarks.

There was no other reason than that Zhao Xian shot down more than ten bandits that night, saving the lives of his clansmen!

The present day is not far removed from ancient times, and the people are simple and honest, unlike in the past when the world was in decline and morality was degraded.

Zhao Xian stretched his limbs and practiced the "Pine and Crane Nourishing Vitality Boxing" once. His muscles and bones were loosened, and he immediately took the bow and arrow that Zhao Hong handed him.

He drew his bow and nocked an arrow, a flash of crimson light appearing in his eyes!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Arrows fly like shooting stars, bows twang like thunderclaps.

Ten arrows flew in quick succession, piercing straight into the target.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

In the blink of an eye, several arrows hit the target, but three arrows fell to the ground.

"Alas, the bow is too weak and powerless!"

With a sigh, Zhao Xian put away the ox-horn bow.

Some tribesmen in the distance had already picked up the feathered arrows from the ground and walked to the target to count them.

A few breaths later, the tribesman shouted, "Eighty paces, seven out of ten shots hit the mark! Jiulang is a divine archer!"

Upon hearing this, the other members of the clan were all amazed.

At eighty paces, seven out of ten shots hit the target, which is already considered divine archery.

Last February, during archery practice in the village, even the first-place winner only managed to hit the target eight out of ten times!

"By February of this year, Jiulang will surely make a name for himself in archery in the village, bringing glory to the Zhao family of Yangping Village!"

"Amu, if I had such a grandson, I would die without regret!"

On a straw mat in the distance, several white-haired elderly men sat upright. One of them, hearing the crowd's calls, also sighed and said.

"Ade, your fourth son is also quite good; he has now reached the level of tendon training."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Mu smiled and replied.

"Although Silang has good physique, he lacks courage."

"What use is cultivation if one lacks courage?"

"Back in the Southern Continent, you and I killed countless enemies with those silver-tipped spears!"

Zhao De let out a long sigh.

"The war is over, and in this peaceful era, even those without courage can survive!"

Another elderly man with white hair chimed in.

"Hehe, what a peaceful and prosperous era!"

Zhao De chuckled lightly, his eyes full of mockery.

Once they started practicing archery, the other members of the tribe also became interested and took turns practicing.

Unfortunately, only two or three people hit the target at eighty paces.

After some playful banter, the banquet was prepared, and everyone returned to their seats.

Zhao Xian and other younger members carried wine jars and distributed wine to everyone, while several elders used knives to cut meat.

The fattest and most tender lamb ribs were served to five elders, including my great-uncle and grandfather.

The four lamb legs were distributed among the young children in the clan, while the remaining parts were given to the uncles, fathers, and others.

Similarly, the fat pig was also divided up and eaten in the same way.

Before the banquet, Zhao Xian practiced archery. His archery skills were unparalleled among all the clansmen. Several elders were very satisfied and specially gave Zhao Xian a large, fatty pork knuckle.

Zhao Xian was overjoyed and repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

Unlike the famous banquet in his previous life, Zhao Xian's pork knuckle was not raw!

Of course, there's no need to worry about whether the famous pork leg is raw or cooked, or whether it's braised or stewed.

For Zhao Xian, a country boy who had only eaten meat four or five times last year, this pork knuckle was an absolute delicacy!

As they brought the pork knuckle back to their seats, Zhao Hong and his younger sister Zhao Yu practically glued their eyes to it.

The brothers Zhao Duan and Zhao Bing, who were seated next to each other, and Zhao Sheng, who was behind them, were also watching longingly, swallowing their saliva incessantly.

After taking a small bite, Zhao Xian called over the three men, along with Zhao Hong and Zhao Yu, and divided the remaining pork knuckle equally among the five of them.

The group hurriedly began to eat, except for Zhao Sheng, who first bowed to Zhao Xianxing in thanks.

Zhao Xian didn't care about this, as he simply didn't have enough money in his belly.

Although Zhao Sheng studied at the county school, the tuition fee for the county school was twelve low-grade spirit stones per year.

The county school provides housing for students, but does not provide meals.

To enable Zhao Sheng to attend the county school, his uncle Zhao Zhi carried goods on his shoulders and traveled around doing business all year round.

Besides taking care of Zhao Sheng in the county, his aunt also had to wash clothes for wealthy families to earn a meager sum of money.

The little spirit stones they had were used to buy spirit rice for Zhao Sheng's meals, leaving the mother and son barely able to make ends meet.

Meat was also a rare treat for Zhao Sheng.

In fact, Zhao Sheng was studying at the county school, but due to financial constraints, his grandfather personally asked each family to provide some support.

Including my grandfather, my uncle's family, Zhao Xian's family, and my other uncle's family, each of them sent 100 catties of millet to Zhao Zhi's family every year.

One hundred catties of millet is equivalent to one hundred talisman coins, or one low-grade spirit stone.

Even so, despite his diligent study at the county school, Zhao Sheng's cultivation level remained at the bottom.

After all, there were countless children from prominent families in the county school, who were always meticulous about their food and drink.

The gap cannot be bridged by arduous practice.