Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 245 Anyway, it doesn't take any effort

After lunch, Zhang Wenliang, along with the nine teams of men who had helped him prepare the game, rode his mule home on his own.

Chen Fan then went to Lao Peng's house.

Or rather, his son-in-law's house, a house with a "one main room and four side rooms" that is "soft inside and hard outside".

The so-called "soft inside and hard outside" means that the walls are made of adobe bricks on the inside and covered with a layer of red bricks on the outside. This makes it moisture-proof and waterproof, and it can last longer than traditional adobe houses, while also being more beautiful.

Moreover, the earthen walls inside were plastered with lime, and if the thatched roof were replaced with red tiles, it would look almost like a brick house. Even so, it was considered one of the best houses in Lujiawan.

There was no one else in the house; Old Peng's daughter and son-in-law were probably still busy together on the threshing floor at the top of the hill.

Old Peng went to the room on the west side, which was further inside. Chen Fan didn't want to go into other people's rooms, so he waited in the main room.

A moment later, Old Peng came out, holding a bow and a quiver of arrows. He made a gesture and led Chen Fan outside, saying as they walked, "I've been here for more than three years. I've been idle most of the time, so I made a few bows and a quiver of arrows myself."

He led Chen Fan to the open space next to the house, took out a tattered winnowing basket from the corner, which was lined with a large round wooden board, hung it on the gable wall, and walked a few steps away, smiling at Chen Fan, "Have you ever learned archery before?"

Chen Fan shook his head, "I've only learned how to shoot."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "I also learned a few moves from Captain Xiao, but I don't know how good they are."

Old Peng didn't take these words to heart. As everyone knows, Chen Fan drifted to Lujiawan from the water on the first day of the twelfth lunar month and was rescued by Yang Chuanfu from Team 6. It's only been two and a half months since then, just after Qingming Festival, on the eighteenth day of the second lunar month.

Have you learned the horse stance in two and a half months?
Old Peng shook his head and chuckled inwardly. He then struck a pose, holding the bow in his left hand and nocking an arrow with his right, pulling back the string. With a "thud," the arrow struck the center of the wooden plank ten meters away.

Chen Fan immediately raised his hand and clapped, "Beautiful!"

Old Peng smiled and said, "Archery uses the power of the shoulders and back, but at the same time, the waist and legs must be stable. If the waist and legs are not stable, it is like a reed on the wall without a center of gravity, and the arrow will easily drift. Then, the power is generated by the shoulders and back to draw the bowstring. The arms are just for support. If you use the arms to generate power, you will run out of strength after drawing only a few arrows. So, the archery posture that seems very simple actually has many tricks."

Chen Fan came here to learn, so naturally he would do whatever Chen Fan said.

Old Peng then gave Chen Fan detailed instructions on archery posture, aiming techniques, and adjusting the angle according to the wind. From any perspective, he was giving it his all.

Old Peng didn't have high expectations. He thought today was just a simple lesson on archery posture and a chance for him to experience it. He didn't expect him to learn archery in just a few days...

Just as Lao Peng was thinking, there was a "bang" and the arrow pierced the large winnowing basket.

Upon seeing the arrow, Lao Peng's heart skipped a beat, and he turned to look at Chen Fan.

Then they saw Chen Fan draw another arrow, pull back the bow and aim again, and with another "thud," it hit the bullseye.

Old Peng's eyes twitched as he stared intently at Chen Fan. "You've practiced before?!"

Chen Fan was in high spirits. He drew an arrow and looked at him with a smile, "No, this is my first time practicing. But I've been practicing boxing with Captain Xiao for two months and also practiced spear stance. I have some understanding of power. After listening to you talk about the techniques and precautions of archery, I found that archery is quite simple."

As soon as he finished speaking, without even looking at the winnowing basket, he released his fingers, and the arrow flew out, hitting the bullseye once again.

Old Peng took two deep breaths, clutched his chest, and stood there speechless.

Seeing that he looked unwell, Chen Fan stopped holding the arrow and asked with concern, "Master Peng, are you alright?"

Old Peng let out a long breath, his face stiff as he waved his hand, "It's nothing, I probably ate too much meat and my stomach hurts."

Chen Fan looked at his hand with a puzzled expression.

Why are you clutching your chest if your stomach hurts?
After a two-second silence, he reluctantly handed over the bow and said, "You're not feeling well today, why don't you go back and rest? I'll come back another day."

Anyway, he's found a tool now, someone who can slip away and slack off anytime. The team leaders are actually hoping he'll come out so Zhang Cuie can have more opportunities to practice. So naturally, she has plenty of time and can come over any day she wants.

Old Peng waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, just a small problem."

He then said, "The archery posture is not static, especially in the mountains and forests. You have to adjust your archery posture according to the location of the prey. Sometimes you have to shoot upwards, sometimes downwards, and sometimes you have to use an abnormal archery posture."

However, no matter what posture you use, the principle remains the same. As long as you master the way to hold the bow and the technique of drawing the bow, you can shoot accurately no matter what posture you use.

I'll demonstrate it to you now, so watch carefully..."

A dozen minutes later, Lao Peng demonstrated all the archery postures he could think of, including Guo Jing's most handsome back shot, but he didn't demonstrate mounted archery.

It's very simple: Lao Peng can't ride a horse, and he can't ride a horse in the mountains either.

But no matter what posture he uses, as long as he explains it once and then demonstrates it once, Chen Fan can immediately copy it and hit the target every time.

There's nothing else to it, mainly because the archery skills were absorbed by the "Fishing and Hunting" skill.

After a period of frantic fishing and a morning of hunting, his fishing and hunting skills have just reached LV3. Martial arts training helps him quickly master archery, and his martial arts skills were already at LV3, just one more opportunity away from reaching LV4. A hundred years ago, that would have been enough to take on apprentices, teach skills, and work as a bodyguard.

With these two skills as a foundation, learning archery will be a piece of cake.
Seeing Chen Fan learn archery so quickly and catch up with the skills he had painstakingly honed over ten years, Old Peng fell silent.

Chen Fan looked at Lao Peng and wondered if he had moved too fast.

Just then, Old Peng suddenly said, "You've learned archery. The rest is up to you to practice hard. As the saying goes, the master leads you through the door, but the practice is up to you. What level you can reach depends on yourself."

Just as Chen Fan was about to nod, Old Peng added, "Besides archery, would you like to learn that skill of throwing stones that I just mentioned?"

Chen Fan's eyes lit up immediately. "Great!"

Then he asked, somewhat puzzled, "Didn't you say you hadn't learned it?"

Old Peng let out a long sigh, his eyes filled with complex emotions as he looked at Chen Fan. "I didn't master it, so it's like I didn't learn it at all. But I do remember the techniques others taught me, and I can throw a few stones. If you want to learn, I can teach you, but how well you achieve it depends on yourself."

Chen Fan immediately nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, you teach me, I'll practice on my own."

Old Peng picked up a few pebbles from the edge of the threshing floor, handed half to Chen Fan, then took out a piece and placed it in his right palm, saying seriously,

"Throwing stones is different from shooting arrows. The direction of the stone is controlled by the fingers, but the force of the throwing stone is controlled by the wrist."

But the wrist is just one point. You need to treat your arm like a whip, using all your strength to transmit it through this 'whip' to your wrist, and then use your wrist to fling the stone out.

After carefully explaining the technique, he gently pinched the stone between his fingers, then flicked his wrist forward, sending the stone flying straight out and hitting the large winnowing basket that served as the target.

After hearing his explanation and seeing his demonstration, Chen Fan tried it out with his bare hands.

After a few tries, he seemed to get the hang of it. He took a small stone in his hand, put his strength in his feet, carried it over his shoulder, and then swung his arm sharply, making a crisp sound like a whip.

The next second, the large winnowing basket target suddenly made a loud "bang" and a big hole was smashed in it.

Chen Fan was startled and quickly ran over. Upon closer inspection, he saw a fist-sized hole in the center of the large basket. All the arrows he had just shot had fallen to the ground and were scattered everywhere, along with a few pieces of wood debris.

It doesn't matter, it's not worth much anyway.

Chen Fan then took the large winnowing basket target down and carefully examined the wall.

At this moment, Lao Peng also came over, and the two of them stared at each other intently for a thorough examination.

Thankfully, there were only a few marks on the red bricks from being hit by stones, not the pits that Chen Fan was worried about.

Old Peng was speechless for a long time before looking at Chen Fan with complicated emotions, and said, "You're strong enough."

Chen Fan chuckled twice, "Hehe, maybe it's because I ate too much."

Old Peng looked at him again and suddenly burst into laughter.

Chen Fan didn't know what he was laughing at, so he chuckled along.

After laughing for a while, Lao Peng stopped and smiled at Chen Fan, saying, "I've seen the foxes you shot; every shot hit the head. The others that were hit in the body were shot with rifles, not by you."

"If you weren't so exceptionally talented, I would definitely recommend you to the provincial hunting team. You're a natural hunter; shooting, archery, stone throwing—any one of those skills would be enough to secure you a place in the provincial hunting team, and you might even become a captain."

After saying that, he shook his head slightly. "What a pity. If I recommend you, the people of Lujiawan will definitely hate me. It's not worth it. I can't do it."

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "What you're saying is ridiculous. Even if I did have the ability you think I do, I wouldn't want to go. Hunting is so hard work. We're out in the forest all day, not eating or sleeping well. It's better to stay in the production team."

Old Peng laughed heartily, "If someone else said this, I definitely wouldn't believe it. After all, where can you earn a little over a hundred yuan a month? But I believe you. With your skills, you could easily earn that much."

Just as Chen Fan was about to speak, Old Peng continued, "I've taught you everything I can, except for archery and stone throwing. As for hunting and trap setting, you'll have to go into the forest to learn those."

"Hunter, hunter, the most important thing is finding the prey. If you can't even find the prey, all that shooting, archery, throwing stones, setting traps, and poisoning are useless. Unfortunately, these skills can only be taught in the mountains, so I'm afraid you won't be able to learn them."

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "Don't be like that, Master Peng. If you can't teach me how to find prey, then teach me how to set traps."

Old Peng looked at him, puzzled, and said, "What's the point of setting traps if you can't even find prey? Besides, there's no need for traps in a place like Lujiawan."

Chen Fan coughed lightly and laughed, "I'm just killing time anyway, so I might as well learn something new while I still have some time. It doesn't take much effort."

Without any effort?

Old Peng was speechless.

(End of this chapter)