Transmigration begins with archery training

Shit, hang up?

Chen Sanshi didn't react for a moment.

Even with a bow and arrows, he wasn't very confident of hitting his prey.

After all, hunting is a skill.

If it were that easy, everyone would be eating meat long ago.

But now that there's a panel on it, the situation is quite different!

"What are you standing there for? Is there something wrong with the arrow?"

Old Xu waved his hand in front of the dazed boy.

Chen Sanshi snapped out of his reverie and quickly made up an excuse: "It's nothing, I just remembered my dad."

"Sigh~ Your father was a good man, what a pity!"

When the original owner's father was mentioned, Old Xu sighed deeply.

Chen Sanshi didn't say anything more. He paid the copper coins, took the goods, and left immediately.

He carried his bow and arrows, walking and stopping intermittently, until he arrived at the foot of Tiger Head Mountain, which was more than ten miles away.

The mountain is the closest place to Poyang County where there is game, and it is also the source of livelihood for many hunters.

Chen Sanshi had just recovered from a serious illness and had walked such a long distance, leaving him breathless. He sat on a rock and rested for a long time before he could recover.

He carefully examined the bow and arrows left by his father.

From a structural perspective, it is a typical recurve bow.

The bow is made of bamboo, with willow wood as the bow fillet, hard wood as the bow tip, and ox sinew as the string. The draw weight is about forty pounds, which is still considered a soft bow.

Chen Sanshi raised his bow, and the previous panel reappeared in his mind.

Skill: Archery (Beginner)

Progress: (20/100)

[Effect: None]

This time, undisturbed, he was able to calm down and figure out the system's function.

Simply put, it's the liver!

As long as he keeps doing something diligently and repeatedly, he will make progress, and once the progress is complete, he will definitely make a breakthrough.

"If I practice hard, won't I have a chance to become the best archer in the entire Poyang County?"

Chen Sanshi's heart was filled with hope. Recalling the wisdom his father had taught him when he was young, he slowly raised his bow and arrow.

"Is a bow that weighs forty pounds really that heavy?"

He struggled to draw the bow, almost gritting his teeth to pull it fully. He couldn't imagine what kind of people could draw a stone bow like those in legends.

"Stand upright with a straight body, exert force gently, hold the bow properly, nock the arrow calmly, push forward and move backward, and the bow is fully drawn."

Silently reciting the incantation, Chen Sanshi stood up straight, drew his bow, and aimed at a tree trunk about forty meters away, as thick as a person's embrace. He pushed the bow forward with his left hand, pulled the bowstring with three fingers of his right hand, aimed slightly downward, and released the arrow.

"call out--"

The arrow flew off course, deviating from its target and striking another tree...

Undeterred, Chen Sanshi immediately took another arrow from his quiver, aimed at his target, and fired another shot.

This time, the arrow struck the grass directly.

"Come again!"

Chen Sanshi fired five shots in succession and finally hit the tree trunk.

He stepped forward and carefully pulled the arrow out of the tree trunk, repeating the previous action.

After several repetitions, I summarized the pattern of improvement in archery skills.

As long as you shoot an arrow with all your might, regardless of whether it hits or not, you can increase your proficiency.

If you're not focused enough, it won't work.

Furthermore, the progress boost is greater after successfully hitting the target.

After firing more than sixty arrows in a row, Chen Sanshi started to cramp up.

His body was already weak, and coupled with malnutrition, it was already quite remarkable that he could ejaculate so many times in a row.

Fortunately, with each arrow shot, his proficiency improved, and his accuracy increased over time, rarely missing his target at a distance of twenty paces.

Skill: Archery (Beginner)

Progress: (70/100)

[Effect: None]

He was close to mastering the basics, but Chen Sanshi had very little energy left.

After resting for a while, he began to wander through the woods with his bow and arrows, hoping to use his remaining strength to hunt some meat to take back and eat.

Unfortunately, this area is too close to the town, and most of the easy prey have already been caught.

He wandered around until evening before finding a few wild pigeons, but they were too far away to hit.

"You always came up empty-handed when fishing in your past life, and now you're empty-handed when hunting too?"

Fortunately, it wasn't completely empty.

Before descending the mountain, Chen Sanshi found a patch of wild shepherd's purse, quickly dug it out with his bare hands, stuffed it into his pocket, and then went down the mountain to go home.

On his way, he came to the market and learned that the price of grain had risen again.

Due to consecutive years of poor harvests, the price of rice in Poyang County has skyrocketed to 100 wen per dou (a unit of dry measure), and the price of meat is even more outrageous, with a jin (a unit of weight) of pork costing 17 wen. Add to that oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, cloth, firewood, charcoal, candles, and all sorts of exorbitant taxes and levies...

Chen Sanshi could not imagine how many ordinary people would not survive this winter.

He figured the price of grain would rise again, so he simply used all the copper coins he had left to buy rice and mixed grain flour, plus a few salted duck eggs.

"One peck of rice and half a peck of mixed flour are enough for two people to eat for three to five days. If we replace them all with millet mixed with bran, they can last for a few more days."

But Chen Sanshi had no choice.

Since I'm going to be a hunter in the future, I absolutely can't eat chaff anymore, which has no nutritional value. I need to make sure I have enough physical strength at all times, otherwise I won't even have the strength to run if I encounter any danger in the mountains.

He was already starving, so he grabbed the food and quickened his pace, wanting to go home and start a fire to cook.

"Hey, little stone!"

Just as I was about to reach my doorstep, someone suddenly called my name from behind.

Chen Sanshi turned around, and a tall, burly man appeared in front of him.

Qin Xiong.

There was a notorious bully in the town, with a group of hooligans under his command. He made money by lending money at exorbitant interest rates and buying and selling respectable women. Many poor people in the town were ruined and killed by him.

"Good heavens, a bow and arrow?!"

Qin Xiong stared at the bow and arrows behind Chen Sanshi, his surprise mixed with amusement: "So, you 'scholar' are planning to go hunting in the mountains too?"

"boy."

Chen Sanshi avoided him, taking a half step back and asking, "Brother Qin, is there something you need?"

Qin Xiong smirked: "What about that matter from last time? How's your decision?"

Last time?

Chen Sanshi's heart skipped a beat, and unpleasant memories flooded his mind.

Six months ago, after my father passed away, our family became very poor.

Just then, Qin Xiong came knocking on the door, and the original owner of this body had the idea of ​​selling Gu Xinlan for money.

If it were him, he would never do such a thing.

"Brother Qin."

Chen Sanshi refused, saying, "I've thought it through, I don't need your money."

Upon hearing this, Qin Xiong's face instantly darkened: "Have you really thought this through?"

"Really, there's no need, Brother Qin."

Chen Sanshi clutched the grain in his arms tightly, took a detour home, and felt somewhat uneasy.

In his memory, Qin Xiong was not someone who would easily give up, and this matter was probably not over yet.

It's true that good fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly.

Before they could even find a place to eat, they were targeted by a bully.

Chen Sanshi touched the quiver at his waist.

A bow and five arrows were his greatest source of confidence as he lived at the bottom of society in a chaotic world.

It's unclear what changes the progress bar will bring to him after he gets started with it.

"You need to fill your stomach before you have the energy to practice archery!"

Chen Sanshi pushed open the door and found that Lan Jie'er had not returned yet.

She spent her mornings at the tailor shop and her afternoons washing clothes for the women of wealthy families; she was very busy and hardworking.

He took the initiative to chop firewood and start a fire, preparing the meal in advance.

White rice served with salted duck eggs and boiled wild vegetable soup.

For many families, this is already a very good meal.

When Gu Xinlan returned home after finishing her work, she was surprised to see a hot meal ready for her to eat for the first time in her life: "Brother Shi, where did you get white rice and salted duck eggs?"

"Eat."

Chen Sanshi gestured for him to sit down, then grabbed his chopsticks and wolfed down his food.

He was starving.

"Brother Shi..."

"Ok?"

After eating for a while, Chen Sanshi realized that Gu Xinlan hadn't touched her chopsticks at all.

Her eyes had reddened at some point, and glistening tears clung to her eyelashes, trembling as she choked out, "Can...can you not sell me?"

"what?"

Chen Sanshi was stunned, a little confused.

"I heard that Brother Shi did some business with Qin Xiong today..."

Gu Xinlan's voice trembled.

If it weren't for this, where would the family get the money to buy white rice, or even salted duck eggs?

She frantically pulled a patched purse from her waist, poured out a few copper coins, and pleaded, "Brother Shi, I was wrong."

"I won't persuade you to go to work anymore. Just stay home and study. I can earn money and pay the taxes. Please, don't sell me."

Qin Xiong's reputation is known to everyone in Poyang County.

If it falls into his hands, it will most likely be sold to a brothel.

The reason Gu Xinlan has stayed with the Chen family all these years is because Chen Sanshi's father bought her from a slave trader, preventing her from becoming a prostitute, and she is grateful for that kindness.

In the end, is it still impossible to escape a fate worse than death?

"Sister Lan, you're overthinking it."

Chen Sanshi understood; he guessed that someone was spreading rumors.

He comforted her, saying, "You are a member of the Chen family, how could I possibly sell you?"

Having someone as kind as an older sister by his side when he first arrived was incredibly precious, and he would never refuse such a kindness; otherwise, it would be too pathetic.

Gu Xinlan remained silent, sitting there sobbing, clearly not believing it.

Helpless, Chen Sanshi grabbed her swollen hand and led her into the inner room: "The grain was what I got by selling books, not from Qin Xiong."

Gu Xinlan was stunned when she saw the empty desk and the bow and arrow hanging on the wall: "Brother Shi, you sold all your books and documents and bought a bow and arrow instead?"

"Correct."

Chen Sanshi patiently explained, "I plan to follow in my father's footsteps and hunt to support the family. How can I let a woman like you work so hard, even washing your hands raw?"

"To support the family..."

Gu Xinlan never expected to hear Shi Ge'er say those words.

She realized that her festering hand was still being held by the other person, and feeling somewhat ashamed, she tried to pull it back, but instead, she was pulled into their arms.

"Do not worry!"

Chen Sanshi understood that the other party was extremely insecure, and said in a deep voice, "Father said that you were going to be my wife, how can I give my wife away?"

Gu Xinlan was startled by the sudden hug. Feeling the warmth, she looked up at the other person in disbelief: "Brother Shi, you...you don't look down on me because I'm of lowly status?"

"I don't mind it."

Chen Sanshi firmly replied, "I'm too busy liking it to even think about it."

"Brother Shi, you are the only family I have left in this world, don't lie to me."

Gu Xinlan stopped trying to break free. After a few attempts, she finally pressed her face against the other person's chest, savoring the rare warmth.

"Sister Lan".

"What's wrong?"

"I'm a little sore all over today. Let's get into bed, and you can give me a massage?"

"it is good."

……

"Hey... Brother Shi, isn't this a massage?"

"I'll press it for you."

"Mmm, mmm~"