Chapter 2: Chapter 2 Breakthrough!
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Thud, thud, thud!
"Qingzi, are you home? Open the door!"
Shen Qing put away his thoughts.
The scroll in his sight was immediately retracted and disappeared.
"Coming, coming."
He walked to the door and opened it, a gust of cold wind rushed in: "Uncle, why are you here?"
Although Shen Qing had crossed over without parents, his father's side had a brother and a sister.
The reason they both survived without being left destitute was thanks to the uncle's support.
Uncle Shen Er was silent for a moment, untied a piece of meat from his waist: "This is a pheasant I caught a few days ago, it's all smoked now. Uncle doesn't have much more, you and your sister should eat sparingly."
"This..."
"Stop the nonsense." Shen Er casually threw the meat to Shen Qing, without time to brush off the snow on his shoulders, and turned to leave.
Shen Qing originally wanted to show some resolve, but looking at the meat in his hands, he instinctively couldn't let go.
When people are poor, their will is shortened.
Suddenly Shen Qing seemed to think of something and hurriedly gave the pheasant to Shen Fang, and rushed out into the wind and snow.
"Uncle, uncle, wait a moment, I have something to ask you."
Shen Er, who was walking in front, stopped and turned back: "What's the matter, Qingzi?"
Shen Qing didn't feel any embarrassment, bowed his head, and said, "Uncle, I lost my arrow today, can I borrow an arrow to use?"
Shen Er looked at Shen Qing, sighed, and said, "Follow me."
Shen Qing quickly said, "Thank you, uncle."
Uncle Shen Er's house wasn't far from his residence, just in front of the house and behind it.
His house was on the slope, and Uncle Shen Er was at the bottom of the slope, taking a small path, just a few steps.
Uncle's house had two sons, plus an aunt, with four mouths to feed.
As an old hunter in the village, uncle hunted in autumn and winter, gathering ginseng in spring and summer. Even if the boss in the county city took a cut, he could earn 50 to 60 wen a day, which could be exchanged for five pounds of food.
It seemed pretty good, enough for the family to scrape by.
But in reality, it wasn't nearly enough.
Salt, iron needed money, cloth, oil, tea needed money, changing hunting gear needed money too, not to mention various harsh levies and miscellaneous taxes.
Although each was not much, added together it was enough to crush a person.
Walking behind, Shen Qing saw the uncle in his thirties already looking like he was in his fifties or sixties, even his back slightly hunched.
After a while, the two came to a dirt-clad house.
Compared to Shen Qing's house, uncle's house was visibly much bigger and more solid.
"Hu Zi's mother, open the door!"
Aunt Wang heard the sound and opened the door.
As a woman in the mountains, Wang was not good-looking, even said to be a bit ugly.
Dark skin, large bones, appearing as strong as a man.
"Wife, get an arrow for Qingzi." Uncle said directly after entering the door.
Aunt Wang didn't say much either, turned around to get the arrow, and whispered in complaint to uncle Shen Er: "We don't have many arrows at home either!"
Wang took down the bamboo tube hanging on the wall, pulled out a feathered arrow, thought for a moment, and added two more.
Then handed it to Shen Qing's hand and instructed: "Auntie is not saying she can't part with these few arrows, Qingzi, you know it's not easy for your uncle's family either, don't lose them casually."
"Thank you, aunt." Shen Qing didn't look closely, directly tucked them into his arms gratefully. He stood at the door, took the dim light, and looked inside.
The two cousins were in the main room grinding the hunting gear, and when they saw him come, they greeted him with a smile.
"Brother Qingzi, want to come in and sit?"
"With this great snow, I'd better go back early. I have to go up the mountain in the morning. Let's go to town together when the snow stops."
"Alright!"
Shen Qing turned his head and said: "Uncle, aunt, you all continue your work, I'll head back first."
After Shen Qing left, Wang closed the door and said to Shen Er: "I heard that the youngest sister is now given to Linfeng Hall's master as a concubine by the Zhao family?"
Shen Er agreed: "Happened not long ago."
Wang tentatively said, "Can the youngest sister talk to the Martial Arts Hall to let Shanwa enter? When Shanwa becomes a martial master, our family's days will be much better in the future. Shanwa is her biological nephew, you are her real second brother."
Shen Er snorted: "You think the Martial Arts Hall is yours? You say enter and enter? I've already inquired. Just to enter the outer gate requires ten taels of silver. We ask the youngest sister for help, this amount of money would also be at least five or six taels, not a small sum."
Wang said, "Today, Chen's son said someone in the city wants to buy a wife, offering five taels of silver, Xiao Fang isn't too young…"
When Shen Er heard this, he subconsciously looked Wang up and down and said: "Can the Chen family really have this good intention? Back then they were eating at my brother's house after he was gone, if I hadn't stopped, they wouldn't have left a piece of meat for their siblings. Just tricking you these ignorant womenfolk."
Wang fell silent, and after a while, said in a slightly complaining tone: "Now the heavy snow won't stop, don't always think of their siblings, consider Shanwa and Hu Zi more."
"I know. I'm aware."
...
Behind Shen Qing's house was a bamboo forest, bent to the ground under the heavy snow.
Among them, a bent large bamboo had a block of wood hanging on it, part of its center leveled.
It was full of dense pits.
This was where Shen Qing usually practiced archery.
Returning home and retrieving his bow, Shen Qing took the borrowed arrows from his uncle's house and skillfully placed one on the bowstring.
Shen Qing drew the bow fully, keeping a distance of three feet between the bow and his arm.
Whoosh!
Fifty paces away, the feathered arrow left the bow, shooting into the edge of the block of wood, nearly missing the target.
Shen Qing, expressionless, nocked another arrow.
This bow was left by his father before he died, made of elmwood, with deer tendons as the string.
Although not much of a bow, it was significantly better than those single-piece wood or bamboo hunting bows.
It could at least strike wild boars or wolves, while the latter could only strike pheasants or rabbits.
Such a bow could be sold for one tael of silver, one of his few assets.
Whoosh!
Another arrow flew out.
It missed the target.
Shen Qing continued practicing archery, one after another...
He didn't know how many times he practiced, until the sky was draped with a layer of black, he finally stopped.
At this time, Shen Qing glanced at the crude panel in his sight, his face couldn't help but show some smiles.
[Skill: Bow Technique (Entry Level)]
[Progress: 100/100 points]
[Status: Can be enhanced]
[Note: "The way of Heaven is to be ever vigorous. The gentleman makes unremitting self-improvement." Continuing practice can break through the skills progress.]
"Finally, enough!"
Without any hesitation, Shen Qing mentally commanded: "Break through for me!"
There was a muffled sound in his mind, the progress value in the crude panel quickly jumped, likened to the fuel dispenser screen from his previous life when refueling.
When the progress number returned to zero, the panel in his sight suddenly shook.
[Current Skill: Bow Technique (Skilled)]
[Progress: 0/200]
Shen Qing seemed to feel something, his eyes glued firmly to his hands.
He saw his hands visibly sprouting calluses, the muscles on his arms becoming noticeably stronger and more powerful.
This feeling was like... just like he really practiced archery for a long time…
Various essentials of bow techniques floated in his mind.
Shen Qing squinted his eyes slightly, drew out a feathered arrow again, nocked and drew the bowstring.
With a long stretch of the ape arms, the bow was fully drawn like the moon.
The set of actions became extremely proficient.
Twang!
The bowstring vibrated.
A hundred paces away, an arrow hit the bullseye, the feathered tail shuddered!
The snow on the large bamboo fell with a rustle.
The bent bamboo trunk slowly began to straighten.
The excited Shen Qing slowly put down the bow in his hand, looking at the ink wash-like crude panel in his sight.
He realized that this seemingly crude panel might be his fundamental basis for establishing himself in this world.
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Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone