Ink panel: Hunting the sun and surveying the sky from the bow

The Chen family's house is located in the center of Hongshan Village.

Compared with the simple earthen houses built with mud and straw by the surrounding villagers, the Chen family's house with blue bricks as the main body is particularly conspicuous and out of place.

Chen Yuan, who rushed back from Shen Qing's house, pushed the house and walked in.

In the courtyard, the snow had been cleared.

The second and third sons of the Chen family, Chen Tai, were holding stone locks to exercise their strength.

"Brother." Chen Tai put down the stone lock and asked, "Is everything going well? Did Shen Fang agree?"

"It was almost possible to persuade it, but Shen Qing happened to come back and messed it up." Chen Yuan walked back to the house and said regretfully.

The youngest Chen An interrupted, "If you ask me, there's no need to go through so much trouble. Just tie her up and send her over."

"Song Dongjia runs a brothel and is in need of people. He is willing to offer a high price of thirty taels to recruit beautiful women. If you miss this opportunity, you will miss it forever."

"Shen Fang is not bad looking and should be worth the price. After we get the money, maybe the three of us brothers can enter the martial arts hall, become martial arts masters, move to the county town, and don't have to stay in this mountain valley."

Chen Yuan glanced at his younger brother and said, "Hongshan Village is 50 to 60 miles away from the county town. Now it's snowing heavily and the wind is strong. The road is not easy to walk. Will you carry such a big person or will I carry her?"

"Wait until the snow stops. If the Shen siblings still don't agree, we will do it. When the dealers in the city come, it will be much more convenient for us to rent a mule cart or a horse carriage to go to the city."

"Before that, let me see if I can persuade them. If they do something stupid, we can save a lot of effort."

"Brother, as long as you have an idea." Chen An suddenly remembered something and asked, "Brother, is the Nine Merits Jin martial arts that Dad gave you still there?"

"It's still in my hands, what's wrong?"

Chen An said, "I suddenly had some insights these two days and want to think about it again. If you don't need it, lend it to me for two days."

"Okay, I'll find it for you later. Recently, you have all started to train your strength, and you consume a lot of meat. If you have nothing to do tomorrow, remember to go to the mountains to hunt some game and bring it back for nourishment. In martial arts, training the body is the most important."

Chen An agreed, "Brother, my second brother and I know it, and we plan to go to the mountains tomorrow."

Chen Yuan looked around and found that there were only a few brothers at home, so he asked curiously, "Where is Dad?"

Chen Tai, who had already picked up the stone lock again, replied, "He said in the morning that he was going on a long trip to meet a friend and would be back almost tomorrow."

"Oh."

...

Shen Fang cleaned up all the pheasants and picked up the feathers one by one.

She held a pot of meat and said reluctantly: "I have a small appetite and can't finish so much. How about leaving the remaining half to dry and eat later?"

"It's just one chicken, how can the two of us eat half of it?" Shen Qing sat under the stove and made a fire and said: "We two eat bran cakes every day, and we can't even defecate. We need some oil and water to moisten our stomachs."

When she said this, Shen Fang's face was a little embarrassed, as if she had bad memories.

"Relax, I will go up the mountain again tomorrow, and I will definitely not be empty-handed."

In the end, Shen Fang couldn't beat Shen Qing.

The whole pheasant was processed by the brother and sister.

A bowl of hot chicken soup was gently placed on the table by Shen Fang.

The golden chicken soup exuded a faint meaty aroma, and a few green chopped green onions floated on the soup.

Although only some salt was added without any other seasonings, the deliciousness of the ingredients themselves was enough to make people linger.

The pheasant, which had been cooked for a long time, was tender and juicy.

With a gentle tear, you can feel the texture of the chicken and the fragrance.

It tastes much better than the bran cakes they eat every day.

Shen Qing picked up a bowl of chicken soup and drank it. His whole body was warm, as if he was soaking in a hot spring and felt comfortable.

"Finally, there is a chance to worship the five internal organs."

In the winter, there is meat to eat and hot soup.

After more than a month in this world, Shen Qing felt that he was finally like a person.

He put down the bowl, scooped himself a bowl of hot soup again, and asked: "Sister, what did Chen Yuan say to you today?"

Shen Fang took a sip of chicken soup, held the bowl in her palm to warm her hands, and recalled: "It's still the same as before, asking me if I am willing to sell it to a wealthy family in the city as a maid."

"What do you think?"

"I want to try. If I go, I can get some money, and you, brother, will be better off."

Shen Qing knew that ideas like Shen Fang were very common in Da'an County.

Many poor families squeezed into the rich families in the city and were willing to be slaves in order to get a bite of food.

For people like them, serving the rich is a good way out.

If one day they can please the master and get rewards, they can still stand out.

At least they don't have to starve to death.

Shen Qing pondered for a while and said, "Sister, do you want to listen to me?"

"You are the only male in the family, I will definitely listen to you."

"If it's me, you don't want to go even if you are a concubine."

Now in the Great Zhou Kingdom, people are divided into three, six, and nine classes.

Emperor, noble, official, doctor, martial, farmer, worker, craftsman, slave.

The so-called "maid" is simply a slave who signed a contract to sell himself.

They live in the mountains as hunters and get what they need for life through hunting. They have a higher status than those yachtsmen who have no fixed place to live, but lower than farmers with fields.

After all, the household registration belongs to the agricultural registration.

As for slaves, they are the lowest class of people in Zhou State, with a status only slightly higher than that of prostitutes.

Once they become slaves, they become the private property of their masters and can be killed at will.

Their descendants will also be slaves for generations, with no chance of turning over a new leaf.

As a maid in a wealthy family, she may seem glamorous, but in fact, she is in danger of losing her job.

Of course, there is a more important point that Shen Qing did not tell Shen Fang.

Chen Yuan may not want her to be a maid.

And he sold his sister for money.

Shen Qing asked himself, he could not do such a shameless thing.

The money was hot in his hand.

"Okay, sister, listen to you. I will refuse Chen Yuan when he comes again."

Perhaps because she felt Shen Qing's care, Shen Fang did not show much expression on the surface, but she was very happy in her heart.

"Drink the soup quickly, otherwise it will get cold in a while."

A pot of chicken soup was finished.

The hungry bodies seemed to have been nourished by the rain and dew.

Both of them looked much rosier.

After packing up a little, Shen Qing did not delay. He grabbed his bow and arrow and went into the bamboo forest behind the house, intending to practice archery while the weather was still bright.

Time was running out, and he did not want to waste too much effort.

I don’t know if it was because of the chicken soup, but Shen Qing did not feel as cold as before when standing in the snow.

Just as Shen Qing was pulling the bow, a cry came from the village.

“Murder! The Chen brothers killed people!”

The cry spread throughout the village in an instant.

Shen Qing saw many people in the village walking out of their homes and rushing towards the direction of the Chen family.

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