Chapter 111: Informing

At lunchtime, Shen Lie brought the two children back home, and Sang Luo finally saw the so-called slingshot.

The slingshot she had in mind was a Y-shaped branch with rubber bands attached to the ends, holding a piece of leather to cradle stones. Of course, there were no rubber bands here, just similar materials.

However, the actual slingshot that Sang Luo received from the delighted Shen An was more like a small bow and arrow.

It was indeed a bow.

Made of bamboo, it had both a bow and a string. The difference from a traditional bow was a small piece of leather in the middle of the string to hold stones instead of arrows. It was small, perfect for someone of Shen An’s age.

Shen An was very fond of his slingshot. Shen Ning, on the other hand, wasn’t as interested, and she just watched her brother play with a smile.

The siblings had already smelled the food, so they put away the slingshot and went out to wash their hands. Shen Lie then turned to Sang Luo and said, “Yours needs to be bigger than An’s and Ning’s. I’ll make you a new one this afternoon and hang some leaves beside the house for practice. Once you’re good with the slingshot, I’ll make you a bow and arrow.”

Standing close, Sang Luo had to look up to see Shen Lie. It was at this moment she realized she was not sixteen but twenty-eight. Either she saw her own reflection in Shen Lie’s eyes, or it was the young man’s focused yet tender gaze that made her heart skip a beat.

She quickly smiled and stepped back naturally. “Alright, let’s wash our hands and eat.”

As she turned away, she let out a small sigh of relief.

Eighteen, she reminded herself. Next time, I should keep a bit more distance.

This thought proved unnecessary because, by mid-afternoon, Shen Lie had already finished making her slingshot and hung up the leaves for practice. He personally taught her how to use it.

Being almost half-embraced by the opposite sex was a new experience for Sang Luo. In her past life, she never knew this feeling. Now, she couldn’t describe if it was awkward, uncomfortable, or something else. Perhaps Shen Lie seemed too young in her eyes, but in reality, he was tall and strong, towering over her by more than a head.

It felt off. Even though Shen Lie was careful to maintain distance and not touch her, and was genuinely teaching her techniques, his proximity and presence were overwhelming.

Sang Luo realized that Shen Lie was not like Shen An or Shen Ning; he was entirely different.

Learning the slingshot was more exhausting for Sang Luo than walking ten miles. She kept reminding herself that he was only eighteen, just a high school student.

Luckily, she wasn’t slow to learn. She remembered all the techniques and gradually managed on her own, eventually sending him away.

Shen Lie was very cooperative and left quickly.

While Sang Luo only felt awkward and uncomfortable, Shen Lie’s heart was pounding. It was the first time he had ever felt this way. If Sang Luo hadn’t seemed unaffected and focused on learning, he wouldn’t have been able to keep calm.

He walked down the mountain, stopped behind a ridge, and pressed his hand to his chest. Even through his thick coat, he could feel his heart pounding as if it was about to leap out of his chest.

The last time his heart raced like this was when he encountered a small wolf pack in the mountains, but this was different—joyful, excited, and nervous. He couldn’t describe the happiness he felt just from standing close to her.

Shen Lie looked back toward the small courtyard halfway up the mountain, stood there for a while until his heartbeat steadied, and then headed towards the hill where Shen An and the others were practicing with their slingshots.

…

Shen Jin had managed to get his hands on a slingshot, sharing it with Shen An and Shen Ning. When their elder cousin saw it, he didn’t say anything but smiled and taught Shen Jin separately.

Shen Jin was overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear.

Shen Yin and Shen Tie were too young to use the slingshot, so they watched from the side, occasionally asking their siblings to let them hold it for a moment, finding it fascinating.

The children were excited about collecting stones. Any stone suitable for use as a pellet was considered a treasure.

One evening, Sang Luo saw two little ones happily returning with a bag full of stones they had collected. She paused the work she was doing on Shen Lie’s clothes and used some scraps of fabric to sew two small cross-body bags for the children, each one specifically for holding their stones.

The two children were very excited. They washed the stones clean and let them dry. The next morning, when they went to get their slingshots after their run, the small cross-body bags came in handy.

In just a couple of days, children from the four other families at the foot of the mountain each had a small cross-body bag, all made to imitate the ones Shen An and Shen Ning had. Only Shen Jin didn’t have one, but he didn’t mind. His clothes had small pockets sewn in, and since his mother wasn’t home, he could put stones in the pockets without being discovered. He was thrilled just to have a slingshot to practice with.

Shen Jin even asked Shen An about their morning run time and would sneak out before dawn, while Shen Yin and Shen Tie were still asleep, to join the small group for their morning exercise.

Their little training sessions were progressing well, but then another issue arose. On what was probably the fifth morning of their training, Zhou Lizheng came to the village. Unusually, he didn’t carry any announcements or start ringing the gong upon entering the village; instead, he went straight to the house of Zhou Cunzheng.

When Zhou Jiawulang ran up to the small courtyard on the hillside to deliver the message, Shen Lie and Sang Luo found out that someone from the village had reported them to Lizheng.

As for what the report was about, it naturally accused them of suspicious behavior and having ulterior motives.

Zhou Wulang said, “My father said that Brother Lie should come down to our house. My seventh uncle is there to ask questions, and having him there means just one person from each family needs to go to explain the situation.”

After delivering the message, Zhou Wulang ran off.

Shen Lie and Sang Luo exchanged a glance, both thinking the same thing. Shen Lie first took out a package from under the bed, left for a while, and came back empty-handed.

“I’m going down the mountain.”

Having hidden what shouldn’t be exposed, Sang Luo felt reassured and nodded.

…

At the Zhou family house, two bamboo slingshots were placed on the table next to Zhou Lizheng.

Zhou Cunzheng sneered, “Such small toys made for the kids at home, and someone with twisted intentions reports us? Suspicious behavior? What suspicious behavior? If they blow this out of proportion and accuse us of something serious, we cannot bear that responsibility, neither can our entire Zhou family clan!”

The mention of the Zhou family clan made Zhou Lizheng nervous. “Jiu Zhang, it’s best not to say such things lightly. It hasn’t escalated to such a serious matter.”

Zhou Cunzheng snorted, “You’re the Lizheng, but if we had a Lizheng who was against us, wouldn’t he use this to make trouble? I need to know who is so envious of our Zhou family.”

Zhou Lizheng lowered his eyes and remained silent.

Just then, Shen Lie, Chen Dashan, Shi Dalang, and Lu Erlang arrived. Zhou Lizheng looked up and said, “You all know why you’re here, right? Let’s hear it.”

Shi Dalang, the oldest, entered and immediately protested, “Who can’t stand seeing others do well?”

He pointed to his empty right sleeve and said angrily, “Look at my arm, lost on the battlefield. Our village lost so many people, and only the four of us survived, thanks to Alie and Dashan having some skills and hunting techniques to keep us alive. After such a hard lesson, are we not allowed to train our children and nephews? What, is the court no longer going to recruit soldiers? Or will our sons and nephews be exempt from being drafted? Should I just watch my sons and nephews lose their lives or limbs on the battlefield too?”

Lu Erlang also spoke out in anger, “Exactly, Lizheng, who is so heartless to falsely accuse us?”

Zhou Lizheng couldn’t say a word.

The Great Qian Dynasty encouraged neighbors to report suspicious activities, and informants were protected. Zhou Lizheng knew about Shi Dalang and the others’ situation. They were the vanguard who ventured deep into enemy territory, only to be abandoned by the main force. Their commander retreated with his cronies, leaving the vanguard to fend for themselves.

Knowing this, and worried they might harbor resentment, Zhou Lizheng came to see for himself. Now, looking at the children’s slingshots, he felt like rolling his eyes at the accusation of making illegal weapons.

Moreover, Shi Dalang’s words weren’t wrong. Seeing his empty sleeve reminded Zhou Lizheng that surviving the battlefield and wanting to train their children to better protect themselves was completely normal.

He waved his hand, “Alright, I just came to have a look. There’s nothing wrong with training your children, but keep it within reasonable limits.”

He directed this last remark at Zhou Cunzheng.

“They are of the same clan and family. If something happens, it won’t just affect Zhou Jiuzhang’s family.”

Zhou Cunzheng understood the warning look from his clan brother and smiled, “Don’t worry, Seventh Brother. Do you think I don’t have a good grasp of this situation?”

Zhou Lizheng nodded, “As long as you understand. Alright, there’s nothing else. You all can get back to your work.”

With that, he turned to leave.

“Seventh Brother,” Zhou Cunzheng followed him a few steps to the door and lowered his voice, “You have to let me know who has made me their target, right?”

He tentatively mentioned a name.

Zhou Lizheng looked at him and shook his head, “It’s not him. No need to dig any deeper. You families have been doing well lately, and it’s attracted attention.”

He was aware of this through the documents he handled.

After seeing him off, Zhou Cunzheng returned to the main room. Shen Alie asked, “Is this trouble because of my family?”

If there was a recent grudge, it might be due to him beating up his opportunistic third uncle.

Zhou Cunzheng shook his head, “No, it should be another family.”

He had initially suspected Shen San, but his clan brother had denied it. Given the rules, his clan brother might not say much, but with Zhou Cunzheng involving the entire Zhou clan in the conversation, if he had guessed correctly, his clan brother wouldn’t cover for someone.

“It’s probably because your families have been doing well in the county, combined with the recent grain purchases, that you’ve attracted attention. But don’t worry. We just need to be cautious and carry on as usual.”

With Zhou Cunzheng’s family involved, Zhou Lizheng truly wouldn’t make things difficult for them over such a sensitive matter.

Shen Lie nodded and said, “We’ll need Uncle Zhou to keep an eye on things. Tomorrow morning, Dashan and I will head into the mountains. This time, we can’t come back empty-handed, and we might be gone for a few days.”

This trip into the mountains was, of course, to find a way out for everyone. They should have left a couple of days ago, but they made some poisoned arrows, and it was safer for the two of them to carry these into the deep mountains for protection. Refining the poison took five or six days, which delayed their departure.

They were also prepared for the possibility of trouble while they were gone, though the chances were slim.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Cunzheng’s eyes lit up. “Good, good. It’s hard work for you both. Rest assured, I’ll look after things here. There’s no news from the county yet, and I’ve asked around with the Wang family, so it seems nothing has affected our Huainan area yet.”

After discussing matters, everyone went back to their homes.

When Shen Lie returned home, Sang Luo asked about the situation, and Shen Lie explained the gist of it.

Sang Luo sighed. This was a product of the system; even people from the same village were hard to trust.

Seeing her expression, Shen Lie said, “It’s just some slingshots for the kids, and with Uncle Zhou around, there’s no need to worry too much.”

Then he added, “Dashan said the medicine is almost ready. We should head into the mountains early tomorrow morning.”

They should have left earlier, but they stayed a few extra days waiting for the medicine to be ready. He was starting to feel a bit reluctant to leave.

Sang Luo was surprised to hear that Shen Lie was leaving the next morning. She said, “Alright, your clothes are finished. They’re folded on the bed. Try them on and see if they fit. If there’s anything wrong, I can fix it.”

She had been so absorbed in practicing with the slingshot that she had neglected her sewing. Shen Lie’s clothes were only finished today, just in time.

Shen Lie was pleased to hear that his clothes were ready. He smiled and said, “I’ll go take a look.”

He quickly went inside and saw the neatly folded clothes on the bed he shared with Shen An. The fabric was ordinary, but Shen Lie was very happy, more so than when she had bought him a set of clothes from a shop in the county.

He took off his outer clothes and tried on the new ones. They fit perfectly and were well-made, with fine stitching.

This was the first time since fleeing from famine that someone had genuinely cared about him, sewing clothes for him without expecting anything in return.

Shen Lie had only meant to try them on, but he was reluctant to take them off.

Sang Luo, soaking beans in the kitchen, saw Shen Lie come over in his new clothes. She looked him over and said, “It fits well, looks good.”

Shen Lie smiled, “It’s very fitting, and I like it a lot. Thank you.”

Sang Luo, casual as ever, said, “It’s nothing. We’re working together, after all.”

Over the past few days, Shen Lie had often gone to the mountains, bringing back thirteen wild chickens. Twelve were sold at Dongfu Restaurant when he went to the county for supplies, and one was eaten by the family.

Shen Lie picked up a new term from Sang Luo—working together.

He glanced at Sang Luo without showing any particular emotion. Seeing her smiling, he thought to himself, it would be good to keep working together like this.

He smiled and said, “I’ll change back and go into the mountains with Dashan to catch some wild chickens. This trip is mainly to find a hiding place, and I don’t know how many days we’ll be away. It could be ten days or half a month. The chickens we catch this time won’t be sold; you can keep them at home and eat one every few days.”

Hearing that he was concerned about food for the family while he was away warmed Sang Luo’s heart. She realized that she hadn’t worried much about him in return.

Thinking of this, she said, “When you go to the county for supplies this afternoon, buy a jar of rice wine.”

“Buy rice wine?”

Sang Luo nodded, “Yes, we have glutinous rice at home, and I know how to make it, but there’s not enough time. Buy a jar for me; I need it.”

Author’s note:

Rice wine, sweet wine, and rice wine were called ‘li’ in ancient times. I’ll use the modern term for convenience in reading. Other common items will be similarly treated in the text.