Chapter 40: Bird Hunting

Zuo Qi asked his disciple why she was so late. Pear Blossom, with a bitter expression, then recounted the incident of her eggs being stolen.

Zuo Qi frowned and said, “This person is really unreasonable, but in today’s world, it’s the strong who rule. If you’re dissatisfied, there’s nothing you can do. If you want to have a say, you need to be stronger than others.”

Seeing Pear Blossom puffing up her cheeks, ready to argue, he shot her a stern look and said, “Even if it’s justice, it still requires someone capable to carry it out, otherwise, it’s just like what happened to your family in the past.” Pear Blossom immediately fell silent.

Zuo Qi then took the bow off his back and said, “I’ve already taught you how to shoot before, but those were in static conditions. Your enemies won’t just stand still as targets, so today, we’ll practice shooting moving targets and shooting while in motion.”

Pear Blossom had long been accustomed to her master diving straight into the task at hand, so she quickly composed herself and, following his instructions, first observed his movements and noted the key points he broke down. Only then did she take the bow and arrows and begin practicing.

At first, she couldn’t even hit the target, let alone strike the bullseye.

Zuo Qi’s expression remained unchanged. From the moment she started practicing, he didn’t let her stop. He continuously called out, “Stand properly, steady your lower body, nock the arrow—draw the string—release the bow—brace your stance—aim—keep applying force and maintain it—good, release…”Over and over again. He neither scolded her when she missed nor praised her when she shot well.

Fortunately, Pear Blossom’s physical strength had improved significantly since before. Her arms were stronger, and at least she could fully draw the bow Zuo Qi had given her.

This was something Zuo Qi greatly appreciated about her. Most girls don’t have such strong arm strength, and many men aren’t even as strong as she was.

Zuo Qi had originally come from a background as an archer, so of course, his expertise was in archery, and that was what he focused on when teaching Pear Blossom.

They practiced for two whole hours, and Pear Blossom’s arms had become extremely sore from constantly drawing and releasing the bow. Only then did Zuo Qi say, “That’s enough for today.” Pear Blossom finally let out a sigh of relief and handed the bow back to him.

Due to the strict control over weapons by the government, items like knives, swords, and bows were difficult for ordinary people to obtain, except in military camps. Even in places like escort agencies, most people used sticks or simple blades for self-defense, and if there were any special requests, one had to register them with the authorities.

Therefore, even though Zuo Qi wanted to leave the bow with Pear Blossom, she couldn’t take it with her.

He took out a small object from his sleeve and handed it to Pear Blossom. “This thing can help train your aim and feel. You can use it to practice whenever you have some free time.”

Pear Blossom took it and found that it was a slingshot made of iron and wood, with a bowstring that felt both tough and elastic. As soon as she touched it, she couldn’t put it down. “Thank you, Master,” Pear Blossom said obediently. “I’ll use it to hunt birds when I get back, and try to catch thirty sparrows in a day.”

Zuo Qi didn’t doubt her statement. After all, when it came to stubbornness, no one could compare to Pear Blossom. He gave another piece of advice. “Your speed is beyond normal now, and you can perform well with some tricks. The skills I’ve taught you should be practiced well. In time, they’ll definitely come in handy.”

The world was unpredictable, and no one knew when things might become chaotic. Archery and throwing knives were reliable skills for self-defense.“When you get back, make sure to practice your horse stance and your father’s boxing moves. Once you master them, even the simplest moves will be enough to defeat your enemies.

Next time we meet, I’ll teach you some new boxing techniques, but the most important thing is to build your stamina. Stamina combined with boxing will have unexpected results. Your reaction speed is inconsistent, sometimes good, sometimes not. I’d like to personally train your close combat skills, but there’s so much going on at camp, I can’t go out often.

If you can find a martial arts master with good hand-to-hand combat skills to guide you, that would be ideal.”

Realizing the matter was uncertain, Zuo Qi stopped talking about it, thinking that he’d have to find more opportunities to come back and teach this foolish apprentice.

But with so much going on, there wasn’t much he could say.Pear Blossom, hearing him mention her inconsistent reaction speed, had an idea of what he meant. When the system helped her, her reactions were fast, but without it, she couldn’t react in time. She quickly replied, “Master, I’ll find opportunities to practice my reaction speed and build my stamina. You saw how I managed to run up the mountain without resting.”

Regarding this, Zuo Qi had no comments. He nodded and then, with a serious expression, said, “We agreed that I would teach you martial arts, and you would protect the owner of the token. Don’t forget that.”

Pear Blossom replied, “I’ve never forgotten, Master.”

To be honest, hearing this promise from his foolish apprentice made Zuo Qi feel more at ease than anything. She was such an odd girl, yet she had a trustworthiness that was hard to ignore.

The only regret was that he couldn’t always be by her side to teach her. He could only let her figure things out on her own for now.

Zuo Qi didn’t have much teaching experience, and the young girl in front of him was too obedient. He couldn’t treat her the same way he treated the soldiers in the camp. There was nothing more to say, so he ended the meeting hastily.

Before leaving, he reminded her, “You need to learn to read. Otherwise, if I want to send a letter to you next time, you won’t be able to understand it. That won’t do.”Pear Blossom responded, “I understand, Master. I’ll learn to read.” If only her sister Dong could teach her.

After parting from Zuo Qi, Pear Blossom hurried home, not wanting her mother to worry. She didn’t mention the incident with the stolen eggs, as she had hunted two wild chickens that morning and sold them for ninety wen, treating it as though she had just hunted one less.

The work in the small courtyard was winding down. Because there weren’t enough bricks, the kitchen and two rooms on the east side had to use mud walls instead, and then they were covered with tiles. Everything was neat and didn’t look worse than brick houses.

Most of the villagers had finished building and left, leaving only the two Xiong brothers, Qin Laohan, and another skilled carpenter to finish the cleanup. They made a few tables, chairs, beds, and cabinets.

Pear Blossom couldn’t help at home, so she went to the fields to scare off the birds. With the slingshot Zuo Qi had given her, the birds that came to peck at the crops were in for a tough time.

One after another, they were shot down. First, Erniu and Dog came to collect the birds, and then more and more children from the village heard about Pear Blossom’s skills and came to watch.

Pear Blossom didn’t keep the birds she shot. They were small, and they were troublesome to deal with, with more bones than meat. The adults didn’t bother with them, so whoever found one took it home to eat.

In August and September, without any special holidays, the children had little meat to eat. If a chicken fell into the water, they plucked its feathers, rubbed some salt on it, wrapped it in lotus leaves, and buried it in the fire pit. When it was dug up, it made for a good meal, not to mention these fat little sparrows that had been eating rice.

Erniu also gathered a small basket of birds to take home, and in the evening, Xiong fried them in oil to serve as snacks for the men.

After another two or three days, the house was finally completed.Several families in the village had also begun harvesting the autumn crops. Mrs. Zeng, impatiently, came to Pear Blossom’s house several times, checking when they would finish the house so she could help harvest the rice.

The Dagen couple discussed it and decided to hold a simple meal for the villagers on the 28th of September, inviting them over to warm up the house.

So, in the next couple of days, Pear Blossom stopped selling the wild game she hunted in the city and kept it at home, waiting to host the feast when they moved into their new house.

Meanwhile, in the city, Murong Jin had been waiting for several days but still hadn’t seen the little girl. He felt guilty, and his eight-year-old younger brother Murong Shan, along with his elder sister, had been searching the city for her without success. He persuaded, “Big sister, maybe she only comes to the city once in a while. Should we keep looking for her?”

Murong Jin gritted her teeth. “If we’re going to look for her, she must have treasured that basket of eggs so much that she probably spent a long time saving those thirty eggs. Maybe her family was waiting for the money they could get from selling them urgently—”The more she spoke, the more frustrated she became. “Mother always says I’m reckless. I never thought so before, but after this, I realize sometimes I really am too domineering.”

Murong Shan, hearing his most admired older sister say such words, quickly responded, “It’s not all your fault. It’s the other thief who took our family’s basket of eggs. You only admitted your mistake because of that. Besides, that person didn’t even remember how many eggs she had, which caused this misunderstanding.”

Murong Jin sighed. “That’s true, but in the end, I acted rashly without thinking. She couldn’t fight back and couldn’t say anything. If I were in her place, I’d probably be heartbroken.”

Murong Shan looked at his sister, who no longer had her usual radiance, and continued to comfort her. “Sister, from now on, whenever I have time, I’ll come with Big Brother and Second Brother to look for her. As long as she comes to the city, we’ll definitely find her.”

Murong Jin wasn’t comforted and went home with a dejected look on her face.

On September 28th, Pear Blossom’s family invited guests to their new house, and Dagen and his wife went around notifying everyone to come for the meal the day before.

In the past, when the village held a feast, unless it was for a special invitation from close family, most households would only send one representative.

The Xiang family was definitely not invited, but when they reached Liu’s house, Dagen hesitated.

To be honest, he didn’t want to have much to do with this family, but it was a village, and they were his own parents. He couldn’t ignore them, so in the end, he asked his wife to go in and say a word.

However, while waiting outside, Liu Youtie, who had just returned, saw him at the door and grinned with a mocking look. “What, not even daring to go into your own parents’ house? Are you here to ask for money? Feeling guilty?” Dagen didn’t want to bother with him and stepped a few paces away to distance himself.

Seeing Dagen’s reaction, Liu Youtie became inexplicably angry and pressed forward to ask, “I still haven’t asked you where you got the money for that brick house. If I find out my mother secretly gave you the money, I’ll bring people to tear down your house.”

Just as he finished speaking, Mrs. Liu, who had come to the door, overheard and scolded, “What nonsense are you talking? I gave you all my money, and you don’t even know it? Your big brother has been working hard outside all these years, enduring so much hardship, and you don’t even sympathize with him. And now you’re talking like this? How did I raise a son like you?”

Liu Youtie didn’t expect his mother to hear, and not daring to provoke her, he could only shut up in frustration.

Mrs. Xiong had already completed her task and didn’t want to stay to see the mother-son drama, so she dragged Dagen away.

Liu Youtie watched them leave and turned to his mother, “What were they here for? To ask you for money?” Mrs. Liu glared at him and grumbled, “Dagen is moving into his new house tomorrow and came to invite your father to dinner. Why are you thinking so much?”

Liu Youtie, finally realizing, tried to flatter, “I just thought since he’s been raised by the Xiang family for so many years, he must have picked up a lot of bad habits. I was just being cautious. You see, when they moved out, they had no money, but now they’ve built a courtyard. Where did the money come from? Who knows?”

“I told you, it’s from a reward when he was in the army.”

Liu Youtie sneered, “That’s just their side of the story. Who knows how they got it?” Mrs. Liu didn’t want to argue with her younger son, so she turned and entered the courtyard.

While Dagen and his wife were inviting guests, Pear Blossom was still out in the fields hunting birds. After several days of doing so, the birds had learned to avoid her land, so she moved to another area, where she found more birds, and her aim became more accurate.

Today, Dong Yun’s family was busy, so Pear Blossom volunteered to bring Fubao along, as she could hunt birds by the field and watch over the little one at the same time.

While hunting, she unexpectedly ran into people she didn’t want to see—Xiang Laoer’s son, Xiang Wulang, and Xiang Laosan’s son, Xiang Qilang. They immediately rushed over to the two cows and Fubao, shouting, “These are our family’s birds.” These two had bullied Erniu before, and he was immediately scolded.

Xiang Qilang even went so far as to snatch a bird from Fubao’s hand. Fubao, frightened, ran toward Pear Blossom in a panic. Pear Blossom, feeling sorry for her, quickly picked her up and held her in her arms, narrowing her eyes as she glared at the two boys.

“What do you want?”

Xiang Wulang, twelve years old and a few years younger than Pear Blossom, had grown accustomed to bullying the people from the main house, so he didn’t think much of Pear Blossom. Even though she had been making waves recently, to him, she was still the same old Pear Blossom, the “worthless girl.”

A few days ago, he saw Pear Blossom hunting birds, and the Xiang family’s children were so envious that they wanted to pick up the birds but couldn’t bring themselves to do it. Now that they finally saw an opportunity, they rushed to claim the birds.

“You’re hunting birds from our land. These birds belong to us, so give them to me!” Xiang Wulang looked at her with an attitude of entitlement.

Pear Blossom sneered. “These birds fly from place to place. Just now, they were in my land, then they flew here, and maybe they’ll fly somewhere else soon. How can you say they’re your birds? Did they write your name on them?”

Xiang Wulang was stumped but embarrassed and angrily shouted, “You shameless girl, what kind of language is that!”

Pear Blossom was no longer the same person she used to be, and she wouldn’t let him speak to her like that. Plus, Fubao had just been scared by the two, so without holding back, she took her slingshot and fired a stone at Xiang Wulang. Unfortunately, with Fubao in her arms, her aim was off, and the stone grazed his ear instead.

When Xiang Wulang saw that she dared to use a slingshot on him, he was so angry that he shouted, “You little brat dare to hit your father!”

Pear Blossom calmly moved Fubao onto her back and instructed her to hold onto her neck.

Then, she took a deep breath, raised her hand, and with a sharp sound, the stone from the slingshot flew straight toward Xiang Wulang, hitting the teeth that were exposed from his angry shouting. His front tooth instantly wobbled and bled.

Xiang Wulang screamed in pain and ran toward her to hit her.Before he could get close, Pear Blossom quickly loaded another stone onto the slingshot and fired again, hitting his right knee.

Xiang Wulang screamed in agony and fell to the nearby embankment. “If your mouth keeps running, next time I’ll give you another stone. If you come after my little brother or sister, I’ll hit you every time I see you.”

Xiang Wulang cried and cursed, “You little—”Before he could finish his insult, a sharp pain hit his mouth, and another tooth was knocked out. He screamed again.

Pear Blossom said, “Keep cursing. Every curse will cost you another tooth. Let’s see how many teeth you have left.”

Xiang Wulang was truly scared this time. He barely stood up and staggered back toward the Xiang family’s direction. Xiang Qilang didn’t dare to stay behind and hurriedly followed him.

Pear Blossom cursed from behind, “Useless coward, can’t even hit a bird and still try to steal from me. Bah. “Fubao, holding onto Pear Blossom’s neck, mimicked her words, “Bah, coward.” Pear Blossom was startled. If Dong Yun found out that Fubao had picked up such bad language from her, it would be a disaster. She hurriedly put Fubao down, squatted, and said, “Fubao, don’t say that.”

“What can’t be said?” Fubao blinked her eyes at her.”Uh… the things I just said, and the things Xiang Wulang said earlier, don’t say them. If you do, your mouth will rot.”

Fubao quickly covered her small mouth and furrowed her little brow, saying, “Pear Blossom can say it, Pear Blossom’s mouth doesn’t rot, Fubao can say it too.” Pear Blossom quickly shook her head, “You can say it when you’re older. Pear Blossom is grown up, but Fubao is still small. Little kids can’t say such things.”

Seeing Fubao nodding, half-understanding, Pear Blossom wiped the sweat from her forehead, saying, “Let’s go. We won’t catch birds here. I hope the birds eat all the rice from these bad-hearted families.”

During mealtimes, Xinghua would always be busy helping her mother with the chores, everyone had their tasks sorted out so that no one was left idle or overburdened. The two younger siblings were sensible and diligent, unlike in the Xiang family, where there was always someone who refused to do more work.

When Pear Blossom saw Xinghua bring her a large bowl of noodles with a fried egg on top, she froze.

She scanned the table and realized that only she had noodles, while everyone else was having bean rice. She remembered that, except for the time when they first arrived at the foot of Dongshan Mountain and hadn’t had the chance to buy other grains, noodles and steamed buns had been the only food available.

But today, there were white noodles, and she was the only one eating them. She was surprised and asked, “Why? Why am I the only one eating noodles? Xinghua, bring bowls for everyone to share.”

Mrs. Xiong laughed, her eyes glistening with warmth, “Silly child, today is your birthday, tomorrow you’ll be sixteen. Your mother made you longevity noodles, so eat up.”

Everyone else was smiling at her. Her father, as usual, was beaming, while the two uncles looked pleased. Daniu grinned widely, showing his big front teeth, and the two youngest siblings were grinning so broadly that their mouths nearly reached their ears.

Pear Blossom had never known when her birthday was. The Xiang family rarely celebrated anyone’s birthday. They barely had enough to eat, so there was never any time for such things.

To suddenly be told that today, sixteen years ago, she had come into the world, felt so surreal.

Pear Blossom didn’t understand why her mother remembered this day. Sixteen years ago, when she gave birth, her father was certainly not by her side. The first child born to her was a girl, and the cold words of her mother-in-law and the mocking of her sisters-in-law must have left her feeling helpless.

Pear Blossom had always been a carefree girl and had never thought much about these things.

But now, as she locked eyes with her mother, those thoughts flashed through her mind. She even vaguely imagined her mother, only in her teens, holding the newborn Pear Blossom, alone and helpless.

What had her mother been thinking back then? How had she felt? Would she have been happy about her arrival, or would she have felt sorrow? Suddenly, Pear Blossom couldn’t hold it in anymore. She stood up and ran to her mother, throwing her arms around the woman who had given her life and raised her, tears streaming down her face.

Mrs. Xiong was equally moved.The hardships of the past several years were beyond anyone’s understanding, but finally, they had come to an end. It was all because of this child. Ten years ago, five years ago, or even a year ago, she never would have imagined that their family would be where it was today. Now, with the house built and her daughter’s birthday falling on the same day, it seemed like too much of a coincidence.”

Silly girl, they all say you don’t remember anything. No matter how much you’re scolded or beaten, you don’t care.

You never cry when you’re in pain or call out when you’re hungry. Now, though, you’re crying. You really are growing up.” Mrs. Xiong wiped her tears and said, “Go on, eat your noodles, don’t let them get soggy.”

Pear Blossom sniffed and stood up, returned to her seat, picked up her chopsticks, and took a big mouthful of noodles.

She needed to complete her tasks—she needed to learn to read, add up points, and buy her mother some beauty pills. Daniu rubbed his eyes and called to his two older uncles, “Come on, let’s eat, pass the dishes.”

The meal resumed with its lively atmosphere. Pear Blossom slurped her noodles and said, “From now on, everyone should have a bowl of longevity noodles on their birthday.”

Mrs. Xiong smiled, “There will be for everyone from now on.”

Pear Blossom added, “Even for Dad and Mom.”Mrs. Xiong and Daniu exchanged a glance, their eyes smiling.

Xiong Laoda said, “Pear Blossom is such a good girl.” Xiong Laoda II remarked, “Ah, she’s sixteen now, someone will probably come asking for her hand in marriage.” Pear Blossom glared at him, “Uncle, if you can’t speak properly, then don’t. We just built a new house, and I haven’t even settled in yet, and you want to marry me off?”

Xiong Laoda II chuckled, “I misspoke, I deserve to be punished. Make me eat rabbit heads.” Everyone laughed.

Daniu said, “Pear Blossom, you can marry whenever you want. If you don’t want to, your dad will support you for life.”

Pear Blossom replied, “Dad, I can hunt, and I’m younger than you. If anyone needs to be supported, it should be me supporting you.”Another round of laughter followed.