Chapter 6

After about a month of recuperation, Zhou Jing’s body had finally recovered to a state that barely resembled his body in his previous life.

Although it couldn’t compare to his peak back then and was still somewhat weak beneath the surface, what matters is that he can make do with it.

Recently, Shen Mo and Shen Lin had been climbing the mountain to dig up wild vegetables. Whatever they could find in the wild became their food.

On good days, when they managed to gather more, they could just barely fill their stomachs. But on unlucky days, they were merely surviving—not starving to death.

It had been a month since Zhou Jing arrived in this world. Apart from eating and sleeping, and sleeping after eating, he hadn’t done much work, yet he was growing thinner by the day. Continuing like this wasn’t a sustainable solution.

Zhou Jing drank the rice soup, which passed as breakfast, and glanced at the rice sack. There was only a small handful of coarse rice grains left. If they didn’t hurry and earn some money, maybe, by tomorrow, they might be out of food once again.

They had managed to let the more than 3 pounds of coarse rice they got in exchange for half a chicken last for over nearly a month.

Whenever Zhou Jing thought of this, he couldn’t fathom how they did that.

Under normal circumstances, for a family of three, three meals of rice a day would easily consume at least half a pound in two days. And yet, the amount that would have lasted six days in his previous life had been eked out for a whole month by his family in this world.

One could only imagine what kind of life they had been living during that time.

Fortunately, it was mid-May, a season when there were edible foods grew on the mountain. If he had arrived in winter, they would have either frozen or starved to death.

The Zhou family’s home was pitifully small, consisting of a lone, tiny thatched hut. There wasn’t even a wall separating the kitchen area from the sleeping quarters.

The yard was no more than ten square meters, and it was so clean and empty that Zhou Jing wondered if it was because they didn’t own any farming tools at all. The lack of anything in the yard made it seem a little desolate.

“Even though our yard is small, we could still plant some vegetables. That way, we wouldn’t have to rely entirely on buying them whenever we want to eat some.” Zhou Jing suggested to Shen Mo.

This wasn’t something Zhou Jing was good at. He couldn’t claim to be completely ignorant about farming, but having been born in the city, he had never worked in the field himself. He didn’t recognize most seeds, though he could distinguish some crops when they were fully grown.

Shen Mo had been doing some needlework now and then to help make ends meet, but in a rural village, every household knew how to sew, even some of the men could stitch a few patches. So, there wasn’t much work to go around.

The only people who occasionally hired her were families where the young wife was nearing childbirth and didn’t know how to handle household chores yet.

On good months, she might earn ten copper coins; on bad ones, she wouldn’t even earn a single coin.

As Shen Mo finished the final stitch on a piece of clothing she had been mending, she said, “I’ve been thinking about that too, but right now, our family only has five copper coins altogether, not even enough to buy seeds.”

“Actually, many farmers keep seeds from their previous year. The ones they lack, they trade with other families or ask for a bit from neighbors, and that’s usually enough. But for us, there’s no one we can turn to.”

Firstly, the Zhou family was too poor. Other families didn’t want to get involved with them, fearing that once they did, they wouldn’t be able to shake them off, if they begged them for food.

Secondly, it was because of Zhou Jing. In the past, Zhou Jing was an idle, good-for-nothing with a terrible temper. He never worked or studied, and whenever the village uncles and aunties saw him, they avoided speaking to him. If they did talk, it usually ended in arguments.

One aunt might have glanced at him with disdain, while another might have cursed him, saying he wasn’t worthy of the family name “Zhou” and calling him a jinx who brought misfortune to his parents and the entire family—a wild child that no one wanted.

It was a classic case of having an inferiority complex at work, leading to a neurotic mindset where Zhou Jing believed that the whole world had nothing better to do than scrutinize and criticize him.

Shen Mo didn’t need to explain these things in detail, as Zhou Jing already had a good idea of what was going on.

For instance, in the past few days, when he had been walking around the village to exercise, he had occasionally spoken a few friendly words to some of the older women. Their reactions were either one of surprise, as if they were startled by his sudden kindness, or they would back away, believing that Zhou Jing must have had ulterior motives or that something strange was going on.

In short, none of them reacted normally, and from that, Zhou Jing could roughly guess the impression he had left on the village.

Zhou Jing nodded and said, “No problem. In a bit, I’ll go up the mountain with you and see if we can catch something. Maybe we can trade it with the villagers for some vegetable seeds or grain.”

“You’re going up the mountain?” Shen Lin stared at Zhou Jing in disbelief.

“Except for that one time you insisted on going up there to hunt wild boar for that greedy woman, haven’t you always refused to set foot on the mountain? Every time we asked you, you said we were up to no good, trying to get you killed by the beasts up there!”

What a coward the original Zhou Jing had been! He was so paranoid, always believing that if he went up the mountain, something terrible would happen to him. And sure enough, the very first time he did go, it ended in his death.

Zhou Jing replied, “A prodigal son returning to the right path is worth more than gold. Why bring up the past? In a bit, I’ll go up the mountain with your brother. You stay here and watch the house, understand?”

Shen Lin pouted and said, “What’s there to guard in this broken-down home? Who would even bother with it?”

“A broken home is still worth a fortune—you wouldn’t understand!”

“A fortune? This rundown thatched hut is worth no more than two hundred coins at best.”

“Xiao Di, be good. Just stay at home and watch the house!” Shen Mo finally made the decision with a firm tone.

Shen Lin, still dissatisfied, mumbled, “Big brother is just getting back at me because I called him out for being a coward. And besides, you used to take me everywhere with you, but ever since this guy got injured, you’ve changed. Now you do everything he says.”

Shen Lin’s childish words made Shen Mo blush with embarrassment.

“I… I need to return these clothes,” Shen Mo stammered before hastily running off, flustered.

Zhou Jing watched Shen Mo’s retreating figure with a sly grin, only pulling his gaze away when Shen Mo was completely out of sight.

“By the way, where are your brother’s hunting tools? Go find them and check them over,” Zhou Jing said.

Shen Lin gave Zhou Jing a puzzled look, finding his question odd. “What hunting tools? We’re not professional hunters. Why would we have stuff like that?”

“What do you usually take with you when you go up the mountain, then?” Zhou Jing asked, now confused by the situation.

“Knives, of course!” Shen Lin replied matter-of-factly. “Sickles, and long knives for digging up vegetables.”

No wonder they returned empty-handed nine times out of ten.

Without another word, Zhou Jing went out to find wood and materials to make a bowstring. He wasn’t particular about the quality, just something that would work for now.

Ideally, he would have used animal tendons, with cow tendons being the best option, but in these times, cows couldn’t be slaughtered casually. There was no way to get cow tendons. The wealthy families had them, but they were expensive, and they had no money.

Zhou Jing ended up finding a vine—he wasn’t sure what kind of plant it came from, but it was sturdy enough and could work for making a bow. He also crafted several dozen arrows and two sharpened bamboo spears.

By the time everything was finished, it was already midday. The Shen brothers had prepared food and were waiting for him to eat.

Hearing the sound of the straw door, Shen Mo rushed out and, upon seeing Zhou Jing, he sighed in relief.

“You’re back! Come eat, the food’s been ready for a while.”

Shen Lin called out in a fluster behind Shen Mo, “Where have you been? You didn’t even say a word. If you don’t come back early, Big Brother will be so anxious that he’ll go out looking for you.”

Zhou Jing had lost track of time while making the bow and arrows, he didn’t realize how quickly the morning had passed.

In this era, there were no mobile phones or telephones, making it indeed inconvenient to find someone. He hadn’t considered this and had made Shen Mo worry for no reason.

“Sorry, I forgot to tell you. Next time I go out, I’ll make sure to tell you,” Zhou Jing said as he took out the bow and arrows and handed them to Shen Mo.

“I went out to make these. Otherwise, if we run into wild chickens in the mountains this afternoon, we won’t have any tools to catch them.”

The bow and arrows had been made in a short amount of time and were quite rough. However, in Shen Mo’s hands, they were a rare treasure. Typically, only seasoned hunters had such things; farmers like them only had hoes and sticks.

Shen Lin peeked over and immediately became fascinated. His eyes sparkled as he stared at the bow and arrows. “How did you manage to make this?”

In the past, Zhou Jing had been uneducated and naturally would not have been able to make such things. He didn’t know how to respond, but Shen Mo quickly intervened, saying, “Zhou Jing has never made anything like this before. How do you know he can’t? Hurry up and eat. After we finish, we need to head up the mountain!”

Shen Lin was about to say something, but Shen Mo stuffed the bow and arrows into his arms, and Shen Li completely forgot his thoughts, gazing at the item with excitement.

However, he didn’t forget to eat.

Once they finished their meal, the two of them headed up the mountain. They hadn’t eaten enough and didn’t have to worry about strenuous activities causing any issues. In fact, taking advantage of their still-full stomachs, they felt a bit stronger.

With the intention of hunting, they made their way up the mountain, walking deeper than the villagers typically ventured. After a while, Shen Mo refused to go any further.

“If we go deeper, we might run into wild boars or big snakes. It’s too dangerous; we shouldn’t go any further.”

Their hunting trip had not gone well; they hadn’t seen even a feather of a chicken.

To be honest, Zhou Jing felt a bit disheartened. But if they encountered wild boars or other large game, he and Shen Mo certainly wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“Alright then, since we’re this deep into the woods and the villagers haven’t come here, we might be able to find some good stuff,” he said. Indeed, a few tree roots nearby revealed mushrooms and wood ears, which would be delicious in stir-fry.

The two of them crouched down, digging for quite some time. Zhou Jing’s backpack was barely half full. He felt a bit discouraged; if they continued relying on the mountains for food, how would he ever fill his little partner’s stomach?

From his crouched position, Zhou Jing could clearly see the slender figure of his little partner. Shen Mo huddled on the ground, a small bundle as if even a gust of wind could blow him away.

Zhou Jing’s heart suddenly ached, as if pierced by the sight before him.

“Xiao Mo, do you know where the place I had my accident is? I want to go take a look.”

Zhou Jing recalled that when he went abroad for a conference, he had a watch worth several hundred thousand in his possession. It was mechanical and kept precise time. If he could find it, whether it was broken or not, it could likely be sold for a high price. At the very least, he and his little partner wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry every day.

Shen Mo’s hands, busy digging for vegetables, suddenly stopped, and he asked nervously, “Why… why do you want to know this?”

Zhou Jing, feeling guilty about his own intentions, didn’t notice Shen Mo’s unease.

“I just want to check it out. I can’t remember much, but I feel like I really found something before my accident,” Zhou Jing improvised. “Maybe I didn’t manage to catch a wild boar, but if I found ginseng or lingzhi mushrooms, we could eat well from now on.”

Shen Mo fell silent and stopped digging for vegetables.

Zhou Jing finally noticed Shen Mo’s unease and asked with confusion, “What’s wrong? Are you worried that we might run into something again? Don’t worry; we’ll be careful this time, and nothing should happen.”

Shen Mo replied sullenly, “Can’t we just not go? Isn’t it better this way?”

Zhou Jing paused for a moment, wondering how not eating enough could be considered better.

“Xiao Mo, if you’re reluctant to go, is there a special reason? I just have this feeling that I left something really important behind, and I want to check. With our situation at home, if we can find something, we could finally eat our fill.”

After a long silence, Shen Mo finally said, “Alright, let’s go. I’ll take you there.”

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Lucia: Hello, I unlocked Chapter 6 to Chapter 10. The schedule of updates is still the same, 1 chapter every Monday and Wednesday! I will unlock chapter 11 tomorrow.

Thank you for reading this novel 💛

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