Chapter 37 Chapter 37 Ah Jing
The next day, they went back to the mountains and stayed there for two days. Fan Jing, who had promised Kang He to teach him archery, never mentioned the matter again.
That day, Kang He went to Zhang Shili's place to check out the beehives that had been delivered, and brought him a bowl of stir-fried sour beans with minced meat.
The temperature on the top of the mountain is not high, so food can be stored for a long time. When this dish solidifies, you can just pry a lump of it and mix it with noodles, or eat it with rice. It is perfect for people like Zhang Shili who are not good at cooking but want to eat a good meal.
Kang He looked at a few beehives, applied a layer of beeswax, and then taught Zhang Shili to drink two bowls of wine. It was already late when they returned.
Fan Jing was sharpening a knife in the yard. When he saw Kang He coming back, he didn't ask anything.
The next morning, he took a longbow and said he wanted to teach Kang He how to shoot arrows.
Kang He smiled silently and happily went to the woods outside to practice with others.
"Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. If you keep your steps steady, your arrows won't go astray."
“The arrow should be perpendicular to the bow, and the arms and back should exert force simultaneously when the bow is drawn.”
“When you release the arrow, your fingers naturally relax.”
With a swish, the arrow flew out from the string, as if it had no effort at all, and hit the ground before it went more than ten feet away.
The strings kept plucking, which made Kang He's hands numb.
He felt a little excited. It was the first time he shot the arrow so far. It was much better than what he expected, that it would land at his feet.
I rubbed my numb hands and tried again a few more times, but each time was worse than the last.
Kang He's hands were numb from the shock and he lost consciousness, but he still kept trying without giving up. He had used up most of the arrows in the basket, and they were scattered all over the ground, either falling or stuck.
Fan Jing looked at it silently for a long time. Seeing the man's hand was red and broken, he frowned and walked up.
Kang He was a very patient man, but he could not stand the repeated failures. Just as he was wondering what was wrong, his hand was suddenly held.
He tilted his head and saw Fan Jingkuai's cheek touching his.
Fan Jing was about as tall as Kang He's ears. He held Kang He's hand from the side and raised the bow, and with his other hand he put an arrow on him, holding Kang He in a hug.
"Look at me or the arrow."
Upon hearing this, Kang He hurriedly turned his head and looked forward. There was a sound of breaking wind, and the bamboo arrow actually pierced through a leaf blown down by the wind and firmly stuck in a tree in the distance.
"pretty!"
Kang He couldn't help but let out a cry of joy, and jumped up and down with a bang, his chin hit Fan Jing's nose hard.
Fan Jing suddenly felt something was wrong, his brows tightened, and he subconsciously raised his hand to touch his nose.
I just felt a warm current sliding down.
"Is it hurt?! Let me take a look."
Kang He didn't care about his chin and hurried to see Fan Jing.
Fan Jing turned away and didn't let him see, then went to the wooden house with his nose covered.
Kang He caught a glimpse of a hint of red seeping out from between Fan Jing's fingers, and quickly dropped his bow and hurriedly chased after him.
He quickly took cotton and used Fan Jing to stop the bleeding.
Fortunately, the collision was not serious and he only bled for a while before being fine.
After this incident, Fan Jing and Kang Hexuejian summed up their skills in four words: stupid as pigs.
At night, Kang He looked at Fan Jing's slightly red nose and felt distressed.
He gently touched Fan Jingjun's straight nose: "Does it still hurt? Do you want me to apply some more medicine for you?"
Fan Jing slapped the person's hand away, closed his eyes and went to sleep, ignoring the person.
Kang He sighed softly, feeling sad about the passing of time.
"It seems I really don't have the talent to learn archery. I need to start from elementary school."
"If I were shorter than you, this wouldn't be happening today."
"It's a pity that our Ah Jing has such a beautiful nose. If I break it, there will be one less handsome boy in the world."
Fan Jing frowned: "Why are you so talkative?"
Kang He saw Fan Jing open his eyes and quickly turned to face him: "It's because you don't say anything that I seem to be talking too much."
Fan Jing looked at Kang He: "What did you call me just now?"
Kang He said, "Ah Jing."
Fan Jing's eyebrows twitched, and he was thinking about something when he suddenly felt something warm and wet on his nose. He looked up and found that Kang He had actually kissed his nose.
"Does it still hurt?"
Fan Jing didn't say anything.
Perhaps the pain had already gone, or perhaps it had some effect, as he truly did not feel any discomfort on his nose.
Fan Jing was silent for a long time as the night grew darker.
He said, "You should call me like this from now on."
These days, Kang He followed Fan Jing around in the mountains and did come across some prey, but a few of them were creatures with big bellies and were pregnant.
The weather is getting warmer, animals are breeding, and the spring months are a good time.
It is rare to come across a pregnant ewe or sow, and even a serious hunter will not hunt them.
As a result, there are not many things to hunt in spring, and it is more difficult to choose than usual.
For several days thereafter, the harvest was not very optimistic.
After finishing their dry food, Fan Jing told Kang He that he was going to go down the mountain for a few days to help his family plant the crops.
Nowadays, Chen has to go to the city to sell radish every few days, which inevitably delays her. The farm work at home falls on the shoulders of Father Fan alone. Although there are not many fields, one person is inevitably too busy to handle it.
Spring sowing is very dependent on the season, it cannot be too early or too late.
I'll come back when summer is almost here after I finish helping with the work in the fields.
Kang He naturally agreed. If he wanted to see the bees, he could just come up when he had some free time.
So the two of them packed up their things, went to the city, and sold the few living things they had.
I happened to run into Chen, who was selling radish in the city.
"Come and take a look at this freshly made konjac tofu, so tender and so... Sanlang, Dajing!"
Chen packed up her radish and tofu and went to the city before daybreak. In order to save your two copper coins for the ox cart, she carried her things on her back and walked back to the county.
After hawking for a whole morning, it was already noon and only half of the konjac in the basin had been sold.
The sun was high in the sky, steaming her to the point of feeling dizzy. Seeing someone approaching, she subconsciously shouted at the top of her lungs. When the person came closer, she realized it was Kang He and his wife.
"It's hard to sell konjac today. Even if it wasn't selling well in the past, most of it would have been sold."
Chen said in a low voice, "A few days ago, there were two or three more people selling konjac and tofu in the county. They come every day. Congjac and tofu are no longer rare, and business is not as good as before."
Kang He heard this and said in relief, "Anyone can do this kind of small business. It's not uncommon. Look at how many stalls there are in the county selling flatbreads and how many farmers are selling vegetables. Every business is packed with people, and there's bound to be competition. Nothing in the world is smooth sailing. Don't worry too much, mother."
Seeing that Chen had been hawking for the whole morning and was already thirsty, Fan Jing went to the tea stall on the aisle and brought her a bowl of tea.
Chen accepted the dish and ate it, feeling relieved. She said to the two men, "That's true. I won't give up. Although we all run the same business, there are always some differences. Fortunately, our konjac tofu is so good that some customers still only recognize ours."
Kang He told Fan Jing to wait for him at the shed at the city gate. He and Chen wanted to sell the radish tofu together before leaving.
Anyway, Fan Jing couldn't shout at anything, so asking him to follow would only be a waste of trouble.
After Fan Jing left, Kang He put the konjac tofu into a backpack and carried it on his back, and went to the streets with Chen to sell it.
Kang He's voice was powerful and could be heard from far away, from the main street to the lanes.
In the closed houses in the alleys, if you hear shouting from inside, someone will open the door a crack, and a neat and respectable woman or man will come out, call the person over, and ask for a piece of konjac tofu.
"It's easier to sell it when you see it walking down the street like this."
After Chen Sanfang packed four pieces of tofu and went out, he couldn't help but say.
"I am the only one carrying konjac and tofu, and I can't walk."
"Every place you sell your wares sells well. After a while, people will get to know you and come to you whenever they want to buy. It's easy to get regular customers. Walking the streets is tiring, but it's easy to run into more people. With more people, the chances of getting more customers are higher."
Kang He still prefers Chen Sanfang to sell in one place. Firstly, she doesn't need to work so hard, and secondly, she is good at talking and it would be better for her to get to know regular customers.
"Then I'll continue to sell in one place. If I really can't sell, I'll just go around the streets and hawk it."
Kang He nodded and agreed. After walking through a few streets, there was not much konjac tofu left.
Just as they were preparing to walk out of the city to peddle their wares, they ran into an old man leading some livestock.
The old man was also interesting. He led a young donkey towards the livestock market, while shouting in a hoarse voice: "Donkey, strong and healthy, good price!"
Kang He guessed that the man sincerely wanted to sell the donkey, but he would be forced to lower the price if he sent it to the livestock market. After all, the man had to resell the donkey after buying it. If he wanted to make money, he would buy the animal at the lowest price possible and then sell it at a high price, so that he could make a huge profit from the difference.
It's like him going to a dry goods store to sell vermicelli.
Seeing that Chen was also staring at the donkey, Kang He called her to go up and stop the old man.
"Dad's donkey for sale?"
"Hey, what a good donkey! He's very docile. Come and have a look at him, my dear wife."
The old man saw someone asking questions and greeted them warmly.
Kang He looked around at the donkey. Seeing that its eyes were bright and energetic, and that it had no injuries on its body and its legs and feet were nimble, with no obvious signs of illness, he asked, "I wonder what the price of Dad's donkey is?"
The old man said, "I'm ready to sell it. I won't ask for a high price. Just give me eight strings of cash and you can take it away."
Chen knew that animals that worked so hard were extremely expensive, but when she heard that a donkey that hadn't even grown into a donkey yet cost eight strings of cash, she couldn't help but smack her mouth.
Kang He smiled and said, "Dad, your donkey looks quite energetic. Only in the livestock market would the livestock dealers sell it for this price. If Dad sells it for this price right away, how can the livestock dealers make any money?"
After saying that, he waved his hand and was about to leave with Chen.
The old man called Kang He and said, "My little brother, you are smart and prudent. I won't try to bargain with you. If you want to buy sincerely, give me a higher price than the livestock market. I will sell you this donkey and not the livestock."
Kang He agreed with what he heard.
Since you want to buy livestock, if you come across a good one at a suitable price, you can buy it earlier, no matter when. After all, good things can't be obtained until you save enough money.
Kang He asked Chen to call Fan Jing over. He had been dealing with wild birds for a long time and must have a deeper understanding of these animals than others. Let him take a look and decide if he likes them before negotiating the price.
Otherwise, no matter how good the price is, it will be in vain if the livestock is not good.
When Chen Sanfang saw that Kang He was determined to buy it, she became excited and agreed immediately. She quickly went to the city gate to look for Fan Jing.
Not long after, Fan Jing arrived here.
The old man saw Fan Jing's pair of indifferent eyes, which seemed to be able to see through everything. He was clearly a boy, but he felt a little scared for no reason.
It's strange, because Kang and he, who are taller than him, don't have this feeling.
He himself did not pretend, but his heart was tense. He asked in a low voice: "Brother, how is my donkey?"
Fan Jing didn't say anything, but nodded at Kang He.
The old man also breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing this, Kang He pulled Fan Jing aside and asked, "Can I buy the donkey?"
Fan Jing said, "Adult donkeys are expensive, while young donkeys are cheap. This donkey has no problems and will grow quickly."
Seeing this, Chen Lian also said, "I'll cut grass for them to eat. Livestock grow so fast, changing every day. The pair of piglets we caught in our pen at the beginning of the year are already two feet long."
Seeing that everyone agreed, Kang He went to negotiate the price with the old man.
"Father, since my husband says your donkey is healthy, if you're serious about selling it, we're serious about buying it too. Seven strings of cash, just like the cattle dealer, we'll take the full payment in one sitting."
"Little brother, your price is too low. How can you give a penny less than a coin? A poor family might not be able to save that much money in a year."
The old man said, "If my son hadn't been engaged to a family and we had to prepare a feast and wine, and we couldn't come up with the money right away, how could I have been willing to sell the donkey?"
Chen Sanfang said, "Old man, we are all honest people. If your donkey is good, we should just say it is good. We shouldn't deliberately say that your things are not good to lower the price.
Your donkey is good, but it's still young and can't do much. It's the spring plowing season now, so you have to find time to cut some hay for it when you take it back."
"My dear, it grows fast. If you buy it in spring, it will be strong and powerful in autumn, and can be used to carry things and grind grain. It's still small now, but the price is good. If you really want to buy a full-grown donkey like that, who would buy it for less than ten strings of cash?"
Kang He continued, "There's nothing more to say. Just give Dad an extra 120 coins and it will be a happy occasion for Dad He's family."
Mrs. Chen also joined in: "The donkey has been cleaned. I guess Dad is a person who cares for animals. I won't say anything else. When the donkey comes home, he will definitely take good care of it. There will be no such thing as cruelty."
The old man was silent for a long moment, then said, "Well, since you think so highly of my donkey, it would be worth my while to find a good home for it."
The two parties agreed and set a price.
Zhikang, Fan Jing and Chen did not have so much money on them, so they gave the old man two strings of cash as a deposit, then led the donkey to the village, collected enough money at home and gave it to the old man.
The old man was still nervous when he came, fearing that he would be cheated, but when he arrived at Fan's house, he saw that the family was indeed not wealthy.
The two girls brought a stool and poured tea for the old man, and were very warm.
"Da Jing, San Lang, do you two have enough money? Mother can give you two strings of cash. If that's not enough, I'll go to your uncle's house and borrow some. Even if they curse at us when we get home, they'll still have something to say."
Chen Sanfang took two strings of cash to Fan Jing and Kang He's house. She actually still had some money on hand, but she had to pay for household expenses, such as buying seeds and fertilizers in the spring, so she didn't dare spend all the money at once.
"It's enough. We just sold a deer roe, and we saved a little from selling vermicelli."
Kang He and Chen said that they had not originally intended for Chen to pay.
Chen Sanfang stuffed the money into Kang He's hand and said, "Buying livestock is a big deal for the whole family. How can I let you two pay for it alone? Even if you have some money now, you will have children when you come, and you will have expenses. If I don't give it to you, your father will blame me."
After hearing this, Kang He realized that it was also a token of Chen's kindness, so he accepted it.
I went to pay the money to the old man.
Seeing that they paid the money readily, the old man was in a good mood and told them a lot of ways to raise livestock.
When he left, his family gave him a piece of tofu.
I also told him that their family collects konjac and sells konjac tofu, as well as chickens and ducks.
The old man said that he returned to the village and talked to the villagers.
It was afternoon when people left.
When Father Fan came back, he saw a stranger passing by in the direction of his home, so he hurried home and saw that it was Kang He and Fan Jing who had bought a donkey.
Fan Shoulin was so happy that he looked left and right at the donkey tied in the backyard and said, "Hey, I bought a donkey."
He smiled and said, "What a nice donkey."
Chen went to feed the chickens and ducks with bran and vegetables, and complained to Father Fan: "You've been watching for 25 minutes, and you didn't even wash your muddy feet after stepping in chicken shit."
"The number of families in the village who have livestock can be counted on one hand, and now we are one of them."
Fan Shoulin was feeling rather proud, humming some celebratory tune.
Chen laughed and scolded, "You have to raise a baby after buying it to be considered a talent."
Kang He was in the house and couldn't help but smile when he heard the conversation between Chen and Fan Dad outside.
He counted the money box. Fan Jing gave him all the money he had saved in the first month of the year. In addition, he earned money in the past two months. After deducting expenses, he had a total of 19 strings of cash.
I bought the donkey today, which would have cost more than seven strings of cash, but Chen gave me two strings of cash, so I only spent more than five strings of cash.
At present, I still have thirteen strings of cash and eight hundred and eighty coins left.
Kang He kept the thirteen strings of cash separately and took out eight hundred and eighty coins for his daily expenses.
The donkey was kept at home for a few days and the whole family took good care of it.
They had never been taken out for a walk before. Zhen'er and Qiao'er went out to cut grass every day, so people would inevitably ask about them.
Every now and then, someone would come to our house to see what was happening.
People outside said that the Fan family's life was getting better. They started business and even bought livestock.
A large number of people also means more snobbery. When Fan Shoulin and Chen were walking outside, they saw more and more people greeting them.
Qiao'er also said that when the two girls were cutting grass outside, those aunts and uncles had seen them before. They called out to them, but they pretended to be deaf and dumb and pretended not to see them.
Now that they have called people, they have agreed very well and even given them fruit to eat.
Chen was the happiest one. When the eldest wife came, she was always very proud and kept saying that Chen Sanfang had never seen the world.
Nowadays, Chen Sanfang goes to the city more frequently, sees more things, meets more people, and broadens her horizons. When Zhang Jingui comes to chat with her, she is no longer the silent one like before.
Sometimes she would say something new in the city, but Zhang Jingui had never heard of it before and would beat her into silence.
Zhang Jingui realized that he could no longer suppress Chen Sanfang, so he became much more restrained in his words.
He changed from being proud to being jealous, and he seldom came to see Chen Sanfang.
Chen Sanfang didn't care whether she came or not. She was busy with her own things and didn't have time to care about what her husband thought.
Otherwise, those who are clearly broke inside still grit their teeth and try to keep up appearances.
When people see that your family is well-off, they will always respect you.
Farmers are busy in the spring. Kang He and Fan Jing follow their father Fan to the fields every day, leaving early and returning late, which is not much more relaxing than living in the mountains.
One day, when Kang He took some tender grass to feed the rabbits, he found that a female rabbit had given birth to cubs.
Five cubs came out of the rabbit nest one after another.
Kang He hurriedly made a warmer and more comfortable nest with hay and rags, and placed it in a corner of the rabbit shed to simulate a hidden wild environment.
The other two rabbits were separated to prevent them from interfering with the mother rabbit feeding her cubs.
In order to help the mother rabbit lactate and feed the baby rabbits, I have been feeding it with bean dregs and fresh young vegetable leaves recently.
Everyone in the family wanted to raise the rabbits well, and they took good care of the mother rabbit and the rabbits. For fear that there was not enough milk, Chen even fed the rabbits rice soup.
I watched the little rabbit slowly crawl out of a soft ball of flesh day by day, then open its eyes and grow fur.
However, one night, the candles in the room were extinguished and everyone in the room went to bed.
Kang He and Fan Jing stayed up late at night. They had just done something and were sweating in bed when they suddenly heard the sharp meow of a cat outside.
At first, the two of them didn't care much. They were both busy with the important things at hand and couldn't separate.
After a while, the cat's meowing did not stop, and Fan Jing seemed to hear the sound of something running and hitting the cage.
He really felt something was wrong, and with his weak hands he supported Kang He's chest, saying impatiently, "Go out and take a look."
Kang He's voice was hoarse: "How can I go out and see now?"
"The wild cat is going to bite the rabbit."
Hearing this, Kang He's brows tightened.
No matter how unbearable it is, you have to endure it.
He hurriedly put on his pants, picked up a stick and went out of the house with his bare chest.
Fan Jing wanted to put on his clothes, but he was not as fast as him.
Kang He went to the other end of the rabbit shed and saw a pair of fluorescent eyes flashing in front of the shed in the dark yard.
A black cat came out of nowhere and was roaring fiercely towards the shed, scratching the shed with its claws, making a crackling sound.
"Tsk! You're standing here, hurry up and leave!"
Kang He hit the ground hard with the stick. The black cat stopped moving, but did not run away. It looked straight in Kang He's direction.
Seeing this, Kang He quickly chased after it with a stick, and the wild cat ran away in a flash.
Fan Jing came out from behind with an oil lamp, and the two of them hurried to check the shed.
There was a nest of rabbits in a cage, and they could not escape the attack of a wild cat. Two of them were bitten to death.
Eighty percent of the time, wild cats were killed by scratching themselves on the cracks in the shed and biting people. The cats were too big to fit in, but their claws could reach in.
Looking at the bloody baby rabbit, it's really pitiful.
The two men cleaned up the place overnight, moved the shed into the house and closed the doors and windows.
The next day, when Chen got up, she found that the rabbit was dead. She stood in the yard with her hands on her hips and cursed loudly.
The two girls who fed the rabbits every day were very sad, so Kanghe reinforced the shed with another layer.
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