PHRC 🍁 Chapter 2: Learning to Hunt

After recovering somewhat, Rong Zheng ate the wild fruits as he walked, carrying the wild vegetables Ye Yun had given him down the mountain. Following the original owner's memories, he returned home.

The original owner's house was situated near the mountainside, a bit far from the village center, and the surroundings were quite peaceful.

He pushed open the courtyard gate and stepped inside, surveying the house. It was a modest brick-tiled dwelling with three rooms in total: a main living hall, a kitchen, and a last room used for storing miscellaneous items and raising livestock (though all the livestock had been eaten and cleared out by the original owner). The main hall contained three bedrooms.

He walked into the kitchen to wash his face, and looking at his reflection in the clear water of the vat, he examined the original owner's appearance.

Huh, it was ninety percent similar to his modern appearance, just younger. Of course, he was only nineteen, while his modern self was already twenty-seven.

This gave him some small comfort amid his melancholy. He had transmigrated for no apparent reason, but at least he had gained youth in exchange.

Collecting his emotions, he walked into the kitchen to prepare some food. Fortunately, there was still rice, though no vegetables.

He had no choice but to wash Ye Yun's wild vegetables clean and stir-fry them simply, eating a full meal.

After eating, he rummaged through the room to check his remaining savings. There was still one tael and several hundred copper coins left, barely enough to sustain him for about ten days.

That night, he sat in the courtyard gazing at the bright moon in the sky. Silver moonlight spilled into the courtyard, falling upon him and making him appear all the more solitary.

I miss my parents. I miss my younger brother.

In modern times, his family was wealthy and prosperous. Here, he was penniless...

No, I must pull myself together and make plans for the life ahead. As the saying goes, the fittest survives. Rong Zheng thought, immediately rousing his spirits and preparing to rest early.

He walked into the original owner's bedroom. The room was simply furnished: a large bed, a wardrobe, and a writing desk. The desk was covered with books, all hand-copied.

Rong Zheng flipped through the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone on the desk and discovered that the original owner actually had quite good calligraphy.

The original owner's parents had been determined to support their son's studies, and their love for him was evident. An ordinary farming family earned only about twenty taels a year, and after subtracting household expenses, less than ten taels remained. The original owner's father earned roughly thirty taels a year through hunting.

But supporting a scholar was extremely expensive: tuition fees, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone costs, especially paper which was the priciest. All miscellaneous expenses added up to at least ten to twenty taels a year.

Previously, seeing that the original owner had failed the Tongsheng Examination twice, the couple had grown anxious. Their family circumstances simply could not sustain it. The surrounding villagers also felt there was little point in continuing to support Rong Zheng's studies. How could a farming family afford to spend so much money on a scholar? Moreover, Rong Zheng kept failing the Tongsheng Examination. According to people in the town, the Tongsheng Examination was merely an entry-level examination for the imperial examination system, so everyone concluded that Rong Zheng simply lacked the talent for scholarship.

"Old Rong, if you keep supporting that boy Rong Zheng in his studies, your family will only grow poorer and poorer."

"Exactly! Wouldn't it be better to have Rong Zheng learn hunting skills from you?"

"The cost of studying is a bottomless pit. He's failed several times already, he just doesn't have the talent."

...

In short, no one around him believed Rong Zheng could pass the imperial examinations and achieve official rank. And it wasn't just the people around him, even the original owner himself had grown despondent and desperate, otherwise he wouldn't have sunk into depression for so many years.

Studying could truly impoverish an entire family. Ordinary farming households could barely afford it; for poor peasants, it might take several generations of effort to support a single scholar.

If one were exceptionally brilliant and passed all examinations in one go, that would be one thing. But if one were dull-witted and took ten or even twenty years to pass, the cost of studying could ruin a farming family completely.

The original owner had studied full-time without working (meaning he did no work to earn money, focusing solely on his studies). Not only did the family lose a laborer, but they also took on enormous expenses. The original owner's parents had truly been under immense pressure.

But if one did not study full-time, passing the examinations was truly a pipe dream. The imperial examinations in this dynasty were extremely difficult, selecting one from among ten thousand candidates. If a scholar had to spend most of their time worrying about basic survival, no matter how talented or hardworking they were, they could hardly keep up with scholars from wealthy families.

In short, cultivating a scholar in the family requires solid financial strength.

This was the deeper reason for the original owner's despair: after his parents' death, the family no longer had an economic pillar, and he himself lacked the aptitude for study, making the imperial examination path completely hopeless.

Let's not think about it anymore. Sleep early and wake up early. The top priority is figuring out how to make money. Starting tomorrow, I'll exercise my body. This original owner is soft and delicate, not even having abdominal muscles. The body is the capital of revolution. I've decided: I'll make a living by hunting for the time being.

As an heir to an ancient martial arts family, with my martial arts foundation, hunting should come easily, right?

As for studying... sigh, I'll consider it once I earn money from hunting. Your wish of passing the high-level examinations, I'll try to fulfill it for you someday, Rong Zheng murmured to himself.

Scholar, farmer, artisan, merchant, the class hierarchy in this dynasty was very distinct. For the sake of social status, taking the imperial examinations was undoubtedly extremely important.

The next day, just as dawn broke, Rong Zheng had already finished practicing a set of boxing forms, filled a vat with water, eaten breakfast, and picked up the hunting tools from home, marching valiantly toward the mountains.

On the way, he encountered his neighbor Wang Zhangshi who was just heading out. "Rong Zheng, going up the mountain so early?"

She felt sympathy for Rong Zheng but also anger at his lack of ambition. After the misfortunes that befell the boy three years ago, he had never recovered. She had gone to persuade him many times, but he wouldn't listen.

Wait, looking at his posture, he seemed to be going up the mountain to hunt. Wang Zhangshi's face immediately filled with alarm.

"Are you... going hunting?"

One must know that for three years, Rong Zheng had rarely stepped outside his door, let alone been willing to run into the mountains to hunt.

But this scholar, he couldn't even do farm work properly. Could he possibly handle hunting?

Thinking this, Wang Zhangshi's face filled with worry.

"Yes, good morning, Auntie. I'm going up the mountain to try my luck at hunting."

Rong Zheng remembered this Wang Zhangshi. She was a good person. Over these past few years, she would occasionally bring food to check on the original owner, offering words of comfort each time she came. The original owner would only nod in response but stubbornly refused to change.

Yet Wang Zhangshi persisted, hoping the original owner would live a proper life. She couldn't bear to watch the only son of her benefactors fall into ruin.

Wang Zhangshi's husband had fallen seriously ill in his early years, exhausting all their savings. Relatives were unwilling to lend them money and advised them to give up. In desperation, they had come to beg the original owner's parents.

At that time, the original owner's family circumstances were relatively good among farming households. The original owner's mother, Lin Qiao, had also gotten along well with Wang Zhangshi as neighbors, so they lent them five taels of silver.

With money for medical treatment, Wang Zhangshi's husband lived for another three years. Later, due to lingering health issues, his body gradually weakened, and combined with the hardships of farm labor, he passed away.

But Wang Zhangshi's family always remained grateful to the original owner's parents for their timely help, treating them as benefactors.

This was why, even when the original owner was muddle-headedly drinking away his days, Wang Zhangshi still went to check on him from time to time.

Hearing that Rong Zheng was indeed going hunting, Wang Zhangshi felt relieved. Whether he caught anything or not, this would be a good start. So, she repeatedly encouraged him:

"That's wonderful! Be careful going up the mountain. It doesn't matter if you don't catch anything. Go a few more times, and you'll get better at it."

Uh... with his solid martial arts foundation, he shouldn't come back empty-handed, right! Rong Zheng felt a bit awkward, but knowing Wang Zhangshi meant well, he said gently:

"Auntie, I was muddle-headed and spent my days drinking before, but now I've come to my senses and want to live properly. Thank you for never giving up on persuading me."

Wang Zhangshi's eyes grew slightly moist. "Good, good, good. Your parents, knowing this from the underworld, would be very pleased."

By the time he climbed up the mountain, he was already gasping for breath. This body was truly too weak.

He first recalled the hunting methods the original owner's father had mentioned in passing and then put them into practice. Due to the original owner's poor physical condition, he struggled until evening and only managed to catch one pheasant.

Huff, at least the first day broke the zero-catch record. Take it slow. Tonight I'll stew this chicken and reward myself.

Back home, Rong Zheng busied himself boiling water and killing the chicken. Soon, the aroma of the chicken made Rong Zheng's mouth water, he was truly famished after a tiring day.

Just as he was about to eat, a voice called from outside:

"Rong Zheng, are you home?"

"Auntie? What is it?" Rong Zheng asked in confusion.

Auntie Zhang, seeing that Rong Zheng still had hope of turning his life around, had come to remind him about his fields. Previously, Rong Zheng would just listen and ignore her.

"Rong Zheng, when you have time, go take a look at your fields. The rice seedlings are all withered and yellow. Even if the rice won't work, you could plant something else. At least it would be another source of income."

Reminded like this, Rong Zheng only then remembered that the family still had three mu of land. The original owner rarely went to check on them, and they produced almost no harvest year after year. He relied entirely on silver to buy grains and pay taxes.

But he didn't know how to farm... Or perhaps he could till the soil and plant some vegetables.

In the backyard of his modern villa, his mother had quite elegantly set aside a plot of land to tend vegetables, saying they were green, environmentally friendly, and free of pesticides. Back then, Rong Zheng had helped take care of them, so he knew a thing or two and wouldn't be completely at a loss.

"Thank you for the reminder, Auntie. I'll go take a look tomorrow." Remembering the chicken in the pot, he added, "Auntie, please wait here a moment." With that, he hurried to the kitchen and ladled a bowl of chicken to hand to Auntie Zhang.

Auntie Zhang smelled the fragrance and looked at the bowl full of chicken. Embarrassed, she pushed it away:

"I just came to tell you. Keep the chicken for yourself to nourish your body."

She refused to take it no matter what, turning to leave.

In this village, eating meat was an absolute luxury. Ordinary families could only eat meat a few times a month. In this era, meat was expensive and couldn't be eaten regularly.

This was why the children and youths in the village were generally sallow and thin, they simply couldn't afford it.

The original owner had only been able to eat meat relatively often because his father was a hunter.

Seeing that Auntie Zhang refused to accept the chicken, Rong Zheng said:

"Auntie, didn't you also bring me food a few days ago? I'm grateful. This bowl of chicken is my way of saying thank you. Please accept it."

"But... chicken is too expensive," Auntie Zhang still wouldn't take it.

"You can bring me some wild vegetables tomorrow," Rong Zheng said, pushing the bowl further forward. Auntie Zhang finally accepted it.

"Then I'll leave the wild vegetables by your door tomorrow. Remember to take them."

"Alright."

“If you run into any difficulties, come to me. If there’s anything I can help with, I definitely will." Auntie Zhang said earnestly. "Sigh, things will get better. You still have a long road ahead of you. Come to my house for a meal when you have time."

"Thank you, Auntie!"

"That's good, that's good. Oh, and about the fields, go take a look tomorrow first. If you need help, find my son Wang Ze."

She had three children: the eldest son Wang Ze was a hanzi, three years older than Rong Zheng, already married with children; the second was a daughter Wang Fang, long since married off; and the youngest son Wang Liang was also a hanzi, twelve years old.

After seeing Auntie Zhang off, Rong Zheng ate the fragrant stewed chicken for dinner, tender, flavorful, and absolutely delicious.

Rong Zheng's mother had become a housewife right after graduation, and her cooking skills had been honed to perfection. When he had time to accompany his mother in cooking, he had picked up a few skills himself.