Chapter Twenty-Two: On the Shooting Range, Talents Emerge; Where Great Rewards Await, the Brave Will Answer

Xu Wenshan had begun preparing for his journey to the county seat early on. On one hand, it was driven by his need to explore the world; on the other, he needed to concoct a plausible explanation for Lu Ze's origins. He told his two servants that Lu Ze was an orphan he found in a neighboring village, and, moved by her plight, took her in as a maid. He warned them to keep their mouths tightly shut. He knew that secrets could be kept for a day, but not forever; he would eventually have to give a reasonable account to Xu Changshui as well.

Thus, as long as he made a trip to the county seat and earned some prestige, all the strange changes happening to him could be readily explained. Now, there was yet another reason for traveling to the county seat: moving the furs to market.

Though it was early spring—hardly the best time for selling furs—the market in the county seat was far broader than in Luhe Valley, and the prospects were promising. Now, what Xu Wenshan needed to consider was how to obtain all the furs held by the hunters in Luhe Valley.

...

Unbeknownst to him, Li Dazhuang had already spent seven days practicing archery at the Xu family's shooting range. In these seven days, his progress could be described in one word: phenomenal.

From childhood, Li Dazhuang had been gifted with the bow. To ensure his strength developed well, his father had always made sure he never went hungry, even if it meant going without himself. After seven days of systematic training, Li Dazhuang had squeezed every bit of potential from his body. The practical experience he gained in the woods as a child, combined with structured learning at the shooting range, had brought his archery skills to a level of mastery.

He had indeed been diligent these days. Now, whenever he saw something round, he thought about how to draw his bow and shoot at it. Even while eating, he would stare at his bowl in a trance.

Li Sixue was quite pleased with his son's progress. Though he was old now, his improvement wasn’t as obvious as Li Dazhuang’s, but his gains were just as significant.

Li Dazhuang dreamed that one day he could inherit his father’s title as “Luhe Valley’s Best Archer,” admired by all the villagers and worshipped by the children... Xu Wenshan? He was the exception. No matter how hard Li Dazhuang trained, he could never surpass him. “Luhe Valley’s Best Archer” was, in truth, the second best. Even his own father wasn’t the true “Best Archer.” Li Dazhuang knew this well enough.

Fine, he admitted to himself, it was a fantasy. Unless you spent thirty years in the woods and grew into an old man, no one would recognize you as “Luhe Valley’s Best Archer.”

But the next day, he heard earth-shattering news:

“Did you hear? The Xu family is hosting a Luhe Valley archery competition. Whoever takes first place will be named Luhe Valley’s Best Archer—and wins five strings of coins!”

---

Upon hearing this, Li Dazhuang nearly collapsed on the spot.

Five strings of coins! What did that mean?

With five strings of coins, he could buy two acres of land anywhere he wished! That was three thousand seven hundred pounds of grain—fine rice, not the bran, millet, or husks they ate daily! And what did three thousand pounds of rice mean? Just he and his father could eat for ten years and never finish it!

With five strings of coins, he could build a house, marry a wife, and still have enough left over to eat steamed white buns every day!

Li Dazhuang nearly tumbled all the way to the village entrance, where the servant Ah Fa stood atop a shabby platform, holding a sheet of paper and reading it aloud again and again:

“...Do you want to prove your skill? Want to go from pauper to rich man? Then join the Luhe Valley Best Archer Competition! If you’re from Luhe Valley and know how to shoot a bow, you can sign up! Take first place and you’ll earn the title ‘Luhe Valley’s Best Archer’ and win five thousand cash coins! What are you waiting for? Sign up now! Registration is at the Xu family’s shooting range entrance...”

Although the villagers didn’t understand what “pauper” meant, nor what it was to “rise from the ashes,” they were swept up by the stirring declaration, inflamed—or rather, boiling with excitement.

“Hey, you! Is it really five thousand coins?” a burly man shouted from the crowd.

Ah Fa paused his recitation. “Of course it’s true. My young master personally promised the five thousand coins.”

Some sharp-eyed folks noticed he said “young master,” not “master.”

Still, some doubted. “You say it’s five thousand coins, but how can we believe you? You have no proof. Why should we trust you?”

Ah Fa sneered, “Yes, it’s just my word. So what? What can you do about it? Five thousand coins—I’ll say it right here. Believe it or not, you’ll never earn that much in your whole life! If you want to sign up, do it. If not, then get lost!”

“You—!”

Others pushed the doubter aside. “The Xu family’s young master keeps his word. Stop causing trouble!”

“That’s right! Don’t get upset, brother! Go on, keep talking!”

---

Ah Fa adopted a more persuasive tone, “Let me tell you, that five thousand coins, I saw it with my own eyes. The young master brought it home himself. It was so heavy, it took three pouches and still wasn’t all packed in...”

Everyone listened with rapt attention. Ah Fa deliberately stopped, scanning the crowd slyly. In truth, he was making it up on the spot, thinking about what to say next.

“Hurry up! Why’d you stop? Don’t keep us waiting!” someone shouted.

Ah Fa licked his lips and continued, “Back then, I didn’t know what was in those pouches. The young master just slung them over my shoulder. Good heavens, it nearly crushed me! I asked, ‘Young master, what’s in these things? They’re so heavy!’ He said, ‘Being able to carry them is your good fortune!’ When we got home, I put the pouches on the table—clatter, clatter, crash. The sound was odd, so I looked inside. My goodness! It was all money!”

The audience burst into laughter. Suddenly, someone cried out, “I want to sign up!”

Everyone turned to see Li Dazhuang, still gasping for breath.

“I want to sign up. Right now,” he said between breaths.

A voice from the crowd piped up, “Hey, isn’t that the son of Old Fart? You want to win those five strings of coins?”

Everyone laughed uproariously, but Li Dazhuang pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Ah Fa awkwardly responded, “Brother Dazhuang, you’re welcome to sign up, but not here. Registration is at the shooting range entrance—look for Little Cui.”

Upon hearing this, Li Dazhuang took off running again, prompting another round of laughter from the villagers.

Someone said, “Why wait? Let’s all go sign up!”

And so, the crowd surged forth, heading toward the shooting range.