Chapter 10: Positioning

The experience gained from Fishing is visibly improving, but compared to the growth rate in the early stages, it has slowed down, sometimes even ceasing to grow at all, as if it has hit a bottleneck.

Cheng Feng guesses it might be related to so-called talent or aptitude.

He is just an ordinary, as ordinary as can be, commoner; there is no way he could possess any superior or unique talent.

As the saying goes, the rich rely on technology, the poor rely on mutation.

Based on the foundation of having lived two lives, Cheng Feng has realized one profound insight: he has a very clear positioning of himself.

This is no longer that safe country with sound legal systems and cameras everywhere.

Once it gets dark, you can't even see the nearby mountains.

Cheng Feng reckons that if he had an imaginary enemy, like in the movies, they could sneak over after dark and wipe out his whole family.

Then the murderer could just make a clean getaway.

And the whole family would be sent off on their way in one neat row.

Cheng Feng also knows his own changes are a result of the social environment.

He is no longer as self-indulgent as he was in his previous life.

Even lying flat wouldn't change anything.

In Great Zhou, if the bottom-tier poor don't work hard, they really will starve to death.

And only by working hard can they barely manage to be fed and clothed.

That is how Cheng Fu raised the whole family.

In Great Zhou, Cheng Feng's family is truly at the bottom; those even more miserable than them are the refugees who have no land at all and fled for their lives.

Cheng Feng's ancestors were refugees who chose to leave their hometown, take root here, and clear the land for farming.

A lifetime of diligent and conscientious effort laid this foundation for their descendants.

With the comparison of two eras, Cheng Feng knows his family has a foundation; at the very least, if they are diligent, they won't starve.

If the path doesn't change from here on, and they continue to be diligent for three more generations, they might become a family that, while not matching the wealthy, can still leave behind savings and let their descendants live a decent life.

That is as far as it goes.

Cheng Feng does not want to live this kind of impoverished life.

But he needs to make changes; any verbal expression or behavior that exceeds the norm might arouse suspicion and expose him.

His predecessor didn't have much say in the family, or rather, very little.

Just like other commoner families in Great Zhou, whatever the parents say goes.

And he can only try to change things through his predecessor's pathetic interpersonal relationships and the limited scope of activities he can access.

Fortunately, he finally found something a young body that can't carry or lift anything can do.

Skillful fishing—slightly off, but the gap isn't large.

If he can't fish, he can grope for them; just attracting the fish to a fixed spot will do.

The harvest from selling fish is getting higher by the day, and he has also brought changes to his family.

Everything is developing in a good direction.

Now that the skill has formed, Liu Hao's patience is also reaching its limit; after all, the twenty copper coins should be used up after three months.

This is just a transaction.

Did he really think his bow and arrows were used for free?

It was all calculated into it.

Liu Hao went out hunting again the day before yesterday; he can take his leave once he returns.

Cheng Feng verified his guess through Liu Hao and obtained the skill.

It was a huge bargain.

Afterward, as long as he finds some other special directions to learn, there should be no problem with the formation of skills.

For now, he still needs to save more money to prepare for the next step of his plan.

The bait cast earlier is now ready for the net to be drawn.

While waiting for Liu Hao to return, he can still practice properly with his bow and arrows one more time.

As it gradually gets dark, a familiar dog bark is heard.

Liu Hao has returned from hunting.

Looking at the returning Liu Hao, Cheng Feng takes the initiative to step forward and says, "Many thanks to Master Liu for your guidance. This young one has now mastered the essentials of Archery; I can just go back and practice properly from here on."

Seeing the courtyard that Cheng Feng had cleaned up, Liu Hao thinks even more highly of him.

This child is not like other village children; he is exceptionally clever, and his conduct and way of doing things are beyond reproach.

Every time he comes, he cleans up the courtyard.

Every two or three days, he brings a dried Xiao Yu for him.

His training is also extraordinarily diligent.

He trains until he can't move anymore, though he would run and jump in between, calling it exercise.

Liu Hao couldn't figure out what the trick was.

"No need for that. Since you feel you have mastered it, just go back and practice more."

Liu Hao also feels it is about time.

Twenty copper coins to learn something, and it didn't affect his own time. Liu Hao can also see Cheng Feng's current level: he has mastered the essentials and is just at the entry level.

The goal originally agreed upon has been reached, so that is enough.

Cheng Feng bids farewell, looks at his Panmian, and knows he must work hard again.

Returning home, he looks at the time and sits back down on the small dirt slope at the entrance.

He watches Lao San carrying a water bucket, with several other children at the village entrance greeting Lao San.

Cheng Feng was still very satisfied with Lao San.

Over these past three months, there were times when Lao San went fishing alone and brought back a catch.

Truly, experience is what makes a person grow.

The current Lao San was now practically a little adult, no longer as impetuous as before.

He had taken to heart the warnings given to him previously and did not go around blabbing to other children.

No major conflicts had occurred either.

At most, there had been some verbal spats with the children nearby.

It was perfectly normal for jealousy to make people green with envy.

As long as Lao San did not expose the matter of the bait, it would be fine.

Cheng Feng's bottom line was that it was best not to resort to force; if one had to, one should not be the first to strike and leave the other party with a handle to use against them.

Cheng Feng told Lao San to endure it, analyzed the pros and cons for him, and made him feel that he held a very important position in the family.

Meanwhile, during this period, those among the children who had connections at home also had their families arrange for them to go elsewhere to help out.

The autumn harvest was imminent; it was the season when crops ripened.

Harvesting could not be done carelessly.

Cheng Fu had Lao Da as a helper, while Lao Er and Lao San had their own ways of making money.

Cheng Mu was also occasionally able to take on some sewing and mending work.

Everything was going to develop in a good direction.

And autumn was the season of harvest.

Crops had to be harvested, and the fish in the river would also return upstream to spawn.

This would be the most productive period of the autumn phase for Cheng Feng.

The harvest of one or two people could no longer satisfy Cheng Feng.

Having learned Archery, and since his family was just an Ordinary rural household, they had neither bows nor arrows; Cheng Feng inquired at the blacksmith shop in town, and a somewhat durable bow cost at least one tael of silver, not to mention better ones like horn bows.

Cheng Feng had also tried it and felt that a bow with some durability would suffice.

He negotiated to have some arrows thrown in.

Finally, the price was set at one silver tael, six large coins, and four small coins—a total of sixteen large coins and four small coins—for one bow with higher durability and 6 arrows made with iron arrowheads.

Cheng Feng had a sufficient understanding of his own manual dexterity.

His brain understood it the moment he thought about it, but his hands ruined everything the moment he tried to do it.

Leave professional matters to the professionals.

He also felt he lacked a Hunting Knife and asked about the forging price; this was expensive, as one made of Ordinary materials cost 5 taels of silver, which was 50 large coins—the earnings of Cheng Feng and Cheng Lei for three months were only worth this one knife.

Cheng Feng could not help but sigh at the exorbitant profit, but there was no help for it; living by one's skills was not much different from being a researcher in his past life.

Cheng Feng did not even dare to ask about good materials, as his purse was truly empty.

He let the blacksmith measure his arm span, height, and other data, then left three large coins as a deposit and walked away.

He would come to pick it up in a month.

Since this phase began, Cheng Feng had consumed 20 large coins for tuition, and the scattered expenses totaled six, including the deposit just paid.

Afterward, he had to earn 13 large coins and four small coins within a month, otherwise, he would not be able to buy the bow.

Cheng Feng had a plan in mind and asked Lao San about his recent situation: "After these few months, how many people are there who want to fish with you and whom you can trust?"

Cheng Feng wanted to pull off something big, but he lacked manpower.

He could only try to find a way through the children.

According to the timing in the past, the fish should be returning upstream within these few days.