Chapter 3: A Merchant?

Watching his family members discuss whether to sell the fish or eat it, Cheng Feng put aside the thought of exploring the Panmian; with a blink of his eyes, the Panmian vanished from before Cheng Feng's sight.

It was rather uncomfortable to have a VR-like perspective displayed constantly, and since he couldn't go online or relieve his loneliness, why keep it on?

Out of sight, out of mind.

"Father, I want to sell the fish," Cheng Feng said directly, not waiting for his family to argue further. "Our family's savings are low now. I'll see if I can earn some money over these two days to lay a foundation for the autumn taxes and prepare a bit more."

Cheng Fu was prepared to argue, but as soon as Cheng Feng mentioned the autumn taxes, Cheng Fu fell silent. Looking at Lao Cheng's expression, the scene also went quiet for a moment.

Cheng Fu spoke up: "You don't need to worry about the autumn taxes. You aren't even an adult yet, so why are you fretting over the family's affairs? This fish is just right for you to build up your strength. Once you're better, if you can catch two more, it won't be too late to sell them then."

With the head of the household having spoken, the Cheng family did not hesitate, and it was settled just like that.

Cheng Feng felt even more moved; he knew the family was doing this to put his mind at ease.

However, Lao Cheng was right; it wouldn't be too late to sell it once his body had recovered.

Cheng Mu happily went to prepare the fish, and the Lao Cheng household finally had a meat dish, something they hadn't encountered in a long time.

That night, Cheng Fu said that Lao Er had grown up.

Cheng Mu said the child was filial.

Cheng Shu said that Lao Er had changed and become smarter.

As for Cheng Lei, he ate the fish with a slurping sound, hoping his second brother's luck would continue to be this good tomorrow.

Cheng Feng, meanwhile, would manifest the pale blue Panmian for a moment, then cancel it the next.

Looking at that More Children More Blessings Origin Talent and that Fishing Skill, he secretly pondered what kind of changes this cheat could bring him.

The long night dragged on, and based on the current clues, Cheng Feng only had three hypotheses.

The information in the Panmian was in the characters of his past life, simple and easy to understand.

Origin, as the name suggests, is the source itself, so it might possess uniqueness or be innate.

If this idea holds, then there should be talents that are not Origin-based, or perhaps acquired.

As for how acquired talents come about, they might be created by chance encounters like those in the mythological novels of his past life.

The second point is the one percent behind the Fishing Skill; where there is one, there will be two.

How to improve it?

He could try it out tomorrow.

As for the third point, it is the timing of the Panmian's appearance; it appeared at the same time the fishing succeeded, so is it related to the appearance of that one percent in the Fishing Skill?

If the hypothesis holds, if he didn't go fishing today, would a skill appear if he chopped wood or pulled weeds?

Then how did the skill appear?

Many thoughts and ideas surged through Cheng Feng's mind.

But it was of no use; the current goal remained unchanged, and it would depend on whether this Fishing Skill could come in handy tomorrow.

If he could continue to raise it to two percent, there was a possibility of improvement, and Cheng Feng felt that he would truly have great prospects ahead.

At the very least, he wouldn't go hungry; hmm, and he could eat meat.

Cheng Feng mocked himself; this was all the ambition he had now.

The More Children More Blessings talent didn't need to be considered; at a glance, it was the result of a game between a man and a woman. He was currently dirt poor and not even an adult yet, so why think about that so much?

Furthermore, this world also had the concept of a bride price!!!

Without a bride price, you want to take a wife???

Keep dreaming; dreams have everything.

Cheng Feng fell asleep in a daze just like that.

The next day, Cheng Fu and his eldest brother went out early as usual to tend to the family's meager fields, while Cheng Mu diligently tidied up the house, mending and sewing.

Cheng Feng asked his mother for a hemp rope and a thin needle, found a handy, sturdy stick in the courtyard, drilled a hole in one end, and threaded the hemp rope through it.

He told Cheng Mu he would drink fish soup tonight, then headed out with his dry rations, full of confidence.

Goal achieved: Angler.

He picked a large, plump leaf from the woods he had passed yesterday to use as a bobber, and plucked three loaches from a damp corner.

Carrying his bucket, he ran over two hills, specifically choosing a riverbank where he couldn't be seen and could sit with his back against a tree. He set down the bucket, baited the needle with an earthworm, and cast his line.

He hadn't eaten meat but had seen pigs run; don't let Cheng Feng's appearance fool you, in reality, this was a maiden's first time on the bridal sedan—his very first time.

In his past life, as someone from the inland, he hadn't even seen the ocean at the border.

It wasn't that he lacked the spare money, but he found traveling to be a huge hassle with little to show for it; compared to traveling, wasn't eating meat and drinking alcohol more satisfying?

To each their own, no need to compare.

Looking at the ripples on the river surface and thinking about his current situation, a thought occurred to Cheng Feng: in this life, he could not just rot away in this mountain ravine; he had to move upward.

If a person has no dreams, what is the difference between them and a salted fish? Right?

Just as he was lost in thought, a commotion came from the lakeside.

"Mother, I don't want to follow Lai Er. What have I done to wrong you or Xiang Ge since I married into this family? Why do you always think about pushing me toward Lai Er?" A woman dressed in simple clothes with her hair in a bun, looking about seventeen or eighteen, was complaining to the old woman beside her.

"Xiang Ge's leg is broken, and I haven't complained. All the money our family saved was spent on his medical treatment, and I haven't said a word. I've cared for you and him wholeheartedly. When there was no rice and we were starving, I went up the mountain to dig wild vegetables to boil into soup for everyone to eat, and I didn't think anything of it. As long as everyone could survive, that was better than anything. But now that Xiang Ge is lying in bed, you want me to remarry, and to Lai Er at that? I can't do it, unless Xiang Ge tells me to himself."

The kind-faced old woman listened to the young woman's words and stopped speaking, shedding tears pitifully: "Sigh, you poor thing, you haven't had a single good day since marrying into our family."

But the woman wouldn't listen anymore; she carried her washbasin and left without looking back. She had heard these words from the old woman too many times already.

The old woman didn't follow. Once the young woman was far away, she wiped the two tears from the corners of her eyes, watched the young woman's retreating back, and her expression returned to calm as she said faintly: "Come out."

Cheng Feng gave a start. Damn, is this an expert? Did she detect my breathing?

While Cheng Feng's mind was churning with thoughts, footsteps came from the woods opposite him.

A man in grey-brown clothing walked out, his face full of fat, with a diagonal scar across the bridge of his nose. As soon as he opened his mouth, two crooked front teeth were visible: "Wang Po, you didn't get the job done."

"Laizi, this old woman has already tried. I've used soft words, hard words, threats, and inducements; I've done everything I was supposed to do. You saw it yourself from the side. It's not that I didn't speak up. I won't be returning the money we agreed upon. If my Xiang Ge'er agreed, would I even need her to say anything? Selling her off to get money from you to treat his illness would be a way out, wouldn't it?" Wang Po insisted, not giving an inch.

"Sigh, it's a pity your Xiangzi doesn't agree. Well, it makes sense; he was injured by a wild beast the night before his wedding night. No family would agree to it. She's a maiden, after all. Fine, you've tried, and I've heard it. Let it be for now. Master Lai isn't short of that little bit of money."

Lai Er did not think to pester any further, flicked his robe, and left.

Wang Po watched Lai Er walk away, smiling happily as she touched the large coins in her bosom, and muttered to herself: "This money is truly easy to earn."

Immediately after, she also left.

Yet no one knew that this scene had brought Cheng Feng a tremendous shock.

"No way, selling people?"

He recalled that recently, human trafficking was something only from legends of the dark web in his past life, or news about female celebrities being auctioned off.

But even so, Ordinary citizens would have considered it a huge piece of gossip, yet now Cheng Feng had watched this behind-the-scenes transaction from such close range.

Cheng Feng suddenly broke out in goosebumps.

He no longer felt a sense of security.

What kind of world is this, damn it?