Chapter 25 Just a Small Interest
Chapter 25 Just a Small Interest
Five smoked wild game pieces, three hundred coins each, one tael for five hundred coins.
Xia's father was in a good mood and turned to look at Xia Mo with a smile, saying, "Nannan, shall we go buy a bow for your three older brothers?"
“Okay,” Xia Mo replied obediently.
Hu Zhi escorted the person out through the side door before turning back.
Xia Mo's smile became even sweeter. When her father looked over, she gave him an excessively sweet smile.
Xia's father didn't understand why his daughter was so happy, but seeing the pure joy on Xia Mo's face, he couldn't help but smile happily as well.
The sweeter Xia Mo smiled, the more miserable Ma Yiyi in the Wei family became.
Weijia Village, Anping County
Ma Yiyi emerged from the room she had been peeping into, her face dark, and stepped over the threshold.
Following behind Ma Yiyi, Madam Feng's eyes widened, and she exclaimed in a low voice, "Miss!"
Ma Yiyi looked at Aunt Feng with confusion, and then...
"boom--"
Ma Yiyi didn't step over the threshold; her foot got caught on it, and she fell flat on her face, landing on all fours like a turtle. The pain brought tears to her eyes.
"Woooo..."
Ma Yiyi gritted her teeth, suppressing her sobs.
Aunt Feng hurriedly went forward to help Ma Yiyi.
As Ma Yiyi was about to get up with Aunt Feng's help, she heard a "crack" sound from her bones, indicating that they had been dislocated.
Ma Yiyi was in so much pain that she couldn't help but let out a miserable howl.
Startled, Aunt Feng loosened her grip, causing Ma Yiyi, who was being supported, to lose her footing and fall to the ground with a thud. She landed flat on her back again, this time more seriously, with her chin hitting the ground and becoming bruised and congested.
Aunt Feng was terrified!
She was still hoping Ma Yiyi could marry Young Master Wei! Now that she's disfigured, how can she...?
Ma Yiyi also saw comments on the screen saying that her chin was bruised and purple, and that she might be disfigured.
Ma Yiyi was so frightened that she burst into tears.
This was just a small amount of interest received at the end of summer, and Ma Yiyi couldn't stand it?
Betraying her will come at a heavy price!
* * *
Two hours later—
Anjia Village, Xiajia Village—
Brother Xia, Second Brother Xia, and Third Brother Xia each received a bow, their eyes widening in surprise.
"Father, actually, we only need to buy one. Wouldn't this be... too wasteful?" Brother Xia's eyes were fixed on the bow, his hand gently stroking it, showing great affection, but he said the opposite.
Men at this time had a special fondness for weapons, and Brother Xia was no exception.
"Not much, not much, just one for each of you, and everyone can practice," Xia's father said with a smile. "The original price was two taels for a bow, but your little sister deliberately bargained, so three bows are only two taels and five hundred coins."
Upon hearing this, Brother Xia, Second Brother Xia, and Third Brother Xia were also delighted and looked at Xia Mo with admiration.
"Little sister is amazing."
Xia Mo was flattered by the praise.
After Xia's father set up the straw targets, Xia's eldest brother, second brother, and third brother couldn't wait to start practicing.
"Aren't there too few arrows?" Xia Sange shot out three arrows as fast as he could and then ran a hundred paces away to retrieve more.
“Arrows are easy to make; we can make them ourselves,” Xia’s father said, his smile mingling with the joy on his three sons’ faces.
"Does my little girl want to practice archery?" Xia's mother asked softly.
Xia's mother felt that Xia's father only bought three items this time and didn't buy one for Xia Mo, which made Xia Mo feel upset and she was extremely nervous.
“I don’t need a bow, and my aim is still very good,” Xia Mo raised her hand and threw a small stone at a pillar not far away.
"boom--"
A small stone hit a small pillar and fell to the ground.
After her initial surprise, Xia's mother exclaimed with delight, "MoMo is so amazing!"
Summer couldn't help but smile happily too.
The Xia family courtyard was filled with a warm and comforting atmosphere.
The Xia family's courtyard wasn't fenced off yet, and anyone passing by could see what Brother Xia and the others were doing.
Wang Daniu greeted them, "They're practicing archery."
Xia's father nodded with a smile.
"Uncle Xia, are you trying to train Shenggen and the others to be hunters?" Wang Daniu looked at Brother Xia and the others with curiosity, wanting to know where they learned their hunting skills. Shouldn't they have to find a master to do this?
Xia's father smiled and said, "Let the three children decide for themselves. It's always good to have an extra skill and another way to make a living."
The news that Xia Da Ge, Xia Er Ge, and Xia San Ge had started practicing archery spread throughout Anjia Village, attracting much envy.
Previously, after the Liu and He families broke off their engagement, the matchmakers wanted to introduce new girls to Brother Xia and Brother Xia's sons. Now, after hearing about the Xia family's situation, the matchmakers were tempted.
Matchmakers have appeared at the Xia family again.
Xia's father and mother were undoubtedly the happiest, feeling that life was getting better and better and they had something to look forward to!
When we went into the mountains again at the end of summer, it was with my eldest brother, second brother, and third brother.
The four of them practiced the "Nourishment Technique" together in the mountains and forests. After practicing their kung fu, they used bows and arrows to hunt small animals in the mountains and forests.
Brother Xia, Second Brother Xia, and Third Brother Xia were all searching for animal tracks on the ground. Whoever found one, the four of them would quietly make their way in that direction.
When Brother Xia and his group went hunting, the chances of them coming up empty-handed were very high. They could only find wild birds once in ten times. Even so, Brother Xia, Second Brother Xia, and Third Brother Xia were still very happy.
When hunting in late summer, they always find their prey accurately.
The morning ended, and we returned home laden with goodies.
At this time of year, there are many wild animals in the foothills because there are many wild beasts in the deep mountains. Pheasants and rabbits flee to the foothills in order to survive. After a while, there won't be as many small prey left.
At the end of summer, the four siblings led their prey out of the mountains.
After Xia's father had collected all sixteen prey, he asked curiously, "Are there so many prey in the mountains now?"
"Most are in spring and autumn, least in winter, and less in summer," Xia Mo replied.
Xia's father and mother happily began preparing the smoked meat.
Hu Zhi's side has arrived again.
Inside the Xia Family Hall—
"We've received word from the capital that they really value your smoked meat and hope you can smoke more and raise the price, which would be fine," Hu Zhi said.
Xia's father frowned: "Making one batch of smoked meat takes ten days. It's October now, and there aren't many game left in the mountains. I'm afraid... there won't be many left."
“We can provide wild game here. You can help us smoke it. I’ll give you 150 coins for each one.” Hu Zhi’s lips curled up.
Because of the exceptional quality of the smoked meat, the Wei family values Hu Zhi and hopes to transfer him to the capital next year. As a result, Hu Zhi is now more generous in his asking price.
Mr. Xia's eyes widened in surprise, and he asked, "How many do you need?"
“Two hundred,” Hu Zhi said.
"Ah," Xia's mother was overjoyed by the surprise of "two hundred", and smiled so broadly that her eyes disappeared.
"We can't smoke 200 a day, we can only smoke 50 at a time, so four 50s would take 40 days," Brother Xia said, not letting his joy cloud his judgment, but immediately frowning.
“If you all work harder and do it a hundred times at a time, it will only take twenty days to finish. I just need to send it to the capital in November,” Hu Zhi said with a smile.
Xia Mo stood aside without saying a word, looking at the generous Hu Zhi. She didn't sense any malice from Hu Zhi, but her intuition told her that things were not so simple!
PDLP