Chapter 6: Three-Stone Bow, Preparing to Enter the Mountain
If it were just Lai San, Su Sheng wouldn't be so concerned, but if Su Bin was also involved, it would be a bit difficult for him to handle. Because of the presence of his father, Su He, he had always respected Su Yu's eldest uncle's family and often advised his children, saying that they were, after all, one family, and blood is thicker than water. Both Su Sheng and Su Yu had long been tired of hearing this.
When the Village was recruiting soldiers, Su Yu's eldest uncle's family, Su Fugui, was originally supposed to go, but in the end, Grandma couldn't bear it and let Second, Su He, go. However, Su He thought that his family had given him such a good opportunity. In addition, since he joined the army and couldn't come back, his Big Brother was the one who fulfilled filial piety in front of their parents, as Third Brother, Su Yuanzheng, was still young. Therefore, Su Yu's father felt somewhat guilty, thinking he had pushed the burden of the family onto Big Brother.
Although Su Yu's grandmother was a bit biased towards First, in Su He's opinion, it was nothing. After all, while he was serving in the army, Big Brother was taking care of the family, so it was understandable that Old Lady favored Big Brother more. However, he wasn't foolish; he knew that his salary had been used to supplement his Big Brother's family over the years. He just didn't want to fall out with them, as the Village highly valued filial piety.
"It's okay, Big Brother, don't worry about Lai San's matter. I have my own way. Don't be impulsive. Tidy up and get ready to eat. Stop working."
Patting his Big Brother Su Sheng's shoulder, Su Yu picked up the enamel basin and went out, pouring water and washing his hands, and also washed the little Yatou, Su Jing.
Hu Zi had already followed Su Yu's mother into the room carrying the stewed fish. The food was on the table. Shortly after, Su Jin returned, followed closely by Su Father. The two rode back on bicycles. The Commune Brick Factory had bicycles that weren't usually used, but Su Father often rode one back if he had something to do. Since the Brick Factory had more than one, Su Father was in charge of loading and unloading trucks there and sometimes went with the trucks, including settling the final payments. So, he was a minor official, equivalent to a foreman of a construction team.
"Father, you're back?"
Hu Zi also greeted him. The children were all around. There was a large enamel basin on the table with seven catties of fish inside. There was fish and soup, and the aroma was enticing. Even though not much oil was used, it was still very fragrant in this era.
"Hu Zi is here too? Sit down, don't be shy."
Hu Zi's Father was a few years older than Su He, so Hu Zi called Su Yu's father Uncle and Su Yu's mother Aunt.
The two families weren't far apart and got along quite well. They were also within the fifth degree of kinship, so they would visit each other's elderly during New Year's greetings.
"Third Brother, this fish is really delicious. Are you going fishing again this afternoon? I'll go with you."
Fourth, Su Jin, who was eating heartily, kept chattering incessantly to Su Yu while eating.
"You are not allowed to go. Stay home and do your homework. School is starting in a few days. If you have nothing to do, tutor your Xiao Mei. If you dare to go down to the river, Old Lady will break your legs."
Well, Liu Yuzhi's words silenced Fourth. Su Yu gave him an apologetic look, indicating he couldn't help.
Hu Zi chuckled foolishly, ignoring Su Jin, and ate by himself. Seven catties of fish for seven people, and Xiao Mei couldn't eat much at all. So, all seven people ate their fill. The wild vegetables weren't cooked at all. Everyone was stuffed, not because they couldn't eat a catty of fish, but because their stomachs had shrunk from long-term hunger. Eating a catty of fish and drinking some fish soup would definitely make them stuffed.
"Don't run around this afternoon. Honestly go work in the fields with your Big Brother. Since you're not going to school, help out with some work at home. Don't be like your Big Brother, loafing around all day."
The four of them, plus Hu Zi, sat in front of the door after eating, digesting their food while Su Father smoked his pipe. However, despite what he said, Big Brother was innocently dragged into it. The loafing around Su Father mentioned referred to the previous Su Sheng. Since he turned eighteen, he hadn't gone out to play much and had been helping with farm work at home.
But jokes aside, making Su Yu plant crops? Don't be ridiculous. It would be understandable when the land was divided among households, but with this collective system, no matter how actively you plant, you're just doing the work that others are too lazy to do.
To put it bluntly, it's like trying to put out a fire with a cup of water; it's not very useful. Hoping for a good harvest is rare, unless it's a year with sufficient rainfall. Otherwise, there still won't be enough to eat.
Otherwise, why do you think the people gradually became prosperous until the land was divided among households? It's because of human nature, selfishness. Anyway, working more or less is the same; you get work points for working. Being lazy for a day or working hard until you're exhausted gets you the same points. Do you expect everyone to rely on self-awareness and morality to be proactive and work hard on farming? Don't be ridiculous. Take weeding, for example. Someone can hide in the cornfield for a whole day and only do half a day's work, just dragging it out as long as possible, because someone else will eventually do it anyway.
Even if you come up with some kind of responsibility system, you still can't avoid laziness, because the ten work points for a day's work are fixed. Only if you're caught being lazy will points be deducted. But how many can you catch? Will catching too many offend people? Anyway, it's not their own land, it's collective, so who would be so conscientious as to catch people and offend them?
"I won't go to the fields this afternoon. Let Big Brother go. It's only half a day's work points, not worth it. I plan to go into the mountain with Hu Zi to catch some wild game."
San Shui Wan Village is close to Dasan. When it's not busy with farming, the Village People's Militia organizes hunts, so it's not uncommon to find many animals in the mountain.
"You and Hu Zi want to go into the mountain? No, it's too dangerous."
Su Father flatly refused, and Big Brother also chimed in, in short, they disagreed.
"Don't worry, we don't have any weapons, we won't go into the Deep Mountain, only the periphery. We'll catch some Wild Pheasants and Wild Rabbits, it'll be fine."
Hearing that they would only be on the periphery, Su Father didn't stop them. Children who live near Dasan usually go to the mountain periphery, whether it's to gather firewood, pick mushrooms, or catch Wild Pheasants and Wild Rabbits. They stay at the foot of the mountain, in the peripheral woods, which are close to the Village and don't have large predators, only some small animals. There is indeed no danger there.
"Do as you please, but be careful. Since you don't want to go to the fields, then forget it."
Because his salary was often taken by Old Lady to supplement Big Brother, Su Father didn't have much confidence and tried to be gentle when educating his children. This was also the reason why Big Brother used to be so lawless.
After resting for a while, Su Father left to go to work. Mother Liu Yuzhi and Big Brother went to the fields because the bell for going to the fields rang in the Village, which was the signal for the Villagers to go work in the fields.
"Fourth, stay home and watch the house. Help Yatou with her homework. Don't run around, got it?"
After specifically instructing him, under Su Jin's resentful gaze, Su Yu and Hu Zi left the house.
"Do you have a horn bow at your place? Let me use it for a bit."
Outside the gate, Su Yu directly spoke to Hu Zi. Hu Zi's Father was in the People's Militia. The reason he became a People's Militia was related to Hu Zi's Grandpa. Hu Zi's Grandpa was an Old Hunter, so Hu Zi's Father had been in the mountain a lot. Both his Gunmanship and archery were not bad, so joining the People's Militia was reasonable.
"No, no, that's my Father's treasure. If he knows I secretly took it out, he'll break my legs."
"What are you afraid of? If you don't say anything, and I don't say anything, who will know? Do you really just want to wander around the periphery? Don't you want to go in and take a look?"
The horn bow was passed down from his Grandpa's generation. Although there are guns now, hunters at least use an Old cannon, which is a self-welded gun filled with ammunition and iron sand, like a shotgun. Its maximum effective killing range is fifty meters, similar to a bow and arrow, but its killing range is large. Within fifty meters, with one shot, there's no error within a few meters.
The difference is that if you don't kill or hit the target after shooting, you need to run, because neither Wild Boars nor wolves will give you a chance to reload.
"Cough, cough... My family's horn bow is a Three-Stone Bow. Can you even draw it?"
One stone is sixty kilograms, so three stones is one hundred eighty kilograms, or three hundred sixty jin. The term 'stone' refers to the weight required to draw the bowstring into a full moon shape. One stone is one hundred twenty jin, meaning it takes one hundred twenty jin of force to fully draw a one-stone bow.
It takes three hundred sixty jin to draw the bowstring into a full moon shape. In ancient times, this was something only a great general could do.
Upon hearing it was a Three-Stone Bow, Su Yu decisively gave up. With Su Yu's body, it would be difficult for him to lift a three-hundred-jin stone, let alone draw a bow. Having three hundred jin of strength doesn't necessarily mean you can draw a three-hundred-jin bow; they are two different things.
Therefore, it can be seen that Hu Zi's family's bow is probably just a decoration. It's likely that no one in several generations has used it, and it's just kept as a family heirloom. It's understandable that they are unwilling to take it out.
