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  One who surpasses ten people is called outstanding; one who surpasses a hundred people is called talented; one who surpasses a thousand people is called heroic; one who surpasses ten thousand people is called extraordinary.

  In the midst of the wilderness, many heroes are hiding and waiting for opportunities to rise. In Lin Xu's view, Chen Erdou, a sturdy man who makes a living by hunting, may be down on his luck now, but he may have a day when he will suddenly rise to greatness.

  When he thought of this, Lin Xu paused for a moment and continued:

  "Really? What is Brother Chen's title?"

  As soon as this topic was mentioned, Chen Ergou showed a few more awkward expressions. He completely lost the majestic and powerful aura he had when he shot and killed the fierce tiger with one arrow earlier, and said shyly:

  "When I was a kid... our family was poor and couldn't afford to hire a teacher, so we just called him 'Second Dog' all along!"

  Lin Xu nodded in understanding, the longer he lived in this world, the more he understood why there were always people rebelling against the government in ancient times. It wasn't that these people were inherently rebellious, but rather they had no other way to survive.

  It happened to be at the end of the Wang Dynasty, the politics of the Great Qin Empire were corrupt, and the people's burden of labor and taxes was extremely heavy.

  In a region like Huainan, which is not considered prosperous, if we take a standard family of five adults as an example, one adult male would have to serve almost three months of corvée labor in a year. During this period, the farm work at home has to be taken care of by the elderly and women, often resulting in having land but lacking manpower for cultivation and management. In addition, each person in the household has to pay 10 coins of head tax, plus the summer and autumn taxes on grain, as well as various miscellaneous expenses imposed by local officials, making the total amount of taxes and levies that the common people have to pay staggering.

  Even if they catch up with a good harvest, ordinary people can't save much, and once they encounter a bad year, they don't want to sit at home waiting for death, so they have no choice but to flee.

  At this time, Lin Xu looked at Chen Ergou with sympathy and said while rubbing his hands:

  "Oh, I see! When I was a kid, I actually studied with the teacher in a private school for two days. Chen brothers, you just saved my life, we are all from poor families, and I don't have anything good to repay your kindness, how about helping me get a big favor instead?"

  Chen Ergou's eyes lit up as soon as he heard the voice, and he nodded repeatedly, saying:

  "What's going on here! Never mind, brother, you tell me!"

  At the sound, Lin Xu smiled slightly, seemingly thinking about how to name it, but in fact his hands behind his back were quickly calculating. After figuring out the pros and cons, Lin Xu squatted down and wrote "Chen Liang" with an axe on the ground, saying:

  "Chen brothers, come and see. The character in front is your surname, Chen. The character behind is your name, Liang."

  Staring at the two big characters on the ground with wide eyes, Chen Ergou's face was bitter. He didn't recognize many characters, and he could only recognize his own name "Chen Ergou" when it was written together. When separated, he only recognized the character for "two". All he heard was him saying in a timid tone:

  "I'm an uneducated man, I can barely recognize a few big characters, how can I possibly remember all this?"

  A burly man with a fist that could hold a person and an arm that could run a horse, yet he had the demeanor of a young girl. The strong contrast made Lin Xu's stomach churn.

  In ancient society, most ordinary people were illiterate. Let alone understanding the Four Books and Five Classics or the Six Arts, even being able to recognize a few characters and write their own name with a brush was already considered half of being an intellectual.

  Lin Xiang had expected Chen Ergou to forget his new name for a while and comforted him with kind words:

  "Hehehe, don't worry about it. Later I'll carve these two characters on a piece of wood and you can take them home to study at your own pace. The more days you look at them, the more naturally you'll recognize them."

  As he spoke, Lin Xu walked a few steps forward and pulled out a chestnut tree trunk as thick as an adult's arm from the bundle of firewood lying on the ground. He swung his axe to split a section of the log in half, then pulled out a small knife and carved the two large characters "Chen Liang" onto the cut surface of the wood, handing it over to Chen Er Gou. From now on, he should be addressed by his great name, Chen Liang.

  He carefully wrapped the wooden piece with his new name in animal hide and solemnly tied it to his waist. It was only then that Chen Liang remembered he hadn't asked for the other person's name, so he rubbed his head and said with embarrassment:

  "Thank you so much, big brother. Just now I was too excited and forgot to ask your name."

  "Oh, I'm surnamed Lin, as in forest Lin, and my single-character given name is Xu."

  Just looking at Chen Liang's expression when he heard the sound of thunder, Lin Xu knew that he had been fooled again. He couldn't help but shake his head.

  After chatting with Lin Xu for half a day, the dead tiger was still hanging there. Remembering this, Chen Liang immediately rushed to skin the tiger with his knife.

  Lin Xu's interest in Chen Liang, the hunter with a five-colored aura, has greatly increased. He no longer moves forward and instead squats down beside him to watch as Chen Liang skins the dead tiger.

  While thinking in his heart about how to get along with this promising brother, Lin Xu said casually:

  "Chen brothers chased this big guy all the way, I suppose he hasn't eaten yet?"

  Hearing this, Chen Liang wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and smiled foolishly, saying:

  "I'm used to it, when I go hunting, going three or two days without eating is a common thing."

  This topic is very much in line with Lin Xu's intentions, and the interface said:

  "Well then, since my home is just nearby, this mountain has a lot of dampness, why don't you come to my place later, Brother Chen, and have a drink to warm up?"

  "Alright! Wait for me for a moment!"

  Hearing that there was wine to drink, Chen Liang excitedly responded with a sound, and then picked out the tender parts of the tiger's body, making quick and clean cuts to slice off several pieces of fresh meat. He turned his head and smiled at Lin Xu, saying:

  "This tiger meat is very nutritious, I'll just roast it over a fire and we can eat it later!"

  At this time, Lin Xu nodded and decided to go prepare for the next act's stage, immediately changing the subject and saying:

  "It's settled then, I'll bring these dried meats to you, brother Chen, for roasting. I'll head back home first to warm up the wine. Later, when you see smoke rising from the foot of the mountain, just follow the road and come over."

  When people are poor, their aspirations are short-lived; when horses are thin, their hair grows long. Chen Liang heard that there was wine to drink and couldn't help but stir up the wine worms in his stomach, so he said with a big nod:

  "Alright, I understand, Brother Lin, you go take care of your own business!"

  It goes without saying that if the two old and new mountain temples are considered Lin Xu's home, they are also far away in Huo Mountain hundreds of miles away. Since he wants to set up wine to entertain Chen Liang, today must be prepared to come up with a "Lin Family Old Mansion" immediately.

  On this side, Lin Xu left Chen Liang's line of sight and immediately drove the earth to escape to the foot of the mountain. Knowing that it was not a time to save divine power, he activated long-distance divine power transmission. The location chosen was an open space next to a miscellaneous forest at the foot of the mountain. Lin Xu shook his hand and threw out a small object about the size of a matchbox, which looked like a miniature landscape model. As a large amount of divine power poured into it continuously, this small courtyard model expanded rapidly, comparable to a steamed bun in a steamer basket.

  The entire model rapidly unfolded on the empty ground and transformed into a serene courtyard composed of six thatched cottages with bamboo structures in the blink of an eye.

  In an instant, the "Lin Family Old House" was built. Lin Xu was not satisfied with this, as these houses looked too new. In order to achieve a realistic and perfect effect, he bent down and picked up a pinch of dust from the ground, infused it with his divine power, and blew it onto the house in one breath.

  Suddenly, the rolling yellow dust enveloped several thatched cottages, and for a moment it seemed as if one couldn't see their fingers in front of them. After a short while, the dust cloud dispersed, and these cottages were covered with a layer of dust from inside to outside, revealing the worn-out details of the houses after years of erosion.

  Admiring his own work, Lin Xu still felt that something was missing here. After careful consideration, he slapped his forehead.

  Not even in the most professional logger's home, there is no vegetable garden or a single domestic animal or poultry in front of and behind the house.

  Acting requires a complete set, thinking of the ancient proverb "can't bear to part with the wolf", Lin Xu gritted his teeth and used his divine power to temporarily "borrow" several rows of vegetables planted in front of and behind the house, as well as livestock scattered in the yard. This time, the disguise work can be considered a great success.

  Lin Xu was warming the wine in the kitchen when he heard Chen Liang's distinctive loud voice shouting from the courtyard.

  "Lin Ge, your house is really nice!"

  At the sound, Lin Xu picked up a towel and wiped his hands, stepped out of the kitchen, and smiled:

  "Haha, it's been passed down from our ancestors. I took the opportunity to renovate it a bit while I had some free time. Come on, let's get ready to drink!"

  This pot of turbid wine that the two men drank was also "borrowed" by Lin Xu from someone, but it wasn't because he wanted to take advantage of others or get something for nothing. The reason was that there was no such inferior wine in the Mountain God Temple. If they had brought out a better vintage to entertain Chen Liang, Lin Xu would have found it hard to explain where the wine came from, so he could only use the word "borrow" as an excuse.

  Savoring the slightly sour big bowl of thick wine with the burnt-outside-and-tender-inside tiger meat, Lin Xu and Chen Liang chatted as they ate, their conversation becoming increasingly warm.

  Lin Xu deliberately yielded to Chen Liang, who was already drunk and talking nonsense.

  After three rounds of wine, Lin Xu cut to the chase and said:

  "Chen brothers, my ancestors were also hunters by birth, but by the time it got to my generation, we changed professions. We barely made a living by chopping firewood and picking herbs in the mountains. However, our ancestors left behind a good bow, which is wasted in my hands, so I'd rather give it to you, brother!"

  Lin Xue had long been prepared with the gift for meeting Chen Liang, and even the reason for giving gifts to others was also compiled in a reasonable and coherent manner.

  This is a typical Huaxia-style tendon-angled wooden structure reflex composite bow, commonly known as the "Huang Hua Bow", with a strength of up to three dan, making it an absolutely top-notch strong bow.

  Dry, horn, tendon, glue, silk and lacquer are the main raw materials needed for traditional Chinese bow making. Among them, cow horn and cow tendon are strategic materials that are strictly controlled by the state.

  Due to the significant impact of the number of oxen on agricultural production in the farming era, the government strictly controlled the slaughter of oxen, and the inspection was no less stringent than the ban on black guns during the Harmony years. Moreover, making a good bow requires not only good materials but also time costs, as well as the skilled craftsmanship and experience of the bow maker. Good materials are hard to come by, and good craftsmen are even harder to find; even if the bow is made well, it must be properly maintained according to seasonal changes, otherwise, it will rot and become unusable. Therefore, the number of existing good bows has never been large.