Chapter 4 Acquaintance

  Back inside, Zhang Old Honest had become infinitely enthusiastic, moving over a stool and carefully wiping it with his sleeve before respectfully inviting Lü Shi to sit down, which made Lü Shi feel embarrassed.

  Originally, the cotton-padded jacket that Lu Shi wore was already tattered and had almost lost its original color and shape. After going through mountains and forests for two or three months, it became even more worn out. Fortunately, when the weather warmed up, Lu Shi removed the cotton wadding from the jacket and threw it away. One time, he even took the opportunity to wash it carefully in a river, so it no longer smelled terrible. However, now his clothes were so tattered that they couldn't cover his body properly. Now, as he sat on Zhang Lao's stool, it wasn't that the stool had dirtied his clothes, but rather his clothes had dirtied Zhang Lao's stool.

  With difficulty, Zhang Old Honest scratched his head and carefully probed: "That, this..."

  Lü Shi saw Zhang Lao's embarrassed appearance and couldn't help but smile, saying: "Old brother, if you have something to say, please speak up, there's no need to be shy."

  "That's right, that's right." Zhang Laoshi nodded repeatedly and then became wooden and didn't know what to say.

  Lü Shiyuan thought of San'er talking about his family making bows and arrows for the government office. He recalled that when he was at Zhang's house trying out the longbow, he had understood the key to it, but wasn't eager to learn the skill of making bows. In fact, this wasn't a secret, and one could understand the key by observing carefully. It was just that this honest man didn't want to steal the technique.

  "Ha ha, I think you're asking me about the origin and craftsmanship of this longbow?"

  "Master Fu will laugh at me, actually, it doesn't matter if Master Fu doesn't say anything." Zhang Lao Shi said this with his mouth, but his eyes were filled with hope.

  He Zhang could see that the monk's singing skills were only rough and unrefined due to lack of training, but with proper refinement, they might be more than ten or a hundred times better.

  Lü Shijian saw Zhang Lao's expression and smiled lightly: "Actually, this thing was thought out by myself, and no patent application was made."

  "What's patent?" Zhang was confused.

  "Actually, I call this thing the Lü Shì Longbow. The method of making it is simple: just select good zitan wood, preferably high-quality nanmu wood, and try to make it as uniform in thickness as possible. Then boil it in tung oil for two hours, which is equivalent to one time period, and use cow tendon or silk to make the string."

  "Why not use fire to shape it? Wouldn't that be faster?" Zhang Laoshi raised a professional question.

  Lv Shixiao said: "Using fire to roast will make the toughness of Zamu disappear, or you can try it and compare it to see."

  Zhang Laoshi began to doubt and lowered his head in contemplation.

  At this time, Zhang Laoshi's aunt came in and smiled: "Don't talk about your archery skills for now, Master must be hungry too, let's eat first."

  Then a group of children cheered and started preparing for dinner by moving tables and chairs.

  Dinner was not sumptuous, after all, it was a family that had eaten the previous meal and didn't have the next one, just barely holding on to not starve to death. So the pheasant brought back by Lü Shi became the main course.

  A bowl of stewed mountain chicken with wild vegetables, a few bowls of clear porridge that can reflect human shadows, nothing more.

  Zhang Lao Shi apologized with a red face, saying that he had kept the master waiting. Lv Shi also showed some courtesy, but in fact, for someone who hadn't seen a grain of rice or eaten a hot meal in months, this was already a sumptuous feast. His stomach had long been singing praises, and he was just waiting for Zhang Lao Shi to finish the formalities so they could start eating.

  After a round of formalities, the men in the house sat down according to ancient etiquette, distinguishing between host and guest, superior and inferior, old and young, waiting for Zhang Lao Shi to announce that dinner was served.

  In this era, women were not qualified to sit at the table. Lü Shì saw from afar that Zhang's little daughter was thin and weak, almost invisible under her tattered clothes. She timidly hid behind her mother, biting her fingers, revealing half of her small head, greedily staring at the only fat chicken on the table, swallowing saliva.

  In this patriarchal society, passing down the family lineage is of utmost importance. At a time when food is scarce, it's already fortunate that girls aren't being sold off. This little girl might have gone years without eating a full meal, let alone meat, just like her own mother.

  Lü's nose suddenly felt a sourness, thinking of his own younger sister in the future, who was the treasured darling of the family and an absolute princess. How could she have almost bitten off her own finger for just one chicken leg?

  Zhang Laoshi followed the etiquette of treating guests, tore off a chicken leg and put it in Lü Shi's bowl, smiling politely: "Since Master has already broken his precepts and come out of the mountain gate, don't be polite, come on, first eat a chicken leg."

  Lü Shì stood up, picked up the chicken leg and walked to the back of Zhang Jia's daughter, squatted down and smiled: "Little sister, brother is a monk, originally not allowed to eat meat, so please little sister help Master to finish this chicken leg, how about it?"

  The girl was so shy that she tried to hide behind her mother, not daring to reach out for it, but her eyes couldn't leave the chicken leg.

  Zhang's wife, however, kept pushing it away, saying that the child was still young and couldn't eat meat. The little girl also said timidly: "Master, Mother says that girls in our family can't eat meat, or else Bodhisattva will be displeased."

  This made Lv Shi have to work hard to hold back his tears, not letting himself cry in front of outsiders. He forced a chicken leg into the understanding child's hand and tried to laugh lightly: "Little girls are like Bodhisattvas who must be spoiled, can you please help the monk bear some sin?"

  "Thank you, Master Lu, thank you, Master Lu." Seeing that Lü Shi was sincere, Zhang's wife repeatedly thanked him. This food originally belonged to the Zhang family, yet they had to thank Lü Shi, which made Lü Shi even more heartbroken.

  Turning her head to secretly wipe away tears, she stood up and returned to her seat, forcing a smile: "Brother, can we start eating now?"

  Zhang Laoshi looked at everything and suppressed the heartache, forcing a smile: "It's just plain food, Master please have some." Then several people started eating with their heads down.

  It's said that even coarse tea and plain rice are exaggerated for this meal, the bowl is unknown what kind of wild vegetables mixed with a few clear rice grains in a thin porridge. When drinking it into the mouth, there isn't even a bit of salty flavor, bitter and astringent between the lips and teeth for a long time. A few roots that don't know what kind of grass they are, also make Lü Shi chew several times but can't chew them thoroughly, only forcing himself to swallow with an extended neck.

  In fact, eating plain food is also a helpless situation. Lv Shi didn't know that in that world, salt was one yuan per kilogram, but at this time it had become a luxury for ordinary people.

  In Shaanxi, Mongolia indeed has salt pools, but the Tartars do not know how to develop them. The official salt of Gansu Lake (which is still in Shaanxi and not in Gansu) is sold at multiple layers of markup, where can ordinary people afford it? Some merchants sell Shandong sea salt, which is relatively cheaper, but even then, one or two liang of edible salt costs over a hundred wen per jin.

  More than 100 wen? For ordinary people, it's a huge fortune that they have never seen before.

  Looking at the chopsticks constantly reaching for the fat chicken but immediately turning away from the sensible children, Lü Shi wanted to cry. It seems that this fat chicken can be served up and down for countless days without eating it itself. So Lü Shi forced a smile and picked up a small piece with his chopsticks, chewing in his mouth was like chewing wax.

  During meals, Lü Shi had a few words of conversation with Zhang Laoshi.

  I can't just eat this wild vegetable meal for nothing, I must do something for this family. I don't have the ability or opportunity to change history, but changing the fate of the Zhang family that gave me a meal is still possible, thought Lü Shi.

  Ever since Lv Shi was brought back home by Zhang Jia San, he had an idea. He too was once a refugee and wanted to rely on his own abilities to do something to improve his life or more accurately, to survive. However, he had no skills and no one to turn to.

  But things are different now, I'm living in the Zhang's house, and not only do they have land, but also these few laborers helping out. With my knowledge from hundreds of years later, I should be able to do something, and I should repay this honest family for their kindness.

  Moreover, being alone and penniless, the Ming dynasty is in turmoil. Initially, I decided to head south to become a wealthy gentleman, but traveling south like this, not to mention having no money on me, even if I did, wanting to pass through layers of obstruction by refugees, bandits, and robbers, and arrive safely in the south, that's just a fool's dream.

  For now, I won't leave. Using my own knowledge, I'll cultivate the land and produce grain. Not only will this save Zhang's family, but it will also make my stay here legitimate. Perhaps, in these chaotic times, living on with a family that has treated me with warmth and kindness isn't a bad idea after all.

  Tartar? What does it have to do with me? Li Zicheng? What does he have to do with me? The Han Chinese clothing and hats continue to exist? I'm just a small person, I have the heart to change history, but do I have the power to change history? The rolling wheels of history, I'm just an ant, even if I didn't exist, the Han Chinese clothing and hats went through the Mongols, went through the Qing, and still exist. Who says that after the cliff there is no China? The Han Chinese characters, the Han Chinese bloodline, the essence of the Hakka people, are constantly being passed down, and in the end, it's a great man who calls out to drive away the Tartars and return China to me, and it's still a glorious Huaxia.

  So now, not starving to death is what I care about. Not letting the people in front of me who love me starve to death is what I care about. Ambitious goals? Survival comes first.

  Just as Lv Shi was lost in thought, a loud voice outside the Zhang family's courtyard door startled him.

  "You're a sly one, Zhang Laoshi! You've got chicken stew cooking at home, but you forgot about me, a starving man. How can you be so heartless? I'm calling out to you, Zhang Laoshi!" As soon as the words left his mouth, a tall and sturdy man suddenly blocked out all the sunlight from the doorway.