"Rice, sugar, and white flour!"
"Did you go to the black market?"
Wang Daming never expected this. He had just told him the black market entrance a couple of days ago,
but unexpectedly,
this kid went there yesterday.
"Yes!"
"You... you're really daring beyond belief."
Although Wang Daming asked this, the moment he heard him say it, his heart dropped instantly.
Given his relationship with Old Chen,
sometimes he really thought of him as his own child.
"It's a good thing nothing happened. If something had happened to you, the Chen family would have ended. Sigh! You're really too impulsive."
Even though Chen Xuan was standing perfectly fine in front of him,
his heart was still pounding with fear.
It was terrifying.
He regretted telling him the black market entrance that very night.
But he thought,
Chen Xuan had always been quite steady, so even if he knew, he shouldn't venture there easily.
Who would have thought.....
If anything happened, he couldn't bear facing Old Chen even in death.
"Alright, uncle, I know you've always been good to me. Isn't everything okay now? Don't worry."
Chen Xuan was also touched seeing him like this,
"Hmph! You ungrateful little brat!"
Wang Daming got angry seeing his mischievous smile.
"I know I was wrong, uncle. I'll definitely be more careful in the future, definitely."
Chen Xuan draped an arm over Wang Daming's shoulder, smiling and admitting his fault.
"Alright, alright, just don't go anymore. Don't think that because you're a martial artist, martial artists die at the black market every year. You have to consider everything carefully. There are two women in your family relying on you!"
"And stop acting so familiar without respect."
Wang Daming slapped the hand on his shoulder fiercely.
"Hehe!"
Chen Xuan still wore that shameless grin.
"What do you want to say? I'm going to report to the government office tomorrow. While I still have a day."
"So soon?"
"Yes!"
Wang Daming nodded. He thought there was still some time, but unexpectedly, people from the government office came yesterday, and he had to go tomorrow.
Moreover, the person conveying the message seemed really anxious.
It seems,
the situation might not be good.
Could it be that Yunze County is in danger too?
Not only did he think so, even Chen Xuan considered these thoughts.
With a frown.
Seeing this,
Wang Daming reassured him, "Don't be afraid. It shouldn't be at that dangerous stage yet. I guess there's still some time; otherwise, there would have been conscription."
"Let's hope so!"
Chen Xuan couldn't figure out the reason behind it now.
But conscription is something he kept in mind.
Darn it,
if he's caught and drafted,
it's over.
No matter what,
he can't go!
If worse comes to worst, he'll hide in the back mountains,
they won't find him,
and there's nothing they can do about it.
"Alright, tell me, what do you need, uncle?"
Wang Daming, though rough by nature, was attentive. Seeing the kid like this, he could roughly guess.
However,
there's nothing one can do when faced with conscription from the government office. It's just like when he was asked to go, he couldn't refuse either.
Otherwise,
it would mean imprisonment.
"This," Chen Xuan took off the bow from his back and continued, "help me forge it once again!"
"You're gonna reforge it?" Wang Daming was surprised. Wasn't it just forged a few days ago?
Now,
this bow requires at least several hundred pounds of strength to draw fully.
Could it be....?
Facing his doubt, Chen Xuan simply said he recently felt he could draw the bow fully without exerting full strength, so he thought of reforging it while he still had time.
To this,
Wang Daming nodded, thinking maybe his strength had increased a bit, and then asked, "How much strength do you want for this bow this time?"
"At least 1000 pounds as a base, and preferably around 1500 pounds!"
"What? How much??"
Wang Daming was dumbfounded.
1500 pounds!
His voice even increased by several decibels.
"Xiaoxuanzi, do you know how much 1500 pounds is? If I forge such a bow for you, can you even draw it?"
Actually,
he was worried Chen Xuan might be overambitious, which is why he said that.
After all,
when he was young, he used to forge weapons at the government office.
Even though he himself wasn't a martial artist,
he had some knowledge about them.
He remembered the two constables at the government office back then, both ninth-grade martial artists, had a strength of just about seven or eight hundred pounds.
And,
those were seasoned ninth-grade ones.
In his view,
Chen Xuan, a newly risen ninth-grade martial artist, even a 1000-pound bow, let alone a 1500-pound one, was too much.
He had no idea that,
now Chen Xuan was already an Eighth-Grade Martial Artist, his strength had long surpassed a thousand pounds, not to mention he had cultivated the Nine Revolutions Secret Technique, which directly brought him close to 2000 pounds.
The reason he mentioned 1500 pounds,
first, he knew that the stronger the bow, the higher quality the materials needed, and Wang Daming might not have them.
Second, he estimated that forging 1500 pounds should be his limit; any higher, he might not be able to forge.
This 1500 pounds was also the result of his careful consideration.
"Rest assured, uncle, haven't you figured me out by now? I'm not one to act rashly. I know what I'm doing!"
"You... sigh!"
Wang Daming sighed.
He looked at him with a complicated expression but eventually nodded helplessly.
However, he mumbled to himself, "You, just like your father, stubborn to no end. Once you set your mind on something, no one can change it. Really cut from the same mold."
He slowly took the bow to the furnace and said, "Come get it tonight. Forging such a powerful bow isn't a quick task."
"Alright, thanks a lot, uncle. I'll head back first and come by tonight to pick it up."
"Mm!"
.....
As soon as he got home,
Chen Xuan's stomach started growling loudly.
"What's going on?"
He was baffled.
He hadn't eaten breakfast that long ago.
An hour or so.
Furthermore,
he hadn't eaten little in the morning. White flour pancakes, porridge, soybeans, and wild chicken.
It wasn't lacking in oils and fats either.
Why.... had it been consumed so quickly?
"Could it be that after cultivating the Nine Revolutions Secret Technique, my body's consumption increased?"
Chen Xuan pondered,
the only difference with yesterday was learning this technique.
"Grr grr."
Once again,
his stomach protested with noises.
"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law!"
He shouted loudly inside.
Hungry, of course, he'd look for his sister-in-law.
He might as well eat since the household had plenty of food now, no need to worry.
However,
he didn't hear any response from Su Wanqiu for a while.
"Yun'Er, Yun'Er...."
Still, there was no answer.
"Where did they go? Went to wash clothes?"
The two women at home usually don't go out, they basically just go to the riverside to wash clothes.
"Forget it, forget it, I'll just do it myself!"
So he went to the kitchen,
and started searching.
To see if there were any leftovers from the morning.
But,
he was disappointed.
Clean and tidy, not even a trace left.
"Sigh! I'll just cook myself!"
With the two women not around, he had to do it himself.