Chapter 2, Pursuing Deer in the Remote Mountains

On the fourth day, he painstakingly cut the rabbit skin into thin strips to replace the grass rope on the bow

A Fei silently raised his middle finger at Old Wang in his heart

Two old soldiers leaned against the city gate, unarmored and without helmets. Their short shirts, patched but without holes, were not much different from what one might wear. They had headscarves wrapped around their heads, yet there were no distinguishing marks. Beside them leaned long, rusted spears, which also bore no characteristics of any particular era.

That night, secretly from the neighbor Old Wang, the family of three joyfully enjoyed a steaming bowl of meat soup, devouring half a rabbit that no longer bore any bite marks. As for the remaining half, the father said he would simmer it slowly, intending to eat it all the way until the end of the year

The branch broke, the rabbit ran away, and the two returned home empty-handed

What era have I actually traveled to? It was not until March of the following year, during the warm spring when flowers bloomed, that he finally clarified this crucial question

It is evident that this individual, Ah Fei, is a time traveler, yet his attire is exceedingly poor.

A Fei's family background consists of a root-red and苗正 tenant farmer, with a father, a mother, and himself. They cultivate less than ten mu of land in the most remote valley of a wealthy household in a nearby county. Each year, 70% of the harvest is used to pay rent, and the remaining 30% must cover the interest on high-interest loans. After enduring a long winter, they often find themselves unable to prepare enough seeds for the next year, leading them to rely on wild vegetables to stave off hunger.

It turns out that this new body is that of a thirteen-year-old boy named A Fei—though it could also be A Fei, A Fei, or A Hui, as no one in the family can read. The most critical issue is that he is not Han, but which ethnic group he belongs to remains a complete mystery. All he knows is that he is a local indigenous person, living among the Han people, and gradually adopting their clothing and language. Aside from certain customs, there is hardly any difference between him and the Han people.

About half a month after crossing into this unfamiliar era, aside from the family's poverty, he finally understood some things. Firstly, this place should be located north of the Yellow River, as it is currently winter and the climate is extremely cold. It is only early October, and the temperature is certainly below zero. The three members of the family are wrapped in filthy hides, which they do not know from which animal they were taken, and they huddle around the fire pit, enduring the harsh conditions.

Of course, Ah Fei's family cannot afford to keep a dog; the dog belongs to the neighbor, Old Wang from the Han family...

Old Wang truly does not hold back, imparting his entire set of hunting skills without reservation—being all alone, with no wife or children, he has always had a fondness for the little child next door, despite their differences in kind and ethnicity. Thus, A Fei followed Old Wang into the woods, spending the entire day finally locating a rabbit that had come out to forage, and then he threw the sharpened branch he had prepared in his hand.

A Fei ate wild vegetables every day until he vomited. What was even more dire was that he could not even feel half full from the wild vegetables. The youth, who was in a period of growth, seemed to always have an empty stomach. It was not until the seventh day after his crossing that Old Wang next door finally hunted down a bony rabbit in the woods. He generously sent over a bowl of steaming bone soup to their family—however, A Fei always felt that the bones had already been gnawed on.

May I ask, what dynasty is it today? Which holy emperor is reigning, and what is the era name?

Ah Fei was contemplating how to increase grain production—having never farmed in his previous life, he at least had some exposure to classmates from the countryside who were skilled in agricultural work during his school days. He understood the basics of applying manure and weeding; he could discuss farming theoretically and even simulate it verbally—while following Old Wang from next door, they traversed the mountain valley, walking for an entire day before finally entering the county town

It is said to be a county town, but in reality, it is merely a large earthen enclosure. The city wall may not even be two meters high, which is lower than the wall of my own community in my previous life. Unprecedentedly, a tile is embedded above the city gate. A Fei finally saw the first set of Chinese characters of this world on this tile—surprisingly, it is not "surprised." The first character has "speech" on the left and "soft" on the right, while the second character has "sweet" on the left and "city" on the right.

Half a bowl of hot soup went down, and surprisingly, the fishy taste without any spices, salt, or MSG stimulated his appetite and invigorated his spirit. Thus, he immediately developed an idea that astonished his parents, a thought that he had never entertained in his twelve years of life (thirteen in nominal age) — to learn hunting from Old Wang next door

In an instant, two streams of desperate tears flowed uncontrollably from A Fei's eyes

After seven days without catching any food, A Fei became frantic, shooting the remaining arrows in rapid succession. Finally, heaven took pity on him, and one of the arrows struck a young deer in the rear. Thus, the man and the deer chased each other for seven or eight miles, and ultimately, the cruel and hungry hunter emerged victorious

On the third day, he finally used this object that bore no resemblance to a bow, paired with a dozen finely sharpened twigs that looked nothing like arrows, to shoot a hapless rabbit. He then chased it for two miles and finally pinned the exhausted rabbit down.

Secondly, the boy named A Fei fainted after being struck on the head by a falling branch while he was out collecting firewood. It was only with great difficulty that Old Wang from next door found him in the woods and carried him back, already half-frozen and on the brink of death. He had no idea how it happened, but he was soon possessed by another spirit, becoming a new body after the crossing.

The long winter is finally coming to an end. Once spring arrives, A Fei will no longer have the luxury of time to go hunting; he will have to help his parents in the fields, plant crops, and forage for wild vegetables and fruits. However, this winter has not been without its rewards. Together with Old Wang from next door, he has hunted a total of seven rabbits, two hedgehogs, and six quails. Meanwhile, the archery skills he has honed in the struggle for survival have also improved significantly.

Just a moment ago, he was crossing the road stealthily under the horizontal bar, when suddenly a large eight-wheeled truck came roaring in with a fierce wind. The next moment he opened his eyes, and he had already crossed over.

At first, he could not tolerate the food at home at all; just the smell made him feel nauseous. However, there was no alternative. After going hungry for three days, he finally realized that he would be willing to gnaw on anything, not just wild vegetables, but even dog feces.

It is still the neighbor, Old Wang, who is more knowledgeable; at least he can name the nearby county, which is called Nahan—such a name is indeed surprising. He once doubted whether he had crossed into another world. Old Wang also knows that the highest official in the county is the county magistrate, and the land they are renting belongs to the county magistrate's cousin. As for whether these two are surnamed Zhang or Zhang, Old Wang is also unclear—he cannot read.

On the eighth day, the neighbor, Old Wang, turned around and became A Fei's disciple

If I could have a real bow and arrow, perhaps I could shoot down the flying birds—looking at the geese coming from the south in the sky, A Fei thought to himself, swallowing hard.

However, before he could shoot down the flying bird, he unexpectedly collided with a rather oblivious fawn. It is unclear how the fawn's parents taught it, but this little deer was exceedingly dull-witted, unaware of the dangers of the world, and showed little fear of humans. Even when Ah Fei had walked ten steps away, it was still engrossed in the grass roots hidden beneath the snow, unwilling to turn and flee. Thus, Ah Fei shot an arrow, and the fawn immediately took off in response.

After much difficulty, A Fei finally encountered a young boy who appeared to be around fourteen or fifteen years old. He was dressed in a thick cotton robe that reached his knees and wore a leather hat on his head. Most astonishingly, a long sword was hanging at his waist! Feeling as if he had met a relative, A Fei hurriedly approached, deeply bowed, and then inquired:

There are counties, and there are county magistrates, which at least indicates that this must be during the mid to late Warring States period, right? ... The time frame can finally be narrowed down to between the mid Warring States period and the Ming Dynasty, which is only a mere "short" two thousand years, and then, guess what?

I can't believe I've crossed over to a primitive society!

Old Wang said: "Hunting is not an easy task. I usually have to wander in the woods for seven or eight days before I can hit a rabbit or a hedgehog. If it weren't for the freezing cold making it impossible to farm, who would go out hunting?"

Thirdly, the neighbor Old Wang's dog is very fierce. It is said that Old Wang raised this dog to hunt in the woods during the off-season. Moreover, the dog feces is really smelly and cannot be eaten

He asked his parents what era it was, but they only told him it was the Year of the Rabbit. When he further inquired about which dynasty it was and which emperor was reigning, his parents stared at each other in confusion and instead asked him, "What is an emperor? Can it be eaten?"

In addition to this, there are still many aspects that he cannot comprehend, the most significant being the specific era and location. Most of the farming tools and utensils at home are made of wood, clay, or stone, with hardly a trace of metal; not even a kitchen knife is present, as they are replaced by stone shards. However, this does not indicate any particular issue; he is well aware that rural areas in China's remote regions have seen no progress for thousands of years. Until the twentieth century, such impoverished families, though rare, could still be found in the most secluded corners.

In A Fei's memory, his thirteen-year-old self had never been to the county town, and it seemed that his father had been forced to go there no more than twice in his lifetime

You are truly impressive! After bringing the deer back, A Fei received praise from Old Wang next door for his efforts. Then, Old Wang suggested that he skin the deer and take the hide to the county town to sell, saying that he might be able to exchange it for some urgently needed salt. A Fei's father was initially reluctant to agree, likely due to the inherent timidity of a rural man; he had a natural fear of going to the county town, as if it were not a town but a den of demons... No, he probably did not understand what 'demon' meant. However, he could not resist his son's repeated pleas, especially since their home was completely out of salt.

After he figured out his bizarre experiences, he began to feign ignorance, saying nothing and only listening to the family of his new body and the books, searching for the information he needed. However, he soon no longer had to exert effort in thinking, as the original consciousness of this body, or rather the fragments of that consciousness, gradually surfaced in his mind, helping him to piece together the experiences of his first half of life

The first impression after crossing over—"I mean, at least give me a home with bare walls... What’s going on that there aren’t even complete walls?"

On the seventh day, as if he had won the lottery, he unexpectedly hunted a plump quail, and thus, behind the sharpened slender branches, more arrow feathers appeared

The young man cast him a strange glance and casually replied: "In the fifth year of the reign of Emperor Zhongping of the Han Dynasty, the year of Wuchan."

I rely on this, it is small seal script. Fortunately, I had studied calligraphy and seal carving for a few days before— the second character should be the "Han" from Handan, but what about the first character? How should it be pronounced?

The next day, he set out alone, braving the biting cold wind as he aimlessly wandered through the woods. After much effort, he finally found a suitable branch, and then tied the prepared grass rope to both ends of the branch, fashioning a small bow that would likely make even the cavemen of the mountaintop laugh out loud.

The place where they live is a small valley, surrounded by several small hills and sparse woods. The land is barren; essentially, if one seed is sown, four can be harvested... Of course, one must also blame the extremely primitive farming methods of these two families of four, as they hardly understand how to utilize farmyard manure.

Upon entering the county town, it appeared to consist of merely a single main street and a few hundred households. There were not many pedestrians, most of whom were dressed in coarse clothing, emaciated, and with vacant expressions, none of whom seemed literate. They had huddled under the eaves of a household for the entire night, and as soon as daylight broke the next day, they began to loudly shout to sell their deer skins.

From the attire and appearance of his new family's members, he could barely discern that it was from ancient China, but he could find no clues as to which dynasty it belonged to— the only thing he could ascertain was that his father had not shaved his forehead and did not have a queue at the back of his head, so it should not be the Qing Dynasty