"Where's your husband?"
"Replying to you, my lord, he's still bedridden."
"When will you pay the tax for your household?"
"Please rest assured, my lord, I'll definitely make the payment before the deadline."
...
In the darkness, Chen Sanshi heard a man and a woman talking.
The man's tone was harsh and aggressive, while the woman sounded meek and submissive.
"Hiss…"
He struggled to open his eyes. The scene before him was completely unfamiliar.
'Where is this?'
'Wasn't I just working overtime?'
"Hiss…"
A sudden, splitting headache hit him. Countless foreign memories flooded into his mind like a tide, forcing him to accept one simple fact.
'I transmigrated?'
This place was called Poyang County, a small border county of the Great Sheng Dynasty.
The original body lived in Swallow-Edge Village, just outside the county town. He was a failed scholar who'd dropped out, and his family lived off the father's hunting. Life had been decent—until half a year ago.
One night, his father went into the mountains and never returned.
Without the family's main support, and after failing the child scholar exam, the young man fell into deep illness from stress and despair.
And that's when Chen Sanshi crossed over into this body.
"Ah! Shi ge'er, you're awake!"
A woman entered the room, holding a bowl of medicine. When she saw the boy awake, her eyes lit up with joy.
She hurried over, her ill-fitting clothes bouncing as she ran—like two rabbits tumbling beneath the fabric.
This woman was Gu Xinlan.
She had been bought long ago by the original father as a child bride for the young Chen Sanshi.
She'd always cared for him like an older sister. Even after the father's death and through his illness, she never left his side.
But… the original Chen Sanshi seemed to despise her deeply.
Because she was the descendant of a criminal family, exiled to the borderlands. She'd nearly been sold to a brothel—her status was the lowest of the low.
The original Chen Sanshi, proud and arrogant, dreamed of one day passing the imperial exams, marrying into a noble family, and becoming a son-in-law to wealth and power. In his eyes, Gu Xinlan was beneath him. He treated her like a servant.
"Shi ge'er, how are you feeling?"
Gu Xinlan sat by the bed and placed a hand on his forehead. She gasped softly. "Huh? No more fever?"
Chen Sanshi sat up, moving his body a little. Other than some weakness, he felt fine. The sickness had completely vanished after his transmigration.
"Truly, the Bodhisattva is merciful."
Gu Xinlan's face brightened with relief. "Shi ge'er, drink this medicine first. I'll go make you something to eat."
Watching her leave, her figure swaying like grinding stones under her clothes, Chen Sanshi spent ten full minutes processing the situation.
"Since I'm here, I might as well live with it."
He'd always been good at adapting. Now that he was in this new world, he had to find a way to live well.
He raised the bitter medicine bowl and drank it all in one go. Then he walked into the next room.
There, he saw Gu Xinlan half-buried in a rice jar—only her round hips stuck out as she struggled to scoop some grains from inside.
After much effort, she managed to gather just a small handful of millet.
Since the death of his father, the household had lost its source of income. Add to that the illness of the original body, and all their savings had been used up. They were now completely out of food.
"Was that just now the tax officer collecting the autumn tax?"
Chen Sanshi stood behind her. "How much are they asking for?"
"Three taels of silver," Gu Xinlan replied softly.
"Three taels?"
Chen Sanshi gasped. "They even counted Father?"
"Mm."
Gu Xinlan nodded slightly. "The tax clerk said that since Father's body hasn't been found, he can't be declared dead. His name must stay on the household register, and taxes must be paid as usual. Even the hunting tax can't be reduced."
Chen Sanshi cursed inwardly.
The Great Sheng Dynasty's taxes were already harsh. With all the wars in recent years, the levies had only grown heavier.
"Shi ge'er, don't worry."
Though her eyes showed concern, Gu Xinlan forced a smile. "I've found some work at a tailor's shop lately. Plus, I've been washing clothes for people. Little by little, I'll save enough."
Clearly, the original Chen Sanshi had never done any work.
Even after his father's death, he refused to find a job. Instead, he made Gu Xinlan work herself to exhaustion just to keep them alive.
"Doesn't even know whether he's got the talent for it or not…"
Chen Sanshi couldn't help but sigh. Failing even the scholar's exam yet dreaming of becoming an official—wasn't that pure fantasy?
He couldn't go on like this. He had to find a way to make a living.
If they couldn't pay the tax, men would be sent to forced labor, and women sold to brothels—living would be worse than dying.
"I'll cook the meal."
Gu Xinlan got busy right away.
Before long, the food was ready.
Two bowls of millet mixed with bran, boiled into a rough porridge—there wasn't even a bit of pickled vegetables.
This was probably the last meal they had left in the house.
Chen Sanshi noticed that his bowl had more millet, while Gu Xinlan's bowl was almost entirely filled with bran.
Bran was the husk of rice, wheat, or soybeans—coarse, dry, and hard to swallow.
In his past life, it would've been used only as animal feed.
"Eat, Shi ge'er."
Gu Xinlan picked up her chopsticks and ate in small bites, her fingers visibly red, with bits of raw, peeling skin on the knuckles.
That was from washing too many clothes for others.
A single woman, she'd been doing all sorts of work just to survive—short of the kind of heavy labor only men could do.
Chen Sanshi watched quietly, remembering it all, then lowered his head and ate the rough, choking meal.
"Shi ge'er."
Halfway through eating, Gu Xinlan set her chopsticks down and said hesitantly, "Besides the tax silver, we still owe Aunt Li two qian for your medical treatment."
"If… if I may suggest, once you've rested a few more days, maybe you could find some work too? If we can't gather the tax money by the end of the month, I heard they'll start arresting people…"
As she spoke, she kept stealing nervous glances at him, her fingers anxiously picking at her sleeve.
Every time she mentioned this before, Shi ge'er would fly into a rage, saying that a scholar couldn't do rough labor.
"Eat."
Chen Sanshi shoveled food into his mouth, quietly doing the math in his head.
Gu Xinlan didn't dare continue. She finished her meal in silence, then quickly cleaned the bowls and hurried off to her sewing job.
Chen Sanshi sat still, thinking seriously.
Ancient times weren't like the modern world—just having strength didn't mean you could find work.
He had no land, no scholarly title. The only skill he had left was hunting.
When he was young, he'd learned a bit from his father. Though those years were long past and most of the skill forgotten, the basics should still be there. It shouldn't be too hard to pick it up again.
Besides, they still had to pay the hunting tax—if he didn't hunt, it'd be a total waste.
There happened to be an old bow left at home.
Chen Sanshi went into the back room and took down the longbow hanging on the wall, covered in dust.
"It should still work."
"But I've got a bow and no arrows. I'll need to find a way to get some money for that."
For survival, the family had already sold nearly everything, including books. Only the Four Treasures of the Study—the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone—remained, once considered the original body's most precious possessions.
Without hesitation, Chen Sanshi packed them all up.
Even though they were cheap, low-quality goods, they still sold for 200 copper coins, roughly two qian of silver.
It showed that poverty wasn't limited to warriors; being a scholar was expensive too.
Holding the money, Chen Sanshi went to the marketplace, to a stall that served hunters.
"Little Shitou, here to buy arrows?"
The stall owner, old Xu Tou, was a retired soldier and an old friend of Chen Sanshi's father. "You're heading into the mountains to hunt now? Giving up on your books?"
"Yeah. I'm here to buy a few old arrows."
Chen Sanshi picked out five second-hand willow-leaf arrows from the stall. "How much?"
"Seventy copper coins."
Chen Sanshi bargained. "Uncle Xu, used arrows aren't worth that much. Fifty coins at most."
"Fine, fifty it is."
Old Xu agreed readily. "If you ask me, you should've gone hunting long ago. If you'd learned your father's skills, you wouldn't be starving now. But no, you had to read those useless books. Since when can a poor man become an official?"
"You're right, Uncle."
Chen Sanshi didn't argue. After checking that the arrows were in good condition, he strung the bow and aimed at the ground to test the pull.
Suddenly, a few small lines appeared before his eyes.
[Skill: Archery (Uninitiated)]
[Progress: (20/100)]