Zhang Liang worked efficiently. Despite missing an arm, he was faster than Zhang Mancang.
Jin Feng assigned him the task of trimming branches and crafting the initial crossbow body.
Zhang Mancang, being meticulous, was given the parts requiring fine carving.
While the Zhang brothers worked on the crossbow, Jin Feng gathered Guan Xiaorou, Tang Dongdong, and Runniang to teach them how to use it.
If an emergency arose, they would have some means of self-defence.
Even if the second leader of Maomao Mountain never discovered Baldy’s death, learning more skills wouldn’t hurt.
In this era, few admired women who wielded weapons.
Jin Feng expected resistance, but as soon as he shared his plan, Tang Dongdong agreed eagerly.
The events of that night had left Guan Xiaorou shaken. After a brief hesitation, she nodded too.
Runniang, lacking her own opinions, followed suit when she saw the others agree.
With only one spinning wheel, the three women decided to take turns spinning. When not spinning, the other two would learn the crossbow with Jin Feng.
Jin Feng had Mancang find a wooden board the size of a washbasin, painted a black dot in the centre, and hung it in the courtyard as a target.
Learning the crossbow wasn’t difficult; the only challenge was drawing the string.
Most women couldn’t pull such a heavy bowstring.
But Jin Feng’s crossbow had a small winch. Though slower, it was effortless, even for Xiao’e.
In half a morning, the three women mastered the basics. Tang Dongdong excelled, hitting the target half the time, and her accuracy improved with practice.
Driven by the desire to improve their family’s life, the Zhang brothers worked tirelessly.
They arrived before dawn and worked until eight or nine at night, reluctant to leave.
With their combined efforts, in just two days, they crafted a crossbow drawn by pressing against the chest.
Knowing it was hard for Zhang Liang to load arrows single-handedly, Jin Feng attached the arrow quiver from his own crossbow to the new one.
Zhang Liang excitedly took the new crossbow, gripping the handle with his remaining right arm, pressing it against his chest. With a click, the crossbow was ready to fire.
He pulled the trigger, and the arrow thudded into the target over twenty metres away.
Another press, another shot.
A second arrow hit the target!
In just over ten seconds, all five arrows in the quiver flew out.
Jin Feng ran to check and gave Zhang Liang a thumbs-up.
All five arrows hit the target, three clustering around the small black dot in the centre!
Jin Feng couldn’t help but admire such skill.
Guan Xiaorou, Tang Dongdong, and Runniang cheered for Zhang Liang’s marksmanship.
After two days of practice, they were very familiar with the crossbow. Tang Dongdong’s hit rate at twenty metres reached over ninety percent, learning remarkably fast.
Even so, it took her at least three minutes to fire five arrows, with a drop in accuracy.
That was the difference between a veteran and a novice.
“Brother Liang is amazing. If we were his enemies, we probably wouldn’t even get a chance to shoot before he took us down,” Tang Dongdong said in awe.
“You’ve only been learning a few days, and you’re comparing yourselves to Brother Liang?”
Jin Feng said, “Tiezi told me that back in the army, Brother Liang was a sharpshooter. If he hadn’t lost an arm, Xihewan might have produced a general.”
“You’re flattering me. What kind of sharpshooter am I?”
Zhang Liang smiled and said, “Back then, I saw a true master who could shoot nine arrows in two breaths, all hitting the hole of a coin a hundred paces away.”
“Such people are one in ten thousand. We can’t compare to them,” Jin Feng said with a smile. “Brother Liang, your skills are more than enough to hunt and support your family.”
“Fengzi, I want to try hunting in the mountains tomorrow, so I won’t come help,” Zhang Liang said, a bit embarrassed.
“No problem. The bow bodies you’ve made will keep Mancang busy for days,” Jin Feng said with a smile. “It’s unclear if there are more tigers in the back mountain. Stay safe. If you don’t catch anything, there’s always next time.”
“Got it.”
Zhang Liang nodded, clutching the crossbow joyfully as he left.
He loved the crossbow so much he slept with it that night.
The next morning, before dawn, he headed into the mountains.
He roamed the mountains all day and didn’t return until dark.
Just as Lin Yunfang, worried, came to ask Jin Feng to search the mountains, Zhang Liang returned.
His cloth sack held two wild rabbits.
For the Zhang family, this was a huge haul. The women in the family were so happy their eyes nearly disappeared with their smiles.
Zhang Liang’s sister, Zhang Xiaohua, drooled over the rabbits.
After Jin Feng gave Zhang Liang a reward for killing the tiger, the Zhang family’s life had improved.
They could now eat two meals a day.
But for Zhang Xiaohua, growing and always hungry, two meals of wild vegetable porridge were hardly enough. She even wanted to chew grass roots.
Now, with her brother hunting, she wouldn’t go hungry anymore.
“Brother Liang, you were out all day and only got two rabbits?”
Jin Feng pulled Zhang Liang aside to ask.
With Zhang Liang’s skill and agility, two rabbits in a whole day seemed too few.
“Don’t get me started. I wandered the back mountain all morning without seeing a single rabbit hair. After noon, I went into the old forest,” Zhang Liang said. “There are plenty of rabbits there, but it was too late. I got two and came back.”
“Looks like there isn’t a second tiger in the back mountain,” Jin Feng nodded.
The reason he caught so many rabbits that afternoon was because the tiger drove them from the old forest to the back mountain.
Now that the tiger was dead, the rabbits had likely returned to the old forest.
“Xiaorou, here!”
Zhang Liang picked up the larger rabbit and handed it to Guan Xiaorou.
“Brother Liang, what’s this for?”
Guan Xiaorou asked, puzzled.
“I told Fengzi that if he made me a usable bow, I’d split my catches with him,” Zhang Liang explained.
The ancients valued repaying kindness generously. Zhang Liang’s mother and Lin Yunfang nodded in approval.
Only Zhang Xiaohua looked at the rabbit with teary eyes, reluctant to part with it.
Jin Feng understood the saying: a bushel of rice fosters gratitude, a cartload breeds resentment.
He had already helped the Zhang family plenty. Unlimited help might make them dependent or take it for granted.
Since Zhang Liang made the promise, Jin Feng didn’t refuse and nodded for Guan Xiaorou to accept the rabbit.
