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The thirty or so households in Hongshan Village primarily focused on hunting.
Even those who did not wish to hunt mostly aimed to practice martial arts to aid in hunting.
At most, some children would idle away their time, learning to write their names or study arithmetic.
As for those who wished to recognize characters and read, Zhang Shuyuan truly hadn't encountered anyone like that in so many years.
He knew of this young man in front of him—the son of the late Shen family's eldest son.
Aside from having a slightly pleasant appearance, he had no other standout qualities, quite ordinary.
Perhaps due to some clumsiness and poor comprehension, his hunting skills were indeed average, often needing his uncle's assistance.
This kind of person suddenly came over to express a desire to learn to recognize characters and read, leading Zhang Shuyuan to think he had misheard.
In surprise, he asked, "Why do you suddenly want to learn to read?"
Shen Qing, after a moment of consideration, sincerely replied, "The snow is about to stop. I recently hunted some mountain goods and plan to sell them in the county town. The townspeople are quite clever, and I'm worried about being cheated, so I want to learn more words to have more confidence."
"My family also said when they were alive that knowing more words would never hurt and would be useful in the future."
After hearing Shen Qing's explanation, Zhang Shuyuan understood.
For hundreds of years, the world had valued reading and martial arts as top-notch virtues.
To seek progress and ascend to higher social classes, literacy was fundamental, even before practicing martial arts.
Unfortunately, the people in this village were too preoccupied with livelihood to concern themselves with other matters.
Since someone brought grain, Zhang Shuyuan agreed immediately, "Well, I have nothing to do recently, so I can teach you some."
"Get that book from over there, open the first page, and I'll see how much you know."
Shen Qing's face lit up with joy. He quickly thanked him and went to the bookshelf.
The book Zhang Shuyuan asked him to take was at the very bottom, slightly worn, with some mold marks on it.
Obviously, it hadn't been read in a long time.
Following Zhang Shuyuan's instructions, Shen Qing opened the book and read slowly, word by word.
The characters he recognized were indeed limited, and he read with difficulty.
"Start... with... the initial... breath... Heaven..."
"Alright," Zhang Shuyuan continued, "Write your name and then write the character 'forever' for me to see."
Hearing this, Shen Qing took a branch and scribbled on the ground.
Although the characters in this world resembled those from his previous life, they were somewhat different. Moreover, the original body had no understanding of them, so Shen Qing's writing looked crooked, like a turtle crawling.
Zhang Shuyuan glanced at him, observed his reading style and the written characters, and furrowed his brow, gaining a general understanding of Shen Qing's literacy level.
He said to Shen Qing, "I have a book here called 'Thousand Character Classic.' You can study with me, and learn sixteen characters a day. You can learn until whenever you want, but..."
Here, Zhang Shuyuan paused, "If you want to continue learning later, you will have to provide a small fee."
Having lived two lives, Shen Qing immediately understood Zhang Shuyuan's meaning.
He was down and out, needing some assistance.
Fortunately, his hunting skills had improved significantly, and the small fee was manageable for him.
Without hesitation, he agreed on the spot.
Seeing Shen Qing so agreeable and not haggling, Zhang Shuyuan breathed a sigh of relief. He pulled out a book and placed it on the table.
He instructed Shen Qing to sit in his seat while he stood up, pointed to the first character, and taught, "This is the character for 'Heaven,' which consists of four strokes and refers to space, opposite to 'Earth.'"
"This is the character for 'Earth'..."
Zhang Shuyuan was quite patient, teaching character by character.
With his foundation from a previous life, Shen Qing was able to sit still and learn quickly, absorbing all that Zhang Shuyuan taught.
About an hour later, Shen Qing felt a slight sensation.
He saw a drop of ink falling into the water from above, spreading out.
Lines of ink characters appeared before his eyes.
[Skill: Literacy (Entry Level)]
[Progress: 1/100 points]
[Status: Cannot Improve]
[Note: Mastering this skill grants reading and writing ability. Continued practice may break through realms and has a certain probability of awakening the 'memorize' talent.]
Memorize?
Shen Qing was taken aback, pleasantly surprised.
He had not expected literacy to be a mastery skill or even have the potential to awaken a talent.
He immediately felt that today's visit had been very rewarding!
Shen Qing concealed the smile on his face and straightened his demeanor.
Alongside his teaching, Zhang Shuyuan couldn't help but slightly raise his evaluation of him internally.
After practicing for about half an hour, Shen Qing saw that the time was almost up and prepared to take his leave.
Before leaving, he borrowed the 'Thousand Character Classic' under the guise of study, intending to take it back for further learning and progress.
As it was only a common book, Zhang Shuyuan did not object, merely reminding him to return the book promptly and to spare time the next day to study for another hour.
Shen Qing agreed repeatedly.
...
As dusk approached, despite the Chen family mobilizing everyone and thoroughly searching the area behind the mountain, they still failed to find Chen Tai and Chen An, despite spending the entire day.
Now, even if Chen Yuan held onto any hope, he knew that his two brothers were likely already dead in the mountains.
They had hunted since youth, and the possibility of getting lost in the mountains was minimal.
They could have only died there, or else so many people wouldn't have been unable to find them.
In the main hall of the Chen family, family members gathered, whispering to each other, creating a somewhat noisy atmosphere.
Looking at a middle-aged man, Chen Yuan said, "Thank you, everyone, for your hard work today; when my father returns, I'll personally express my gratitude to each of you."
"Hey, we are all family; there's no need for such courtesy."
"Maybe they discovered some mountain delicacies and are still deep in the mountains; you shouldn't overthink it."
"..."
Many Chen family members threw out words of comfort, and Chen Yuan wearily responded.
After most of the Song family members had left, Chen Yuan stopped Chen the Fifth, who was lagging behind, saying, "Old fifth, wait a moment; I have something to ask you."
Chen the Fifth had just stepped out but paused his steps, turning to say, "What's up?"
Chen Yuan gestured towards the door with a nod, indicating that it should be closed.
Chen the Fifth, curious, complied and did as instructed.
With the door closed, Chen Yuan approached and in a lowered voice asked, "Did everyone go around asking today if anyone went up the mountain at around the same time as Er Tai and Xiao An?"
Chen the Fifth recalled carefully, "Yesterday, among the thirty plus households in the village, practically every household had someone go up the mountain."
"Think carefully, at about the same time."
Chen the Fifth furrowed his brow, pondered for a while, and then said, "There were three from our Chen family, two from the Tian family, two from the Zhang family, and from the Shen family... there were probably three; they all went up close to noon, around the same time."
"Tian family, Shen family..." Chen Yuan murmured to himself.
"Do you think someone made a move in the mountains?"
"My two brothers, although not very accomplished in martial arts, are indeed skilled hunters. They would not perish in the mountain. Our Shicheng Mountain may be vast but is honest; there's nothing wicked in there, and the government office personnel have long searched it."
Chen Yuan noncommittally said, "Thinking it through, it seems only someone in the mountains would have had a deceitful thought. My two brothers have always been honest and straightforward; they likely suffered a loss within the mountains. It's exceedingly difficult to find two dead bodies in the vast mountains."
Chen the Fifth sighed, "Who could it be, with such nerve?"
Chen Yuan pondered aloud, "We rarely deal with the Zhang family, and the Shen family, with their humble means, wouldn't have the courage; that leaves— the Tian family!"
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