Chapter 36: Chapter 36 Emergency of Supplies
The family sat around the table, Chen Fan extended his chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat and put it into his mouth, it was very chewy.
"Is this beef?"
He asked in surprise.
"Yes, it’s beef."
Chen Guodong explained, "This morning’s wild bull, a pack of wolves ate quite a lot of it, what’s left, less than a hundred pounds, our family got a bit more, four or five pounds, it’s all here."
As for the meat eaten by the wolves, they planned to make blood sausage with the wolf intestines, which is considered a delicacy.
"We also got dozens of pounds of wolf meat, along with the wildebeest meat you brought back yesterday, altogether it’s probably over a hundred pounds." The woman’s eyes squinted with laughter.
These past few years, there hasn’t been a day like today, with so many provisions, just from eating, it could be enough to feed the family for a month.
"Really?"
Chen Fan also breathed a sigh of relief, from this perspective, there was no need to worry about food in the short term, but hunting still had to continue, they couldn’t just sit around and eat up all their stock.
After swallowing the beef, a piece of information appeared in his mind.
"Potential Points +0.2."
"No wonder it’s beef, one piece is worth two pieces of rabbit meat," he thought to himself, picking up the second piece and savoring it carefully.
Chen Guodong and his wife also started eating.
While eating, the woman suddenly said, "Guodong, we’re almost out of rice and the salt jar is nearly empty, should we take some meat and trade it at Song Family Castle for some supplies?"
Chen Guodong paused his chopsticks, then nodded and said, "Yes, we should trade for some."
Chen Fan’s ears twitched, and certain memories slowly surfaced in his mind.
This Song Family Castle, similar to Zhao Family Castle, is also quite a large fortified village with one or two thousand people. The leader of the village reportedly has some connections in the distant Anshan City, capable of obtaining some precious daily supplies like rice, flour, grain, oil, cigarettes, tea, and even medicines and weapons.
They apparently have guns and ammunition too, but they’re sold at a high price.
Nearby small villages can trade with gold and silver jewelry, fierce beast meat, and similar items for what they need. It is said that some villages even trade women and children.
Of course, one cannot enter the castle; a designated area in front of the castle gate is used for trading. If one sets up a stall, a fee is charged for the spot, but the other party guarantees safety.
Therefore, Song Family Castle is much more renowned in this area compared to Zhao Family Castle.
"Dad, is Song Family Castle far away?"
He asked curiously.
"A bit."
Chen Guodong thought for a moment, "About 15 kilometers, a round trip would be 30 miles. If you want to go, it’s best to leave at three or four in the morning. If there’s any delay, you won’t make it back before dusk, which would be dangerous."
The woman fell silent upon hearing this.
But this was inevitable, lacking rice while having meat to eat is fine, but lacking salt is a serious problem.
"Isn’t it dangerous?"
Chen Fan’s heart leapt to his throat.
"What isn’t dangerous these days?"
Chen Guodong smiled bitterly, "In these times, even if you have plenty of food and stay in the village without going out, it’s dangerous. Actually, it’s not that bad; we’ve been there before, and except for a few incidents, most of the time, if you don’t cause trouble, nothing will happen."
"Then I’ll go with you when you go." Chen Fan thought for a moment and said.
"There’s no need."
Chen Guodong hesitated and said, "We’re just going to trade some goods, not hunting, it’s not as dangerous as you think. Besides, we have experience in this, nothing will happen."
"Yes, Xiaofan."
The woman also nodded.
"Dad, I mainly want to see for myself." Chen Fan smiled.
He actually didn’t wish for anything to happen, but people are unpredictable.
He thought it through, in the past, villagers used gold and silver jewelry to buy a few pounds of rice or a jar of salt, kept it hidden and unseen, even if someone noticed, it wouldn’t draw much attention.
This time was different, they were trading dozens of pounds of beast meat, according to his father, one pound of the most common beast meat could be exchanged for two to three pounds of rice, which means hundreds of pounds of rice, for ten people that’s several hundred pounds, it’s hard not to attract attention.
In this situation, having him around, if they encountered danger, he could lend a hand.
As for the high prices, it was because past crops like rice and wheat had mutated and could no longer bear grains. Although substitutes were found, the seed prices were exorbitant, unaffordable for small villages.
Moreover, if planted outside the city, it would definitely attract fierce beasts at night, making it extremely difficult.
Scarcity increased the value, and with intentional control, such circumstances emerged.
Additionally, he indeed wanted to see for himself.
"Well, fine, when we have some more prey in a few days, you can come with us."
Chen Guodong also felt that Chen Fan’s words made sense, in his heart, Chen Fan was responsible for leading the family to survive and needed to be involved in such matters.
"Then, you must be careful." The woman became anxious again.
"Don’t worry, Mom. Didn’t Dad just say it wouldn’t be dangerous?" Chen Fan said with a smile.
"Yes, don’t worry, it won’t be a big deal, it’s not the first time." Chen Guodong reassured her.
Chen Fan’s desire to join this trip made Chen Guodong feel that it might be more complicated than he thought.
But, what choice did they have?
They still had to go.
After a hearty meal, the big pot of meat was completely consumed by the four of them.
Chen Fan alone ate about two pounds of meat, his stomach was round. These past few days, he finally had a full meal, which wasn’t easy.
Not only that, but his potential points also increased from 6 to 28, enough to strengthen his body twice.
"There are still two or three days left, it would be best to reach Body Tempering Third Layer, if not, Body Tempering Second Layer will also do."
He thought to himself, if he reached Body Tempering Third Layer, he could use the bow with a 200-pound draw weight, with an estimated effective range of over 200, close to 300 meters. Whether encountering fierce beasts or being tracked, having such a strong bow would increase the chance of the team retreating safely a lot. He could even venture into the "danger zone" mentioned by Uncle Liu and others.
If he reached Body Tempering Second Layer, he could still only use the 100-pound bow. Though with a 200-meter effective range, it was still good enough for dealing with ordinary people and some mid-level fierce beasts.
Besides that, it would be best to raise the level of Basic Archery by one level. The 3rd level Mounted Archery trait didn’t have a 100% accuracy rate, if it increased to level 4, it would ensure no mistakes.
In short, he hoped everything would go smoothly, but he also needed to be prepared for emergencies.
"Dad, I’m going to find Uncle Zhang to practice martial arts."
"Ah?"
Chen Guodong was stunned and when he looked up, Chen Fan was already gone.
"This kid..."
He smiled wryly.
"He’s working very hard too."
The woman showed a pained expression.
"Yes."
Chen Guodong sighed, to say that it wasn’t an exaggeration, everyone in the village relied on Chen Fan’s archery skills for survival.
Even him.
Chen Fan walked along the dirt road, looking at his attribute panel.
Strength Attribute, 18.51, just a bit more to reach 20.
He originally planned to use it when his physical strength was exhausted, but seeing this, should he enhance now?
Because reaching 20 points in Strength Attribute, he could use a 100-pound bow normally, practicing archery with this bow might increase his skill level faster?