The next morning, for once no one from the Zhou Family was out for a run, everyone gathered in the yard to watch.
"Stand firm with your lower body, lean forward a bit. Right, very good."
Zhang Guoqing stood to the side, observing Ping’an’s posture and movents. "Now inhale, tense your abdon. Then exhale; breathe out slowly. When you draw the bow later, exhale slowly and steadily in one breath."
Following his guidance, Ping’an slowly exhaled...
"Now try drawing the string; release your fingers naturally, don’t pull back hard. Rember, you should only use your hand’s strength, keep your whole body relaxed...
Good, now inhale and exhale again to see."
Zhang Guoqing looked at his son standing steadily with satisfaction, "Take an arrow. Don’t rush, first fix your posture, get a feel for it."
"Got it."
As Ping’an released an arrow, the family focused their attention.
With a "thwack," the arrow hit the target, not exactly at the center but firmly lodged in it.
"Not bad at all. Accuracy cos with practice, just like when you threw stones... Practice makes perfect. For now, don’t worry about precision, think about how to use your hand’s strength while keeping the muscles relaxed."
Having said this, Zhang Guoqing watched as Ping’an, self-taught, demonstrated movent after movent. He realized the child’s talent surpassed his own. He recalled when his grandfather taught him, at that ti he missed the target completely.
"No problem now. Keep practicing in this posture until your aim improves, then I’ll take you hunting. Rember to rest when you’re tired."
Ping’an nodded, too focused to reply. With a tight face, he drew the bow. With previous experience practicing with Little Stone, he kept his eyes on that target point.
Satisfied, he looked ahead, holding back his pride, but his eyes still curved into crescent moons. Ping’an secretly told himself not to be arrogant. Compared to others giving their all, he could easily draw with his small hands.
Zhou Xiaozheng watched from the side, nodding silently, and said to his son-in-law nearby, "Let him practice with a small bow for a few years to temper his disposition before agreeing to switch to a bigger bow."
"Alright. Dad, do you think the kid should start practicing his lower body strength first?"
Zhou Xiaozheng shook his head, "Let’s follow the plan and take it slow in the second half of the year. The child is still young, learning too much can be overwhelming." Ultimately, he believed that given the child’s intelligence, the focus should be on strategy, tactics, and thods. With his Divine Power, learning a few lethal skills would be enough.
Zhou Jiao looked up at the sky, then went over to stop her son. "Haste makes waste. You’ve been practicing for an hour, ti to rest. Practice again tomorrow morning."
"Co, have a al with your grandpa." Zhou Xiaozheng waved him over.
"Grandpa, wait for , I’ll put away my things first." Ping’an hurriedly shouted, not forgetting to tidy up. His mom had told him he wasn’t his grandpa, he didn’t have a secretary uncle. Without a secretary, he had to handle his own affairs well.
Ping’an waited and waited...
Before returning to Beijing, he finally looked forward to his parents taking him out to play. This ti, he specifically requested to bring his small bow, planning to test his practicing achievents.
Once he promised the child, Zhang Guoqing wouldn’t break his word. For this trip, he finally contacted Mu, planning to stay at his house for a few days.
Before leaving, even though the couple was ticulous, Yi Jiefang, who had been following them every day, found out. When they got on the car, Yi Jiefang and Wan Dayong joined them.
The four of them, with a baby, after several twists and turns, finally boarded Mu’s cart.
"We’re going to trouble you again."
Mu smiled, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. "We’re classmates, no need to be so polite. I’ve benefited a lot from your care."
Yi Jiefang rolled his eyes and stretched out his legs, "Old Mu, with the two of us, is there enough room for us to sleep? We plan to stay a few more days."
"Haha... Upon hearing my nephew was coming, I’ve prepared everything well. Co, stay for a while, let’s hope we go back to school together."
With wide eyes, Ping’an looked around continually, thanking Uncle with his mouth, yet reluctant to move his eyes away. Such a fast horse... So many bleating sheep...
"Mom, I also have such a robe." Seeing the little child not far ahead, Ping’an quickly tugged at Zhou Jiao.
Zhou Jiao understood his underlying ssage, "Alright, when we get there, I’ll change you into it."
Compared to the child, Zhou Jiao, returning to the old place again, noticed that there were more yurts near Mu’s hotown compared to her past mory.
Following their gaze, Mu said with a smile, "These are immigrants who couldn’t stay in their hotowns, each family brought four or five children. Seeing they can’t move on, the patriarch kept them, now our clan provides for their als and lodging."
Hearing this, Zhou Jiao felt respect. That’s more than a dozen yurts, assuming seven people per family, fifteen tents make for a hundred mouths to feed.
"Wouldn’t that be a big burden?"
Mu shook his head, smiling, "At first, every family had to squeeze in so coarse grains, but now they can even speak our local language, keeping up with our local life. Especially with those hardworking kids, they find quite a bit of wild vegetables every day. Give them so ti, and life won’t be a problem."
This sumr, Yi Jiefang saw many immigrants from south to north. He remarked, "This place is great, with good weather and freedom."
Zhang Guoqing patted him on the shoulder with a smile, "Then stay a few extra days."
It was because this place was good that Zhang Guoqing hadn’t returned to his hotown. Otherwise, it would be easier to hunt and practice there; this trip was mainly for relaxation with his wife and son.
The five of them were once again warmly welcod by Mu’s family.
To avoid causing them a burden, Zhou Jiao prepared many gifts this ti. Especially seeing Yi Jiefang and Wan Dayong joining, she added more white flour and cornal.
Here, food coupons might not buy you food, and even rice wouldn’t be welcod, so Zhou Jiao put a lot of thought into the gifts.
Seeing them accept her gifts without much protest, she finally felt relieved. She dreaded those back-and-forth polite exchanges.
In the following days, except for Mu occasionally accompanying, they declined Mu Family’s kind offer to guide them.
So places were not unfamiliar anymore, especially since Zhang Guoqing had visited twice.
Several tis, taking advantage of Mu taking Yi Jiefang and Wan Dayong riding horses, Zhang Guoqing took his wife and son hunting.
Ping’an’s small bow still wasn’t enough to hit the target. Aside from the dwindling wildlife on the grassland, his speed couldn’t match the prey.
Luckily, he also had a skill in throwing small stones, which achieved so results.
After setbacks, the little guy grew more determined, setting his face seriously, he vowed to his parents that soday, he would hunt big ga.
Zhou Jiao had been eyeing the dicinal herbs on the grassland for a long ti. This ti, besides digging herself, she finally had the chance to buy so in the nearby town. What pleased her most was that in the current tis when everything required a coupon, she finally found materials that didn’t need one.
Originally planning to stay for a week, none of the five wanted to leave. After rushing to the post office to send a telegram ho, delaying their return, they truly enjoyed running up the mountains and down the fields.
When it was ti to return to Beijing, Ping’an hugged the Mu Family’s big yellow dog with tearful eyes, taking the small bow that Old Sir Mu gifted him, leaving the village he had co to love, turning back every few steps.
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