Chapter 10

On the first day of martial arts training, Chen Mo did not learn as many powerful techniques as he had hoped. He only practiced standing in a horse stance, which left him somewhat disappointed. After all, as a young boy, he had always dreamed of becoming an invincible general who could dominate the battlefield. However, reality was monotonous and made him constantly think about giving up.

Especially after persisting for a quarter of an hour, when he returned home, Chen Mo felt his legs trembling, and even a slight external force could have made him fall to the ground.

Chen Mo's mother felt a bit heartbroken seeing him like this. In the evening, she added an extra meal. Watching her son devour the millet rice, she felt both happy and heartbroken.

In the evening, Chen Mo, as usual, summoned the mysterious existence for worship, but he noticed something different.

Name: Chen Mo

Fate: 10 (The initial fate of a normal person, which can be reduced by natural disasters or human misfortunes, and increased by a rise in status)

Fortune: 10 (The minimum fortune of a normal person, if fortune falls below the minimum, one's luck will continuously worsen)

Money: 813 wuzhu coins

Life Skills: Farming lv7, Manure Making lv6, Strong Memory lv1, Calligraphy lv1, Body Forging lv1

Combat Skills: None

Leadership Skills: None

The recovery of his fortune to 10 made Chen Mo very happy. Since returning from the county town, although he hadn't encountered any major events, he had constantly stumbled, tripped, or stepped in feces, making his mood very unpleasant. Yesterday, his fortune was 9, but today it had recovered to 10, and he hadn't encountered any unfortunate events all day, which relieved him.

The addition of three new skills indicated that he was one step closer to his goal. Although Chen Mo couldn't clearly articulate his goal, the general direction was to rise to prominence. After witnessing the prosperity of the county town and the harsh realities of the world, this desire had become even stronger. He didn't want to be a manure handler for his entire life; he wanted to revitalize his family and ensure his mother lived a good life.

Chen Mo didn't know how to achieve this, but the mysterious existence in his mind pointed him in the right direction: to become stronger, continuously stronger. Once he reached a certain level of strength, he would only need an opportunity. But before that, he must have the ability to seize it.

The new skills provided by the mysterious existence gave Chen Mo a clear direction. The next morning, after waking up, he pestered his mother to teach him the second section of the Analects. Although he didn't fully understand the first section, the repeated memorization and writing of the previous day had firmly etched it in his mind.

In this era, education generally did not force understanding but required memorization, with the expectation of gradual comprehension over time. Chen Mo's mother had learned this way, so after testing Chen Mo's memory and confirming it was solid, she began teaching the second section.

"Mother, are my characters very ugly?" Chen Mo traced the characters after his mother, feeling a bit embarrassed as she examined them closely.

"No, learning is a gradual process, and everything in the world is the same. No one can do everything perfectly from the start. My son, you could write the characters correctly after just one look yesterday, which is quite remarkable. I remember when your father taught me to write, I wasn't as good as you." Chen Mo's mother smiled and shook her head.

The little black dog had already woken up. Yesterday, Chen Mo's mother had built it a temporary small shelter, planning to improve it when Chen Mo had free time. The little guy seemed very satisfied with his new home. Seeing Chen Mo writing, it ran around the branches happily, occasionally rolling on the ground and showing its belly.

Chen Mo poked it with a stick, and the little guy immediately rushed to Chen Mo's feet and started biting.

"Mother, I see everyone's dogs have names. Why don't we give it one too?" Chen Mo smiled.

"Sure." Chen Mo's mother nodded.

"I'm Chen Mo, so how about we call it Chen Hei?" Chen Mo said excitedly.

"Who names a dog with a surname?" Chen Mo's mother shook her head. "Let's call it Hei Zi."

Hei Zi?

Chen Mo was a bit dissatisfied, feeling it lacked a touch of elegance. After all, he was now a scholar who could read and write, and his dog should be different from others.

"It lacks a touch of elegance!" Chen Mo mimicked the manner of Mr. Wu, stroking his chin, though he lacked the goatee. He spoke in a refined tone.

"Go to the fields, how can a dog's name be elegant?" Chen Mo's mother laughed and playfully slapped him.

"Oh~" Chen Mo reluctantly agreed, carrying his small basket and hoe out of the house, still feeling upset about not being able to give his dog a surname.

Watching her son's back, Chen Mo's mother's smile gradually turned bittersweet. How long had it been since her son had shown such childish emotions?

"Ao ao~" Hei Zi followed Chen Mo to the door, barking incessantly until Chen Mo's figure disappeared. Then, it returned to its shelter, lying down and staring at the door, ignoring the chickens that began to wander around.

"This dog is quite human-like." Chen Mo's mother looked at the dog and placed a broken bowl as a food dish, pouring some porridge into it. The little chicks, seemingly forgetting their fear from the previous day, approached the dog's shelter and pecked at the porridge.

Hei Zi glanced at the door, then at the chicks, and pushed the broken bowl into its shelter with its paw, turning its back to the chicks and eating.

"Ji ji ji~" The chicks, dissatisfied, flapped their wings and tried to follow, continuing to fight with Hei Zi for the food, but Hei Zi chased them around the yard in annoyance.

The once quiet rural courtyard now had more vitality, and Chen Mo's mother felt much more cheerful.

Chen Mo had long noticed that his stamina seemed particularly abundant. No matter how tired he was the previous day, he would feel completely refreshed the next morning.

Yesterday, when standing in the horse stance, Chen Mo's legs had clearly given out, but today, he felt fine. After finishing his farm work, with nothing else to do, he practiced the horse stance while repeatedly writing the section he had learned today on the ground with a stick.

Although he had the experience from yesterday, he still only managed to last a quarter of an hour before giving up, sitting on the ground and eating the porridge his mother had prepared for him. He wondered if he could practice for another quarter of an hour when he returned home in the evening.

Unfortunately, Uncle Wang and Uncle Cai had gone hunting in the mountains and hadn't returned, so Chen Mo had to practice at home. Hei Zi had been lying at the door and happily ran up to Chen Mo, wagging its tail and circling his feet. Even when Chen Mo was practicing the horse stance, Hei Zi stayed by his feet, unwilling to leave. The little chicks leisurely wandered in the yard, but if they got too close, Hei Zi would drive them away, not allowing them to come near.

"Mo, it's time to eat." Chen Mo's mother called from the house.

"Just a bit more, wait a bit!" Chen Mo glanced at the sun and said.