Wild 1979: From Fishing and Hunting to Becoming a Literary Master

Chapter 134 Giant Bow and Arrow Shooting Surface

Wu Laowai and Guan Dunzi's attempt to steal someone else's skills backfired, while Chen Tuo, relying on Qing Gele's recent instruction, was dominating the field.

Amidst the 'thump, thump' of the bowstring...

Chen Tuo's Solon bow sent the groin-piercing arrow flying into the straw target.

Guan Tianpeng, standing beside him, was in a similar situation, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, with most of the arrow shaft, about a meter long, embedded in the grass target.

On the other hand, several of the young herders who were just eager to try and looked angry still haven't even put their bows on!

The Solon bows that Su Dao found were all single-piece wooden bows made according to ancient methods using pear wood and ironwood.

To put it simply, this was a war bow specially designed by the Qing court for the three Solon tribes, which the primitive hunters made using local materials.

The standard arrowheads used at the Dobukuer settlement in Songling North Mountain were likely also issued by the Qing government.

This type of standard weaponry is designed for power and lethality.

According to Qinggele, the only way for a log single bow to compete with a standard ribbed bow is to significantly increase the bow's draw weight.

In addition to lengthening and thickening the bow body, a single straight bow needs to be lengthened further to achieve the energy efficiency of a recurve bow.

For herders accustomed to using the short bows of the Mongol Yuan dynasty, how to safely wind the long and thick Solon bow was indeed a problem.

The herders who had nocked their arrows, except for a few who managed to hit the target with a projectile shot, all stuck the arrow shafts into the snow, thinking they could shoot directly at the target.

There's no need to shoot at the bullseye; just by looking at the arrows hitting the target, the difference in skill level is immediately apparent.

After the first round of shooting, herdsmen would ride forward on horseback to collect the arrows and tidy up the target, and then the second and third rounds would begin.

After five rounds, Chen Tuo's arrows all hit the grass target, while Guan Tianpeng's arrows all only partially hit the grass target.

The herders have plenty of targets to shoot at, but they mostly use projectiles.

There was still a little bit left; the bow couldn't be fully drawn, and the arrow shaft remained stuck in the snow.

Qinggeler, who intended to get the young herders to pick up archery, continued to stir up hatred.

They also sent over dozens of hunting arrows with thicker shafts and larger arrowheads.

These arrows, like the thumb ring given to Chen Tuo, were all obtained from the warehouses of various teams on the grasslands.

In addition to the large arrows, Qinggele also sent more than a dozen recurve bows that were well-maintained and decorated.

Chen Tuo knew his own limitations and that he was only a half-baked expert, so he didn't try to use the Qing Bow or the Kaiyuan Bow.

He just kept shooting wildly with the Sauron Bow.

The twanging of the bowstrings was quite a blow to the group of young herders.

This also made Su Dao and the others watching from the sidelines beam with joy.

"Men, this is the Sauron Great Bow from the original Sauron Trilogy, the bow that could pin a man to a tree!"

"When I was a shepherd, I heard about their tactics: giant bows and arrows, shooting at the face from ten paces away."

"Now that you've seen their archery skills, you all need to practice hard when you get back, so that no one will look down on you again!"

The fat old man Qinggele stood in the middle of the field, drawing hatred, but Chen Tuo, who had already helped Su Dao to get revenge, did not show off anymore.

Instead, he put away the Solon bow that he had been using to shoot ten paces away and walked off the field.

"Young Evenki man, our lads can't use the hunting arrows anymore, so we're giving them to you. What's your name?"

Chen Tuo wanted to stay away from the trouble, but Qing Gele didn't want the archery competition to end so hastily.

"Mergen! Mergen, the settlement of Dobukuer in the northern mountains of Songling! Mergen, skilled in archery!"

Qinggele asked him to give his number, which Chen Tuo was definitely unwilling to do, but Su Mo's mouth was much faster than his.

Hearing the series of titles that came out of Su Mo's mouth, Chen Tuo could only smile wryly.

I had planned to chat with the herders about their lives on the grasslands after the competition.

With things going like this, it seems we won't be able to chat today...

Although on the way here, Chen Tuo had several impulses to give up writing and make money through border trade with Su Dao and Xiao Kai.

But he always knew where his core competitiveness lay.

Plagiarism and writing to build a reputation are his greatest skills, like a giant bow and arrow that can hit the target from ten paces away.

Moreover, even if he had to start over, money would not become a shackle binding his life.

Once he passes the first hurdle of submitting his work and raising funds, his life will no longer be controlled by money.

Even in the era of ration coupons, and even after the great upheaval, it was the same for him.

Chen Tuo walked to the sidelines, where Guan Dunzi, who had just scouted out Qinggele's strength, came to greet him.

"Chen Zhiqing, that old fellow seems to have some skills, but not much. Those young men over there in silk Mongolian robes, on the other hand, seem to have some family wealth."

Compared to Wu Laowai after he grew up with a beard, Guan Dunzi, who spent his youth in the provincial capital, had a much sharper eye.

In his eyes, Qinggele was no different from Su Dao.

But several young herders in the crowd, dressed in silk Mongolian robes, like Bailong in the Dobukur settlement, must have had wealthy ancestors.

With Guan Dunzi's reminder, Chen Tuo put down the Solon bow in his hand and went over.

Upon seeing Chen Tuo arrive, the young herdsmen who had just been communicating in Mongolian switched directly to Liaodong Mandarin.

"Mergen, is your family related to the governor of Mergen?"

Several young herdsmen immediately asked to check his household registration, but Chen Tuo didn't directly admit his status as an educated youth. Instead, he pointed to Bai Long and said:

"She's the daughter of Yuehe, the Evenki chieftain, and we have a good relationship!"

Chen Tuo invoked Bai Long's identity and effortlessly blended into the circle of several young herders.

Although the echoes of the torrent still linger, some things can never be completely eradicated.

With the white dragon as proof, plus a Tungusic Mandarin that he wasn't very familiar with but had authentic pronunciation.

This directly made Chen Tuo a member of the inner circle.

These young herders were not from any Mongol princely families, but rather descendants of retainers of Mongol princes.

The floodwaters subsided temporarily, and they managed to salvage some of their lost possessions, which is why their clothing was somewhat different from others.

This difference also made them outcasts among the herders, and the other herders did not get along well with their small circle.

Having learned about the origins of these individuals, Chen Tuo naturally couldn't help but guide them patiently.

A few words of flattery were enough to get the young herders talking at length.

At this point, Chen Tuo couldn't take out paper and pen to record the material, so he could only tense up and memorize the life experiences of the people involved.

The conversation continued until the actual archery competition ended, at which point the young herders reluctantly ended the topic and rejoined the herders' circle.

Having found an opportunity, Chen Tuo smiled and said goodbye to them for the time being. He then took out paper and pen and quickly recorded the material he had just gathered.

After the archery competition came the horseback riding competition to pick up hada scarves and the lassoing competition, all of which Chen Tuo remembered.

I only glanced at it briefly before continuing to record my material.

"Mergen, I am Bilig. Grandpa Qinggele asked me to invite you over..."

Chen Tuo was interrupted by a strong herdsman named Bilige when he had barely finished recording half of the footage.

Although somewhat reluctant, he looked in the direction Bilige pointed and saw a group of herders sitting together.

Wanting to gather more material about the grasslands, Chen Tuo nodded...