Henry Carter sighed inwardly. Bao'an Prefecture was a fertile land with relatively abundant water resources and less severe droughts compared to other places. The current prices were still considered reasonable. According to his knowledge of history, by the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, even in Jiangnan, prices had soared to unimaginable levels—a dou of rice cost two taels of silver, and eventually even rose to six taels. A single duck egg cost thirty wen, a chicken over a thousand wen, while a young servant girl was only about twelve hundred wen. The cheapness of human life and the hardships of the common people in troubled times were evident.

The Bell Family spoke with Grace Bennett about various rumors, sighing repeatedly, yet feeling fortunate that their family still had food to eat. Common folk were always content; as long as there was a mouthful of rice, they would feel satisfied.

After dinner, Grace Bennett went to wash the bowls. Mother Carter, watching her thin figure, said, “This child is indeed diligent, but her body is a bit frail. I’m afraid she’ll have difficulty bearing children in the future.”

Grace Bennett had grown up in the The Carter Family, and like other peasant women, she possessed the traditional virtues of thrift and diligence. Whether it was plowing and harvesting in the fields, chopping wood and cutting grass at home, boiling tea and cooking, washing clothes, or raising pigs, she did all these tasks wholeheartedly. In this regard, Mother Carter was satisfied.

However, she felt that Grace Bennett's health was not very good, especially since her chest was small and her hips were thin, which made her somewhat dissatisfied. In her view, a woman with a full chest would have enough milk for her child in the future, and wide hips would make childbirth easier. Small chest and thin hips were not good.

In fact, in ancient times, women with large breasts and wide hips were considered beautiful. It made sense that families paid more attention to a bride’s figure than her face, as infant mortality was high and raising children was difficult. Mother Carter herself had given birth to five children, but most had died young, leaving only Henry Carter as the sole survivor. So, seeing Grace Bennett like this, Mother Carter couldn’t help but worry.

Still, despite her words, she usually treated Grace Bennett quite well. The village wives all envied her, thinking Grace Bennett had found a good mother-in-law. Grace Bennett herself understood this in her heart.

Henry Carter said, “If possible, we should try to give her more nourishment.”

The Bell Family nodded, but sighed again.

After dinner, his mother The Bell Family went to the weaving room to work at the loom, while Henry Carter sat in his room under the dim light of an oil lamp, carefully reading two books: “New Book of Military Efficiency” and “Practical Record of Military Training,” both written by Grandpa Qi. Although these books were published during the Jiajing era, they were not something ordinary families could easily obtain. His ancestor Tiger Carter had acquired a set by chance, and it had been passed down as a family heirloom for generations.

Although the The Carter Family came from a military background, they also valued both farming and studying. When Henry Carter was young, his grandfather Philip Carter had taught him to read character by character. However, the former Henry Carter had no interest in military books, but now he treasured them dearly.

After reading for a while, Grace Bennett came in carrying a basin of hot water and knelt down to wash Henry Carter's feet. Henry Carter gently stroked her hair, and Grace Bennett looked up at him and smiled. In the lamplight, he could see the unnatural pallor on her face, which made Henry Carter worry—could she be ill? When conditions allowed, he would have to find a doctor to check her over.

After washing, Grace Bennett carried the water out and went to the courtyard to tidy up the farm tools and fertilizer.

From the next room came the constant sound of his mother weaving. Henry Carter lost the mood to read and began pacing back and forth in the room.

……

At dawn the next day, Henry Carter got up. He took his spear and went to the backyard, where there were several vegetable plots and a well. In recent years, more and more wells in Xin Village had dried up, but the well in the The Carter Family backyard still had abundant, clear water, making many villagers envious.

The air in this world was far better than in later generations. A fresh breeze blew by, invigorating Henry Carter.

He took off his shirt and practiced a set of boxing moves, each punch fierce and powerful, his muscles bunching like rocks at every exertion. This was called “Pi Gua Boxing,” a style popular among the Qi family army. Grandpa Qi had emphasized it in a volume of the “New Book of Military Efficiency,” noting its effectiveness in real combat.

After finishing the set, Henry Carter's upper body was drenched in sweat, his muscles gleaming. Still unsatisfied, he picked up his spear and assumed a starting stance.

The Yang-style Pear Blossom Spear, originating in the Song dynasty, had been praised by Grandpa Qi as unrivaled and was widely promoted in the army.

Gripping, blocking, flipping, catching, rowing the spear… the spear moved like a swimming dragon, and Henry Carter's gaze was focused. The skills of this body were his and his family’s greatest guarantee for survival in troubled times. Since arriving in this world and understanding his surroundings, he had practiced diligently every day.

He continued until Grace Bennett came in and called him for breakfast, and only then did Henry Carter stop.

Breakfast was black bread cakes with a large bowl of clear soup. Of course, it didn’t taste as good as last night’s white bread, but at least there was plenty. After all, starting today, they would be doing heavy farm work, and they needed to eat their fill.

During the meal, they discussed the day’s farm work. The fields needed to be turned for autumn planting, but the The Carter Family's ox had long since been sold. With over twenty mu of land, they couldn’t afford to keep an ox, so they had to rent one from the village head, Andrew Harris. To catch the farming season, they needed two oxen to pull the plow, which would speed up the work. The rent was no small sum, and Andrew Harris insisted on being paid in white flour instead of silver.