"The real test is beginning," Ning Yan thought to himself.
Having been through so many interviews in his past life, Ning Yan could see right through this little trick.
"Xiao Yan, what do you think of our village?" Ning Dabao asked.
It had only been seven or eight days since Ning Yan transmigrated here, but having integrated the original memories, he had a good grasp of the village's situation.
Young though he was and having never traveled far, Ning Yan had been to nearby Qingshui Town to play with Ning Dali.
Qingshui Town backed against the Mist Ridge Mountains; although wild beasts roamed the mountains, resources were ultimately abundant. Though separated by the Qingshui River, where one had to take a passenger boat run by the Li Family to cross back and forth, Qingshui Town still drew massive crowds—merchants, various hunting squads, and even more beggars to be seen everywhere.
Qing State had been founded some three hundred years ago, but over the past fifty years, natural and man-made disasters had struck frequently. Coupled with the heavy taxes and extortion imposed by officials and aristocratic clans upon the common people, countless families had been displaced, their flesh and blood torn apart.
If Ning Family Village had not been led by the village chief, with everyone practicing martial arts to strengthen themselves and forming a hunting squad to protect the village, it probably would have ceased to exist long ago, and the people of Ning Family Village would have become just another group of beggars on the streets.
"The village is wonderful, and everyone is very united. My dad said that without the village chief, there wouldn't be today's Ning Family Village, nor would we have the wonderful life we live now."
Ning Yan answered sincerely, according to what he felt in his heart.
"Indeed, without the village chief, there wouldn't be today's Ning Family Village. You answered very well. Dali-ge gave you a good upbringing. Do you harbor any resentment toward the village because Dali-ge sacrificed his life during a village hunt?"
Ning Dabao hesitated for a moment, carefully weighing his words as he posed the second question.
At this, the three men stared intently at Ning Yan, trying to read his thoughts from the subtle changes in his expression.
Regarding Ning Dali, Ning Yan's feelings were somewhat complicated. Ever since he realized that this present life was also a part of his existence, he had deliberately avoided scenes of father and son interacting in the past.
Before his awakening, Ning Yan had held some lingering bitterness in his heart, but the present Ning Yan was an adult after all, and he would not implicate the village in the matter of a hunting casualty.
No one hoped for accidents to happen. For the sake of the village, for their wives and children, someone had to go out hunting. In a country resembling the feudal era of his past life, a village as united as Ning Family Village was exceedingly rare.
"My dad sacrificed himself for the village, and he also sacrificed himself for his wife and children. He often told me that the village is one big family, and everyone has their own mission. To be able to sacrifice oneself for one's mission is a worthy death.
Furthermore, after my parents passed away, everyone in the village took good care of me, and they even prepared the medicinal herbs I needed for body tempering. I have never resented the village. If one day the village requires my sacrifice, I will not hesitate to answer the call," Ning Yan stated with a firm tone.
Having played along with corporate bosses' empty promises countless times in his past life, he was already an old hand at this. As for exactly how much of it was true and how much false, only Ning Yan himself knew.
"Mm, very good. Ever since joining the hunting squad, every single one of us has been prepared for the possibility of sacrificing our lives one day. But our sacrifices bring a brighter tomorrow to the village; our sacrifices are valuable."
Hearing Ning Yan's firm declaration and his spirit of sacrifice and dedication to the village, Ning Dabao was extremely moved.
"Alright, there's no need to ask the third question. Go prepare for the physical fitness test," Ning Dabao waved his hand, dismissing Ning Yan to rest on the side.
The other two did not object. Originally, the third question was whether one would be willing to sacrifice themselves for the village at a critical moment, but upon hearing Ning Yan's speech, asking further would have been redundant and a sign of poor judgment.
Ning Yan got up, cupped his fists, and left the plaza. By this time, Ning Qingshan's session had also concluded, and the two of them headed together toward the speed testing point at the village entrance.
"Ning Yan, you passed the first round of tests too. Of course, I believe anyone who grew up in the village can pass it. But the physical endurance test that follows won't be so simple."
From Ning Dahu's words, Ning Yan guessed that Ning Dahu had also been asked similar questions later on.
Those final three questions seemed like casual chat, but they were actually quite similar to the psychological tests of his past life—primarily meant to gauge one's political awareness. They certainly couldn't let an ungrateful ingrate into the hunting squad.
The teenagers of this generation in Ning Family Village rarely left the village to interact with the outside world. Though they had received education from the village and their parents, they had never experienced hard times; they took everything in life for granted, and some might even feel that the village restricted their development.
Scholars disrupt the laws with their writings, while martial artists break prohibitions with force—especially in this world, where martial arts far outshone past martial arts just as high mountains dwarf small hills. Both government officials and aristocratic clans firmly grasped the dissemination of martial arts to avoid shaking the foundations of their rule.
Very few people throughout the entire Qing State were qualified to practice martial arts. Villages like Ning Family Village, where the entire village could practice martial arts, were even scarcer; you could probably count them on one hand in all of Hongshan County. Moreover, most of those villages capable of practicing martial arts were the territories of aristocratic clans, serving those clans.
Ning Yan ignored Ning Qingshan, feeling that this fellow was simply manufacturing conversation out of nothing. He would just ridicule him later when they collected their supplies after the test concluded.
...
Soon, the two arrived at the testing site.
The testing site was set up right at the village's east gate, where two flagpoles marked the starting and finishing lines.
Starting from the line, one had to run a full lap around the village and reach the finish line within the allotted time.
Along the route, obstacles such as stepping posts, trenches, low walls, log bridges, high walls, and bushes had been set up to block the way.
Six people stood in a row, and at a single command, they all bolted forward.
Ning Qingshan took the lead, surging to the very front, while the others followed closely behind.
Ning Yan maintained an average pace, staying right in the middle of the group, neither rushing nor lagging, and kept it up until the test ended.
For Ning Yan, as long as he could secure a spot in the hunting squad, that was enough. There was no special reward for fighting for first place, so there was no need to stand out like that.
Soon, Ning Yan and the others arrived at the finish line one after another.
Sure enough, Ning Qingshan was already waiting at the finish line.
Seeing Ning Yan and the others arrive somewhat late, Ning Qingshan did not mock them this time. Evidently, the fact that Ning Yan had maintained a decent pace and passed the test on time still somewhat surprised Ning Qingshan.
Next was the strength test.
This was the final phase of the testing, and also the most crucial one.
The strength test provided the most direct measure of a person's physical fitness, and most eliminations during the hunting squad trials happened in this round.
...
Back at the plaza.
In the center of the plaza, five stone disks were arranged in order from largest to smallest. The smallest stone disk weighed about 150 catties, and the heaviest was 200 catties.
The test was simple: anyone who could lift the lightest disk above their head and hold it for five seconds would pass the test. Those who could not lift it, or could not hold it for five full seconds, would be eliminated.
This test was personally overseen by Ning Fei.
After announcing the rules of the competition, Ning Fei did not immediately declare the start of the competition, but instead spoke:
"I remember thirty years ago, our village had no hunting squad, nor any second martial artist besides the village chief.
Back then, whenever the village chief wanted to impart martial arts, he could only search among adults in their twenties.
And today, we have two fifteen-year-old boys in our village who have made it to the final test.
Once they pass this test, they can learn martial arts and become martial artists.
And this means that life in our Ning Family Village is getting better and better."
Hearing Ning Fei's words, the people in the plaza cast eager gazes toward Ning Yan and Ning Qingshan, as if they themselves were the ones standing on the field, feeling happy for the increasingly prosperous tomorrow of the village.
Some of the elderly folks in the crowd, especially those who had lived through the hard days of Ning Family Village, appreciated all the more how precious today's life was.
As they looked at Ning Yan and Ning Qingshan, their eyes filled with tears.
The teenagers on the field and the villagers of Ning Family Village outside the ring all felt proud of their village at that moment, their hearts tightly linked together.
Steeped in such an atmosphere, Ning Yan couldn't help but feel a prickling sensation in his nose, thinking that he must make some contributions to Ning Family Village.
"To encourage more and younger people in our Ning Family Village to join the hunting squad in the future, any village youth who reaches the age of fourteen will receive medicinal herbs supported by the village," Ning Fei continued.
The villagers in the plaza burst into applause at Ning Fei's words.
At this moment, Ning Yan couldn't help thinking: Could Ning Fei see through our actual strength? If not, out here in broad daylight with so many people watching him and Ning Qingshan, if the two of them failed the test, wouldn't they want to find a crack in the ground to crawl into? Moreover, it would deal a heavy blow to the villagers' confidence.
Just as Ning Yan was pondering, Ning Fei announced the start of the test.