Once the entire village learned about the martial arts tournament in Yunxiu City, everyone was raring to go. On the morning of the first day of the lunar new year, right after breakfast, the elderly clan head beat a gong and drum to summon the entire village. He gathered all the young boys together to train them as a group. Their slogan was to strive for third place in Yunxiu City in the next five years.
Feeling that this ambition lacked punch, I suggested, "Let's aim for the top spot while securing at least third." Everyone felt my phrasing sounded much grander, so they changed the slogan to: "Secure third, strive for first in the tournament five years from now."
After that, they threw themselves into rigorous daily training. Truly, no hardship was too great for the children. All the best food was piled onto their plates—meat three meals a day. While eating meat used to be a rare treat, they now found it agonizing, because apart from a tiny bit of rice, almost every meal consisted entirely of meat. I even offered a suggestion, noting that rice might not be as nutritious as corn.
Chapter 239