Once Wang An finished feeding all the meat from one rabbit, Da Cang and Xiao Cang were full, but the crops of Da Jin and Xiao Jin had not yet bulged. It was obvious that the two of them were still hungry.
Feeling the base of Da Jin and Xiao Jin's necks, Wang An took the two silly roe deer out of the sack.
Only after the two silly roe deer had entered the bellies of Da Jin and Xiao Jin were the two eagles finally full.
Truth be told, if someone lacked a bit of strength, just raising these four eagles would be damn exhausting.
After feeding the four eagles, Wang An walked over to Huang Zhong, who was practicing with the rifle.
Wang An randomly pointed to a tree ahead for Huang Zhong to shoot at. After a few shots, Wang An sucked in his teeth in utter helplessness.
It had to be said that finding another natural-born sharpshooter like Wang Li was likely impossible.
After thinking for a moment, Wang An said to Huang Zhong
"Your hold on the gun is unstable, so your aim is bound to be inaccurate. Wait until you go back and practice stabilizing your hold before practicing your marksmanship. Also, once you finish this box of ammunition, stop for now. Continuing would just be a waste of bullets."
To shoot accurately, the gun must be held steady. One could say that when pulling the trigger, the arms must be completely motionless. Even with Wang An's incredible marksmanship, when using a rifle, he would hold his breath the instant he fired.
There was no helping it; as long as a person breathes while holding a gun, the muzzle will inevitably fluctuate, and if the muzzle fluctuates, the bullet won't hit as accurately.
As for someone like Huang Zhong, it was simply a lack of strength in the arms, which had nothing to do with breathing. Therefore, in Wang An's view, it would be enough if Huang Zhong could simply become proficient in using the gun.
However, regarding the stability of the hold, no one could hold a gun steady without excellent arm strength, so Wang An didn't take it too seriously.
After Wang An finished speaking, Huang Zhong nodded and said
"Mm-hmm, I understand, Big Brother."
Soon, the box of 25 rounds was completely spent. While Huang Zhong's marksmanship hadn't improved at all, his handling of the weapon had become considerably more proficient.
Wang An picked up the sack again and said to Huang Zhong
"Let's go. Time to head home."
Huang Zhong replied
"Mm-hmm, Big Brother."
After speaking, Huang Zhong looked toward the distance where the bullets had flown, then touched the gun, clearly feeling a bit unsatisfied.
Truth be told, regardless of age, men all have a very strong interest in firing guns.
But practicing marksmanship when one cannot even hold the gun steady, like Huang Zhong, was a waste of time even if he practiced for a year straight. Thus, until Huang Zhong could hold the gun steady, Wang An didn't intend to let him practice his shooting.
And so, Wang An carried the sack containing three rabbits and a wild pheasant, while Huang Zhong carried the rifle on his back, and the two walked together toward home.
The four eagles continued to circle above Wang An, occasionally landing on his shoulder to stay for a while.
On the way, Huang Zhong humbly asked Wang An for guidance
"Big Brother, this 'practicing the hold' you mentioned—how should I practice to master it quickly?"
Wang An said while observing the surrounding environment
"This stuff is simple, it's just exhausting."
Hearing this, Huang Zhong said with a determined face
"Big Brother, I'm not afraid of being tired, really. Please just teach me!"
Wang An turned to look at Huang Zhong and smiled before saying
"An unstable hold is because those two arms of yours lack strength. When we get home, just do more work that builds arm strength and you'll be fine. When you have free time, tie bricks to the gun barrel and maintain the shooting posture without moving. In less than two months, you'll be able to hold the gun steady, hehehe..."
Huang Zhong nodded thoughtfully and then said
"Mm-hmm, Big Brother, I understand."
After a while, Huang Zhong suddenly said to Wang An with excitement
"Big Brother, this Type 56 Semi is way more satisfying than the side-loading or double-barrel hunting guns. Just click-clack and pull the trigger, it's so much easier."
Wang An asked with a chuckle
"You're fond of this gun, huh?"
Huang Zhong's eyes widened, and he said with total seriousness
"Of course I'm fond of it! Who wouldn't be fond of this thing?"
Wang An laughed heartily, thought for a moment, and said
"Then I'll lend this gun to you for the time being. Later, whenever you hit a big prize with it, you can pay me. At that time, just give me 950 yuan, the selling price at the supply and marketing cooperative, hahahaha..."
As he spoke, Wang An patted Huang Zhong on the shoulder.
In truth, Wang An said "lend," but in reality, the gun was a gift to Huang Zhong. However, saying "lend" and saying "give" were two different things.
As the old saying goes, "a handful of rice creates gratitude, but a bushel of rice creates resentment." If Wang An simply gave a gun worth over nine hundred yuan to Huang Zhong, it might create a mindset in Huang Zhong that he could ask for whatever he wanted from Wang An.
Human desire is endless. If such things happened too often, Huang Zhong might lose himself and start taking himself too seriously.
Wang An didn't want to raise an ungrateful wretch, because if he did, he'd eventually have to find a way to get rid of him, which would be a damn hassle!
As for the part about Huang Zhong hitting a "big prize," that was entirely just an excuse. Big prizes weren't that easy to hit; without top-tier marksmanship and skilled hunting techniques, trying to hit a big prize was a joke.
Upon hearing Wang An say he would lend him the gun, Huang Zhong immediately said excitedly
"Big Brother, really? You're really lending this gun to me?"
Wang An said casually
"Mm-hmm, it's lent to you. But remember, you have to pay me later. That's 950 yuan. Right now, even if I sold you, you wouldn't be worth 950 yuan, hahahaha..."
Huang Zhong said with a determined face
"Mm-hmm, with the gun, I'll definitely be able to earn 950 yuan in the future."
When he said this, Huang Zhong was full of confidence, as if 950 yuan would inevitably be in his pocket as long as he worked hard.
Wang An looked at Huang Zhong, who had to jog just to keep up with his walking pace, and smiled without speaking.
Truly, "a newborn calf does not fear the tiger."
Huang Zhong's father, Huang Baoguo, was a father of three, yet to this day, he likely hadn't even seen what 950 yuan looked like all together.
Of course, in this era, it wasn't just Huang Baoguo; the vast majority of people had never seen that much money.
Fortunately, since Huang Zhong was now following Wang An, earning 950 yuan was indeed only a matter of time.
While the two were talking and walking back, Wang An suddenly spotted a divine beast in a distant thicket that was much smaller than a roe deer.
The moment he saw this divine beast, Wang An's eyes widened. He reached out his hand and said to Huang Zhong
"Quick, give me the gun and the ammunition. Quietly, don't make a sound."
As he spoke, Wang An crouched down. Hearing Wang An's words, Huang Zhong immediately handed over the gun and ammunition without daring to say a word.
The reason Wang An was so tense was that the divine beast he saw was an animal rarely encountered in the local area.
This animal looked very similar to a young roe deer, but it was only "similar." Although it belonged to the deer family, neither the males nor the females had antlers on their heads.
Most importantly, although it was a herbivore, the males grew a pair of tusks—and they were quite long tusks.
Of course, these tusks pointed downward, unlike the upward-curving tusks of a wild boar.
Aside from that, it possessed a treasure on its body, a very valuable treasure: the scent gland.
Indeed, the divine beast Wang An had seen was a "Scented Musk Deer."
(End of Chapter)