But although this shot hit, it hit the "Silly Half-Jin"!
The power of a single-shot breech-loader was even greater than that of a Type 56 Semi, and the bullets were much thicker. This was because the full name was a 16-gauge breech-loading shotgun, and the bullets were 16 millimeters thick.
Since the Silly Half-Jin weighed only a bit over half a jin and had hardly any meat on it, hitting it was a waste; it was basically blown to shreds and completely inedible!
Wang An lowered the gun. Looking at the Silly Half-Jin that had already run far off, he quickly loaded another round, but he didn't raise the gun to aim again, because firing would have been purely redundant!
After loading the bullet, Wang An bent over to pick up the shell casing he had just tossed on the ground. The shells of a breech-loader could be reused; once filled with gunpowder and lead pellets, it was another round!
Meanwhile, Wang Li stood to the side, shocked into silence!
He stared blankly at his fourth brother, as if the person before him was someone he didn't recognize at all! Because the fourth brother now was a completely different person from the fourth brother before!
The current fourth brother was focused, earnest, and solemn, radiating an aura of authority that made one feel an instinctive urge to admire him!
As for the previous fourth brother... well, he was okay!
During the first two shots, Wang An had deliberately slowed his pace so that Wang Li could see every movement clearly.
Only for the final shot did Wang An use the fastest speed he could manage.
In his previous life, when Wang An tinkered with guns, breech-loaders and double-barrel shotguns were the mainstream. Although everyone knew the Type 56 Semi was better, that thing was too expensive! Even the ammunition was something ordinary people couldn't afford to play with!
Therefore, breech-loaders and double-barrels were the choice for more people; they were cheap, and the ammunition could be made by hand. Most importantly, if one happened to encounter public security and needed to dump the gun, it wouldn't be too heartbreaking.
Naturally, the guns Wang An had practiced with the most were breech-loaders and double-barrels.
Thus, this sequence of movements was the method for the fastest reloading and firing with a breech-loader that Wang An had summarized through repeated practice and contemplation!
After a while, Wang Li stammered, "Four... Fourth Brother, you're... too... too badass!"
Hearing this, Wang An was first stunned, and then his entire mind and body felt exceptionally refreshed. The feeling of being admired was quite pleasant!
Wang An didn't speak. He handed the gun to Wang Li and took out the remaining few bullets from his pocket, giving them to Wang Li as well.
Then, he pulled a cigarette pack from his pocket and put one in his mouth. Just as he was about to put the pack back in his pocket, he suddenly thought of Wang Li beside him and handed the pack over.
Wang Li took the cigarettes, glanced at the pack, and said with surprise, "Oh my god, Changbai Mountain! I've hardly ever smoked these!"
In this era, cigarettes costing seven cents weren't the absolute best, but there weren't many people who could afford them!
In fact, even the "Great Production" brand at two cents a pack—the kind without filters—was unaffordable for most. The cigarettes people commonly smoked at this time were either from tobacco pipes or hand-rolled dry tobacco, colloquially known as "twisted together with spit!"
Wang Li nimbly pulled out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and took out the matches from his pocket. After striking one, he first lit Wang An's cigarette, then used the same match to light his own. Only after it was lit did he hand the pack back to Wang An.
Wang An saw this and realized Old Fifth was a seasoned smoker! Since he said he hadn't smoked them often, as the older brother, Wang An couldn't be stingy with half a pack of cigarettes!
He reached out to block the pack Wang Li was handing back and said, "You keep them. I have more."
Hearing this, Wang Li happily stuffed the cigarettes into his pocket and said, "Thanks, Fourth Brother!"
Wang An looked at Wang Li and smiled without speaking.
Once the two finished smoking, Wang An carried the two Silly Half-Jins while Wang Li carried the gun, and they continued to wander. After searching for a long time, they finally spotted a "jumping cat"—to be precise, they saw the rear end of a jumping cat.
Because it was eating grass, it hadn't hidden itself well!
A "jumping cat" was just a wild rabbit. These animals were very timid and extremely alert; they usually ate grass in deep grass or thickets, and they would keep looking around while eating!
But as long as one's eyesight was good, they could be spotted from a distance without alerting them. If one's marksmanship was skilled enough, it was basically one shot per rabbit—very easy to hunt.
Wang Li mimicked Wang An's movements. Since there was a bullet in the gun, he simply broke open the breech and raised the gun to his face. Wang An didn't speak and just watched from the side.
It had to be said that Wang Li's imitation was quite decent; his movements were very smooth.
However, after a "bang" of the gunshot, he failed to hit the jumping cat. Startled, the rabbit—which had only been showing its rear—instantly vanished into the thicket!
Wang An didn't take it to heart. For someone just starting to learn how to shoot, hitting the first shot would require an incredible amount of talent!
But Wang Li seemed very disappointed in himself. He stared blankly at the thicket where the jumping cat had disappeared, making no further move.
Wang An waited a moment, glanced at Wang Li, and found that Wang Li had actually zoned out!
Consequently, Wang An raised his big foot. With a "thwack," he kicked Wang Li right in the rear and barked, "What the hell are you staring at? Did you forget the next step already?"
Hearing this, Wang Li didn't even look up. He nimbly pulled a bullet from his pocket and, following Wang An's movements, reloaded the breech-loader.
While reloading, he glanced down at the breech area. Although his speed wasn't as fast as when Wang An had demonstrated, it was only slightly slower. The overall movement was a bit raw, but it wasn't a big problem!
One must know that after a breech-loader fires, the shell remains in the chamber; it must be pried out before a new bullet can be added.
For Wang Li to have this speed on his first reload was already quite impressive.
Seeing that Wang Li seemed a bit discouraged, Wang An comforted him, saying, "When I first started practicing, I fired over ten shots and didn't hit a thing. You've only fired one. Don't be anxious; this stuff is nothing but practice. Sharpshooters are fed by bullets."
Wang Li looked stunned upon hearing this and said bashfully, "Fourth Brother, actually, I'm not anxious, and it's not because I missed that I'm like this."
Wang An was also stunned and couldn't help but ask, "Huh, then what's the matter?"
Wang Li replied, "I feel like you shouldn't close one eye when aiming. It feels more right to keep both eyes open when firing; that's how you aim accurately."
Wang An was bewildered, his brain practically short-circuiting. In his previous life, he had played with guns for many years, and even now, whenever he aimed with a long gun, he closed one eye. It was just that the aiming time was very short and the firing speed was very fast!
He had truly never heard of anyone keeping both eyes open while aiming with a long gun!
Only when using a Type 54, because the distance was short and aiming was often redundant, did people generally rely on feeling, which basically allowed them to hit wherever they pointed!
Wang An immediately became interested. He stopped in his tracks and told Wang Li to try aiming with both eyes open according to his own idea, targeting the trunk of a very thin small tree in the distance.
Wang Li was very cooperative. His posture remained the same, but when he fired, both eyes were open. Furthermore, the aiming time was extremely short; almost as soon as the gun reached his face, Wang Li fired. With a "bang," the small tree snapped!
Wang An stared dumbfoundedly at the broken small tree, muttering to himself, "Holy shit! Is it that badass? Is this what talent is?"
Wang Li's expression remained unchanged, as if he felt this was how it should be. Without a moment's delay, he quickly reloaded. His speed was fast; if one were to be nitpicky, it was only slightly unpolished!
Because Fourth Brother had said: after firing, you either run or reload first!
After reloading, Wang Li asked somewhat hesitantly, "Fourth Brother, don't you think it's better to keep both eyes open?"