Chapter 37: Entering the Mountains with Feng Chengmin

"Yeah, brother-in-law understands. Come on, let me teach you how to use this gun, and then I'll teach you how to maintain it when it hasn't been used for a long time!" Wang An said as he took the gun.

As he disassembled it, he told his brother-in-law various maintenance precautions and demonstrated it twice. He then handed the gun to his brother-in-law, letting him operate it once in front of him.

It had to be said that for a brother-in-law who could turn butchering pork into an art performance, disassembling a gun was no trouble at all.

After watching Wang An demonstrate it twice, he was actually more proficient than Wang An, and even faster!

Fine, no need to teach this part; he's graduated!

Wang An then demonstrated how to load bullets, how to operate the safety, how to rack the bolt, and various precautions for firing and carrying the gun on his back!

He also told his brother-in-law that the bullets must be kept well and not allowed to get damp. Before firing, the butt of the gun must be pressed against the shoulder, otherwise, the recoil could injure the shoulder!

In reality, using a gun was much simpler than disassembling one; any normal person could learn it!

It was just that Wang An was truly worried about something happening to his father-in-law's only son, which was why he was being so long-winded!

It wasn't until he saw Mu Xueli load the chamber full of bullets and engage the safety that Wang An finally stopped nagging!

When Mu Xueli was leaving, Wang An wanted to drive the sled to see him off, but Mu Xueli resolutely refused, patting the gun on his shoulder and saying, "With this thing here, I'm not afraid of anything!"

Only then did the tension leave Wang An's face, replaced by a smile.

He said to his brother-in-law, "I can only give you this many bullets. Buy more when you run out. There are 180 rounds in total. Practice seriously and don't waste bullets; these things aren't cheap. Use them wisely!"

Wang An didn't know exactly how much bullets cost now; they should be around one or two mao. In his previous life in the 90s, he had tinkered with these for about 1.5 yuan, but that was on the black market!

Hearing this, Mu Xueli couldn't help but be startled: "Can't these things be made by yourself? I see everyone in our village makes their own!"

Wang An said with a chuckle, "Give it a rest. Those are just lead slugs used for rifled barrels, and the casings are reused! These are copper; how can they be the same? Can the ones you make yourself even work? Besides, when you go into the mountains to hunt big game, you'll only use two or three rounds at a time. It just depends on how long you can make them last!"

Mu Xueli nodded heavily!

Seeing that his brother-in-law seemed to be under immense pressure, Wang An comforted him again: "As long as you can hit a jumping cat in the head with one shot, you'll have made a killing! If you can hit a flying dragon in the head, that'll be even more badass!"

Mu Xueli stared blankly at Wang An and asked, "Brother-in-law, the biggest flying dragons are less than a jin. From a distance, their heads look no bigger than a pinky nail. You have to hit the head?"

Wang An nodded boastfully and said, "That depends on you. Anyway, I can hit them!"

Mu Xueli stared at Wang An without speaking, seemingly saying, *How can you brag like that?*

Ignoring his brother-in-law's skeptical gaze, Wang An briefly explained the prices of various wild animals at the market.

He didn't dare mention the prices of furs at the supply and marketing cooperative, fearing that his brother-in-law might impulsively head straight into the mountains!

After seeing his brother-in-law off, Wang An went back into the house and lay on the *kang*, pondering the matter of going to his old uncle's house tomorrow to learn how to hunt!

As dusk approached, Wang Dazhu returned driving the sled.

The whole family went out to meet him, and indeed, the meat had been sold! All the supplies had been bought back!

Wang An hurriedly asked his father, "Dad, was everything alright on the way?"

Wang Dazhu replied, "Nothing happened on the road, but there were a few thugs causing trouble at the market. They didn't mess with me, though; the militia caught them later!"

Wang An felt relieved and said, "That's good. Those idle people are always looking for trouble!"

Hearing this, Wang Dazhu and Liu Guilan both looked over at him simultaneously, their eyes seemingly saying, *Don't you know how you used to behave?*

Seeing his parents' disdainful looks, Wang An seemed to understand what they meant and sheepishly fell silent.

Seeing this, Mu Xueqing, who knew about Wang An's past, lowered her head and giggled!

After dinner, the family went to bed early!

Wang An discovered that he was becoming increasingly obsessed with Mu Xueqing's body! It was almost like a madness!

If he didn't release his primal strength a few times every night and enjoy that pleasure, it felt as if the world had lost its color!

This stuff was truly addictive!

......

While it was still dark, Wang An finished his breakfast.

After checking his gear, he took the small iron pot he had specifically asked his father to help buy from the blacksmith.

After saying goodbye to his family, he hitched himself to the sled and headed straight for Linjia Village.

The distance to Linjia Village was roughly the same as the distance to Sujia Village where his father-in-law lived.

However, Linjia Village was larger, with nearly 200 households. It was considered the largest village in the vicinity.

Because the village was large, there were more people, and consequently, more hunters. There were three professional mountain hunters, far more than what Kaoshan Village could compare to.

Upon arriving at his old uncle's house, Feng Chengmin had already finished breakfast and was organizing hunting tools like traps and snares. Mountain hunters woke up very early because the mountain paths were long and required a significant amount of travel time.

Feng Chengmin's house kept four hunting dogs. Before Wang An entered the courtyard, they hadn't made a sound, but as soon as he stepped through the gate, they began barking. As soon as Feng Chengmin gave a command, they immediately stopped!

Hunting dogs seemed to be like this—extremely obedient to their masters and never annoying!

"Uncle, you're up early!" Wang An greeted him, making small talk.

"Yeah, I thought you'd be sleeping in because you're so enamored with your wife and wouldn't get off the *kang* until later!" Feng Chengmin teased with a laugh.

"No way. In my heart, you are the most important, Uncle. My wife is secondary," Wang An replied with a grin.

"Hahaha, you kid, you've got a silver tongue. What is it? Is that how you coaxed your wife into coming to you?" Feng Chengmin continued joking while organizing his gear.

"Of course! Your nephew here is a famous handsome young man in these ten villages and surrounding areas. Wives just come rushing at me; I have to push them away!" Wang An entered "boasting mode."

"Is that so? That's impressive! Just a few days ago, your father asked me to find a matchmaker for you. When I mentioned your name, those matchmakers turned their noses up at me. What's the deal with that?" Feng Chengmin asked with feigned confusion.

Wang An shut his mouth immediately, and the wide grin stretching from ear to ear vanished.

This man—he didn't know how to chat; he just went straight for the jugular! Truly!

Seeing Wang An's defeated expression, Feng Chengmin became happy and laughed loudly!

"Let's go, let's head into the mountains," Feng Chengmin said.

"Uncle, we can just take one sled, right?" Wang An asked.

Feng Chengmin looked at him and said, "Sure. Unhitch your sled and tie your horse in the shed! Bring my horse out!"

Wang An understood his uncle meant to use his horse so that his own horse could rest!

He hurriedly said, "No need for all that trouble, it's a hassle. We can just go as we are!"

Feng Chengmin glanced at the large horse and asked with a frown, "This horse hasn't been gelded. Is he well-behaved? Won't he kick?"

Wang An said, "He's well-behaved, and he's quite... spirited!" He then recounted the horse's behavior when they were moving the carcass of the earth-mover the other day.

After hearing this, Feng Chengmin looked at the large horse in surprise, circling it and inspecting it for a long time, unable to see why the horse was so "extraordinary"!

He nodded and said, "Alright then, we'll use your sled. Let's go!"

The two loaded their hunting gear, and Feng Chengmin drove the sled, heading straight into the mountains!

Upon reaching the boundary of the deep mountains, Feng Chengmin called a halt to the sled and tied the large horse to a big tree!

Starting from the village entrance, the boundary was roughly ten *li* (about 5km) away. Within ten *li*, villagers called it the "outer mountains" or the "village outskirts."

Beyond ten *li*, the villagers collectively referred to it as the "deep mountains." The mountain game was more abundant, but the dangers were equally greater!

Wang An didn't ask, because according to the rules of entering the mountains, everything was subject to the mountain leader!