Chapter 28: News Regarding the Shotgun

“Interpersonal relationships are the primary productive force? I'll remember that!” Xiao Tao said thoughtfully.

The naive Xiao Tao of now did not yet realize that the words his elder brother had just spoken were absolute pearls of wisdom.

If he could realize this early and put it into practice, it would undoubtedly allow him to change his destiny.

“Hungry? Come on, let's go to the state-run restaurant for some steamed buns. My treat!” Yue Feng waved his hand and led Xiao Tao straight toward the restaurant.

Upon arriving at the state-run restaurant, Yue Feng made a grand gesture, ordering two large meat buns for each of them first, with more to follow if they weren't satisfied.

The cold buns from yesterday noon had left a lasting impression on Xiao Tao; now, eating them hot, a sudden wave of happiness washed over him. The hardship and exhaustion of waking up early and traveling long distances felt like nothing in the face of these greasy, fragrant, large meat buns.

By the time the two brothers finished their buns, the sky was bright.

Yue Feng took the money earned from selling wild game today out of his pocket and handed twelve yuan and fifty cents directly to Xiao Tao.

“This is your share! The yellow leaves were priced at 25, totaling 50 yuan. You went up the mountain with the staff, so you hold a share—one-fourth of the total! This is your first time making money following me; do you want to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy something to take back? They should open at seven!”

“This... it's too much, I can't take it!”

Xiao Tao hadn't expected Yue Feng to actually split the money with him. Looking at the large ten-yuan notes being handed over, he felt somewhat awkward and uneasy.

Yue Feng curled his lip. “Look at you, so timid! If I give it to you, just take it! We agreed yesterday that you’d have a share, so you definitely have one! This is nothing. In the future, once we've saved enough money, I want to get a gun and buy dogs. When that time comes, I'll take you up the mountain to hunt the big autumn encirclement and make real money!”

“Uh... alright! Then I'll take it! When the cooperative opens in a bit, I want to buy something delicious for my little sister! And maybe a few more large meat buns to take back for my parents to taste!” Xiao Tao took the money, his face full of longing.

Yue Feng nodded. “Fine. It's your own hard-earned money; as long as you don't waste it on nonsense, buy whatever you want!”

With Yue Feng's approval, Xiao Tao bought eight large meat buns in one go, wrapped them in greaseproof paper, and stuffed them into his backpack.

After a bit of casual chatting, estimating that the cooperative was about to open, Yue Feng led Xiao Tao around a street to the town's supply and marketing cooperative.

This was the first time Yue Feng had visited a cooperative since his rebirth. As soon as he stepped through the door, a heavy sense of nostalgia washed over him.

Nuts, sugar candies, rice cakes, canned goods, and various snacks bearing the marks of the era appeared before Yue Feng's eyes. Inside the counter, there were also boxed small-caliber and air gun ammunition.

The sales clerks in the cooperatives of this era were quite arrogant. Seeing two young men enter, they merely gave them a sidelong glance and ignored them entirely.

“Comrade, I'd like to ask how much the nuts are per jin?” Xiao Tao asked in a low voice, feeling somewhat intimidated.

“Nuts with coupons are 0.45 yuan per jin; without coupons, they are 0.60!” the salesperson replied indifferently.

“Alright, give me two jin without coupons!”

Money was paid, the weight was measured, and a package of nuts was quickly handed to Xiao Tao.

Yue Feng pointed to the guns hanging in the back and asked, “Hello, comrade, may I ask how much those guns hanging back there are?”

“Gongzi-brand air gun, 80 yuan!”

“Do you have small-caliber rifles?”

“No!”

“I'd like to ask about the market rates. Does our cooperative buy mountain goods? Things like bear gallbladders, deer antlers, gray dog pelts, and yellow leaf bark tubes... if you buy them, could you please give me a price?”

“We do! For bear gallbladders, it depends on the quality; each bladder has a different price. Ordinary grass gallbladders are about 400 to 600 yuan each! Deer antlers depend on the appearance, ranging from 3 to 5 yuan per jin. Gray dog pelts are 4 to 6 yuan per skin, and yellow leaf bark tubes are 18 to 25 yuan per piece!”

“Good, thank you! Please weigh out three jin of nuts and two jin of sugar candies for me as well!” Yue Feng nodded, pointing to the bulk food in front of him.

Soon, the nuts and candies were weighed, and Yue Feng and Xiao Tao left the cooperative together.

As they walked out of the door, Xiao Tao said excitedly, “All these things can be sold for money!”

Yue Feng curled his lip. “The purchase prices here are too low. Even if we had them, we wouldn't sell to them!”

“This is still low? It's not a small amount!”

“If we went to a large cooperative in Tiecheng, the prices would be at least thirty percent higher! Without a gun, everything is worth zero! Let's go, one step at a time!”

“Big brother, you want to buy a gun?” Xiao Tao caught the implication in Yue Feng's words and asked curiously.

Yue Feng nodded. “If you want to enter the deep mountains, you need at least one of either a handy gun or a dog. Good dogs are hard to find, but guns are easier to come by. New guns are sold in city cooperatives and Xinhua Bookstores, but a new Type 56 semi-auto costs over 1,000 yuan. I don't have that much money right now!”

“I know someone who has a Type 16 break-action shotgun for sale!”

“Who?”

Hearing the words "break-action," Yue Feng instantly perked up.

This was a firearm modified from a civilian Type 16 shotgun, using a 7.62mm rifle barrel. You would fire a shot, then break the action open to manually eject the shell and reload.

Because of its structural design, the power of this type of break-action shotgun was actually slightly greater than that of a Type 56 semi-auto. It could take down any standard mountain game regardless of size; even if you hit a mountain tiger in the head, it could be dropped with a single shot.

“Old Chen Pao from the neighboring Fang'an Village! I heard my dad mentioning it. He said when the village's Wang Qiang was drinking with Old Chen Pao, Old Chen said his legs weren't what they used to be and he couldn't go up the mountains anymore. He said if anyone wanted his old gun, he planned to sell it!”

In this area at the foot of the Changbai Mountains, any hunter who went up the mountains with a gun and had some reputation was usually addressed as "某炮" (Certain Pao/Cannon). This was a respectful title used to acknowledge the person's seniority and skill.

Old Chen, the hunter from Fang'an Village, was a famous marksman within ten miles. His aim was precise, and his dogs were tough. Every year, after the deciduous forests lost their leaves in autumn, he would go up the mountain and consistently hunt wild boars, black bears, and other mountain game.

Yue Feng knew that Xiao Tao's father, Uncle Li, had been saving money to buy a gun, so this news was likely true.

In Yue Feng's memory, in his previous life, Old Chen "retired" in the winter of 1980. He and several companions had gone up the mountain to hunt a black bear, but a mistake nearly cost them their lives. After returning, he sold both his dogs and his guns.

In his previous life, the Type 16 break-action in Old Chen Pao's possession was eventually bought by Xiao Tao's father. As for the several battle-hardened dogs in Chen Pao's house, the lead dog and the three tough dogs were sold separately to a hunter surnamed Wang in the neighboring village and another surnamed Sun.

However, in Yue Feng's memory, Old Chen's tough dogs did not meet a good end.

They were sold separately to two different households. When the new dogs arrived, they didn't coordinate well with the old dogs. They happened to encounter a massive, 300-plus jin sow, and as a result, two died and one was seriously injured. They were wiped out before they could even make a real contribution.

Thinking of this, a flash of inspiration struck Yue Feng's mind.

That's right! Looking at the timeline, the news of Chen Pao "washing his hands" of hunting had only just broken. The guns hadn't been sold yet, so the dogs must still be in his hands. The autumn encirclement hadn't started yet, so there was still time!

He definitely needed to buy a gun and raise dogs to build his team, so wouldn't the dogs and guns from the retired marksman Chen Pao be the best choice?

With these thoughts in mind, Yue Feng asked, “Do you know how much Chen Pao intends to sell his break-action for?”