Back at the camp, Lu Bingsheng took out his carpentry tools and began making a crossbow.
First, he selected several air-dried, high-quality pieces of wood from the pile behind the house, sawing them into an 80 cm long, 1.5 cm wide, and 3 cm high crossbow body resembling a rifle. Then he planed it smooth, and at the front end, he chiseled out an arrow groove. At the tail end of the arrow groove, he carved a vertical hollow square hole and a wedge-shaped tenon slot, wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, to install the trigger mechanism.
After finishing the crossbow body, Lu Bingsheng picked up the ash wood he had just cut, first stripping off the bark with a debarking knife, then splitting the wood in half down the middle. He polished it smooth with tools, and at the front end of the crossbow body, he chiseled out a groove just large enough to fit the crossbow bow, securing the bow to the body.
Lu Bingsheng directly used hemp rope for the crossbow string. Due to limited conditions on the mountain, he didn't soak it in oil; he simply tied the hemp rope to both ends of the crossbow bow, applying a little force to make the bow form an arc.
Next, he made a small trigger mechanism from wood and fastened it to the crossbow body. When the string was drawn, the crossbow string would be secured in the groove on the trigger mechanism, thus completing a simple crossbow. Lu Bingsheng then made ten crossbow arrows from wood, sharpening the arrowheads with a knife and then charring them with fire to make them harder.
By the time one crossbow was finished, it was already dark. Lu Bingsheng drew the crossbow string, loaded an arrow, and fired it at a nearby tree. With a whoosh, the arrow hit the large tree but bounced off. Several people went to inspect it and found that the bark had been pierced, but upon encountering the inner wood, the arrow lost its penetrating power. However, this was just a casually made crossbow, and the arrowhead wasn't even metal, so such an effect was already quite good.
Seeing how successful the crossbow was, Sun Chaoshu eagerly took the crossbow from Lu Bingsheng's hand, wanting to try it out. After they played for a while, Zhang Shan called for them to go back and eat.
Niu Dazhu had already returned. As they entered the house, they saw the iron pot stew on the table. The aroma wafted into their noses, and their stomachs immediately began to rumble, indicating their hunger. Everyone didn't stand on ceremony and began to eat, all of them eating until their mouths were greasy.
"If only we had flour, we could make noodles and put them in this soup; the taste would be incredible. Even without noodles, just two steamed buns dipped in this broth would be a delicacy," Captain Xu said at this moment.
"Captain, if you want to eat flour, then go to the township and get us a bag, and I'll make noodles for you," Zhang Shan interjected.
"You talk too much; even chicken meat can't shut you up. I was just talking. In this day and age, where am I going to get you flour? It's already good enough to have this cornmeal, and you still want flour," Captain Xu glared at Zhang Shan disapprovingly.
After dinner, Sun Chaoshu began playing with the crossbow in his hand again, absolutely loving it. Lu Bingsheng, however, wasn't very interested in the crossbow. While Ye Hao and Sun Chaoshu were playing with it, he wasn't idle; he made another 20 crossbow arrows.
When it was time to sleep, Sun Chaoshu still couldn't bear to put down the crossbow in his hand. Ye Hao teased, "Chao Shu, why don't you sleep with it tonight?"
To everyone's surprise, Sun Chaoshu actually replied, "Mm, I will sleep with it."
This left everyone not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
The night passed without incident. The next morning, everyone began their routine mountain patrol, but unlike usual, Sun Chaoshu was carrying the crossbow in his hand. As they walked out of the camp, Captain Xu asked, "Who's setting traps today?"
In the past, Sun Chaoshu would have been the first to volunteer, but with the crossbow today, he had lost all interest in setting traps. He directly stated, "I have a crossbow now; setting traps, that kind of low-level hunting method, isn't for me anymore. I'm not doing it today. You guys go set the traps." As he spoke, he even showed off his crossbow.
"Bingsheng, you do it. You haven't tried it yet," Ye Hao said to Lu Bingsheng.
"Alright," Lu Bingsheng took the rope and set the trap as Ye Hao had taught him yesterday.
Not long after entering the mountain, they saw several squirrels leaping on a tree. How could Sun Chaoshu resist? He raised the crossbow in his hand and aimed at the little squirrel. The little squirrel was also cooperative, standing still on the tree and watching Sun Chaoshu.
Sun Chaoshu decisively fired the crossbow arrow, and an arrow flew past more than a meter to the left of the little squirrel.
The little squirrel was startled and immediately scurried away, but it seemed not to sense danger. It jumped onto the treetop and then down again, still crouching on the same branch, watching Sun Chaoshu from not far away.
How could Sun Chaoshu tolerate this? When had he ever suffered such humiliation? He raised the crossbow in his hand and began to aim. Because his first shot missed, this time Sun Chaoshu slightly adjusted his shooting angle. After aiming for a long time, he pulled the trigger, and with a whoosh, he hit the nearby tree trunk. The little squirrel was startled by the sound and jumped a few times, but then quietly watched Sun Chaoshu again.
"Holy crap, you little squirrel, you dare to mock me? I think you're tired of living. Watch how I'll shoot you down today!" Sun Chaoshu grew anxious and started cursing.
Sun Chaoshu learned from his previous two attempts, began to fine-tune, and even adjusted the position of the arrow. As a result, he shot twice more, but still didn't even touch a single squirrel hair.
The little squirrel on the tree just watched Sun Chaoshu's performance without even changing its position. This infuriated Sun Chaoshu so much that he was ready to climb the tree and tear the little squirrel to shreds.
Lu Bingsheng couldn't bear to watch anymore. Sun Chaoshu kept missing, making him wonder if there was something wrong with the crossbow he made. How else could he miss a stationary target so many times?
"Brother Chao, give me the crossbow; I'll try it," Lu Bingsheng felt he needed to try it himself to see if the problem was with Sun Chaoshu or the crossbow he made.
Lu Bingsheng took the crossbow from Sun Chaoshu's hand, strung it, loaded an arrow, and aimed in one smooth motion. He pulled the trigger, but it missed, still flying past the squirrel.
"Bingsheng, is there something wrong with this crossbow you made? Look, we've shot so many times, and not once have we hit it," Sun Chaoshu said, doubting the crossbow after seeing Lu Bingsheng also miss.
"Wait a moment, let me try again." He strung it, loaded an arrow, held his breath, aimed, and fine-tuned. Whoosh—thwack—the sound of an arrow cutting through the air, followed by the sound of it hitting flesh.
The little squirrel on the tree that had been mocking Sun Chaoshu was hit by an arrow.
"Holy crap, that's amazing, my brother, Bingsheng! How did you do that? I shot so many times and didn't hit it once." This stunned Sun Chaoshu. The same crossbow, the same position, the same little squirrel—why did he miss so many times, yet Lu Bingsheng hit it on his second try? This was unscientific.
"Brother Chao, when you aim, aim a little bit to the right. Because this crossbow bow isn't perfectly regular, one end of the wood is thicker and the other is thinner, so the force on both sides is different. In the future, just aim slightly to the right, and with more practice, you'll get it," Lu Bingsheng imparted a small tip to Sun Chaoshu before handing the crossbow back to him.