"Niu Jianwen, where are the others?" Ye Hao and the others came down the mountain to the warehouse and only saw Niu Jianwen lying on the bed.
"Brother Hao, they all went to work. Why did you come down today?"
"We're going to the City today. Captain Xu is taking us to get guns," Sun Chaoshu said proudly.
"What? You can get guns today? If I hadn't been injured, I would have gotten a gun today too." Niu Jianwen felt incredibly upset. As a young man, who wouldn't like guns? Now he could only watch them hold guns while he had to lie in bed, feeling heartbroken.
"Niu Jianwen, these are the fish we brought for you. I'll put them in this basin here. When Huang Su Su and the others finish work, they can cook them for you to have a good meal," Ye Hao saw Niu Jianwen's low spirits and could generally guess the reason, so he quickly changed the subject.
"Thank you, you've gone to a lot of trouble."
"Alright, Niu Jianwen, you should rest well and recover. We still need to go to the City, so we'll be leaving now."
As they left the warehouse, they saw Captain Xu driving the mule cart over.
On the way to the City, Sun Chaoshu was incredibly excited, imagining how he would hunt once he got a gun, boasting about how accurate his marksmanship was. He even said he would hunt a Bear to make a bearskin coat for Aunt Wang….
The others found it a bit hard to watch. Given Sun Chaoshu's accuracy with a crossbow, he would probably be a "border artist" even with a gun, and they didn't expect him to hit any prey.
Everyone chatted and laughed as they arrived in the City. Captain Xu asked, "Do you want to come with me to get the guns first, or do you want to look around the City first? If we get the guns first, we'll have to go back right after. I can't let you wander around the City with guns."
"Let's go get the guns. Once I have it, I'll go back and practice."
Ye Hao saw Sun Chaoshu say this and didn't refuse, so he followed Captain Xu to the Armed Forces Department to get the guns.
Upon arriving at the Armed Forces Department, they registered their personal information and gun numbers, and also received a brief lesson on usage regulations. The three finally received their own guns.
As soon as Sun Chaoshu got his gun, he started showing off, aiming it everywhere. When Captain Xu saw this, he immediately kicked him.
"Sun Chaoshu, are you trying to die? How many times have I told you not to aim the gun at your own people? Where did that go? I think you don't want the gun anymore. If you don't want it, I'll tell the higher-ups to take your gun back."
Sun Chaoshu was a bit dazed from the kick, but he quickly reacted. "I'm sorry, Captain Xu. I just got the gun and was a bit excited. I couldn't control myself. It won't happen again."
"That's truly embarrassing. Remember, never aim a gun at your own people. In a non-combat state, the muzzle should either be pointed up or down, never held level." Saying this, Captain Xu kicked Sun Chaoshu again.
"Get up quickly! You're really embarrassing me. If I see you doing that again, you won't be allowed to use a gun."
"Alright, come with me to the grain station. I'm going to pick up some grain. You all behave yourselves and keep your guns properly slung. Don't take them off."
Captain Xu's furious roar seemed to have scared Sun Chaoshu into behaving. He followed closely behind Captain Xu, step by step.
"Captain Xu, I want to buy some things. Could you perhaps hold this gun for me for a moment? I'll find you at the grain station after I'm done shopping." Ye Hao didn't just come to the City to get a gun; he had his own things to do.
"Okay, give me the gun. Be careful on your way. We'll wait for you at the grain station."
"Captain Xu…"
"Shut up, Sun Chaoshu. You're not going anywhere. Stay here with me obediently." Seeing Sun Chaoshu about to speak, Captain Xu directly interrupted him, crushing his unrealistic ideas.
Ye Hao handed the gun to Captain Xu and headed towards the black market.
Finding a deserted corner, he entered his space, changed clothes, put on a disguise, and then walked towards the corner where he had bought the gun last time.
When he arrived at the place where he had bought the gun last time, he found that the middle-aged man named Heizi was not there today.
Ye Hao looked around nearby again and in another inconspicuous corner, he saw that distinctive melon-peel hat. Ye Hao walked up to the person and, sure enough, saw several shell casings in front of him.
"How much for 7.92?"
"Two yuan," Heizi replied, looking up at Ye Hao.
"You're robbing people! Do you know how much stuff two yuan can buy?"
"How many do you want?"
"At this price, how many could I possibly want? Not even one!" Ye Hao was also getting angry. In those days, how much did a worker earn in a month? Yet bullets were sold so expensively.
"There's always bargaining in business, you can haggle."
"Then two mao per round, I want a thousand rounds."
"Two mao? That's not even enough to cover the factory's cost. Impossible. If you want a thousand rounds, I can give them to you for one yuan fifty per round. This is already cheap because you're buying a lot; otherwise, I sell them to others for two yuan."
After a heated negotiation between the two, Ye Hao finally bought 500 rounds of ammunition for 8 mao per round. The main reason was that Ye Hao had no other channels to get ammunition, and the previous two hundred rounds were almost used up from his practice.
Money and goods exchanged hands, and the two parted ways.
Ye Hao walked to a deserted corner and put the bullets into his space. "No matter when, selling military supplies is indeed one of the most profitable industries."
Ye Hao took out some potatoes and sweet potatoes from his space and sold them in the black market. After earning back the money he spent on bullets today, he rushed to the grain station, as he had spent a bit too long in the black market.
Before Ye Hao returned to the grain station, he took out a parcel from his space, which contained fishing hooks, fishing lines, and some other small items.
"Brother Hao, why are you just getting back? Have you eaten? What did you buy?" Sun Chao, with his sharp eyes, was the first to spot Ye Hao.
"I've eaten. I bought some fishing hooks and fishing lines. We can go fishing in the lake when we have time in the future." As for why there was no fishing rod, it was because the type of fishing rod Ye Hao had would be impossible to sell in such a small place, so he didn't take it out to avoid suspicion. He would just make a fishing rod out of wood later.
"Alright, since you're back, let's head back now, or we'll be going up the mountain in the dark again."
The group began to walk back.
When they returned to Li Family Village, it was still relatively early. Sun Chao carried his gun and headed towards the warehouse.
"Xiao Hao, keep an eye on Sun Chao. Don't let him play around with the gun, and absolutely do not point it at people. I'm going to Captain Li's house first to return the mule cart."
"Understood, I'll keep a good eye on Chao Shu."
"Wow, Sun Chao, you little rascal, you're already carrying a gun!" Zuo Lei exclaimed in surprise when she saw Sun Chao walking towards them with a gun slung over his shoulder.
"How about it? Isn't your Brother Chao handsome?" Sun Chao puffed out his chest and showed off.
"Brother Hao, you guys got guns so quickly! We probably won't have a chance to touch guns; we'll just be dealing with land every day."
"Zuo Lei, what do you, a girl, want a gun for? Just focus on working hard."
"Sun Chao, what kind of talk is that? Who says girls can't carry guns? There used to be women's armies before, don't underestimate girls."
"Alright, you two always argue the moment you meet. Sun Chao, you behave yourself!" Just then, Tang Zilan walked out of the house and quickly interrupted them when she saw they were about to argue again.
Upon hearing Tang Zilan speak, Sun Chao immediately quieted down, not daring to say another word.