Starting from 1950

"Hey! How come I didn't think of that!"

After being reminded by Old Xie, Su Yang finally understood and couldn't help but slap his forehead.

The slingshot that Old Xie was talking about was not a Y-shaped slingshot, but an ancient traditional slingshot.

Erlang Shen in Journey to the West uses a slingshot. The book describes Erlang Shen as follows:

He carried a crescent-shaped slingshot at his waist and held a three-pointed, double-edged gun in his hand.

Traditional slingshots resemble bows for archery, except they have a slingshot on the bowstring and fire projectiles instead of arrows.

The projectiles can be made of mud, copper, or iron.

However, compared to bows and arrows, slingshots require specialized training, so they have gradually become more of a recreational tool.

"Thank you, I'll be going now! I'll bring you more when I catch another mouse!"

With his doubts suddenly cleared, Su Yang had no intention of staying any longer. He waved to Old Man Xie and ran out.

"Hey! This kid's got a real temper."

Seeing that Su Yang had disappeared in a flash, Old Xie couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

......

"It's only 3 yuan! You absolutely have to take it! This bow has already helped me a lot, I can't let you lose out."

At the entrance of Building 3, Room 208, Su Yang was trying to persuade Aunt Ma to give him three bills back and forth.

He was enlightened by Old Xie's words and decided to buy the bow that Aunt Ma had lent him and then modify it into a slingshot.

As Aunt Ma mentioned before, Niu Yiqun bought this bow many years ago for one silver dollar.

Based on purchasing power conversion, one silver dollar at that time was roughly equivalent to 3 yuan today.

Su Yang went directly to Granny Ma and expressed his desire to buy the bow.

The only point of contention was the price.

"Oh my! You child, do you know how much 30,000 yuan is? That's enough to buy cornmeal for one person to eat for a month! Besides, my old ox has been using this bow for so many years, you can just give me 10,000 yuan as a token."

Aunt Ma pushed Su Yang's hand, which was holding the money, back with a stubborn expression.

To be honest, she was annoyed just looking at that bow. If she weren't afraid of arguing with Old Niu when he came back, she would have even given it to Su Yang for free.

"Then let's each compromise, 2 yuan. You know how good I am at catching rats, I can easily earn that money back." Su Yang said helplessly, taking the initiative to compromise to avoid endless wrangling.

"Well... okay, you're too honest, kid."

"That's settled then. Here's the money, the bow is mine. I have other things to do, let's talk again later!"

Su Yang took the bow that was now his and ran off like the wind, leaving Granny Ma alone, feeling both grateful and envious.

He first went to the supply and marketing cooperative to cut a hemp rope, and then rummaged through the pile of miscellaneous items on the second floor and found a palm-sized piece of tattered cowhide.

When I got home, I started modifying the bow.

Modifying a slingshot is not difficult; the bow itself doesn't need to be changed, only an extra bowstring needs to be added.

After twisting the two bowstrings into a braid and retying them to the bow, separate the bowstrings in the middle and secure the cut leather bullet pouch.

The slingshot is complete; now it's time for the projectile.

The bullet must be round, otherwise it will affect accuracy.

Porcelain balls, copper balls, and iron balls were out of the question; Su Yang couldn't afford them. He could only settle for mud balls as a second choice.

Su Yang dug up some soil and took it home, then started adding water to roll it into pellets.

So, when Wu Xinxue came home from get off work in high spirits, she saw this scene as soon as she entered the door.

The stove inside the house was burning brightly, and Su Yang sat on the ground next to it, concentrating intently on rolling the clay in his hands into a ball.

The ground around him was already densely covered with mud balls the size of peanuts.

"Hey! Su Yang, why are you playing with mud? Did you mix it with your own pee?"

Wu Xinxue was taken aback when she saw the scene inside the room, then she joked and covered her nose with a look of disgust.

"Stop acting strange! This is what I use to shoot mice with a slingshot. If you keep being sarcastic, I'll make money and buy meat for you instead of giving it to you!" Su Yang glared at her irritably.

"Okay, okay! I won't say anything more, alright?"

There are many descendants of Manchu bannermen in Beijing, and those people play with all sorts of things, including slingshots.

Wu Xinxue, after all, was a prospective courtesan who had received training in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, eating, drinking, and having fun. She understood what was going on as soon as Su Yang explained.

"Let me help you rub it," she said, rolling up her sleeves to join in.

"No! I don't have much left, don't touch it."

........

The morning light is faint.

Wu Xinxue went to work, and Su Yang lingered in bed for a while before finally getting dressed and going to the stove.

After finishing dinner last night, he placed all the clay balls he had rolled near the stove and added coal several times throughout the night.

He randomly picked a few bullets to test them out, then threw them on the ground.

"Slap slap..."

The bullets landed with a crisp sound, but one of them cracked.

Those were bullets that were farther from the furnace, so they probably weren't completely dry yet.

This was exactly what Su Yang had expected.

He rolled over 200 pellets yesterday, and the furnace nearby simply couldn't hold them all.

After quickly washing up, he picked out fifty or sixty dried slingshots, put them into the small cloth bag that Wu Xinxue had sewn for him the night before, and went out with his slingshot on his back.

"Did Xiao Su go out to catch rats again?"

"Yeah, I made a slingshot yesterday, I'll go try it out today."

At the entrance of the family compound, Su Yang greeted Old Man Xie briefly and was about to leave when the old man stopped him.

"Can I come with you?" Old Xie looked at him expectantly.

Su Yang was somewhat surprised and shook his head, saying, "The snow in the fields hasn't melted yet. Can you handle it? Besides, don't you have to guard the gate?"

"Tch!" Old Xie retorted, sticking out his neck. "Who are you looking down on? I'm only in my fifties, not old yet. As for guarding the gate? This gatehouse was set up by the factory out of pity for a lonely old man like me, just so I could make a living. Whether I stay or not is not important."

Su Yang stared at him for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay! You can just watch from a distance."

"no problem!"

.......

Yesterday morning, Su Yang walked along the west side of the flour mill wall, and today he will start from the east side.

He first took a bullet out of his ammunition pouch and pinched it against the pouch, making a full moon motion.

Yesterday morning, when he was still level 1, he struggled to draw his bow fully, but now he can do it with ease.

This is the benefit of leveling up.

"Twist the bullet pocket, or it will hit the bow and your hand," Old Xie quickly reminded him.

"I know."

Su Yang knew how to use the slingshot as soon as he got it, since a slingshot is still a bow and falls within the weapon proficiency range of the hunter class.

He aimed at a brick in the wall and released the bowstring.

"Whoosh!"

"Snapped!"

The bullet hit exactly where he could see, shattering into pieces.

"This bow is alright," Old Xie commented.

"You can go and keep watch on that path, sir."

Su Yang pointed to the dirt road that the flour factory had built a few dozen meters away to make it easier for employees to return to their dormitories.

Old Xie wanted to stubbornly agree, but when he thought of his old, rheumatic legs, he couldn't help but sigh.