America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

“Remember this phrase, Liqun,” my aunt added from the side.

"I've got it."

"Second, always keep the gun barrel in a safe direction. Do you understand what I mean, kid?"

Jacob pointed the Glock 17 toward the target.

"What direction is considered a safe direction?" Li Qun asked.

Is it safe to face the sky?

Jacob pointed the gun at the ceiling.

“The sky outside is relatively safe, but bullets inside might ricochet off the ceiling,” Li Qun replied thoughtfully.

"And facing the ground?" Jacob asked again.

"Can bullets bounce off the ground?" Li Qun replied.

"The answer was alright."

"There is no absolutely safe direction; the concept of safety is to not harm people."

"Never point your gun at a target or person you don't want to hurt."

"When you are inspecting yourself, don't point the gun at yourself or others."

Li Qun nodded seriously.

Did you notice what I was doing with my hands?

Jacob showed Li Qun his hand position while holding the gun. Li Qun immediately noticed that his finger was not on the trigger, but outside the trigger guard.

"You noticed?" Jacob smiled.

“Don’t put your finger on the trigger before you decide to shoot, although a great many people don’t follow this rule,” Jacob said.

"The Glock 17 is very stable, but the other two guns have the risk of accidental discharge."

Jacob turned around and aimed his gun at the target with one hand.

The magazine wasn't inserted, the chamber wasn't loaded, and the safety wasn't even off; he was just making a cool pose.

"Now I want to fire, but there's one more thing to note before I do."

"Make sure you can see the target and what's behind it before you fire blindly."

Jacob withdrew his hand and stood very professionally beside Li Qun, teaching him how to catch and hold a gun.

"Lighter than other pistols, you didn't expect that, did you?"

"Your muscles are in good shape, but you still need to hold the gun with both hands."

Li Qun gripped the gun with both hands, while Jacob's hands were controlling Li Qun's gun-wielding hands, Jacob's large hands exerting great force.

Jacob released his grip, allowing Li Qun to put down his pistol. He then gave Li Qun a bullet and instructed him to load it into the magazine.

"The first shot you ever fired. Look at this beautiful bullet. You can take the casing home as a souvenir."

Li Qun examined the bullets under the light; the cartridge cases had exquisite patterns, ensuring the bullets could be fired safely while also satisfying people's desire to collect them.

Li Qun loaded the bullet into the magazine, which was then inserted into the Glock. His aunt and Jacob stood behind him, with Jacob still holding his hands outstretched to his sides to prevent Li Qun from firing his gun and to avoid any accidents.

"I almost forgot to mention that."

"Three points in a line, your eyes look from the sights, aligning with the crosshairs and the bullseye."

“The rear sight is this little thing, and the front sight is this…” Jacob explained.

"Understood," Li Qun replied.

"Let me see how good your shooting skills are."

Bang! !

Li Qun held the Glock very firmly, and a small hole appeared on the edge of the bullseye of the shooting target from a distance of ten meters.

Jacob stretched his neck.

"I'll go check it out."

Li Qun put down the Glock, and Jacob quickly took Li Qun's shooting results.

Is this really your first time?

Let's try a few more times!

Jacob was even more excited than Li Qun.

"Seeing you wearing glasses, I don't have high expectations."

“Jiao, your nephew performed much better than you did the first time!!” Jacob shouted.

"It's just luck. Liqun is very lucky," his aunt replied with a smile.

"Was it really just luck?"

Jacob opened a box of bullets and let Li Qun load them himself. Then he moved to a 25-meter target position and let Li Qun shoot.

Li Qun emptied his magazine in one go. After Li Qun put down his pistol, Jacob went to check Li Qun's shooting score.

"Now you still call it luck, Jiao?"

Jacob looked very pleased with himself.

"Your nephew is a shooting prodigy! He has an extraordinary talent for shooting."

"Is today really the first time he's ever handled a gun?" Jacob asked.

“It’s my first time,” Li Qun replied earnestly.

On the shooting target, the 10 bullets fired by Li Qun shattered the ten rings on the target, and none of the bullets suddenly jumped to the eight or six rings, demonstrating a very stable shooting performance.

“Give him two hundred bullets, and after that we’ll go to the outdoor field,” Auntie said to Jacob.

"Two hundred bullets?"

Jacob's eyes widened. He thought Chen Jiao was really bold. Who would let their child fire two hundred bullets as soon as they arrived?

"alright."

Before firing all 200 rounds, Instructor Jacob carefully taught Li Qun how to eject bullets, handle common malfunctions such as jams, and other ways to hold the gun.

“Jiao, you have to pay more. I took a lot of photos, and every single one is worth printing out and hanging on your wall.” Jacob held up his camera.

"Ten dollars, take it or leave it." Auntie took out a crumpled ten-dollar bill from her fanny pack and stuffed it into Jacob's hand.

Chapter 80 Parental Authority

The orange frisbee soared into the air and shattered into pieces with a loud bang.

In the outdoor arena, Li Qun became a bystander, watching his aunt Chen Jiao vent her daily stress by wielding a shotgun.

My aunt is also an extremely accurate shooter and is highly proficient in all types of firearms. In the right season, she will go hunting, and there is a stag head specimen hanging on the wall on the third floor of our house.

"knock off."

My aunt was panting; shooting a gun must have taken a lot of energy.

Aunt Liqun left the shooting range with her ammunition case. After getting into the car, Liqun drove to find his uncle and cousin who were fishing.

My cousin is under 16 years old and doesn't need a fishing license. My uncle's fishing license is valid all year round, but there are seasonal and size restrictions on the types of fish they can catch.

Liqun walked behind his uncle and glanced into his fish bucket. It was empty. He then glanced into Shuangxi's fish bucket and saw the same thing. Neither father nor son had any fish.

"We did manage to catch some, but they were all too small, so we put them back," Uncle explained to Liqun, sitting on a folding stool and looking up.

"It's time to go home," my aunt said.

"okay!"

Uncle and Shuangxi got up and packed their equipment, putting all the fishing gear in the trunk. Uncle then drove them back.

"We're eating out tonight; I'm too lazy to cook at home," the uncle yawned.

"Which restaurant?" my aunt asked.

"How about that Spanish restaurant? Or we can go for Italian food," my uncle suggested.

"I want to eat Mexican food!" Shuangxi said.

“Mexican food is sour and spicy, and nobody wants to get diarrhea,” my uncle said.

"Then let's go to that Spanish restaurant you mentioned," my aunt said.

"Liqun, don't you have any ideas?" his uncle asked.

"I'm fine with anything, as long as I don't eat British food." Li Qun tilted her head and looked out the window at the street scene.

"It's a bit hot inside the car."

Uncle rolled down the front window, and the wind ruffled Liqun's and his uncle's hair.

"Liqun, are your ears uncomfortable?" Liqun's aunt, who was sitting in the back row, noticed Liqun's little gesture of covering his ears.

"Perhaps a little," Li Qun replied.

"What's wrong? Did you forget to wear your earplugs?" the uncle asked with concern.

"My aunt gave me two hundred bullets, and I used them all up."

"Two hundred bullets..."

The uncle glanced at his wife in the rearview mirror, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"I have never fired two hundred bullets in one go."

“You weren’t here, so you wouldn’t know how much Jacob raved about Li Qun. He hit the bullseye on his first shooting attempt, and he hasn’t scored below nine since. He said he could start preparing to participate in the Sydney Olympics,” Auntie said.

"What kind of gun did you use?" my uncle asked.

"A genuine Glock 17 from the factory."

"A different gun would probably be less effective."

"When can I buy a gun?" Li Qun suddenly asked.