Chapter 164 Alive, a woman practicing shooting

Ye's father believed he knew his eldest son well. After learning that a woman had come to take Ye Junshu's toolbox, he naturally began to think the wrong thing—even he, as Ye's father, couldn't just touch Ye Junshu's things. Even in these special times, the relationship between this woman and his son must be unusual!

When Yao Xiaoyu came to pick up her things, she was completely disguised. She wore a fancy dress, platform shoes, and had a foreign accent. Since Ye's father was far away, he really thought Yao Xiaoyu was a foreign woman. He was even secretly glad that his son had been tall since he was a child, otherwise the two of them would not have been a good match.

"Is there anything wrong with the women in our country? Why did Junshu find me a foreign daughter-in-law?"

The initial excitement has now faded, and Ye's father has begun to regret the difference in nationalities. When Ye Junshu wasn't looking for a wife, Ye's father felt that having someone to accompany him was good enough, but now that there was a potential marriage partner, Ye's father unconsciously had more requirements.

Xiang Lilan, Ye's mother, rolled her eyes inwardly, thinking that this old rascal was always dreaming. If you asked her, that girl and Ye Junshu were not even necessarily husband and wife, let alone romantic boyfriend and girlfriend.

"So what? She's a woman of marriageable age, and she can breathe."

Xiang Lilan emphasized the words "appropriate age," "breathing," and "woman," believing that Ye's father would understand her meaning. After all, it was this same man who had woken her up in the middle of the night, suspecting that his son had homosexual tendencies and feeling sorry for his ancestors.

"……Too."

Ye's father's face stiffened, and he also recalled his worries in the middle of the night—his son was just a piece of wood that could breathe. While ordinary teenagers were just beginning to experience romantic feelings, he was skipping grades to focus on his studies. While other young men were getting engaged, Ye Junshu had already gone overseas to seek out famous doctors and was studying for some damn postgraduate degree.

Because there wasn't a single female mosquito around Ye Junshu, he made the wrong judgment during that time, thinking that the child was planning to break up with his girlfriend. Even after he found out it was a misunderstanding, his worries did not lessen: if he doesn't want to be close to women or men, he will be all alone for the rest of his life!

Therefore, for a long time afterward, even until Yao Xiaoyu appeared, Ye's father only had two requirements for Ye Junshu's wife: she had to be a woman and alive.

So Xiang Lilan couldn't understand why this woman she hadn't seen, although a foreigner, perfectly met the old man's requirements, and was even of marriageable age. Why did he now insist on a local?

She's talking tough now, but what if it turns out they're not in a romantic relationship? If Ye Junshu suddenly gets carried away and brings back a girl her age, or a child her Miaomiao's age, she'll wake her up in the middle of the night and start yelling again.

Miaomiao is Xiang Lilan's niece. She was given this nickname because a fortune teller said she lacked water. She just turned five this year.

One should not be too greedy.

Xiang Lilan said earnestly to the old vegetable vendor, "She herself is an example. Do you really think she married into the family to become a stepmother for love? She did it for the status of Madam Ye and for her child's future. If her son can't become the heir of the Ye family, if the Ye family loses one of its wealth and power, who would want to marry into the family?"

Ye's father was stifled by his own words and felt frustrated, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions. He just angrily picked up a piece of roast duck and stuffed it into his mouth.

...

Upon receiving his toolbox, Ye Junshu immediately became completely absorbed in it. Yao Xiaoyu, knowing she would receive her hair dryer soon, didn't bother her. She simply had the waiter knock on the door to deliver her food on time, and then went off to visit relatives and friends.

"Oh, what a rare guest! What brings you to me today?"

As Tao Jingu changed out of his work coat, he asked with great interest, "Yao Xiaoyu hasn't come over for quite a while. When I sent someone to ask, I only got the answer that someone had left early in the morning. If it weren't for the heartfelt replies to the letters I sent, Tao Jingu would have to think about it from a certain angle."

"Something came up earlier..."

Yao Xiaoyu smiled sheepishly, while Tao Jingu rolled his eyes. Thinking of the Dream of the Red Chamber that he had read as bedtime reading, he somehow blurted out a string of cheesy words.

"In that case, it seems I'm being petty. Indeed, going to a restaurant today and listening to stories tomorrow is much more interesting than talking to a vulgar person like me. It's truly disheartening."

Yao Xiaoyu: ...

Are you sick?

Yao Xiaoyu remembered that Tao Jingu wasn't usually like this, so why did he suddenly start spouting all sorts of nonsense?

Tao Jingu's mouth flew ahead, but his brain chased after it. Realizing what he had said, his face flushed red, and he stammered for a long time without managing to utter a second word. Yao Xiaoyu waited a while and then understood what was going on, and took the initiative to bring up another topic:

"I'm planning to practice shooting today, do you want to come?"

Tao Jingu's eyes lit up, and he agreed without hesitation. He took the long gun from inside and was about to rush out when Tao Xiaoxiao grabbed him by the back of the neck and forced him to put on a thick coat. Although it wasn't the coldest time yet, running out like this would only lead to him being delirious with fever in bed and then forced to drink bitter medicine.

The three, bundled up tightly, boarded a rickshaw and arrived at the shooting practice area in half a morning. To be honest, Yao Xiaoyu still hadn't figured out where these nooks and crannies were. After all, someone had blindfolded her and led her around, and Yao Xiaoyu, who could only look at a map when playing mazes, was really bad at finding her way around.

Tao Jingu privately told her that this place should be in a deep mansion, and that it could be traced back to the Wang Bai family. Yao Xiaoyu didn't care much about these things. In the end, it was one party paying and the other providing services. Paying for the service was the main thing, and the rest had nothing to do with her.

None of them were first-timers, and they didn't ask anyone to give them a detailed introduction. They went straight to the gun selection area and each of them skillfully picked out their favorite weapons. The guns displayed there could be bought and sold, and bullets were also sold on the side. Yao Xiaoyu's small pistol was obtained here by exchanging gold bars.

"You still need that Hubei permit?"

Yao Xiaoyu watched as Tao Jingu skillfully picked up a long gun with a brown ribbon attached, and asked with some puzzlement, "There are quite a few guns here, and we've been here quite a few times, but Tao Jingu always chooses only this one. Even the one he keeps by his pillow at home is this one."

Although this gun was fairly easy to use and held its value well over the decades, even being able to be exchanged for hundreds of kilograms of wheat in famine years, it didn't have any particularly significant advantages compared to other guns. So how come this person never got tired of using it?

Nowadays, every industry has its own slang, or trade jargon, and guns are no exception. "Hubei Tiaozi" is another name for the Hanyang rifle, which was produced by the Hanyang Arsenal. This factory is located in Hubei and was originally called the Hubei Gun and Cannon Factory. It started producing rifles in the late Qing Dynasty, which is why this gun got such a name.

"I'm used to it, I'll change it next time."

Tao Jingu glanced at it and calmly replied. Yao Xiaoyu rolled her eyes. "You said the same thing last time, the time before that, and the time before that..."

However, what gun her friend liked didn't really matter to her. Once she was sure that Tao Jingu had no intention of changing his gun, Yao Xiaoyu started thinking about what gun she should choose to play with today. It is said that men cannot resist the charm of guns, but women can resist them just as much.

The cost of guns and bullets wasn't much to Yao Xiaoyu, but although she was tall, she wasn't very fleshy, and the recoil of guns was quite damaging to her. After playing with one gun, she would be bruised for several days, and if she played with two, she would have to see a doctor. So she could only carefully select and calculate the number of bullets she fired.

Compared to Tao Jingu's single-minded approach, Yao Xiaoyu, who wandered among the guns, had a more free-spirited air about her. She would touch this one and think it was nice, then look at that one and think she wanted it too. Only after she had looked at all the guns did she slowly make a decision.

"I want this water droplet."

"Water-linked beads" is also jargon, referring to the Mosin-Nagant rifle, a Russian product that appeared twenty years before the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is still relevant today. However, compared to the Czech-made Ma Guai (a type of rifle) that Yao Xiaoyu did not see, although this one is quite powerful, it has very few bullets and is not particularly popular in China. Yao Xiaoyu only plays around with it here to satisfy her craving.

After Yao Xiaoyu made her choice, Tao Xiaoxiao didn't delay. She quickly grabbed a gun and twirled it. Yao Xiaoyu looked closely and realized that this girl really hadn't shortchanged herself—she had chosen a Yingqiqi!

The Lee-Enfield rifle, produced in the country whose nickname begins with the number 77, is known for its high accuracy and long range. Its only drawback is its price, but as the saying goes, high price is not the weapon's fault.

Yao Xiaoyu experienced this last time she came, and it was incredibly exhilarating. Even the usually cautious Yao Xiaoyu couldn't help but extend the time. However, the momentary pleasure of "shooting" led to a nightmare. Yao Xiaoyu lay in bed for several days after returning home and had to call a massage therapist to massage away the bruises with medicinal wine. The sour and pungent feeling... Some people even knocked on the massage therapist's door, asking if she was butchering a pig and if she needed help.

The thought of the bulging muscles on the massage therapist's arms immediately extinguished Yao Xiaoyu's eagerness. Her water beads were just fine; she could only dream of playing with them normally.

The shooting practice area was about the size of a football field. Yao Xiaoyu and the others didn't do any weird tricks like balancing apples on their heads, and they weren't interested in animal targets either—to be precise, Yao Xiaoyu couldn't accept them, while the other two didn't care. After all, rabbits and chickens were one of their sources of meat when they were young, and when they saw them, they would never say that the rabbits were pitiful, but would only think that they would smell delicious stewed.

The three of them played at the shooting range until the sun was setting before reluctantly leaving. Yao Xiaoyu's excitement lasted until she finished washing up and lay in bed before it subsided slightly. Before the soreness could reach her brain, Yao Xiaoyu was so exhausted that she slept until dawn. When she subconsciously tried to get up, she cried out in pain.

"Aaaaaahh ...

Hearing the familiar voice, Tao Xiaoxiao silently went to the door and hailed a rickshaw, preparing to go with Yao Xiaoyu to the massage therapist.