"I can't do anything with you. Keep blowing your own horn and see what other tricks you can come up with."
Wang Tianxin was almost convinced that Liu Yuan was bragging. Shooting a bear with a slingshot? It was unbelievable that he could shamelessly make such a claim.
"Young man, I've been walking in these mountains for thirty years. Do you think I could have survived this long without some skill?"
"If we don't save you, today will be your day of death."
"How do you know I'll die? They're just a few honey dogs, I don't even care about them."
"You continue." Wang Tianxin ignored him and continued studying the old-fashioned gun.
"Uncle, you said my slingshot is not well made. What makes a good slingshot? Could you give me some pointers? You look like an experienced old hunter. We didn't recognize your talent before."
Unlike his younger brother, Wang Tianxiao believed that some of Liu Yuan's words were exaggerated, while others were actually quite reasonable. Since Liu Yuan had brought up the slingshot, it would be a good opportunity to talk about it.
After all, there are many things in the mountains that don't require real guns.
Moreover, although we can get bullets now, if we keep using them for hunting, the bullet consumption will be very high, and we won't be able to explain it to the airfield and Dai Zhixin.
Liu Yuan glanced at Wang Tianxiao and said casually, "Since you're at least polite, I'll tell you what a slingshot is and how to make a good one."
"Please speak."
"Let me ask you, young man, first tell me, why is it called a slingshot? If it were just a thing for shooting steel balls, it could be called by many names, so why is it called a slingshot?"
"Perhaps, because a slingshot, when drawn, resembles a bow, and the principle of a slingshot is basically the same as that of a bow. The only difference is that a slingshot uses steel balls or pebbles, while a bow shoots arrows."
Wang Tianxiao guessed the answer.
“That’s right. The key to a slingshot isn’t what it shoots out, but what you use to shoot it out,” Liu Yuan began to explain.
"As you just said, a slingshot can shoot steel balls, stones, and even anything that is not easily broken, but how far it can go and how much force it can generate depends on the bow itself."
"Please explain in detail, sir."
Perhaps because his expertise had been mentioned, Liu Yuan seemed quite proud. He grinned and continued, "Since it's a bow, the most important parts are the bowstring and the bow arm. The bowstring determines the bow's range, while the bow arm ensures that the bowstring can be used to its fullest potential..."
When Liu Yuan talked about bows, he seemed to know a lot about them.
There were many things that Wang Tianxiao couldn't understand at all.
He wasn't sure for a moment whether a bow and a slingshot had any similarities, but he felt that Liu Yuan's explanation was indeed very good and interesting, and it had basically opened a new door for him.
Wang Tianxin tilted his head and listened carefully, abandoning his previous dismissive attitude.
"...I won't go into too much detail about bows; let's get back to slingshots. A slingshot mainly consists of three parts: the frame, which is the bow arm; the rubber drawstring, which is the bowstring; and the place where you put the steel balls, which is the arrow rest of the bow..."
Wang Tianxiao thought about it and realized it was true.
"Now that we know the principle, how can we make a slingshot with a long range, great power, and a stable aim? We must start from these three aspects."
"First, there's the frame. Slingshots and bows have similarities, but the way they generate power is completely different. The power of a bow doesn't come from the bowstring... Oh, of course, that's not to say the bowstring isn't important. For a truly good bow, the bowstring is important, but the decisive factor is the bow arm. This is because the bow's strength isn't determined by the elasticity of the bowstring, but by the stiffness of the bow arm..."
"So that's how it is. I always thought a bow needed a bowstring to provide elasticity." Liu Yuan's words surprised Wang Tianxiao; he hadn't expected there to be such a reason.
In his previous life, he had actually seen hunters who used bows to hunt. They always carried a bow that looked very old and worn out, but they could easily shoot deer to death.
The advantages of using a bow are that it consumes less energy, is silent, and makes it easier to hide your position.
However, it also has a fatal drawback: it is easy to deviate from the target, especially under the influence of the wind.
In recent years, I've gradually stopped seeing bow hunting.
Hunting was prohibited, so the bow naturally became useless.
Liu Yuan smiled faintly. When talking about his strengths, he became like a seedling that had been suddenly fertilized and then had just been rained on, full of vitality.
“Young man, don’t think you can get by in these mountains just because you know how to use a gun. You should know that our ancestors didn’t have guns, but they have been fighting against these wild creatures in the mountains for tens of thousands of years.”
Wang Tianxiao curled his lips. This uncle was really a hidden talent, actually bringing up things after the origin of humankind.
Indeed, true masters are often found among ordinary people.
If he hadn't just witnessed Liu Yuan being nearly killed by the honey dog, his impression of Liu Yuan would have been much higher.
“Uncle makes a good point. Please continue with the slingshot.”
"Speaking of slingshots, you first need to know that the way a slingshot generates force is completely different from that of a bow. A bow uses the bow arm, while a slingshot uses the drawstring. Therefore, for you to make a good slingshot, the frame must be sturdy, resilient, not easily deformed, not easily cracked, and not easily broken..."
The old man paused, took a few deep drags on his pipe, and realized that the pipe had gone out. He bent his knee and slammed the pipe against his heel a few times to remove all the ash, then tucked the pipe back into his waistband.
"There are many kinds of wood in these mountains that can be used to make slingshots, such as rubberwood, locust wood, etc. If all else fails, you can also choose apricot wood or apple wood, which are all good types of wood."
But if you're looking for poplar, paulownia, or catalpa wood, that definitely won't work. Those kinds of wood are like an old man in his fifties or sixties; even if you help him onto a heated brick bed, he won't last long.
Liu Yuan, finding his joke amusing, couldn't help but chuckle. Wang Tianxiao understood the meaning behind his tired joke and gave a token smile, while Wang Tianxin, young and naive, didn't grasp the point and looked impatient.
I guess he was thinking, "You say slingshot, fine, I'm getting tense listening to this, why are you talking about stinky men?"
boring.
"You'll see how to make the slingshot frame out of wood when I have time. As I just mentioned, for a slingshot to generate force, it also needs a good drawstring, which must be tough and elastic, but not too flexible."
Liu Yuan thought for a moment, a lewd look on his face, "It's not like a woman, you know, if it's too hard you feel uncomfortable touching it, it annoys you, but if it's too soft you feel uncomfortable..."
"What is that?" Wang Tianxin couldn't contain his curiosity and blurted out.
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