Chapter 59 Stabbing Right in the Lungs

For the entire following month, Qin Jun's marksmanship improved significantly.

Better marksmanship brought greater harvests.

The greater the harvest, the more addictive it became.

Today, Qin Jun felt his shooting skills were already so proficient that he no longer needed Zhao Erwa's instruction, and therefore he was somewhat reluctant to let Zhao Erwa have his fun.

"Old Zhao, didn't you boast about having a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle?"

"How powerful is that gun? Just use your own rifle, bring it tomorrow, and we'll hunt hares!"

Zhao Erwa rolled his eyes directly. "Get real! Without hunting dogs, let alone during the day, you wouldn't even find a single hair of a hare at night!"

Qin Jun was speechless. "Then how about we go to the pauper's graveyard by the pine forest tonight to hunt wolves?"

"You mean the wolf tracks in that pine forest to the northeast?"

Zhao Erwa grew interested, but after just a moment, he stopped talking.

"What's wrong?" Qin Jun was slightly bewildered. Didn't this Zhao Erwa love hunting?

"What's wrong? Look at this leg of mine, leaning on a pair of crutches! How can I hunt like this? If something happens to me, what will my wife and kids do?"

Qin Jun paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Therefore, it's always best to be honest and steady in life."

"If you're dishonest and throw caution to the wind, the consequences will be severe."

"How severe? In the future, for sure, another man will be sleeping with your wife, spending your money, and beating your kids!"

Hearing this, Zhao Erwa grew angry; that was too vicious.

However, upon careful thought, it seemed entirely possible.

If he were no longer around, what would happen in the future?

Better not to think about it—too distressing!

This kid Qin Jun really knew how to hit a man where it hurt!

"Don't worry. Lately, I feel the test has been sufficient, and I plan to help Comrade Zhao Erwa turn over a new leaf."

With that, Qin Jun glanced at Zhao Erwa's foot.

Actually, the first time he saw Zhao Erwa, he had thought about making him a prosthetic limb.

True, an overly sophisticated prosthetic limb would certainly not be easy for Qin Jun to make.

But a simple one that allowed him to walk normally was genuinely not difficult to fabricate.

Zhao Erwa looked at Qin Jun, completely baffled.

Qin Jun gave a sly chuckle and said nothing more.

He ran over to a nearby slope and picked up all the sparrows the two of them had shot earlier.

Sparrows were creatures that truly never learned their lesson.

They came hunting here almost every day and had killed countless of their own kind, yet a huge flock of sparrows would still gather here every day.

There was a real reason why these creatures were classified among the Four Pests.

Putting everything else aside, just the sheer number of them was enough to astonish anyone who saw them.

Every time this creature took flight as a flock, it could actually blot out the sun.

From this, one could imagine just how massive the sparrow population was in the rural areas at that time.

Having picked them all up and counted them, Qin Jun found that they hadn't bagged many today—only sixty-eight.

You must know that if the two of them were serious, they could easily bag a hundred in a single afternoon.

"Hey, your bullets sure don't last long!"

Returning to Zhao Erwa's side, Qin Jun heard him sighing.

Qin Jun felt quite helpless as well. The bullets he cast using crude methods still required manual polishing before they could be used.

Being able to supply over a hundred rounds a day was already the result of his tireless efforts.

"If I suggest using the Type 56, Old Zhao, you aren't just blowing hot air, are you? Just admit it if you can't get your hands on one!"

Zhao Erwa offered a helpless, bitter smile. "I really can get it, but can we afford to use it? Do you really want to use it? Think carefully!"

Looking at the sparrows in his hand, Qin Jun paused, then understood.

"We won't use it for sparrows; we'll use it for badgers."

"Once spring comes, those creatures will dig up the newly planted peanut seeds in the peanut fields."

"We'll talk about it when the time comes!" Zhao Erwa said listlessly.

Qin Jun was also somewhat helpless. In fact, there were a few Type 56 rifles in the village; although not many, two or three could certainly be managed.

However, they didn't lack rifles; what they lacked was ammunition.

Reminded by Zhao Erwa, Qin Jun realized that he didn't have an ammunition production line right now, and if he wanted bullets, he had to buy them.

He remembered that at this time, the cost of ammunition wasn't low—even the most ordinary rifle bullets seemed to cost six fen per round.

Selling a sparrow only netted three fen, so using such rifle bullets was definitely out of the question.

Pity there were no large game animals around here; even with a rifle, it would have no place to shine!

"So, you're the smart one after all; making this air rifle is the most practical choice."

Seeing Qin Jun dejected, Zhao Erwa instead began to comfort him!

"Forget it, let's just keep playing around like this slowly!"

"By the way, Old Zhao, you promised to help me get a padded cotton overcoat, right? You didn't forget, did you?"

"It's getting colder by the day, and I'm counting on your cotton overcoat!"

Zhao Erwa didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He had been in low spirits just a moment ago, and now he was already shaking him down?

"You kid, the cheapest military overcoat costs at least forty-eight yuan. How am I supposed to get it for you without money?"

Meeting Zhao Erwa's half-smiling gaze, Qin Jun straightened his expression and said, "If I had to spend money, would I even need your help?"

Zhao Erwa was almost laughed to anger. "Fine! Isn't it just forty-eight yuan? I'll advance the money for you first, we'll be getting our pay in a couple of days anyway!"

Qin Jun deliberately asked, "Can't you really just give it to me for free?"

Zhao Erwa rolled his eyes again. "What kind of daydream are you having? Your older nephew at my house will turn nine after the New Year and definitely needs to start primary school. With my aging parents and young children to support, I can't afford to give gifts like that!"

Qin Jun chuckled and said, "There will come a day when you'll be begging and pleading to give it to me."

Back at the factory, Qin Jun suddenly remembered he still had a favor to ask of Zhao Erwa.

"Right, Old Zhao, you know a lot of people. Do you think you could get some cloth rationing coupons? Look at what I'm wearing—I can't wear this anymore!"

With that, Qin Jun pointed to the clothes on his body.

"Sure, as long as you have money. Of course, grain works too."

"You probably don't realize, but many people in the village can't bear to use their cloth coupons. As long as you're willing to collect them, there are still quite a few people willing to part with them."

"The price isn't expensive either—one jin of grain for one chi of cloth coupons!"

Qin Jun really hadn't known about this. If that was the case, he wouldn't even need Zhao Erwa's help.

Returning to the kiln factory, the two of them discovered that they happened to be getting off work early today, and this month's wages were being distributed.

Everyone had gathered in front of the newly built row of five thatched-roof houses because the room on the extreme west served as the finance office.

At this moment, Qin Shi was reconciling the accounts, paying out each worker's wages as the accounts were cleared.

"Eh? Why do I have thirty yuan?"

Qin Ping was the first to run over and the first to receive his money, but as soon as he got it, he felt something was off.

The previous half-month had seen an advance wage payout of fifteen yuan per person, and at that time, their meal deductions hadn't been withheld.

If that time was meant to take care of the staff and leave them with a bit more cash in hand,

what about this month? They had all worked a full month and were due thirty yuan in wages, so why hadn't the four-and-a-half yuan meal fee been deducted this month either?

"The four-and-a-half yuan meal fee was deducted, but the factory added a four-and-a-half yuan housing subsidy!"

Qin Shi said without even raising his head.

Having said that, he didn't forget to shout out, "Next!"

There wasn't much to calculate for the next person either, because every regular worker's wage was thirty yuan.

If there were any exceptions, they were the two cooks in the cafeteria.

Qin Shikou's wage was thirty-seven yuan and fifty fen, while Qin Yingchun's wage was twenty-seven yuan and fifty fen.

This was the difference between having technical skills and having none; from the very first day the factory was built, Qin Jun had heavily emphasized this point.

"Qin An? Are you sure you want to transfer to the technical track next month? If you do, your wage will drop!"

Encountering Qin An, Qin Shi specifically asked him to confirm.

For over a month now, Qin Jun had spent every day deliberately teaching these ordinary workers technical skills.

Yet the only one who truly grasped it and was capable of entering the kiln independently was Qin An.

As for the five high school graduates brought over by Yuaiguo, not a single one of them turned out to be useful.

Qin Jun even suspected they held fake diplomas; despite graduating from high school, they didn't even understand oxidation-reduction reactions, though even if they were junior high graduates not understanding it might be normal. But since they were high school grads and still didn't understand, they could only be described as good-for-nothings.

Fortunately, they still had some muscle and were willing to endure hardship, working diligently over the past month; otherwise, those young men would have been chased off one way or another.

"Qin An, what are you thinking? Why are you so set on being a technician?"

Qin An had just received his wages and was counting them when his cousin Qin Ping pulled him back.

"Technicians have a bright future, can't you tell?" Qin An put his money away and said calmly.

"What bright future? Qin Han is still only getting twenty-seven yuan and fifty fen!" Qin Ping asked.

"Next month he won't be. Next month he'll be paid at the Grade 27 technician scale, which is the Grade 9 clerk scale—exactly thirty yuan."

"Later on, if he no longer needs Qin Jun's guidance, he can move up another grade, and at that time he'll be a Grade 26 technician and Grade 8 clerk, making thirty-three yuan."

"Understand now? Technicians have a path upward; as long as your skills are sufficient, your salary can keep rising. What about you guys?"