"Want to go take a look together?" An Jiu turned to ask Chu Dingjiang.
Only then did Lou Xiaowu notice the handsome man sitting opposite them. Shyly, she greeted, "Senior, I'm from the Lou family. My name is Xiao Wu."
Chu Dingjiang gave a slight nod.
Most men Lou Xiaowu knew were refined and scholarly types. Seeing such a rugged man made her somewhat nervous. She leaned closer to An Jiu and whispered, "I didn't expect your father to be so young."
An Jiu could sense Chu Dingjiang's mood instantly darkening.
Although the Mei and Lou families had intermarried in the past, they hadn't interacted for many years. Lou Xiaowu knew little about the Mei family affairs and was unaware that Mei Jiu's father had passed away over a decade ago.
"Senior, would you like to come take a look too?" An Jiu asked with a slight smile.
Chu Dingjiang stood up calmly. "Let's go."
Lou Xiaowu looked up at Chu Dingjiang and exclaimed, "Senior, you're so tall!"
Then she turned to An Jiu, "Shi Si, you don't take after your parents at all. I'm almost taller than you now!"
An Jiu didn't explain Chu Dingjiang's identity, simply pulling Lou Xiaowu out the door.
Lou Xiaowu chattered incessantly about handguns along the way, completely ignoring the displeased deity following behind them.
Soon, the three arrived before a dilapidated dwelling.
An Jiu looked around and noticed not only were the buildings in ruins, but the area within a thirty-meter radius was completely barren, with only some charred tree trunks remaining.
Lou Xiaowu led An Jiu into one of the few surviving stone houses, enthusiastically inviting, "Make yourselves at home!"
The tables and chairs were covered in thick dust, the air heavy with the smell of sulfur and gunpowder. One corner was piled with assorted metal scraps. Lou Xiaowu quickly retrieved some components from the pile and assembled them into a handgun about ten inches long.
"This is a bit bigger than what you described, but it's the best one after repeated adjustments," Lou Xiaowu said with some regret, but quickly grew excited again. "Let's go outside to test it."
The light in the room suddenly dimmed.
Both looked up to see Chu Dingjiang ducking through the doorway, his tall frame nearly blocking the small entrance completely.
"Senior..." Lou Xiaowu wanted to ask him not to block the way, but seeing his shadowed face against the light from behind, she shrank back and nudged An Jiu with her elbow.
"Senior, don't block the way," An Jiu said for her.
Chu Dingjiang gave An Jiu a deep look before stepping aside.
The two went outside to test the handgun in the open space before the door.
Chu Dingjiang leaned against the doorframe with crossed arms, watching An Jiu's profile. He felt a twinge of displeasure earlier because An Jiu seemed unwilling to acknowledge what happened that night. Moreover, during their time together these days, she hadn't shown any signs of shyness or awkwardness, leaving him unable to discern her thoughts.
The glare of snow reflected off An Jiu's focused, pretty face.
Chu Dingjiang suddenly smiled, realizing he was being blinded by his own involvement, prone to overthinking. In truth, An Jiu had always been direct and sharp in both speech and action—there was nothing to overanalyze.
Bang!
The gunshot startled birds foraging in the snow.
There seemed to be no visible damage, but with Chu Dingjiang's mental strength, he could roughly sense the bullet's destructive impact on a tree about a hundred paces away.
An Jiu watched the wisp of smoke curl from the barrel and exhaled slowly. "Not bad."However, her expectations were still too high. The handgun crafted by Lou Xiaowu had excellent range and accuracy, but it also had many flaws. For instance, due to the materials used for the bullets and barrel, firing generated a significant amount of heat, which meant the gun couldn't sustain rapid, continuous shots without risking an explosion.
Yet for the Great Song Dynasty, this handgun was already remarkably advanced.
"How much does it cost to produce one handgun?" Chu Dingjiang suddenly asked.
"Well..." Lou Xiaowu scratched her head, "I don't know. You'd have to ask Sister Zhu."
All the materials were provided by Zhu Pianxian, and Lou Xiaowu never inquired about the details.
An Jiu asked, "Are you thinking of deploying it for military use?"
Chu Dingjiang shook his head. "No, but I think Ling Jiangjun would be very interested."
Ling Ziyue was physically close to Bianjing, yet it felt as distant as the ends of the earth. Trapped on the island, all his suffering was magnified, gnawing away at his will day after day. He needed something to occupy himself, to distract from his emotions.
"Shall we have a competition?" An Jiu suggested.
"What kind?" Lou Xiaowu asked.
An Jiu waved the handgun—there were still three bullets left. Each would take one shot to see who could hit the most birds.
Lou Xiaowu could craft guns, but that didn't necessarily make her a skilled shooter. Based on her previous test results, even ten bullets might not guarantee a single bird—hitting one would be an overachievement.
"Alright!" Chu Dingjiang stepped forward.
"I need to prepare first." An Jiu shoved the gun into his hands and darted into the house.
Lou Xiaowu, unwilling to face Chu Dingjiang alone, hurried after her. "Shi Si, wait for me!"
The two fiddled around inside for a while before emerging.
Chu Dingjiang removed the magazine, examined it briefly, then reloaded it.
By then, the startled birds had begun to settle back onto the snow-covered ground nearby.
"When do we start?" Chu Dingjiang was fairly confident in his aim.
"Wait until more birds gather." An Jiu's eyes gleamed as if a plate of roasted sparrows was already laid out before her. (To be continued...)
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