Back in the 1980s, hiking in the mountains was also a way of life

Of course, it doesn't matter how many people die in this gold mine, or how many survive, it's none of Wang An's business. At this moment, all Wang An and his companions want is to leave this area as soon as possible.

There was no other way; none of the things Wang An and his three companions were carrying were worthless.

Abundant gold, wild ginseng, diamonds, gold jewelry, tiger skins and bones—any one of these items alone would cause a frenzy of buying.

As for laws and morals, they have almost no binding force in these remote, untouched forests.

If you want to survive and stay safe, there doesn't seem to be any other good way besides overwhelming firepower.

Therefore, when Wang An and his three companions encountered a group of gold prospectors again, and everyone avoided each other out of mutual wariness, Wang An thought for a moment and then turned to Wang Li and said:

"Fifth Brother, go and get two of the Type 56 rifles we captured. Then we'll replace all our semi-automatic rifles with Type 56 rifles."

Immediately afterwards, Wang An said to Mu Xueli and Huang Zhong:
"Xue Li, find all the magazines for the Type 56 assault rifle. Xiao Zhong, get a few boxes of ammunition. Let's fill all the magazines."

After Wang An finished speaking, he casually tugged on the reins and called out "Yu," stopping in front of him. He then dismounted, tied the reins to a tree, and turned to walk away.

Wang An felt that the Type 56 assault rifle's firepower made him feel safer compared to the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle.

Furthermore, in this forest, there are very few instances of using the Type 56 rifle for half-shots, but as long as you're holding a Type 56 and unleashing a barrage of fire, Wang An believes that no matter what kind of monsters or demons they are, they will be brutally shot to death.

Most importantly, you don't even need to aim with the Type 56 assault rifle; the barrage of bullets will automatically kill the enemy for you.

Wang Li was taken aback upon hearing this, then his face lit up with joy, and he immediately agreed:
"Hey, I'll get the Type 56 assault rifle out right away."

After Wang Li finished speaking, he tugged on the reins. Before the horse had come to a complete stop, Wang Li dismounted and ran towards a horse carrying supplies behind him.

Mu Xueli and Huang Zhong both agreed, then dismounted and ran towards the other two horses.

The seized firearms and ammunition were all in a separate state, with the guns and bullets separated.

The purpose of doing this is, on the one hand, to prevent these guns from being stolen or robbed, which would immediately turn them into deadly weapons used against our side.

On the other hand, keeping bullets pressed in the magazine or chamber for a long time will cause the springs inside to age faster, which is quite damaging to the gun. In the long run, the gun may jam or even stop feeding.

Soon, Wang Li came over carrying two Type 56 assault rifles without magazines, while Mu Xueli and Huang Zhong also came over, each carrying a Type 56 assault rifle magazine and a dozen boxes of ammunition.

Each of the three captured Type 56 assault rifles had one main magazine and two spare magazines.

Both Mu Xueli and Huang Zhong carried Type 56 assault rifles, each with only one main magazine and one spare magazine.

Therefore, Wang An and his three companions now had a total of 13 magazines.

The reason why Mu Xueli and Huang Zhong's Type 56 assault rifles each only had two magazines was because before entering the mountains, Wang An felt that even a firepower configuration of two Type 56 assault rifles and two Type 56 semi-automatic rifles would be enough to suppress or even crush any bandits and bullies in the mountains.

Therefore, Wang An felt it was completely unnecessary for Wang Li to bring the two magazines that came with his Type 56 assault rifle, so he didn't let Wang Li take them. After all, although guns weren't banned in those days, powerful weapons like the Type 56 assault rifle were not allowed to circulate or be bought and sold among civilians; the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle was already considered the most advanced weapon available to civilians.

Furthermore, starting this year, it has become very difficult to buy a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle from the supply and marketing cooperative. Not only do you need a gun license, but you also need a letter of introduction from the village committee.

It's no longer possible to buy a Type 56 half-tank motorcycle from the supply and marketing cooperative as easily as before.

However, Wang An knew that in two or three years, the supply and marketing cooperative would no longer sell Type 56 semi-automatic rifles, only double-barreled and single-barreled shotguns. A few years later, even the procedures for buying and selling double-barreled and single-barreled shotguns became very complicated. By the 90s, the supply and marketing cooperative would only sell air rifles.

However, these are all historical trends that no one can change.

What Wang An never expected was that the journey home for the four of them would become so difficult.

Wang An and his three companions loaded all nine empty magazines with bullets, and also installed magazines on the two Type 56 assault rifles. Then Wang An gave Mu Xueli and Huang Zhong a spare magazine each, gave Wang Li two, and kept three for himself.

In this way, Mu Xueli, Wang Li, and Huang Zhong each have one main magazine and two spare magazines, while Wang An has one main magazine and three spare magazines.

The four men loaded their magazines, chambered bullets, and turned off the safety. Only then did Wang An begin to grumble and say:

"Damn it, why do I feel like things are all messed up here in these mountains?"

After Wang An finished speaking, Mu Xueli immediately said:
"Hmm, why are so many people coming in all at once? That little gold mine is only so big, is it really necessary for so many people to come?"

Wang An glanced at Mu Xueli and said:

"That's a gold mine, a rich one at that. It's quite large for a place."

A few people, using only sledgehammers and chisels to dig ore and then crushing it with a stone mill, managed to extract over 120 jin of gold. A gold mine like that could definitely be called a rich mine among rich mines.

Although that mine pit doesn't look very big, who knows if there are mineral veins underneath it? And if those veins extend further underground?

If there are still veins of ore underground, then this gold mine is quite remarkable.

However, this was just Wang An's guess, and he didn't tell Mu Xueli and the other two.

Anyway, Wang An definitely won't do dangerous jobs like gold panning anymore; it's just too damn nerve-wracking!

Given Wang An's current net worth, it's really not worth it.

After a pause, Wang An continued:
“From now on, let’s not mention that gold mine again. Keep your mouths shut and pretend we never went there. Be careful that someone doesn’t overhear us and cause us trouble.”

Wang An had a feeling that the people he and his three companions had ambushed and killed were of extraordinary origin, and that their group couldn't possibly consist of only those who had been killed; there must be many more outside.

Wang An's only consolation was that he hadn't been greedy and taken all the marked horses with him; otherwise, he and his three companions would have been sitting ducks. (End of Chapter)