Xing'an Mountains 1984: Starting from climbing mountains to support the family

Chapter 16 Making a Slingshot
"Dad is going to cut a fork and will be back soon,"

Chen Weidong pinched Si Ni's cute little face, then walked out of the yard.

"Woo~"

The little girl cried twice after her milk was pinched. She didn't understand why Chen Weidong was chopping the tree fork, so she ran to play with her sister. After a while, she came to Liu Xueting's arms and acted coquettishly.

After Chen Weidong came to the house, he found a willow tree. The willow tree had many forks, and he could just grab one and make a slingshot.

As soon as I took a look at the willow tree, I chose the location for the slingshot. I saw a Y-shaped branch about four meters above the ground, which was suitable for the slingshot frame.

The location is a bit high, but in this era, whether in Jiuqutun or there, climbing trees to dig out bird nests is almost a necessary skill for every man! Some teenage boys climb very fast.

In no time, Chen Weidong climbed up the tree with a knife in his mouth, then cut off the branches with the knife and took them back home.

Sitting down on the chair, Chen Weidong took a knife and started to trim the branches.

First, cut off the extra branches, and then peel off the bark. After a while, a simple slingshot stand is ready!
A few younger kids squatted beside him and watched the fun.

Watching this scene, Chen Weidong couldn't help but feel warm in his heart.
Quiet and leisurely.

Then Chen Weidong asked Liu Xueting for some more threads, and asked her to use the scraps of cloth at home to make a spring pocket that was about five centimeters long and two centimeters wide. Of course, the spring pocket for the slingshot had to be thicker.
Sew several layers of cloth together, leaving gaps on both sides for tying rubber bands.

In fact, the best material for making elastic pockets is the leather of belts, but Chen Weidong's pants are still tied with a rope because his family doesn't have the conditions for that.

Chen Weidong sat back in his chair and started tying rubber bands with a rope. The rubber bands were made of black rubber that he bought from the supply and marketing cooperative for five cents a pair.
In this era, when making slingshots, rubber bands are generally divided into three types. The high-end ones are the ones used to tie arms for infusion.
The middle end is the valve core of the bicycle, and the bottom end is the bicycle inner tube, which is made of black rubber sold by the supply and marketing cooperative.

Although it is at the bottom, it is no problem to hunt pheasants and rabbits.
However, the disadvantage of black rubber is that in the Northeast, when the temperature is minus 20 to 30 degrees Celsius,

Once frozen, it will easily lose its elasticity. Fortunately, it is not winter in Northeast China yet, and it is cheap.

Chen Weidong also noticed this point and decided to change it when he had enough money. It would be best if he could get a different gun, as his old slide really had no accuracy.

"Weidong, what do you think of this seam?"

After a while, Liu Xueting walked over with the finished bullet bag.

Chen Weidong took one look and couldn't help but praise his wife for being so clever and skillful that she could sew even a small elastic pocket very delicately.

"Very good! Wife, you have very skillful hands."

"When will this person learn to pick up these nice things to say?"

Liu Xueting rolled her eyes at Chen Weidong, feeling happy and going about her own business.

Taking the sling bag, Chen Weidong began to tie it up. It didn't take long before a slingshot was formed.

Chen Weidong walked out of the courtyard with the slingshot, ready to test the power of the slingshot.
The little ones now realized that their dad was going to show off his power, so they all followed him happily.

"Children, let me show you my skills. I once shot down a sparrow with a slingshot from 30 meters away."

"You tell me where to hit me, and I'll hit you there."

Chen Weidong also wanted to establish his father's greatness in the children's minds and make them worship him.

"Dad, hit that!"

"Hit that!"

Sanni was the most excited. She jumped up and down and pointed at a big leaf hanging on a branch twenty meters away.

"Okay, you better watch carefully."

Chen Weidong picked up a small stone from the ground, pulled the slingshot, and shot three times at the location where Sanni pointed.

He moved very quickly, loading the bullet, pulling the bow, and shooting. The stones flew out with a humming sound.

None of the three stones hit the target.

"Cough cough..."

Damn it, it’s so embarrassing in front of the kids.

"Dad, why can't we hit the target?" Sanni asked in a baby voice.

"Sister, is Daddy hungry? When he's hungry, he has no strength. When Si Ni is hungry, she can't hold her sister."

Si Ni said this in a baby voice, but her serious look made Chen Weidong, who was standing beside her, laugh.

If it wasn't for the fact that he had just eaten less than two hours ago, he would have believed it. But now you're still trying to find excuses for him, really...

At this time, Chen Weidong also discovered the problem. It was not that his slingshot was too bad, but the problem was with the bullet.

Slingshots are not very accurate when hitting rocks, mainly because rocks are irregular and can easily go off target when hit, and the final landing point can easily deviate.
Even an expert can only hit stones by feeling! Chen Weidong hasn't used a slingshot for many years, so what's the feeling?

So Chen Weidong looked around the ground again, and finally found a regular-looking stone next to the courtyard wall and grinded it a little.

In front of his daughters, Chen Weidong reloaded the bullet, pulled the bow, aimed, and shot. The stone flew out with a humming sound.

This time, it really hit the target directly.

"Dad, I hit it!"

"Dad, that's awesome!!"

The younger ones immediately jumped up with excitement, just like they were beaten.

Wu Ni didn't jump, but went to pick up the stone that Chen Weidong had just thrown. The stone didn't go far, and the little girl was sharp-eyed, so she ran over happily, and then ran back happily.

"Dad, give it!"

The little girl raised her hands and said something, but Chen Weidong couldn't understand it. After all, Wu Ni was only two and a half years old, and most of the time she couldn't speak complete sentences.

Chen Weidong picked up the little girl, kissed her, and then put her down.

Tried again,

Sure enough, after changing to regular stones, it was much more accurate.

He found a suitable stone and fired a few more shots, but only one missed the target.

It seems that it is really a problem with the stones. It’s just that finding regular stones is a bit troublesome. You have to find the stones and grind them!

So Chen Weidong thought about it briefly and decided to make mud balls instead.

When hearing about mud balls, many people think that mud balls cannot have much power. In fact, as long as the technique is correct, mud balls made of mud are very powerful, and can easily kill pheasants, rabbits, and greyhounds.

I heard that if you add some iron powder into the mud ball, it can even easily penetrate the fur of an elk and be fatal with one blow. Of course, the slingshot must be more powerful as well. The one Chen Weidong uses with black rubber is definitely not that powerful.

Generally, when choosing mud balls, it is best to use loess. This kind of yellow mud has a characteristic that it is particularly smooth and soft when it is full of water, but once the water evaporates, the yellow mud will become extremely hard.

(End of this chapter)