Please pull the trigger for this world one more time.

"Give me one!"

"8 cents."

Mo Zian rushed out, handed over a few copper coins, and snatched the last newspaper from the newsboy's hand—

Because it's a special edition, this newspaper is much smaller than a regular daily newspaper, but the price remains the same.

The newsboy, his pockets full of change, ran off happily, while Mo Zian's attention was now completely focused on the newspaper.

Gui Haishuo and the shop owner also came out. The three men, one child and two adults, were engrossed in reading a newspaper.

Mo Zian quickly understood the whole thing—aside from some war reparations, the main compensation the Chenhuan Empire gave to the Guangwu Empire was the cession of territory.

Originally, the two countries were separated by the Li River and faced each other, but now, the border of the Guangwu Empire has been completely pushed back to the Hengduan Mountains—

Besides the scattered areas incorporated into various border provinces, it also includes an entire province and a former Chenhuan exclave, which is about one-fifth the size of the province.

Of course, these areas had already been conquered by Guangwu's army, and Chen Huan could not actually take them back.

The Iron Forest City that the shop owner mentioned earlier is the capital city of the new province. It was previously the fiefdom of a Duke of Chenhuan, which is also the main focus of the newspaper reports.

But Mo Zian was more concerned about the former Chen Huan enclave.

The reason is simple: this region is located in the southwest of the empire, right next to Munan Town. Originally an exclave sandwiched between some small countries and the Guangwu Empire, it was a veritable bridgehead for the Chenhuan people.

But now, the southwest of the Guangwu Empire no longer borders Chenhuan, and Munan Town is no longer considered a border town.

Thanks to his military knowledge from his previous life, Mo Zian suddenly realized that the Guangwu Empire no longer directly bordered the southwest, and even other regions were blocked by the natural barrier of the Hengduan Mountains.

It is foreseeable that the difficulty for Chen Huan to invade Guangwu from the land will increase exponentially. If nothing unexpected happens, the empire will usher in a rare period of peace and great development.

At this moment, Maple Leaf, sitting in the car, turned on the car radio—normally there was no signal in the suburbs, but it was no problem at all in the city.

With a series of radio tuning sounds, a large crowd quickly gathered around his Ether Car—radios were a relatively new invention in the Guangwu Empire, and few people owned one.

Finally, the radio broadcast what everyone wanted to hear.

"This is the Guangwu Royal Broadcasting Station... Yesterday, Prince Jiang Yanxu, the empire's signing representative, returned to Guangwu City to report back on his mission aboard a special airship."

Upon disembarking from the airship, our reporter interviewed the Prince, who stated that the treaty signing process went very smoothly and that the aggressors had paid the price they deserved. The 95th day of the Frost Month in the 836th year of the Guangwu reign—this day is destined to be etched in history!

The prince said: I, Emperor Guangwu, love peace, but I am never afraid of war. I, Emperor Guangwu, have made the country rich and powerful, but I never start a war.

When friends come, we have fine wine; when wolves come, we have hunting rifles.

If the jackal is not obedient, beat it until it is obedient; if the jackal is not submissive, beat it until it is submissive; if the jackal is relentless, beat it until it dies!

... "

The female announcer's voice was strong and clear, each word reaching the people's ears.

Immediately, cheers erupted from the surrounding area.

Immediately afterwards, cheers erupted throughout Licheng.

With the spread of radio and newspapers, the news reached the entire Guangwu Empire at the fastest speed in this era.

In just a few days, almost 80% of the Guangwu Empire was filled with jubilation, and this jubilant atmosphere continued until the 181st day of the Frost Month in the 836th year of the Guangwu Calendar.

This day is the last day of the year, and also one of the most important festivals of the Guangwu Empire in this world—New Year's Eve.

That is, the Lunar New Year.

When Mo Zian and his master and mistress arrived in Licheng, it was already late autumn and almost winter, so they decided to stay there temporarily.

This has been the case every year; as the year draws to a close, people spend the New Year in whichever city is closest to them.

However, it's impossible to be completely idle during this period.

Before the weather got too cold, Mo Zian was led by Feng Ye into the nearby mountains to hunt.

This activity started when he was 10 years old.

Mo Zian had thought this would be easy for him, but he never expected that Maple Leaf's requirements for "shooting" were on a completely different level from what he had imagined.

That means you must shoot a specific part of the prey, such as its eyes.

The goal is to minimize the damage to the fur caused by the bullets.

At first, Mo Zian was a little unconvinced, but then Fengye took him to visit a local old hunter. He watched as the old hunter used an old-fashioned gunpowder gun to shoot a squirrel in the eye 60 zhang (30m) away.

There's not much to say, just keep practicing. I'm still far behind.

Hunting in the mountains was tough, but Mo Zian's harvest was plentiful. At the very least, the leather used in his thick winter jacket and boots was made by himself.

Once the weather turned completely cold and the frequency of wild animals appearing in the mountains decreased, Mo Zian settled into the temporary rented accommodation for his family of three, tinkering with an ether gun with his master—

This year, based on information previously obtained from that shop owner, Gui Haishuo did not follow the trend of buying those Chenhuan gun blades, but instead began to purchase a large number of ether gun parts that were frequently discounted.

To be honest, Mo Zian, who lacked experience in this area, didn't understand it at first.

However, when the Guangwu Empire's Civil Armed Forces Department issued a price control order for gunpowder guns, Mo Zian couldn't help but exclaim, "Master is mighty!"

Sincerely.

After the price control order was introduced, the price advantage of gunpowder guns disappeared in the civilian market, and the more powerful and accurate ether gun regained its status, and its accessories also returned to the previous price level.

Gui Haishuo certainly wouldn't just resell the parts directly; the parts he acquired could probably assemble about 50 civilian hunting rifles.

Normally, Guihai Shuo's requirements for parts are very high, so his cost is also high, around 200 silver dollars. However, the average cost of these 50 Ether Cannons has been reduced to around 100.

With inventory in hand, Gui Haishuo's mind started to wander. He even planned to visit the new territories of the Guangwu Empire after the New Year, estimating that the selling price would increase considerably.

Gui Haishuo never imagined that his products wouldn't sell, because currently on the market, among civilian-use weapons, only his Ether Gun possesses a degraded civilian version of the [small Ether Core].

On the one hand, the technical threshold is indeed high, and on the other hand, the patent rights are in his hands, prohibiting imitation within the empire.

This directly resulted in Mo Zian being miserably polishing parts for his master even though it was New Year's Eve.

Gui Haishuo's vehicle carried many high-precision processing devices for this era, but the problem was that the efficiency was truly disappointing.

Fortunately, Mo Zian had military experience in his previous life and was quite comprehension. Apart from the fact that he was still completely clueless about the [small ether core], he had almost mastered the modification and production of ether guns in the past few years.

Otherwise...

Every firecracker outside seemed to explode in his heart—the food street was at its liveliest on New Year's Eve!

As the clock ticked away, Mo Zian watched anxiously as the morning tea time passed, his face gradually contorting into a grimace.

"Master! Last group! Done!"

"Hey! Now, assemble it."

Without a word, Gui Haishuo tossed over a long, thin object. Mo Zian was startled and quickly caught the degraded [small ether core] with both hands.

"Huh? I'm pretending?"

"Here's a chance for you to train, hurry up."

By the time Mo Zian finished assembling the civilian hunting rifle and testing its mechanical movements, his master had already disappeared with the few silver dollars that his master's wife had specially approved for him.

But it doesn't matter, Mo Zian knows where to find him.

……

"Boss, one bowl of fish ball soup!"

"Okay! Coming!"

Gui Haishuo, holding a plate of oyster omelet, waited eagerly in front of the stall. Before long, a bowl of steaming fish ball soup was ready.

But here's the problem: Gui Haishuo is holding an oyster omelet, which is taking up his hands.

Just then, a familiar voice rang in Gui Haishuo's ears.

"Master, let me hold it for you."

"Ah! Good apprentice!"

Gui Haishuo handed the oyster omelet to the person next to him without even looking at it, and then picked up the fish ball soup—the crystal-clear fish balls were soaked in the milky white soup, which looked very appetizing.

Pierce a fish ball with a toothpick and put it in your mouth. The soft and bouncy texture is wrapped in rich juice. Each fish ball is a umami bomb.

Take another sip of the soup, and the subtle spiciness and herbal aroma elevate the umami flavor to another level.

This is one of Licheng's famous dishes – fish ball soup.

Gui Haishuo opened his mouth wide and instantly ate half a bowl. Then he reached out and grabbed an empty paper bag.

Where's my oyster omelet?

I lost my oyster omelet.

Turning his head again,

Where is my apprentice? My apprentice is lost too.

……

On the other side, having avenged himself, Mo Zian wiped his mouth and blended into the crowd, beginning his food and shopping spree.

He often comes to this food street, so the lively atmosphere here makes him very happy and relaxed.

"Hey! Bro, try my shrimp cakes, you won't regret it!"

Mo Zian was drawn to a small stall by the hawking sounds. He looked at the somewhat unfamiliar owner and said, "One shrimp cake... Boss, is this a new stall? I've never seen you before."

"Hey buddy, I'm not a new vendor."

While frying shrimp cakes, the shop owner said, "I was fighting with Chen Huan before, so I applied for a job and had to leave this stall. Now that I'm back, I'll just do what I was supposed to do."

As if to confirm the boss's words, quite a few people around him had already recognized him.

"Hey, Guang's back!"

"Hey? Guang, you didn't stay in the army?"

The boss laughed heartily: "Aunt Zhang, why would I keep anything? I'm just a cook in the mess hall... Here, young man, your shrimp cake."

Mo Zian took the shrimp cake, but suddenly remembered a battle report he had seen in the newspaper a year ago—

A soldier named Chen Zuguang led his cooking squad to deliver food to the front lines. During their infiltration, they took down a command post of a thousand-strong force from Chenhuan. He was awarded a collective first-class merit and a silver medal for bravery.

To be honest, when I saw this news, Mo Zian's DNA was stirred, so it left a very deep impression on me.

Looking at this seemingly ordinary snack shop owner now, I feel a sense of admiration and deep respect.

Mo Zian didn't reveal the shop owner's identity, but quietly bought a few more shrimp cakes so that his master and mistress could also try them.

Because it tastes really good.

The war ended, and life returned to normal.

This is how the world should be.

But Mo Zian knew even better that this life, which was getting back on track, needed someone to protect it.