Seven or eight children ran around laughing and joking.
Lu Mingtang's family of five lived in a courtyard house at the east end of the alley. All five mouths of the family depended on Lu Mingtang's earnings at the dock to make a living.
"father!"
"Father! You're back! Did you bring anything good for Wan'er to eat?"
The two children ran over as soon as they saw Lu Mingtang. The older girl was about ten years old with bright eyes and white teeth, and the younger boy was about eight years old, clever and well-behaved.
Lu Mingtang held one in each arm.
“Here, little friends, this is a gift from your uncle.” Niu Bi quickly handed the two children the gifts he had prepared beforehand.
"Hey, Mr. Niu, no, no!" Lu Mingtang quickly declined.
The saying goes, "One should not accept a reward without merit." How could I possibly accept something from someone I've just met?
"Uncle Lu, it's alright. I've come here to ask you for a favor; I want to learn marksmanship!" Niu Bi said bluntly.
“Yes, Uncle Lu, please accept it,” Liu Feng said from the side.
Upon hearing this, Lu Mingtang paused for a moment, his expression shifting, before finally patting the two children's heads and saying, "Wan'er, Jie'er, thank your uncle."
"Thank you, Uncle!"
The two children, their faces covered in dirt, ran into the house with their things in their arms.
"Mr. Niu, let's go inside and talk, please!" Lu Mingtang waved to Niu Bi.
As Lu Mingtang waved his hand, Niu Bi was shocked to see that both of his index fingers had been severed at the base. "No wonder he was carrying bricks at the dock; it turns out he lost the index fingers he used to pull the trigger."
Niu Bi knew perfectly well that a gunman relied entirely on his index finger to pull the trigger; if he lost his index finger, what was the point of playing?
However, he can teach marksmanship.
Lu Mingtang's wife was an ordinary middle-aged woman. After serving tea to Niu Bi and the other two, she went to a side room, where intermittent coughing could be heard.
"Dad, the pastries this uncle gave me are delicious, but they're quite heavy, and I can't bite them." Niu Bi had just taken a sip of tea when suddenly, Lu Mingtang's youngest son ran over with a package.
He tripped and fell to the ground because he was running too fast.
Instantly, ten gold bars fell to the ground.
Upon seeing the gold bars on the ground, Lu Mingtang was stunned and quickly said to Niu Bi, "Mr. Niu, this...this is such a generous gift, I...I..."
“Uncle Lu, this is what I should do. This is a letter from Master Zhao. Please take a look.” Niu Bi handed over Zhao Jingheng’s handwritten letter at the right time.
Lu Mingtang took the letter, read it, and pondered for a while before saying, "Mr. Niu, since you were introduced by Brother Zhao, I won't lie."
"This is not like martial arts training, which definitely requires talent. As long as you are willing to practice, you also need enough financial resources to support the consumption of training bullets. There is a certain chance of success."
"Of course, the secret to ultimate success is perseverance!"
"As long as you persevere, you will definitely succeed!"
"Okay, I don't need to worry about bullet consumption."
Niu Bi was confident in this, not to mention the cake shop and the business in Shanghai, he still had a lot of gold bars at home.
Once you've mastered the skill of shooting seven birds at once, you'll have a means of self-defense, which is equivalent to practicing martial arts.
...
Suburbs of Shanghai.
Niu Bi, Lin Feng, and Lu Mingtang stood on a small hill.
There was a dense woodland nearby.
“Mr. Niu, let me demonstrate for you. Watch carefully.” Lu Mingtang took out two Mauser rifles and pulled the trigger of one of them with his middle finger.
Bang!
With a sharp crack, more than a dozen sparrows were startled and flew up from the woods.
In an instant, Lu Mingtang's hands swung up, bang bang bang...
Five gunshots rang out, but only three sparrows fell to the ground.
"Oh, what a pity, I only managed to catch three."
Lu Mingtang looked at the three sparrows on the ground with a dejected expression.
Back in the day, I could shoot down up to 10 sparrows by firing two guns in quick succession!
It should be noted that Wang Yaqiao's peak moment was when he shot down seven sparrows with a single gun. He accidentally learned the art of drawing circles with both hands and became skilled with two guns. At his peak, he could fire ten shots in a row with both hands and hit the target every time!
Because his marksmanship surpassed Wang Yaqiao's, he caught the eye of Du Yuesheng. Lu Mingtang despised Du Yuesheng's actions, but unable to refuse due to his family responsibilities, he had no choice but to cut off both of his index fingers to sever Du Yuesheng's hopes.
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Chapter Twenty: Changes in the Merchant Guild
"Niu Yanben!"
Seeing Lu Mingtang's marksmanship, Niu Bi was deeply shocked. Hearing about it was different from seeing it with his own eyes!
Lu Mingtang lost both index fingers, yet he still possesses such precision. If he participated in a shooting competition in real life, he would definitely be a champion!