After laughing, Wu Yong asked, "Brother Hua Rong, we've also told you about Pang Wanchun's matter..."
Hua Rong waved his hand and said matter-of-factly, "I'll deal with this person myself."
Dong Ping said, "You've been lying here for so long, you haven't lost your skills, have you?"
Hua Rong twisted his arm and lifted his leg: "It's nothing serious, just a little weak. Can someone find me a bow?"
...
In the park, a lazybones was dozing off at his archery range, which hardly anyone visits in a thousand years. He grinned when he saw us, and before I could say anything, he leaped over, dragging a huge pile of bows in front of us, asking, "Are you going to spend 2000 yuan again this time?"
I slammed a hundred-yuan note on the table and said, "This time, I'll shoot for 100 yuan. Is the 50-yuan bonus still valid if I hit the bullseye?"
The lazy man said smugly, "It works, it always works!"
Hua Rong casually picked up a bow, initially frowning, but quickly became engrossed in studying it. Just half a minute later, he nocked an arrow, and with a twang, the arrow struck the fourth ring. My heart sank: Wasn't this even worse than Dong Ping's work?
Only the lazybones cheered from the sidelines, "Come on, buddy! There's a reward for hitting the bullseye. The next arrow will definitely be a 10."
Hua Rong smiled slightly at him: "Thank you for your kind words." Before he finished speaking, the second arrow flew like a locust, hitting the bullseye! I saw the lazy man slap himself hard across the face.
Hua Rong said, "This bow has a significant error and needs temporary adjustments, but it'll do for now." With that, he picked up his quiver, turned his back to the target, and walked away. The lazy man asked me, "What's wrong with this guy? Is he going to shoot or not?" He then sheepishly handed me 50 yuan. I didn't take it, and said with a smile, "We'll settle it later."
Hua Rong walked another 10 or so steps before stopping, turning around, nocking the bow, and with a "whoosh," a classic scene often seen in novels and movies was recreated: Hua Rong's second arrow shattered the first arrow from tail to head, while the first arrow bloomed like a flower, incredibly beautiful.
I quickly grabbed the lazy man and asked, "Hey, does this count as another 50?" I was afraid he would try to argue that he was only paid based on the arrows on the target.
The lazy man said with a bitter face, "Whether it counts or not is another matter, but each of my arrows costs several dozen yuan."
Hua Rong hit his target with his second arrow, then picked up his quiver and walked away. He turned back and released another arrow. With a "hiss," the third arrow cleaved the first two. Without hesitation, Hua Rong turned again… Although I don't understand archery, I know that the farther the distance, the harder it is to shoot. Hua Rong also said that the bow needs constant adjustment; I really don't know how he did it. It seems that the highest level of anything is based on intuition. Take Chinese football, for example. I don't think it's a matter of technique or stamina; it's just a matter of feeling. Their biggest mistake is not shooting towards the goal; they should aim for the linesman. If they did, China would have won the World Cup long ago.
Hua Rong shot arrow after arrow, each one hitting the bullseye, each arrow breaking the previous one. The spot where the bullseye was located was now piled high with broken arrows, resembling a small fountain. By this time, he was already a hundred paces away from us, almost standing at the park entrance. Only the trails of arrows, accompanied by the whistling sound of the wind, swept past in the distance.
The lazy man was stunned at first, but then he suddenly realized what was happening, grabbed my hand, and said in a tearful voice, "Brother, I was wrong. Please make that hero stop."
I said, "He can't hear me now if I call him."
Suddenly, the lazy man frantically waved his hands and jumped in front of the target, shouting, "Stop shooting!"
The heroes were all shocked and shouted, "Get out of the way!"
But it was too late; Hua Rong had already fired his arrow, and the lazy man's throat was right in front of the bullseye. Everyone knew that with Hua Rong's archery skills, this shot would surely result in instant death.
Hua Rong stood at a distance, unable to hear our conversation, but his eyes were sharp. Seeing the lazy man about to pounce on the flying arrow, he frowned slightly, but remained calm. He picked up another arrow, this time drawing the bow fully. With a release, the second arrow flew as fast as the hare in the tortoise and the hare race, catching up with the first arrow. The arrowhead touched the first arrow slightly behind it, and the two arrows stood in an arc just in front of the lazy man's nose before falling to the ground together.
The lazy man's eyes widened like bull's testicles, and after a long while, he burst into tears...
Chapter 76 The most romantic thing I can think of is eating cake with you.
After shooting his last arrow, Hua Rong walked over, hung up the bow, and said, "This bow is inaccurate, it lacks power, and most importantly, it can't fire a series of arrows. Brother Tang, you've seen the bow I used before, right? Could you make one just like it?"
Tang Long thought for a moment, then said with a bitter face, "Ah? A horn bow? It can be made, but it will take at least a few months."
I asked, "Aren't the raw materials hard to find?"
Tang Long said, "Even if we can find it, we'll have to wait. It's the same principle as brewing wine; you can't just tie a string to a piece of wood and use it as a bow."
I pointed to the bows and arrows in the archery range: "So you're saying we can't use anything here?"
Hua Rong nodded: "Even arrows are unsuitable; they're too loose when you shoot them."
At this point, the lazy stall owner finally came to his senses and cried out, "Then how come you shot so accurately?"
I gave him a push on the back: "Go on, count how much money you owe us."
Dong Ping said, "No need to count, all 30 arrows except the first one and the two that saved him hit the target."
Zhang Qing said, "No, the one who should have saved him was a [unit of firepower]."
I said to the lazy guy, "How about this, I'll give you a huge discount, just give me 1000 yuan and we'll call it even."
The lazy man, overjoyed at being granted a pardon, exclaimed, "Really?"
“Okay, let’s buy another 1,000 yuan worth of arrows. 300 times 50 is 15,000 yuan. From now on, we’ll be counting on your monthly salary of over 10,000 yuan.”
The lazy man wiped away his tears and said, "I don't want this stall anymore, can you please let me go?"
The heroes laughed, and I said with a smile, "I was just kidding. We can give you a discount next time."
The lazy man burst into laughter through his tears: "From now on, it's all free for any of you guys who come to play."
On our way back, Tang Long searched high and low, weighing anything with an arc in his hand to see if it could be made into a bow. This is a classic case of "a skilled craftsman must first sharpen his tools." Although Hua Rong could easily hit a target from a hundred paces with any bow, he would have to be careful against an opponent of Pang Wanchun's caliber. 300 did leave behind a few bows, but those were ordinary infantry bows, clearly unsuitable for Hua Rong.
We had just returned to school when we saw Dai Zong running back, covered in sweat. Wu Yong asked, "How's it going at the hospital?" It turned out that Dai Zong was the observation post he had left there.
Dai Zongdao said, "They've already discovered what happened to the Hua Rong brothers. The police have gone there, and the police have classified the case as theft."
Hua Rong was taken aback and said, "If I go missing, it should be considered kidnapping, not theft."
I said, "What you're doing is different from abducting a mentally challenged child, because you're more like a potted plant. What else is this but theft?"
Dai Zong waved his hands repeatedly: "Listen to me, the most serious thing isn't that, it's Hua Rong's girlfriend—"
Hua Rong asked, "What do you mean?"
I said, "She'll be your future wife."