Thinking of this, Hesta jumped down from the stool, opened the door and walked out.
"Where are you going? It's time to eat soon." Mother's voice came from behind.
"I'm going to see old Charlie, mother," Hestad replied. "Today is 'supply day,' and I'm going to see if he has any new stuff."
The young mother laughed and said, "Shall we eat first?"
"No, I'll be back in a minute!"
Hesta said, already running out.
Her home was in the backyard of the old Charlie's store. Passing through the warehouse, in front of you is Old Charlie's store. Sure enough, old Charlie was smoking a pipe and cleaning his firearm rifle with a clean white cotton cloth.
Old Charlie was short and stooped. He was blind in one eye. It was said that he was accidentally injured by a misfired shotgun while hunting birds when he was young.
When the old man saw Hesta, he laughed: "I thought you didn't have the guts to come."
"I have!"
"Hahahahaha, what a fart you are!" Old Charlie laughed and pulled out a book from his messy shop, "Take this and go home quickly, don't delay me from doing my business."
Hesta took the book and took a look - it was "Edgar's Dark Tales Part 2".
"But what I want is a glass bell jar!" Hesta shouted.
"Damn the glass bell jar. There is no such precious thing in this place. It will shatter into pieces if you pull it."
"But you said before that there was a way-"
"Here." Old Charlie pushed the rifle in front of Hesta, "If you really want something, just go and get it yourself, you know?"
"Let's go," Hesta held the gun and looked at it, "let's go now."
In Short Alley, there is at least one "supply day" every month.
In the past, Hesta did not understand what a "supply day" was. She only knew that every ten or twenty days, old Charlie would set off early, carrying a gun and holding a horse, walking more than ten miles south. .
When night falls, he will come back with men and horses and a large amount of supplies.
He couldn't guarantee that every time he came back something was necessary at the moment, but these things were always rare and extremely useful.
After he was a little older, Hestad realized that the so-called "supplies" were not secretly given to old Charlie, but intercepted by him.
Every month, some planes of unknown origin drop supplies into the wilderness near Short Ring Alley, some of which are firearms, and some of which are cans.
These planes will drop the supplies together with parachutes when they are close to the drop site. If the drop site can be known in advance, then old Charlie can find a suitable place nearby - usually on the top of a mountain - to prepare an ambush. .
When the dropped supply box began to glide down parabolically with initial speed, he immediately used bullets to break the parachute ropes.
Material boxes that lose their balance at high altitudes will fall quickly. Old Charlie roughly notes their locations on the top of the mountain, and after confirming that they are safe, he goes to pick up the missing items.
Although this method does not work every time, sometimes it is because the shot misses, and sometimes it is because the opponent follows the sound of the gun and comes over.
But in most cases, he can get it successfully, because the place of delivery is always in the dense forest near Short Ming Lane for concealment, and the person who takes the goods does not always dare to go deep into the forest - just for one or two boxes of out-of-condition items. Supplies, it’s not worth taking the risk.
"Every gun has a different magazine, so you have to observe it yourself."
Old Charlie held Hesta in his arms and taught her how to shoot.
“Like this, you have to hold the magazine and insert it from the front, not straight up or down.
"When loading a gun, many people are used to using their dominant hand, the trigger hand, to pull the bolt. This is wrong."
Old Charlie grabbed Hestad's left hand, passed it from the bottom of the gun to the right side of the rifle, and loaded it with his left hand.
"At no time can your trigger finger be too far away from the trigger. Understand? This way you can always maintain an effective attack posture."
Hesta nodded silently.
"Now, put your finger on the outside of the trigger, put the butt of the gun against your shoulder, and lean your body slightly forward - be prepared for the recoil."
Old Charlie grabbed Hesta's head and pressed it against the butt of the gun. "Put your face tightly against the butt of the gun. Then, find the front sight."
"...Which one are you looking at?" Hesta asked.
"Look at the front sight. Always use the front sight to aim at the target. The rear sight is for you to use as a reference to see if you have leveled the gun."
As he said that, Old Charlie suddenly patted Hestad on the shoulder.
"What did I just say? The butt of the gun is firmly against your shoulder! Otherwise, if you press the trigger, your shoulder will be broken!"
Hestad immediately did so.
The sound of airplanes was faintly heard in the distant sky, and Hestad could already see small black dots slowly approaching her direction.
"Last point, you must remember it." The old man's voice was hoarse. "You must remember it."
"Um?"
"Never rob in a dangerous place,"
"Then what should you do when you are in danger...?"
"Run, run far away, and let those who run slower than you die for you," Old Charlie said with a face, "You must never let yourself fall into a situation where you can only face the enemy alone, do you understand?"
Old Charlie's voice became hazy.
Everything around her began to become heavy, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck from the sky, and a sudden thunderstorm hit her face - she and old Charlie returned to the backyard of the shop.
Old Charlie grabbed her by the back of her collar and was wading through the knee-deep rain to take her away.
The sky and the earth turned back to dark blue, and only suddenly became white at the moment of lightning.
The heavy rain was almost painful when the wind hit her body. Hesta realized something and tried her best to break away from old Charlie's hand.
"Where are you--where are you taking me!"
"Get out of here!"
"No! Mom... Mom hasn't come back yet—"
Old Charlie’s voice and thunder sounded at the same time, “She won’t come back!
"I shouldn't have saved you in the first place... Her brain is completely rusted, and she will never be able to remember the lesson in her life - little kid, listen, she doesn't want you anymore! Get out of the Short Alley too - —”
Old Charlie tied Hesta to the horse.
On a rainy night, he took Hesta and ran all the way north without stopping. At dawn, the old man threw Hesta on the roadside. He untied the rope from her body and threw her a pack of cans.
"Next time I see you, I will kill you——"
Old Charlie sat on the horse and turned the horse's head.
"If you want to live, go north... keep going north, to the Severn Mountains, and never come back!"
…
Hesta opened her eyes suddenly.
Everything in front of her was quiet and peaceful, and the moonlight filtered through the window and fell on the floor in front of her bed.
Hesta took a deep breath, her teeth trembled slightly, and she sat up with one hand on the bed.
The pillow was soaked and her face was covered in tears.
