Chapter 40

"Mad rat" green stands at the door of the tavern. The setting sun comes in behind him, casting an orange halo on his outline. He didn't say anything. It was quiet like a sculpture.

Zhao Mai stood up, pulled aside the chair beside him and asked green to sit down. "I've been thinking about where you've been, and now I know you're OK."

"A group of idiots caught me together, and it took me a long time to come back." Green grinned, and red blood could be seen between his teeth. "Those stupid thieves have found the wrong target, so they are willing to return these things."

Zhao Mai took the salt bag and threw it on the table without looking at it. He reached for Green's drooping right shoulder to find out how the injury was. From Green's grinning expression, the injury is not optimistic.

"You are dislocated. I can cure you." In the spirit of a friend's friend is his friend, dwarf Sok a forward, holding green's arm is a swing. It seems like a mess, but after a few "quacking" and "ouch, Hello," green has been able to lift his shoulders and move normally.

"Thank you, Mr. dwarf. You are a good craftsman."

Suok chuckled, his beard cocked slightly. "It's nothing. I used to swing a pickaxe and often dislocated. I've been cured for a long time. Take care not to exert yourself these days and have a lot of rest. "

Zhao Mai nodded, "green, thank you. Let's sit down and have a drink. I'm not good at common language. I need you to explain it for me. "

"Well, that's my job, too. You paid for it."

The dwarf remembered his business and put his musket on the table. The heavy metal pipe made a heavy "bang bang" sound, which scared Zhao Mai to think that he was on fire. On the contrary, green didn't respond. It seems that he really didn't know what it was.

"I don't believe that you know muskets. I haven't seen you before, so I have to test you. " Suok is very proud of his invention. Even if "Mike" is a person he is willing to identify with, he can't lower his standard. "Do you know how to use it?"

Seriously, Zhao Mai has never fired a gun. At least the gun propelled by explosives has never been used. As for the water gun and That doesn't count. But even if his practical ability is zero, his theoretical knowledge is far beyond the world.

Take up the gun, that skilled posture let dwarves all have some envy. He weighed the weight with his hand, and then took a look in front of his eyes. Without a sight, he could only hit blindly. This gun uses rear loading, just like a real double barreled shotgun, which can be folded down by opening a mechanism.

"What do you put in it, can you show me?"

The dwarf took out a small bag from behind, opened it and put it in front of Zhao Mai. Green also looked curiously, but there was no clue from the balls and small paper bags.

After twisting the paper package with his hand, Zhao Mai found that they were all a little damp, and it was as expected. "It's all wet. How can you shoot the iron ball?"

"This thing is afraid of water?" Sok had a look of surprise.

Asked to know that the dwarf Sok has been living underground, never seen rain before, working far away from the water. After he got this explosive medicine, he just improved it according to the craftsman's intuition, and never did environmental testing. While traveling on the ground, Sok was so excited to see the rain that he got his powder wet. If it can still be ignited by the fire rope, it is the most important thing in the world.

"This gun has a lot to improve in terms of firing mechanism, loading, ammunition, sealing and so on. This is not an overnight thing, I think it can be done as a lifelong work. Even in terms of the life span of dwarves, it will take a generation or two to perfect this weapon. "

That's what Sok wants to hear most - it's a great lifelong career. He thinks of himself as a gifted craftsman, but making swords and hammers doesn't give him much sense of accomplishment, because he didn't invent them. Only this firegun, if it has a bright future, is likely to become a great master.

"I'm not a craftsman. I can only say it from the user's point of view." Zhao Mai said to the dwarf, "this gun, your current manipulation is to open the mechanism, load the bullets, plug the gunpowder, press the fire rope, and then aim. Is this set of actions too cumbersome? If you can use moisture-proof, inflammable and less residue paper, it is not very convenient to match the projectile and gunpowder

"Then the powder and the bullet will be mixed together? It's hard to guarantee the direction. "

"You can wrap them in a paper tube separated by a layer of paper. Mark the head and tail with paint to prevent reverse installation. In this way, won't it all be solved? "

The dwarf suddenly realized that his mouth was in the shape of a standard duck egg. After a few seconds, he held his chin in his hand to close his mouth.

Even a good barrel of wine would not make Sok feel drunk and dizzy. He felt that the inspiration in his heart was as violent as a volcanic eruption. His hands, arms and muscles were shaking. He wanted to start working as soon as possible. "You are absolutely right.""I can only put forward some suggestions for improvement, and I'm not sure if I can do it." Zhao Mai said frankly: "for another example, you can add a aiming mechanism, two fixed protrusions, so that you can aim with your eyes and know the direction of the muzzle. Neither crossbow nor bow can achieve this. Maybe this is the direction of future development. "

The dwarf opened his mouth again, and his admiration for Zhao Mai was beyond measure. If he can come up with better ideas, I will treat him as a mentor for my whole life. Suok the dwarf already has such ideas in his mind.

"In fact, I just had another idea." Zhao Mai pointed to the part of the fire rope and said, "why don't you fix the iron sheet and hit it with flint. As long as a simple stretching rebound device, the problem of ignition can be solved. Of course, if you can use magic to heat the iron sheet, you can probe it when you need to ignite it, and you will save the fire rope. "

"Please allow me to call you teacher." Sok jumped out of his chair and rushed around the table, embracing Zhao Mai's waist. Zhao Mai knows what it's like to be crushed by the debris flow. The three organs of heart, lung and stomach are pouring into the throat, and the intestines are about to be squeezed out. The hateful thing is that the grain reserves wag their tails happily, spit out their tongues, look excited and happy, and do not come to help.

In the end, it was green who said that the dwarf released Zhao Mai. "Teacher, you give me too much inspiration, I want to practice these ideas now!"

Zhao Meishun went along with his anger and considered the language for a while. Then he said to the dwarf, "I also give advice. My hands-on ability is very poor. I can give advice for you at most when you design. If you have a blacksmith's shop, how long do you think it will take you to build another gun? "

"Well If the materials are complete, I mean the stove, anvil, mould and a few helpers Two or three days. "

"What are you waiting for?"

It's an unparalleled passion, and it's the first time the dwarf sock has felt it in someone else. He doesn't know what to use to repay this sense of identity. "I'd love to, I'd love to, but I only have more than twenty gold coins left."

"Give it all to me. I'll solve the problem." Zhao Mai said, "you can rest assured."