Chapter 11: Buying a Gun for Self-Defense

Liu Heming was considered a wealthy man now. After parting ways with Liu Yi, he went on a major shopping spree.

In Xiangshui Town, aside from still being called a town, daily necessities were really not complete. Apart from him, there were only the fourteen other households. Besides basic living necessities, if you wanted to buy anything else, you had to depend on luck.

So Liu Heming bought a lot of things during this shopping trip. He also bought some seeds and fertilizer. To reward himself, he bought three steaks.

Just this alone cost him over four hundred US Dollars, filling up the bed of his old pickup truck.

He also filled up with gasoline while he was there. The gasoline here was quite cheap, but that meant in the town where he bought his supplies. It was two dollars and eighty cents per gallon, and it would be even cheaper if you got a membership card. If it were in Xiangshui Town, well, it was directly three dollars and fifty cents per gallon, and you could take it or leave it.

He drove fast all the way, and it took over two hours to get back to Xiangshui Town. He didn’t rush back to his ranch yet; he still had to take care of some procedures here.

“Hi, Dexter, it looks like this shopping trip was very successful. But I suggest you drive your car to John’s repair shop for a check-up. I always feel its condition isn’t very good,” Town Mayor George greeted Liu Heming very warmly when he saw him.

“George, thank you for your kindness. But you must tell John to give me a discount. I came to you because I have something to handle. I want to change the name of my ranch. Can I do the paperwork here?” Liu Heming said with a smile.

“Of course, no problem. I’ll only charge you thirty-five US Dollars for the processing fee,” George said with a smile.

Liu Heming didn’t know if this fee was reasonable or not, and he couldn’t really say much. Although George became the town mayor because it was his turn, and the residents in this town were pitifully few, he was still the town mayor after all.

He was alone here, and the people in this town were also a bit distant from him, but they were still neighbors. If he needed their help with anything in the future, before going to George’s town mayor office, Liu Heming also brought a case of beer.

“Dexter, what do you plan to change the name to?” George asked after getting ready.

“Change it to ‘Magical Ranch’,” Liu Heming said, then opened a bottle of beer and handed it to George.

“Thank you, Dexter. Wait a moment, I’ll fill out the form for you quickly,” George said with a smile as he took it. He also took out a pair of reading glasses from his drawer and put them on.

Liu Heming didn’t disturb him and let him fill it out based on his original registration information. After the form was filled out, he signed his English name on it, and of course, the thirty-five US Dollars couldn’t be missing.

“Really good beer. Thank you again, Dexter,” George said with a smile, raising the beer in his hand. It was unclear whether he was truly thanking him for the beer or for Liu Heming coming to him to handle the procedures.

“George, I’m curious, why don’t people here sell their land and move to another town to live?” Liu Heming asked after clinking bottles with him.

“Those who stay here all have some means of livelihood. Actually, there’s a lot of land in the town now, and it’s all sitting idle. It just depends on whether anyone comes here to invest. If that happens, life might get better for the rest of us who stayed,” George said with a smile.

“As for us who stayed, although the ranches at home aren’t very prosperous, they can still meet our living needs. There are also some people, like John, who run a repair shop and a hardware store. Lewis has his own inn and fast-food restaurant. Anderson runs his own supermarket.”

“Xiangshui Town is situated by the highway, so there’s some extra income. We don’t have grand ambitions. Even if life in Xiangshui Town is tough, it’s enough to support our families.”

Liu Heming nodded. People often say that those living near mountains live off the mountains, and those near water live off the water. Here, being by the highway, they naturally had their own way of living. Just as George said, as long as you were willing to work hard, your livelihood was pretty much guaranteed.

“By the way, George, I want to apply for a gun license and buy a gun. Can I do that here?” Liu Heming continued.

“I’d really like to help you with the gun license, but Anderson would probably get mad at me. Come on, I’ll take you over there. He not only sells guns but can also handle gun licenses,” George said with a smile.

This was somewhat unexpected for Liu Heming. He thought that even if there was no sheriff here, things like applying for a gun license should still be handled by the town mayor. He didn’t expect it to be delegated to someone else.

Actually, Liu Heming didn’t have a very good impression of this supermarket owner, Anderson. When he went to his store to buy things, Anderson was always indifferent. And from today’s shopping, he also found that the prices at Anderson’s place were a bit high.

Sure enough, when they went over this time, Anderson’s expression was very unpleasant again. Because through the window, he had also seen all the food and supplies in the back of Liu Heming’s truck.

“Anderson, don’t put on such a sour face. Dexter is already a resident of our town, so you should give him discounted prices. Moreover, he’s here to support your business this time—to get a gun license and buy a gun,” George said, patting Anderson on the shoulder.

“You never told me, how was I supposed to know? The stuff in his truck cost me at least twenty US Dollars in lost profit,” Anderson complained.

“I really miss the old days. I used to order goods twice a week. Now? Ordering once a month feels like too much.”

“Tell me your driver’s license or social security number. I need to do some paperwork. Go over to that cabinet to choose a gun. The left side has new guns, the right side has used ones.”

Liu Heming nodded, placed his driver’s license on the table, and went to the counter where the guns were displayed. There weren’t many types, and the new guns were quite expensive, so he could only look at the used guns.

There weren’t many used guns either: two shotguns, and then a few handguns. The prices weren’t marked below them.

He thought that against wolves, handguns wouldn’t be very useful. Shotguns would be better, with a larger area of effect, and he wouldn’t have to aim so carefully.

“Anderson, I’ll take that newer-looking shotgun,” Liu Heming said after returning.

“We still need to wait for verification. That gun is a Remington 870, well-maintained. I’ll give you two boxes of ammunition too. Including the license processing fee, just give me two hundred US Dollars,” Anderson said as he took the gun out from under the counter.

“Dexter, even though Anderson looks like a miser, he’s actually kind-hearted. This time, I can even vouch that he didn’t make any profit,” George said with a laugh from the side.

“It seems it’s my fault then. I should have made it clear last time that I’m a resident of Xiangshui Town,” Liu Heming joined in with a light-hearted remark.