Mistakenly Connected to the Jade Flower Branch

Nianyao said, "You have such delicate skin, it's hard to say."

Nanfei said, "If you can heal your barrel waist, my superficial injury is nothing."

Nianyao said, "Young Master Nan, there is an animal with big eyes but distorted vision."

Nanfei said, "Chief Xue, there's a kind of animal that's short itself but looks down on others!"

With Nianyao around, there was no peace and quiet. Luo An walked out. He heard Nianyao say behind him, "Uncle Liu said that if I don't want to be the gang leader, he'll let me go back to Bianjing with your young master."

Luo An stopped and turned around. Nan Fei jumped up: "What are you going back to Bianjing with the young master for? You're not going to cling to him, are you?"

Nianyao said, "He and I are a married couple who have gone through a wedding ceremony. What business is it of yours if I cling to him? Why are you in such a hurry? Do you have ulterior motives towards him...?"

"Nonsense!" Nan Fei blurted out. "Not a chance!"

Nianyao said, "Do you own the door? You can say it's there or it isn't..."

Nanfei and Nianyao were arguing fiercely. Qin Jiu came over and chimed in, "Chief, there's a letter for you."

The letter was written by Ji Kongming, and consisted of only a few simple sentences: "Sister Yao: Your brother has founded the Jinhe Gang and sincerely invites you to come and enjoy the bright moon together and share your feelings. Kongming."

Nanfei noticed Nianyao's strange expression, leaned over to glance at her, and laughed, "You just said you were going back to Bianjing with the young master, and now you're going to be all lovey-dovey with Ji Kongming. Chief Xue, no matter how good you are at steering the boat, you can't be two-timing."

Nianyao glanced at him and turned away. She sat in the small hall of Yaochi, lost in thought, the letter lying right in front of her.

How many years has Ji Kongming been with her? Nianyao doesn't remember. From small boats to large ships, from the Pangu Ship to Chongming Island, Ji Kongming has always been there.

Since the father had no son, some people encouraged him to adopt Ji Kongming as his godson, while others encouraged Ji Kongming to call the father his godfather. The father had considered this, but for some reason, it didn't work out. However, the Dahe Gang all tacitly accepted Ji Kongming as the father's godson.

Over the years, they've spent time together enjoying the spring blossoms, admiring the autumn moon, feeling the summer breeze, and watching the winter snow. They've also practiced martial arts together, gone down the river together, steered the boat together, and transported goods together... Nianyao thought life would continue like this forever, but who would have thought it would take such a dramatic turn?

If we had listened to Xu Lai's advice and brought Ji Kongming back, would things have been different?

One wrong step leads to another. She thought that as long as she waited quietly on Chongming Island, Ji Kongming would return, but he didn't.

Ji Kongming is so proud, why would she take the initiative to come back? If she apologizes and admits her mistake, will they reconcile?

Early on the morning of July 15th, Nianyao convened a meeting in the side hall and formally announced her decision: "I intend to hand over the Dahe Gang to Brother Kongming."

The group looked at each other, but no one spoke.

Nianyao waited a while and then said, "Father once told me that the establishment of the Great River Gang was not for fame, fortune, or power, but for the smooth flow of water transport throughout the world and to benefit the fishermen who rely on the river for their livelihood. If that's the case, there's no need to compete with Brother Kongming. After handing the Great River Gang over to Brother Kongming, the order of the river will return to normal, the brothers' income will not decrease, the boat captains will take care of each other, everything will return to normal, and everything will be as it was before."

Still, no one spoke. The silence was so profound that Nianyao felt suffocated.

Nianyao said, "Uncle Liu, what do you think?"

Liu Lin said, "Since the gang leader has made his decision, I have no objection."

Nianyao asked, "And you?"

Qin Jiu said calmly, "If Brother Liu has no objections, how dare we have any?"

Jingsong and Xuesong swallowed back what they wanted to say. If the older generation had nothing to say, then they, being younger, had even less right to utter a sound.

Nianyao said, "If there are no objections, we will set off tomorrow. Uncle Liu and Uncle Xu will stay here, and Uncle Jiu and Brother Jingsong will come with me."

Xu Lai suddenly asked, "Chief, what should we do about the young master?"

Nianyao asked, "What does this have to do with him?"

Qin Jiu said, "This is a major matter, and Young Master should know about it. Let me tell you."

Nianyao nodded and then shook her head: "I'll talk to him myself."

On the morning of the same day, the fifteenth of July, Ji Kongming and Jin Hu sat side by side at the head of the main hall in the east courtyard of Yuezhou. The Xueyue Troupe, invited from Xiangcheng County, was singing and dancing, while girls from Yixiang Courtyard in Xiangcheng County stood around the tables, serving wine.

Yun Song and Hong Song stood at the entrance of the main hall to greet the guests. Xia Likun and Jin Yue led the brothers of the Golden Tiger Gang from the entrance of the main hall in two lines to the dock, each of them holding a large knife and looking fierce.

The ship captain, who had just arrived at the dock, was terrified and his legs went weak at the sight of this spectacle. By the time he reached the main hall, he dared not breathe, his eyes darting around, and he dared not utter a word.

By noon, a total of thirty boatmen had arrived. The vast majority were boatmen from the Xiang River, and a small number were boatmen from the section of the Xiang River upstream of its confluence with the Jing River.

Ji Kongming dismissed the dancers, and he and Jin Hu rose with wine in hand, followed by the captains of all the ships.

Ji Kongming said, "You have come from afar, which shows your respect for Ji Kongming, the Jinhe Gang, and the Jinhu Gang. Ji Kongming and Vice Gang Leader Jinhu respectfully greet you all, ship captains."

Ji Kongming and Jin Hu downed their drinks in one gulp, and the boatmen, not daring to slack off, followed suit, tilting their heads back and drinking theirs in one go.

Ji Kongming continued, "From today onwards, Brother Jin and I will witness the history of the Golden River Gang together with all of you ship captains. I will certainly not let you down. I am young and cannot compare with the old gang leader or the senior ship captains, but compared with a young girl, I believe I am still much better."

A wise bird chooses its tree to perch on, and a loyal subject chooses his lord to serve. You are all discerning and capable individuals. Since you have chosen to follow me, please hand over your "River" tokens in exchange for the Golden River Gang's Golden Tiger Head Token.

Yun Song and Hong Song came from the left and right sides in turn, each carrying a plate with a golden tiger-head inscription on it. The front of the plate was in the shape of a tiger's head, and the back was engraved with golden characters.

The ship owners silently placed the tokens on the plate and then picked up the tiger-head tokens. No one uttered a sound throughout the entire process; only the clanging of metal against metal was truly awe-inspiring.

Ji Kongming was very satisfied and said with a smile, "Starting next month, everyone must send a copy of last month's account book to Yuezhou. Apart from necessary expenses and the guaranteed monthly salary, all other income should be sent along with the account book. If anyone conceals or lies, the first offense will result in the removal of the ship manager from his post, and the second offense will result in a live sacrifice to the river god."

All the ship captains were taken aback.

Ji Kongming scanned the entire room, taking in their reactions, and suddenly raised his voice: "Did everyone hear me clearly?"

The voice was sharp. The ship captains felt a chill run down their spines and said in unison, "We heard you clearly."

Hongsong took three steps forward: "Today is the first day of the official establishment of the Jinhe Gang. All the ship captains pay their respects to the gang leader with gang etiquette."

The ship captains knelt on one knee, clasped their hands in greeting, and straightened their backs, saying, "Greetings, Chief."

“This is a gift from the Great River Gang; the Golden River Gang need not accept it.” Hongsong was the first to kneel down, clench his fists and place them on his heart, bowing deeply and looking down: “Greetings, Gang Leader.”

The first rule of the Dahe Gang: No kneeling greetings!

The Dahe Gang takes the single-knee kneeling salute very seriously, and it has only been done twice so far: once when joining the Dahe Gang and once when the old leader passed away. At all other times, they bow.

When Nianyao succeeded to the position of gang leader, the ship owners, being older and more senior than her, bowed instead of kneeling. Ji Kongming was not very old, and most of the ship owners were older and more senior than him.

As the ship owners looked at each other in bewilderment, Jin Hu, who had remained silent until now, laughed and said, "It seems that you are not yet used to the new rules of the Jinhe Gang."