I used the Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) to fight the Japanese.

"Huh? There's a reward? Great!"

"You get paid to fight the Japanese? Does that mean we're really soldiers?"

"Great reward! Only when my family can live a good life can I concentrate on fighting the Japanese! Let's do it!"

"Great! One hundred yuan can buy two cows!"

Everyone got excited when they heard there was a reward. They were already focused on fighting the Japanese and getting revenge, and now that they could get money, they were thrilled.

"Alright! As long as everyone fights the Japanese to the best of their ability and doesn't let their hard work go to waste, the first reward should go to Dadi and Goumao. It was because they found out the situation in the opium den that this operation was possible. Each of them will be rewarded with twenty-five yuan. Does anyone have any objections?"

"Twenty-five! That's enough to buy an acre of land! A few more trips and I'll have enough to get married!"

"We should take it! We can't fight a war without news!"

"It should!"

"No comment!"

"That's good! Here, both of you keep these safe, don't lose them!" Mancang said, taking out fifty yuan in legal tender and handing them to the two of them.

"Great! ...This is the first time I've received so much money...It's worth it!" Both of them were farmhands, and they used to work for landlords for a year and didn't even get this much money. They were both very excited as they clutched the money.

"Don't squander your money. Save it so you can get married and settle down!" Third Master admonished from the side.

“That’s right! We’re all from poor families, we have to know how to manage our lives!” the carpenter said.

"Don't worry, everyone, we're not extravagant people!" Dog Hair said excitedly.

“Alright, let’s continue. Next, the reward is Manxiang! When we raided the opium den, Manxiang had a brilliant idea: he lightly knocked on the door to lure the men inside out, allowing him to kill them in one fell swoop. Everyone followed suit, which not only protected us but also kept our team a secret! The reward is twenty-five yuan. Does everyone agree?” Mancang continued.

"Agreed! I was about to kick the door when Manxiang stopped me, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to take over the entire opium den so stealthily. He should be rewarded!" Tiger was the first to speak up.

"They should be rewarded! Everyone is learning to kill enemies by filling their chests; if they really made a fuss, it wouldn't have been so smooth!" the big move declared.

"That's right, the award deserves it!"

"agree!"

"Alright, next up is Tiger! It was Tiger who led the two dogs to discover the guardhouse window, allowing us to shoot arrows through the window and take down the five guards in one fell swoop, securing the victory of the mission. So, Tiger gets a reward of twenty-five yuan, no objections, right?"

"No objections! Tiger deserves the award!"

"It should!"

"agree!"

"Alright! Now that the rewards have been distributed, who do you think we forgot?" Man Cang asked, looking at everyone. Distributing rewards should be done in a way that everyone accepts willingly; if it makes people feel resentful, then the reward loses its meaning.

Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads to indicate that no one had been overlooked. After all, compared to these four, their performance was indeed quite average and there was nothing remarkable about it.

"Since nothing has been overlooked, let's move on to the next matter. We've all come together to fight the Japanese, so there are a few rules that must be explained, and everyone must strictly abide by them!"

"The first rule is opium. No one in our team can touch it, whether it's smoking or selling it! Opium is extremely harmful. Our goal in raiding opium dens is to free our fellow villagers from the harm caused by opium. If we ourselves continue to use opium, how are we any different from those traitors? Can everyone do that?" Mancang asked seriously.

"No problem! That thing is a blood-sucking demon; whoever touches it is doomed!"

"Don't touch it! It's too dangerous!"

“Can’t we just sell them? ... It would be such a waste to destroy so many of them! ... They’re worth a lot of money! ...” Man Gui said in a low voice.

“Selling it is out of the question! Of course, that thing is valuable, and we need money to build our team and fight the Japanese. But have you thought about who will suffer if we sell it? Isn’t it the ordinary people? How can we do things that harm the people? This is a red line! If anyone crosses it, don’t blame us for being ruthless!” Mancang said sternly.

“Yes! A gentleman loves money, but he earns it in a proper way. Brother, you really can’t touch that stuff, it’s harmful! If you need money, you can find another way!” Manxiang said reluctantly, seeing that Mangui was still reluctant to speak up.

"I...I know! I won't touch it!..." Man Gui said timidly when he saw how stern Man Cang was.

"That's good! The second rule is no bullying men or women! If you want to find a wife, find a good girl and pursue her properly, but we can't do anything that bullies women! Japanese soldiers bully women, traitors bully women, bandits and thugs bully women, but our Mo Dao Regiment can't! This is also a red line!"

"The third rule is that ordinary people must not be robbed..."

That evening, Mancang spent over two hours explaining all the rules to everyone. There weren't a huge number of people, but there were enough of them. Only by establishing clear boundaries in everyone's minds, letting them know what they can and cannot do, can the team go further.

Afterwards, Manxiang was appointed as the accountant to assist him in managing accounts and logistics, while Huzi and Dazhao assisted the vice captain in training and combat. The group chatted and drank together until late at night before finally falling into a deep sleep.

The next day, Tiger, Da Zhao, and the other craftsmen each took a dog home. The Japanese had withdrawn from the checkpoints and were no longer arresting people; it was time to go back and check on things. The reason they each took a dog was inspired by Big Yellow and Black from last time. It was fine if nothing happened, but if something did, the dogs could come back and report.

The villagers watched them leave the village, each choosing their own favorite activity to train in: playing with dogs, archery, swordplay, and doing pull-ups – they were all quite busy. Training couldn't stop when there were no missions; fighting the Japanese wasn't something that could be accomplished in a short time.

Without making a sound, Zhao Mancang called Li Dadi, Gou Mao, Diezi, and Wang Chunhua into the room to talk.

"Diezi, Chunhua, I'm planning to have you two settle down and make a living with them in Qili Township and Xiahou Town, gathering intelligence for the team. Are you two willing?" Zhao Mancang asked bluntly.

"Gathering information?...I'm afraid I won't do it well..." The two of them hesitated for a moment and said timidly.

They were all from farming families, and they were usually quite capable of doing laundry, cooking, sewing, and mending. They were all a little timid when they heard about inquiring about information.

"What? You mean you want the two of us to stay in two different places with them? Is that...is that appropriate?" Li Dadi said awkwardly, looking at his two daughters.

“Yes! They both have skills. You two can pretend to be a couple and run a small business in two different places without attracting attention, and it will also make it easier for us to settle down there. What? You don’t want to?” Mancang asked, staring at him.

“Well… I haven’t gotten married yet…” Li Dadi muttered.

"Get lost! Is pretending to be a couple really going to delay your marriage? In this chaos, do you think you can find a wife anytime soon? Dream on!" Zhao Mancang scolded irritably.

"I'm willing! I'll do anything to fight the Japanese, I'm just afraid I won't do a good job and will delay things..." Diezi said, looking up with determination in his eyes.