Newborn 1927

The members of Qinglong Village didn't disperse but stayed to continue their discussion. Yang Jiefang said, "Brothers, from now on we must strive for our common goal. When we return to Qinglong Village, I will have a series of plans to implement. Before that, I would like to ask, according to Qinglong Village's past practices, what kind of status will we get after we return?" Hou Fei interjected, "Why even ask? We've gained a lot this time, and we can even bring a bunch of young men up the mountain. We should be able to occupy a few tables in the main hall." Everyone else nodded in agreement. Yang Jiefang frowned and said, "A small seat in the main hall is hardly our goal. To be honest, brothers, what I want is the entire Qinglong Village. Do you have any ideas on how we can quickly take control of this force?" This question stumped everyone. If they had a way, they wouldn't be in their current position.

Sun Zhiyong pondered, "The stronghold has always valued contributions. Whoever contributes more to the stronghold has higher prestige and can control more men. But to control the entire Qinglong Stronghold, it's not a matter of contribution size; you have to get past the leader first." Everyone looked troubled; clearly, replacing the leader, Black Widow, wouldn't be easy. Hou Fei, however, said slyly, "I have an idea that might allow us to quickly take over the entire Qinglong Stronghold." Everyone's faces lit up, urging him to speak quickly. Hou Fei smiled and said unhurriedly, "If Brother Yang marries Miss Gao, wouldn't taking over Qinglong Stronghold be much easier?" Everyone's eyes lit up, and they all looked at Yang Jiefang.

The succession of the mountain stronghold has always been a bloodline system, with sons succeeding fathers and brothers succeeding brothers. Yang Jiefang and Black Widow are not related, so even if he makes great contributions, becoming the second-in-command might be possible, but replacing the leader would be difficult. However, if he could marry her daughter, taking over Green Dragon Stronghold would be a natural progression.

Yang Jiefang's lips twitched, and he said, "What a terrible idea! I've never even met Miss Gao, so there's absolutely no emotional foundation between us. Even putting aside feelings, Miss Gao isn't someone I can just marry whenever I want." Sun Zhiyong nodded and began to analyze seriously, saying, "There are indeed quite a few people in the whole village who have their eyes on Miss Gao. Miss Gao has high standards; ordinary people really don't meet her standards. Iron Abacus Kong Zongru can write and calculate, but he's all talk and no action; White-Eyed Wolf Bai Lang is brave and good at fighting, but he's all action and no writing; Gossip..." "He's clever and intelligent, but he's blind to everything; the others are either too old or too ugly. Brother Yang, you're about the same age as Miss Gao, and you're handsome and a scholar. If you practice martial arts and marksmanship, your advantages will be obvious." The others agreed, and Hou Fei said, "Then let's practice hard! Brother Sun, you teach him marksmanship; Brother Yan, you teach him fist and foot techniques. Brother Yang, you're so smart, as long as you're willing to learn, it shouldn't be difficult for you to learn." Everyone looked at Yang Jiefang with anticipation.

Yang Jiefang's heart skipped a beat, and he agreed, "Very good! I'll devise a training plan, but you all have to train with me. We'll train during the day and study and learn to read at night." Having said that, no one dared to back out, and they all agreed. Yang Jiefang was secretly pleased; if he didn't train them until they cried for their parents, he'd have wasted his time studying in America. When he was studying in the US, he had experienced the full training program of the US Navy SEALs at a military enthusiast club. Although it was a simplified version, the instructor was a genuine retired Navy SEAL, and he had explained the passing scores for each subject to Yang Jiefang.

Yan Donglai suddenly spoke up, "Brother Yang, we've gotten so much money this time, how much do you plan to keep?" Yang Jiefang looked puzzled and asked, "What do you mean?" Yan Donglai explained, "It's always been like this in the stronghold. We can keep a portion of the money we get from feasting outside, as long as it's not too excessive. Generally, no one will pursue it." Yang Jiefang asked, "So, this practice itself is against the rules, but everyone just doesn't say it out loud. What should we do with this money we keep?" Yan Donglai replied, "Of course, everyone gets a share. You, as the leader, can take the lion's share; you give us a plan on how much the others should get." Yang Jiefang looked around at everyone and saw that no one seemed to object, and they all seemed to agree with this approach. Yang Jiefang frowned and said, “Brothers, if we only consider the interests of our small team, then doing this is indeed not wrong. However, I hope everyone can broaden their perspective and at least consider the interests of our entire Qinglong Village. We can get a considerable reward by handing over this money; there's no need to be so petty as to act for such a small amount. Brothers, we are destined for great things; we can't be so narrow-minded.” Everyone lowered their heads in response, but Yan Donglai shook his head and retorted, “In that case, we should keep a portion of the money!”

Yang Jiefang was taken aback and asked, "Why is that?" Yan Donglai explained, "As a leader, you need to have some wealth. Take the head of the village, for example! Logically, she should have the most private assets in our Qinglong Village. In reality, she doesn't have much. Although she receives the most, her expenses are also the greatest. Whenever Qinglong Village faces a shortage of funds, she uses her own assets to supplement the income; if anyone urgently needs money but is short of funds, she will also help them. If you take over Qinglong Village, while lofty goals are important, tangible benefits are also essential." Yang Jiefang was struck by this, feeling enlightened. In later generations, teamwork is highly valued, as individual abilities are limited and the division of labor in society is becoming increasingly specialized. However, almost all teams, when discussing teamwork, emphasize the dedication of their members; I've never heard of a team giving back to its members. When someone encounters difficulties, doesn't they borrow money from relatives and friends?

At this moment, Yang Jiefang finally understood how secure Black Widow's position was in Qinglong Village, and he couldn't help but admire her. After some thought, Yang Jiefang shook his head and said, "One thing at a time. If the leader can use his own private assets to subsidize everyone, then we certainly can't hide anything. Brothers, once we return to Qinglong Village, I will use my share of the money to subsidize everyone. As for the matter of secretly keeping some money, let's not mention it again, okay?" Everyone was taken aback, looked at each other, and finally reached a consensus, saying, "If you don't want to keep it, then don't! As for your share, you can keep it yourself!" This was exactly the result Yang Jiefang had hoped for, and he said, "Then let's stop here for now! Brothers, please take good care of your belongings. We'll stay another night and decide our next move tomorrow." Everyone agreed and dispersed.

Yang Jiefang went to the study alone, waiting for those from Zhao Family Village who were willing to leave with him to report. But before they arrived, he heard cries for help. Yang Jiefang immediately got up and rushed out. The cries were coming from a room not far away, where the women of the Zhao family—Zhao Jinyuan's wife, eldest daughter-in-law, and youngest daughter—were originally imprisoned. When Yang Jiefang arrived, the door, which had been locked, was now missing the lock, and the door was ajar. Yang Jiefang pushed the door open and saw a person lying on the floor, lifeless—Zhao Jinyuan's wife; another person was huddled in a corner, clutching their head and covering their ears—Li, the wife of Zhao Changren, Zhao Jinyuan's eldest daughter-in-law. On a large bed, a man was struggling, his upper body on the bed, while a woman was pinned beneath him, desperately crying for help. Yang Jiefang immediately recognized the woman as Zhao Jinyuan's youngest daughter, Zhao Xiaohui, the same age as him. Enraged, Yang Jiefang rushed forward, grabbed the man by the back of his collar with his left hand and yanked him hard, while simultaneously throwing a punch with his right. The man, in pain, released Zhao Xiaohui and stumbled back several steps before regaining his footing. Zhao Xiaohui's hair was disheveled, and the buttons of her outer garment had been ripped open, revealing her bright red undergarment. She hurriedly got up and covered herself with her hands. Only then did Yang Jiefang realize that the man was none other than Wang Sanlaizi. This room was normally guarded by the Zhao Family Village security team, but Yang Jiefang had sent them home; as a result, Wang Sanlaizi had taken advantage of the situation.

Yang Jiefang had initially thought it was someone from Qinglong Village, which would have been quite troublesome. But seeing it was Wang Sanlaizi, he felt relieved and angrily said, "Wang Sanlaizi, how dare you! You dare to commit adultery in broad daylight! You're truly audacious!" Wang Sanlaizi had been punched on the right cheek and was in excruciating pain. He covered his face with his hand, secretly glanced around, and seeing that it was only Yang Jiefang, he seemed quite relieved. His eyes darted around, and he said, "I wouldn't dare to talk nonsense. Zhao Xiaohui is my betrothed. What law have I broken by being intimate with my own wife?" Yang Jiefang was stunned and laughed, "Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself? You think you're worthy?" Zhao Xiaohui was very beautiful and was the daughter of a landlord; Wang Sanlaizi was ugly, and three generations of his family had been her servants, essentially slaves. A beautiful young lady paired with an ugly servant? It just didn't seem right.

Wang Sanlaizi retorted, "This was promised by Master Zhao himself; she'd marry into the family once she turned eighteen. Now that something's happened to her family, it's not wrong for me to take her home early, is it?" Although Zhao Xiaohui and Yang Jiefang were only fifteen years old, according to the current system, they would be seventeen by the new year. Early marriage was common in this era, and they were considered of marriageable age. Yang Jiefang, however, didn't believe Wang Sanlaizi's nonsense and scoffed, "Wang Sanlaizi, your grandfather was a big leper, your father was a second leper, everyone in Zhao Family Village knows what kind of people your family has been through! Zhao Jinyuan is dead, say whatever you want. If even one person in Zhao Family Village believes your nonsense, I'll admit defeat. You're really a toad trying to eat swan meat; your ambitions are too high!"

At this moment, Lu Ziqi walked in from outside. He had also come to investigate after hearing the commotion. He had a rifle slung over his left shoulder and a large knife in his right. Not knowing what had happened inside, he simply stood by and watched. Wang Sanlaizi, a man adept at assessing situations and changing course with the wind, knew he was unlikely to succeed today and naturally wanted to escape as quickly as possible. He turned to Zhao Xiaohui and said, "Miss Zhao, did you hear everything I just said? Think carefully about your choice!" Then he cupped his hands in a smile to Yang Jiefang and said, "Brother Yang, I have other matters to attend to, please excuse me. Hehe..."

Yang Jiefang frowned and shouted, "Stop! You think you can just walk away after the attempted rape?" Wang Sanlaizi denied it, crying, "Brother Yang, you can't wrong me like that! I already said, she's my fiancée." Yang Jiefang's face darkened, and he said, "Wang Sanlaizi, I know your little tricks very well. Remember this, I'm in charge here now. Whatever you said to Zhao Xiaohui just now is nonsense!" Lu Ziqi, standing to the side, gripped his broadsword tightly, glaring fiercely at Wang Sanlaizi, looking like he was about to cleave him in two at any moment. Wang Sanlaizi's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes. You're in charge. You can do whatever you want with the Zhao family. I'm nothing, I'll leave... I'll leave..." as he spoke, backing away. Yang Jiefang, however, had no intention of letting him off so easily. He said sternly, "For a rapist like you, whether it's a completed or attempted rape, I have only one attitude: castrate him to prevent future troubles." With that, he stepped forward and kicked out a leg-severing kick.