Newborn 1927

Wang Sanlaizi, anticipating the attack, dodged the attack. Yang Jiefang, having missed his kick, was inwardly furious; his physical abilities were truly poor, he really needed to train harder. Blood splattered, and Wang Sanlaizi collapsed to the ground. It was Lu Ziqi who had suddenly drawn his knife; Wang Sanlaizi, unable to dodge, had his throat severed. Lu Ziqi snarled, "This kind of person deserves to die!" Yang Jiefang was taken aback; he had intended to punish Wang Sanlaizi, not kill him. Lu Ziqi's unauthorized killing greatly displeased him. But before Yang Jiefang could react, Zhao Xiaohui and her sister-in-law screamed simultaneously in terror. Yang Jiefang and Lu Ziqi both frowned, unable to bear the screams, and quickly dragged Wang Sanlaizi out of the room. Zhao Xiaohui's mother, however, was awakened by the screams and sat up blankly. The mother, daughter, and sister-in-law had been locked in the room since the shooting the previous night and were unaware of what had happened outside. It wasn't until Wang Sanlaizi revealed part of the truth that Zhao Xiaohui's mother was overwhelmed by the shock and fell into a coma.

Yang Jiefang and Lu Ziqi dragged Wang Sanlaizi far away before the screams from the two inside the house stopped. The screams attracted a group of people, including members of Qinglong Village and Zhao Changgui and Zhao Changming from Zhao Family Village. Seeing the puzzled looks on everyone's faces, Yang Jiefang explained, "Wang Sanlaizi tried to bully Zhao Xiaohui, and Brother Lu killed him with a single blow." At this moment, Wang Sanlaizi, whose throat had been severed, was already dead. Zhao Changming sighed, "It's better he's dead; keeping him around would only cause trouble." He turned back to check the room and saw Zhao Xiaohui and two other women huddled together, crying. Zhao Changming didn't speak, but simply closed the door from the outside.

Yang Jiefang summoned the people from Zhao Family Village to his study for a private talk. They seemed to have planned it beforehand; exactly twelve people came, all of whom had participated in the operation the previous night. Wang Dali and Chen Ergou, Yang Jiefang's childhood friends, were now determined to follow him. Besides Zhao Changgui, Zhao Yuanbao, and Li Yifan, the others were originally from the security team; Zhao Changming, Zhao Changzhi, and Zhao Changgen were among them.

Everyone found seats and sat down. Zhao Changming spoke first, saying, "We've discussed it and decided that Changzhi's father will be the new village head. He's educated and kind. Changfu will be the security captain, leading the remaining people to protect the village. We'll go with you to Qinglong Village as a backup plan."

Yang Jiefang carefully scanned everyone and said, "Since you're all willing to follow me, you're my brothers in arms. Let's not talk about the future for now; let's resolve your worries first. Here are twelve slips of paper, representing the twelve oxen of Zhao Jinyuan's family. Each slip has an ox's number written on it. Come and draw lots; whoever draws it gets to keep it." He then scattered the twelve prepared slips of paper on the desk in front of him. Everyone was initially stunned, then overjoyed, and rushed forward to draw lots. Having already received land and grain from Zhao Jinyuan's family today, receiving oxen now seemed like a logical next step, without any sense of incongruity. Moreover, once they had oxen, they wouldn't be short of strong laborers. After choosing, everyone immediately opened their slips of paper, which had numbers and descriptions on them. Yang Jiefang read them aloud one by one, letting them know which ox they had chosen.

When it was Zhao Changgui's turn, he asked doubtfully, "Xiao Yang, isn't this your big bull? Why are you sharing it too?" Yang Jiefang replied, "I'll never come back to farm again. This bull is useless; it's better to share it. It's good that you take it back; it'll save Brother Changfu a lot of work. As for our land, it'll just lie fallow if I keep it. I wonder if you have any good ideas on how to handle it?" Everyone remained silent. Yang Jiefang's land was all top-quality land, currently planted with wheat; if the weather was good, there would be a good harvest next summer. It would be a lie to say they didn't have their own thoughts, but no one would be foolish enough to covet Yang Jiefang's land. Finally, Zhao Changgui spoke up, "How about this? Xiao Yang, I'll take this bull back and raise it. I'll ask my brother about your land; if he's busy, he can help you farm it. If he's not, he'll help you pay rent."

Yang Jiefang thought for a moment and said, "Then let's do it this way for now! I've prepared some silver dollars here. Ten dollars each, you can use them to settle your families, or you can take them with you." He then took the silver dollars out of his desk drawer, stacking them ten dollars in each stack. Ten silver dollars was a huge sum in the countryside. Everyone's eyes lit up, but no one took a dollar. Finally, Zhao Changming spoke up, saying, "Young Yang, you're so thoughtful for your age. This way, everyone will have no worries and can work with you with peace of mind." He then took a stack of ten silver dollars. The others followed suit, taking their share. Then, Yang Jiefang said, "Now everyone go and take your oxen back home, have a good time with your families, and be ready to set off at any time!" Everyone agreed and dispersed.

As evening approached, Hou Fei busied himself in the kitchen, preparing a sumptuous dinner. The staple food was steamed white flour buns, and the main dish was braised chicken pieces. Yang Jiefang had divided up Zhao Jinyuan's oxen, and was taking three horses and two donkeys to help transport supplies; Hou Fei was determined to drive away the flock of sheep as well; the pigs had been slaughtered and distributed to the whole village, the dogs had also been killed, and how could they let the remaining chickens go? Back in Qinglong Village, eating an egg was a treat, and they hadn't tasted chicken in a long time. Now, the people of Qinglong Village controlled the Zhao family compound, and they were eating with great relish! Yang Jiefang served a large bowl of chicken and about ten steamed buns, taking them to Zhao Xiaohui and the other two. This was originally Zhao Changming's job, but since he was now reunited with his family, Yang Jiefang had to do it himself.

Seeing Yang Jiefang enter the room, Zhao Xiaohui and her sister-in-law both turned their faces away, while her mother glared fiercely at Yang Jiefang. Yang Jiefang placed the food on the table and said, "Are you all hungry? Come and eat! It's still hot." Zhao Xiaohui's mother, also surnamed Li, shouted, "You little brat, I never thought you could be so heartless at such a young age! Murder, robbery, and all sorts of evil deeds. Now you come here pretending to bring us food, do you think I don't know what you're up to? Let me tell you, we won't eat it, we'd rather starve to death than let you be sold to a brothel." Yang Jiefang frowned, knowing that these words must have been said by Wang Sanlaizi, and they had taken them seriously. If he tried to reason with them now, they wouldn't believe him. So, Yang Jiefang sneered, "Now you're scared? When you sold my sister and me, didn't you think this would happen? This is called giving them a taste of their own medicine. I'll tell you, this meal is your last meal, eat it or not, it's up to you." After saying that, he ignored her and turned to leave.

As soon as Yang Jiefang stepped out, Zhao Xiaohui's sister-in-law rushed over, grabbing a steamed bun in one hand and a piece of chicken in the other, and started eating without even taking chopsticks. Zhao Xiaohui glanced at her mother, hesitant to speak. Zhao's mother sighed and said, "Eat, eat! At least don't starve to death." Zhao Xiaohui's sister-in-law then said, "But I don't want to die! Mother, I'm carrying the Zhao family's child." Yang Jiefang hadn't gone far; he hid outside the window. Seeing them start eating, he shook his head and left without lingering.

After dinner, it wasn't completely dark yet. Zhao Changgen rushed over and said, "Xiao Yang, Master Shan is here, on the west side of the village." Yang Jiefang stood up abruptly and said, "Quickly gather the village security team, grab your weapons, let's go meet this Master Shan." Zhao Changgen said, "Brother Changming is already gathering everyone. Not just the security team, all the able-bodied men in the village are going." Yang Jiefang nodded and said, "Ma Shangfei, Tie brothers, you stay here and watch over the Zhao family compound, the rest of you come with me. Brother Yan, you come with me to see Master Shan; Brother Sun, bring up the rear." Everyone agreed and went their separate ways.

When Yang Jiefang arrived at the west side of the village, a considerable number of people had already gathered. Zhao Changming and his security team had arrived earlier, each armed and positioned to watch the group outside the village. There were about two hundred people outside the village, spread out in a fan shape about five hundred meters away, half of them carrying guns, muskets, and other weapons. The able-bodied men and women from Zhao Family Village rushed over; their numbers were considerable, but the number of weapons was far fewer. Zhao Changzhi's father, Zhao Yuanliang, came over and said, "You all stay put. I'll go deal with them." Yang Jiefang replied, "I'll go. Leave today's matter to me. Trust me! I can handle it." Zhao Yuanliang was the newly elected village head of Zhao Family Village, and while he wanted to take on the challenge, he was unsure of himself. Seeing Yang Jiefang's words, he nodded in agreement; he no longer dared to underestimate Yang Jiefang.

Yang Jiefang gestured for Yan Dong to follow him, then stepped forward and stopped about two hundred meters away, calling out loudly, "I heard that Master Shan has arrived. I wonder if I could come out and meet him!" The other side had been waiting for someone to come out and negotiate. A middle-aged man stepped forward about ten paces and said, "I am Xu Zishan, also known as Master Shan. Who are you?" Yang Jiefang replied, "I am Yang Jiefang, greetings to Master Xu Shan. Chief Chu of Qinglong Village asked me to give her regards to Master Shan!" He then pulled out the wooden plaque given to him by the Black Widow and held it high. Xu Zishan was clearly surprised and said, "What are you holding? Let me see." Yang Jiefang smiled slightly, walked another hundred meters or so, and then stopped. At this point, the two were still about two hundred meters apart, and Xu Zishan naturally couldn't see what was in his hand clearly, so he frowned. After hesitating for a moment, Xu Zishan still stepped forward. Yang Jiefang handed the item over, and Xu Zishan took it, examined it carefully, and then returned it to Yang Jiefang, saying, "Are you from Qinglong Village? What are you doing here? This isn't Qinglong Village's territory. Black Widow's reach is a bit too far."

Yang Jiefang laughed, "Master Shan, you've misunderstood. Chief Chu had no intention of taking over your territory. The thing is, Zhao Jinyuan, the village head of Zhao Family Village, is my sworn enemy. Chief Chu sent a group of brothers down the mountain to help me get revenge. I'm truly sorry for not informing you beforehand!" He then bowed deeply as an apology. Xu Zishan's heart skipped a beat. His target was also Zhao Jinyuan. If Qinglong Village got there first, what chance would he have? So he asked, "Where is Zhao Jinyuan? Is he still in the village?" Yang Jiefang replied, "Zhao Jinyuan has been killed. I distributed his property to the poor people in the village. I heard that Master Shan is good at fighting injustice and robbing the rich to help the poor. He came to Zhao Family Village for Zhao Jinyuan's sake. I've done my job for you, Master Shan. I wonder if I did it well? Please advise me, Master Shan!"

Yang Jiefang was extremely humble, while Xu Zishan cursed inwardly but had to agree aloud, saying, "Zhao Jinyuan deserved to die for his crimes against the village. But his family is wealthy; are you really going to divide up all his assets?" He didn't care about Zhao Jinyuan's life or death; he cared about the Zhao family's money. Yang Jiefang said, "Of course. If you don't believe me, Master Shan, you can ask the villagers of Zhao Family Village to see if I've divided it fairly!" Then he lowered his voice and said, "I can't work for nothing, so I secretly kept a little for myself. If you think this is inappropriate, Master Shan, I can give it all away." Xu Zishan's lips twitched. What could he say? Whether it was appropriate or not was none of his business.