Newborn 1927

The group quickly packed their things and continued their journey. The trip went relatively smoothly, and when they arrived at Xu's Inn, they all breathed a sigh of relief and decided to rest. It was the same inn, but the waiter had changed. Hou Fei recognized him and introduced him to Yang Jiefang: "This is Mantou, Baozi's subordinate." Mantou was, of course, a nickname, not his real name. He smiled and said, "Brother Baozi is now called Bao Ziqiang. He went to Yantai, so I'm taking over here. You guys are late coming back, did something happen?" Hou Fei laughed and said, "Of course something happened, something big. We had a great haul, so of course we came back a little late. Remember to send a message to Baozi to get things done quickly. Money is no problem." As he spoke, he pointed to the twelve horse-drawn carriages and two donkeys outside. Mantou exclaimed, "We've struck it rich this time! Come on in and rest. I'll get you some mutton soup; it's freshly made and smells delicious." Hou Fei exclaimed happily, "Mutton soup? That's wonderful! Do you have any wheat flour? Make us a bowl of mutton soup noodles each." Mantou shook his head and said, "Actually, it's just broth made from mutton bones. We don't have wheat flour, but we have flatbread. How about we soak the flatbread in the mutton soup?" Hou Fei laughed and said, "We happen to have some freshly ground wheat flour left. Tell the kitchen to make us mutton soup noodles." After saying that, he took half a bag of wheat flour from a carriage and took it to the kitchen. Seemingly still worried, he kept an eye on things in the kitchen.

After a satisfying bowl of mutton soup noodles, the group continued their journey. In the afternoon, they finally arrived at Qinglong Village. Qinglong Village had already received the news, and a large crowd had gathered at the village gate. Black Widow was also alerted, and other managers, including Master Kong, Niu Sanbian, and Wu Laokou, came to greet them. Behind Master Kong was a handsome young man in a long robe; Hou Fei quietly told Yang Jiefang that this was Master Kong's son, Iron Abacus Kong Zongru. Yang Jiefang knew they were all after the goods, so he went straight to Black Widow, handed her the wooden plaque, and said, "Boss, we've had quite a haul this time. Here's a list of goods; please take a look!" He then handed over the prepared list of supplies. Black Widow smiled broadly, glanced at the list, and handed it to Master Kong beside her. Master Kong, without even looking at it, casually passed it to Kong Zongru behind him, saying, "Read it!"

Kong Zongru took the list, spread it out, and read aloud: "Yang Jiefang of Zhao Family Village, Laiyang, has paid the following pledge of allegiance: 24,000 catties of wheat, silver dollars and ingots converted to cash... Hmm, why are there alterations? Two hundred silver dollars are missing." Yang Jiefang explained, "This morning I was surrounded by people from Yang'er Mountain, and it cost me two hundred silver dollars to deal with them." Kong Zongru glanced at Black Widow and Master Kong, and seeing that they hadn't spoken, he continued reading: "A total of 13,567 silver dollars, over 18,600 copper coins, 27 bolts of cotton cloth, 130 catties of cotton, 3 horses, 2 donkeys, 68 goats, and 12 carts. Also, 12 strong men have come to join us, carrying 4 Mauser pistols and 500 bullets, 10 Hanyang rifles and 584 bullets, and 12 broadswords." After Kong Zongru finished reading, he handed the list to Master Kong. Master Kong was to verify the goods. The list of supplies was read aloud in public, firstly to highlight the contributors' contributions, and secondly as a form of oversight. Upon hearing the quantity of supplies, the people of Qinglong Village all exclaimed in admiration.

Sun Zhiyong and Yan Donglai handed over all their guns and reported on the ammunition they had used. Black Widow instructed the two to settle the newcomers, then ordered all the guns and ammunition to be taken away. She didn't bother with the remaining supplies and money, as someone else would handle them. Sun Zhiyong and Yan Donglai then led everyone to their lodgings, taking their personal belongings, bedding, and clothes. Of course, there were also the two large iron pots, which Yang Jiefang had specifically instructed them to take. Yang Jiefang stayed behind to check the supplies with Master Kong. Master Kong didn't handle the work himself, but instead delegated it to Kong Zongru. Kong Zongru was very meticulous and did everything with utmost care. After verifying the quantities, a receipt was given to Yang Jiefang, and then it was said, "According to the rules, 20% of the rewards will be given to you and the brothers who participated in the operation. You can choose to receive the goods in kind or convert them into cash; you can receive them all at once or deposit them into the public account first." Yang Jiefang was prepared and said, "I want 20% of the grain and 20% of the goats, and the rest of the supplies can be converted into silver dollars." Kong Zongru nodded and said, "Okay, I'll write it down for you." Then he was about to leave.

Yang Jiefang called out, "Brother Kong, please wait a moment!" Kong Zongru turned around and asked, "What else is it?" Yang Jiefang said, "I've heard that among the younger generation of Qinglong Village, Brother Kong, you are the most learned. You're well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics, and you can write and calculate." Kong Zongru looked quite proud, but said, "Stop flattering me, get to the point." Yang Jiefang smiled and said, "Could you please teach my brothers to read and write, Brother Kong?" Kong Zongru directly refused, saying, "I'm very busy, I don't have time." He then turned and left. Yang Jiefang called after him, "I won't teach you for free, I'll pay you." Kong Zongru didn't even turn around, and said lightly, "I'm not interested in your wages." He left Yang Jiefang with his back turned and walked further and further away. Yang Jiefang was speechless. That's it? No wonder Hou Fei and the others don't like you.

Yang Jiefang shook his head, about to return to his courtyard. A thin, slovenly-dressed young man approached him with a grin, saying, "Brother Yang, you did a great job! Let's hang out sometime, get to know each other better." Yang Jiefang replied, "Sure, what's your name, brother?" The man said, "Everyone calls me Liu Yishou, one of Brother Leopard's men. Brother Leopard thinks highly of you! He's learned all the songs and characters you taught him." Yang Jiefang nodded, "Alright, I'll continue teaching everyone songs and characters in the canteen tomorrow. Please tell Brother Leopard, if anyone's interested, feel free to come and learn. I need to settle things down today." Liu Yishou smiled and agreed, waving goodbye as he left.

Yang Jiefang didn't dwell on the minor incident. When he returned to his courtyard, everyone had already made their beds. Wang Dali and Chen Ergou, having become acquainted with Hou Fei, moved into the east wing, while the rest of Zhao Family Village were assigned to the west wing. Yang Jiefang's blankets and clothes were placed separately; he could choose which side to sleep in. Yang Jiefang really didn't want to sleep with these stinky men, but he had no choice but to make do. He ended up sleeping next to Hou Fei and the others. The two large iron pots were placed in the east and west corners of the main room, with a hole cut in the wall for ventilation. The Tie brothers were building a stove, while the others were moving bricks and mixing mud. Yang Jiefang immediately announced that everyone had to wash their faces and feet every day. Everyone reluctantly agreed.

Soon, the stove was set up, and they started a fire to boil water. Seeing that everyone was almost done, Yang Jiefang gathered them for a meeting in the main room. There weren't enough tables and chairs, so everyone had to stand. Yang Jiefang presided, saying, "Brothers, from now on, we've officially settled in Qinglong Village. There are a few things we need to discuss. The first is to find a way to rescue my sister. This is already underway; Brother Bao Ziqiang has gone to Yantai City. Once he finds out where my sister is, we'll act accordingly. Brother Changgui, don't be impatient; wait a couple of days. The second thing is the distribution of the spoils. We can divide the spoils we brought up into the village into a 20% share. Except for the wheat and goats, which will be sold in kind, everything else will be converted into cash. Let's discuss how to divide that 20%!"

The people of Zhao Family Village remained silent, all looking at Sun Zhiyong, Yan Donglai, and the others. Feeling embarrassed by their stares, the two forced a smile and said, "According to past practice, Brother Yang, who led the operation, would receive 10%, and the other 10% would be distributed according to everyone's contribution. This time, everyone participated, and the contributions are difficult to categorize, so we can divide it equally." Everyone seemed to agree, and no one raised any objections. So, everyone looked at Yang Jiefang, waiting for him to speak. Yang Jiefang smiled and asked, "Do you all agree to this distribution?" The crowd readily agreed.

Yang Jiefang nodded and said, "Since that's the case, then it's settled. Next is the third matter, about food. As I just said, we'll take 20% of the grain and goats directly. There are two big pots here now, so we don't need to divide the grain; we'll cook for ourselves from now on. The mountain stronghold only serves two meals a day, which isn't good. We'll change it to three meals a day since we'll cook for ourselves. We need to not only eat our fill, but also eat well, so everyone can grow strong and healthy." Everyone was naturally pleased to hear this, and after some mutual recommendation, the cooking duties fell to Wang Dali and Chen Ergou.

Yang Jiefang continued, "As you all saw, I brought back some paper and brushes this time. From now on, I'll teach everyone to read and write. I'll also develop a military training plan and train with you all. Our main focus from now on will be on learning cultural knowledge and military training. Hou Fei, Ma Shangfei, Brother Lu, and the two Brother Ties, you should all resign from your current jobs. Don't worry about not having food; I'll take care of that." Sun Zhiyong asked, "Little Yang, could you briefly explain your military training plan? Should we also resign from our patrol jobs?" Yang Jiefang agreed. "Resign now! My training plan starts with basic physical training, drill training, and tactical training, followed by military theory. Remember, everyone, we shouldn't think of ourselves as bandits; we should emulate the army." Sun Zhiyong asked doubtfully, "Little Yang, did you attend a military academy?" Yang Jiefang laughed, "You even know about military academies, so you must have some knowledge. Although I didn't attend a military academy, I've read many books on the subject. I can say that I basically know everything that can be learned in a military academy." This was a bit of an exaggeration, but it was perfectly adequate to fool these illiterate men.

Hou Fei reminded him, "We need to clarify this with the boss first and get her approval." Yang Jiefang agreed, "This is an internal drill for our small group, so I think the boss will agree. Before it gets dark, I'll deliver the gifts we prepared and mention it to her in person. Brother Sun and Brother Yan, come with me to deliver the gifts. The rest of you, settle in first and familiarize yourselves with the environment."