Newborn 1927

Just as Yang Jiefang was about to ask more questions, a gruff voice called out, "Little monkey, why are you so late? Look how hungry these sheep are, they're about to come out and eat people!" A middle-aged man stood under the eaves, glaring angrily at Hou Fei. Hou Fei casually replied in a low voice, "He's Niu Sanbian; he's in charge of all the livestock in the village." Then he jogged forward, laughing, "Was I held up by something? Besides, it's not late yet, look at the sky, it's still early." Without waiting for Niu Sanbian's reply, he jogged to the fodder storage room. Niu Sanbian glared at Hou Fei from behind, then turned to look at Yang Jiefang, sizing him up and down. He said, "I heard that when Chuangtianhou was herding sheep, he picked up a little brother. Is that you? Look at your skinny arms and legs, what can you do? We don't let people freeload here." Yang Jiefang was speechless for a moment, then replied, "If it's physical labor, I really can't compare to you guys. But I'm a scholar, maybe I can do something else..." He wanted to use his scholarly advantage to elevate himself, but before he could finish, Niu Sanbian flew into a rage, roaring, "What's wrong with being a scholar? You pretty boy, good-looking but useless, good for nothing, just causing trouble. I hate you scholars the most, full of tricks and always causing trouble! I can't read, how am I any worse than you..." Yang Jiefang was stunned. Had he just swallowed gunpowder? Not daring to argue, he simply ran away. If he couldn't afford to offend him, he could at least avoid him.

Niu Sanbian, having lost his target for cursing, walked away grumbling. Hou Fei explained with a smile, "This Niu Sanbian is an old hand who's followed the old leader for a long time. Back then, he fell in love with the eldest leader, Chu Ba, and wanted to marry her. The eldest leader didn't think much of him and refused. Although the eldest leader has been skilled in martial arts since childhood, he doesn't like the strong, muscular men in our mountain stronghold. Instead, he fell for a scholar. He's the third young master of the Gao family in Haiyang County, and like you, he's fair-skinned and delicate..." Yang Jiefang had never looked in a mirror and didn't know what his current body looked like, but he figured it wouldn't be bad.

Hou Fei continued, "Although the Gao family isn't exactly wealthy, they look down on our bandit woman from Qinglong Village, so naturally they wouldn't agree. In a fit of anger, the chief kidnapped her and made her his captive..." Although Yang Jiefang didn't agree with her actions, he couldn't help but secretly give her a thumbs up—that's quite something!

Hou Fei sighed and continued, "They say you can't force a marriage! No matter how good the chief was to that man, he didn't reciprocate her feelings; even after she became pregnant with his child, she couldn't hold onto his heart. That man first hooked up with the pretty maidservant by the chief's side; then he contacted those in the village who disobeyed the chief, plotting a rebellion. This angered the chief, who killed the man, the maidservant, and all those who had previously defied him." Killing her own husband naturally made her a widow, hence the name "Black Widow." Quite domineering! No wonder she could control the hundreds of people in Qinglong Village.

While feeding the sheep, Hou Fei said, "The chieftain gave birth to a daughter. Naturally, the Gao family doesn't acknowledge the chieftain as their daughter-in-law, but they do acknowledge the daughter, who is now Miss Gao. Miss Gao usually lives at the Gao family's house. She returned to the mountain on the seventh day of the lunar month to celebrate the chieftain's birthday. On the way, she encountered human traffickers chasing you and rescued you. She also happened to run into me herding sheep nearby and asked me to carry you back to take care of you. Miss Gao said that if you survive, you can stay or leave as you please, as it would be a good deed for the chieftain."

Yang Jiefang nodded slightly and said, "It seems I should thank Miss Gao!" Hou Fei agreed, "You really should thank her! Those human traffickers aren't the type to give up easily; they want to see you alive or dead. Only Miss Gao could refuse to comply with their demands and keep you unconscious." Yang Jiefang asked curiously, "What do you mean?" Hou Fei explained, "After the upheaval at Qinglong Village, the chief established a rule: no one is allowed to abduct people to take as wives or husbands. But with so many people on the mountain, what do they do if they want to marry and have children? They can't abduct, and they can't marry daughters from respectable families, so they have to buy from these human traffickers. This is allowed; for example, Niu Sanbian later bought a woman from a human trafficker to be his wife. Therefore, these human traffickers can speak to those in charge on the mountain. If someone else had encountered you that day, they would have had to return you to them; only Miss Gao dared to do this without any worries. The chief only has this one daughter, and he cherishes her dearly!" Yang Jiefang deeply agreed.

Suddenly, someone outside shouted, "Skyrocket, who are you talking to?" Before the words were even finished, a burly, rugged-looking young man appeared at the door. Hou Fei smiled and pointed at Yang Jiefang, saying, "His name is Yang Jiefang. He's recovered after lying down for two days." Then he pointed to the young man, "This is Ma Shangfei, the best horseman in our village. He's responsible for feeding all the horses and mules on the mountain. Oh, by the way, he shares a room with us. Ma Shangfei, Yang Jiefang plans to stay in the village. We should get to know each other better." Yang Jiefang immediately called out, "Brother Fei, hello!" Ma Shangfei nodded, saying, "I'm just a small-time horse groom. Calling me Ma Shangfei is just the brothers flattering me." Ma Shangfei was clearly his nickname. Hou Fei laughed, "You call me Brother Fei, and he calls him Brother Fei too. Now that we're living together, who's going to answer?" Yang Jiefang also laughed, "How about I call you Brother Monkey? That way we won't get confused, right?" It seemed everyone in the village liked to address each other by nicknames. Ma Shangfei laughed and said, "That's fine too. Isn't he just a rocket?" Hou Fei retorted, "That's still better than calling him 'a pile of donkey dung'..."

Ma Shangfei angrily retorted, "Idlerus, my name is Idlerus... Idlerus is a very sacred name!" This caused Hou Fei to burst into laughter, saying, "How sacred can a pile of donkey dung be?" Ma Shangfei was so angry that his teeth itched, and he waved his fist as if to strike, but he didn't actually do it. Clearly, they had argued quite a bit in their daily lives. Yang Jiefang's heart stirred, and he said, "Brother Fei, are you Hui? Your surname is Ma?" Ma Shangfei asked in surprise, "Huh, how did you know?" Yang Jiefang said, "Idlerus is the name of a saint in Islam. Using this name shows that you are a person of faith and able to uphold your principles. Han and Hui people are both part of the Chinese nation, and should be as close as brothers, don't you agree? Brother Idlerus." Ma Shangfei agreed, "As expected of a scholar, you have insight! But, just call me Ma Shangfei! I love the feeling of galloping on horseback across the grasslands, but I wonder when I can return to the grasslands again?" As he spoke, his expression turned somber. Yang Jiefang knew that Ma Shangfei also had a story, so he comforted him, "That day will come, Fei-ge. If there's anything that's bothering you, just say it! Don't keep it bottled up inside." Ma Shangfei shook his head and remained silent.

As they spoke, Hou Fei finished feeding the animals, and the three returned to their lodgings. Hou Fei looked at the sky and said, "It's time to eat. Brother Yang, wait in your room for a while. I'll bring you some food. We'll talk to the chief tomorrow, and then I'll take you to the kitchen for dinner." The two had chatted for quite a while and were fairly familiar with each other. Yang Jiefang knew that the mountain stronghold had its own rules, so he didn't say much. Back at his lodgings, he waited in his room.

Winter days are short and darkness falls early. With nightfall fast approaching, and no oil lamp in the house, how would they light the way? Not long after, Hou Fei returned with a bowl of food, saying as he walked, "Eat quickly before it gets dark!" It was still millet porridge and cornbread. Yang Jiefang had just eaten and wasn't particularly hungry, but he accepted the food and thanked him repeatedly. Several people followed Hou Fei in, including Ma Shangfei. Once inside, they all took off their shoes and got into bed, immediately filling the room with a sour, foul smell. Yang Jiefang had no appetite at all, but he didn't dare to be coy and forced himself to eat; at this moment, survival was the most important thing.

Before it got completely dark, Hou Fei introduced them one by one: "This is Brother Sun Zhiyong, whom I told you about, nicknamed 'Surpassing Li Guang'; this is Brother Yan Donglai, nicknamed 'Living Yama'; this is Brother Gui Liqiu, nicknamed 'Ghost-Fearer'; this is Brother Lu Ziqi, nicknamed 'Little Lu Ban', oh, he's a carpenter; these two are brothers, Brother Tie Chui and Brother Tie Dan, they are blacksmiths by trade, their nicknames are 'Thousand-Jin Hammer' and 'Sitting Anvil' respectively..." Yang Jiefang greeted each of them.

There's not much entertainment on the mountain, and lights are usually off at night. It's cold, so people go to sleep when it gets dark. If they can't sleep, they chat in bed, joking and talking nonsense. Yang Jiefang, wanting to build a good relationship with these people, naturally couldn't miss this opportunity; he immediately thought of the "complaint campaign," a magic weapon for reforming Kuomintang prisoners of war. Of course, Yang Jiefang also knew that getting these people to open up wouldn't be easy; it would require genuine understanding. While eating, Yang Jiefang organized his thoughts and said, "Brothers, from now on we're brothers, sharing meals and sleeping on the same kang (heated brick bed). Brothers should be honest with each other! Since it's still early, I'll tell you about my background so you all know." He then recounted his origins. He had told Hou Fei this once during the day, simply stating the facts without much emotion; now, however, to resonate with everyone, he embellished the story. He won first prize in a speech contest in Hunan Province when he was in high school, and served as the student union president in college. Impromptu speaking is no challenge for him. A group of burly men were heard fuming and shouting that they wanted to avenge him.

Although this was the second time Hou Fei had heard it, his feelings were different. He comforted Yang, saying, "Brother Yang, with all of you brothers looking out for us, we'll never let you be bullied again. Brother Sun, Brother Yan, don't you agree?" Clearly, Sun Zhiyong and Yan Donglai were the leaders of this group. The two of them agreed in unison. Yang Jiefang continued, "Thank you all first! I feel much better after saying these words. There's no rush for revenge; we can talk about it later! In this day and age, who hasn't suffered hardships and tribulations? Just like you brothers, if you hadn't been unable to survive outside, you wouldn't have been forced to join the Liangshan bandits, would you?" Everyone agreed.

Immediately, Fei sat up and said, "Forced to join the Liangshan bandits! Yes, I was driven to desperation and forced to come to Qinglong Village." Yang Jiefang was overjoyed and listened attentively. Ma Shangfei paused, then continued, “I was living a good life herding sheep and horses on the grasslands with my father. But then, because my father was a good rider, he was conscripted into the army. My father couldn’t bear to leave me behind, so he took me with him to raise horses in the army. Because my father refused to kill innocent people, he disobeyed orders and was shot on the spot by the cavalry company commander. I was young then, and probably didn’t take him seriously, so he wasn’t on guard against me. I set fire to the stables in the middle of the night and escaped, taking three horses with me. I knew they wouldn’t let me go, so I had to hide in Qinglong Village. To be honest, I really didn’t want to be a bandit; I was forced into it. If I had a choice, I would rather go back to the grasslands to herd livestock. Brother Yang, if you want revenge, count me in. If you ever have the chance, please help me out; I really want to kill all those bandits!” Ma Shangfei said through gritted teeth.

Before Yang Jiefang could even agree, the brothers Tiechui and Tiedan shouted in unison, "Alright! Count me in too!" Then, Tiechui continued, "We brothers make a living as blacksmiths, barely scraping by. Who would have thought we'd run into a bunch of thugs? They wouldn't pay for shoeing horses, and they beat me up just because I said a few words; they even accused us of being enemy spies. They were practically trying to kill us! My brother has a short temper, so he got into a fight, and he lost control, using too much force and killing someone. And then, just like Brother Yang said, we were forced into it. Immediately, we brothers want to kill all those thugs!"

Yang Jiefang exclaimed, "If there were an army that never bullied the people, would rather go hungry themselves than take a single grain of food from them, and would risk their lives to protect them when they were in danger, treating them like family and wholeheartedly serving their interests—would you like such an army, brothers?"