Newborn 1927

Yang Jiefang turned around and picked up the gun and holster, asking, "You're Captain Zhou, right?" The man nodded, and Yang Jiefang was relieved. He then asked, "You're out fighting, you didn't bring your family with you, did you?" Captain Zhou shook his head, glanced at the bed, and then lowered his head. Yang Jiefang didn't dwell on the question and ordered, "Get dressed and come out!" He then went out first. Ma Shangfei also came out of another room and said, "I caught two here, how about yours?" Yang Jiefang replied, "I caught two too." Ma Shangfei asked in surprise, "Weren't there only four in total? How come there's one more?"

Just then, gunfire erupted outside. Yang Jiefang's heart sank; he knew a small squad's ambush had failed, and a firefight had broken out. Without thinking, Yang Jiefang strode outside. Just as he reached the door, a loud bang rang out—the sound of a grenade exploding—followed by an abrupt cessation of gunfire. The gunfire and explosions roused those sleeping, and the cries of children could be heard from afar.

Yang Jiefang walked to the shop where the firefight had taken place and saw Tie Dan inside. He asked, "What happened?" Since two more squads had been added, the Tie brothers were leading one squad. Tie Dan came out and said, "It was the shop owner who was being nosy. He recognized our voices and wouldn't open the door. We wanted to say a few nice words, but then Liu Heizi's gun went off, which alerted the soldiers inside. So we had to break down the door. Sure enough, the soldiers inside were prepared, and a fight broke out, injuring one of our brothers. My brother threw a grenade, injuring three soldiers. We've got the situation under control now." Yang Jiefang asked, "How's the injured brother? Is he alright?" Tie Dan said, "He's wounded in the shoulder, he should be fine."

Just then, gunshots rang out in the distance. Yang Jiefang glanced east and knew that the attack from Yang'er Mountain had finally begun. Yang Jiefang turned back and said, "Brother Tie, the shop owner didn't do anything wrong, don't make things difficult for him. You not only smashed his door, but also fired shots and threw grenades, definitely damaging a lot of his property. You must compensate him for the damages. We agreed long ago that we would only attack soldiers, not rob civilians. Not only can we not rob, but we also have to pay for the damages." Yang Jiefang was gradually gaining prestige, and Tie Dan dared not object, so he had no choice but to agree. He then ordered everyone to thoroughly search the soldiers. The compensation money could only be found on the soldiers themselves.

Yang Jiefang turned and walked towards Liu Heizi, who was directing his team to escort the soldiers out of the house. Yang Jiefang asked, "What happened here? Why were there guns?" Liu Heizi smiled bitterly, "Everything was going smoothly at first. We arrested these officials right there in bed. But when we were counting heads, the squad leader went to the outhouse. I rushed to find him and ran into him on the way. That guy was carrying a gun to the outhouse, and he drew it as soon as he saw me. How could I let him shoot first? I just shot him three times. He was unlucky; all three shots hit his chest, and he's beyond saving." Yang Jiefang understood what had happened. Liu Heizi hadn't done anything wrong, but he had almost caused an accident for the Tie brothers. Fortunately, the other squads were unharmed; almost all the soldiers in the house had been captured alive in bed. The squads escorted the soldiers out of the house, many of them still dressed, putting on their clothes as they walked. The heroes searched each of them, taking all their belongings, and then made the soldiers put their hands behind their heads and squat on the side of the street. Yang Jiefang reiterated to the squad leaders that if any shop items were damaged during the operation, they must pay for them at the original price.

By this time, dawn was breaking, and people in the market were peeking out of windows, through cracks in doors, or from over the walls, secretly watching the street. Some had come out of their homes, but were keeping a distance, afraid to approach. Only one man strode over. Yang Jiefang recognized him immediately—it was Cao Laoba! He went to greet him, saying, "Isn't this Brother Cao? Why are you in such a hurry? What happened?" Cao Laoba stopped, panting, and said, "Brother Yang, I didn't expect you to act so quickly. I have a wife and children at home; are they alright?" He knew Yang Jiefang and his men would act, but he hadn't expected it to be so fast, or at this time. He had just slaughtered a pig for a family in the village, intending to sell it at the market after dawn. He hadn't finished when he heard the gunshots, and worried about his wife and children, he rushed back.

Yang Jiefang asked, "Brother Cao, besides your wife, are there any other women in your family?" Cao Laoba was taken aback and replied, "No, why?" He seemed to sense something was wrong with his wife, and his heart jumped. Yang Jiefang lowered his voice and said truthfully, "When I was arresting that Captain Zhou, he had just crawled out of bed, and there was a naked woman lying in bed with him." Cao Laoba's face changed drastically, he cursed, and ran home as fast as he could.

The heroes gathered their spoils, their faces beaming with joy. From the direction of Yang'er Mountain, intermittent gunfire continued, clearly indicating ongoing fighting. Sun Zhiyong approached and asked, "Should we go and reinforce Yang'er Mountain?" Yang Jiefang shook his head, saying, "If they can't even handle a few soldiers, they're not worth my time." Sun Zhiyong added, "According to Captain Zhou, there are two more outposts outside. Should we take them out too?" Yang Jiefang replied, "We've already alerted them, and it's dawn. A surprise attack is impossible. If we launch a direct assault, they have the advantage of terrain, and we'll definitely suffer losses. Forget it, once they find out what happened at the market, they'll definitely run away. Let them be! Let's go find Captain Zhou and talk to him, see if we can get anything useful out of him!"

The two men approached Captain Zhou, with the soldier who had opened the door also squatting down beside him. Seeing Yang Jiefang approach, they all looked up at him. Yang Jiefang didn't tell them to stand up, looking at them with a somewhat arrogant air, and said, "Captain Zhou, don't you think my victory was unfair? Are you unhappy with your loss?" Captain Zhou replied, "No, no, a loss is a loss." Yang Jiefang shook his head and said, "If you're not happy, then you're unhappy. Actually, it's normal, after all, we succeeded through a sneak attack, it's not a real skill. How about this, I'll let you go back, and we'll fight again, what do you think?" Captain Zhou was taken aback at first, then his heart leaped with joy. Such a good thing! Whether they fought again or not was another matter; if they could go back alive, who would want to die? He couldn't help but ask, "You really can let us go?" Yang Jiefang said, "Of course. But, you know who we are. Normally, we can kidnap an ordinary citizen and demand a ransom of ten or twenty thousand. How much do you think you officials are worth?" Sure enough, it wasn't that simple; they were definitely after the money. Captain Zhou immediately feigned poverty, saying, "We're not some kind of officials; we're just ordinary soldiers, we have no money at all." Yang Jiefang said, "No money is no problem, you can exchange things. For example, weapons, ammunition..." Captain Zhou immediately lowered his head and sighed, "Don't let my position as a detachment commander fool you, I'm just a laborer. In front of the battalion commander and the county magistrate, I'm nothing. What you want..." Needless to say, he had none. Yang Jiefang couldn't help but feel disappointed.

At this moment, Cao Laoba rushed over in a rage, holding a butcher knife, roaring, "You bastard Zhou! I feed you and house you, and you actually dared to lay a finger on my wife! Are you even human?" Seeing his aggressive demeanor, Yang Jiefang instinctively stepped aside. Cao Laoba grabbed Captain Zhou by the collar, lifted him up, and demanded, "What have I done to wrong you? How dare you defile my wife?" Captain Zhou wasn't afraid of Cao Laoba at all. A man with a family and a career—wouldn't he be completely at Cao Laoba's mercy? So, Captain Zhou shouted, "Cao Laoba, what do you think you're doing? I've slept with plenty of women. I slept with your wife because she's somewhat attractive, because I thought highly of her! Do you think just any Tom, Dick, or Harry is worth sleeping with?" "Ah—" Cao Laoba roared, stabbing Captain Zhou in the stomach with the knife, then pulling it out and stabbing him five or six more times. Captain Zhou never imagined that this man, who was always so meek and subservient in his presence, would actually dare to kill. And in front of so many people, in the street. He stared at Cao Laoba in disbelief, and as blood gushed from his body, his strength drained away instantly. He quickly collapsed to the ground, convulsing and dying. Little did he know that Cao Laoba only wanted to return to a normal life, which was why he was so meek and subservient; in reality, he had been the best marksman in Yang'er Mountain, someone who had fought in battles and killed people.

Cao Laoba, covered in blood, was still not satisfied with killing Captain Zhou. He spotted the soldier who had opened the door, grabbed him, and, his eyes red, demanded, "You said you'd kill my son if my wife didn't agree, didn't you?" The soldier trembled with fear, stabbing, "I...I was just saying, just saying..." "Just saying? Heh heh, you think we'd believe your lies?" Cao Laoba was enraged. He plunged his knife into the soldier's heart. Then, he drew the knife with his right hand and pushed forward with his left. The soldier fell backward, dead instantly.

Yang Jiefang watched coldly, offering no words of intervention, for he had no reason to. He was somewhat impressed that Cao Laoba, despite his rage, hadn't lost his temper. He asked, "Cao Laoba, you're saying your wife was forced?" Cao Laoba replied, "Yes, my wife has a strong temper. If they hadn't used my one-year-old son as leverage, how could she have given in?" Yang Jiefang thought of Jiang Xiaojun, the girl who had tried to kill herself after just one kiss. In this era, the concept of female chastity was very strong. If a woman truly possessed virtue, what would happen after losing her chastity was obvious. Yang Jiefang immediately shouted, "Then you should go back and keep a close eye on your wife!" Cao Laoba was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted, shouting, "Oh dear, my wife—" and turned to run back. Yang Jiefang realized the seriousness of the situation and immediately followed. Hou Fei and Sun Zhiyong also ran after him.

Cao Laoba and Yang Jiefang rushed into his house one after the other. It was the same room; a rope hung from the rafters, from which a woman was suspended. Cao Laoba yelled, swung his knife, and cut the rope, catching his wife as she fell. He threw away the knife, untied the rope, and checked her breath—she wasn't breathing. His legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground. The sound of a baby crying came from the bed, awakened by Cao Laoba's shout. Ignoring his son on the bed, Cao Laoba cried out, "You foolish woman, why are you so stubborn?"

Yang Jiefang shouted, "Stop howling! It hasn't been long, your wife might still be saved." Cao Laoba turned around abruptly and asked, "Saved? How? Brother Yang, you...you..." Yang Jiefang said calmly, "Do as I say, you might be able to save your wife. First, lay her flat on the ground, unbutton her collar..." Cao Laoba, now grasping at a straw, mechanically followed Yang Jiefang's instructions to perform first aid. At that moment, Yang Jiefang felt time was passing incredibly slowly, each minute feeling like a year. As he explained, Cao Laoba's movements gradually became more skilled, performing artificial respiration and chest compressions. After five or six minutes, his wife suddenly coughed violently, sat up, and cried out, "Xiao Jiu, my son..." She rushed to the bedside and picked up her crying son. Cao Laoba was completely dumbfounded, staring blankly at his wife. She had clearly stopped breathing, how could she really be alive? He was truly afraid that it was all a hoax, and instinctively slapped himself twice. The slaps hurt terribly.

His wife, while comforting their son, turned to look at Cao Laoba and asked curiously, "Husband, what are you doing sitting on the ground? Wait, wasn't I dead?" She looked up at the rope dangling in mid-air, full of confusion. Cao Laoba stood up, walked to his wife, and said, "Wife, you almost died. Brother Yang saved you. He's a great benefactor to our family! What would happen to our son if you were gone?" Yang Jiefang took over the conversation, comforting her, "Yes, Sister-in-law Cao. You could endure humiliation for your son, so you should live on for him even more. It's all over now, let's live a good life from now on!" Cao Laoba's wife lowered her head, staring blankly at her son, tears streaming down her face. Yang Jiefang knew it was best to leave the couple alone at this moment, so he turned and called to Hou Fei and Sun Zhiyong behind him, and left Cao Laoba's house.

On the main street, the various squads had already finished handling their tasks and were waiting for Yang Jiefang. Intermittent gunfire could still be heard from Yang'er Mountain, indicating that fighting was still ongoing there. Yang Jiefang said, "It's getting light; people should be setting up their stalls to do business. Take these soldiers outside the market, and carry away the dead as well." Then he shouted, "Fellow villagers, we apologize for disturbing your business. We're leaving Da Kuang Market now; you can go about your business as usual!" He then called to his men, and together they escorted the group of soldiers eastward along the main street.

As they walked further away, the people who had been hiding in the shadows dared to emerge. After a brief exchange of murmurs, they quickly went about their business. What had just happened was like a play; once the play was over and the curtain fell, the people returned to their normal lives.