Newborn 1927

Baskets of sweet potatoes were carried out of the kitchen, and buckets of pickled vegetable soup were brought out; this was today's lunch. There was no need to queue; someone was there to distribute the food to each table. Yang Jiefang hadn't eaten sweet potatoes in a long time, so he ate them with great relish; however, the bowl of pickled vegetable soup, apart from being a bit salty, had a terrible texture and was really hard to swallow.

After the meal, Yang Jiefang, Hou Fei, and Ma Shangfei followed Lu Ziqi to the carpentry shed. Lu Ziqi immediately got to work, and in just a short while, he had made a six-foot-long and four-foot-wide wooden board. Lacking chalk, Yang Jiefang had originally planned to write with charcoal, but seeing an inkwell in the shed, he knew there must be ink. Finding a brush, he simply wrote on the board with it. At that time, writing was done vertically from right to left, but Yang Jiefang didn't want to be too unconventional, so he used traditional characters according to the current writing style, humming as he wrote. Before he had even finished one song, a considerable number of people had gathered behind him, humming along with him.

After Yang Jiefang finished writing, Hou Fei couldn't wait any longer and clamored to learn first. Yang Jiefang knew that Hou Fei and Yang Fei still had things to do later, so he figured it wouldn't hurt to teach them while he had some free time. He found a stick and began to teach them the song, word by word. As a result, many people came to listen, and the work shed quickly filled with people. After teaching them once, Yang Jiefang stopped and said, "Brothers, in order not to disturb Brother Lu's work, let's go to the kitchen to learn! Everyone can come and learn whenever they have free time." Everyone cheered, and without waiting for Yang Jiefang's instructions, some people carried wooden planks to the kitchen.

Yang Jiefang greeted Lu Ziqi and followed the others to the kitchen. He hung the wooden plank across the east wall of the main hall, then stood in front of it with a stick, teaching the people to sing the song repeatedly; he also taught them to read. Once they learned to sing, learning to read based on the lyrics became much easier. It was winter, and most people were idle; since they were free anyway, coming to watch the fun was a good idea; the kitchen quickly filled up.

From that day on, the once peaceful Qinglong Village was no longer peaceful. Day and night, howls like ghosts and wolves could be heard everywhere. One would shout, "When injustice is seen, a roar is uttered!" and another would respond, "Rushing across the land with great fanfare!" These rough men were tone-deaf, but their voices were loud, and their memories were poor. They sang without any order, sporadic lines from one place to another, only caring about their own amusement and not about the lives of others. It must be said, the song's charm was extraordinary.

Over the course of a few days, many people in Qinglong Village learned the song, and Yang Jiefang also became familiar with them, so he began to teach them to write. Without paper or pen, they would just find a stick and squat on the ground to write, with Yang Jiefang teaching them hand-in-hand. The swelling on Yang Jiefang's forehead subsided, and his body pain disappeared, allowing him to gradually integrate into the village life. Especially those who slept together, after a nightly chat, their relationship had become very close.

That night, Yang Jiefang started the late-night chat as usual, saying, "Brothers, I've been here for a while now. Thanks to your care, my injuries have healed. I want to offer my pledge of loyalty." If he wanted to achieve something on the mountain, he had to improve his status. Yang Jiefang's goal was to reach the same level as the four commanders, so offering his pledge of loyalty was essential.

Hou Fei, who was closest to him, immediately asked, "Brother Yang, what's your idea? Let's think about it together." The others readily agreed. Yang Jiefang said, "I'm not familiar with other places, but the place I know best is our Zhao Family Village. That village head, Zhao Jinyuan, has done all sorts of bad things and deserves to die. How about you brothers help me rob his house? It'll avenge me, show my loyalty, and let the brothers have a good meal. It's a win-win-win situation, what do you think?" Hou Fei replied, "I think it's a good idea. What do you guys think, Brother Sun and Brother Yan?" These two were still the leaders of the group.

Sun Zhiyong pondered for a moment and said, "These days, the government has a garrison in the county and a security force in the countryside. Since Zhao Jinyuan is a village head, I wonder if he has any armed personnel like a security force at home?" Yang Jiefang replied, "He does, but there are only four people: a captain and three members. The captain is equipped with a pistol, and the members with rifles. It's hard to say whether he has any other guns at home. Zhao Jinyuan has two sons and a daughter; his eldest son is already married, his second son is studying in another city and I don't know if he's back yet, and his daughter is the same age as me. In addition, he has a younger brother who manages the finances and accounts. He's thin and weak and doesn't have much fighting ability. His children are still young, so we can ignore them." Sun Zhiyong added, "At least eight adult men, each armed with a gun, that's quite a force."

Yan Donglai said dismissively, "That depends on who it is. Do you think just anyone with a gun can hit the bullseye every time? Besides, it's not like we don't have guns. We can't go that far with too many people. Just the few of us can get the job done. If any of you don't want to go, just say so!"

Iron Hammer and Iron Egg retorted defiantly, "Hmph, it's not like we haven't fought against gunmen before. We all have two shoulders and one head, who's afraid of who?" Ma Shangfei added, "I already said, if Brother Yang wants revenge, count me in." Lu Ziqi also said, "Count me in, it's not like I haven't killed people before."

Yang Jiefang was quite satisfied with what he heard and said, "Then thank you all in advance! Please share your thoughts on how to proceed!" Everyone fell silent in thought. Sun Zhiyong then inquired about the terrain surrounding Zhao Family Village and the layout of the Zhao family's houses. There wasn't much to say about this; villages in most places are built against mountains, and the house layouts are largely similar. Yang Jiefang tried to describe what he knew in as much detail as possible for everyone's reference.

Yan Donglai laughed, "What's there to say? When it's the dead of night, Xiao Yang, you'll be in charge of guiding the way, Brother Sun, with your excellent marksmanship, will be in charge of covering the retreat, and Xiao Gui and I will scale the wall and sneak in. We won't need to alert anyone else; we can get it done without anyone noticing." He and Gui Liqiu were two thieves before coming up the mountain (they called themselves Robin Hood-like figures who robbed the rich to help the poor), and burglary was their specialty. Everyone thought this plan was feasible, but Yang Jiefang had a different opinion, saying, "This is the first plan, but I think we need another one." Yan Donglai asked, "What other plan do you have? Tell us!" Yang Jiefang said, "I haven't thought of one yet. We'll devise a plan based on the specific circumstances when we get there! However, I want to emphasize that our mountain stronghold's rule is to act on behalf of Heaven and rob the rich to help the poor; so please, brothers, don't harm the innocent." Sun Zhiyong laughed, "You can rest assured about that. We're all brothers; we won't make things difficult for you." They continued to discuss the details of the operation, and it was very late before they all went to sleep.

The next day, Sun Zhiyong, Yan Donglai, and the others didn't need to patrol the mountain anymore; it was someone else's turn. They could have had a good rest, but instead, they accompanied Yang Jiefang to see the bandit leader, Black Widow. They needed to consult Black Widow first about the pledge of allegiance. Black Widow received them in the main room as usual, but no one else was present. After the three of them explained their purpose, Black Widow carefully examined Yang Jiefang and asked, "How confident are you?" Yang Jiefang replied, "That's my hometown; I know the situation there best. I'd say I'm about 70-80% confident. As for how much we'll gain, that's hard to say." Black Widow leaned forward, staring into Yang Jiefang's eyes, and said, "You're very confident! What do you need me to do?" Yang Jiefang frankly said, "There are nine of us involved in the operation; we need nine fast horses, nine guns, and enough ammunition." The bandits on the mountain usually didn't carry guns; only those on patrol had them, and even then, ammunition was scarce.

Black Widow turned to Sun Zhiyong and Yan Donglai and asked, "Have you finished your discussion? When do you plan to leave?" Sun Zhiyong replied, "If everything is ready today, we'll leave first thing tomorrow morning." Black Widow sat up straight and said, "That's Shan Ye's territory. If we run into him, just say I owe him a favor. Also, I can only give you eight guns: ten bullets for each pistol and five for each rifle. Keep a close eye on this kid; don't let him touch a gun. If things don't go well, come back alive!" Yang Jiefang didn't understand why he couldn't have a gun and was about to ask again when Sun Zhiyong and Yan Donglai pulled him back out of the way.

Stepping out of the Black Widow's courtyard, Sun Zhiyong explained, "The boss isn't letting you carry guns; he's protecting you. In the event of a firefight, everyone will shoot the person with the gun first. We won't get the guns until we set off; let's go find Old Wu and ask him to prepare some rations for us." Yang Jiefang nodded and asked, "Do you know that 'Mountain Master' the boss mentioned?" Yan Donglai replied, "In Laiyang County, the only ones you can name are Tian Yisan and Xu Zishan. They're sworn brothers, each with their own territory, but we don't know whose territory your Zhao Family Village is." Well, they still don't know whether it's Third Master or Mountain Master. Sun Zhiyong said, "Who cares who he is? If we run into him, just mention the boss's name; it should work."

The three men arrived at the kitchen, where the cooks were already busy preparing lunch. Wu Laokou was talking to Bai Lang nearby; judging from Wu Laokou's pained expression, it couldn't be anything good. Sun Zhiyong and Yan Donglai exchanged a knowing smile, understanding the situation but remaining silent. Yan Donglai called out loudly, "Wu Laokou, we brothers are going on a trip. Please prepare some provisions for us." Wu Laokou asked, "How many of you are going? How long will you be gone? Does the boss know?" Yan Donglai replied, "We just came from the boss's place. She's agreed. Nine men and nine horses, we'll be gone for two or three days." Wu Laokou looked at Yang Jiefang and asked, "Is this a pledge of loyalty?" Yang Jiefang nodded, "Yes, we plan to leave tomorrow. Please prepare plenty of good food. If this job goes well, we'll treat the brothers when we get back." Wu Laokou immediately smiled broadly and said, "Alright, we'll prepare it for you right away."

Bai Lang walked over and asked, "Have you finalized your manpower?" Sun Zhiyong replied, "Yes, just the few of us in the room." Bai Lang frowned and asked, "Are you sure you can handle this? Do you need any help from the brothers?" Yang Jiefang replied, "Thank you for your kindness, Brother Bai, but we don't need it. We'll go and come back quickly. If we can get it done, great; if not, we'll come back and figure something out." Although the men in the hall were more ruthless, he wasn't familiar with them enough, and worried about not being able to control them, so Yang Jiefang didn't dare to use them easily. Bai Lang didn't dwell on it too much and turned around, saying, "Add one share for these nine, Brother Yang! It's on me." He said this to Wu Laokou, whose old face immediately turned even uglier.

Sun Zhiyong and Yan Donglai said in unison, "Thank you, Commander Bai!" Bai Lang ignored Wu Laokou's expression, smiled at the three of them, and turned to leave. Sun Zhiyong and Yan Donglai chatted with Wu Laokou for a few more minutes before also leaving the kitchen.

Yang Jiefang asked curiously, "What did Commander Bai mean by that?" Sun Zhiyong replied, "He wants to give his men a treat, but he doesn't have much savings. I guess Old Wu will have to scrape together the money. We ate his food today, and once this job is done, we'll have to pay him back." Yang Jiefang nodded. Giving his men a treat was obviously a way to win them over; giving himself a treat, besides being a gesture of goodwill, also showed that he had high expectations for them.

Next came preparing the horses, which was simple; we just had Ma Shangfei take care of it. The weather was nice today, so Ma Shangfei was out walking the horses, while Hou Fei was herding sheep.

The main hall of the kitchen was quite crowded; some were singing, some were learning characters from the lyrics, and others were simply joining in the fun. As Yang Jiefang and his two companions moved from the lower hall to the main hall, someone greeted them. Someone called out, "Brother Yang, everyone's learned this song, right? Teach us a new one!" Yang Jiefang immediately replied, "No problem, I know plenty of songs. But do you recognize all the characters in this song?" The lyrics of this song were repetitive, actually only fifty or sixty characters, easy to recognize in the context, but individually, no one could recognize them all. The person laughed, "It recognizes me, but I don't recognize it. Besides, we're just learning a song, why bother learning the characters?"