Newborn 1927

Just as Yang Jiefang was about to ask more questions, the fat girl pushed open the door and shouted, "Young master, you're awake." Gao Huilan scolded, "You brat, what are you shouting for? Are you itching for a beating?" Yang Jiefang laughed, "It's alright, I don't care." Gao Huilan glared at him fiercely.

Fatty stuck out her tongue and walked over, saying, "This is ginger soup, specially made for you. Eat it while it's hot. There's also breakfast prepared for you; have some to tide you over." Although Fatty was chubby, her voice was sweet and endearing. Yang Jiefang took the ginger soup, blowing on it as he drank. Gao Huilan said, "From now on, if you can't drink, don't drink!" Yang Jiefang drank a couple of sips of the ginger soup and felt much better in his stomach, replying, "Okay, I'll listen to you." Fatty covered her mouth and chuckled. Gao Huilan then said, "I have to go." Yang Jiefang said, "Go ahead! I can get out of bed after resting a bit more. Huh? You're leaving? Where are you going?" Gao Huilan said, "Have you forgotten? I'm a member of the Gao family. I've stayed here long enough; I have to go home. My grandmother has been urging me several times already. If I don't go back soon, she'll send someone to fetch me."

Yang Jiefang then realized that the first month of the lunar calendar was over, and it was already the second month. He asked, "When are you planning to leave? Should I see you off?" Gao Huilan replied, "You're the young manager now, a very busy person. How could I trouble you to see me home?" Her words were so obvious, how could Yang Jiefang pretend not to understand? He said, "What could be more important than your safety? When are you planning to leave? How about I take the special forces team to escort you home?" Gao Huilan didn't refuse and happily agreed, saying, "I'm leaving early tomorrow morning. Since you want to see me off, then get ready! I'd like to see what the special forces team you personally trained is like now." After agreeing, Gao Huilan didn't linger and left with Pang Ya. As for what to prepare, she could figure it out herself!

Yang Jiefang got out of bed, went out the door, and strode towards the special forces' independent training ground. On the training ground, the special forces members were practicing shooting stances. The sniper squad used rifles, and the special forces squad used Mauser pistols, each maintaining a standing, firing posture, aiming at the target ahead. A stone was suspended from the muzzle by a thin rope. They had maintained this posture for half an hour; the members' arms were trembling slightly, but they gritted their teeth and persevered.

Yang Jiefang didn't disturb them. He waited until they were all exhausted and stopped to rest before gathering the special forces team together for a speech: "You've all worked very hard and trained diligently during this time. Next, I'll conduct a live-fire training exercise to test your training results. Are you confident you can complete the mission?" These men were already elites from the mountain, and after half a month of rigorous training, they were all full of confidence. Sun Zhiyong asked, "Could you reveal what the mission is?" Yang Jiefang said, "Tomorrow, Miss Gao will be going down the mountain to return to the Gao family. I require you to provide protection along the way. Make sure everything goes perfectly!" The group immediately deflated. Sun Zhiyong said, "What's so difficult about that? Before, just Auntie and Fatty could escort Miss Gao back. Is such a large-scale operation necessary?" Yang Jiefang said, "Security work cannot tolerate the slightest carelessness. Regardless of whether danger arises, you must be prepared for the worst. You must pass my test before facing a truly formidable enemy. Otherwise, it would be irresponsible to your lives." The group understood and quickly agreed. Yang Jiefang said, "Gao Huilan and I will set off tomorrow morning. You should prepare your weapons and ammunition and get ready in advance."

After giving his instructions, Yang Jiefang left to check on the training of the various teams at the drill ground. They were still in the physical training phase, and the situation was quite good. With ample food supplies, the men hadn't collapsed from exhaustion; on the contrary, they were becoming stronger. Upon seeing Yang Jiefang, everyone addressed him as "Little Boss," their attitude becoming increasingly respectful. Then, he went to the storeroom, withdrew some money, and made some preparations.

After lunch, Yan Donglai led his team down the mountain ahead of schedule, each carrying one hundred rounds of ammunition. During this time, to allow the special forces to practice their marksmanship, each of them had fired at least one hundred rounds, much to Black Widow's dismay. Because it was Yang Jiefang's special approval, she didn't refuse and approved them all.

In the afternoon's military theory class, Yang Jiefang didn't introduce any new material, but instead guided everyone to review previous content. He also asked everyone to conduct internal discussions and summaries in their small groups over the next few days.

After explaining everything that needed to be explained, Yang Jiefang got up at the crack of dawn the next morning. He went to the Black Widow's courtyard and waited a while before Gao Huilan and Fatty came out, each carrying a bundle on their backs. Yang Jiefang took Gao Huilan's bundle and carried it on his own. This gesture would be perfectly normal in later generations, but in this era, it moved Gao Huilan deeply. This time, Chu Gu didn't go with them but stayed behind to teach the Wolf Team. Then, they met up with Sun Zhiyong and Hou Fei at the village gate, and the five of them walked down the mountain. The horses on the mountain were all given to Ma Shangfei for training the cavalry. They went to Xu Family Inn for breakfast. This inn was actually a secret estate of Qinglong Village. Because they hadn't given any warning when Tian Dan and his men passed by last time, the innkeeper and the staff had changed, and Yang Jiefang didn't recognize them.

As soon as they entered, Hou Fei eagerly invited them to sit down and asked what they wanted to eat. Yang Jiefang glanced inside and saw that the curtain at the back door was slightly lifted, revealing half of Yan Donglai's face. Yan Donglai beckoned Yang Jiefang to come in, and Yang Jiefang nodded, then turned back and said, "Make me a bowl of hot noodle soup. I need to go to the outhouse first." He then went out the back door and into the backyard. Yan Donglai said, "Young Master, we went down the mountain yesterday and did some investigation here. We actually found two spies, sent by Laiyang County." Yang Jiefang was quite surprised and asked, "Did you get anything out of them?" Yan Donglai said, "They said they were sent by the garrison captain to investigate Qinglong Village. They happened to be recruiting people here, so they sneaked in. They haven't found any useful information yet." Yang Jiefang asked, "Have they sent any messages back?" Yan Donglai said, "Those two are just street thugs from the county town. Their intention was to find some useful information and go back for a reward. They don't know anything about building an intelligence network, and they haven't sent any messages back. Hehe, I feel like these people are nothing in front of you." Yang Jiefang laughed and said, "But we can't let our guard down. These kinds of people have no other skills, no bottom line, and they're very good at causing trouble. Send them up the mountain to Li the carpenter and give them a good makeover. Also, tell the manager here to keep his eyes open!"

Yan Donglai agreed, then added, "Several horse-drawn carts are going to Facheng to pick up sweet potatoes today. They're on the same route; should we take one to Facheng and then walk?" Qinglongzhai was under considerable transportation pressure, and Yang Jiefang was reluctant to use these limited resources unless absolutely necessary. He asked, "Is it really on the same route?" Yan Donglai was slightly embarrassed by the question and smiled, "It really is on the same route. We were supposed to leave early this morning, but I made them wait a little while. It won't really delay things." Yang Jiefang said, "Brother Yan, I know you mean well. But please remember! First, the whereabouts of those you are protecting must not be revealed in advance; second, public resources cannot be used for private purposes. We must start with ourselves. If we want to accomplish great things, we should pay attention to these details. Let's leave it at that this time; we'll set off after breakfast." Yan Donglai agreed, clearly sensing Yang Jiefang's growing authority, and dared not be careless, carefully making the arrangements.

The journey from Xujiadian to Gaojia is over sixty li (approximately 30 kilometers), normally taking a whole day. Taking a cart for part of the journey would indeed save a lot of time and energy. Yan Donglai had already arranged for several groups to go ahead to Facheng, while those who remained in Xujiadian traveled with them by cart. Upon arriving in Facheng, the cart driver wanted to give them a ride, but Yang Jiefang refused, and the group continued on foot. They arrived at Zhutingshe in the afternoon, and from there turned east, it was another ten li (approximately 5 kilometers) to Gaojia.

Liu Heizi and Liu Yishou had arrived at Zhuting ahead of them and were waiting at the crossroads to meet Yang Jiefang and the others. Liu Heizi told Gao Huilan that they had encountered a member of the Gao family there, namely Gao Yao, the son of Gao Huilan's uncle. Gao Huilan followed Liu Heizi to a general store where they found Gao Yao. Gao Yao seemed very happy and said with a smile, "Xiao Lan, you've finally decided to come back! Grandma has been talking about you. Perfect timing, I've finished my business, let's go home together." Gao Huilan smiled and said, "When we get back, you can brag to Grandma that you picked me up again." Gao Yao laughed and said, "I picked you up halfway, so that counts as picking me up." Gao Huilan said, "This time I won't let you pick me up, someone will take me. Let me introduce you, this is Yang Jiefang, the third young master of Laiyang County, a proper scholar! You should get to know him well!" Scholars are popular, and Yang Jiefang once again enjoyed this status, greeting, "Hello, Brother Gao, I'm Yang Jiefang. You can just call me Xiao Yang." There were many people behind Gao Huilan, but she only introduced Yang Jiefang, which showed that this person was no ordinary person. Gao Yao couldn't help but scrutinize him closely. Seeing that Yang Jiefang was an excellent choice in both appearance and temperament, he secretly praised him and replied, "Brother Yang, did you bring Xiao Lan back? Thank you for your hard work!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two continued their journey together. Both eager to learn about each other's backgrounds, they chatted as they walked, quickly finding common ground. Gao Huilan's father had four siblings: the eldest, Gao Wen, was Gao Huilan's uncle; the second, Gao Wu; and the third, Gao Shuangshuang, was her aunt. Gao Huilan's father, Gao Jie, was the youngest and most beloved by the old lady. The old lady, extending her affection to Gao Huilan, favored her among her grandchildren. Gao Yao, unable to succeed in his studies and unwilling to farm, took up trading. He traveled to various villages to buy agricultural products such as corn, soybeans, peanuts, and cotton, transporting them to Haiyang County to sell to merchants there; he also resold daily necessities and industrial goods from the county to the countryside. The general store he met there supplied him with various odds and ends. He earned a meager living through this back-and-forth trading.

Gao Yao, naturally, was also subtly inquiring about Yang Jiefang's family background. Yang Jiefang replied, "I just opened a vermicelli factory, and to use up the sweet potato residue produced by the factory, I also started a pig farm. Currently, I have over two hundred breeding pigs." Gao Yao exclaimed, "That's a big business!" Seeing that he had a good business sense, Yang Jiefang suggested, "Brother Gao, you can't make much money doing this small-scale business. Have you thought about expanding your business?" Gao Yao replied, "Who doesn't want to expand? But I don't have much capital, so I can only do small-scale business. I can't compare to you, Brother Yang!" Yang Jiefang said, "If Brother Gao is willing, we can go into business together. I have some spare money that I can invest. I'll provide the capital, and you can provide the labor. We'll make money together. What do you think?" Gao Yao asked, "How much do you plan to invest?" Yang Jiefang replied, "..." "Invest a little less initially, just 100,000 silver dollars..." Gao Yao exclaimed in surprise, "How much? 100,000 silver dollars? You're not kidding, are you?" Yang Jiefang said, "This is just the initial investment. Once the business is up and running, we'll expand and add more investment then." Gao Yao asked, "With such a large investment, what kind of business are you planning to do?" Yang Jiefang replied, "It's the business you're doing now, just on a larger scale." Gao Yao said, "With an investment of 100,000 silver dollars, are you planning to take over the entire business in Haiyang County?" Yang Jiefang said, "A small Haiyang County isn't enough. Let's take over the entire Jiaodong region first. How about it? Interested in doing it together?" Gao Yao said, "Such a big business, I'm afraid I can't handle it." Doing small business and doing big business are not the same thing; he really didn't have the confidence.

Yang Jiefang patted him on the shoulder and said, "Isn't this my solution? Listen to me, we can establish an urban and rural supply and marketing cooperative. We'll find a partner in every township and market within our operating area and set up a supply and marketing point. We'll cooperate with surrounding farmers, using each point as a center. The farmers will be responsible for production, and we'll handle the purchasing. We can agree on a guaranteed minimum purchase price for agricultural products beforehand, ensuring farmers make money regardless of future price fluctuations." Gao Yao quickly understood and said, "This approach is feasible, but we're buying so much stuff; if we can't sell it in time, it'll be troublesome." Yang Jiefang smiled and said, "With current productivity, we're far from achieving a supply exceeding demand." "We're desperate for a market. Especially agricultural products; we can sell as much as we want. Let me tell you, Yantai Port exports agricultural products worth over ten million silver dollars every year. Are you still worried about not having a market?" Gao Yao's eyes widened as he said, "This is a sure thing! Moreover, with our large volume, we'll have the right to negotiate prices with those big merchants. They dictate prices now, which is infuriating sometimes!" Yang Jiefang praised, "Since ancient times, it's been common for large shops to bully their customers, and vice versa. It's not surprising. The same applies to trading industrial goods. With our large volume, we can lower their prices and then distribute them to various supply and marketing points, selling them to ordinary people at low prices. This way, the people benefit, and we can make more money."

Gao Yao thought about it carefully, becoming more and more excited. He said, "Although the initial investment will be a bit large, once it reaches a certain scale, we're sure to make a lot of money. If we make money, how should we split the profits?" Yang Jiefang said, "That's easy to discuss. We're not outsiders." Gao Yao glanced at Gao Huilan and nodded, "Okay, this is such a big business. I need to go back and discuss it with my father."