Newborn 1927

After resting, they set off at full speed. The road was wide and busy, with many pedestrians. Although the group concealed their weapons, passersby still gave them sidelong glances. Zhao Family Village was located in the southern part of Laiyang County, bordering Jimo County, more than two hundred li away. In this era without navigation, without someone to guide them, they wouldn't even know the way. Yang Jiefang didn't know the way either; the last time he traveled this route, he was tied to a horse-drawn cart. There's a saying in the countryside: "The way is in the mouth." Yang Jiefang hurried along, asking for directions as he went. Transportation was still very underdeveloped in this era, and the route was winding and circuitous; he didn't know how many times they had gone around, but they finally arrived at their destination in the afternoon.

Instead of immediately entering the village, Yang Jiefang led his men to hide in a small grove of trees on the east side of the village. Their plan was to sneak into the village at midnight, rob it, and then leave. Despite their boastful words, these men were actually quite uneasy and didn't want to cause trouble. Not all bandits are ruthless; these men weren't as brave as they appeared. Lu Ziqi, Tiechui, and Tiedan might have indeed killed people, but that was in a fit of rage; they might not dare to kill again under rational circumstances.

Yang Jiefang didn't tell everyone his true thoughts. "Aren't they just a few lackeys of local rich landlords? What fighting power could they possibly have? If they can't even handle this, how can they go and make revolution with the instructors?" Yet, Yang Jiefang harbored a blind confidence and was determined to pull off something big. He told everyone to rest there while he went to scout ahead. Hou Fei wanted to come along, and Yang Jiefang didn't refuse, leading Hou Fei to a rather secluded house at the east end of the village. This was the home of his childhood playmate, Wang Dali. In rural areas, children are generally free-range; who doesn't have a few playmates to play with in the mud? Wang Dali and Chen Ergou were Yang Jiefang's childhood friends; because they weren't surnamed Zhao, they were often ostracized by the Zhao family children in Zhao Village. Wang Dali was a year older than Yang Jiefang, while Chen Ergou was the same age. The three played together well as children, but gradually drifted apart after starting school.

Wang Dali was chopping firewood in front of his house. He was tall and burly, and rather honest-looking. Coincidentally, Chen Ergou was also there, helping out; piling up the chopped firewood and placing the unchopped pieces in their proper places. Chen Ergou was slightly thin, but his eyes gleamed with a sharp intelligence. Seeing Yang Jiefang approaching, the two stopped unconsciously. As they drew closer, Chen Ergou called out, "Yang Sanwa, it really is you!" Yang Sanwa was Yang Jiefang's nickname, because he was the third child in his family; besides his older sister, he had an older brother who died young.

Yang Jiefang called out, "Brother Dali, Er Gouzi, I didn't expect you two to be together. It saves me a trip." Chen Er Gou said, "Sanwazi, you really can't resist being nagged. We were just talking about you." Calling him by his childhood nickname felt especially warm, as if he had returned to his childhood. Yang Jiefang asked, "What are you talking about? Why are you suddenly talking about me?" Wang Dali replied, "Er Gouzi said that if we had lent a hand back then, maybe your family wouldn't be in this situation." Yang Jiefang smiled bitterly, "Both of your families rented land from Zhao Jinyuan's family. How can we help? If we offend them and they take back your land, how will you two families live?" Wang Dali looked helpless and agreed, "Yes, that's why everyone is afraid of them." Chen Er Gou said, "Actually, there might be a way. If all of us tenants unite, Zhao Jinyuan will have a hard time too." Yang Jiefang's heart lit up. This idea was excellent; it was exactly what he wanted.

Chen Ergou said again, "Sanwazi, Zhao Changgui is back. He caused a scene at Zhao Jinyuan's house today." Yang Jiefang thought for a moment and quickly remembered that Zhao Changgui was a young man in the village who had worked odd jobs for his family during the busy farming season. Chen Ergou's sudden mention of him puzzled Yang Jiefang. Chen Ergou immediately explained, "It seems you don't know. This Zhao Changgui has gotten together with your sister. He was working in Qingdao and came back at the end of the year to propose marriage to your family. But then your family had some trouble, and in his panic, he tried to fight Zhao Jinyuan, almost causing a major incident." So that's what happened; Yang Jiefang really didn't know. No wonder Zhao Changgui was always the most enthusiastic one to come to work; it turns out he had his eye on Yang Lianhua's sister. So he asked, "What happened? Is he alright?" Chen Ergou replied, "Thanks to his brother Zhao Changfu who called a group of people over; and his childhood friend Zhao Changming, who is very respected in the security team, pleaded for him; Zhao Jinyuan couldn't do anything to Zhao Changgui. However, Zhao Jinyuan has said he'll take back the land Zhao Changgui's family rents. This matter isn't over yet." Yang Jiefang listened attentively and asked curiously, "When did Zhao Changming join the security team?" Zhao Changming and Zhao Changgui were close and had both worked as day laborers for Yang Jiefang's family.

Chen Ergou said, "You probably don't know, but Zhao Jinyuan's security team originally only had four people. The captain was Zhao Jinyuan's eldest son Zhao Changren's brother-in-law, surnamed Li; the members were just Wang Sanlai and two others. But now, there are more than thirty." Yang Jiefang and Hou Fei were both shocked and asked, "How could this be?" Chen Ergou glanced at Hou Fei and replied, "Didn't Zhao Jinyuan receive a letter from Master Shan? He was given three days to hand over three thousand silver dollars, or else... his life would be in danger! Zhao Jinyuan got scared and temporarily recruited strong men from the village to supplement the security team. Now there are more than thirty people, divided into three small teams, each with about ten people. Zhao Jinyuan still felt it wasn't safe enough, so he sent someone to the county to report the news."

Yang Jiefang suddenly felt things were getting a bit tricky and started to think. Chen Ergou whispered, "Sanwazi, look at the brother next to you, his waist is bulging, it seems like he's hiding something. Tell me honestly, did you bring this 'Mountain Master' here?" Yang Jiefang smiled wryly, "You're mistaken. I also want to know who this 'Mountain Master' is. The brother next to me is my savior, but he's definitely not one of the 'Mountain Master's' men. We'll talk about that later. Ergouzi, can you do me a favor?" Chen Ergou said, "Look at you, just tell me what it is!" Yang Jiefang said, "It's not convenient for me to show myself right now. Could you call Zhao Changgui over for me, but don't let anyone else know?" Chen Ergou nodded, "I understand, don't worry, I'll be there in a bit." He turned and left.

Wang Dali said, "Come in and sit down, it's windy outside." Yang Jiefang nodded, also worried about being bumped into if they stayed outside too long, and followed Wang Dali into the house with Hou Fei. Hou Fei whispered, "The situation has changed, we should leave first." Yang Jiefang shook his head and said, "No rush, let's find out what's going on first." Wang Dali's house was a mud-brick house shaped like the Chinese character "田" (field). The first room was the living room, which also served as the dining room. As soon as Wang Dali entered the house, he ushered his younger siblings into the inner room, made Yang Jiefang and Hou Fei sit down, and poured them water.

While drinking hot water, Yang Jiefang asked, "Brother Dali, how was your family's harvest this year?" Wang Dali sighed and said, "The harvest is getting worse every year, and we still have to pay rent and taxes, and there are more and more donations to be made. Next year, when there's a lean season, we'll have to borrow money again. Sigh, we borrow money every year, and we can't pay it all off. I don't know when it will end." Although he was only sixteen years old, he was already a strong laborer in the family. Yang Jiefang actually knew a general idea of ​​their family's situation, and asked again, "Have you thought about changing this situation?" Wang Dali smiled憨厚ly and said, "Of course I have! But what can I do?" Yang Jiefang said seriously, "Of course there are ways, it just depends on whether you dare to do it." Seeing Wang Dali looking at him憨憨ly, he continued, "Er Gouzi was right just now. As long as we all unite, Zhao Jinyuan will have to worry and be afraid of us." Wang Dali asked, "Can this work?" Yang Jiefang didn't try to fool him with empty words and said, "There are risks, but the chances of success are still very high. As long as we succeed, your family won't have to worry about food and clothing anymore." Although Wang Dali was憨厚, he wasn't stupid, otherwise he wouldn't be hanging out with Yang Jiefang and Chen Er Gou. Nodding, Wang Dali said, "I'll think about it carefully."

Chen Ergou quickly brought Zhao Changgui over. Zhao Changgui was tall and slender with dark skin. As soon as he entered the room, he said, "Sanwazi, it really is you! Where is your sister?" Yang Jiefang said, "I'm all grown up now, so please call me by my full name, Yang Jiefang! I don't know where my sister is now. I've already asked someone to look for her. Once we find her, I'll try my best to rescue her. Brother Changgui, I've heard about what happened between you and my sister. But I have to tell you, my sister might have been sold to a brothel. Will you still want my sister then?" Zhao Changgui hurriedly said, "What are you saying? I've only ever considered your sister for life. As long as we can rescue her, I'll marry her and treat her well for the rest of my life."

Seeing his resolute tone, Yang Jiefang knew he was speaking from the heart and nodded, saying, "We'll talk about that later, Brother Changgui. Zhao Jinyuan ruined my family, and this revenge is unavoidable. After I get my revenge, I'll go and rescue my sister. Brother Changgui, are you willing to help me get revenge?" Zhao Changgui clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, saying, "How could I not? I wish I could strangle that bastard with my own hands. Three... Yang Jiefang, just tell me how you want to get revenge?" Yang Jiefang said fiercely, "He ruined my family, and I must make sure his family is ruined too. But my strength alone is too small; I need everyone's help. This isn't just about helping me get revenge; it's also about helping everyone rid the world of this scourge. Everyone knows what Zhao Jinyuan has done over the years; all the victims who have been bullied and exploited by his family, let's unite and settle accounts with him together." Chen Ergou clapped his hands and cheered, saying, "That's exactly what we should do!"

Zhao Changgui frowned and said, "I'm afraid it won't be easy. His family now has a security team, and they're armed with real weapons." Yang Jiefang asked, "You've been to his house, do you know exactly how many men and guns his security team has? Are they well-equipped?" Zhao Changgui shook his head and said, "I was too anxious at the time to pay attention to these things. But Changming definitely knows." Yang Jiefang seized the opportunity to say, "Then can you invite Brother Changming over? We need his help with this!" Zhao Changgui replied, "I'll try. I don't think there will be any problems." Yang Jiefang reminded him, "Don't tell anyone I'm back yet!" Zhao Changgui nodded and said, "I know, I won't talk about it unless we're life-or-death friends."

After Zhao Changgui left, Yang Jiefang instructed Hou Fei, "Tell the brothers about the situation here, so they don't get impatient." Hou Fei nodded and went out as well. Watching Hou Fei walk away, Chen Ergou asked, "Yang Jiefang, do you know anything about these people? Are they reliable?" Yang Jiefang smiled and said, "Don't worry! They're trustworthy. Don't bother asking about their backgrounds; we'll have to rely on them for today's business."

Not long after, Hou Fei returned, this time with someone else by his side. It was Yan Donglai, who had followed him out of concern. Although Yang Jiefang was unhappy, there was nothing he could do; he couldn't completely control these people and couldn't enforce their orders.

Zhao Changgui returned quickly, accompanied by Zhao Changming and two other young men. Zhao Changgui introduced them, saying, "These are my good brothers, Changming, Changzhi, and Changgen; they're the ones who saved me from Zhao Jinyuan's house today." Zhao Changming and the others naturally recognized Yang Jiefang, but they didn't recognize Yan Donglai and Hou Fei beside him. Moreover, it was clear that these two were not simple men, especially Yan Donglai, who seemed like a ruthless character. Yang Jiefang quickly introduced them, saying, "Brother Changming, these two are my friends. Don't worry, they're not bad people."

Zhao Changming then asked, "Brother Yang, tell me the truth, did you recruit Master Shan?"