Chapter 257: Shijiutang

Thriller.

I never thought that Shi Bingdao would stab me in the back.

This guy doesn't seem that sinister. How come...

Three hundred people, boss.

How am I going to support them? The food expenses alone must be quite a lot every month, right?

Do I have to pay them a salary?

Boss Dai's Fuxing Society only has a little over a thousand people.

I'm a fucking squad leader, with 300 people under me. If the governor knew, he wouldn't dare sleep at night, would he?

Damn it...

'Why are there so many people?'

'Didn't you say before to recruit, recruit, recruit...'

'But you didn't need to recruit so many!'

'Isn't the more the merrier? Strength in numbers. They're all from the 19th Route Army...'

'First tell me, where is this place?'

'Originally, this place didn't have a name. After they arrived, they cleared the land and cultivated the land, so it was named Shijiutang. Don't worry. I've taken care of all the formalities.

'What formalities?'

'It's a legal village. They have household registration books.'

'Oh...'

Zhang Yong let out a sigh of relief.

In other words, they can farm nearby and be self-sufficient?

Forget it, that's probably a bit too much to ask. But if they can be partially self-sufficient, it will take a lot of pressure off him. And there won't be so many accidents.

As long as there is work to do, it won't be so easy to get into trouble.

Otherwise, what would happen if there were hundreds of young men with nothing to do? Fighting, chaos...

Find out more.

It turns out that there are actually more than 300 people in Shijiutang.

Because some of the soldiers of the 19th Route Army had already married and had children, they also moved here with their families.

Smoke curls up from the chimneys...

Wife, children, a warm bed...

'I need people who can fight,' Zhang Yong frowns, 'not the weak and the elderly.'

'Yes, you can pick anyone you like!' explained Shi Bingdao, "You can go and pick now.'

'Great!" Zhang Yong went to the middle of the village. There was an open space here.

It could be used as a place to dry the grain. It could also be used to gather the people.

Shi Bingdao was obviously very familiar with the "villagers". He greeted everyone with a smile.

Zhang Yong forced a smile and greeted everyone.

Then he sensitively noticed that it seemed that the "villagers" were divided into two factions.

They were clearly divided.

Some were on the east side. Some were on the west side.

They were clearly divided.

There were more people on the east side. More than two-thirds.

'What's going on?'

'Well...'

'Tell me the truth.'

'Sir, you know, the men of the 19th Route Army don't want to shoot at themselves. So...'

'So what?'

'Some believe you and think you really are taking them to kill the Japanese invaders. But the others are doubtful. They think you might be deceiving them. Killing the Japanese was a gimmick.'

'Which part believes in me?'

'...the western side.'

'I see.'

Zhang Yong frowned inwardly.

These officers and soldiers of the 19th Route Army are very picky!

However, it is not surprising that there is such a difference of opinion. Because their consistent principle is not to fight their own people.

In the beginning, some of them were in the battle sequence of the Nanchang Uprising. But then they broke away from the uprising. In the final analysis, they still did not want to shoot their own people.

No matter who was fighting whom. They always insisted that the Chinese would not fight the Chinese.

Later, Chiang Kai-shek transferred them to encircle and attack the Red Army, but they refused. They simply staged a coup in Fujian. Refusing to attack the Red Army.

The coup failed, and they were transferred to garrison Shanghai. Fighting the Japanese invaders. But they performed very well.

It can be seen that the vast majority of them did adhere to the principle of not shooting at Chinese people. But they were not hesitant to kill the Japanese invaders and the invaders.

However, the harsh reality constantly reminded them that many people had indeed deceived them.

Therefore, it was completely understandable not to trust Zhang Yong.

'Fortunately, there are more than a hundred people who believe in me,' Zhang Yong consoled himself.

'As long as the boss really takes them to fight the Japanese invaders, they will naturally change their opinion,' Shi Bingdao said meaningfully.

'Okay, let's get started. Whether they believe it or not, let me see what they can do.'

'I'll go talk to them.'

'Good!'

Soon, the communication was complete.

The principle remains the same: killing the Japanese is fine, but fighting your own people is not.

Zhang Yong: ...

Okay. I originally wanted to use them to eliminate Zhang Xiaolin. Now that's probably not going to happen. I'll just have to use them to eliminate the Japanese.

Let the assessment begin.

The first aspect is strength.

Shi Bingdao has prepared two super-heavy stone locks.

Zhang Yong tries them himself and can't even lift one with both hands. Each weighs over 80 catties.

The requirement of the assessment is to lift both weights with one hand.

If there is any superman who can lift the weights, it is beyond the standard.

'I'll go first!'

A burly man with a square face steps forward.

He holds the stone weight in one hand. It is lifted with ease.

Then, he holds the other stone weight in the other hand and lifts it with ease as well.

Zhang Yong: ...

Damn, that's exaggerated!

Are these guys all strongmen?

Over 100 pounds, and they don't even look flustered? What bravado!

Okay, I'll reward you!

He immediately took out a silver dollar. As a reward.

The strongman took the silver dollar, and as if he wasn't satisfied, he smiled and said, 'Master, if I lift the stone weight...'

'Reward 10 silver dollars!' Zhang Yong was not stingy.

If you're capable, I've got the money.

If he can lift the stone weight, then he's truly a godsend.

A reward of ten silver dollars is not too much.

In the future, if you encounter Japanese invaders, you won't need weapons, you can just punch them to death.

'Good!'

The strong man lifted a stone weight in one hand.

It was a bit of a trick. He was actually using the strength of his waist. And there was inertia to go upwards.

However, Zhang Yong was already very satisfied. With such an action, if he practiced for ten years, he still wouldn't be able to do it. He might even break his waist. From then on, he was half crippled.

'Papatapa!'

'Papatapa!'

The people around him applauded.

The burly man's face was red. It was clear that he was also having some difficulty. After all, he was lifting it with one hand.

He picked up the other stone and, using more of his waist strength and inertia, swung it over his head. After holding it for about a second, he hurriedly put it down.

'It's okay!'

Zhang Yong nodded. He took out a US dollar bill. It was worth five US dollars.

There aren't that many dollars. He can only hand out US dollars. Five US dollars can be exchanged for more than 20 taels of silver. This is a pretty good reward.

'Thank you!'

'Thank you!'

Sure enough, the strongman was very happy.

He took the five US dollars and showed it to everyone. The others were suddenly eager to try.

'I'll do it!'

The second person came up.

He also successfully lifted both stone locks.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to lift them.

After all, there are plenty of strong men. But super strong men are very rare.

So the same reward of a dollar was offered.

'I'll do it!'

But it was the third, fourth, fifth...

In succession, a total of 15 people were able to lift the stone locks with both hands. It really was the remnants of the 19th Route Army, with hidden tigers and dragons!

However, only the guy in the front row could lift the stone locks.

His name, Zhang Yong also learned.

Shi Hu.

Just as his name suggested,

It turned out that he was the commander of the 19th Route Army's assault company.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, he once swung his sabre and killed five devils. He was incredibly powerful.

Very good. Zhang Yong needed such a talented person.

Two years later, Shanghai fell, and Shi Hu was still able to kill the enemy with gusto during the resistance war behind enemy lines.

'How's your marksmanship?'

'Do you have a machine gun?'

'Of course,'

Zhang Yong replied solemnly.

Not at the moment. But there will definitely be one in the future.

If we can't even get machine guns, how are we going to kill the Japanese invaders?

'It's not a good place to shoot. So we won't be testing your marksmanship. The rest of you, show me what else you can do.'

'Does 'walking on walls' count?'

'Yes,'

Zhang Yong answered loudly.

Of course it counts. It would be best if you could fly. You should know how to do the 'light step'.

It would be even better if you knew the 'leap through the clouds'. Step on your right foot with your left foot, step on your left foot with your right foot, and scamper up to the sky.

'Get out!'

'Get out!'

The crowd pushed out a slippery teenager.

He looked more than twenty, but he was small and looked like a stunted child.

'What can you do?'

'Steal chickens, climb trees, catch birds, everything.'

'Can you climb walls?'

'In general, yes. Not the really slippery ones.'

'Good.'

Zhang Yong handed him a silver dollar.

He needed some eccentric and strange talents. Occasionally, the talents of a chicken thief could be useful.

But for the time being, the others were not very useful.

After all, there was no large-scale war yet. There was no need to commit to battle in an organised manner.

'Laoshi, let's go.'

'No more selection?'

'I've accepted everyone. For now, let's maintain the status quo.'

Zhang Yong took out a stack of banknotes.

He had previously seized them from Wen Zhenping. There were a total of 700 silver dollars.

The banknotes were from the Commercial Bank. It seems that it also has branches on Shanghai Beach. In fact, all banks have branches on Shanghai Beach.

'This is...'

'For their daily expenses. And to supplement their nutrition. If their physical fitness is too poor, they will not be able to defeat the Japanese when they encounter them.'

'Understood. I will arrange it.'

'Thank you!'

Zhang Yong felt that Shi Bingdao and Gu Mozhai (Gu Yuting) had completely different styles.

Gu Yuting is more conservative and sticks to the bottom line, and he doesn't have a very good impression of Zhang Yong. He also refuses to let Zhang Yong get in close contact with the organisation. But Shi Bingdao seems to be much more flexible.

Perhaps this is the difference between living in Shanghai Beach and living elsewhere? In Shanghai Beach, if you are not flexible, you cannot survive.

'Arrange for a few people to work at your newspaper. There will be tasks at any time.'

'Okay.'

While discussing, the two men returned to Si Ma Road.

They saw the former Huai Zhou Bookstore. It was still in ruins. A thought occurred to him.

'Have you bought this place?'

'I dare not.'

'Why not?'

'It's suspicious.'

'The Party Affairs Investigation Department is still keeping an eye on this place?'

'Yes. Occasionally someone comes to check.'

'Really?'

Zhang Yong frowned.

Those guys from the Central Government Political Information Agency are really persistent!

They're still keeping a close eye on this place.

Fine.

Our Military Government Information Agency will specifically compete with you from the Central Government Political Information Agency.

He immediately returned to the office. He summoned Yang Zhi and told him to use the name of the Fuxing Society to buy up all the empty houses on Sima Road.

'The key is the Huaizhou Bookstore.'

'Understood.'

'There are loose ends from the Party Affairs Investigation Office there. We need to step on the Party Affairs Investigation Office's tail.'

'Understood.'

Yang Zhi promised and left.

Zhang Yong was about to go back to his office when he suddenly saw a group of people returning.

Oh, Kou Xingde.

Head of the Sixth Operations Group of the Operations Department of the Fuxing Society. Tang Zong's man.

He's also in Songhu?

Oh, I remember. He was sent here by the Director.

The Director doesn't want to see him. But he can't get rid of him, so he has to send him to the Songhu office. Unexpectedly, he ran into me.

Well, I guess this guy won't obey my orders.

Everyone else is an experienced team leader. How could they listen to him?

However...

'Shaolong!'

Kou Xingde was very enthusiastic.