Old Fei asked in bewilderment, "How did you suddenly think of stealing it?"
I said matter-of-factly, "Didn't you say we can't use guns?"
Fei Sankou chuckled: "As expected of the founder of Liangshan Club, your philosophy is very straightforward."
I said, "By the way, those people all come from remote mountain villages, and there's the issue of their identities and household registration..."
“We’ll take care of that.”
...
I'm currently on the campus of R University in this city. I contacted Yan Jingsheng early this morning to say I needed to speak with him. I thought about it all night, and he's currently the best person to gather the children. But I didn't clearly tell him my purpose. I didn't know how to say it. I didn't know if he wanted to stay in school and finish his studies or continue being his "child leader." It seemed the former was more appealing. He didn't drop out of school because he loved the job of a village primary school teacher; it was because of financial problems.
Looking back now, I realize that the person I wronged the most was this scholar. I gave him 300 yuan without thinking twice, and when we first developed feelings for each other, I gave him some money without even explaining and told him to come back to school. Now that I need his help, I shamelessly ask him to go back and take care of the wild children, as if I don't treat him like a human being at all.
We agreed to meet on the bench to the left of the school gate, and he was already there when I arrived.
Yan Jingsheng seemed to be doing well; he was wearing the latest clothes, and his glasses had been upgraded to resin ones. He had a thick stack of books tucked under his arm. It seemed that not only had his quality of life improved, but his studies were also very fulfilling.
But when I got closer to him, I noticed a hint of loneliness in his eyes. When I sat down next to him, he looked up at me blankly, still with that dazed expression. This made me feel a sense of closeness to him, as if he had always been my best friend. I even wanted to hug him.
"Director Xiao?"
"Teacher Yan."
"Hehe, I'm not a teacher anymore, I'm a student now."
"Would you be willing to go back to being your teacher?"
...
After I explained the situation, Yan Jingsheng jumped up: "Damn it, why didn't you say so sooner?" He slapped me hard on the back, which startled me. I thought he was going to beat me up. I had never seen him like this before.
He stood up and paced excitedly in front of me, stopping every now and then to glance at me. I didn't know what was wrong with him, or whether his behavior meant he agreed or disagreed. When a student who was clearly much younger than us passed by, Yan Jingsheng grabbed him and said, "Take all my things back to the dorm. Could you please help me pack my luggage? I'll be back to get it soon." As he spoke, he shoved a pile of books into the student's lap. It turned out that the student was his current roommate.
His roommate looked at us in alarm and asked him, "Where are you going?"
"I'm not going to study anymore, I'm dropping out!"
Then Yan Jingsheng snapped his fingers at me and said decisively, "Director Xiao, let's go."
I was really touched that Yan Jingsheng had always cared about those children, but why do I feel like he's becoming more and more like Tang Sanzang from A Chinese Odyssey...?
I drove directly into the fields of Yao Village. Yan Jingsheng said he had a way to gather the children in the shortest amount of time. We got out of the car where it couldn't go any further, and Yan Jingsheng shouted to a boy who was rolling up some grass: "Wang Wuhua, go and tell everyone from our school to come and report—remember, our school, not your class."
Wang Wuhua raised her head, which was covered in straw, and stared blankly at Yan Jingsheng, seemingly in disbelief.
Yan Jingsheng urged, "Go quickly, you have class this afternoon."
Wang Wuhua dropped the fork and ran off, with Yan Jingsheng shouting from behind, "Run faster!"
Wang Wuhua immediately disappeared from the field like a mad dog that had broken free of its reins (the third time this phrase has been used).
Yan Jingsheng laughed heartily. Only now did I realize that Yan Jingsheng had another side; I vaguely saw a young Principal Zhang in him. I've never really liked Yan Jingsheng, and I still do, but that's how some people are—you can dislike them, but you can't help but respect them.
Then we went back to the old campus, and I saw Engineer Cui again, who was always so domineering whenever he appeared on the construction site. Beside him was a guy who was even more confident than him: Li Yun.
Such a massive project naturally required Li Yun's involvement. Actually, Engineer Cui didn't welcome him at all. Cui had already drawn up the blueprints, but Li Yun insisted on making changes, wanting to add a bridge here and a rockery there. The two argued for a long time, but Li Yun couldn't shake Engineer Cui's beautiful vision, and Engineer Cui couldn't shake off Li Yun's persistent demands. In the end, they had to compromise: according to Li Yun's wishes, a barbican would be built at both the west and north gates…
Around 3 p.m., during regular school hours, groups of children gathered in front of the old teaching building at Yucai School. They arrived in batches, some even carrying farm tools, clearly having come unexpectedly. All the children arrived excitedly, jumping and shouting with joy upon seeing Yan Jingsheng, asking him all sorts of questions. When they received confirmation that classes would officially resume the next day, they cheered collectively for three minutes.
During this process, more and more children arrived. They were from distant villages and came after hearing Wang Wuhua's message.
An hour later, almost all the students from Qianyucai Primary School had arrived. In the distance, two figures, one tall and one short, came running at full speed, as if they were having a race.
The shorter one was a child. As he ran, he curiously looked at the tall man beside him and said, "Uncle, you run so fast!" The tall man looked down at him and laughed, "You're not slow either."
The two men arrived in front of us in a short while. The child was Wang Wuhua, and the adult was Dai Zong. Yan Jingsheng had already told me that Wang Wuhua was physically fit and had always been good at long-distance running. He had been running non-stop for twenty or thirty miles since morning, contacting his former classmates, and returned as if nothing had happened.
Dai Zong patted Wang Wuhua on the head, walked over and whispered in my ear, "I want this apprentice."
Just then, another child arrived with the flock of sheep. Some sheep kept running off to graze, so the child picked up a stone and threw it, hitting one of the stray sheep in the horn and keeping the flock in order. Zhang Qing was amused…
With Wang Wuhua's return to the team, the first batch of students from the former Yucai Primary School, now Yucai Martial Arts School, all assembled. Yan Jingsheng excitedly said a few words and then counted the number of students.
There were exactly 300 children in total.
Chapter Fifty-Three: Two "Half-Humans"
As the heroes returned in batches, the 300 children greatly intrigued them. Li Kui, without a word, chose the two tallest boys; Zhang Qing took the shepherd boy into his fold; and Tang Long took in two blacksmiths' children nearby. Xiao Rang wasn't idle either; he recruited several particularly quiet boys, said to have excellent handwriting, as his henchmen. The Ruan brothers led away a group of children who loved playing in the water…
This highlights a very acute problem. Everyone knows that even with the current gender imbalance, there are still 100 girls among these 300 children, and the heroes subconsciously ignored them when choosing their disciples. Hu Sanniang was furious and immediately took the girls to train in the wilderness.
Yan Jingsheng stared blankly at the 300 straight boys who had been divided up by the heroes in an instant. I patted his shoulder and comforted him: "You know we are a school of both literature and martial arts. It's a good thing that the children are studying under famous teachers."
But there were still dozens of children left over, unloved and neglected. An Daoquan intended to take them all in, but I wasn't comfortable with it. Old An's traditional Chinese medicine and bone-setting skills were indeed unparalleled, but he preferred teaching people astrology, tortoise shell divination, and physiognomy—to put it bluntly, those kinds of charlatan tricks. Actually, in terms of connections, Doctor An was quite well-connected. Farmers didn't have the habit of going to hospitals, and people from the surrounding villages would go to him for folk remedies for minor ailments, weddings and funerals, and even things like losing a pig or a ring. If these children followed him, they would all turn into little charlatans in less than six months.
At this moment, Shi Qian walked over, and all the heroes, including myself, looked at him warily. Shi Qian chuckled and said, "Don't look at me like that. I can just teach them lightness skills..."
Lin Chong walked over and said, "Xiao Qiang, this isn't going to work, is it? While everyone has their own expertise, that requires a certain foundation. I've never seen anyone directly lead kids in such reckless behavior." He glanced at Li Kui. There, Li Kui was leading two big, clumsy guys, lifting stones. Li Kui was circling back and forth, shouting, "Swing! Swing it harder!"
Then I remembered that I had an instructor from the 800,000 Imperial Guards here, so I quickly asked, "Brother Chong, what do you suggest we do?"
Lin Chong said, "At least the basic moves and physical training in martial arts are essential. How about this, I will lead these children in morning and evening exercises, and they can choose their own teachers at other times based on their individual interests."
I was inspired: "That is to say, courses are divided into required courses and elective courses, general courses and major courses."
Yan Jingsheng kept asking, "What about academic subjects?"