Chapter 1226

Small Grindstone.

The large area on the south side of the Four Seas Hotel had already been surrounded by corrugated iron, and the original buildings had long since been demolished by explosives. The demolition machines were clattering away, chiseling at the foundations of the original structures.

Amidst the dust-filled air, workers sent by legitimate domestic construction companies, workers who had come abroad to work through legitimate employment agencies, and locals from Small Grindstone recruited through legitimate channels—a significant portion of whom were displaced residents—were provided with work by Wang Yan. In addition to them, there were gamblers brought in through legitimate transactions.

They wore uniformly issued work clothes and gloves, busy and covered in dust at the construction site.

On the perimeter, people holding rifles, dressed in tactical gear, and with their heads and faces covered, stood guard to ensure that no idlers would come in to cause trouble, and also to ensure that those inside would not run away on their own.

At the foot of the mountain, some distance from the construction site, was another site.

This site covered a large area, but the buildings were sparse. A row of prefabricated houses had already been set up on the perimeter, and further out, workers were similarly engaged in construction, laying foundations.

In the open space was a leveled plot of land, featuring parallel bars, a hundred-meter obstacle course, and other equipment like dumbbells, and even deep pits and mud pits.

It was obvious that this was a drill ground.

Wang Yan, with a cigarette in his mouth and his hands behind his back, watched the soldiers training in the field.

Zhang Da said, "Boss, is it okay?"

"Far from it." Wang Yan shook his head with a smile and pointed, "Look at that one; he clearly can't keep up. For someone like that, if he still can't keep up in a few days, he'll have to be eliminated. Demote him to the second echelon, understand?"

"Boss... I'm really not cut out for this..." Zhang Da's face was full of difficulty.

"I know, but isn't it because there's no one else on hand? You just keep doing it for now, and we'll talk when there's someone suitable. You also need to improve; maybe you'll adapt little by little and be able to do it well."

Zhang Da didn't speak. You're the boss, whatever you say goes...

Wang Yan was indeed making things difficult for him. Zhang Da couldn't even recognize all the characters; he was just a killer who only knew how to engage in violent confrontation. Now, asking him to lead the life and training of five hundred security guards, he truly didn't have the ability.

However, his requirements for this kind of leader weren't high. After all, it wasn't a regular army, and even if they fought, it would only be small-scale armed conflicts, not rising to the level of corps-level operations.

He wrote the team discipline and the drill manuals, and just had to take these people to learn and practice. As for the remaining logistical matters, they didn't need to worry about them at all.

It could be said that even a dog could do it.

Because this person represented Wang Yan, and the soldiers were all afraid of Wang Yan and loyal to him. Because under Wang Yan's awe-inspiring deterrence, he still treated them as human beings, gave them very good treatment, and promised to build good houses for their families, so they were all very content and naturally didn't cause any trouble.

After watching for a while, Wang Yan pointed out some problems in the training again, encouraged his subordinates once more, described a beautiful future life for them, boosted their spirits, and further stimulated their enthusiasm for training.

This was a part of political ideology. In this regard, Wang Yan was also proficient. This wasn't back home; he didn't want a people's army, he only wanted his own army, so he also attached great importance to these things on a daily basis.

At this time, his good memory stood out. Everyone he called by name had an excited look of being willing to die for a confidant. This trick was simple, efficient, and really very easy to use.

Of course, Wang Yan also treated them as human beings, not purely as tools, even if a significant portion of them might not be good people. But for those selling their lives for him, where would you distinguish between good and bad? Small flaws didn't matter, not to mention they were past flaws.

On the other hand, these people actually found it hard to live long, so whether they had flaws or not, it was just like that...

Raising his wrist to check the time, Wang Yan turned and went to another drill ground.

Here, more than fifty people were lined up, listening to a person who looked like an instructor giving a lecture.

"You are all applicants. You should be clear about the conditions we offer. This is a good position that many people want, much better than the conditions of warlords, drug lords, and government armies. So you must cherish this hard-won opportunity, perform well, and strive to stay here and become our brothers.

Next, I will state the recruitment standards..."

Although one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, this person who looked like an instructor was by no means the type who could say such things. That was written by Wang Yan in advance, and he made them memorize it by rote.

In order to protect everyone's safety, to lead everyone to grow bigger and stronger, and to make money for a long time, he really racked his brains...

As the instructor said, this was a place to screen soldiers whose physical conditions met the standards.

Wang Yan was constantly testing the bottom line of the Small Grindstone government. He had gathered five hundred people when he first started, and of course, it was still five hundred now.

But he implemented a weeding-out system. Five hundred people was the regular retained force. Those who were eliminated because their results were not up to standard would be scattered to continue doing things. After all, they were all people who had undergone professional military training. Their combat effectiveness might not be high, but it was enough to deal with ordinary hooligans, or even engage in gunfights with government troops.

And after being weeded out, they could still continue to train, and if they practiced well, they could still go back.

Furthermore, as his industry continued to expand, five hundred people were certainly not enough, and he still had to continue to expand his forces. If the Small Grindstone government was honest, everyone would be safe and sound; if they weren't honest, that wouldn't do either.

Because Wang Yan was continuously infiltrating and winning over figures in both the military and political circles, and had already begun to control the middle and lower-level forces of Small Grindstone. After another period of time, Wang Yan could directly hold a democratic vote and dismiss Liu Wenmin and Lin Changsheng, and even other high-level figures who didn't cooperate, without causing a ripple.

And this was in accordance with principles, and the federal government couldn't say a word.

Not to mention there were more direct means, directly causing people to have car accidents and fostering obedient people to go up, which was also in accordance with principles.

In short, the principle here was that there were no principles. Or rather, their only principle was not to provoke the will of a major power.

But under this, one couldn't really be lawless, and couldn't go too far. Even if one did, it couldn't be exposed and made known to everyone, that would be courting death. The United Nations would maintain order, and if the United Nations didn't, the provoked major power would maintain it itself. Whoever caused trouble would be helped to disappear for humanitarian reasons...

The content of the assessment was not difficult, just running twenty kilometers, sticking to the passing line of normal troop assessments. Because of the differences in individual quality, Wang Yan didn't demand that much. He only selected people with certain physical talents from the twenty-kilometer run to supplement the regular force of five hundred.

The rest, within an acceptable range, would also be given certain opportunities, counted into the reserve team, and work for him together.

He now almost monopolized the smuggling business in the area around Small Grindstone. He made a lot of money and employed many people, and could fully afford the personnel expenses...

Wang Yan stood with his arms crossed, watching the people in the field running through gritted teeth on the edge of the drill ground. As he watched, he felt something was wrong.

Because at the very front of the team was a sturdy man with a crew cut. Behind him, at a slightly further distance, was a sturdy man with semi-long hair. Behind him, basically running at the passing line, was a sturdy bald man.

People's running habits were of course all different, because everyone's posture was different. But on the other hand, those who had a background of collective training and were trained through a set of training models also had certain commonalities. This was very subtle and difficult to see.

Everyone's posture was different, and some habits were different, but those who had experienced collective life, no matter how well they disguised it, could still see subtle differences.

Undoubtedly, Wang Yan had always been a person good at observing, and he also had the experience of collective life, so he naturally understood these things even more clearly.

So Wang Yan watched the whole process.

After the run, Wang Yan went to get the registered identity information and compared it with the three people one by one. Sure enough, they all came from domestic tourism, took his tour group, and also truly wrote about their military discharge experience.

So Wang Yan found the three of them and passed around cigarettes.

He asked, "I see you are all discharged? Zhang Shunyang, you are even a fellow townsman of mine?"

"Yes, Mr. Wang, I also heard that you are doing well here, and knowing that you were recruiting soldiers, I came to take a look."

The one called Zhang Shunyang was the bald man who ran at the passing line.

Wang Yan smiled and said, "How many years have you been discharged?"

"Two years. I opened a restaurant at home, but lost everything. My family members have all passed away, and I have no wife or children. Hearing that one can get rich here, I came to see if there is any opportunity. I didn't expect to run into a fellow townsman."

"Then your physical state is maintained quite well."

"I'm used to it. If I don't practice for a day, my whole body feels uncomfortable."

Wang Yan raised his eyebrows and asked the other two, "Are you two the same?"

"Yes."

"I have even practiced Xingyi Quan. I practiced it since I was a child, and practiced even harder after becoming a soldier."

Zhang Shunyang said, "We are all not used to a stable life, and feel it's particularly boring."

"What kind of soldiers were you?"

"Artillery!"

"Sniper!"

"I am an assault soldier."

Wang Yan looked at Zhang Shunyang, who was in his thirties and the most mature and steady: "You have been a soldier for a long time, you must have been a squad leader, right?"

"I have even learned command."

"Can you manage more than five hundred people?"

Zhang Shunyang widened his eyes in surprise, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Wang Yan patted him on the shoulder: "From today on, you are my security captain. Of course, this is the title for the outside world. Five hundred people are enough for a battalion. Internally, you are the battalion commander. You two are deputy battalion commanders.

Teach according to what I wrote, and lead the team well for me. I guarantee you will have good food and drink, and I can even find ten wives for you. If you don't like it here and want to go back to the country to find one, I absolutely have no second words. I don't know what your family conditions are, but no matter what the conditions are, the money will definitely be enough for you, and it will definitely be legally deposited into your domestic accounts."

Wang Yan didn't give them much chance to talk, directly took the three of them to the training ground of the regular team, gathered everyone, dismissed Zhang Da on the spot, and let the three of Zhang Shunyang take office...

No matter whether they came with a purpose or not, Wang Yan didn't care, as long as they could lead the team. He even hoped they came with a purpose, that would be even better.

After all, his business wasn't legitimate; he was smuggling. Even, after he monopolized the smuggling business in Small Grindstone, the scale of transactions was several times greater than before, almost becoming blatant.

Wang Yan believed that if they wanted to deal with him and destroy his smuggling network, it would only take a few days. It had long been mastered clearly, mainly because he didn't hide it.

It was just because he was smuggling legitimate things that they didn't deal with him.

He used the illegality of the country and the legality here to exploit loopholes, and the money he earned was also from curious rich people. Even the things smuggled over weren't as many as those smuggled into Small Grindstone. After all, the things transported in, besides things from other countries transshipped through the country, were electronic products, and various other civil materials, etc.

They belonged to the category that could be checked or not.

If he went too far, they would hit him. If he didn't go too far, they would grasp the clues and just leave it at that. Matters had their priorities; as long as he was honest, he wasn't worth the country's crackdown.

Especially since he also did good deeds and took the initiative to provide information to show his heart, of course, there was also a certain amount of care.

The stability of the Three Borders Slope was not in the interests of the surrounding countries. But the stability of the border area was very much in line. Wang Yan was doing such a job, and exploiting such a loophole...

After handling the matters here, Wang Yan went for a stroll around the construction site again, and then went to the street where the Century Casino was located.

It could be said that this was the most prosperous commercial street in Small Grindstone.

After some time, Liu Wenmin still listened to his suggestion and made normative adjustments to this street.

Just like back home, they seriously grasped hygiene, grasped counterfeit and shoddy goods, short-weighting, and forced buying and selling. As for petty theft, kidnapping, etc., they directly sent a platoon of government troops to deal with them, and those who didn't listen would be cleaned up. At the same time, they inspected the shops and stalls on the whole street, and reasonably planned the distribution of the types of things sold on the whole street.

After such a cleanup, it really looked like something.

Even though it was still daytime and the various casinos on the street hadn't really opened yet, the flow of people was very large. Although it wasn't shoulder-to-shoulder, it was still a surging crowd.

This was thanks to Wang Yan's efforts.

After such a period of time, his travel agency had basically finished running-in. Although the travel routes were still constantly being developed, those that had been developed had already been cooperated with by his subordinates with guns. And he simultaneously standardized the behavior of relevant practitioners, and found many guides at high prices from the country. The travel experience was absolutely very good.

There were many travel projects, Small Grindstone one-day tours, three-day tours, Three Borders Slope seven-day tours, and even cross-border half-month tours. Under Wang Yan's own operation and with Chen Hao's help, these projects were implemented very well.

In previous practice, they had already brought quite a few tourists, giving them a good experience, and had already begun to accumulate a reputation. Especially now, it was the time of the domestic New Year, and the tourist crowd was increasing.

Coupled with the fact that some people in Small Grindstone saw Wang Yan doing tourism with great enthusiasm, both legitimate and illegitimate people came up. Anyway, what was said back home was flowery and hard to distinguish between true and false, which also attracted a lot of people.

Thus, it was no surprise that Small Grindstone was so lively today.

Wang Yan bought a cup of milk tea and strolled while drinking. The clamor of various dialects and Mandarin in his ears made him think for a moment that this was really a commercial street back home.

If he hadn't seen the government soldiers holding guns on the side of the road...

"Boss, do you want to play a couple of hands? Experience it? It's very fun, just treat it as entertainment. If you want to go to the shooting range or go hunting, I have discounts. If you want to find a sister, it's also okay. I have many beautiful sisters in my hands, I guarantee you will be comfortable to heaven. Boss, don't be afraid, although the Three Borders Slope is indeed a bit chaotic, I guarantee the boss's safety.

This is my business card, I am the best dog in the Three Borders Slope, my name is Wang Anquan, finding me is the safest."

In the noisy crowd, the unique words penetrated the noise and reached Wang Yan's ears.

He turned his head and looked over, only to see a young man wearing a floral shirt characteristic of the Three Borders Slope, with yellow hair combed back, an angular face, a pair of small eyes squeezed out, looking cunning, and a thin figure, desperately introducing himself.

As he said, he was Wang Anquan. He was bad, but not thoroughly bad. He had no conscience, but not entirely none. He didn't keep his word and had no loyalty, but he still had a little bit. He knew what he wanted and was willing to risk his life to do it. He was the most brilliant and contradictory character in the drama, very interesting.

Just right, at this time Wang Anquan had already sent the business card, and seeing that the person had no ideas, he politely said to call him anytime if needed. Seeing Wang Yan's gaze looking over, he thought there were ideas, and went straight towards Wang Yan.

"Boss, I see your temperament is extraordinary, are you interested in playing a couple of hands? It's not far, just at the Century Casino over there, the place is very big, and the sisters are very beautiful."

"Do you know what happened to the last stacker who pulled me to the Century Casino?"

"Of course, he made a fortune. The boss looks like a winner."

"You are wrong." Wang Yan hugged his shoulder and smiled, "He was killed by Yan Baimei. I heard he was even buried alive. This guy surnamed Bai is really not a good thing, he is really ruthless."

Wang Anquan was stunned for a moment, various information flashed through his mind, and then he widened his eyes in horror.

But he didn't tremble yet, and accompanied with a smiling face, said: "Oh, you are Mr. Wang, right? I really have eyes but don't recognize Mount Tai. Such a big figure as Mr. Wang is standing here, and I didn't recognize you the first time."

Wang Yan raised his eyebrows: "Okay, you know about this?"

"Everyone knows. Mr. Wang is a big figure. Everyone is inquiring and studying how Mr. Wang became so powerful. With so many people in the Three Borders Slope, who doesn't want to be the next Mr. Wang?"

Wang Yan stopped scaring him, let go of his hand and patted him on the shoulder: "Do you want to?"

"Of course I want to, I dream about it. But I know it's impossible, I can't compare to a hair of Mr. Wang."

"You are quite good, are you interested in working with me?"

"Mr. Wang, I can't ask for more. If I can do things for Mr. Wang, I will definitely go through fire and water, and I will not refuse even if I die."

"We are out to make money, not to die. It's just that sometimes, if you want to make money, you have to risk your life, I am also very helpless." Wang Yan smiled, learning Wang Anquan's tone of speaking.

Speaking of which, he really could. He had also mixed in Gui Province, and he also understood the Gui dialect.

"That must be because others are stingy and unwilling to send money to Mr. Wang, too stingy."

"You have a future."

Wang Yan laughed, patted him on the shoulder, "Let's go, stroll around with me, and I'll arrange work for you when we go back."

"Thank you, Mr. Wang, Mr. Wang, don't worry, I will definitely work hard and make a lot of money for you."

"It's us getting rich together..."