Chapter 63: The Recruitment Fair

A large cauldron bubbled and churned, spewing white mist. The two hired cooks labored to stoke the fire, and the fragrance of congee and steamed buns drifted in waves into the shantytown. Soon the place erupted like a boiling pot — starving people surged out, and the area around the cauldron was instantly packed solid. Clusters of ragged adults and children stared at the cauldron, drooling. Lu Lvzi, Dai Zhenggang, and Hai Gouzi stood at the sides with drawn Japanese swords, and no one dared rush forward to grab.

Chen Xin nodded to Zhang Dahui, who turned to the crowd and bellowed, "Brother trackers! My young master is recruiting household guards here. Our young master has a good heart — monthly pay of one tael of silver, never in arrears, plus five dou of rice every month, guaranteed to keep your whole family well fed." The crowd stirred at once. One tael of silver plus five dou of rice a month — if there were no deductions, it truly could feed a family.

Chen Xin dared not openly recruit soldiers near Jingshi. If the censors got wind of it, a single memorial would land him in endless trouble. He had to do it under the name of hiring household guards.

Zhang Dahui went on, "Once you get there, there's land to be parceled out. Your wives and children can farm it. You yourselves just need to train a bit each day, and if bandits come, you fight them off. Where else under heaven can you find such a good deal? It's all fallen right into your laps."

The crowd had been listening quietly, but now a buzz of discussion broke out. One tracker hesitated and asked, "Brother, I'm not afraid of bandits, but what if I get killed or crippled? What happens to my wife and kids then?"

"If you're wounded or killed, there's thirty taels of silver as compensation. If you have children, the master will see they're fed and raised until they're sixteen."

"Thirty taels!" The man exclaimed in astonishment, as if surprised his own life could be worth so much.

Zhang Dahui laughed heartily. "That's right, thirty taels. Not just silver — later there's land too. The land will be leased to you long-term, and the rent will definitely be lower than what your hometown landlords charge."

The trackers buzzed with discussion. Chen Xin watched them from the side — all lean and wiry, standing in clusters. Clearly they grouped by fellow provincials; each cluster had one or two leaders, and everyone gathered around them to talk it over. Chen Xin paid special attention to those standing alone or in small scattered groups, memorizing their faces.

One of the larger tracker groups finished their discussion, and a burly leader stepped out and asked, "Brother, how far away is this place of yours?"

"It's far — over in Shandong, and not by the Grand Canal either."

The lead tracker asked again, "If we all go, could you give us some travel money first? So we can get ready and go with you."

Zhang Dahui's eyes shifted. This man was clearly trying to take advantage. If he gave them travel money and they ran off, where would he find them? He shook his head. "Those who come with us, we'll arrange the journey ourselves. Besides, my young master is offering such good terms — he's going to be selective. It's not just whoever wants to come."

The dense crowd of trackers all hesitated. After all, they'd never seen these men before, and they were armed with sharp blades. Recruiting people for no apparent reason — no one knew what it was really about.

Zhang Dahui said unhurriedly, "Think it over carefully. If you'd rather stay here and starve to death, that's your choice. If you're willing to follow my young master, you might just win yourselves a future. This is my young master — fine-looking, talented in both pen and sword. Following him is a blessing you earned in your last life." Zhang Dahui gestured to Chen Xin beside him — richly dressed, indeed fine-looking, though the "talented in both pen and sword" part was not so evident.

The lead tracker from that group came up and asked Chen Xin, "Young master, how many men do you need?"

Chen Xin had no liking for this leader. He was already short-handed and certainly wouldn't recruit from within a single group — if those people banded together, how would he manage them? He had already decided he would not take this leader.

Chen Xin raised his voice to the crowd, "I am the proprietor. If you want your wives and children to eat their fill, then follow me. Anyone I select can have congee right away, and tonight there'll be meat as well. From now on, as household guards, you won't go short of food. I'm recruiting fifty men in total — once that's full, that's it."

Hearing that only fifty were being taken — and there were several thousand trackers here, with some from farther away still on their way — people grew anxious. If too many came, the chance would be gone. Some panicked, and the crowd began to stir restlessly.

"I'll give it a try. Young master, see if I'm fit to eat meat." An ordinary-looking tracker, about twenty years old, stepped forward and said loudly.

Finally, the first one. Chen Xin breathed a sigh of relief and gave Zhu Guobin a slight nod. Zhu Guobin stepped out, turned over the tracker's palm — thick calluses covered his hand. Zhu Guobin pulled open his tattered clothes: his right shoulder was crisscrossed with scars. He must have done long-term hard labor and endured hardship. Zhu Guobin then studied his face — the tracker had an honest, simple look, though now he was a bit nervous.

Zhu Guobin nodded and had him stand before Chen Xin. Chen Xin sized him up — lean and wiry like Lu Lvzi, skin dark. Chen Xin asked him, "What's your name?"

"I'm called Wang Zhangfu, from Shandong. Been tracking here two years. Lucky to be alive — haven't starved."

"Any family left?"

"None, just me. My family's poor — no woman's willing to marry me."

"All right, you've passed. You can go eat congee. But next time remember: answer only what I ask. No need for extra talk."

Wang Zhangfu knelt and kowtowed to Chen Xin, who accepted it calmly. He disliked this kind of ritual, but now was not the time to change it. After kowtowing, Wang Zhangfu went straight to the cauldron. Zhang Dahui had already ladled a bowl of congee waiting for him. Wang Zhangfu, heedless of the heat, took it and drank. After two mouthfuls, he sighed with satisfaction, "This congee is so thick." Zhang Dahui smiled and handed him a steamed bun. Wang Zhangfu said no more, opening his mouth wide and chewing furiously.

The surrounding trackers, seeing the way he ate, could hold back no longer. Several more ran out and crowded around Zhu Guobin to sign up.

Seeing the momentum, Zhang Dahui quickly said, "All right, those who want to come, line up properly, one by one. This Brother Wang here is already eating. Only fifty men — if you're late, it's gone. Think about it — what could my young master possibly trick you into doing? What do you have that's worth tricking?"

Those few trackers hurriedly lined up. Zhu Guobin examined them one by one — all passed — and sent them over to Chen Xin's side.

Chen Xin's purpose here was mainly to let these people know that he was the one making the decisions, establishing a sense of authority from the very start. Also, he had to screen them — especially to avoid recruiting too many from one place, which would form large factions within the unit. Although Marshal Qi had specifically recruited soldiers from Dongyang and Yiwu, those were regular imperial troops. Chen Xin, however, intended to build a private army. With so few of his own men at hand, he had to be even more meticulous on this point.

Several in a row were bachelors, all passing both rounds of interviews and running to the cauldron to eat. Seeing others already eating, the onlookers drooled and surged forward in chaos. Lu Lvzi, sword in hand, shouted threats repeatedly before he roughly got them into some kind of line. In winter these people all received congee from the government offices, but that congee was practically water — just enough to keep them alive. Seeing refined white-flour buns and thick congee, who could hold back? Besides, as Zhang Dahui had said, what did they have worth tricking? Could it be worse than their current misery? For a moment, the crowd boiled with excitement. Some who arrived late fought to shove their way forward, and a din of curses and shouts erupted.

Another tracker who passed Zhu Guobin's screening came before Chen Xin. "Where are you from? How old?"

"I — this humble one is from Zhending Prefecture. Twenty-three this year."

"Do you have a family?"

"Yes, I have a wife and two children."

The tracker spoke with his head lowered respectfully. Chen Xin studied him carefully — twenty-three but looking like thirty-two, his hair already streaked with gray. His build, however, was sturdy. He'd started having children quite early. In Chen Xin's own era, a twenty-three-year-old was still called a big boy.

Seeing Chen Xin silent, the tracker glanced at him nervously, then lowered his head again. Fear of authority — that fit Marshal Qi's standards. Chen Xin, being from the future, had some reservations on this point. Later armies had many methods to cultivate obedience; it wasn't necessarily required that recruits already feared authority. But he lacked experience, so for now he would follow Grandpa Qi's criteria.

"How old are the children?"

Standing before Chen Xin so long, the tracker grew even more nervous, his voice trembling slightly. "One — one is three, one is five."

Chen Xin considered. Two children made the burden heavier. He had to look not only at the recruit's own quality but also do his calculations and tally the economic cost. These family members would have some use once they reached Weihai — in this era, women and children were all worked like men. But the travel expenses from here to Weihai would be considerable. This one man meant four people. And if this tracker were wounded or killed in battle, he'd have to support three people. The two children were also very young — if they were at least ten it would be better.

"You…" Chen Xin was about to reject him when two small children came stumbling and rushing over, heading for the cauldron to drink congee. The tracker hurriedly stopped them, saying repeatedly, "The young master hasn't agreed yet. Wait."

Both children were barely clothed, their hair as filthy as mud-caked hemp rope, matted into twisted strands. Their outstretched hands were like dry kindling. A similarly gaunt, frail woman chased after them, pulling the two children back. She said to Chen Xin, "Young master, forgive them — the children don't know any better."

Both children looked up at Chen Xin, their grimy faces streaked with two lines of snot. Chen Xin couldn't even tell which was the boy and which the girl. Even the three-year-old's eyes held no innocence — only pleading. Who knew how long they'd been starving.

Chen Xin had been stuck on the word "You" for a long time, unable to get the rest out. Lu Lvzi, Zhang Dahui, and the others all watched him quietly, waiting for his decision.

"You…" Chen Xin said the word again, then stopped again. He had thought of an idea — let them walk to Weihai on their own — but immediately realized that in this weather, traveling so far, they would only freeze to death on the road.

Song Wenxian had been watching the spectacle from the side. Seeing Chen Xin hesitate, he leaned to his ear and said, "Brother Chen, better to take bachelors. If they die, you don't even have to pay the compensation. It's not like there's a shortage of men right now. Saving thirty taels is thirty taels." Chen Xin raised his eyes and looked around — the line behind had already formed a long queue. There truly was no shortage of men.

Song Wenxian added, "You're only bringing outsiders to check the locals. No need to bring whole families. These bachelors are best — nothing to fear. If you truly can't bear it, just let them eat one meal here and count it as a good deed. From here to Weihai, bringing these useless women and children — how much extra silver will that cost?"

Chen Xin listened without speaking. That was indeed his thinking. These trackers came from all over, with no relatives or ties in Weihai — they could only cleave to him. Using them as a backbone, he could divide and check the local military households. Song Wenxian's reasoning was sound — bachelors were best, nothing to fear. But when he looked down at the two children, at those two pairs of pleading eyes, the words of refusal simply would not come out. This was not like rejecting a job applicant at his company — those applicants could go on looking for the next opening. Now, if he rejected this man, these two children would very likely starve to death this winter. Thick-skinned as he was, his utterly different life experience made it impossible for him to remain unmoved like Song Wenxian — even if Song Wenxian might be right.

"Damn it. Just this once." Chen Xin cursed fiercely in his heart, then said to the tracker, "All right, you're selected. Your whole family can go eat congee." Behind him, Song Wenxian shook his head.

The tracker had waited anxiously for what felt like ages, and finally got the good news. He and his wife both knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly. Chen Xin, heedless of the filth, helped up the tracker and the children and told the family to hurry and eat. Those with families in the back saw this and, finding hope, grew excited.

Chen Xin looked left and right, grabbed Hai Gouzi, and whispered, "Gouzi, come over here. After Zhu Guobin selects them, you screen them again. Ask how many children — reject any with more than two. Bachelors are best. Got it?" Hai Gouzi agreed with a foolish grin. For the first time, Chen Xin felt a bit envious of this simpleminded kid — no pressure about anything, never so many worries in his head.

After Hai Gouzi left, Song Wenxian said to Chen Xin, "The Battalion Commander himself can't bear it, so he sends a fool to play the villain. A fine method indeed."

Chen Xin sighed deeply. "What else could I do? If Brother Song hadn't reminded me, I'd never have thought of it. I'll just have to look away. Who told me to have such a soft heart…"

Song Wenxian inwardly sneered. He knew perfectly well what was what, yet now he found an excuse, saying it was his reminder. A man who could beat a Yang Weiyuan — someone he'd never even met — into paralysis in bed was now complaining that his heart was too kind. Truly shameless.

So from then on, the selection had three stages. Zhu Guobin, following Grandpa Qi's recruiting manual, checked only physique and facial features. Hai Gouzi vetted family composition. Chen Xin put on a show at the very end, signaling that he was the one making the decisions, establishing authority. In between, the families of a few trackers who weren't selected — old and young alike — clung to Hai Gouzi's legs, pleading and weeping pitifully. Hai Gouzi just kept his foolish grin, utterly unmoved. Chen Xin's psychological burden was lessened — after all, he wasn't the one doing the rejecting. If blame was due, blame that heartless Hai Gouzi.

Chen Xin received each selected tracker one by one, offering a few words of encouragement, and they would run to the cauldron and eat their fill. Watching Hai Gouzi, without the slightest pressure, drive away one disappointed tracker family after another, Chen Xin thought to himself, "I'm still not a qualified politician."