Chapter 177: Celebration

As the members of the Green Bamboo Gang withdrew steadily, the Wolf Head Gang's stronghold under the night sky gradually returned to calm, leaving only the busy and excited figures of the Hong Sect disciples.

Moonlight filtered through the sparse clouds, spilling onto this land that had once been filled with the smoke of battle, adding a soft radiance to this victory.

The Hong Sect disciples worked in coordination; some were busy transporting spoils of war, the sharp blades gleaming coldly in the moonlight as if cheering for their new masters;

others were carefully searching for the valuables left behind by the Wolf Head Gang, each gain meaning that the Hong Sect could establish a more solid foothold in South City.

Still others were collecting the corpses, distinguishing between the bodies of the enemy and their own; the Wolf Head Gang's were naturally left on the ground to wait for the government's corpse collectors,

while the Hong Sect's, according to Hong Sect regulations, had to be brought back to the Hong Sect for the high-ranking members to cremate and bury.

In this battle with the Wolf Head Gang, the Yang Hall lost over sixty men, all of whom were Outer Members.

Cheng Feng watched coldly from the shadows; at a time like this, having a heart of mercy was no different from seeking death.

Everything had its rules and regulations; one only needed to follow the established steps.

The Wolf Head Gang might have been affiliated with the Green Bamboo Gang, as the warehouse still contained a batch of twenty new blades, over eight hundred taels of silver, and five property deeds.

Cheng Feng estimated that the bulk of the wealth should still be on Zhao Jin.

With over a hundred people, leaving only eight hundred taels—an average of eight taels of silver per person—who could that feed?

Watching Li Yang and Wang Hu finish cleaning up the aftermath, Cheng Feng knew the plan had been a complete success; next, he only needed to wait patiently to enjoy the rewards brought by this battle.

Cheng Feng returned to the Hong Sect to wait for the results while handling affairs.

First, regarding the Zougun Gang, he only needed to wait for Liu Yishou's reply tomorrow.

Second, news of victory came from the Xiao Dao Gang. They defeated the enemy without any losses, obtaining over five hundred and sixty taels of silver, two hundred bolts of fine cloth, and three property deeds.

Immediately after, news from Zhou Hai also arrived. They easily swept through three small gangs; although there were twenty casualties, these were all Outer Members. This battle yielded a total of about one thousand taels of Silver and twelve property deeds.

Cheng Feng began to calculate all of the Hong Sect's gains: there were twenty property deeds alone; although their locations varied in quality, selling them at market price, even with a discount, would fetch around eight hundred taels.

The twenty blades and two hundred bolts of cloth could be distributed to his subordinates as benefits.

In terms of silver, it counted as three thousand one hundred and sixty taels.

Of course, this battle also came at a price, with eighty-three Outer Members killed in action.

According to Hong Sect regulations, forty percent of the gains must first belong to the Hong Sect to ensure logistical operations. The remaining portion would then need to be used to pay pensions to the families of the fallen, then distributed to those who performed meritorious service in battle, and finally divided among all members.

For this battle, calculated at three thousand taels, the Hong Sect had to take one thousand two hundred taels first.

For the Outer Members, Cheng Feng decided on a pension of five taels per household, totaling four hundred and fifteen taels.

With over one thousand three hundred taels remaining, the Sect Master, the four Offerings, and the three leaders would take a portion,

and after that, it would be divided among the remaining four hundred-plus people, with each person getting about two taels.

Everyone was risking their lives; whether it was much or little, this was how it would be.

Since the rules were set, Cheng Feng would not let anyone change them, especially since these rules took all parties into account.

The Hong Sect had truly poured out its entire strength this time, holding its breath, just waiting for this moment to erupt!

"Do not move until you must, then stun everyone with a single feat"—the surrounding small gangs, caught without any preparation, were all taken by the Hong Sect!

Cheng Feng was very satisfied with this result.

Not only that, the Hong Sect suddenly had one thousand two hundred taels of silver; it could be said the harvest was quite bountiful!

And since the disciples would receive reward silver for missions later, the strength of the disciples under his command would inevitably improve.

Many disciples were stuck at the final step of becoming a Martial Artist and needed potent medicinal soups to help them cross that threshold.

Cheng Feng decided to distribute the pensions in front of everyone during this celebration.

This would not only let the disciples understand that only by becoming official members could they truly receive protection; more importantly, it would ignite their fighting spirit and ambition!

In addition, Cheng Feng also learned some information about Lao Da and Lao San from the sidelines.

Each team sent experts, which actually included the selfish motive of looking after their own brothers at critical moments; if it truly came to a point where they couldn't look after themselves, then they could only blame their own bad luck.

After all, having the conditions but not utilizing them was no different from being a fool.

Lao Da followed Zhou Hai to eliminate those small gangs; judging from the intelligence, his performance was quite standard. For someone participating in such a bloody scene for the first time, being able to do this was already quite good.

As for Lao San, he acted alongside Sun Gui. During the fight with the Xiao Dao Gang, Lao San displayed the drive unique to young people, daring to fight and strike, and his strength was not bad, which made people's eyes light up.

The Super Serum was the final support Cheng Feng gave his brothers; it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.

If their performance was unsatisfactory, Cheng Feng would consider finding them another path, but for now, it looked pretty good.

Cheng Feng also noted a few other members who performed well, but in general, these people's strength was at the Strength Refining Realm or merely at the level of an Ordinary person; after remembering a few who performed well, Cheng Feng finished his work.

Cheng Feng had always felt that he did not have much ambition; he only hoped to live a better life, possess more say, and no longer be bullied.

It was precisely because even such simple thoughts were difficult to realize that he had been forced to wander step by step to his current position, which was also quite sigh-inducing.

Two days later, Wang Hu finally succeeded in exchanging the twenty property deeds for eight hundred taels of silver.

At the same time, after two days of rest, the Hong Sect gathered all its disciples again. This move made the spies outside the gate tremble with fear, yet this time the Hong Sect was not launching a new war, but starting to distribute rewards to the disciples!

Cheng Feng stood on the high platform, watching everything before him with a calm expression. Behind him, two sturdy guards carried two huge boxes onto the platform and placed them at Cheng Feng's feet.

These two boxes were very heavy, containing both silver and copper; the top of the boxes was covered with gleaming white silver, each piece shining with an alluring light.

The crowd couldn't help but widen their eyes, their gazes fixed tightly on the two boxes, their throats rolling as they swallowed saliva unconsciously. They guessed to themselves how this silver would be distributed.

At this moment, Wang Hu walked to the front of the platform and shouted, "Please be quiet, everyone!" The crowd immediately shut their mouths, waiting quietly for what was to come.

Wang Hu opened a roster and read aloud, "The following is the list of disciples who performed excellently in last night's operation..." As his voice rang out, one disciple after another was called by name and went up to the platform to receive their share of the reward.

When the reward for the first person was announced, a gasp of amazement rose from the crowd below. Because this disciple received a reward of thirty taels of silver! Then, the second, third, and so on went up to receive their awards, with prizes of twenty-five taels and twenty taels respectively.

The fourth and fifth were not to be outdone, receiving fifteen taels and ten taels of silver respectively. The other fifteen outstanding disciples each received a reward of five taels of silver.

The disciples below watched, dumbfounded, their eyes flashing with envy and jealousy. They couldn't help but sigh that working for the Hong Sect could actually be so profitable!

Just the top twenty performers had already received a generous return totaling one hundred and seventy-five taels of silver. One had to know that a house in a remote area could be bought for less than twenty taels!

However, Cheng Feng was not satisfied with this. He smiled and waved his hand, signaling the people beside him to continue distributing the silver.

Next, a group of the elderly, weak, women, and children appeared beside the venue; they were the families of the Outer Members who had died for the Hong Sect. These people had sorrow and helplessness on their faces, but they also revealed gratitude toward the Hong Sect.

Cheng Feng personally walked up to them, handed the heavy silver to each person, and comforted them, "Although your loved ones have left us, the contributions they made to the Hong Sect will never be forgotten. This is a small token of our Hong Sect's sincerity; please accept it."

Everyone who received the silver was teary-eyed, thanking Cheng Feng incessantly. Eighty-three households, five taels per household, totaling four hundred and fifteen taels.

The remaining four hundred or so disciples could each receive about two taels of silver. With this, the remaining sixty percent was fully distributed.

As for the bonuses for the upper echelon, Cheng Feng had long since set aside four hundred taels from the sixty percent, distributing one hundred taels each to the four Blood Refining Stage Offerings. He then set aside another two hundred taels, giving fifty taels each to Wang Hu, Sun Gui, Zhou Hai, and Li Yang.

Eight hundred, Cheng Yi, and Xu Miao were his own people, but Eight hundred and Cheng Yi were robots and had no need for money, so it would naturally end up back in Cheng Feng's pocket; as for Xu Miao, she was his woman, so he naturally had to give his woman some pocket money.

As for Wu Feng, Cheng Feng thought highly of him, feeling that he was a man who valued loyalty and righteousness. Thus, he also took out one hundred taels of silver to give to him; after all, he would be a member of the Hong Sect in the future, and he could not favor one over the other.

The silver in his hands made Wu Feng incredibly grateful, to the point that the bandages on his hands were almost bursting open.

Cheng Feng patted Wu Feng on the shoulder and comforted him: "Rest assured, brother. Following me, Cheng Feng, I dare not say anything else, but one thing I can guarantee is that your life will definitely be taken care of. Why do we go out and risk our lives? Isn't it just to let our families live better lives? So don't worry, as long as you work hard with me, there will be plenty of good days ahead!"

Hearing Cheng Feng's words, Wu Feng felt a wave of emotion in his heart, and tears almost fell. He thought of the hardships, grievances, and helplessness he had endured after being injured, and now he had finally met someone who truly understood him.

Although it was just a few simple words, they almost made this strong-willed man shed tears.

Wu Feng silently cupped his hands and bowed to Cheng Feng to express his gratitude. From this moment on, he made up his mind to follow Cheng Feng and carve out a future together.

As for the four veterans like Wang Hu who had always followed Cheng Feng, they had deep feelings for the Hong Sect. From the Hutou Gang era to the founding of the Hong Sect, then to the Training Camp stage and the battle of the Sishui Gang, they had always stood firmly by Cheng Feng's side. Therefore, it was not excessive to give each of them fifty taels of silver as a reward.

Of course, these payments would not be distributed openly in front of other disciples to avoid unnecessary trouble and jealousy. After all, everyone's contribution was different, and it could not be treated as a one-size-fits-all matter.

As a leader, Cheng Feng deeply understood the wisdom behind the saying, "Discuss major matters in small circles, discuss minor matters in large circles."

Taking this reward as an example, just the first-place winner with outstanding performance received thirty taels of silver; if an extra ten taels were added for turnover, it would be enough to buy a small two-bedroom apartment with a courtyard in a nice environment in the area where Cheng Feng previously lived.

Such treatment would definitely make those around him green with envy!

Who would dare say the Hong Sect was not generous enough? If anyone were to question this, they would likely be reprimanded and taught a lesson by the other disciples.

But if the low-level disciples knew that the leadership received a high reward of fifty taels of silver, enough for each person to own a house.

Cheng Feng worried that the disciples would feel a sense of imbalance. To protect their mental well-being, he chose not to mention these details in public; this method could protect the disciples' self-esteem while maintaining unity and morale within the organization.

Why not do it?