Chapter 15: Gang Recruitment

Early in the morning, Zhou You got up and ate breakfast.

He had stayed at home for one Su, and would return to the martial arts hall in the morning.

Although his parents were reluctant to let him go, they knew that practicing martial arts was the most important matter right now, as it concerned the peace of the entire family.

Li Guafu pushed the door open and entered, carrying a dish of pickled vegetables to give to them enthusiastically.

"Little Zhou is back, try the pickled vegetables that came out of the jar yesterday."

Zhou You had already heard from his parents yesterday that Li Guafu had been coming over frequently these days to bring food and drink, and her attitude was even more enthusiastic than before.

One must not think that this was her natural disposition.

For a widow to raise a child, set up a stall in the city, and even manage to rely on Constable Liu as a backer, it was clear she was no ordinary weak woman.

In the past, the leftover soup and water from Li Guafu's stall would never have leaked to a neighbor's house.

Now, the relationship between the two families was incredibly good.

"How are the saltiness and flavor of the pickled vegetables?"

Li Guafu looked at Zhou You, her expression carrying a hint of complexity.

In her memory, Zhou You was a teenager who didn't like to talk much, inheriting Zhou Laodie's law-abiding character, and never causing trouble.

The matter of provoking Tu Laosan really couldn't be blamed on him; it was entirely because the other party had bullied him too much.

Last night, Constable Liu came to her home to spend the night and personally mentioned to her that Zhou You had beaten a displaced person to death with his bare hands.

For the Commoner folk, this was truly too stimulating.

Constable Liu urged her to be on good terms with Zhou You's parents, but Li Guafu expressed that it was inappropriate.

"If he is kicked out of the martial arts hall in three months, what will happen if Tu Laosan takes revenge?"

"A woman's view. Even if he can't stay in the martial arts hall, Zhou You is still a martial arts practitioner capable of beating five or six grown men to death; is he someone Tu Laosan can easily manipulate? Believe it or not, the Crazy Horse Gang will definitely come forward to recruit him."

Constable Liu sighed, "This world is getting more and more chaotic; as long as one dares to fight and struggle, why worry about not finding a place to eat?"

He also revealed to Li Guafu that in the event Zhou You could not stay at the martial arts hall, he would invite him to work as a Constable under his command.

Only then did Li Guafu realize that the boy from next door had already become an extraordinary figure.

Zhou You took two bites of the pickled vegetables; they were fresh, crisp, and refreshing, and he nodded, "Delicious."

Li Guafu breathed a sigh of relief and chatted with Zhou You Niang, who was to the side.

The content of the chat was about the Mou Laoyao family, the neighbors to the right.

Ever since they had a falling out that day, the Mou Laoyao family and the old Zhou Family had stopped speaking entirely, and even when they met, they acted as if they didn't see each other.

After Mou Xiaoli recovered from his injuries, he returned to the restaurant to continue working as a waiter; it was said he was highly valued, and his monthly wages had already been raised to 3 taels.

Mou Laoyao was calculating, taking advantage of the increasing number of outsiders, to buy a clean girl from among the displaced persons.

Of course, it wasn't to take a wife, but to be a concubine, first to give birth to a son for Mou Xiaoli to carry on the family line.

According to their family's plan, Mou Xiaoli was to marry the daughter of a wealthy family in the future, and the woman's family would at least be a small, well-off family in the city.

"They really dare to think that? With Mou Xiaoli's crooked and ugly appearance, where could he have even one percent of Little Zhou's looks?"

"Taking a concubine? They really think of themselves as a big, wealthy family!"

"It's that stingy nature of talking big and spending little; they can't bear to spend money."

Li Guafu shook her head as she spoke, "I heard they have their eyes on a family's daughter, but the price they offered is extremely stingy, only giving 2 taels."

"And they keep dragging it out, refusing to negotiate, just waiting for the other party to be so hungry they can't take it anymore, so they can reduce it by another 1 tael."

Zhou You Niang blinked repeatedly as she listened, "That is too stingy!"

"What their family is like, it's not like it's our first day knowing them."

The Mou Laoyao family was stingy and petty, retreating when encountering trouble and rushing to the front to take advantage of others.

In the past, out of consideration for neighborly harmony, they hadn't said much, but now, of course, they said whatever was on their minds.

Zhou You finished his breakfast in a few bites and patted his stomach, "Mother, I'm going to the martial arts hall."

His mother stood up and saw him to the door, and Li Guafu followed behind to watch him leave.

"Mother Zhou, you are blessed; Little Zhou will definitely have a bright future."

"Oh, this child, as long as he gives me less to worry about, that is enjoying a blessing!"

When Zhou You reached the end of the street, he couldn't go any further, because the street was blocked.

"The Wild Fox Gang and the Crazy Horse Gang are fighting; everyone hide, better to take a detour than to run into bad luck."

Pedestrians clutched their hats and ran away wildly, fearing they would be dragged into the conflict between the two major gangs.

Zhou You thought to himself, how could this be avoided? The road to the martial arts hall was right in front; was he supposed to climb over a wall?

After waiting for a while longer, the crowd in front stirred and gradually dispersed.

It was all thunder and no rain; after making a scene for a long time, the two gangs ultimately didn't fight.

"Zhou You, what a coincidence, I was just about to go to your house to find you."

His old friend Gao Qiang saw him and walked over quickly, followed by a few lackeys; it looked like he was also a small leader now.

Zhou You twitched his lips and said stiffly, "I was just about to go to the martial arts hall, something up?"

"Of course there's something up, let's go to my place to talk."

Gao Qiang's parents were both dead, leaving only a dilapidated house to him; now the house had become one of the territories of the Crazy Horse Gang.

Zhou You had been here before, and although it was dilapidated, it wasn't as foul and chaotic as it was now.

Some low-level gang members surrounded the house, and upon seeing Gao Qiang return, they bowed one after another, "Brother Qiang."

"I have over a dozen brothers under my command now."

Gao Qiang looked self-satisfied as he introduced this to Zhou You, showing he was doing well in the gang.

Entering the house...

"Zhou You, we are good friends as close as brothers; if there's a good opportunity, I think of you first."

Gao Qiang clenched his fist and punched the air, the sound of the air breaking was startling; it had at least three hundred jin of force.

This was certainly not his normal level in the past!

"To tell you the truth, our Crazy Horse Gang has good benefits; after joining, you can also learn boxing and improve your strength."

"What I learned is the Wild Horse Boxing taught by the gang leader; knocking down seven or eight strong men in one breath is effortless."

Zhou You smiled; with your strength, that is a bit of a stretch—who doesn't know how to brag!

However, the information the other party revealed was very interesting.

Within the gang, there is also boxing technique passed down, and a system exists for training gang members in martial arts to improve their strength.

It seems that the Crazy Horse Gang has run rampant until now, and they are not the rabble or a loose sand as imagined.

If they wanted to recruit him based on this alone, they were underestimating Zhou You too much, and also underestimating the foundation of the martial arts school.

"Sorry, the martial arts school has rules; Apprentices are not allowed to associate with people from gangs."

Zhou You glanced at Gao Qiang, "It is better if we meet less often in the future."

Gao Qiang did not take it to heart and shook his head with a smile, "That is just to fool you."

"The martial arts school takes in so many Apprentices every year; where do those who are eliminated go?"

"Once they have learned martial arts and grasped power, they are no longer willing to farm or work like beasts of burden."

"Several of our Crazy Horse Gang's hall masters came from the martial arts school; they eat and drink well and enjoy endless wealth."

Seeing that Zhou You did not believe him, Gao Qiang gritted his teeth and dragged a wooden box from under the bed; opening it revealed rectangular black medicine blocks.

The medicine blocks were warm and smooth like Ruyu, emitting a faint medicinal fragrance; one look and it was clear they were no ordinary items.

"Bone-Forging Powder, our gang's Secret Medicine; it cannot be bestowed unless one has performed a great service."

"This is the condition offered by the Second Elder; if you leave the martial arts school after three months, you can join our Crazy Horse Gang."

"These 3 portions of Bone-Forging Powder are the deposit."

"Even I am tempted for you with such good conditions; agree to it, and after joining the gang, we will all still be good brothers."