Chapter 186: The caravan returns with wood

Wang Xiao Hu looked at the scholar in white in surprise, not expecting the other to be the Great Chief of Menghuzhai, rather than the small leader he had imagined.

At this moment, for some reason, the old man's words kept echoing in his ears. The idea of becoming a bandit took root in his heart, and even though he knew his father wouldn't allow it, he still wanted to do it.

The group walked back happily with the money, only Wang Xiao Hu kept his head down and didn't speak. At this time, he heard some young people nearby chatting, all talking about how good it was to join Menghuzhai and how much monthly pay they received.

Wang Xiao Hu couldn't hold back anymore and said to Old Wang: "Dad, I want to be a bandit!"

"What?" Old Wang thought his ears were playing tricks on him.

"I said, I want to be a bandit and join Menghuzhai!" Wang Xiao Hu's tone was slow but exceptionally firm.

Old Wang heard it clearly this time and immediately stepped forward to grab his son's ear: "I forbid it!"

After saying this, Old Wang wanted to say more, but he didn't know how to lecture this son who had already grown up.

Even with his ear being pulled, Wang Xiao Hu said firmly: "I've heard it all. Joining Menghuzhai provides a good monthly salary. That way, Mom and my younger siblings won't have to go hungry."

The strength in Old Wang's hand suddenly vanished. He hadn't expected this to be his son's reason for joining Menghuzhai, which made it even harder for him to bear!

Wang Xiao Hu felt his father's grip loosen and immediately felt there was a chance, continuing: "Father, I've grown up. I can't let you worry about everything at home alone!"

"You don't need to worry about things at home for now! I'm not dead yet!" Although Old Wang was moved that his son could say such things, he still wouldn't allow his son to take risks.

"Dad! I've already made up my mind, don't stop me anymore!" Wang Xiao Hu stood still, clearly prepared to stay.

Old Wang roared angrily: "Grown wings and want to fly to the sky, eh?"

Wang Xiao Hu didn't say another word. He knew that arguing wouldn't have any effect, so he just stood there, unmoved no matter how Old Wang pulled him.

"Fine! If you want to die, go ahead! I don't care anymore!" Old Wang walked toward the city gate in anger and never looked back.

Seeing this situation, the fellow villagers didn't know what to say, but Zhao Laosan stepped forward and patted Wang Xiao Hu on the shoulder.

"You shouldn't have angered your father!"

Wang Xiao Hu's mouth opened slightly, but in the end, he didn't say a word.

Seeing that the child was unreasonably stubborn, the group stopped trying to persuade him and followed Old Wang out of the city.

Wang Xiao Hu hesitated for a moment, then turned and walked toward the group from earlier. He had to go and ask where to sign up.

After purchasing salt and grain, Old Wang waited outside the city for half an hour, but never saw his son's figure, so he could only sigh: "Let's go! We're going home!"

Although the group didn't have household registration and couldn't buy cheap grain, they could buy grain at 'normal' prices in the market. Perhaps influenced by Menghuzhai's grain prices, the grain prices outside not only didn't rise but even dropped a little.

In the end, Wang Xiao Hu got his wish and joined Menghuzhai, becoming a new bandit.

Things like this were happening all the time, and thanks to Feng Chunsheng's persistent efforts, Menghuzhai's reputation saw a shocking reversal ten days later.

After Liu Xuecheng learned that the Prince of Zhenbei and the Crown Prince did not agree to his sending troops, various voices praising Menghuzhai began to appear within Guangwu Jun.

As the Governor of Guangwu Jun, these words were undoubtedly a slap in his face.

So he arranged for many people to go out and spread rumors that Menghuzhai was a bloodthirsty group. This war of words was not friendly to Feng Chunsheng at the beginning.

But adhering to the principle that true gold fears no fire, Feng Chunsheng persisted, replacing one batch of people after another, and eventually, Menghuzhai's reputation gradually spread.

Every commoner who came to the three cities under Menghuzhai's command with doubts left with full joy, spreading such voices even further. This was the source of Menghuzhai's reputation reversal.

This also led to quite a few troubles; for example, Qing City could no longer accommodate so many people, and Jiang Jinshi had to disperse the recruitment points to the three cities.

Ye Chang was only one person and couldn't be in three places at once; he couldn't run around to all three cities to train them, could he?

So Jiang Jinshi urgently promoted some of the old-timers who had followed him from the beginning. Now, the number of people had exceeded five thousand and was still rising every day.

Luo Feng naturally became the Great Squad Leader, and ten Middle Squad Leaders were appointed.

Regarding the selection of Middle Squad Leaders, Jiang Jinshi still used the previous martial arts competition system, which made everyone feel it was fairer.

Because there were too many people and no suitable venue for a competition, Jiang Jinshi only conducted small-scale competitions, letting a group of Small Squad Leaders compete for these spots.

In the end, among the former Small Squad Leaders, only Wang Xixi failed to advance, and his spot was instead snatched by the newcomer Xiexiezi.

Seeing that he was the only one among the former Small Squad Leaders who had stayed in place, while his brothers Wang Mazi, Wang Duoyu, Wang Chang, and Wang Xiaoniu had all naturally become Small Squad Leaders, Wang Xixi realized his own problems.

Each Middle Squad Leader managed five hundred people, and the Small Squad Leaders under their command were decided by them.

The previous training mode naturally had to be changed. Now, each Middle Squad Leader trained the bandits under their command, while Ye Chang, as the Chief Instructor, was mainly responsible for supervision and correction.

Although Jiang Jinshi made adjustments in time, there were still many newcomers joining every day, and the long queues of commoners coming to the three cities remained.

Feng Chunsheng thought the number of people was already enough, but he waited a long time without receiving news from Jiang Jinshi to stop, so he continued to recruit people as if in a fit of pique, and the people sent out for propaganda weren't called back either.

As Menghuzhai began to develop rapidly, the scale of the entire stronghold expanded like a rising bun.

Jiang Jinshi returned to Jiangcheng immediately. With so many people to support, the economy had to keep up, so he had to discuss it with Li Xinyue first.

It just so happened that the first merchant caravan sent out had returned, and Tang Rui was reporting the situation to Li Xinyue with great joy.

"President, our goods were snatched up as soon as they arrived at Guansong Ridge, and quite a few merchant caravans have even placed orders with us!"

Jiang Jinshi sat on the side without a word, quietly drinking tea.

Li Xinyue took the list Tang Rui had drafted and read it in detail, only speaking after a long time: "The quantities requested are quite large!"

"That's only natural. If we hadn't waited for a merchant caravan to pull five carts of nanmu wood, we could have returned two days earlier." Tang Rui was very interested in doing business, always feeling that these days were more interesting than before. ===== CHAPTER 187 =====