Chapter 99: Recruiting People (Triple Update!)

Closing the courtyard gate, Liu Yong set the bundle on the ground and opened it. Everyone gasped — it was filled with gold and silver. The silver was of far better quality than what they had gotten that morning, and there were even a few small gold ingots. This was no small sum of money.

"Big Brother, Chen Ergou sent men to raid Copperhead's house. They took all the gold, silver, and valuables Copperhead had hidden away. Over at the God of Wealth Temple, he split everything into two halves. He converted the gold, silver, silks, and household goods into cash value, set aside half, and had me bring it to you, Big Brother. It's about three hundred and ninety taels," Liu Yong explained.

Hearing Liu Yong announce that figure, smiles broke out on everyone's faces. Adding in the share from that morning, it came to over four hundred taels of silver. This was a real fortune — the benefits this time were truly substantial.

Zhao Jin's expression, on the other hand, remained quite calm. Liu Yong continued, "Brother Chen said he'll send over the rest of the money to you, Big Brother, once he sells the remaining items."

Wouldn't that make it over a thousand taels in total? Everyone looked toward Zhao Jin. Zhao Jin smiled and said, "Go back and tell him he has plenty of places to spend money too. No need to send me the rest — keep it for his own use."

Everyone was taken aback, though no one objected. Liu Yong, however, hesitated before speaking. "Big Brother, I watched the division with my own eyes. By my calculation, we took fifty-five percent. Brother Chen's side actually took a bit of a loss."

Zhao Jin smiled and nodded. He glanced at the companions around him and said, "We'll split this money equally among all of us."

With that, he opened the small bundle they had gotten that morning and poured the money inside into the large bundle brought that afternoon, preparing to divide it into eight shares.

"You led everyone in this job. You charged at the front and stayed behind to cover the rear. Even the face-to-face dealings and putting on a show of authority — you did all of it yourself. Why should it be split equally? All of this should be yours!" The tone was blunt, but it was spoken entirely out of consideration for Zhao Jin. It was Chen Sheng who spoke.

Wang Zhaojing nodded and said, "Dasheng makes a fair point."

The others all agreed as well. Zhao Jin made a point of looking at Shi Manqiang, Ji Xiang, and Liu Yong, because the three of them came from poor families and, unlike the others, were short on money. They, too, nodded in sincere agreement.

I've made true friends, true brothers, Zhao Jin thought with emotion. He looked up and said with a smile, "In that case, I'll take half, and the rest will be split equally among everyone. No more arguing — if you argue any more, we're not brothers."

Since he put it that way, no one had any objections. Each took their own share on the spot. Fortunately, they had swords and knives handy, so they simply cut up a few pieces of wrapping cloth and each bundled up their portion.

Once that was done, Zhao Jin spoke up. "The reason I called everyone here is to discuss a few things."

Watching everyone set down their small bundles, Zhao Jin said with a solemn expression, "What we did this morning was taking the first step — we made Chen Ergou the boss over at the God of Wealth Temple. But that doesn't mean everything is settled. The few top lieutenants under Copperhead, and the other jianghu heroes in Xuzhou City, definitely won't let this go. There will be more trouble, and more fighting."

"Then we'll fight! A bunch of trash — who's afraid of them?" Chen Sheng said dismissively. The others all voiced their agreement. After these few battles, the so-called men of the jianghu truly meant nothing in their eyes.

Zhao Jin smiled and shook his head. "We are, after all, few in number. No matter how poor they are, they can still scrape together dozens or even a hundred men. Fighting outnumbered, a mishap is hard to avoid. So we need to recruit and expand our numbers too. Shitou, Daxiang, go find people around our age who don't have any bad habits. Bingfeng, there are plenty of people from the city guard households — if you can find any, bring some in as well."

Hearing this, Shi Manqiang, Ji Xiang, and Dong Bingfeng all grew excited. Shi Manqiang said in his gruff voice, "Rest assured, Big Brother. They've been wanting to follow you and learn martial arts for a long time. If you have this plan, Big Brother, they'll be breaking their heads to squeeze in."

"Tell them this: come here, sign the contract, follow my rules, and I'll provide food and lodging. Each person will also get one hundred wen cash per month!" Zhao Jin continued. He paused here, then added, "You can be clear with them — coming here means hard training and going out to fight. But to their families, you can say it's working at a shop."

Food and lodging provided, plus one hundred wen. Everyone in the courtyard was stunned by that figure. Sun Dalei lowered his head and did some quick calculations, then looked up and said, "Big Brother, if they eat their fill, ten people will cost about four taels of silver a month. A hundred people would be forty taels — and that's just for one month!"

"Where would we get a hundred people? Finding fifty would be good enough," Zhao Jin replied with a laugh.

They certainly couldn't take just anyone. They needed a certain level of physical fitness, plus a willingness to endure hard training, and a willingness to go out and fight and bleed. Teenagers of fourteen or fifteen might not be willing to do these things, and their parents might not be willing either.

"That's still going to cost quite a bit of silver!" Sun Dalei was generous with his spending, but he was also shrewd when it came to money. Zhao Jin shook his head and said, "Didn't I just take a fair amount? It'll come out of that."

Zhao Jin had just taken half for himself, a full two hundred taels and more. But if that money was really used to support men, it would be spent clean in just a few months. And recruiting people was really something that concerned everyone — yet Zhao Jin was footing the bill alone. Everyone was a bit stunned. Did Big Brother Zhao not feel the slightest pinch about the silver? Spending it all the moment it came into his hands?

After a moment of silence, Wang Zhaojing smiled and spoke. "In that case, my share can be allocated by Brother Zhao as well."

With that, he placed the share he had just received in front of Zhao Jin. Chen Sheng's eyes were shining. He said excitedly, "Zhao Jin — no, Brother Zhao — if you're going to find people to train, are you going to use those methods you talked about before? Count my share in too."

In past casual chats, Zhao Jin had mentioned some routines from memory that had greatly intrigued everyone.

Shi Manqiang, Ji Xiang, and Liu Yong all placed their small bundles down without a second word. Dong Bingfeng followed suit and did the same. Sun Dalei fingered the silver in his hands, hesitated for a moment, and only then set it down with great reluctance. His action was noticed by everyone. Chen Sheng let out a cold snort.

But over these past days, Sun Dalei had endured plenty of dirty looks from Chen Sheng. His skin had grown much thicker — he didn't care at all. He just laughed twice and let it pass.

Seeing that no one wanted to keep their own share, Zhao Jin's expression grew more serious. He said, "Since everyone has contributed their silver, I won't stand on ceremony with you all. In the next few days, when that shop is established, all of this will be converted into shares. I absolutely won't let anyone down."

"This silver won't last more than a few months anyway. Brother Zhao, if it's not enough, your little brother here can go home and think of a way," Wang Zhaojing said in a low voice.

According to Zhao Jin's plan, the current sum might not even cover a year's expenses. Wang Zhaojing had calculated it very clearly.

Zhao Jin smiled again and said, "There's no need to worry about that. We're not just eating through our capital. I'm taking fifty percent of the silver that Chen Ergou's operation brings in. The bigger our operation gets, the more silver there will be. Not only will this bit of spending be nothing to worry about, but we'll all get dividends too."

At this, Zhao Jin turned to Liu Yong. Liu Yong's expression was now rather troubled. Zhao Jin said solemnly, "The second matter falls on Xiaoyong. I just said to find people without bad habits, and I didn't ask you to find anyone. Xiaoyong, do you think I look down on your background?"

Liu Yong, having his private worry spoken aloud, shook his head repeatedly. Zhao Jin continued, "You need to find people too. And you need to find people you trust. Have them follow you and work over at the God of Wealth Temple. You can't be a Second Brother with no one under you — you need to have your own standing."

Originally, Liu Yong was nothing more than an errand-running thug at the bottom. What men did he have? Now that he had suddenly become Chen Ergou's deputy, he naturally needed his own strength.

"Leizi will do. He's doing hard labor now and has long wanted to quit. He can pull in a lot of people too," Liu Yong said excitedly.

Seeing the puzzled look in Zhao Jin's eyes, Liu Yong smiled and explained, "Remember that short guy you kicked down back then, Big Brother? His surname is Lei. Because he's always been short, we all call him Rolling Thunder."

That short fellow hadn't appeared at the goods yard for a long time. Only when it was mentioned did Zhao Jin recall him. He smiled and nodded, then continued, "I don't trust Chen Ergou. I only trust you, Xiaoyong. Exactly how much money Copperhead made each month, what businesses he had — you need to find out everything clearly and tell me. This is our current source of income. We absolutely cannot let it slip by vaguely. Chen Ergou fears us now, but now that he's taken Copperhead's position, who can say how his thinking might change? You need to keep a close watch on him for me."

The courtyard was very quiet. No one had expected Zhao Jin to have such thorough considerations. Liu Yong's face was especially solemn. He hadn't imagined he would bear such a great responsibility.

"If the accounts aren't clear, we'll find someone to help him with them. Dalei, your family has no shortage of bookkeepers. We'll pay the wages — you help find someone. But when all is said and done, Xiaoyong, your life is what matters most. When trouble comes, don't try to be a hero. Run back and report first. Once we all gather and head over, we can handle anything." Zhao Jin spoke with ease and assurance.

"Rest assured, Big Brother," Liu Yong and Sun Dalei answered in unison.

"Shitou and Jixiang, you're both helping your families right now. Coming over here like this, the elders at home must be complaining. From today on, you'll each get one tael of silver a month from me, with all three meals covered. I want you here every day. Go home and say I've hired the two of you to work. Once your uncles hear the terms and see the silver, they'll definitely agree." Zhao Jin's consideration was indeed thorough. Shi Manqiang and Ji Xiang both breathed sighs of relief and quickly agreed.

Children from poor families were expected to help out at home once they grew up. The Shi family's blacksmith shop and the Ji family's cooked-food stall both needed hands. Spending every day following Zhao Jin meant eating for free without earning money — of course their families were unwilling. Zhao Jin needed these two loyal and reliable men to help him. Since he had money on hand, he simply resolved their worries at home.

After all this was said, everyone's eyes shone a little brighter, because they could see a path ahead. Zhao Jin's detailed and thoughtful arrangements and plans filled them with confidence. And this was a path that could grow and expand.

Seeing the change in everyone's expressions, Zhao Jin smiled and said, "Let's put the silver away and head to the goods yard together."

"Are we sparring again today?"

"We're recruiting people!"

His companions shouted the question and answer.