Chapter 1: Perplexity

  Looking back at this group of people, Gao Huaiyuan couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous. When they left the Gao family, there were only three of them, but as they journeyed on, their numbers grew, and now they had over a dozen people!

  After leaving Yongxiu County, Gao Huaiyuan brought along Zhou Jun and Zhou Yi, the two brothers. He felt very sympathetic towards them, leaving them behind, fearing they would starve to death again. After a night of contemplation, an idea emerged in his mind - if he truly wanted to accomplish something in this world, it was impossible for him to do it alone. However, since he was still young and had plenty of time, he could cultivate a group of loyal followers. No matter what the future held, having a group of brave warriors by his side would be better than struggling alone.

  After thinking about this matter, Gao Huaiyuan made up his mind. When Zhou Yi's body recovered a bit, he bought two sets of clothes for the two brothers. After they washed and dressed cleanly, they changed into new clothes and followed him as a house servant from then on.

  Zhou Jun and the other person were grateful to Gao Huaiyuan for saving their lives, and as agreed, they voluntarily signed a contract selling themselves into slavery to the Gao family, thus legitimizing Gao's adoption of them.

  After leaving Yongxiu County, Gao Huairen no longer ignored the refugees who appeared from time to time on the side of the road. Although his financial resources were limited, he did not buy some young people with families, but for those who only had one person left, he took them in whenever he met them and let them sign a contract selling themselves into servitude before taking them on the road.

  By the time they arrived in Yangxin County, the team behind him had grown to more than a dozen people, and only Xue Yan and Li Tong were adults in the team. The others, including Gao Huaiyuan, were all teenagers, and as they walked along the road, they couldn't help but attract attention from passersby.

  "Master! If we take them all in, how are we going to support them? I heard that there are only seven or eight people at the old mansion, and now you're bringing so many... won't they... be a burden on Master's household? Won't it be hard to explain to Master?" Li Tong cautiously expressed his opinion to Gao Huaiyuan, afraid of offending him.

  "You don't have to worry about this, I can take them in and support them. As for whether the people in the old house have any opinions, it's not up to them to decide. My father has already said that from now on, the matters of the old house will be handled by me, so what I say goes. If you do a good job, I can get you quite a few benefits later!" Gao Huaiyuan replied nonchalantly.

  Li Tong was delighted, nodding his head in agreement and promising to follow Gao Huaiyuan's instructions carefully. As for whether Gao Huaiyuan could successfully take over the old mansion's affairs, Li Tong wasn't worried at all now. Along the way, he had already seen that Gao Huaiyuan was no ordinary person, and subduing a group of old mansion's house slaves would be as easy as playing a game for him.

  But Li Tong was a bit puzzled, and even Xue Yan and Huang Yan were also a bit puzzled. The first time they received Zhou Jun's brothers, they could understand, but this time they walked and collected so many young people, they couldn't understand it anymore. Asking Gao Huaiyuan, he just said indifferently that looking at these young people was pitiful, and then dismissed them, making them a bit depressed. However, here Gao Huaiyuan is the boss, what he says goes, naturally no one would say no.

  After Gao Weiyan made up his mind, he took in these young men, but did not keep a close distance with them. Instead, after taking them in, he told them that the first thing they had to remember was to obey him completely, otherwise, he would drive them out of the house.

  The young men had been wandering around the world for some time and could be said to have experienced the ups and downs of life. They originally thought that they would probably starve to death somewhere, but they met a young master who was about their age, took them in, gave them food and clothing, so most people cherished this opportunity very much. On the road, they were basically very obedient, and whatever Gao Huar told them to do, they did it.

  Anyway, there's nothing to do on the road, so Gao Huaiyuan didn't waste this time. He divided the ten young men into two groups and assigned them to Zhou Huan and Huang Yan to lead each group. As they walked along the way, he ordered them to form two columns and advance in unison, keeping their pace uniform. Many people on the road couldn't help but stare at them, and the young men felt very fresh and started to line up and march as required.

  But at first, they still felt a bit fresh, the team was still a bit regular, but as time went on, they began to lose focus, and the formation couldn't be maintained. The pace also couldn't be kept consistent. As a result, Gao Huaiyuan turned his head and immediately got angry, because what kind of team shape did these young people have behind him? It was simply chaotic like a swarm of bees, with some people doing this and that in a sloppy manner, some looking around, some looking down at the road, some picking their noses, and even some farting!

  After looking at it from a distance, his nose was almost crooked with anger. Without saying another word, he immediately called over Huang Yan and Zhou Huan to scold them severely.

  Huang Yan and Zhou Hao were initially a bit unconvinced, thinking that Gao Huaiyuan was just trying to be funny and stir up trouble for no reason.

  But after being scolded by Gao Huaiyuan, the two of them became honest. Because Gao Huaiyuan said: "Since you voluntarily followed me here, then listen to me! Do you know why Song people are always bullied by other countries? Why did the Great Song Dynasty always lose battles? It's because people's hearts are not united and lack discipline!

  Do you know what discipline is? If they can't even be taught to line up and walk, then I don't know what else you can do. A plate of loose sand can't accomplish anything!

  Since you want to follow me, I don't care why you want to follow me. Since you're following me, you have to listen to me! Now this is the first thing I'm entrusting to you, and I'd like to see if you can even control the few people under your command! If you can't even do this right now, then just go back to Shaoxing and forget it!"

  Two people were immediately energized after being scolded by Gao Huaiyuan, not letting out another fart, turning their heads and starting to strictly discipline the few young men under their command.

  All the way, I always hear Huang Yan's loud and clear rebuke: "Fool! Can't you walk? Look at which leg others are taking? And you, have your eyes gone blind? Quickly fall into the ditch! Hands! And your hands, what's wrong with you grabbing your crotch for no reason? Can you pull out a bird or something?

  "Please, don't embarrass me, can you? Take a look at the other team, see how they're doing, and then take a look at yourselves, get it together!"

  Zhou Huan was not good at talking, but he showed a strong tendency towards violence. He quietly picked up a willow branch from the side of the road and held it in his hand, staring at the people under his management. If anyone made a mistake, he wouldn't scold them, but would simply give them a light or heavy blow, and the person who made the mistake would immediately become obedient.

  Huang Yan's scolding and Zhou Huan's violent management methods always made Xue Yan and Li Tong burst into laughter, really couldn't figure out what Gao Huaiyuan was trying to do.

  However, Gao Huaiyuan did not laugh at them, but instead let the two of them struggle, and gradually Huang Yan and Zhou Xu's two teams formed a competitive relationship, starting to compare with each other. The reason was simple: after one day of marching, Gao Huaiyuan would evaluate their performance, and the team that performed exceptionally well would get an extra meat dish for dinner, while the losing side could only eat vegetarian food, and at night they had to take turns standing guard. Which of these young men did not have a sense of pride? Gradually, it ignited their competitive spirit!

  After several days, the two teams were already walking in a well-organized manner. They couldn't be compared to a well-trained army, but they had made great progress compared to their initial sloppy formation. Moreover, among them, a sense of discipline was beginning to take shape, and they no longer appeared as disorganized as before.

  Then Gao Huaiyuan made some rules, such as when eating and sleeping, they must not speak while eating or sleeping! Everyone must finish their food without saying a word, and no food can be wasted! When everyone is sleeping, no one is allowed to talk, so as not to disturb others' rest.

  At night, we take turns to keep watch and look after the mule cart. The reason is that we are afraid of losing things on the mule cart. When keeping watch, we must be diligent and responsible, and not fall asleep or be lazy.

  In addition to these, he also formulated some punitive measures, such as offenders having to go hungry for a meal, or washing clothes for others, and corporal punishment was rarely used. After being disciplined, the youngsters would quickly remember and then voluntarily follow the established rules.

  Gao Weiyan's purpose in doing so is actually very simple. He wants to temper these young people, let them consciously form their own self-discipline and concept of discipline. He doesn't want to raise a bunch of idle and gluttonous guys. What he needs is a group of people with a sense of obedience, which will also make his management easier in the future.

  After arriving in Yangxin County, it's not far from Daye County. Gao Huaiyuan also started to get a little excited. In his previous life, he had been to Daye on official business and was not unfamiliar with the place. Now, it could be considered a revisit of an old haunt, but ironically, it was 800 years ago.

  With these orphans, Gao Huaiyuan finally arrived at his destination, the old house of the Gao family in the south of Daye County, more than half a month after leaving Shaoxing.

  Li Tong and Gao Huaiyuan had never been to this old mansion before. They asked for directions along the way and finally found it. Looking at the slightly worn-out courtyard in front of them, Gao Huaiyuan took a deep breath and thought to himself: "We're finally here! From now on, this will be where I take root! This is what my home will be like from now on!"

  The old house of the Gao family is not very big, with a courtyard of three rooms in front and back, covering an area of several mu. Compared to the Gao family's mansion in Shaoxing, this one appears a bit dilapidated due to its age and the fact that there are no longer any members of the Gao family living here. Nevertheless, overall, it is still the largest and most prominent mansion in Gaodian Village, considering that Gao Huaiyuan's grandfather was once the chief official of the county, and although his rank was not high, he was a person who commanded respect in Gaodian Village. Now that Gao Jian is also a local official, it is not surprising that he has such a mansion in his hometown.