Chapter 43: New Recruits Enter the Camp

  Li Guoting and Ma Fei left Ye Tuanzhang's mansion and came to the main street. The two couldn't remember how to get to their hotel. On the main street, they asked passersby for directions, and someone told them how to go. So Li Guoting and Ma Fei followed the path indicated by the passerby, walking quickly forward, passing half a street. According to the previous passerby's instructions, they turned into a dimly lit alley next to it.

  Walk halfway and see a fork in the alley, then continue along the left path.

  Just as Li Guoting walked to the entrance of the alley, he bumped into someone who was running towards him.

  Li Guoting was about to get angry, but when he looked up and saw the person who had bumped into him, it turned out to be none other than his third brother Zhao Erhu, whom he was just going to look for. So he opened his mouth and called out.

  Zhao Erhu didn't notice the pedestrian at the corner ahead and collided with Li Guoting. He didn't even notice the pain of hitting his head on Li's face, and without lifting his head, he continued to run forward, raising the black leather bag in his hand, ready to throw it into the roadside wall.

  When stealing, if caught by someone, the best solution is to destroy the evidence. For example, if you steal someone's wallet and are discovered and chased, if you feel that you can't run away, the best solution is to quickly throw away the stolen wallet. Even if you're caught, as long as no physical evidence is found, and you stubbornly deny it, the police won't be able to do anything about it. Zhao Erhu knew this.

  So, seeing himself about to be overtaken by the two men behind him, in a moment of desperation, Zhao Erhu raised his hand and was ready to throw the black leather bag in his hand into the wall on the side of the road. But unexpectedly, the hand holding the bag was pressed down by Li Guoting's outstretched hand.

  Zhao Erhu's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself: It's all over, I'm done for. But just then, he heard his big brother Li Guoting shouting his name from beside him. He hastily lifted his head to look, and hey, what a coincidence! At this critical moment, he ran into his big brother Li Guoting and second brother Ma Fei. Zhao Erhu's heart was filled with excitement. The anxiety that had been hanging in the air just moments before suddenly dissipated.

  "Third brother, what's wrong with you? What happened?" Li Guoting asked in surprise.

  Zhao Erhu didn't have time to explain, he hastily stretched out his hand and pointed behind him, saying urgently: "Big brother, second brother, someone is chasing me, look, they're coming." He turned his head back again and saw that the two people chasing him were about to catch up.

  Li Guoting and Ma Fei followed Zhao Erhu to look ahead. Sure enough, they found two people running towards them. Then Li Guoting said to Zhao Erhu: "Third brother, you run first. Ma Fei and I will block them for you."

  Zhao Erhuo grunted and picked up the black leather bag, turning around to continue running forward.

  "Halt! You damn well better halt, or I'll catch you and flay you alive!" Someone yelled at the top of his lungs, taking a step forward and then dashing over.

  "Second brother, let's take them by surprise. Knock them down and then run." Li Guoting whispered to Ma Fei beside him.

  "Alright, one person at a time." Ma Fei said.

  The man who had turned into the alley was not let go, and Li Guoting kicked him in the abdomen with one foot. The man let out a loud "ah" and clutched his belly with both hands before squatting on the ground.

  The person who ran in right behind, didn't know what happened. Saw his companion suddenly squatting on the ground, hurriedly raised his head to look. Just saw two half-grown men suddenly appearing in front of them. Was about to ask when he was punched by Ma Fei's fist, one punch landed on his eye, and also let out a "ahh" sound, stretched out his hand to cover his injured eye.

  Li Guoting took advantage of the two men's confusion and launched a surprise attack, immediately engaging in a fierce fight with them.

  Due to the sudden attack, coupled with the dimly lit alley, the two shop assistants did not know each other's moves. After just a few exchanges, they were beaten by Li Guoting and Ma Fei until they could no longer defend themselves.

  "Stop hitting! Stop hitting! Are you Ma San's men?" One of them, holding his head, asked Li Guoting.

  Li Guoting was taken aback, and before he could say anything, Ma Fei continued: "You two are blind, don't you know who I am? I'm the nephew of Old Man Ma San. You want to die?" As he spoke, Ma Fei lifted his foot again and kicked the man's thigh. The man hastily said to his companion: "Let's get out of here quickly, stop fighting. This is Old Man Ma San's nephew." With that, the two men fled in a hurry.

  Ma Fei and Li Guoting patted the dirt off their hands and smiled at each other.

  "Second brother, are you really the nephew of that 'Ma San Ye' that person just mentioned?" Li Guoting asked.

  "Haha... I'm Ma San's paternal nephew. Don't even recognize him. Just a rumor among them." Ma Fei laughed and said.

  "You're really something! I almost believed you." Li Guoting said with a smile.

  Seeing the two of them fleeing, Ma Fei said: "Big brother, let's go find Third Brother too. Who knows what kind of trouble this kid has gotten into to be chased and beaten by others. We can't stay here for long either, those two will definitely come back with more people."

  "Yes, Second Brother is right. Let's go." Li Guoting said.

  At the exit of the front alley, Li Guoting and Ma Fei caught up with Zhao Erhu.

  "Third brother, weren't you staying at the inn? How did you end up being chased all over the streets?" Li Guoting asked.

  Zhao Erhu glared at Li Guoting and said, "Big brother, second brother. You still have the nerve to show up. You left me alone in the hotel room without even leaving a single cent. For an entire day and night, I didn't see your shadows. I almost starved to death. If it wasn't for me sneaking out at night to steal some food, I'd still be locked in the room by the hotel owner's wife."

  "Oh, we really didn't know about this." Li Guoting said.

  Then Zhao Erhu told Li Guoting and Ma Fei about a series of things that happened after the two left.

  "You're quite bold, aren't you? You actually ran under someone's bed. Haha..." Li Guoting and Ma Fei both burst out laughing after hearing this.

  "You're still smiling? How dare you! Are you worthy of being brothers?" Zhao Erhu complained.

  "Alright, alright. Third Brother. We also encountered some local hooligans." As he spoke, Li Guoting told Zhao Erhu about the two of them being ambushed that night.

  After listening to Li Guoting's narration, Zhao Erhu finally showed a smile on his face.

  "So that's what you're saying, Ye Xinyi's father, Commander Ye or something, has agreed to let us join his army?" Zhao Erhu said.

  "That's also fake. We came looking for you because of this." Ma Fei said.

  "Haha, Second Brother is really something. He's hooked the team leader's daughter. I, Zhao Erhu, really admire you." Zhao Erhu gave Ma Fei a thumbs up.

  "Get out! What nonsense are you talking about? If you keep talking nonsense, I'll really beat you up!" Yang pretended to be angry and clenched his fists at Zhao Erhu.

  "Go on, go on. I won't say anything more." Zhao Erhu hid away.

  "Alright, you two stop arguing. Let's hurry back to Commander Ye's residence instead. Deputy Liu is still waiting outside." Li Guoting said.

  Then the three of them spoke and turned around to walk towards Commander Ye's residence.

  Leaf Commander is not in the mansion at this moment, according to Leaf Commander's arrangement when he left. Liu Deputy called the company commander of the new soldier company, a burly man with a square face and thick eyebrows and big eyes, a Shandong native. He introduced Li Guoting, Ma Fei and Zhao Erhu to him, saying that it was the commander's order, letting them go to the new soldier company for reporting.

  The new battalion commander brought Li Guoting, Ma Fei and Zhao Erhu to the new barracks near Mo Shui Hu.

  "What are your names?" asked Commander Xu of Li Guoting, Ma Fei and Zhao Erhu as soon as they entered the barracks.

  Li Guoting and Ma Fei both felt strange, didn't Deputy Liu just tell him earlier? Why did Captain Xu still ask them for their names. Ma Fei had a sense of displeasure in his heart and spoke up: "Captain Xu, didn't Deputy Liu already tell you?"

  Xu Lianchang glared at Ma Fei and said, "Listen up, kid. I don't care what your relationship is with the captain. This is the military. We do things by the book here. If you want to eat this rice bowl, you have to follow orders. Now it's my turn to ask for your names. Got it?"

  Li Guoting quietly pulled on Ma Fei's sleeve and said: "I'm Li Guoting. He's..."

  "Don't say anything, let him report himself. Let each one report themselves." Xu Lianchang waved his hand to interrupt Li Guoting's words.

  "Report. My name is Ma Fei." Ma Fei said nothing, stood up straight, raised his hand and reported to Commander Xu Lian.

  "What about you?" Xu Lianchang pointed his hand at Zhao Erhu and said.

  "I - I am Zhao Erhu." said Zhao Erhu.

  Xu Lianchang glared, circled around Zhao Erhu once, lifted his foot and kicked Zhao Erhu. Zhao Erhu was caught off guard, fell to the ground with a thud, and sprawled out like a dog eating feces.

  "You - how did you hit me?" Zhao Erhu was confused and got up from the ground, with a mouthful of dirt, and asked as soon as he opened his mouth.

  "Hit you, this is light. When I was a soldier, we all had to take beatings. From now on, you'll understand what kind of person I am. If you dare to hit me again, get out!" Xu Lianzhang's eyebrows furrowed, speaking fiercely.

  Li Guoting, Ma Fei and Zhao Erhu stared at this permit holder in front of them. None of them dared to make a sound.

  Xu Lianchang glared at them again and said: "You've come to me, you're my soldiers. Do you understand?" Li Guoting and Ma Fei replied in unison: "We do."

  Xu Lianchang turned his eyes towards Zhao Erhu: "What's wrong, don't you know?"

  Zhao Erhu looked and didn't dare to make a sound, hurriedly saying: "I know, I know."

  "That's all you need to know. Someone will come to register you soon, and then go get your military uniform. Here, everything must follow orders. Disobedience means being shot." After finishing speaking, Xu Lianzhang shouted towards the outside of the house: "Come here, take them to register."

  A soldier came in with a report and led Li Guoting, Ma Fei and Zhao Erhu to the barracks.