Chapter Fourteen I've Been Waiting for You

  As time went by, Duonowan failed to reappear, and the debate over whether this American and his three blind followers could return to Ningwu gradually subsided. Except for Kang Fan, everyone had given up hope of Duonowan's return, and even Zhong Hanqiang, who was least fond of suspecting people, blamed Kang Fan for being too rash this time. After all, Duonowan had taken away enough gold and silver to last him several lifetimes! Everyone couldn't figure out why he would refuse such temptation. Fortunately, there was still a lot of work to be done in the industrial park, and everyone believed that as long as Kang Fan was around, there would always be an alternative solution. In the midst of their busyness, they no longer discussed this matter. The American Duonowan was quickly forgotten by everyone, and only Kang Fan remained sincerely waiting for Duonowan's return.

  After the Blue Demon Team was formed, Kang Fan led the team members to escort various materials needed for the construction of the industrial park, or to purchase food and other supplies from all over the place to meet the living needs of the people on the construction site. Yu Hao finally made it clear that he supported Kang Fan's intention: the surrounding areas of Ningwu County had always been plagued by bandits with unknown origins, who would appear and disappear without a trace, hiding in the mountains and forests around the county town, waiting for opportunities to rob and harm passing merchants or local villagers. Although Yu Hao had organized troops to crack down on them many times, the effect was minimal due to the complex terrain and unclear situation. Last December, a group of bandits continuously attacked several villages on the outskirts of the county town, killing and injuring many local villagers, and looting money and grain. As a result, during the New Year's festival, the victims gathered at the county government office to complain, making Yu Hao unable to have a good year, and he had to collect money and grain everywhere to relief the affected villagers. In his anger, he personally led the troops to conduct a thorough search, with thousands of people involved, taking half a month, but not only did they fail to find the bandits, but also allowed several bold bandits to take advantage of the situation and enter the county town, causing trouble before retreating safely. Although the losses of the county town's villagers were minor this time, insightful people could see that this was the bandits' way of showing off to Yu Hao, and next time they would not be so lenient. This incident had a very bad impact on the entire Ningwu Prefecture, and Yu Hao's uncle came to severely criticize him for dereliction of duty, and ordered him to eradicate the banditry within a limited time, otherwise he would not show any favoritism as an uncle and would investigate and deal with it according to the law.

  In Kang Fan's eyes, Yu Hao was a straightforward, open-minded and kind intellectual who was somewhat too good to be true. He was commendable in his literary post, but when it came to military affairs, he was completely out of his depth. This couldn't be blamed on him, however - despite being well-read in poetry and books, Yu Hao had no experience with military training or battles, making it difficult for him to take on the role of a military officer. Nevertheless, after the original military officer of Ningwu County was transferred away, there hadn't been a new appointment, and Yu Hao's uncle had no one else to rely on, so Yu Hao had to take on both literary and military roles. Just then, Kang Fan appeared at the right moment, which was a wonderful coincidence for Yu Hao. Therefore, he eagerly hoped that Kang Fan could help him complete the task of eliminating the bandits.

  Kang Fan gladly accepted. On the one hand, he liked doing these things, and on the other hand, he considered it necessary for his future career development: being on good terms with the county government was a win-win situation from all aspects. Moreover, he had great respect for Yu Hao, and from a personal emotional perspective, he was willing to help him out, not to mention that he already had the consciousness of protecting the people. Therefore, he would do his best to accomplish these tasks.

  Kang Fan knew that He Shui Kuo had been running horse-drawn carriages for many years and was familiar with the bandits along the way. The He family's ability to trade peacefully for many years was at the cost of paying a huge amount of protection money to the bandits. This was a helpless move, as the local government was incompetent and the people were only seeking self-protection, which was not unreasonable. However, after inquiring, Kang Fan found out that the bandits who often dealt with He Shui Kuo were mostly based in the northern part of Shanxi Province and the Taihang Mountains area between Shanxi and Zhili Province, and had no relation to the bandits causing trouble in Ningwu.

  Kang Fan dispatched the Blue Demon team members to secretly investigate various villages, and based on the intelligence analysis, Kang Fan suspected that this group of bandits was either local or a joint force between local and external bandits. Since ancient times, soldiers and bandits have been one family, and the Ningwu County garrison would not be an exception. The Qing dynasty's local military forces were plagued by increasingly severe problems, with chaotic management, lax discipline, and widespread opium addiction, gambling, and debauchery among officers and soldiers. Their meager military pay was insufficient to support their activities, so they had to find ways to make ends meet. Officers could embezzle money by withholding soldiers' pay, selling weapons and equipment, and other means, but what about the soldiers? Thus, being a soldier in name only while secretly becoming bandits became their most convenient and quickest way to make money.

  When Kang Fan formed the Blue Demon Squad, he considered the above issues and personally went to the garrison to select them. With Mei Xiang and her medical classmates' cooperation, the over 1,000 soldiers initially selected were all people who had never smoked opium, did not have sexually transmitted diseases, were physically strong, and had a certain cultural foundation. After further investigation, most of those with gambling or drinking problems, low cultural level, or other bad records were eliminated. The remaining 200 soldiers were all excellent men with both literary and military skills. If they really went to suppress bandits, even 200 people would be too many! But fighting a conventional war is easy, while fighting this kind of guerrilla war is much more difficult.

  After Yu Hao listened to Kang Fan's analysis, he felt that the matter was serious and followed Kang Fan's intention. He arranged for some members of the Blue Demon Team to be placed in various virtual positions in departments such as the county government office, military camp, and police station. They were responsible for gathering intelligence and monitoring personnel. After combining this information with intelligence from other channels, they identified some suspicious individuals and put them under close surveillance. They also clarified the exact situation of several bandit gatherings in the mountainous areas around the county seat. Yu Hao had never thought that there would be bandits among the garrison troops in the county seat, let alone traitors among the officials in the county government office. The betrayal of his subordinates, who had followed him for many years, directly led to the failure of his multiple campaigns against the bandits. This was a huge irony! Therefore, the confidentiality of Kang Fan's next campaign against the bandits became extremely important.

  Kangdi this time just take care of things on your own, no need to report. As long as the result is good, that's all I care about. You said it well.

  After Kang Fan received the order, he immediately gathered the Blue Demon team members to formulate a detailed battle plan. This battle plan, except for these team members, only Kang Fan and Yu Hao knew clearly among the county government personnel. Therefore, whether the suppression of bandits can be successfully completed depends on Kang Fan's vision: whether these Blue Demon team members are truly reliable or not will be seen in this battle. And if something unexpected happens, Kang Fan will bear the greatest risk! Because he will participate in the suppression of bandits with the Blue Demon team members, and these well-trained Blue Demon team members can easily shoot him down if they want to.

  It turned out that Kang Fan's judgment was correct: the 200 members of the Blue Demon Team, under Kang Fan's leadership, annihilated several bandit dens with covert and fierce attacks, killing and capturing more than 30 bandits, and returning triumphantly. After interrogation, it was found that among the dozen or so surviving bandits, nearly half were local garrison soldiers. Through their identification, the identities of those suspicious individuals were also confirmed, and they were all arrested and sent to the prefectural government for trial. Thus, the bandit-suppressing action came to a successful end. In this series of actions, Kang Fan demonstrated high combat skills, extraordinary psychological quality, and outstanding command art, and always led by example, successfully establishing his prestige and gaining the wholehearted support of the Blue Demon Team members.

  After that, the county town and its surrounding areas often saw the majestic blue demon team members riding tall horses, wearing waist knives, and carrying steel guns, tirelessly patrolling day and night in various parts of the county, protecting the people with all their might. They quickly gained recognition from the local people. As a result, whenever the patrol team arrived at a place, the local people would offer them tea, water, good food, and meat. However, these team members had strict military discipline, never easily dismounting or accepting gifts from the people. Once they discovered enemy activity, they would take swift and bold action. Under the blue demon team's effective efforts, the public security situation in the county's jurisdiction was completely transformed. The blue demon team rapidly grew into a powerful force that was deeply loved by the people and feared by bandits, with its reputation spreading far and wide. Kang Fan also gained a trustworthy team he had always dreamed of, and his arm became stronger and more powerful.

  At the beginning of autumn, Duonuo Wan and his three blind brothers led a large team to appear on the official road outside the county town, and the escort for the team was actually the Qing government soldiers, which was really unexpected!

  Kang Fan Zheng and a dozen or so Blue Demon team members were patrolling the outskirts when they inadvertently discovered this convoy flashing out of the morning fog through binoculars. After recognizing Duonuo Wan's colorful carriage, Kang Fan involuntarily began to tremble with excitement.

  You American...Conovan and Donovan grasped each other's hands tightly, unable to hold back tears.

  Donovan's face was also grave, it's been a long time, my dear friend.

  Everything is self-evident, and Duonowan's return made everyone happy, and the accusations against Kangfan also disappeared. Duonowan was a promise worth a thousand gold, while Kangfan was priceless integrity, and these two people had a real gamble! As soon as this matter spread, it became a legend in Ningwu County for a time.

  Heroes emerge in their youth. These words are indeed true! He Shui Chang's heartfelt sigh.

  Yu Hao also strongly agreed, such a grand and righteous move is rare in ancient and modern times! At the time, he hired Kang Fan as a military instructor for the county garrison with a salary equivalent to that of a seventh-grade martial arts officer in the imperial court, and helped with military affairs in the county yamen, giving Kang Fan a formal identity in the county government. From the point of view of official rank alone, Yu Hao's uncle had only given Yu Hao a seventh-grade civil servant's salary. In this way, Kang Fan could openly carry firearms and provide better protection for his students.

  Duonowan brought back the steam turbine generator set and related accessories, water supply system, boiler, various chemical and pharmaceutical equipment, various machine tools and electrical equipment, as well as a large number of chemical, metal and other raw materials. After verifying them one by one according to the shopping list provided by the students, everything was complete. Now that all the hardware needed for the first phase of industrial development is ready, it's up to the students next.

  After the supporting infrastructure in the industrial park was completed, the pharmaceutical factory, daily chemical factory and metal machinery processing factory immediately started normal production. Each factory recruited young and strong villagers from nearby Ma Fang Township as workers, and medical personnel were dispatched from the county hospital to conduct regular physical examinations for these voluntarily registered villagers. Those who were healthy were employed, working 5 days a week, with generous salaries paid every month.

  The technical content of pharmaceuticals is relatively high. Although students have enough theoretical knowledge in their minds, it's not easy to produce real medicines, so there was no clue at the beginning. Later, after discussion, the students abandoned the original unrealistic grand development plan and adopted a small but refined strategy, concentrating on making breakthroughs to achieve a ripple effect. Only then did the pharmaceutical R&D plan get out of trouble. First, they successfully developed a Chinese medicine similar in efficacy to Yunnan Baiyao and a Western medicine similar in efficacy to Aspirin, named TCM No. 1 and WM No. 1 respectively. Then they started trial production of various antibiotics and other commonly used Chinese and Western medicines, finally opening up the situation.

  Those varied and numerous daily chemical products, such as soap, toothpaste, shampoo, laundry detergent, matches, etc., due to their relatively simple manufacturing process and having undergone pre-research, quickly entered mass production after the raw materials and equipment were ready, and were produced continuously.

  The county hospital, with its 21st-century medical equipment, instruments, medicines and professional minds, quickly established a reputation in the county seat and surrounding areas. Under the fame of the distant name, the curtain came to seek medical treatment, and the crowd was endless every day. Although the charges were not high, due to the huge flow of customers, it still became one of the first enterprises to achieve profits. Several female students from the hospital earned money for the first time in their lives, and it was rare metal currency. The strong sense of accomplishment is not mentioned, and they came to find Kang Fan one after another, eagerly showing him the copper coins, broken silver and other things.

  Kang Fan couldn't help but praise them, suddenly thinking that they should confirm a formal financial manager, so he called for Zhong Hanqiang.

  I've thought it over and over again, this financial manager position is tailor-made for you. Kang Fan said.

  Everyone has been in this era for almost half a year, Kang Fan has been busy outside, and the trivial matters in the camp have all been handled by Zhong Hanqiang. The large and small financial expenditures were managed very professionally by Zhong Hanqiang, worthy of being a successful businessman. Now that the development of the business has begun, it's time to establish itself.

  Zhong Hanqiang agreed then.

  After learning that the second phase of industrial development plan would be implemented after Kangfan, Duonowan stayed in the county town for convenience. At this time, when the first batch of industrial enterprises had just started operation and the second phase of industrial development plan had not been specifically implemented, except for some after-sales service work, Duonowan temporarily had nothing to do, so he took the initiative to find Meixiang and asked her to help at the county hospital.

  Mei Xiang had already learned that Duonowan often cured illnesses and saved people while preaching in China, was skilled in surgery, and the hospital was currently in urgent need of doctors with rich work experience. Seeing him volunteer, she was overjoyed.

  Mr. Donovan, you are a respected old angel who has come from the foreign paradise to the Chinese world. Mei Xiang grasped Mr. Donovan's hands tightly and said enthusiastically in fluent English.

  Donovan burst out laughing, his brown mustache trembling nonstop.