Chapter Five

  Xiao Ming and Sun Er Gou mounted their horses and began to survey the surrounding terrain.

  Sun Er Gou, also known as Sun Shuangquan, was born with a name that meant "martial and literary excellence" or possibly "sons and daughters all around". His parents had high hopes for him. He spent several years studying in a private school and practicing martial arts before running away from home at the age of 15.

  Sun Er Gou started living on his own, but his luck was extremely bad. First, he became an apprentice in a trading firm, which went bankrupt soon after. Then, he joined a horse-riding gang, only to be robbed by bandits. In desperation, he followed the leader of the bandits up into the mountains.

  However, the leader died mysteriously one night, falling off a cliff. The new leader accused Sun Er Gou of causing his predecessor's death and wanted him to be buried alive with the deceased. Frightened, Sun Er Gou escaped that same night and eventually joined the Fei Hu Gang.

  Because of his extremely keen senses of smell and hearing, which were unlike those of ordinary people, he was nicknamed "Er Gou" (Second Dog).

  Xiao Ming heard the origin of Er Gou's name and couldn't help but laugh, secretly admiring the wisdom of the common people.

  Fei Hu Village has three paths leading out of the mountain. The south path is Hulu Valley, which is the route Xiao Ming took to get here. The east path is a place called Jiudao Wan, where the mountain peaks are steep and the road is narrow and winding. The north path is Heifeng Gorge, which is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, with treacherous terrain. Wang Jinlong arranged for ten men to be on guard duty at each location. Finally, Sun Er Gou took Xiao Ming to the back mountain.

  The mountain is on the south side of Flying Tiger Fort, passing through a winding mountain road of about four or five miles. Inside, it suddenly opens up to a vast plain surrounded by towering mountains. On the plain, there are hundreds of acres of land, with more than ten houses on the ridge, and fruit trees planted all around them. The air is filled with birdsong and fragrance, making one feel carefree and relaxed, as if in a paradise on earth.

  Xiao Ming was delighted: This is a good place to train troops, it's just a pity about the scenery. He pointed to a forest in the distance and asked Sun Er Gou, "What's over there?" "Wild Wolf Gorge, leading directly to the Hundred Mile Deep Mountains," Sun Er Gou said, "But I've heard it's not very clean, it's an unlucky place."

  "Inauspicious? I'd like to see it for myself!" Xiao Ming smiled ambiguously, glanced at Sun Er Gou and thought: You little brat dares to mention inauspiciousness, just wait for the opportunity to let you be the first to go in.

  After dinner, Xiao Ming discussed his idea with Wang Jinlong: to set up the training ground in the back mountain. After all, the back mountain is spacious and relatively secluded, so it won't make a big noise. Wang Jinlong was a bit worried, saying that he had heard that the back mountain was not very peaceful. Xiao Ming smiled and said, "The master is worrying too much, we'll take our guns and be invincible, what else would dare to offend us!"

  Wang Jinlong burst out laughing and said, "Alright, let's follow Xiao's instructions. I'm afraid of him." Ji Hongru came over to discuss: Tomorrow, let Sun Erdou assist himself in purchasing, after all, he has been in the trading industry and knows where to go. Wang Jinlong nodded in agreement.

  The next two days, the mountain stronghold began a major cleanup. All bedding was washed and dried in the sun, houses were whitewashed and sprinkled with medicine, clothes were boiled and washed, everyone shaved their heads, drank herbal medicine that was said to get rid of stomach worms, and were told they could only drink boiled water from then on. Wang Jinlong, Xiao Ming, and other leaders inspected the hygiene situation of each team, and Xiao Ming recorded everything. All kinds of daily necessities such as pots, pans, knives, axes, etc., were constantly being transported up the mountain, but what interested people the most was still the large number of pigs, cattle, chickens, and sheep.

  That day, the mountain stronghold slaughtered pigs and sheep to improve their living conditions. However, Xincheng Shan's team only got a share of pickled mustard greens. Xincheng Shan came to ask, and Xiaoming said, "Many people in your team are not good at executing life orders, and hygiene is not thorough. For the time being, it can only be like this. We'll talk about it again when things get better."

  Xin Chengshan was anxious and said: "There are only a few people who haven't done well, can't the whole team go without meat?"

  Xiao Ming smiled and said lightly, "Detention, this Xin brother shouldn't not understand, right? If it's still not done well tomorrow, then don't participate in training until qualified." Xin Chengshan looked at Wang Jindong, who didn't lift his head, continuing to gnaw on a pig's trotter as if he hadn't heard anything. Xin Chengshan's face turned bright red, and with a stomp of his foot, he angrily walked away. That night, the few from Xin Chengshan's team who hadn't done well in hygiene stood naked on the training field all night.

  The next day, Wang Jinlong and Xiao Ming made a round of inspections everywhere, and the situation had improved significantly. Seeing that there was no problem, he waved his hand: There's nothing to do today, eat freely, just don't drink alcohol. Tomorrow morning, except for those on duty, all young and old will participate in training.

  "Dong, dong, dong", just as the sky was getting light, a sudden and urgent bell broke the tranquility of the mountain stronghold. Various places echoed with shouts of "Get up! Get up!". After a while, another bell rang out, and everyone gathered at the drill ground, where Wang Jinlong and Xiao Ming were already waiting.

  Xiao Ming looked at his watch, five minutes had passed, and gave the order: "Destination Gourd Valley, run! Whoever comes back first gets to eat first." As for those who didn't make it in time, Wang Jinlong blocked them and made them run laps on the playground.

  Finally, someone ran back. At the front were Dalong and Yemaozi, among others. Xiao Ming stretched out a hand to stop them: "Show me." The crowd showed Xiao Ming what was in their hands for a moment, then Xiao Ming said: "Don't stop, move slowly for a bit before eating."

  People ran back to the mountain stronghold one after another, some went to the kitchen, and some were dragged to the playground. Finally, Zhang Tiezhu brought a group of old, weak, sick and disabled people back. Zhang Tiezhu had a smile all over his face, waved a stack of paper cards in his hand, and said: "Officer Xiao, good trick, there are still so many."

  Xiao Ming smiled and said "it's hard work" as he put away the cards and let Zhang Tiezhu go eat.

  At that time, poker cards were not yet popular among the people. Xiao Ming asked Ji Hongru to buy some back and gave them out in the morning according to the number of people. He told Zhang Tiezhu to arrive at Hulu Valley ahead of time, and those who arrived would be given one card each. After returning, they took the cards as proof to the kitchen, where food was served upon seeing the cards. Those without cards were suddenly stunned, having thought they could get away with something, but didn't realize that others had anticipated this!

  Wang Jindong scolded the people on the playground until they were speechless, then told Xiaohu to go to the kitchen to see if there was any leftover rice. Xiaohu went and came back saying that there was some leftover mantou from two days ago. Wang Jindong ordered him to bring it to the playground for them to eat. "After you finish eating, go shovel manure and till the land! If you don't finish, you're not allowed to have dinner!" He walked away with a huff.

  After lunch, took a short rest and started training again. Frog jump, shuttle run, jump run, short distance sprint and so on, the intensity is not high. After finishing lunch at noon, rested for a while, collectively cut down trees, cleared the trees within the shooting range below the mountain, and transported the trunks to the back of the mountain. After dinner, went to Gourd Valley again, repeated the training in the morning, then each person had a bowl of meat soup, after finishing drinking, the kitchen had already set up a large pot of boiling water, washed with hot water, soaked feet and slept, this continued for half a month.

  Over the past half month, everyone's appearance has undergone a significant change. Their faces have taken on a rosy glow, their voices are louder, and they're full of energy. Although the training volume has doubled compared to before, the food has changed dramatically - it's like a holiday every day: in the morning, there's meat soup, congee, eggs, and savory pastries; at noon, all sorts of meat dishes and vegetables are served in abundance; dinner is a new variety every time, and before bed, each person gets another bowl of meat soup. Everyone eats with gusto and doesn't feel tired at all - they even unanimously agree that if the instructor needs it, they'd be willing to run for eight or ten years without complaint.

  Wang Jinlong turned around to see Xiao Ming's sinister smile, and couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. He thought to himself: These kids are celebrating too early, the real suffering is probably yet to come!

  As expected, Xiao Ming dismissed the old, weak, sick and disabled today: firstly, their bodies really couldn't handle it, secondly, the wheat harvest was almost done. However, he still required them to insist on running, after all, labor and exercise were two different things.

  Facing the people who stayed behind, Xiao Ming narrowed his eyes and asked with a smile: "Brothers, how have you been lately?"

  "Good!" everyone shouted in unison. Ma Liu yelled, "Officer, this dish has meat, but it seems to be missing something. If we had some wine, that would be even better! I've been dreaming of drinking good wine for several times already!" Everyone burst into loud laughter.

  Xiao Ming smiled and said: "Right, right, this proposal is good. After today's training, you go find me, I'll treat you to a drink, how about that?"

  Everyone cheered and said I should go too, Xiao Ming nodded repeatedly: Good good, let's all go. Another burst of cheerful laughter, Wang Jinlong stood by the side, coldly watching the crowd that was in high spirits, feeling both angry and amused: Foolish people, not one of them is awake, they can't see the knife hidden behind the instructor's smile!

  As expected, Xiao Ming changed the subject: "Brothers, we've been eating well for half a month now, and it's really cost a lot of money. Mr. Ji said that if we continue like this, we'll have to drink northwest wind. What do you think we should do?" The crowd suddenly fell silent, this hadn't occurred to them, if it came to that, they could just go out and rob people.

  Xiao Ming smiled secretly in his heart and continued to say: "In that case, we have to save on food. Since there are many people and little meat, I thought of a way, but I don't know if everyone agrees." Everyone asked what the method was, Xiao Ming suddenly said seriously: "From today on, after running exercises, those who rank 50th or lower will have to wait for the people in front to finish eating before they can eat. If there's nothing left, then just bear with it! Ready, go!"

  Everyone panicked, as there were too many people, and no one could guarantee that they would be within the range. They all rushed back, with the first ones returning in high spirits, rushing to the kitchen to eat hastily, while those who came later could only stand at the door, staring anxiously, hoping that not too little food was prepared, so that they could fill their stomachs with some soup. After finishing dinner, the fifty people were driven to the back mountain to build houses, and Ji Hongru's bricks, tiles, and wood had arrived, but they lacked manpower.

  Those who arrived first went to the playground for further training. On the basis of the original, the training content has increased greatly: 200 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, 200 pull-ups, and 200 old cow plows. Ten people in a team, two people in a group, supervise each other, if you want to cheat, well, the whole team will start again. Still the same rule, those who finish first eat first. In the afternoon, another round, after dinner, continue with full-strength exercise.

  By the end of the day, everyone's body was like a loose frame, and their bodies didn't seem to belong to them. Some people managed to wash their faces, soak their feet, and go to bed, while others just fell asleep on the ground, unable to get up even if kicked.

  The physical pain started on the second day, and everyone's running speed slowed down significantly. Some people even deliberately lagged behind: Yesterday's training was really too tiring, going to cover houses might be a good choice.

  Who would have thought that when they reached the end, each of the lagging ones was given two steamed buns and a piece of salted vegetable, and was told: This is one day's ration. In the afternoon, build houses on the back mountain, and continue to exercise at night! Want to slack off? Zhang Tiezhu was frowning, holding a whip, supervising work on the back mountain.

  At this point, everyone became much more enthusiastic: the taste of going out on an empty stomach was really unbearable, and chicken, duck, fish, and meat were indeed full of energy. Moreover, no one wanted to see their companions' mocking eyes. Wang Jinlong smiled secretly beside him: It's still a knowledgeable person with many methods!