A gentleman does not recall the wrongs of a petty person.

  That evening before dinner, Zhu Yuanzhang and several long workers who helped him plow the fields had not returned yet. The dining hall of the Ma family's side house was more lively than usual, with dozens of long and short workers who participated in the group fight gathered in the hall, while those who didn't dare to go surrounded them, listening to their boasts about how brave they were during the day.

  In the countryside, people's lives are relatively simple, rising with the sun and resting with the sunset. When something rare happens that can be used as a topic of conversation after dinner, it is naturally talked about at length.

  A laborer sat on the dining table, slapping the table with his dirty hands covered in calluses and laughing loudly: "You guys didn't see how cowardly those Wang Bas from Ren Village were today! I swung my stick at them and that good-for-nothing was so scared he shrunk away. Then I gave him two more whacks on the head, and that guy actually started crying, tears streaming down his face... Hahaha, it's killing me!"

  "Wow, that's so cool? I wish we had gone with them too." The several workers beside him looked at each other with envy in their eyes.

  At this time, another short worker who had participated in the fight couldn't help but speak up: "I say Liu Wu, stop bragging, did you really knock that guy down? I clearly saw that it was Zhu Ba who knocked him down. You're just hitting a man when he's down and making yourself sound fierce, spit!"

  Liu Wulao's face turned slightly red as he hastily said, "I didn't say it wasn't Zhu Ba who beat him down, what I meant was after Zhu Ba beat him down, I then beat up that little brat."

  As soon as he said that, the bystanders suddenly came to life. A slightly thin and short figure squeezed over and whispered: "Zhu Ba's build is about the same as mine, so weak, can he really knock people down? Are you kidding?"

  "You think you're so clever... don't you know the ferocity of Zhu Ba? This noon, he knocked down Lao Liu with one punch on the threshing ground outside, and now Lao Liu's belly still hurts..."

  "Zhu Ba is fierce this time, forty-seven big guys, he knocked down twenty-five, you say it's not fierce? That fist is like an iron hammer, whoever gets hit falls to the ground, no one can withstand a second blow."

  "Let me tell you, today's Zhu Ba Jie is really..."

  “……”

  After the most eloquent speech, Zhu Ba's story of bravely fighting against Zhang's family in Cheng City was thus embellished and fabricated, leaving a group of peasants in the dining hall with extremely complex expressions.

  "No way, Zhu Ba Neng is that formidable? Then... I used to mock him often, if he were to punch me..."

  "My family's that kid also didn't take less of Zhu Ba Jie's money... Originally he was so formidable, this... what to do? If he comes knocking on the door, I'm not finished?"

  "Ah......"

  These ignorant farmers were the most afraid of the strong and the weak, after hearing about the fight during the day, they all felt a dull pain in their stomachs, as if they had already been punched by Zhu Ba, and even speaking became uncoordinated.

  At this moment, a figure flashed at the entrance of the dining hall, and Wang Er walked in. Seeing that the hall was filled with people, all talking about the fight during the day, he didn't feel surprised, and sat down on the long bench in the corner by himself, waiting for dinner time to arrive.

  "Brother Wang Er has arrived……” Several long workers who had bullied Zhu Ba before came over, squeezed beside Wang Er and asked in unison: "Brother Wang Er, is it true that Zhu Ba knocked down twenty-five big guys today?"

  "Second Brother Wang, has Zhu Ba become fierce? Is it true?"

  "Brother Wang Er, we used to bully Zhu Ba in the past. Now he's so formidable, if he comes back to bully me, I won't be able to take it. Can you help me out and put in a good word for me with Zhu Ba?"

  Wang Er smiled and shook his head, saying: "A bunch of pickled goods, is Zhu Ba like you guys with small minds? If he had a small mind, he would have beaten all of you up during the time when you bullied him. He was bullied by you but endured it, saving his strength to fight outsiders, that's what makes him a good man."

  "So it was..." The crowd let out a sigh of relief.

  Wang Er added: "When Zhu Ba returns later, go and apologize to him honestly."

  "Of course, definitely want..."

  As they spoke, a loud and clear laughter came from outside the house, and four long workers walked into the hall with Zhu Ba. These four long workers were the ones who had just gone to help Zhu Yuanzhang plow the field, and could be considered as the first batch of people who were won over by Zhu Yuanzhang's personal charm after he arrived in this world.

  Zhu Yuanzhang walked in the front, slender and light, but the four tall and sturdy long workers surrounding him had already secretly regarded him as their leader, with an attitude of admiration mixed with a few points of fawning.

  It's not their fault, because Zhu Yuanzhang naturally exudes a unique aura of leadership even if he doesn't do or say anything. This is what later generations would call having a strong presence. The four laborers finished plowing the field with him and spent a bit more time together, so they unconsciously lowered their posture compared to his.

  As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang walked into the dining hall, he saw a large group of people gathering in front of him. Most of them were people who had bullied or ridiculed him before. They came over and bowed their heads, speaking flattering words, all of which meant asking him to forgive their past wrongdoings. The rural villagers' speech was not very artistic, repeating the same few sentences: "The superior man does not recall the petty offenses", "Don't take it to heart", "Sorry"...

  Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said in a low voice: "I've forgotten!"

  Those who had bullied him were overjoyed, put down the big stone in their hearts, and together with the four long workers, they surrounded Zhu Yuanzhang to sit down at the corner of the house. Then a group of people surrounded him again, chattering and asking about what happened during the day. Zhu Yuanzhang's face showed a formulaic smile that had been tempered, and he simply told the story of what happened during the day again. When he was telling the story, the focus was not on how he defeated the enemy, but rather on others' affairs, such as how badly Liu Wu beat the enemy, how fiercely Yang Chao fought, how effectively Qi Guanshi commanded, and how many brothers Wang Er saved...

  All those who went to participate in the group fight during the day, unexpectedly not a single one was left behind. Even if they made just a little move, Zhu Yuanzhang would praise them extravagantly, and even if there were no merits, he could still find something to praise; as for those who originally had merits, he would praise them to the sky.

  This was a method that Zhu Yuanzhang often used when he had just become the captain of the nine squads. At that time, he had nine soldiers who were newly assigned to him and with whom he was not familiar. In order to quickly make these nine soldiers his trusted subordinates, he remembered each soldier's name and lavished praise on them without restraint.

  The human heart is a strange thing. For example, a soldier was originally very timid, but after intense mental struggle, he mustered up the courage to ambush an enemy. If you mock him for ambushing the enemy, he might become even more discouraged. But if you praise his bravery and acknowledge his achievement in defeating the enemy, next time he will become even braver, and at the same time, he will be grateful to the person who praised him.

  Zhu Yuanzhang simply praised his fellow companions, immediately winning everyone's favor, and the people surrounding him grew more and more numerous. Others' form of address for him also changed from "Zhu Ba" to "Brother Zhu Ba".

  After a while, Qi Guan Shi arrived. Today, he surprisingly didn't come alone, with several people following behind him. Zhu Yuan Zhang turned his head to take a look, and his attention immediately shifted over...

  There were five people following behind Qiguan Shi, four of whom wore green jackets and small hats, completely different from the long-term and short-term workers living in the side hall. The clothes worn by the long-term and short-term workers were all made of the cheapest coarse hemp, but those wearing green jackets and small hats were made of the finest fine hemp and dyed green.

  In Zhu Ba's memory, there was an explanation for this dress, which was the clothing of the Bai Shui Ma family's household slaves. They had sold themselves to the Ma family and become their domestic servants. Although they had lost their personal freedom, they received better treatment than the long-term and short-term workers in the side house. They ate well, wore warm clothes, and received a monthly allowance. These household slaves were also allowed to enter and exit the front yard and inner yard, which was not permitted for the long-term and short-term workers.

  Among the four family servants, there was a young man who was less than twenty years old, with a pointed face and white skin, sparse whiskers on his lips, belonging to the type of person who looked like he had no hair on his mouth and was unreliable. He wore extremely expensive silk clothes, with his hands behind his back, looking very arrogant. This person was also familiar to Zhu Ba, he was the second young master of the Ma family...

  Qiguan Shi carefully led the second young master and four house servants into the dining hall, then loudly shouted: "You lazy bones, why don't you hurry up and pay your respects to the second young master!"

  The long and short workers were startled, and they all bowed together. Zhu Yuanzhang also blended in with the crowd and pretended to bow slightly.

  "Today's fight in Xigou Village, the Second Master has already known about it. He praised us, saying we fought well and earned face for our Ma family. Today, he specially came to the side house to give everyone a reward, don't you hurry up and thank the Second Master for his great kindness?"

  A group of long and short workers hurriedly saluted the second young master, thanking him for his reward... Zhu Yuanzhang followed the crowd with a bow, but his face was very calm, without any sign of impatience.

  Compared to him, Wang Er was an oddity. He sat in the corner of the house, neither bowing to Second Master nor trying to curry favor with Qi Guan Shi, as if this matter had nothing to do with him.

  Wang Er is a hero, of course, he would not stoop to do such things, but Zhu Yuanzhang is a villainous hero, the difference between a villainous hero and a hero lies not in whether they dare to stretch out their hands, but in whether they can bend. Heroes can stretch but cannot bend, while villainous heroes can both bend and stretch.

  Qiguan Shi once again saw the difference between Wang Er and Zhu Ba, and couldn't help but nod secretly in his heart, thinking: Wang Er is not someone who can be controlled by himself, but Zhu Ba can be cultivated.

  He didn't know that Wang Er, although stubborn and difficult to control, would be devoted to whoever treated him well. Zhu Ba, on the other hand, seemed easy to control at first but would eventually turn around and bite...