Chapter Thirty-One: Seizing Grain

  The flame, the size of a bean sprout, flickered and danced, casting Sun Qingyun's shadow on the window frame in a twisted pose. Sun Qingyun, sitting on the edge of the kang, had been talking non-stop all day, his mouth still unable to close.

  Lying down, Guo Jun smiled and listened to Sun Qingyun talk about his experiences since they parted ways. Seeing that Guo Jun's complexion had improved a lot, Sun Qingyun laughed loudly: "Guo Jun, your body is still as strong as before, looking at your face, you look like a good person, I think in less than a week, you'll be jumping around again."

  "Qingyun, it's been so many years since we last met, you're really talkative today. I didn't think you were such a chatterbox before." Guo Jun said with a faint smile.

  Sun Qingyun scratched his head and let out two awkward laughs, unsure of how to respond.

  "It's late, you've accompanied me for a whole day and must be tired too. Go to bed early! You won't want to stay up all night guarding me again, will you? I'm fine now, so go ahead." Guo Jun gave Sun Qingyun the order to leave.

  Sun Qingyun originally had a lot of words that he wanted to pour out all at once, but Guo Jun's body had just started to recover and needed rest to recuperate. He jumped up, opened his arms, and was about to give Guo Jun a big hug, but suddenly remembered Guo Jun's injuries all over his body, so he withdrew and dryly laughed as he exited the room.

  The house door had been taken away by the departing Sun Qingyun, and Guo Jun's eyes stared at the direction of Sun Qingyun's departure with a complex gaze, his face twitching several times.

  As soon as Sun Qingyun walked out of the door, he was pulled by He Tianhao, who had been waiting at the door for a long time, to the outside of the yard. Sun Qingyun shook off He Tianhao's hand and said displeased: "He Tiantou, we are all men, you little boy holding my arm and pulling me out, what does it look like!" After that, he also slapped the place where He Tianhao had just held him with force.

  He Tianhao burst out laughing and said with a smile: "I'm just kidding, you and Guo Jun are two big men stuck in one room for a whole day, the things you can do behind closed doors are more numerous and complicated than what's between us."

  Sun Qing's neck turned bright red with anger, but he couldn't think of any comeback words, and could only hum repeatedly to express his discontent.

  Seeing Sun Qingyun's painful expression, He Tianhao laughed for a long time before speaking seriously in a solemn tone: "Old Sun, I'm not too confident about that brother of yours named Guo Jun. He said he was captured by the devils from Zhouzhuang and suffered all sorts of torture before escaping, but according to my intelligence, there's no devil activity over there. Moreover, his body is covered in knife wounds, yet none of them are fatal, and before he fainted, he already knew your name and reported it. It's strange that an ordinary person like him who got separated from you for so long would suddenly know you're in our troop...

  "He Tianhao, you're slapping my face! Guo Jun is my brother, I know him best. You'd better mind your own business!" Sun Qingyun angrily interrupted He Tianhao's words and stormed off, not caring how he was being called back.

  Looking at Sun Qingyun's back, He Tianhao helplessly spread out his hands and sighed: "Alas, I knew it would end like this. If only I had listened to my brother and not told Old Sun about it. It seems that I was indeed too hasty this time. This Guo Jun is still someone who needs to be carefully watched." He Tianhao walked towards his own house.

  The bright moon is now hidden by a large patch of dark clouds, and the night has become even darker...

  Most of the soldiers under You Fei were not good people, and there were many who were extremely evil. Although You Fei himself was not a good person, he understood one principle: soldiers cannot compete with civilians for food, otherwise, no matter how well you can fight, you will still provoke civil unrest. Therefore, You Fei repeatedly ordered his officers to keep their soldiers in line and avoid doing anything that would offend the people.

  Although You Fei had already done the work, what was supposed to happen still happened. Just as You Fei was happily enjoying his breakfast, He Tianhao rushed in panting and shouted: "Big brother, something's gone wrong."

  You Fei's face fell: "So early in the morning and already flustered, what a sight."

  He Tianhao wiped the sweat and said after taking a deep breath: "A soldier sneaked out of the barracks early to eat breakfast in the south of the city, but because he had no money to pay the boss and the store owner, the little soldier shot the boss with one gun."

  "Damn it, what's going on? Those squad leaders are all freeloaders! I've long told them to keep an eye on the soldiers, and now look at this mess! You've really made me lose face!" Yu Fei slammed his palm heavily on the table, causing the bowls to jump up and the rice porridge to spill all over the table.

  You Feng, who was so angry that he was about to smoke from his head, tied the leather belt around his waist and roared: "Come on, notify all cadres above the company level to hurry over for me. Whoever makes me wait will come to see me with their heads in hand." After roaring, You Feng walked south of the city with a gloomy face, led by He Tianhao.

  In the south of the city, there are many small eateries and wine houses. Although this era is plagued by war and famine, businessmen still manage to find food and operate restaurants. People work hard just to get a warm meal, and although the world is not at peace, places to eat will never close.

  It was originally breakfast time, and there were many people in the south of the city. Moreover, just now there was an incident where a soldier killed the owner of a breakfast shop, and many people who heard the news came to watch the excitement, and the streets were crowded with people, making it extremely lively.

  Suddenly a large team of soldiers rushed over with guns, and You Fei, the highest commander of the army, rode on a tall horse, his face stern and murderous, causing the surrounding civilians to crane their necks to catch a glimpse of him. The soldiers of the guard company stopped at the scene of the incident, and two young soldiers who had caused the trouble hung their heads in shame, their legs trembling with fear.

  Yu Fei jumped off his horse, glaring at the two soldiers with a cold expression. Before long, officers of various ranks also rushed to the scene. Seeing Yu Fei standing alone with his back to them, the officers who had already sensed what was happening on their way felt a chill run down their spines and prayed in their hearts that Yu Fei's anger wouldn't be directed at themselves.

  "You Feng Han's voice asked: 'Who was killed by whom?'"

  One of the soldiers' legs began to shake violently, and his voice trembled even more: "I... I am, sir..."

  You Fei took a few strides forward, and before the surrounding crowd could react, he pulled out the pistol from his waist and fired. The soldier fell to the ground with a loud bang. Due to the close distance, You Fei's face was splattered with blood, which added to his stern expression, exuding an aura of killing intent that left everyone within a hundred paces silent.

  "And you!" Yu Fei turned his gaze to the soldier beside him.

  The remaining one was already frightened, and after a long time, he knelt down with a soft foot, his voice panicked and responded: "L...long officer, I, I just...just ate a meat bun..."

  You Fei put away the pistol and said coldly, "Soldier, your crime is not punishable by death, but you are no longer tolerated in the army. Disappear from my sight, the farther the better."

  When he heard that he didn't have to die, the soldier knocked his head on the ground several times, with a nose full of snot and tears, left his gun behind, took off his belt and hat, stood up and quickly walked towards the city gate.

  "You stop right there!" The soldier's heart, which had just begun to relax, tightened up again.

  You Fei bent down and picked up the soldier's military cap, walked to the front of the soldier and handed over the cap. The soldier was stunned, took the cap and saw that there were two silver dollars inside. The soldier stared blankly at You Fei's face covered in blood, with tears slowly flowing out from his eyes. You Fei shouted: "Hurry up and leave, or else I'll change my mind!"

  The soldier gave You Fei a 90-degree bow, looked at him deeply before turning to leave. The people around didn't understand what was going on and thought it was strange, but no one saw You Fei quickly put two silver coins in his hat. Who would have thought that You Fei, who often stole purses from others on the street, would do such a small trick without being discovered?

  "Those two soldiers are from that company!" You Fei shouted in a high-pitched voice.

  At this time, the two soldiers' squad leader, platoon leader and company commander walked out of the pile of officers with a quivering face. You Fei glared at the three anxious men and roared: "You three useless trash, were you raised on grass or gnawing on wood? I told you to take good care of your soldiers, ah, what good things have you done? Each of you answer me, if not, how can I continue scolding?"

  "You, speak." Yufei pointed at the long nose and asked imperiously.

  He swallowed hard and said: "I... I grew up eating mantou."

  "You three are forbidden from eating for two days! Go face the wall and reflect on your mistakes!"

  The three men let out a sigh of relief, at least their heads were safe for the time being. Two days without food was still manageable, and they nodded and bowed as they retreated. You Fei let out a series of cold snorts, his eyes darting back and forth among the various generals. The other generals saw the malicious glint in You Fei's eye and felt a shiver run down their spines.

  "Soldiers must sneak out to eat meat buns, it's because they see the officers eating meat. To consolidate military stability, from today on, all officers' rations will be the same as those of soldiers, thoroughly eliminating unstable factors."

  The one who reacted most strongly to this news was Jiang Zhuang. The fat on his face rapidly sagged, and his large face completely fell. His small eyes, which were originally hidden in the folds of his skin, opened wide, revealing a rare glimmer of light. He wailed: "Brother, does this mean we won't have meat to eat from now on? Oh my god, you're not intentionally messing with me, are you?"

  You Fei glanced at Jiang's stout body and said calmly, "Eat less meat, your body will be more solid, and you'll run more smoothly. Your oversized physique makes you an easy target, eating less meat is good for you."

  Jiang's face turned pale and he let out two sorrowful wails, almost fainting on the spot.

  While many officers were still in a daze, You Fei stopped talking and left directly. Jiang Zhuang followed closely behind, trying to persuade You Fei to change his terrifying order. The onlookers, however, were all smiling with their teeth bared, watching those wooden chicken-like officers.

  Although the four counties were relatively rich, it was still a troublesome thing for several thousand people to eat plain rice. You Fei then ordered He Tianhao to investigate where they could get food. He Tianhao easily found out that a local grain merchant, Wang Xingye, had secretly hoarded a large amount of wheat. With nothing else to do early in the morning, You Fei winked at He Tianhao and said, "Tianhao, let's go ask the big boss for food."

  "That stingy ghost met you, this plague god, and this time he's going to lose big." He Tianhao cackled with a strange laugh.

  You Fei shook his head: "It's all for the great cause of resisting Japan, and Wang Da will surely understand."

  Originally short-tempered Jiang shouted loudly: "Damn it, dare to say a word, I, Jiang Dabao, will pinch that skinny dead guy to death."

  He Tianhao laughed: "Big brother, you don't know, last time Jiang Pangzi scared Wang Xingye so much that he was sweating profusely. If it wasn't for you saying we can't rob by force, I reckon Jiang Pangzi would have been able to drag out the wheat and grind it into flour last time."

  You Fei Lang burst out laughing and urged his horse on, hastening towards Wang Xing Ye's residence.

  They arrived at Wang Xingye's house, the mansion was three times bigger than ordinary people's houses, but it didn't look luxurious at all. Outsiders would never have thought that this was the largest grain merchant in the surrounding area. You Fei smiled and said: "This merchant is really low-key, not bad, wealth is not shown off."

  "His grandfather's, that skinny guy even took down the big 'grain' flag, it was still hanging there the day we came, hey, he can put away the flag, I wonder where he can hide the wheat in his basement." Jiang Ze shouted with a sneer.

  He Tianhao joked: "Maybe he's been eating desperately for the past few days, and he'll end up fatter than you, Jiang."

  You Fei ignored the two men, dismounted his horse and strode into the courtyard. The courtyard was clean and tidy with two camellia trees planted in it, emitting a faint fragrance. He Tianhao shouted loudly: "Wang Dalao, our leader has arrived, why don't you hurry up to welcome him?"

  A tall and thin figure rushed out, his voice shrill: "Everyone, I apologize, I should have been at the door to welcome you gentlemen." Wearing a long gown, with a horse face, pointed head, small eyes, and a body as thin as a bamboo pole, Wang Xingye's appearance was really not worthy of praise. However, the sharp glint in his bright green bean-like eyes was the only sign that revealed he was a cunning businessman, as sly as a monkey.

  Jiang saw Wang Xingye and felt uncomfortable in his heart, and couldn't help but hum heavily. Wang Xingye saw Jiang's fiery temper and felt a chill in his heart. The other day, Wang Xingye almost got swallowed by Jiang, now he can't help but be afraid. Seeing You Fei's smiling face, Wang Xingye slightly put down his guard, he cupped his hands and said to You Fei: "May I ask if this is the famous General You Fei?"

  "Sycophant, all you know is how to bootlick!" Jiang sneered in a cold voice.

  He Tianhao watched with interest as Wang Xingye's face turned red and green, it was really interesting.

  Wang Fei said calmly: "Boss Wang, I think we'd better sit down and talk." Wang Xingye apologized repeatedly, nervously ushering the three of them into the living room.

  After everyone sat down, a little maid hurriedly took the teapot to make tea. Wang Xingye saw it and hastily said: "Xiao Cui, this is only the third water, drink first, drink first!"

  Jiang's expression changed, he suddenly stood up and pointed at Wang Xingye, shouting: "You stingy ghost! My big brother is what kind of person? It's your great fortune that he came to your place, and you still want to serve him tea that has been brewed twice? You're just asking for a beating!"

  "Eh, Jiang Pangzi, you're speaking out of turn. Think back to when we came a few days ago, Boss Wang was using tea leaves that had been soaked and dried again to make tea for us. Now that Big Brother is here, being able to drink the third brew is already pretty good." He Tianhao said with a mischievous tone.

  Jiang's fists were clenched tightly, his eyes almost spewing fire as he trembled and said: "Tea, bring tea, new tea." The little maid stifled a smile, took the teapot and went to brew tea.

  Wang Xingye saw Jiang's appearance and sat back in his seat, the pressure in his heart slightly alleviated. He trembled as he took out a handkerchief to wipe away the sweat on his forehead. However, You Fei's sudden words made Wang Xingye jump up from his chair: "Boss Wang, I want that batch of grain you're hoarding."

  Wang Xingye slowly turned around, and the sweat on his forehead came out again. This time, however, the more he wiped it away, the more there was. Cold sweat kept beading up. "How... how much do I need to pay..."

  "I know that Old Master Wang's basement is ten meters deep, and it hides a huge amount of rice. I don't want too much, eight thousand dan would be fine." You Fei said with a faint smile.

  "Eight... eight thousand tons..." Wang Xingye was so shocked that his mouth dropped open and wouldn't close.

  "You even if you take all of my 10,000 catties, what can you do about it?"

  "This......" Wang Xingye couldn't get his words out. How could a small businessman like him possibly resist the army? He was doomed to die.

  "I've left two thousand dan of grain for you, which you can secretly store away. As for outsiders, I'll announce that all your grain has been taken in, so even if we're not here in the future and other troops or Japanese come, no one will suspect that you have a private stash of grain, right? Then, when the time comes, you can naturally raise the price and sell it slowly. Besides, I'll pay you the corresponding price for this grain." said You Fei.

  Wang Xingye hesitated, and Jiang Zhuang slammed his hand on the table and shouted: "Your grandfather's, love to do but not look, if you don't agree I'll take it by force."

  "I'm willing, I'm willing." Wang Xingye almost burst into tears.

  "Young Fei laughed and said: 'Since the matter has been settled, I'll take my leave first.' After finishing speaking, he left. Before leaving, Jiang Zhuang still coldly shouted at Wang Xingye who had a tragic face: 'Consider yourself lucky, you skinny monkey, otherwise I would have taken everything from you.'"

  As they walked out of the house, Jiang Zuo complained to You Fei: "Big brother, you're really something. Why are you being so polite to that skinny monkey and even buying him food? It's too cheap for him."

  "Exactly, big brother, where did we get the money from?" He Tianhao added in a low voice.

  "Young Flying Thief smiled and said: 'I just wrote an IOU.'"

  Jiang Zhuang and He Tianhao were stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing together. Jiang Zhuang laughed and said, "Why leave him two thousand dan?"

  "Don't do things to the point of killing, leave a way out for others, and who knows, maybe there will be opportunities for cooperation in the future. Tianhao, brothers can't eat that much food, distribute the excess to the poor households around us, first to accumulate some virtue for the brothers, and secondly to give our team a good reputation." You Fei said.

  "Brother, don't worry, I'll definitely handle it properly."

  The three of them went on their way to their destination with laughter and conversation.