Chapter 32: The Invitation

  On the main street of Shuixi Town, Xiangxiang County, Hunan Province, a group of beggars surrounded three burly men who were making a ruckus. "Hey! You, you, you, stand over there, take one side. What's your age? This doesn't concern anyone else!" One of the big men was picking people out from among the beggars, with onlookers gathering around. The three burly men and the group of beggars together naturally attracted the curiosity of passersby.

  These three strong men were none other than Bai Sheng, Leng Yifei, and Zhang Man Cang who had come from the south to Hunan. At this time, Bai Sheng was standing on one side with his arms around his chest, coldly observing, while Zhang Man Cang maintained order, shouting "Everyone stand back a bit! Stand back a bit!" Leng Yifei gathered the dozens of half-grown children together and said, "You kids listen up, I have some meat buns here. Later, I'll ask you questions, and whoever answers correctly will be rewarded with a bun." The dozens of half-grown children seemed uninterested in his questions, their eyes all fixed on the buns in the basket on the ground.

  The test was given by Deng Zixuan, so it's nothing new. As soon as Leng Yifei finished speaking, this group of half-grown children shouted in unison: "There are four birds left!" "There are four birds left!" Instantly, they were in an uproar. One of the children shouted: "I was the first to answer correctly!" "No, I was the first to answer correctly!" "Not so! You didn't answer correctly, think again?" Leng Yifei had already lost his patience... "There are three birds left!" "There are two birds left......" The noise erupted again.

  "Alright, the buns are yours!" The half-grown kids rushed forward, starting to grab and fight over the buns. In the end, they even started punching each other. The onlookers were all discussing and commenting, thinking that these three big men were idle loafers who were just teasing the beggars for fun. "Damn it! For over a month now, not one of them has answered a question correctly, it's really infuriating!" Leng Yifei said angrily. "Exactly! Such simple questions, how can they not answer them? It's simply stupid to death!" Zhang Man Cang said in a loud and clear voice. "And what about you? When Master Deng asked the questions, you couldn't answer either, could you? At your age, you're probably not even as good as these kids!" Leng Yifei sneered. "You're mocking me when I speak, Brother Bai, look at him, he's being too unreasonable!" Zhang Man Cang said with a red face, tattling to someone.

  "Alright! Let's go!" White Victory looked very depressed. A young man, about 17 or 18 years old, carrying a bundle of hay, stepped forward nervously and said: "Gentlemen, if I can answer your questions correctly, will you give me a baozi?" The crowd turned around to see the young man standing in front of them with a bundle of firewood on his shoulder, especially his big eyes shining brightly. White Victory smiled curiously and said: "If you answer correctly, I'll give you a copper coin!"

  "Are you guys kidding me?!" The young man's eyes widened in surprise. "Do we look like people who would kid around?" said Bai Sheng, pulling out a copper coin. The young man answered without hesitation and even analyzed the subtleties of it. Bai Sheng handed the copper coin to the young man, who bowed and walked away with joy. Bai Sheng seemed to be thinking deeply, then suddenly his eyes lit up and he said: "Hey kid, slow down!"

  The young man's face changed color and said, "Are you regretting it? Are you deceiving people?" Bai Sheng smiled and said, "You're thinking wrongly, I want to ask if you can read characters." The young man asked suspiciously, "I've been to private school for two years, why are you asking this?" "What's your name? Where do you live?" Bai Sheng asked consecutively. "My name is He Meng, and I live in Xiushui Town!" "Are there any other people in your family?" "My mother and younger sister!" The young man's eyes showed a fearful expression.

  Bai Sheng and Wei Dao said: "Young man, don't be afraid. We three brothers want to stay in Xiushui Town for a few days. Can we borrow your house? Don't worry about us paying rent or food!" He Meng carefully sized up the three men and finally nodded. After turning a corner, a small courtyard appeared before his eyes. Upon entering the yard, he found two women washing clothes. One woman was in her thirties with a somewhat haggard face, while the other was only fifteen or sixteen years old.

  Seeing He Meng leading three big men walking in, the mother and daughter were startled. He Meng explained to his mother, Bai Sheng took out a few silver coins and said: "Sister-in-law, we want to trouble your house for a few days, is it okay?" Mrs. He's expression recovered quickly and said: "A few guests, staying for a few days is no problem, just don't need so much silver." "Sister-in-law! Maybe we'll stay longer, take this anyway!"

  He Meng took the silver and said, "I'll take it for my mother!" He's wife and daughter cleaned up the ear room, and the three brothers moved in. Dinner was very sumptuous, with wine even. He's wife repeatedly apologized. During dinner, Bai Sheng asked, "Sister-in-law, I see your son is having a tough time, what does his father do?" He's wife's face clouded over, "The child's father has passed away!"

  He Meng angrily said, "My father was a Xiang Army soldier and died in battle against the Taiping Army. After the Xiang Army disbanded, no one took care of us. My father died for the imperial court, and now that Mr. Zeng is gone, our days are even harder." Madam He sighed and said, "In this region of hundreds of miles, how many widows and orphans have been left behind?" Bai Sheng accompanied her in mourning for a while, and an idea formed in his mind.

  "Second Brother Bai, what do you think? He Miao is absolutely up to standard, but he can't possibly follow us!" Leng Yifei said in confusion. "However, He Miao's younger sister is quite pretty, a little beauty!" Zhang Manchu's mind was not on this. Bai Sheng gave him a glance and said: "In over a month, we've been to several places, the ones who beg for food are all around 15 or 16 years old, how many clever and quick-witted ones can be left? Wouldn't they have stopped begging by now? Just now, Big Sister said that there are many orphaned children and widows in the Xiang Army, their men were killed in battle and the government doesn't care about them at all, wouldn't they harbor resentment?"

  "That's right! I heard that when the Xiang Army was disbanded, many people still went to Zeng Guofan to cause trouble. This is a good thing to note. But they are all orphans and widows, can these children follow us?" Leng Yifei asked doubtfully. Bai Sheng said confidently: "Money can make ghosts grind mills, we use silver to lure them to Shanghai, and they won't be able to refuse. Deng Gongzi gave 5,000 taels of silver, I calculated that if each household is given 10 taels of silver, we can recruit 500 people!"

  "Brother Bai! I didn't expect you to have made such great progress, no wonder Master Deng values you so much! This idea is not bad!" Leng Yifei was overjoyed. "Why don't we just make this place our base, it's more convenient!" Zhang Manchu suggested opportunistically. "I say, big oaf, are you thinking of someone else's little wife?" Leng Yifei started teasing again. "Even if I am thinking of her, what business is it of yours?" Zhang Manchu retorted confidently. "Alright! Since neither of you has any objections, let's settle on this!"

  The next morning at breakfast, Bai Sheng lied: "Sister-in-law! To be honest with you, we are from Shanghai to Hunan to recruit people. Our master has a lot of money and was protected by the Xiang Army in those years. In order to repay him, Master always wanted to repay him. For this reason, Master established a school, free recruitment of Xiang Army martyrs' children to study, and all tuition fees are exempted including food and lodging. Sister-in-law! Your son is clever and meets the requirements. Can you let him go further?"

  "What a wonderful thing, He Meng heard and his face was excited, his eyes glanced at his mother. Mrs. He sighed and said: "This gentleman is really a great philanthropist, my son is the pillar of our family, how can we do without him after he leaves? The three brothers' hearts are with you." Bai Sheng said: "Sister-in-law! How about this, I'll give you 10 taels of silver, and then 10 taels of silver every year until your son graduates?"

  Mrs. He widened her eyes in confusion, wondering if the people in front of her were not scammers! He Meng hurriedly knelt down and said: "Mother! Just agree! After I learn, I will definitely let you have a good life!" Bai Sheng added: "Sister-in-law! If you don't believe me, I can pay three years' worth of silver in advance!" After finishing, he took out thirty taels of silver and placed them on the table. Mrs. He still didn't believe this was real.

  The little girl looked at them with eager eyes and said, "Gentlemen, do you recruit women? I can work too!" Zhang Man Cang hastily replied, "We'll go back and discuss it with our master. His factory already employs female workers, so there shouldn't be a problem!" Leng Yi Fei saw through Man Cang's impure intentions and said, "Auntie, it's like this: we're not just recruiting your son alone, we need several hundred people. You have connections, help us spread the news. For each household that gets selected, we'll give them 10 taels of silver!" Leng Yi Fei finished speaking and pulled out a few silver notes from his pocket. Finally, Bai Sheng added, "The recruitment targets are mainly descendants of the Xiang Army, this is what our master instructed." Seeing this scene, He Shi deeply believed in them.

  Half a month later. "You two go back and wait for the news! If there's any news, we'll let you know!" Leng Yifei sent away the two young men and stretched his waist. Bai Sheng walked out of the house and said: "Leng younger brother, it's only been half a month, and over 100 applicants have come, it seems that by the end of the year we can achieve our goal." "Haha! Recruiting while sitting at home, we've saved ourselves from running around. Now we've already recruited 15 people, I really didn't expect it!" Leng Yifei said with glee.

  "Sister, let me come!" "Big brother, this can't be done!" Zhang Mancang rushed to pour water, offering his services without hesitation. Hei Meng's sister, Hei Xiugu, was at a loss and somewhat frightened. Bai Sheng and Leng Yifei exchanged a smile. "It seems that this young man has really taken a liking to Xiugu!" Bai Sheng said with a laugh. "Deng Gongzi agreed to be our matchmaker, but this young man is acting on his own, isn't he being a bit presumptuous?" Bai Sheng pondered for a moment and then said: "If this young man becomes infatuated, it will be troublesome. Look at how eager he is, I'm afraid we can't persuade him. Zhang Mancang, come here!" Zhang Mancang heard the call and, with a flushed face, gave a greeting to Xiugu before running over.

  "You little rascal, not doing anything proper all day, what are you doing hanging around other people's young girls?" Leng Yifei sneered. "I knew that nothing good would come out of your dog mouth, she's a weak woman, I'll help her out! Besides, Xiū Gū isn't just any young girl!" Zhang Man Cang retorted with confidence.

  Bai Sheng Dao said: "Man Cang, tell the truth, have you taken a liking to Xiū Gū?"

  "Two gentlemen, to be honest, I do like Xiū Gū!" Zhang Man Cang said without hiding it.

  "But this matter must be agreed by Master Deng!" said Bai Sheng. "I will go back and personally talk to Master Deng about this, he has always been broad-minded, I believe he will agree." Zhang Man Cang's attitude was very resolute, it seemed that he had already become obsessed. Bai Sheng hesitated and said: "It seems you are determined, why don't we just clarify things with your sister-in-law and mobilize them to go to Shanghai as a family?" "Brother Bai! Thank you so much, please talk to my sister-in-law now." Zhang Man Cang urged anxiously.

  He Shi and her daughter He Meng Niang were in charge of broadcasting the message, they used acquaintances to inform each other, so more and more people came to apply. In the evening, He Shi returned home, and Bai Sheng told her about Zhang Man Cang's interest in Xiū Gū. After dinner, He Shi looked at her daughter and said: "Xiū Gū! You're not young anymore, you've reached the age of marriage. I think Man Cang is honest and kind-hearted, can be trusted for a lifetime, do you like him?" Xiū Gū lowered her head and shyly replied: "It's all up to mother!"

  The three brothers did not expect that the number of applicants would increase, and more and more people would be selected. By October, they had recruited over 400 people. Due to the exhaustion of silver, they had no choice but to stop recruiting. However, the crowd continued to flock in, and there was no way to inform them that they would have to wait until next year to recruit again. He Shi was reluctant to leave his hometown. Bai Sheng decided to make Xiushui Town a base, and after a few days, he could recruit people with much less trouble.