Chapter 46 This Worship

  This worship

  Li Haoniu thought about the serious consequences and leaned in to ask, "Master, what can we do now? Now that we've beaten up Guo Jixiu, I'm afraid we'll be in trouble with the law."

  Yao Fan's heart was also surging, male hormones gushing out like a fire hose, his muscles tense and hard as stone without even trying, his voice hoarse as he said:

  "Smash the car and run!"

  Then the buddies came up and smashed the Guo family's carriage to pieces in no time, riding their bikes and following Yao Fangyang away.

  The golden wheat fields on both sides of the dirt road stretch out in a continuous sheet, but due to the lack of irrigation, they sway gently in the breeze like thin wild grasses, rustling softly without any majestic waves.

  Yao Fan rode through the fields, feeling delighted about his sinister plan being put into action step by step, while at the same time having a pang of remorse for his violent behavior just now. The wind blew against him, and Yao Fan's eyes were filled with tears of sympathy.

  He gripped the steering wheel tightly, thinking to himself that he wasn't normally a violent person. Why had he just used such heavy hands?

  There were two voices conversing in his mind:

  "A thick and heavy voice like a boulder said: Yao Feng, you can't even be the head of a demon, do you still want to be an emperor?"

  Another clear and loud voice like the sound of metal striking said: But he didn't want to be an emperor, he just wanted everyone to have the same rights and opportunities as him! He just wanted to uphold justice!

  Pan Shi said: If you want to avoid violence, this naive wish of yours is the greatest demon in your heart! Where there is struggle, there will be violence!

  Jin Tiexiang said: If violence can achieve a sacred cause, I will let it proceed without hesitation, but I am afraid that the pleasure and satisfaction after this violence are evil.

  Look! Look at the people around you, look at the iron chains on these slaves' limbs! Look at the excited and thrilled expressions on their faces. Do you think this is the kind of pleasure that can be given by sheer violence?

  The ancestors of the Chinese people left behind only those fair, free, prosperous and other cultural and material legacies that are being enjoyed by people like Guo Jixiu, but not these slaves! The sunshine brings warmth to Guo Jixiu and his ilk, but only brings famine and flogging to these slaves! If people like Guo Jixiu do not kneel down in gratitude to these slaves, it is the greatest mockery and irony of human civilization!

  It is because of the Creator! It is precisely these laborers! These tattered and emaciated laborers, who hold their dying children in their arms, and shed blood and tears in their dirges every day!

  Jin Tiesheng said: "You're absolutely right! Those people's advocacy for freedom and benevolence is nothing but a blasphemous audacity! They are arrogant, cold-blooded, empty, desecrating the sacred, hypocritical and sinful! From today on, I will never forgive or pardon!"

  The cycling team rode in the sunshine and arrived at the Yaojiazhuang construction site outside Qingdao Port.

  Yao Fandao: "Let's have a meeting on site."

  Then everyone came to one of the three newly built warehouses on the construction site and sat down on the ground.

  These three warehouses were built in the way of rammed earth according to Yao Wenyuan's intention. Because the warehouse is relatively large, Yao Wenyuan was worried that it would not be safe to use only wooden boards for construction, so he adopted the method of rammed earth.

  What is called "rammed earth" is to add a mixture of straw and yellow mud between two layers of wooden boards, which are then compacted. The straw is broken into small segments of about 10-15 cm in length, entwined with the yellow mud, and after drying, it becomes very solid. This principle is similar to adding synthetic fibers to ABS engineering plastics, which can greatly improve the product's toughness and strength, making it a high-strength engineering plastic. Rammed earth buildings, if built in dry and rainless northwestern regions, can last for 70-80 years without collapsing or deforming. During the difficult times of New China, large numbers of such buildings were constructed in the northwest region, which are warm in winter and cool in summer.

  All the load-bearing pillars in this warehouse were dug deep pits, buried large wooden stakes and built up. Every ten meters there is a wooden pillar, which fully guarantees the structural strength of the building. Because the yellow mud has not dried yet, the clapboards used for shaping the yellow mud on the wall have not been removed yet. In a 500-square-meter rectangular warehouse, it's very cool.

  Yao Fang sat on the ground in the first seat and said to the leaders of these subordinates: "Today we taught that Guo Jixiu a lesson, he will not let it go easily."

  I think he's going to come looking for trouble with us, and there are only two ways he can do it:

  One of them went back privately and gathered a few hundred people from the Zhuang Ding village, just like they used to fight over water resources, and came over to have a fierce battle with us.

  One of them went public and reported to the authorities, saying I had severely beaten him and wanted the government to punish me.

  Li Haoniu hastily spoke up, "If he insists on being tough, we're not afraid. At present, there are over 300 people in our village, and if we split some wood, each person can have a club as thick as a door bar, and we won't be afraid of losing the fight."

  "If he goes to the government office, this is equivalent to fighting with the master for silver, and when the time comes, the silver will be spent at a flowing water price. It's common for lawsuits to drag on for a year or two."

  Yao Fan nodded slightly: "I think so too, but everything should be prepared in advance, otherwise it will be useless. It's always better to have a plan beforehand, so that when something happens, you won't be at a loss."

  Against the strong, naturally use the tactics of "soldiers coming to block and water coming to cover". After the meeting, Li Jun, you go and instruct the carpentry team to immediately pick up some good materials and take out enough handy clubs.

  "As for dealing with the government, this matter is about who takes the initiative first. I will immediately go to meet with the government and inform them that Guo Jixiu deliberately provoked and injured my family's servant."

  Then Yao Feng asked Huang Hui Sheng: "Hui Sheng, how is the knife wound on your arm?"

  Huang Hui-sheng was the first to follow Yao Wenyuan in learning how to ride a bicycle. He had always been honest and didn't speak much. Hearing that his master was worried about his wound, he hastily said: "It's nothing serious, just a five-inch long cut, I applied some mud to it at the time, now it's not bleeding much, I think it will be fine in a few days."

  Yao Fandao said, "This matter of reporting back will fall on your shoulders. At that time, I'll say that Guo Jixiu's family thug bullied people with his power and used a knife to injure you. Our family and fellow workers were angry and couldn't help but fight back."

  "As for Guo Jixiu's injury, don't worry about it, I'll take the blame. All of you listen up, when the time comes, we'll all say in unison that I'm the one who broke Guo Jixiu's hands and feet. When it comes to spinning this, my status is more advantageous than yours."

  The companions listened to Yao Fan's words and were deeply moved, many of them suddenly bursting into tears.

  Huang Hui-sheng said: "I'm willing to listen to Master Dong's instructions, whatever Master Dong tells me to say, I'll say it."

  At this time, a fellow who was sitting below suddenly knelt up from the ground and crawled to Yao Fan's face, knocking his head down and saying: "I, Liu Jinbao, am a man who should have died, I was starving and only had one skin left, I couldn't live anymore, but Dongjia took me in, this kindness of saving my life is like rebirth!

  I've spent my whole life doing rough work, and I've never worn clothes without patches. If I wasn't barefoot, I was wrapping my feet with corn leaves to bundle the straw. But after Master Dong took me in, he treated me to good clothes and shoes, even better than how my own parents raised me! Master Dong always wore a smile when dealing with us, never scolding or beating us, and he even promoted me to be the leader of the small cart team."

  As he spoke, his voice became more and more choked with emotion, until finally he burst into tears:

  "Now that Master has something on his hands, I, Liu Jinbao, am willing to take the blame for Master! Master, after you see the official, just say that the injury of that Guo Jishou was done by me. I'll immediately board a boat and escape to the south to beg for food. The government will not be able to catch me in ten days or half a month, so it will naturally relax its efforts and the matter will be settled!"

  Yao Fang's face changed, and he said with a choked voice: "Good Liu Jinbao brother! I was wrong about you before!"

  The fellow servants were also moved by Liu Jinbao and said in unison: "We are also willing to take the blame for our master!"

  "Everyone is my good brother! If it weren't for this fierce battle, I would have underestimated you all. But although I underestimated you few, you also underestimated me, Yao Fang. Do you think I would use my own brothers as scapegoats? A man does things and takes responsibility himself, if I were to make you take the blame, I would no longer have the face to be your master from now on."

  "Alright, Shicheng, go to the construction site and grab something to make this wound on my ear a bit bigger. Since we're going to frame Guo Jixiu, we can't be stingy with just a little blood."

  Before He Shicheng could respond, Huang Huisheng hastily said: "No! Master has plenty of blood to spare, why must you harm your own body?"

  After that, Huang Hui Sheng tore open the broken sleeve, and with one swipe, removed the dried yellow mud from the wound. Suddenly, fresh blood gushed out.

  "The master, I'll use my blood to dye it once and for all. Let the clothes and face be stained with it. Who knows this blood isn't the master's."

  Yao Feng hastily saluted Huang Hui-sheng, and then the seven or eight apprentices carefully wiped Huang's blood onto Yao's face, covering half of his cheek and entire neck, and also splattered some on his clothes, making him look like a bloody mess.

  If someone who doesn't know the inside story sees this, they will obviously think that Yao Feng has been seriously injured.

  "Brothers! I have an announcement!" Yao Feng exclaimed excitedly.

  From today on, all the class leaders present will be upgraded to become senior accountants of the Yao family, with He Shicheng as an example, and they will all receive 10 taels of silver per month! Later, you will all send people to pick up your parents, wives, and children from your homes and bring them to live in my Yaojiazhuang. From now on, we will enjoy good fortune together."

  As soon as he finished speaking, all the men knelt down in front of Yao Fan and thanked him in unison.

  Yao Fan hastily called everyone up and said: "Since you are all of one mind with me, Yao Fan, I should be the one to bow to you!"

  After finishing speaking, Yao Fan stood up and bowed deeply to his companions. Seeing Yao Fan's sincerity, the companions also bowed to him one after another.

  Yao Feng stood up and said: "The Qing Code prohibits the formation of sworn brotherhoods with people of different surnames. If we do, it will be considered treason. But I must form a bond of life and death with my brothers! Since the authorities won't allow me to form a sworn brotherhood with you gentlemen, I'll sing a song instead, and you can all listen."

  All the fellow servants knew that Yao Fan sang extremely well, so they all leaned in with their ears to listen to what Yao Fan was singing.

  Yao Wenyang sang "This One Bow".

  This bow

  A gentle breeze brings joy when meeting like-minded people

  Peach blossoms also smile and reflect on the ancestral temple platform

  This bow

  Determined to defend the country and bring peace to the nation with a generous spirit

  Establish achievements and display great talent

  Unfolding talent

  This bow

  Loyal and righteous

  Through thick and thin, we swear not to part ways

  This bow

  Unchanged in life and death

  The heavens and earth, sun and moon, all magnify my emotions

  Yao Weng hugged his fist and bowed, after singing the second verse, he repeated the last two sentences "This bow, loyal liver and righteous gallbladder, vowed not to part ways in adversity; this bow, unchanging life and death, heaven and earth, sun and moon, my emotions are strong" and suddenly burst into tears.

  The brothers heard the second time, and they all had red eyes. I don't know who was the first to hold back, wiping away tears with their sleeves. This crying was contagious, infecting all the brothers. These tears and emotions flowed from one heart to another, from one cheek to another.

  Huang Hui-sheng, this young fellow, was slashed with a knife and had a five-inch wound but didn't cry. Now he's crying like a child. Some of the men have bruises as big as bowls on their bodies from the fight, but they didn't shed a single tear then. Now they're all crying like children. Faced with Yao Feng's singing, which is as majestic and sincere as the ancient Yu, the tide of emotions surged up to the sky, filling the warehouse and people's hearts.

  Li Haoniu's tears had already streaked his face, and he was holding his fist, singing with a rhythmic beat: "This bow, loyal heart and righteous gallbladder, through thick and thin we swear not to part; this bow, life and death unchanged, heaven and earth, sun and moon, my emotions are strong... This bow, loyal heart and righteous gallbladder, through thick and thin we swear not to part; this bow, life and death unchanged, heaven and earth, sun and moon, my emotions are strong..."

  Then Li Haoniu, Li Jun, He Shicheng, Liu Jinbao, Huang Huisheng, Wang Gui and Zhou Di followed suit, all the apprentices sang along with Yao Fan's rhythm.

  Yao Feng's eyes were filled with tears, he clenched his fists and walked slowly in front of the crowd, one by one persuading and singing. For a time, the warehouse was filled with the sound of "...This bow, loyal and righteous... This bow, unchanging till death..."