Chapter Twenty-Five Newcomer's New Rules

  Things have come to this, it's a god-level twist. He Lanxiong was completely confused by Gao Yuan, and he stood up with a stuffy nose, clasped his fists and said: "It turns out that Gao Bingcao is indeed a reasonable person, I misunderstood you before, He Lanxiong apologizes to you here!"

  Gao Yuan smiled and said, "As I said earlier, one code for one code. I think you're a hero, I want to be friends with you, how about it? Will you consider me as your friend?"

  Having a friend like Gao Bingcao is something He Lanxiong has been longing for! He Lanxiong nodded in agreement.

  Gao Yuan patted He Lan Xiong's shoulder and said, "So, we're friends now, right?"

  "Right!"

  "It's a deal! From now on, if you want to buy grain, just come to Fufeng City and look for me. I'll definitely not disappoint you!" Gao Yuan said.

  "Really, thank you so much!" He Lanxiong was overjoyed. With Gao Yuan as a powerful local snakehead, he wouldn't have to worry about running into trouble like today when buying grain in Fufeng again.

  He looked up at the sky and said, "I think it's getting late, Brother He still has things to attend to, so I won't keep you any longer. Zhang Yi is my steward, he'll take care of things, don't worry."

  "Can we go?" He Lan Yan still had some doubts.

  "What's wrong? You don't want to leave, can't stay here overnight, we're all big men here, it's not convenient." Gaoyuan said with a smile.

  He Lan Yan's face suddenly turned red, she lowered her head and muttered "bad egg!"

  He Lan Xiong clasped his fists together, "This time I came to Fufeng, being able to buy grain is secondary, having made friends with someone like Gao Bing Cao is a great fortune. Today, I bid you farewell. Gao Bing Cao, you are welcome to come visit He Lan's department as a guest, and I will definitely receive you with the highest courtesy."

  "It will definitely come, it will definitely come!" Gaoyuan said with a smile.

  He Lan Xiong nodded and said to He Lan Yan and the two attendants, "Let's go!" One of the attendants shouldered a hundred taels of silver and followed Zhang Yi as they walked out. After taking a few steps, He Lan Xiong turned his head back and smiled, saying, "Gao Bing Cao, my surname is He Lan, not He!"

  Gaoyuan touched his nose and smiled somewhat awkwardly.

  "My name is He Lan Yan, Gao Bing Cao, welcome to the He Lan Department as a guest." He Lan Yan looked at Gao Yuan and said loudly.

  "Soldiers, just a few barbarians, why be so polite to them?" Sun Xiao walked over and said in a low voice.

  "You know what!" Gaoyuan said in a bad tone: "Many friends have many roads, this He Lanxiong is not an ordinary person, he easily took you down, shouldn't such a person be dealt with?"

  Sun Xiao's face suddenly turned bright red. "I'm indeed not his match now, but I won't necessarily never be his match."

  "Finally, you've said something that makes sense. A person must have this kind of spirit, it's not about being afraid to lose once, but rather being afraid that after losing once, you'll never know how to move forward and end up losing for a lifetime."

  "As for what Bing Cao said, I remember it." Sun Xiao nodded heavily.

  "Accountant, our team has a total of 100 people, with 85 at home. Each person was given 5 guan, totaling 425 guan spent. Adding the 8 guan and 50 wen that Yan Haibo handed over, what about this money?" Cao Tiancheng walked over and asked.

  "Get the account!" Gaoyuan waved his hand, "There are many places to spend money in the future. Look at your military uniforms, do they still look like military uniforms? Tomorrow, go find a tailor and make each of you a single dress, and order a set of cotton-padded clothes. Winter is coming soon, with this appearance, aren't you afraid of freezing to death?"

  "Yes, just a military officer, where did so much money come from? Was it specially approved by the county commander?"

  "There's so much money in the county, I borrowed it!" Gaoyuan said lightly.

  "Is it borrowed from the army?" Cao Tiancheng and Sun Xiao were both stunned, looking at Gao Yuan, unable to utter a word.

  "Staring at me for what? You don't even want to return the money. However, we must use it carefully, as there seems to be a lot left, but we have many expenses. From now on, only the worst!"

  Cao Tiancheng and Sun Xiao didn't know what to say, so they just nodded repeatedly.

  "Also, Xiao Sun, Huo Tianliang still owes us eighty-nine taels and nine hundred fifty coins, you must remember to get it back, I'm worried that if I have too many things on my mind, I'll forget!" Gao Yuan instructed.

  "Yes, I've taken note of it!" Sun Xiao replied, thinking to himself that a debt of nearly 100 taels would not be forgotten. It seems that this clerk is indeed a wealthy master, and over 100 taels are not even considered a significant amount.

  "Alright, Tian Cheng, put the money away safely, don't let it get stolen. Sun Xiao, take these people and have them clean up your pigsty for me. If I smell even a hint of stench again, you'd better watch out!"

  "Yes, I'll do it right away!" Watching Gaoyuan walk into his room with big strides, Sun Xiao was somewhat disdainful. A bunch of big men living together, what's the need to clean up? This Gao Bingcao is really a rich family's son, poor and particular.

  "Xiao Sun, be careful and don't let Sergeant Gao catch your mistakes again and beat you up. I think this new sergeant is different from the previous ones, he means what he says, so don't slack off." Cao Tiancheng reminded him on the side.

  "How can I slack off?" Sun Xiao rubbed her belly, "It still hurts here!"

  When Yan Haibo brought back the dozen or so people sent out by Sun Xiao, the big cleanup of the military camp had already been completed. Although the outside was still shabby, the inside was now clean and tidy. To satisfy Officer Gao Bingcao, Sun Xiao threw all the tattered bedding rolls outside and burned them to ashes. After all, these things couldn't be washed clean anyway, and the stench couldn't be washed away either. As for how they would get through the winter, he hadn't really thought about it.

  After the inspection by General Bing Cao, he was very satisfied and waved his hand. Cao Tiancheng led a dozen or so people to the West Market and returned with several more ox carts, each loaded with brand new cotton-padded quilts.

  All the big-headed soldiers were stunned by today's happiness and felt dizzy. Is the long-awaited happy life really coming? Gao Bing Cao is a good person, and he is also a generous person!

  So when Yan Haibo led a dozen or so people back to the military camp and saw the newly renovated military camp, he almost thought he had walked into the wrong place.

  But eighty-two big heads, two of them stood upright at the high soldier station, were not fake, Yan Hai was stunned for a moment, and ran over in small steps, bowing to Gao Yuan: "Repeating the order of the soldier Cao, all fifteen brothers who went out have been brought back." Those fifteen people were also staring blankly at the soldiers on the ground.

  Gao Yuan smiled and looked at them, "How is it, what's it like being someone else's lackey?"

  Fifteen people looked at each other in dismay, not knowing how to respond, and Yan Haibo had already quietly slipped into the ranks, standing behind Cao Tiancheng and Sun Xiao.

  After a long silence, one of the bolder ones spoke in a low voice, "Isn't it all about making a living, earning some money to feed our brothers? Otherwise, who would put up with such humiliation?"

  "Good words!" Unexpectedly, Gao Yuan didn't get angry, he waved his hand and said: "From today on, you don't have to suffer anymore. Cao Tou, give the fifteen brothers who came back their salary!"

  "Yes!" Cao Tiancheng responded loudly, rushed back to the house, took out a sack of copper coins, and distributed five strings to each person. Looking at the glittering copper coins, the fifteen people almost thought they were in a dream.

  "Return to formation!" Gaoyuan shouted sternly.

  "Yes!" Fifteen people subconsciously responded in unison, each holding five strings of copper coins, and rushed to the back of the team to stand at attention.

  Gao Yuan stood tall in front of a hundred people, his eyes scanning each face, and as he swept past each person, they involuntarily straightened their backs a bit more. "Let me introduce myself," Gao Yuan said, "I am Gao Yuan, your new military officer!"

  "Good Cao Bing!" Cao Tiancheng and Sun Xiaodai led a hundred men to pay their respects to Gao Yuan.

  "When soldiers eat their rations and receive their pay, it's only natural! My gaze sweeps over the crowd, 'I don't want to say more about past matters, I'm here now, so there are new rules, I don't owe you rations or pay, but remember one thing! As a soldier, you must have the demeanor of a soldier. Past mistakes will not be held against you, but if there are any future violations of military discipline, don't blame me for being merciless, the military law will take care of it. Do you understand?"

  "Understood!" everyone responded in unison.

  "Alright, what happened today is really disheartening. Your combat skills are shocking, not in a good way, but in a terrible way. You look like this and still call yourselves soldiers? If we were to go into battle now, the only outcome would be death. There's no other choice." Gaoyuan said coldly: "In the past, you had excuses, but from today on, you will have none. So, each of you, prepare to shed your skin. Dismissed! Rest!"

  Everyone thought that the new official would certainly give a long speech, from loyalty and filial piety to brotherly love, and wouldn't stop for at least a couple of hours. But unexpectedly, Gao Yuan just said a few words and stopped, then dismissed everyone with one voice, turned around and walked into the house, leaving everyone outside looking at each other in dismay.

  Sun Xiao and Cao Tiancheng were also stunned for a while, waving their hands. "The military officer said to rest, so just rest. All of you roll back into the house and don't come out to take a stroll. Don't let the military officer see your appearance and get angry."

  The soldiers immediately returned to the house, today there were too many surprises, they had not yet digested, just hiding in the house, counting the brand new copper coins carefully.

  Sun Xiao and Cao Tiancheng didn't have such a leisurely mind anymore, because Gao Yuan left a tail when he spoke.

  "Xiao Sun, what did Zhang mean by 'everyone should be prepared to shed a layer of skin'?" Cao Tiancheng asked nervously.

  "It's probably to train the troops!" Sun Xiao thought for a moment and said: "Didn't the military officer just say that everyone's combat effectiveness is too poor?" After thinking about it, he felt a bit depressed. "Actually, we're not bad, it's just that the military officer is too powerful, in his eyes, we are naturally very poor, and I don't know what kind of shape the military officer wants to train us into."

  The two were whispering, but then suddenly appeared at the door, "Sun Xiao, Cao Tiancheng, you two come over."