Chapter 98

At noon on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in the fourth year of the Yingli era, Zeng Zhilin and Mutter led their team to "Jing Yuan." After receiving the new notification, Zeng Zhilin hurriedly ate a few bites of lunch and then handed over the two guard classes to Mutter for arrangement. He himself rushed straight to "Qing Yuan."

Zeng Zhilin arrived at "Qing Yuan" around Shen hour and learned that the new members had not yet arrived, which slightly relieved him. He went to the back residence, met with his team members, and after exchanging greetings, he went to the small meeting room to report the situation of the personal guard squad training to the committee. Wang Xiaojun, representing the committee, praised Zeng Zhilin and the other members of the留守组 (留守组 means "留守组" in Chinese, which can be translated as "留守组" in English, but for better understanding, it can be translated as "留守组" or "留守组" depending on the context. Here, it is translated as "留守组" for clarity) for their work and asked Zeng Zhilin to bring the committee's praise and greetings back to Feilong Fort.

Subsequently, the committee discussed with Zeng Zhilin the issue of mobilizing members from the two guard classes of the new recruit squad to participate in the future security of the Qinglou. Zeng Zhilin expressed a different opinion on this proposal. He said, "Theoretically, mobilizing two guard classes to participate in the future security of the Qinglou is not a problem; it's not a big deal for them. However, I think it's a bit of an overreaction to mobilize the guard classes for this kind of work. The so-called security work of the Qinglou, in essence, is just to maintain the normal operating order by arranging some guards to prevent trouble. It's a waste to have the personal guards, who have undergone rigorous training and possess considerable military skills, do this kind of work."

"Then, according to your opinion, who do you think would be more suitable for this task?" Xu Shaowan also felt that Zeng Zhilin's argument had some merit and asked a question.

Zeng Zhilin waved his hand and said, "This is simple. If it's about this kind of security work, we just need to mobilize one class from the two ordinary combat squads of the Feilong Vanguard Camp, and have the security group send someone to command them. We don't even need to mobilize the security group; we can just find a mid-to-lower-level leader from Feilong Fort who is experienced and reliable to manage these guards, and they will be fully capable."

After Zeng Zhilin said this, the other three committee members also felt that this made sense. Previously, when they formulated this plan, they did not consider the mismatch between the job requirements and the personnel's capabilities. Now, with Zeng Zhilin, who understood the situation, pointing it out, they realized their mistake and immediately made corrections.

Since this decision was only a committee resolution, it only required the committee members to vote to make changes. Therefore, after the four committee members unanimously agreed, they immediately corrected the plan. According to Zeng Zhilin's suggestion, they decided to mobilize one class from the second squad of the Feilong Vanguard Camp to go down the mountain. The deputy squad leader of the second squad, Gao Gui, would go down the mountain with them to command this class. Moreover, when performing the security task, Gao Gui and the class he commands would no longer be under the leadership of the Feilong Vanguard Camp but would be directly led by Wang Feng, who was responsible for leading and commanding the security forces in Liangxiang City after the team members were dispersed. This would reduce the middle links and avoid problems caused by unclear affiliations.

Additionally, the committee, based on Zeng Zhilin's suggestion, decided to regularly rotate these guards to prevent them from becoming complacent after staying in the city for too long. They also agreed to formalize this method so that if there were other related industries in the future that required guards, they could follow this procedure, avoiding the situation of a shortage of personnel.

Subsequently, according to this new resolution, Zhang Weixin drafted a new order and sent it to Feilong Fort via radio, requiring Qian Yuanshan to immediately select two to three classes from the second squad as candidates. Once the relevant personnel from "Qing Yuan" arrived, they would choose the most suitable class from these two or three classes to go down the mountain. As for who would go to Feilong Fort to bring these guards down the mountain, the people present also discussed this.

Although selecting guards for the Qinglou was not a significant task, choosing the right people for this job was still important. These guards should neither scare away customers nor be scared by customers, and there were many skills involved. The穿越者 (穿越者 means "穿越者" in Chinese, which can be translated as "穿越者" in English, but for better understanding, it can be translated as "穿越者" or "穿越者" depending on the context. Here, it is translated as "穿越者" for clarity) had not previously dealt with such matters, so they could not personally handle this task. Even Qingchen, the experienced Taoist, seemed to lack experience in this area, at least according to his own account, he had never entered a Qinglou, and he probably did not know how to select guards.

In the end, Zhang Weixin thought of someone. He pondered for a moment and said, "I have a suitable candidate, but I'm not sure if the brothers will agree."

Xu Shaowan, seeing that Zhang Weixin was speaking hesitantly, became impatient and urged, "Brother Seven, when did you become so indecisive? We are all brothers here. Just say who you have in mind. We can discuss whether we agree or not."

Wang Xiaojun, from Zhang Weixin's tone and expression, had already guessed who his close friend was referring to and supported him, saying, "Yes, Brother Eight is right. Brother Seven, just say what you think. Don't have so many concerns."

With this encouragement, Zhang Weixin made up his mind. He carefully chose his words and then said, "I think, whether among our brothers or other team members, none of us are familiar with selecting guards for the Qinglou. This task is essential for the future operation of the Qinglou, and choosing the wrong people could affect the business. Therefore, we need someone who is familiar with the 'business' and has a close relationship with the team. This led me to think of someone."

"Who?"

"This person is Yang Xiaojun's family guard and also his adoptive uncle, Yang Yongzhong."

"Yang Yongzhong?!"

"Yes," Zhang Weixin nodded and said, "That's right. First, he is Yang Xiaojun's family member, and Xiaojun will soon become my wife, so the relationship is close. Second, when Xiaojun was a qingguan (a type of courtesan), he, as her family member, often visited 'Yingli Xuan,' and he is very familiar with the internal operations and business methods of the Qinglou. Having him select the guards would be perfect. Moreover, if necessary, we can also involve him in the future operation of the Qinglou, utilizing his experience to serve our team."

After hearing Zhang Weixin's analysis, everyone present found it reasonable and nodded in agreement. However, Wang Xiaojun was somewhat hesitant and asked, "Yang Yongzhong is indeed a suitable candidate, but wouldn't this task be like reopening old wounds? After all, this experience is something neither Yang Yongzhong nor Sister Xiaojun would want to recall."

Li Junwu also agreed with Wang Xiaojun, saying, "Yes, that is a concern. We brothers won't gossip about Sister Xiaojun's background, but we're afraid the servants and subordinates might spread rumors."

Xu Shaowan waved his hand and said, "They dare! If any servant dares to talk about Sister Seven, I'll break their legs."

Zeng Zhilin also echoed Xu Shaowan, which somewhat alleviated Wang Xiaojun and Li Junwu's concerns. Although they always treated their subordinates kindly, they would not hesitate to show them a lesson if they dared to speak ill of their brothers and sisters. However, the final decision still rested with Zhang Weixin. After all, both Yang Xiaojun and Yang Yongzhong were his family, and others could not say much.

Clearly, Zhang Weixin had already considered these issues. He thanked his brothers for their concerns but also indicated that these were not critical issues and should not be taken too seriously. The most important thing now was to focus on the big picture. As long as the brothers agreed with his proposal, he would naturally communicate with Yang Xiaojun and Yang Yongzhong.

After hearing Zhang Weixin's words, everyone's concerns were completely dispelled, and the three committee members, including Wang Xiaojun, agreed with his proposal. However, at Zeng Zhilin's suggestion, they assigned two assistants to Yang Yongzhong. One was Qingchen, and the other was Yang Yongzhong's adoptive son, Yang Kefu. Zeng Zhilin's intention was not to distrust Yang Yongzhong but to consider two aspects. First, sending Qingchen was to support Yang Yongzhong, to prevent the well-trained and proud soldiers of the Feilong Vanguard Camp from not respecting Yang Yongzhong, who had lost an arm. Second, sending Yang Kefu was to have him learn from Yang Yongzhong, so he could contribute to the team in the future. After all, Yang Yongzhong was getting older and in poor health, and he might not be able to serve the team on the front lines for long.

After resolving the issue of the Qinglou guards, the five brothers chatted a bit more in the small meeting room. The person in charge of the radio, Zhong Tao, then reported that he had received a telegram from Brother Twenty-Four, stating that their convoy had entered the city gate of Liangxiang and was about to arrive at "Qing Yuan." Upon hearing that Tang Chao and the others had returned, the five of them immediately got up and left the small meeting room. They then divided their tasks, calling the brothers to the front courtyard to welcome the new members and instructing Deng An to gather the servants and subordinates to welcome the new masters. Soon, the entire "Qing Yuan" was bustling with activity, with everyone heading to the front courtyard, eagerly preparing for the second welcoming ceremony since they moved in.

Meanwhile, on the slowly moving carriage heading to "Qing Yuan," Zheng Zhimi and his wife, especially Zheng Zhimi himself, were both excited and anxious. They were excited because they were about to join the powerful team that Zhang Xiaofei had mentioned, and from now on, they would live a comfortable life, no longer just scraping by as they did in Damoshan. They were anxious because they were not sure if the team was really as good as Sister Xiaofei had described, whether the team members would genuinely accept them, and whether they would be treated as one of their own. They were worried that they might become outsiders living under someone else's roof.

Zheng Zhimi had been asking himself these questions throughout the journey. He was hesitant about coming to Liangxiang, but his wife, Liu Jie, had made up her mind to follow Sister Xiaofei, regardless of the outcome. In her view, even if the situation here was not ideal, it was still better than their life in Damoshan. Zheng Zhimi did not want to argue with his wife over this matter and thus followed her decision.

However, although he had come, his mind was not completely at ease. Especially after interacting with Tang Chao, Wang Feng, and others, his concerns grew. From Tang Chao and Wang Feng, he learned more about the "Qing Yuan" brothers and confirmed that what Zhang Xiaofei had said was true. However, these true facts made him even more anxious. He thought that with the team's current good situation and rapid development, someone like him, who was ordinary and had no special talents, would be hard to get the team's attention. He was well aware of the consequences of not being valued. It was the fear of living under someone else's roof that made him anxious, but now there was no turning back. All he could do was pray silently, hoping that the team would indeed treat all the穿越者 (穿越者 means "穿越者" in Chinese, which can be translated as "穿越者" in English, but for better understanding, it can be translated as "穿越者" or "穿越者" depending on the context. Here, it is translated as "穿越者" for clarity) who came to join them equally, as Sister Xiaofei had said.

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