Chapter 50: My Team Just Started

Slap! A stack of booklets landed in front of Wang Qinan, and a voice from above said, "One for each of you. Go back and memorize them well. In the future, if anyone dares to break any of these rules, I'll flay you and stuff you with grass!"

"Sir, I can't read!" Shanzi said, his face contorted in distress. Before Chen Xie could react, Wang Qinan rushed over like a rabid dog, kicked him to the ground, and started whipping him with his belt, cursing, "Bastard, how dare you talk back to the master? I'll teach you to talk back, I'll teach you to talk back."

Shanzi was a bit stunned but not too foolish. The belt hitting his military coat didn't hurt much. He wisely hugged his head and endured the beating. Chen Xie didn't say a word, and Wang Qinan couldn't stop. In fact, Chen Xie wanted to call him off, but seeing where Wang Qinan was hitting, he closed his mouth and watched with a smile.

Wang Qinan had to continue beating him, feeling a bit heartbroken. The new military coat was getting ruined by the belt, and soon cotton was flying everywhere. Chen Xie waved his hand, and when he saw Shanzi sweating, he said calmly, "Stop!"

Wang Qinan stopped, and when Chen Xie approached, Shanzi quickly knelt down. To be honest, Chen Xie didn't like this, but for now, it had to be this way. "All of you, get up!" Chen Xie finally said what everyone wanted to hear. It wasn't that they were afraid of kneeling, but of being kicked out. At this moment, Chen Xie was like a thunder god, and many people secretly glanced at the scattered wood chips. Lucky for them, their necks were still intact, but their backs were drenched in cold sweat, making them feel very uncomfortable. No matter how uncomfortable, they had to endure it. This master wasn't as kind as he looked; his thunderous methods were just hidden before.

"Listen up, all of you. In Zhangjiazhuang, the sky is the biggest, the earth is second, and the rules I set are third. I am fourth. You have one day to memorize every rule. If you can't remember one, heh heh, Wang Qinan, for every rule they get wrong, you'll get a belt. I'll do it myself."

With that, Chen Xie left, leaving a bewildered Wang Qinan. How could he be beaten if others couldn't recite the rules?

Xie Chunling, however, was beaming. She came forward and said, "Congratulations, my husband!" Wang Qinan was smart and quickly understood, shouting at Chen Xie's back, "I am willing to die for the master!" The others also caught on and joined in.

Chen Xie didn't turn around, leaving a final word, "Don't be too happy. If you can't recite the rules, you'll have to leave the guard team. If you don't want to stay, leave now!"

In the seventh year of the Tianqi era, on the 27th day of the twelfth month, the Zhangjiazhuang guard team finally had more than ten people.

"Back then, my team just started, with a dozen people and seven or eight guns, and we were... ." Chen Xie couldn't continue singing. The Japanese were hiding on a small island like turtles, maybe still licking their wounds from the Ming Dynasty.

He wasn't familiar with Japanese history. Maybe, like in novels, every author would drag the Japanese out and beat them up?

This question was boring, and Chen Xie was also bored because it was the New Year, and there was nothing to do. The servants were taking care of the house, and as the master, Chen Xie just had to stroll around, scolding anyone who displeased him. The scolded ones didn't get angry; they might even boast to others, "I talked to the master."

The last question was whether to stay in the Ming Dynasty for the New Year. After some thought, Chen Xie decided to stay. A round trip would cost three million, which he couldn't afford. Another reason he couldn't give up was the treatment of alternating nights with two girls.

The hospital yard wasn't too large, but the brick walls were ten feet high. Chen Xie had a small door on his side of the yard, which he kept open during the day and locked at night. The key was in Yuzhu's hands.

The laughter of the women working in the yard echoed far. It was hard to imagine that a few months ago, these women, when they first arrived, had blank expressions and eyes filled with deep despair.

Now, their smiles were genuine. Each one walked lightly, carefully cleaning every corner. When Hongguo and three sisters went to Yuxuan to collect the New Year's supplies, they found Yuxuan in a bad mood. Just as they were about to leave, Yuxuan called them back.

"Hongguo, don't go. The things are all ready. There's a lot, and there's a small cart for you to load the things."

What does "a lot" mean? Soon, Hongguo understood and looked at Yuxuan in disbelief. Were all these things for them? Yuxuan knew what she was thinking and explained with a smile, "The master said you are his disciples. As disciples, you should enjoy the proper treatment to avoid losing face."

Hongguo couldn't imagine that in Chen Xie's eyes, they were very important. Grain was easy to recruit soldiers, but to recruit nurses, it was unlikely that virtuous women would be willing to work in the hospital, as they often had to care for the opposite sex. In the Ming Dynasty, this was unimaginable. Chen Xie could only focus on these women from the brothels, using them as a starting point to gradually expand the medical team.

These people were the seeds! Just sprouted, they needed careful nurturing. Wang Qinan and his brothers were far less valuable in Chen Xie's eyes than these women.

Sixteen women, each with a cardboard box, contained new clothes for the New Year. When Hongguo opened her box, she found two sets of underclothes, two sets of cotton clothes and pants, and a soft, sky-blue coat. This kind of coat had a special name on the signed list: down jacket.

Well, only four people couldn't carry all this, so they had to send someone back for help. Hongguo still had to collect other New Year's supplies. More cardboard boxes, and after signing the list, she found that each person got a box of candies and pastries, one pound of white wine, a box of apples, a box of oranges, a box of cucumbers, a box of eggplants, ten pounds of eggs, ten pounds of mutton, thirty pounds of pork, thirty pounds of flour, thirty pounds of millet, thirty pounds of potatoes, and thirty pounds of sweet potatoes.

Hongguo, already overwhelmed, signed the list in a daze. Yuxuan smiled, "Take the clothes back yourselves, and the rest will be delivered. This is all your food and supplies for the first month. Use it sparingly, so you don't run out before the month is over. Oh, and be careful when receiving it. If anyone dares to steal even a grain of rice, the master will flay them and stuff them with grass."

The sisters, carrying boxes of clothes, returned to the hospital yard and sat on their beds, looking at the clothes spread out. One of them started wailing, and soon the entire yard was filled with heart-wrenching cries. It was a cathartic release!

Hongguo didn't cry out loud. She stood silently by the window, tears streaming down her face, forming two rivers. She tried to stop but couldn't control herself.

Hongguo knew that the sisters, like her, had experienced countless nights of despair, where their tears had long dried up. They thought they would never cry again, but now, their tears flowed like a floodgate, unstoppable.

Chen Xie, standing at the hospital gate, couldn't miss the cries inside. He knew what they meant, feeling both heavy-hearted and secretly pleased. From now on, these women would be Chen Xie's most loyal team. Their role wouldn't be limited to the medical field; they might shine in other areas as well. Of course, Chen Xie hadn't thought it through yet; he just acted on instinct.

The shouting at the gate startled the women who were crying. Hongguo wiped her tears, opened the door, and saw the master standing on the steps, directing a group of men to carry things inside.

"Move faster! After this, find a razor and shave your heads like Wang Qinan. No more lice. After shaving, remember to collect your supplies. It's the New Year, so clean yourselves up. Don't look like beggars and disgrace the master."

Before he finished, Chen Xie kicked a man, knocking him down and cursing, "What are you looking at? You thief eyes!"

The man, who didn't dare to resist, quickly got up and carried two bags of millet inside. Hongguo, seeing this, covered her mouth and smiled. Was it just a glance at the undergarments drying in the yard? In the past, at Chunxianglou, not only would they have to endure a touch, but they would also have to smile to avoid offending the guests.

Hongguo came forward, half-kneeling, and said, "Master, how can I trouble you?"

Chen Xie waved his hand and smiled, "I'm just idle, so I came to supervise these rascals. This yard is full of women, and if one of them gets out of hand, it'll be a laughingstock."

The man, who had been kicked by Chen Xie, was kicked again by Wang Qinan waiting outside, who whispered, "Shameful, knowing the master is here, you still can't control your eyes."

There were so many things that the kitchen was full of rice, flour, meat, and eggs. The other cardboard boxes had to be placed in the women's rooms. After being well-fed and well-housed for months, these women's faces had a healthy glow, making them more attractive than the pale, ragged virtuous women. Walking into their rooms, smelling the fragrance, many men stumbled when they came out.

No one dared to have improper thoughts. Despite their past, they were now "disciples of the divine doctor," which was like a protective ring. The soldiers who had fled from Liaodong secretly sniffed, which was inevitable.

When they all blushed and fled the attractive yard, the women's joyful laughter echoed far, making the men feel lighter, as if they were walking in a slight drunkenness.

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