Chapter 99

Shutting the courtyard gate, Liu Yong unfolded the bundle on the ground, and everyone gasped. The bundle was full of gold and silver, the quality of the silver being much better than in the morning, and there were even a few gold ingots, which was a considerable amount of money.

"Brother, Chen Ergou sent people to raid Tongtou's house. All the gold and silver and valuables that Tongtou had hidden were taken over. He divided these at the Temple of the God of Wealth, converting the gold, silver, silk, and other items into money, and gave half to me to bring to you, Brother. There's about 390 taels here," Chen Ergou explained.

Hearing this amount, everyone's faces lit up. Including the morning's share, it was over 400 taels of silver, a substantial sum. The benefits this time were truly significant.

Zhao Jin's expression remained calm. Chen Ergou continued, "Chen Ergou said that the remaining things will be sold, and the money will be sent to you later."

Isn't that over a thousand taels in total? Everyone looked at Zhao Jin, who smiled and said, "Go back and tell him that he has many expenses too. There's no need to send the rest; he can keep it for himself."

Everyone was taken aback but had no objections. Chen Ergou hesitated and said, "Brother, I saw the division with my own eyes. We got 55%, and Chen Ergou will be at a slight loss."

Zhao Jin smiled and nodded, then looked at his companions and said, "We will divide this money equally among us."

After saying that, he opened the small bundle from the morning and poured the money into the larger bundle from the afternoon, preparing to divide it into eight parts.

"You led everyone, you charged forward, and you stayed behind. You even put on a show of authority. Why should we divide it equally? All of this should be yours!" Chen Sheng said with a forceful tone, genuinely considering Zhao Jin's interests.

Wang Zhaojing nodded and said, "Sheng is right."

The others also agreed. Zhao Jin specially looked at Shi Manqiang, Ji Xiang, and Liu Yong, as their families were not well-off, unlike the others who were not short of money. The three of them also sincerely agreed.

Feeling grateful for the true friends and brothers he had, Zhao Jin smiled and said, "Since that's the case, I'll take half, and the rest will be divided equally among you. No more formalities; being formal isn't being brothers."

Since he said that, everyone had no objections and each took their share. Fortunately, they had knives and swords, so they cut the bundle cloth and wrapped their shares.

After finishing this, Zhao Jin said, "I called everyone here to discuss a few things."

Seeing everyone put down their small bundles, Zhao Jin said solemnly, "This morning we took the first step, making Chen Ergou the boss at the Temple of the God of Wealth. However, this isn't the end. Tongtou's subordinates and other heroes in Xuzhou City won't let this go easily. There will be more trouble and more fights."

"Let them come; a bunch of scoundrels, who's afraid of them!" Chen Sheng said nonchalantly, and the others agreed. After these battles, so-called heroes were no longer a concern to them.

Zhao Jin smiled and shook his head, then said, "We are few in number, and they can gather dozens or even hundreds of people. Fighting with fewer against many, we might have a slip-up. So we need to recruit more people. Shi Manqiang, Ji Xiang, find people around our age who don't have bad habits. Bingfeng, there are many people from the city's guard, so try to find some of them too."

Hearing this, Shi Manqiang, Ji Xiang, and Dong Bingfeng became excited. Shi Manqiang said in a rough voice, "Brother, they've long wanted to learn martial arts from you. If you have this plan, they will break their heads to get in."

"Tell them that if they come here, they will sign a contract, follow my rules, and I will provide food and lodging. Each person will also receive 100 coins per month!" Zhao Jin continued. He paused and added, "You can explain to them that coming here means hard training and fighting, but you can tell their families that they are working in a shop."

Providing food and lodging, 100 coins, the people in the courtyard were shocked by this amount. Sun Dalei calculated and said, "Brother, if they are well-fed, ten people will cost about 4 taels of silver per month, and 100 people will cost 40 taels. That's just for one month!"

"There won't be 100 people; finding 50 would be good enough," Zhao Jin smiled and replied.

Not everyone would be accepted; they needed to meet certain physical conditions, be willing to endure hard training, and be willing to fight and shed blood. These things might not be what 14-15-year-old boys want to do, and their parents might not agree either.

"That will still cost a lot of silver!" Sun Dalei was generous with money but also very calculating. Zhao Jin shook his head and said, "Didn't I just get a lot? It will come from there."

Zhao Jin had taken half, which was over 200 taels. If this money were used to support people, it would be spent in a few months. Moreover, recruiting people was a shared responsibility, but Zhao Jin was spending the money alone, which made everyone a bit stunned. They wondered if Zhao Jin didn't care about money at all, spending it all so quickly after getting it.

After a moment of silence, Wang Zhaojing smiled and said, "Since that's the case, I'll let Zhao Jin allocate my share."

After saying that, he placed his share in front of Zhao Jin. Chen Sheng's eyes sparkled, and he said excitedly, "Zhao Jin, no, Brother Zhao, if you're going to train people, will you use the methods you mentioned before? My share counts too."

In the past, Zhao Jin had mentioned some training methods from his memories, which had greatly interested everyone.

Shi Manqiang, Ji Xiang, and Liu Yong didn't hesitate and placed their small bundles down. Dong Bingfeng followed suit. Sun Dalei hesitated, feeling reluctant to let go of the silver, but he finally placed it down. This action was noticed by everyone, and Chen Sheng snorted coldly.

However, over the past few days, Sun Dalei had endured a lot of cold looks from Chen Sheng, and his face had become thicker. He didn't care and laughed, then went over.

Seeing that everyone was giving up their shares, Zhao Jin's expression became more serious, and he said, "Since everyone is contributing money, I won't be formal with you. In the next few days, when the shop is established, these will be converted into shares, and I won't let anyone down."

"These funds won't last long. If Brother Zhao needs more, I can think of ways at home," Wang Zhaojing said seriously.

According to Zhao Jin's plan, this money might not last a year, and Wang Zhaojing had calculated this clearly.

Zhao Jin smiled and said, "Don't worry about that. We won't sit and eat until we run out. I will take 50% of the money collected from Chen Ergou's business. The bigger the business, the more money we will make. This expense is nothing, and we will all have dividends."

Zhao Jin then turned to Liu Yong, whose face was not looking good. Zhao Jin said solemnly, "The second thing depends on Xiao Yong. When I said no bad habits and not to find people, did Xiao Yong think I looked down on your background?"

Liu Yong, whose thoughts were revealed, shook his head. Zhao Jin continued, "You also need to find people, and they should be people you trust. Let them work with you at the Temple of the God of Wealth. You can't be a boss without any followers; you need to have your own base."

Liu Yong, who was just a subordinate, suddenly became Chen Ergou's deputy and needed to have his own power.

"Lei Zi is fine. He does hard labor and is already unwilling to do it. He can bring many people," Liu Yong said excitedly.

Seeing Zhao Jin's puzzled look, Liu Yong smiled and explained, "Remember the short guy who was kicked down by Brother? His surname is Lei. Because he is short, we call him Rolling Thunder."

The short guy hadn't been seen at the cargo yard for a long time, and Zhao Jin now remembered. He smiled and nodded, then continued, "I don't trust Chen Ergou; I only trust Xiao Yong. You need to find out how much Tongtou earns each month and what businesses he has. This is our current source of income, and we can't be vague about it. Chen Ergou is afraid of us now, but once he takes over Tongtou's position, who knows what he will think. You need to keep a close eye on him."

The courtyard was very quiet. Everyone was surprised by Zhao Jin's thorough consideration, and Liu Yong's face was solemn. He hadn't realized he had such a big responsibility.

"If the accounts are unclear, we can find someone to help. Dalei, your family has accountants, and we can pay them. You can help find someone. But remember, Xiao Yong, your life is important. If something happens, run back and report it. We will gather and deal with it together," Zhao Jin said confidently.

"Please rest assured, Brother," Liu Yong and Sun Dalei said in unison.

"Shi Manqiang and Ji Xiang, you both help your families now. Coming here every day will make your elders unhappy. From today, you will receive one tael of silver per month from me, and all three meals will be provided. I want you to stay here every day. Tell your uncles that I have hired you, and they will agree when they see the conditions and the silver," Zhao Jin said thoughtfully. Shi Manqiang and Ji Xiang were relieved and quickly agreed.

Poor families need their children to help, and the Shi family's blacksmith shop and the Ji family's cooked food stall need manpower. Following Zhao Jin every day would mean eating without earning, which the families wouldn't like. Zhao Jin needed these loyal and reliable people to help, so he decided to solve their worries while he had the money.

After saying this, everyone's eyes brightened. They saw a path, and Zhao Jin's detailed and thorough arrangements and plans gave them confidence. This path could lead to growth and development.

Seeing the change in everyone's expressions, Zhao Jin smiled and said, "Let's put the silver away and go to the cargo yard."

"Are we going to have a martial arts competition today?"

"Let's recruit people!"

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