The long winter in the Northwest was finally coming to an end. Ren Xiaosu saw the plants sprouting along the river and the insects hibernating in the soil gradually waking up.
The spring floods were coming, and the snow-capped mountains that stretched for thousands of kilometers in the Northwest would gradually melt. The sun would turn the ice and snow into tens of thousands of streams that would converge from west to east and become a rapid river.
Some people said that this water came from the sky and flowed eastward without stopping.
The valley that had been dry for many months would receive the most abundant water in spring. This was the best time for them to farm and irrigate. At that time, the huge river would fill up the gullies and turn the yellowish-brown valleys into riverbeds.
Ren Xiaosu wanted to lead the bandits to make enough bricks before the spring floods arrived.
Once the spring floods arrived with the trees upstream, they could start firing the bricks in the kiln.
Some people said that there was no need to work so hard at firing the bricks. They could just build some adobe houses. Hadn't everyone been living like that all this time?
However, Ren Xiaosu said, "Why can the stronghold residents live in brick houses, but we can't?" Not only did they have to build houses, but they also had to build fortifications.
A refugee asked if they were going to build a new stronghold. Ren Xiaosu was stunned for a moment. He smiled and said, "Isn't it good to live in the wilderness? Why do we have to cordon everyone off?"
When he said that, the refugees fell silent. However, they became a little more diligent in their work.
The bandits put down their guns and started digging for silt barefooted at the edge of the river valley. Baskets of silt were dug up and made into adobe bricks on the ground.
Digging silt was easy to think of but difficult to do. The bandits only brought firearms with them and did not even have a shovel. They had to rely on their bare hands to dig the silt.
The weather was so cold that the fierce bandits were freezing like their grandchildren. However, they still insisted on working.
"If you force them like this, will they give up?" Yang Xiaojin asked.
"No." Ren Xiaosu said with a smile, "The more tired they are, the more they'll believe it's real. The more relaxed they are, the more they'll suspect it's all fake."
"They'll find out one day," Yang Xiaojin said.
Ren Xiaosu turned to Yang Xiaojin and said in a serious tone, "I want to build a home here. In the past, this idea wasn't that clear to me. But when I saw them working, it gradually became clearer. When the time comes, I'll give them an explanation."
This was also the first step for Ren Xiaosu to train these bandits. He wanted to change the habits of these bandits who were used to eating and working and robbing.
Let them suffer a lot here, and then build up a strange feeling called sharing hardships.
After a tiring day, the bandits were all complaining incessantly. Even Jin Lan was starting to waver. He looked at the mud on his hands and feet and was close to tears from exhaustion. "Why don't we just go back to being bandits instead of going to Stronghold 178? It's too tough here!"
"That's right." Someone sat down weakly on the riverbed and stared blankly at the sky. "What are we even doing this for?"
Jin Lan and Zhang Yiheng were currently the leaders of the first and second squads respectively. When the others saw their leaders starting to waver, they became even more so.
At noon, some refugees from the settlement suddenly came over with baskets. When they placed the baskets on the ground, Jin Lan asked curiously, "Hey, what's this?"
An honest refugee smiled embarrassedly and said, "I haven't had the chance to thank you for helping us dig the ditches. This is the cornbread we made ourselves. It's not delicious, so please don't mind it."
Jin Lan was stunned. He did not know how to deal with such a situation. He suddenly cursed, "What the fuck are you being so polite for? You don't have to be so courteous with me. Just put it down. If you need any help with your work, just let me know."
Jin Lan had an expression that said, "I'm not trying to help you. I just want to work." The refugees were stunned by his rebuke.
At this moment, someone asked Jin Lan, "Captain, shall we run away tonight?"
However, Jin Lan hesitated for a moment and said, "Let's hold on for another two days and see how things go. It won't be too late to run away after that! Look at how their fellow townsmen are already giving us cornbread, so we should at least build them a house! "
When work ended that night, everyone lay on the ground and did not want to move. Ren Xiaosu went to the riverside and looked at the bricks sandwiched between the wooden planks. "Get up, it's time to collect your bullets. All of you only recognize the bricks you made. I'll exchange ten bricks for one bullet."
People were really strange. The bullets were clearly theirs to begin with, and they were not worth much anyway. They did not really care about them when they were working. But when they realized they could exchange them for their own bullets, everyone was still a little happy.
Jin Lan stood up and said, "Me! I made thirty bricks today. The silt is too difficult to dig out. Otherwise, I could have made even more! "
Ren Xiaosu nodded. "Mhm, I'll give you three bullets."
Jin Lan looked at the three glistening yellow bullets in his palm and felt an inexplicable sense of gratitude and accomplishment.
But these were clearly just three normal bullets, so what was going on?
This was the solution that Ren Xiaosu came up with. If they had just buried themselves in work, these bandits would have been depressed because they could not see any "progress" or "end."
But when he broke down the process into 100 bullets and allowed the bandits to measure their own results, they finally had a goal to look forward to.
Jin Lan started calculating. If he could get three bullets a day, he might even be able to get four or even five bullets a day in the future after he got used to it. That way, he would be able to get out of his misery in less than a month.
How long was a month? Thinking of this, Jin Lan suddenly felt that he could persevere a little longer. At most, he would leave after a month. It would not take up too much of his time anyway.
He looked at the others and was surprised to see that Zhang Yiheng only had two bullets in his hands. He laughed. "You're not good enough, old man. Why do you only have two bullets?"
Zhang Yiheng was so angry that his face turned red. "It's because I'm not used to it yet. I'll definitely have more than you tomorrow."
Then Zhang Yiheng looked to the side and saw that there were still people who did not have any bullets in their hands. He was amused. "I'm not the worst either!"
Ren Xiaosu did not say anything. He did not criticize those who did not do much, nor did he praise those who did more.
Jin Lan smiled and went up to him. "Bro, what do you think of me? I've done the most work today."
Ren Xiaosu said noncommittally, "You have to understand that I'm giving you guys this chance because you want to pass the assessment. It's not because you're helping me out."
After that, Ren Xiaosu turned around and left.
Jin Lan stood behind Ren Xiaosu in a daze for a while before saying in a daze, "Bro, thank you for giving us this chance!"
"Gratitude received from Jin Lan, + 1!"
Suddenly, Jin Lan turned around and shouted, "It's not dark yet. You guys can leave first. I'll continue working for a little longer!"
The bandits looked at one another. After a tiring day, they suddenly felt a little motivated again. However, Yang Xiaojin came over at this moment. "Stop working. Wash your hands and get ready for class."
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