"My name is Tan Feng, and my courtesy name is Fengying. I am from the Xuan Residence, and I am skilled with a long saber. I can also ride a horse and shoot an arrow. Today, I am stranded in Fushun …. I want to find a job. "A burly man stood in front of the recruitment office, cupping his fists as he spoke. He was leading a skinny horse, and he wore a tattered leather armor. His beard was unkempt, and he looked travel-worn. His hair was covered in ice and snow, and his fists had frostbite.
He was really down and out.
The person sitting behind the recruitment office was Old Man Sun.
Old Man Sun looked up at the burly man, but didn't say anything. The burly man couldn't help but shout angrily, "Your employees are really strange. I've been to a few places, but they don't want me. I have some cultivation, but I don't want to become a bandit and lose face for my family. Do I really have no way out? Why don't you give me a straightforward answer? "
Old Man Sun smiled and asked, "Our boss is looking for people who can work in peace. The people from other places probably didn't know your background, so they sent you here. May I know why you are stranded in Fushun? "
Listening to Old Man Sun's explanation, Tan Feng felt a bit better. He sighed and said, "I also know that good people won't easily hire someone with an unknown background like me, but I can't blame you all. I was originally born in the Xuan Residence, but a few years ago I committed a taboo and was dismissed. I couldn't stay in the Xuan Residence any longer, so I could only come to Fushun to seek refuge with my uncle.
Who knew that when I came here, I would find out that my distant uncle had died more than ten years ago, and his entire family was missing. Now that I have no money to travel, I can only come here to find a job. I see that you even accept the old, weak, women, and children, so the boss must be a good person. Working for you is better than working for those unscrupulous merchants and corrupt officials, so I can live more freely. But if you don't accept me, I can only become a strong man. "
Old Man Sun sized up Tan Feng again and nodded, "Warrior, please don't blame us. Our Dong family has many enemies, and we are afraid that someone will sneak in and cause trouble. From your accent and attire, I don't think you're from Fushun. In addition, you're leading such a skinny horse. I don't think you're a spy sent by someone else. Please go to the courtyard at the back to have some hot porridge and some food, and rest for a while. "
Now that his life was settled, Tan Feng immediately felt relieved. He cupped his hands in thanks and said happily, "Thank you very much for making things convenient for me, Old Master. I don't have any other skills, but I do have some ability in fighting. In the past, when I was at the Xuan Residence, I would often bring my men out of the walls to seek help from the Mongolian Tatars. When I'm full, no matter what enemies Master has, I'll take care of them for him. "
Personally writing his name on the roster, Tan Feng surprised Old Man Sun. His handwriting was neat, which was extremely rare in the Daming dynasty where most of the generals were illiterate. Seeing the smile on the Old Man's face, Tan Feng proudly said, "My father was illiterate, but he forced me to learn literature with a stick since I was young. Because I'm crude in literature, I caused a lot of trouble among my colleagues. "
"It's a good thing that you can read. You're not blind. Brother Tan looks like a straightforward person, and my Dong family will naturally like you. " Old Man Sun looked at the handwriting left behind by Tan Feng and had a better impression of this man. He drew a circle under Tan Feng's name and specially arranged for someone to feed his skinny horse.
Tan Feng was in his twenties, about 1.7 meters tall, and his frame was not small. He stood out in the line of people getting their meals. The cook in the courtyard saw that he was different from ordinary people and was a bit stunned. He handed him a bowl and chopsticks to line up for hot porridge. He glanced at the front of the line and then at the bailiffs maintaining the line. He immediately shouted in surprise, "You guys are a bit interesting."
Others didn't understand what Tan Feng was talking about, but he himself knew that this line was something new. The line in the courtyard was not a long line, but a few zigzagging lines to make use of as much space as possible. Everyone entered one by one. It looked chaotic, but it was actually orderly. Those who did not follow the rules would be beaten with sticks or even thrown out of the courtyard.
Don't underestimate the line. It was really rare in ancient times when people were used to swarming together for everything. Tan Feng had seen many situations where people swarmed together for everything. He knew that being able to line up well was the first sign of discipline. In fact, even hundreds of years later, it was common to cut in line without order.
Tan Feng came from a family of generals and trained soldiers every day, so he knew the advantages and difficulties of getting the soldiers to line up. The line in front of him was moving forward slowly. The other recruited people were so hungry that they couldn't wait to squeeze in front of the big wooden tubs where the porridge was distributed. Only he looked left and right, satisfied with the orderly and quiet scene. "The owner of this place isn't simple."
When Tan Feng walked to the big wooden tubs where the porridge was distributed, the wooden tubs just happened to be empty. The cook in charge of distributing porridge said "wait" and left, causing a lot of grumbling in the line. Tan Feng looked around and saw the bailiffs with iron rulers immediately pull the noisiest people out of the line and take them to the side. They didn't allow them to leave and line up again, nor did they allow them to enter the line again to cause trouble.
"Good!" Tan Feng praised in his heart. He felt more and more that the owner he sought refuge with this time was especially suited to his temperament. These bailiffs had obviously been trained. They were decisive, followed orders, and acted when they needed to. They didn't wait for things to get out of hand before dealing with it. Tan Feng was a small officer himself, so he knew that it wasn't easy to train his subordinates like this.
Sigh … A sigh came from behind Tan Feng. He turned his head and saw a tall and thin young man standing behind him. The young man's face was emaciated, and his body was wrapped in a few tattered animal skins. His hair was messy, and his face was as black as mud. He looked miserable.
Tan Feng saw that the young man was a few years younger than him, and felt like a teacher. He said, "Brother, are you pitying those who were chased out? Don't bother with them. They're all black sheep. They must be chased out. "
The young man's animal skin couldn't cover his whole body. He used his arms to hug his body, and his whole body trembled. He looked up at Tan Feng, but shook his head and said, "I'm hungry. I haven't eaten for a few days. I'm so hungry that I'm sighing. "As he spoke, the young man lowered his head weakly, as if he had lost his soul.
Tan Feng saw that the young man was pitiful, so he gave his position in front to him and said, "Come, come, come. Brother, take a step forward. I saw that the porridge just now was very thick. The owner has a good heart. "
The thin young man thanked him profusely, and kept nodding and bowing. When the next bucket of hot porridge was brought over, he was the first to serve it. When the porridge was served, it was still gurgling and steaming. The thin young man picked up a bowl, blew on it, and gulped it down. The bowl of porridge was emptied in less than half a minute, and even the bottom of the bowl was licked clean.
One bowl of porridge wasn't enough to fill his stomach. The thin young man turned around and wanted another bowl, but was pushed away by the bailiff who was maintaining order. He shouted, "Go inside, go inside. You can still drink another bowl after you've checked your body. "
The courtyard of this recruitment site had two entrances. Those who passed the first stage continued to walk into a room. When Tan Feng entered, he found that the room was empty. It was very spacious, but many people quickly entered. Another bailiff in the room ordered, "Take off all your clothes. I'll check your body for hidden diseases."
This … Tan Feng felt a bit awkward.
But the other people who were recruited didn't say anything. After the previous lesson, they all became obedient. Especially since there were several stoves burning in the room, it wasn't very cold even if they were naked. The thin young man who was taken care of by Tan Feng took off his tattered animal skin, revealing his bony body. He continued to cower and cross his arms, feeling embarrassed and sad.
The bailiff in charge of the inspection held the registration register in his hand, and recorded the unkempt people in front of him one by one. When he walked in front of the thin young man, the bailiff frowned. The people who were recruited were all very thin and weak, but the one in front of him was especially thin and weak. He was so thin that not only could each of his ribs be counted, but he was also so thin that only his bones were left.
The thin young man begged, "Master, don't look at me because I'm thin, I can take hardships. I eat a little, and I can do anything. Please take me in. "
Seeing that the others were all naked, Tan Feng could only take off his own clothes. He knew that when selecting elite soldiers, they would check their bodies. After all, if the people they recruited were infected with some kind of hidden disease, it would really cause a lot of people to die. But from the looks of it, everyone who was recruited had problems.
The bailiff in charge of the inspection stared at the thin young man and shook his head. He sighed, "You're lucky. Our chief has ordered that no matter how poor your conditions are, as long as you're obedient, we'll take you in, even if it's a waste of food. Otherwise, people like you will starve to death. "
After sighing, the bailiff looked at the register in his hand and asked, "You're called Gao Daniu?"
"Yes." The thin young man nodded. Hearing that the bailiff was willing to take him in, tears fell from his eyes.
The bailiff began to fill in the inspection report on the register. As he wrote, he read, "Weak body, extremely thin, many scars, many lichen, needs to be nursed."
When it was Tan Feng's turn, the bailiff looked at his figure and nodded in satisfaction. Tan Feng looked at the bailiff's handwriting on the register curiously and asked, "Your handwriting is missing a lot of strokes."
"That's what our chief taught us," the bailiff said.
"Who's the chief? And he teaches you how to write? "
"The chief is the boss. In the future, your food, clothing, and accommodation will all be provided by the chief. You're all in luck. Our chief is the best and smartest person in the world. He'll teach you a lot of things. It's up to you if you can learn them. "
"Boss is recruiting so many people. What does he want us to do?"
"There's a lot of work to do, but you'll only be assigned after you've received training. What you do depends on whether you're smart or not. What our boss likes to do the most is to constantly give lessons to people, endless lessons and endless homework. "
The bailiff let out a long sigh when he said the last sentence. It was obvious that he was deeply resentful and afraid of lessons and homework. But after saying that, he deliberately added, "Only after you've attended lessons and learned how to read will you know how to be human."
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