Chapter 70: 70, Martial Village, Selecting 10 Security Team Members
From Qinghe Airport to Cangzhou, due to road conditions, plus refueling and adding water along the way, and searching for Master Fang Shouxin’s cemetery, it ultimately took more than 4 hours to reach the destination.
A village that looked very ancient.
Outside the village, there were also ruined ancient city walls.
According to Fang Shouxin, this place was once a county town long ago, but later with constant changes, the county town had long been ruined, the population had dwindled, and it eventually became a village.
Precisely because it was once a county town, the village was very large, with spacious dirt roads.
The car slowly drove into the village, and the villagers standing in the corners with their hands tucked into their sleeves eyed the car, very curious about this Western gadget.
“They seem not to recognize you anymore,” Fang Wen spoke up.
Returning to his hometown 30 years later, Fang Shouxin was filled with emotion.
“These people are only around thirty; when I left, they were still young, some not even born yet. Young Master, stop the car; there’s someone ahead who might recognize me.”
The car stopped, and Fang Shouxin got out.
He walked up to an elderly farmer squatting roadside smoking dried tobacco.
The two stared at each other for a long time, and the elderly farmer showed a surprised expression.
“Fourth child, Huang Zhanwu, is that you?”
“Senior Student?”
The elderly farmer stood up straight and placed his hand on Fang Shouxin’s shoulder.
Fang Shouxin reflexively stepped back, but the other followed closely, and the two actually started sparring.
After performing a set of moves skillfully, the two immediately relaxed.
Fellow disciples meeting after thirty years apart had endless words to say and endless questions to ask.
While the two were talking, seven more elderly people arrived in the village.
These eight should be Fang Shouxin’s fellow disciples.
Afterward, Shunzi was called over by his father to pay respects one by one to the martial uncles.
Then came the introduction of Fang Wen.
“This is Young Master Fang; I work for him now.”
Fang Wen smiled in response but said little; this was the day for these fellow disciples to reunite and for Shunzi to recognize his ancestors, so he would just be a bystander for now.
For three straight days, the village was very lively; Fang Shouxin paid to slaughter pigs and sheep, holding a three-day banquet.
At the same time, in the Huang family ancestral hall in the village, he held a ceremony for Shunzi to recognize his ancestors.
Through exchanges with his fellow disciples, Fang Shouxin also learned that Master’s grave had been moved by them to outside the village, with a new stele erected and a grand reburial.
Afterward, he and his 8 fellow disciples, along with the younger generation, paid respects to Master together.
Then, there was even better news: the warlord who had wanted them had left the area after defeat and was nowhere to be found.
It could be said that everything Fang Shouxin had hoped for was fully achieved.
But he and Shunzi had no intention of staying here now.
On the night of the third day, Fang Shouxin brought Shunzi to Fang Wen’s residence.
“Young Master, the younger generation from my fellow disciples’ families all inherit martial arts, able to fight and daring; do you think highly of them?”
Fang Wen pondered in his mind; over these three days, as a bystander, he had been observing.
The young people in this village were martial and brave, simple and straightforward in temperament, drinking, eating meat, playing cards, and even performing martial arts on the spot when the mood struck.
This actually fit his requirements perfectly; as long as he brought them back, trained them a bit, and imposed some discipline, they would make fine subordinates.
Immediately, he replied:
“The people are decent; pick 10 first, and say they are going to work for Taishan Airlines Security Team in Shanghai.”
Fang Shouxin showed delight: “Young Master, rest assured; I’ll handle this.”
Fang Shouxin, whose real name was Huang Zhanwu, on the fourth day back in his hometown, gathered with his 8 fellow disciples at the Tudi Temple at the east end of the village and summoned a large group of young villagers.
These youths were either disciples from the fellow disciples’ own families or apprentices under their names.
Everyone more or less knew something and looked expectantly at Fourth Martial Uncle（ and the martial uncles）.
“Nephews, I’ve gathered you all today to announce something. My owner, Young Master Fang, is the general manager of Taishan Airline Company in Shanghai. He wants to recruit security team members for Taishan Airlines. For my sake, Young Master has agreed to select ten from the village. Are you willing?”
“Willing.” A loud chorus of shouts.
Which young person didn’t want to see the bustling world of Shanghai.
Fang Shouxin looked serious.
“Good. There are two more things you must hear clearly. First, on the surface, you’re going to Taishan Airlines as security guards, but in your hearts, you must know who the real owner is.”
At this point, he paused to see if his nephews had caught on.
There was murmuring below, and finally they chorused: “It’s Young Master Fang.”
Fang Shouxin smiled in satisfaction and continued: “Second, there are only ten spots for now; you have to compete, and the ten strongest fighters will be selected. But remember, the rules are no deadly moves; if you injure yourself or others, you won’t go.”
They had been waiting for these words; Fang Shouxin’s 8 fellow disciples immediately called the youths to organize.
A stone-piled martial arts arena was set up outside the Tudi Temple, and Shunzi went to invite Fang Wen to watch the martial performance.
Seeing the patriarch arrive, the youths who were warming up suddenly got excited.
They rolled up their sleeves one by one and performed their signature unique skills on the spot.
Sure enough, with the strong martial tradition in the Cangzhou area, this village was even more so; they could handle swords, spears, staffs, fists, and kicks all around.
Fang Shouxin said grumpily: “Save your energy for the stage; showing off below won’t help.”
Then, the numbered youths entered the arena one-on-one and began the matches.
Though they couldn’t use deadly force, they went all out, often ending with both sides bruised and muddy before a winner was decided.
Just like that, a whole day passed; the village’s younger generation completed the matches, selecting the 10 strongest fighters.
With this, it was time to head back.
Fang Wen told Fang Shouxin to stay behind and take the ten nephews by train to Xuzhou, then overland to Fuyang.
He himself would take Shunzi back the same way.
Fang Shouxin was uneasy about this.
“Young Master, the folk here are martial and brave, and there are robbers on the road; I’m not at ease with you and Shunzi going back to Beiping. How about this: I’ll get some horses and escort you back on horseback.”
“You have horses?” Fang Wen asked in surprise.
“Kept at another manor. My fellow disciples did some business over a dozen years ago—they were horse bandits. But they’ve long since gone straight,” Fang Shouxin explained a bit embarrassedly.
Fang Wen was surprised but then smiled.
These eight could stay here locally; without some skills, how could they deal with that old enemy? In this war-torn era, don’t expect purity like blank paper; as long as they were trustworthy, that was enough.
Thus, he agreed to Fang Shouxin’s plan to lead a horseback escort.
They set off that very day.
The car drove on the dirt road, much slower than on the way there, with five horses on each side accompanying; the young lads fresh from home happily spurred their horses to race the car for speed.
“Young Master, these kids still don’t understand how the world has changed; cars and foreign guns and cannons are the real deal,” Fang Shouxin said from the co-pilot seat.
“No problem; when we get back, I’ll find a way to get some spears, and you can train them more.”
As Fang Wen spoke, he glanced at the new employees cheering on horseback outside and floored the throttle, leaving them far behind.
