"Did you see that? That's Zhang Heng, Uncle Daxian's son. It's said that he just came back from Nanyang and has a lot of money."
"You have plenty of money? Are you richer than Mr. Tan?"
"Master Tan, bah, he's nothing, he's just a rich country man. How can he compare with the wealthy businessmen from Nanyang?"
"real or fake?"
"Of course it's true. I ate at a tavern a few days ago and ate fifteen kilograms of beef alone. I spent three yuan on one meal, which is enough to buy hundreds of kilograms of millet."
Seeing Zhang Heng sitting on the carriage and strutting through the city with Zhang DaDa, passers-by on both sides started talking a lot.
What he said was nothing more than two things. One was that Zhang Heng was rich, and the other was that he was a wealthy businessman from Nanyang.
After all, those who can have connections overseas these days are extremely rich.
Compare it to how I had a relative who was a Hong Kong businessman in the 1970s and 1980s.
"Cousin, do you want to go out?"
Walking on the street, I met Zhang Zhentian head-on.
Next to Zhang Zhentian, there was a sturdy young man. He glanced down and saw that this man had a box gun on his waist. He didn't know its origin.
"Come out for a walk and find a place to eat."
After a few days, Zhang Heng and Zhang Zhentian have become very familiar with each other.
Behind the scenes, he also revealed to Zhang Zhentian that he planned to develop and purchase some properties in his hometown in the future.
"Cousin, who is this?"
In response, Zhang Heng looked at the sturdy young man again.
"This is Zhang Zhenhu."
Zhang Zhentian explained: "Zhenhu works as a bodyguard in a medicine shop in the county. He just came back last night."
"Zhang Zhenhu!"
Zhang Heng narrowed his eyes slightly.
Zhang Zhenhu looks about 25 or 26, not tall but very strong.
Coincidentally, Zhang Heng also knew a man named Zhang Zhenhu.
This man was a bandit who came out of Dagou Town. He later became the leader of the puppet army and was shot after liberation.
However, Zhang Zhenhu has a good reputation. Whether he is a bandit or a puppet soldier, he does nothing to the common people and only targets wealthy businessmen and wealthy families.
"Cousin, you haven't had breakfast yet. There is a teahouse in front. Come and sit..."
Zhang Heng took the initiative to invite.
Zhang Zhentian glanced at Zhang Zhenhu, did not refuse, and followed Zhang Heng with a smile.
The four of us were seated and ordered four bowls of wonton noodles and three side dishes.
Zhang Heng divided the chopsticks and did not touch the wonton noodles. Instead, he took the initiative and asked: "Zhenhu, how is the job of a bodyguard? Is it easy to do it?"
"Don't mention it. The person in charge doesn't like me. It's so frustrating."
Zhang Zhenhu sighed.
"That's it!"
Zhang Heng was noncommittal, and then asked: "Are you interested in staying with me?"
"Stay with you?" Zhang Zhenhu was stunned for a moment: "What are you doing?"
Zhang Heng said with a smile: "You don't have to worry about what I do. Just tell me how much it costs to be a bodyguard in a medicine store for a month."
"Three oceans."
Zhang Zhenhu said a number.
Zhang Heng said bluntly: "How about I give you five yuan a month?"
Zhang Zhenhu was silent for a while, then suddenly laughed and said: "Brother Heng, to tell you the truth, I didn't go well in the medicine shop. I wanted to come back and stay for a few days, and then go to Baoping Mountain to have a look."
Baoping Mountain is a bandit's den. What are you going to see there? You can just go up the mountain and become a bandit.
Zhang Heng knew it in his heart, and this was the right number.
The boss of Baoping Mountain is Zhang Zhenhu.
Follow the historical trajectory.
After Zhang Zhenhu goes up the mountain this time, he will stand out in a few years and become the master of Aoping Mountain.
From this point of view, Zhang Zhenhu is considered a talent and can manage thousands of people without any problem.
Although he can't compare with those heroes who have left their names in history, in Yangjiang County and the Zhang family in Dagou Town, he can still be regarded as one of the best.
"Going up the mountain to be a bandit is not a long-term solution after all."
"Huzi, I think you're not young anymore. You probably haven't gotten married yet. If you go up the mountain, is there any girl from a good family who would be willing to marry you?"
"If you want me to tell you, just stay and work with me. I won't treat you badly."
Zhang Heng knew very well that a thousand pieces of gold are easy to get, but a general is hard to find.
Zhang Zhenhu is a talented person, and the world is in chaos right now. Zhang Heng has some plans to implement, and these plans cannot be separated from the support of force.
As for Zhang Zhenhu’s future status as the head of Aoping Mountain.
Those are nothing. The idea is that if you have money, you will have brothers. If you come out to fool around, it's not just two taels of gold.
If you work hard and use it smoothly, there is no need to say more.
Unruly and unruly, disobedient to discipline.
Zhang Heng asked himself if there was a way to deal with him.
"Okay, I'll do it with you."
Zhang Zhenhu didn't think much about it.
Whether he is a bodyguard or a bandit, he just wants to make a living.
With five yuan a month, he is almost as good as a medicine shop owner. Who would want to go up to the mountains and become a bandit when he can make money on the ground.
"Cousin, I think our town doesn't seem to have its own patrol team."
After Zhang Zhenhu agreed, Zhang Heng directed the conversation to the militia.
Zhang Zhentian was silent for a while and replied: "That costs money. Our Yangjiang County is relatively peaceful. Even the kings on Aquarius Mountain can just pay some filial piety on weekdays. Naturally, no one does such a thankless job.
matter."
Setting up a vigilante group is not something you can just do.
It costs money to buy guns, it costs money to recruit people, and it costs money to eat people.
Even if the expenses of the militia are smaller, they still have to take care of two meals. At the end of the month, if there are not two yuan, one yuan cannot be given, one yuan cannot be given, but half a yuan must be given.
This money will definitely not be paid out, only merchants and large households in the town can pay it out.
The reality is that despite the warlord rule outside these years, Yangjiang County is still relatively stable.
The mountain kings on Aquarius Mountain generally don't eat grass on the edge of their nests. During festivals and festivals, they just charge a little protection fee and rarely cause harm to their hometown.
Everyone has an idea of how much it will cost if they switch to self-protection by a militia support group.
The militia group in Dagou Town happened ten years later.
It was 1930, during the Great War in the Central Plains. The troops fled and many people became bandits.
War smoke spread everywhere, mountains and hills were numerous, and many bandits attacked villages when they saw them. This promoted the trend of establishing militia groups in various places in the south of the Yangtze River.
But even so, the militia in Dagou Town has always been small in scale.
At its peak, there were only more than 300 people, dozens of native lances and shotguns, and the rest were swords and spears.
The purpose of raising militia groups is not to suppress bandits, but to protect themselves so that bandits will not dare to attack villages and towns at will. Everything can be discussed.
"We still need to have militia groups. There are fighting everywhere right now, and there are more and more bandits and bullies. We have to prepare for the worst in everything."
"But there's no rush, you can take your time."
"On my side, I need some manpower for something. Cousin, you can go back and ask for help later. I need thirty people. I'll go with me to the county town this afternoon to do something."
Zhang Heng's original intention of coming to the Republic of China was to make a fortune.
Now that I have been here for a few days, I have figured out the door, and making money should be put on the agenda.
After all, you can't live without money these days, and two taels of gold can solve thousands of worries.