“Sister Mu Lan, my older sister has been envious of you all for ages, but she was on the night shift yesterday and is sleeping now. Wait a moment, I’ll go wake her up!”
As soon as Qing Mu Lan finished speaking, a boy of about seven or eight turned and ran back into the village.
“I’ll join!”
“I’ll join!”
“Me too!”
Perhaps inspired by the boy, three women or girls immediately stepped forward to join the women’s militia.
Some other women looked tempted but didn’t commit right away, likely wanting to discuss it with their families first.
“Fine, you can all go to the back hills with A Pei tomorrow morning,” Qing Mu Lan said with a smile.
The women who spoke up were mostly from families without men or in dire financial straits.
Coming from such households, they often worked as hard as men, so their physical condition was generally decent.
“Oh, and each of you prepare a thirty-pound pack for tomorrow’s use,” Qing Mu Lan reminded them.
“Got it,” the women agreed with smiles.
They already knew the women’s militia had to carry thirty-pound packs and run to the opposite hill and back every morning.
“Miss Mu Lan, I’d like to join too, but I need to talk it over with my mother-in-law. Can I come find you tomorrow?” one woman asked.
Her husband had also died in battle, and her mother-in-law made the decisions at home.
“You can, but if others get there first and the fifty spots are filled, there’s nothing I can do,” Qing Mu Lan replied.
“Then I’ll go ask now and come back with an answer,” the woman said, rushing home.
Several other women did the same, afraid of missing out on the spots.
They all knew that the women gathered were mostly from near the village entrance, drawn by the commotion of Xiao Yu’s argument. Most others were either working at the textile factory or sleeping after a night shift.
With just this small crowd, five or six had already signed up. Once word spread, even more would want to join.
It wouldn’t be as simple as just signing up then.
“Xiao Yu, have you made up your mind?” Qing Mu Lan asked, looking at her.
“I have!” Xiao Yu nodded without hesitation.
When the bandits attacked, while other women and children hid in the back hills, Xiao Yu had sneaked out to watch from behind.
The image of the women soldiers, led by Qing Mu Lan, emerging bloodied from the threshing ground was etched in her mind.
From that moment, Xiao Yu decided to join the women’s militia.
“If you’re sure, come with me. We’ve got two training tasks left today, and you can join in,” Qing Mu Lan said, leading the women soldiers back to the hills without glancing at the village chief.
The village chief, who had been adamantly opposed, now stood with his head bowed, letting Xiao Yu follow Qing Mu Lan.
People are like that. When something new, like a new trade, appears, they instinctively resist. But when everyone rushes to join, they follow the crowd, afraid of being left behind.
“Alright, nothing more for us here,” Jin Feng said with a smile, leaving.
He had returned to prevent a clash between Qing Mu Lan and the village chief, but she handled it better than he expected.
In Da Kang, where women outnumbered men, Qing Mu Lan’s women’s militia was a spark. It seemed insignificant now, but with the right push, it could ignite into a wildfire.
This was exactly what Jin Feng wanted to see.
With the main players gone, the watching women dispersed.
News of the women’s militia expansion spread quickly.
That evening, over twenty women went to the back hills to sign up with Qing Mu Lan.
The next day, another dozen or so joined.
But on the third day, only two signed up, and both failed the first test, the weighted cross-country run.
Some people who love spicy food assume everyone else does too.
Qing Mu Lan, passionate about military life, unconsciously assumed many women shared her enthusiasm.
With so many women responding initially, she thought recruiting fifty would be easy, but the results were a blow.
She realised that those truly interested would have decided within three days.
Those who hadn’t were either indecisive or faced strong family opposition.
Sure enough, on the fourth day, not a single person signed up.
“Sir, what do I do?” Qing Mu Lan ran to Jin Feng early in the morning, venting, “I said in front of everyone I’d recruit fifty, and I’m still so far off. It’s embarrassing. You’re clever, help me think of something.”
“How many have you recruited so far?” Jin Feng put down his bowl, smiling.
“Forty-three signed up, but only twenty-seven passed the assessment,” Qing Mu Lan said, “I’m way off my goal.”
“That’s a high elimination rate,” Jin Feng glanced at her.
The women who dared sign up were confident in their abilities, at least somewhat strong, yet out of forty-three, only twenty-seven passed, nearly a fifty percent dropout rate.
“I want to expand the women’s militia, but I’m not taking just anyone,” Qing Mu Lan said proudly, “The assessment is much easier than our regular training. If they can’t pass that, they don’t qualify to join us.”
“Quality over quantity, that’s good,” Jin Feng nodded approvingly, “Don’t worry, you’re only short twenty-three. I’ll make sure you hit your target by tomorrow.”
“Really?”
“Of course. If we don’t get enough, I’ll have Tie Chui and the others put on skirts and join your militia,” Jin Feng said with a laugh.
Tie Chui, standing nearby, “???”
“Alright, I’m counting on you!” Qing Mu Lan laughed, glanced at Tie Chui, and happily ran off.
It wasn’t clear if she was looking forward to Jin Feng finding recruits or seeing Tie Chui in a skirt.
“Sir, why drag me into your talk with Miss Mu Lan?” Tie Chui said, looking miserable.
He was a tough guy. If he had to wear a skirt and join the women’s militia, how could he face anyone afterward?
“Relax, I won’t make you wear a skirt,” Jin Feng said with a smile, “Go call Brother Tie over.”
“Right away!” Tie Chui ran off.
That morning, news of the women’s militia recruitment spread to nearby villages.
The textile factory, brick kiln, and construction sites only hired from Xihe Bay and Guan Family Village, leaving villages like Tian Family Village, Zhou Family Village, and Chen Family Village struggling as before.
Hearing that the women’s militia offered the same pay and benefits as male soldiers, plus a brick house room, women from struggling families in nearby villages flocked to Xihe Bay.
The next morning, when Qing Mu Lan and her soldiers reached the back hills, they saw a dense crowd of women at the foot of the hill, each with a pack on their back.
