After Jin Feng announced the decision to form a medical team, some female soldiers showed signs of interest.
Not all female soldiers were eager for combat like Qing Mulanzhou and Xiao Yu. Many had joined the team out of necessity.
The battle two days ago had left many female soldiers feeling uneasy. Now, with another option available, they were tempted.
“You’ve all seen how soldiers on the battlefield are often slashed open, even losing arms or legs. I’ll be blunt: if you’re afraid of corpses or blood, don’t sign up. Medics deal with bodies regularly, and the person you’re treating might die the next moment,” Jin Feng said.
After this, the female soldiers looked hesitant.
In those times, death was common. Corpses could be seen by the roadside, so they weren’t overly frightening. Still, in a feudal era, superstitions lingered, and no one wanted to touch a body willingly.
“I’ll give you until noon today. After that, I won’t accept any more sign-ups,” Jin Feng said, jumping off the platform and leaving.
After lunch, Qing Mulanzhou brought eight girls to Jin Feng.
He glanced at them. Two were from the village, one from Guan Family Village, and the other five were unfamiliar.
“These are the ones willing to join the medical team. They’re in your hands now, sir,” Qing Mulanzhou said, handing them over before heading to the kitchen to find Run Niang.
“Have you eaten?” Jin Feng asked.
“We have,” the eight girls nodded in unison.
“Since you’ve eaten, let’s go,” Jin Feng said, leading them to the threshing ground at the village entrance.
Liu Tie and the guard team had set up about a dozen small straw shelters there.
The shelters were basic, without roofs, just four wooden poles surrounded by straw mats.
Each was small, about five square metres.
Seeing Jin Feng, Liu Tie jogged over. “Brother Feng, the shelters are ready. What do you think?”
“They’ll do for a few days, as long as they don’t collapse,” Jin Feng replied casually. “Are the bodies ready?”
“Thanks to your heads-up, I grabbed a dozen bandit corpses from Wild Dog Slope before they were buried. Otherwise, it would’ve been tough to find any,” Liu Tie said, pulling back a straw mat.
Inside the small shelter, a grim-looking corpse lay on the ground.
Next to it was a bundle of straw.
“To be medics, this is your first test,” Jin Feng said, pointing at the shelters to the eight girls. “Each of you gets a shelter. You can’t leave except to use the toilet. Stay with the corpse for a day and a night, and you pass.”
“What?!” The girls’ faces paled.
The shelters were tiny, with the corpse taking up nearly half the space. To rest, they’d have to lie next to it.
These weren’t ordinary corpses but bandits, brutally killed, their bodies slashed open, looking terrifying.
Staying with one for a day and a night, or even an hour, would be torture.
“If you regret this now, you can still go back to Qing Mulanzhou and rejoin the female soldier team. Don’t wait until midnight, crying to leave and wasting my time,” Jin Feng said. “I’m going home for a drink. When I return, you better have decided.”
With that, he left.
When he returned to the threshing ground, all eight girls were still there.
“Decided yet?” Jin Feng asked with a smile.
“I’m in!” said a girl named Zhou Jin, stepping forward first.
Her father had been a corpse carrier, so she’d seen bodies since childhood and was less repelled than the others.
“Good,” Jin Feng nodded. “Pick a shelter.”
“Any one?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll take this one,” Zhou Jin said, entering the shelter Liu Tie had opened, spreading the straw on the ground.
Liu Tie stepped forward, re-securing the straw mat.
“And you?” Jin Feng asked the remaining seven girls.
“I’ll join.”
“Me too!”
Since Jin Feng had warned them that morning, the girls had come prepared. With Zhou Jin taking the lead, the others each chose a shelter and entered.
“Iron, arrange for someone to guard here. Don’t let them wander, and make sure they get food on time,” Jin Feng instructed.
“Got it,” Liu Tie nodded.
Jin Feng and Tie Chui walked to a high spot near the threshing ground, looking down.
Among the eight, Zhou Jin was the calmest, squatting and curiously examining the corpse.
The other seven huddled in corners, staying as far from the bodies as possible.
“Scared already? How will they last the night?” Tie Chui said, chuckling.
“If they can’t handle it, they’ll quit,” Jin Feng said, stretching. “Let’s go check the smelting workshop. How’s the mould for the long swords coming along?”
The batch of blunt training swords was for veterans and female soldiers to use in combat practice. Sharpness wasn’t a concern, so Jin Feng opted for simple casting.
They made a mould, poured in molten iron, and polished it slightly after cooling. It was quick and straightforward.
The smelting workshop was mostly managed by Man Cang now. Jin Feng only offered technical guidance when needed, becoming a hands-off boss.
Man Cang enjoyed the responsibility.
It wasn’t just the smelting workshop. Other tasks were delegated too.
The textile factory was run by Tang Dongdong, the veterans by Zhang Liang, the female soldiers by Qing Mulanzhou, and the brick kiln and construction sites by the two village heads.
Unless something unusual happened, Jin Feng rarely intervened.
Zhang Liang was learning from Jin Feng’s approach. His team of fewer than a hundred veterans was split into three groups.
The initial thirty-plus recruits were managed by his comrade Hei Dage, Tie Niu, handling daily training and securing the factories in West River Bay.
The forty-plus veterans from Iron Can Mountain and Cat Mountain were assigned to Zheng Fang.
The rest formed Jin Feng’s personal guard, led by Tie Chui, whom Zhang Liang left alone.
Only when Jin Feng needed them did Zhang Liang gather the veterans. Otherwise, each group handled its own duties.
This kept Zhang Liang less burdened and allowed Zheng Fang, Tie Niu, and Tie Chui to develop their skills.
Of course, there were risks. Over time, someone like Zheng Fang, working independently, might develop other ideas.
But Jin Feng believed in trusting those he chose to use. If he had to do everything himself, he’d burn out and never grow the operation.
After a busy afternoon at the smelting workshop, it was dark when Jin Feng emerged.
“Darling, are you really making those girls spend a night with corpses?” Guan Xiaorou asked at dinner, glancing outside. “It’s dark now. Won’t they be scared?”
