When Bei Qianxun left the pawnshop, her expression remained as cold as ever on the surface, but her mood could not calm down for a long time.
Her first impression of Jin Feng had not been good.
When playboys recruited talent, they at least knew to put on an appearance of respecting the worthy.
But Jin Feng?
He came to the prison wanting her to serve him, with a much grander entourage than any playboy she had ever seen.
With her eyesight, she could tell just from the way A-Mei walked that she was the same type of person as herself.
Bringing one expert bodyguard was one thing, but he also had a group of armoured personal guards.
There was no sincerity at all.
In recent years in the capital, Bei Qianxun had seen too many dirty dealings among playboys, and with the matter of Xue Henglu, she had no good feelings towards playboys at all.
In her view, since Jin Feng dared to kill Xue Henglu and still safely go to the prison to win people over, he must be an even bigger playboy than Xue Henglu.
Now she knew that Jin Feng was not a playboy scion, but a grassroots figure who had only recently risen.
In this period, this man had done too many things.
So many that Bei Qianxun could hardly believe it.
But the old man’s intelligence was always accurate, so she had to believe it.
The only thing Bei Qianxun could not understand was that, in the old man’s description, Jin Feng was a heroic figure, so why was he so timid?
When visiting her in prison, he brought so many people?
Little did she know that Jin Feng had been frightened by the warden.
In actual battle, Jin Feng would not be cowardly or afraid of death; he just did not want to die inexplicably.
In any case, after hearing the old man’s account, Bei Qianxun’s view of Jin Feng changed somewhat. She no longer thought he was a playboy.
However, Bei Qianxun had no intention of going to pledge allegiance.
She had no ambition to achieve great things. Now that her only attachment was gone, she only wanted to wander the world and enjoy the freedom that Jin Feng had spoken of.
After leaving the city, she first went to find Xue Henglu’s grave.
Xichuan was thousands of li from the capital. The corpse would probably have rotted beyond recognition if transported back, so the Xue family could only bury Xue Henglu in Xichuan.
Bei Qianxun spat several times towards the tombstone, then headed towards Great Python Slope.
When passing the Danzhu camp, she saw a scene of great activity.
She had heard from the old man that Jin Feng was recruiting soldiers there.
Then she saw the black-armoured team and caught a distant glimpse of Jin Feng.
However, she did not go to greet him. She only clasped her fists towards Jin Feng from afar, then turned and left with her bundle on her back.
At the top of Great Python Slope, A-Mei seemed to sense something and picked up the telescope placed on the stone table.
“Sir, Bei Qianxun has left!”
A-Mei handed the telescope to Jin Feng and pointed at Bei Qianxun’s retreating figure.
Bei Qianxun, dressed in black, walked neither hurriedly nor slowly, standing out against the busy crowd around her.
In fact, even without the telescope, Jin Feng recognised her at a glance.
“If she has left, so be it. I hope she can live happily for the rest of her life.”
It had only been an attempt. If it succeeded, great; if not, that was fine too.
Jin Feng was not too disappointed. He just smiled and turned back to listen to Han Feng’s report.
“Sir, as of noon today, 4,600 male soldiers and 7,300 female soldiers have passed the first screening.”
Han Feng said, “Da Zhuang and I think we should start the second selection tomorrow.”
The first round was a basic physical check, eliminating some who were old, weak, or too young.
The next would involve physical fitness and other tests.
“There are too many female soldiers, aren’t there?” Jin Feng frowned slightly.
“This time, too many girls were harmed by the Danzhu!”
Han Feng sighed. “They can hardly marry now and have no path left.”
“Did I not promise to open a textile factory and let them work there?” Jin Feng’s frown deepened.
The Ninth Princess and Qing Mul an, who were chatting and laughing nearby, also stopped smiling at the same time and sighed softly.
“Sir… to put it bluntly, they have been ruined. Even if they can earn wages, they feel they have no face to live.”
Han Feng hesitated for a moment before saying, “Many girls heard that our Zhenyuan Army provides pensions for those killed in battle. They came with the idea of enlisting, then dying in combat to leave a pension for their families.”
Hearing this, Jin Feng lowered his head and sighed.
He understood that he had previously made the mistake of “why not eat meat porridge?”
He had forgotten that this was not the 21st century.
In his previous life, society was very open. How many people had not dated several times before marriage?
Very few still had the so-called virginity complex.
But this was Great Kang.
Girls here valued chastity and reputation more than life.
Worst of all, they had been branded on their faces.
Prostitutes who reformed could start a new life in a place where no one knew them.
But with brands on their faces, everyone would know what they had suffered.
Even if they moved elsewhere, others would be curious.
They could not hide it even if they wanted to.
Putting himself in their shoes, if he were one of these girls, he might also lose the courage to live.
“I sympathise with their experiences, but this mindset is very dangerous!”
Jin Feng said, “They absolutely cannot go to battle with such thoughts!”
If the female soldiers all had this attitude, they would definitely seek death on the battlefield.
Then it would not just be the issue of huge pensions; Jin Feng also did not want them to die needlessly.
“Sir, perhaps we should not recruit female soldiers this time?”
Han Feng asked tentatively.
“No, if we suddenly announce no recruitment now, it could cause a wave of suicides!”
Jin Feng shook his head. “Not only must we recruit, but we must take in all the girls who meet the conditions!”
“But we only have 5,000 slots!” Da Zhuang asked.
“Once the Zhenyuan Army is full, recruit them under the escort bureau’s name first!”
Jin Feng said, “After recruiting them, send them all uniformly to Iron Jar Mountain.”
“Sir, this is a good idea!” Han Feng’s eyes lit up upon hearing this.
There were many girls on Iron Jar Mountain with even more tragic backgrounds. There, no one would discriminate against them.
Moreover, as the chamber of commerce grew larger, the demand for soap was rising rapidly, and Iron Jar Mountain was already short of hands.
But the soap manufacturing process was too simple and easy to copy. Female workers on Iron Jar Mountain were generally not allowed to leave, so recruitment was cautious. New blood mostly came from slaves bought from intermediaries.
Jin Feng’s labour shortage was too great, and he had basically bought out all the slaves from the Guangyuan intermediary.
Sending this group of girls over, Iron Jar Mountain definitely could not use them all.
Even if they could not all be used, Jin Feng accepted it. At worst, he would build another textile factory on Iron Jar Mountain. He could always enable these girls to support themselves.
Time is the most powerful medicine. Perhaps after living a few years in an environment without discrimination, the girls would untie the knots in their hearts.
Thinking of this, Jin Feng looked at Da Liu. “Go call Miss Qingyuan over!”
Soon, Qingyuan followed the personal guards to the top of the slope.
“Greetings, sir. Greetings, Your Highness. Greetings, Miss Mul an!”
Qingyuan greeted each of them in turn.
She had originally trained in dance, with a tall and well-proportioned figure and excellent appearance. Now, dressed in the black uniform of a female escort with a long ponytail, she looked particularly valiant and refreshing.
Even Jin Feng’s eyes brightened at the sight.
Qingyuan noticed Jin Feng staring at her, and her pretty face immediately flushed with slight embarrassment.
