Chapter 1973: Being Changed by the Dragon God

“I saw that joining the Black Armored Army meant free food and drink, plus a net income of three taels of silver a month, paid promptly with no delays. If you killed an enemy on the battlefield, you got one tael for each kill – that was an amazing deal! Killing with a sense of righteous indignation and earning with a sense of righteous indignation, naturally, the more I killed, the more motivated I became; the more I earned, the more motivated I became! Just a month after joining, I fought a tough battle, and my hand was almost chopped off—”

He rolled up his sleeve, and Fan Shuang indeed saw a long knife scar on his arm.

“—But I killed six people in one go, including a leader, making a net nine taels. It was exhilarating!”

For a moment, Fan Shuang didn't know what to say.

Tu Shanfang scratched his head. “My younger brother has been a long-term laborer for a local rich man for six years, and it takes him two and a half months to earn one tael and three qian of silver! He usually eats husks and bran, hardly sees any meat in half a year, and his teeth are all worn down. It's nothing like the food in the Black Armored Army, tsk! In the three months since I joined, I was either fighting or on the road every day, and I still gained six catties!”

Fan Shuang also laughed. He had long witnessed Yang Shan’s logistics and supply capabilities. If He Xiao claimed to be second in Shanjing, no one would dare claim to be first.

To show his gratitude, he ordered a large table of dishes, selecting only the finest ingredients. Tu Shanfang, though not drinking, ate contentedly and happily. Being a candid person, he soon opened up as they chatted.

“Two months ago, the army passed by my hometown, and I happened to go back to see my old mother,” Tu Shanfang said, taking a large gulp of warm tea. “Oh, my mouth is dry from all the talking. My mother and wife had locked the door and wouldn't let me in, telling me to just rot outside.”

Fan Shuang didn't know how to respond, so he just chuckled awkwardly, “Brother Tu, you don't usually go home often, do you?”

“No, I don't. How could I go back without money? The time before last I went home was, I think, two years ago—no, four years ago!” Tu Shanfang wasn't embarrassed himself, but Fan Shuang was. “The little money I made back then wasn't even enough for myself, so how could I send any home? Three times, I went into business with my second and fourth uncles. I took money from my mother and relatives, but I lost everything, even my underwear, and ended up owing a ton of debt. The fourth time, my mother wouldn't lend me money, so I...”

Tu Shanfang chuckled twice, leaving Fan Shuang speechless.

“Later, I left home to escape my debts. People came to our house, smashed it up, and even broke my mother's leg, and we had no money to treat it. My mother called me a jinx and never gave me a good look. From then on, I knew I could only engage in businesses that didn't require capital.”

“Are businesses with no capital easy to earn from?”

“Of course not, they're hard to earn from. All year, you might not find a single 'fat sheep' to fleece. And even if you do, the big money we squeezed out wouldn't go to me. Only the boss got the meat; the underlings just got to share the soup. One time, we caught a traveling merchant. He didn't have much money on him, but he was fair-skinned, and our bandit leader wanted to kill him for meat. I felt it was wrong, so I secretly released him, and as a result, I was beaten so badly I couldn't get out of bed for half a month.”

Luckily, he was tough and survived. “Later, the Black Armored Army arrived. I never expected that because that merchant pleaded for me, the Black Armored Army spared my life.”

Fan Shuang rubbed his nose. “How many children do you have?”

“Three, all boys.”

After a long pause, Fan Shuang managed to say, “Your wife is quite capable, raising three sons.”

Although the Shanjing Plains were poor, the birth rate was not low at all. Having few sons would certainly lead to bullying in that region.

“My wife curses me all day long, saying I'll end up a corpse in the wilderness, dead in a wild dog's belly.”

“...” Fan Shuang fell silent. People say family shame shouldn't be aired in public, so why was this man constantly exposing his own misfortunes and shortcomings?

However, he soon understood, because Tu Shanfang’s tone suddenly changed:

“But this time, my return was different. My old mother wouldn't open the door, so I started clanging silver ingots through the window, one after another, making loud thuds. By the tenth ingot, the door opened, and they let me in.”

It turned out to be a classic setup of initial suppression followed by exaltation, which made Fan Shuang stifle a laugh.

Ten taels of silver were enough for a family of six in the Shanjing Plains to live comfortably for a whole year.

“By the time I took out the fifteenth ingot, my wife was smiling at me too. And when I pulled out the twentieth ingot to buy a huge pile of candies and snacks for the kids, all three of them were circling me, not going back no matter how their mother called them.” Tu Shanfang grinned. “My wife initially thought I had robbed some high official to get the silver, but when she heard I earned it legitimately in the Black Armored Army, she smiled at me all night. She even drew bathwater for my feet, saying she wanted to serve a warrior of the Dragon God. Oh, I wonder if there will be a fourth child when I go back next year.”

Seeing his mischievous grin, Fan Shuang raised a hand to order another plate of frozen pears before continuing, “Brother Tu, how much silver did you take back home?”

Tu Shanfang lowered his voice, but everyone in the hall could still hear him: “One hundred and seventy taels!”

Fan Shuang was startled. “Wow, that's really a lot!”

How many people had this fellow killed in just over a year of being a soldier?

Tu Shanfang seemed to read his thoughts. “It's not that many, only eighty-six in total! As you know, the missions the Black Armored Army undertakes are usually quite difficult. But I found a lot of valuables on the enemies' bodies. One minor leader even had a golden hairband.”

Well, what can you say? Murder and arson are indeed the quickest ways to make money.

Fan Shuang offered him another cup of tea. “Brother Tu, when you went back, you must have become the hero of your village.”

“Of course! As soon as I returned, my two elder brothers, who used to look down on me, made me sit in the place of honor. And once my wife spread the word, the whole village knew. The next morning when I went out, people followed me everywhere, young and old. As soon as I sat down, they'd gather around, asking me what battles I'd fought with the Black Armored Army, how much money you could earn for killing someone, and if I'd ever killed any famous leaders, haha.”

“I told them, ‘In the army, we do only three things: eat, train, and kill!’ And they'd all go ‘Wow—’ with looks of adoration on their faces. No matter what I said, they'd stretch their necks to listen, and they even treated me to a day of drinking!”

Seeing his glowing face, Fan Shuang knew that must have been the highlight of his life.

“There were two families who had bullied my relatives while I was away. The moment I arrived at their doors that day, they immediately fell to their knees. The little brat who had cursed my son was tied up by his father, who then, in front of me, beat his son until his face was covered in blood with a broom, cursing him the whole time, just to appease me.”

For the first half of his life, he had been regarded by his family, clan, and entire village as a good-for-nothing, a piece of mud that couldn't be propped up, a scoundrel better off dead than alive. But now, he had suddenly risen in prominence and achieved great military feats. That kind of reversal of fortune, that feeling of immense satisfaction—Fan Shuang could only imagine it; he could never truly experience it himself.

“What about the third day?”

“On the third day, I left. I rejoined my unit to rush to the next battlefield.”