A thickset and honest-looking man came over from the side. His name was Meng Wei. He peered out of the window and asked, “Sir, which small-moustached one are you referring to?”
Right Lingluo held his goatee with one hand and stared at the crowd downstairs outside the window. He said, “The one next to the big fatty, with the ponytail, the one who keeps looking around everywhere.”
With this reminder, Meng Wei scanned the area briefly with his gaze and quickly spotted the target. “Understood.” He turned and left quickly.
When he reached the load-carrying test area downstairs, Meng Wei was not in a hurry. He just stood at the side watching, his gaze occasionally glancing at Yu Qing in the crowd.
The test was simple. It involved carrying loads and shouldering loads. There were hurdles, slopes, steps and springboards, as well as some bumpy pits. The applicants had to carry two hundred catties of weight and walk back and forth once. Recruitment was based on the process and performance.
There were quite a few applicants, but not many could pass smoothly. Two hundred catties of heavy objects were not easy for ordinary people. Some people could not even stand straight after picking up the load. Some who managed to stand straight were swaying there. Not to mention carrying the weight over those obstacles.
Many of the testers left with frustration and sighs.
When it was Yu Qing’s turn, with his strength this was nothing. He picked up two hundred catties and nimbly went back and forth among the obstacles. He lifted the heavy object onto his shoulder and nimbly went back and forth among the obstacles again.
Right Lingluo upstairs at the window, pinching his beard, for some unknown reason twitched the corner of his mouth after seeing Yu Qing’s smug way of doing physical labour. He felt a toothache.
Meng Wei downstairs could not help but turn his head to look at the window upstairs. He felt there was probably no need for special care.
Downstairs, Yu Qing, who had temporarily passed and was waiting for notification, retreated to the side and stood together with the others who were also waiting for notification.
Next was Nan Zhu, who had been standing behind Yu Qing.
Nan Zhu, who was striding towards the heavy object while rolling up his sleeves, suddenly had the person in charge of the test wave directly at him and say, “You do not need to try. Go back. Next one!”
What did that mean? Nan Zhu was stunned.
Yu Qing, who was waiting for him, was also stunned. Mu Aotie, who was still queuing, was surprised too.
Nan Zhu naturally refused to accept it. He shouted, “I have not tried yet. How do you know I cannot do it?”
The person in charge sighed and said, “Look at your own appearance in the mirror. Do you think you are someone who does physical labour? You are too fat. We do not want you. Stop talking nonsense. Next one!”
These words immediately caused a group of people to burst into laughter.
The next one was Mu Aotie. The three martial brothers had come together, so they were naturally queuing together. Seeing the situation, Mu Aotie did not even know whether he should go on and squeeze out his own senior brother.
What was meant by judging people by appearance? Nan Zhu had learned it today. His face turned red with anger. He still wanted to reason properly with these people, but he saw Yu Qing giving him a look, clearly signalling him not to make trouble.
Nan Zhu could only put the bigger picture first. He swallowed his anger and turned away.
“Next one!” the person in charge shouted again.
Mu Aotie was pushed by the impatient person behind him. He looked back, then walked towards the heavy object.
With that build and that size, even before starting the test, the appearance-judging person in charge had already nodded in satisfaction. This scene made the eliminated Nan Zhu grit his teeth in frustration.
The result did not disappoint the person in charge either. Mu Aotie’s physique was not for show. He easily conquered the heavy object and the obstacles, and was able to stand next to Yu Qing to wait for the final recruitment result together.
As for the seventh senior brother’s encounter, the two of them felt both surprised and admitted it was reasonable. The other party’s judgment was not wrong. The seventh senior brother’s build really did not look like he could do this kind of work.
After the test was completed, a total of twenty-six people passed. Unrelated people were driven out, and the fence gate was closed.
Meng Wei came over and threw down a sentence. Bihai Shipping immediately recruited all these people who had passed, causing a group of people to cheer.
Many people outside the fence were watching, envying those inside who had obtained good jobs. Nan Zhu also lay on the fence looking eagerly. He was not the only one eliminated due to appearance. There were also the old and weak.
Those who had passed inside began to fill in their personal details. The shipping company needed to make a personnel list.
Meng Wei paid attention to Yu Qing’s filling situation. He wanted to know what kind of person this was, someone who could make the gentleman upstairs personally speak up for special care. After seeing the name filled in as “Niu Youqing”, he felt it was very unfamiliar.
Yu Qing, who had finished filling in the details, also sensed through the scene that Meng Wei was someone who could make decisions here. So he put on a thick-skinned face and approached, nodding and bowing. “Great lord, that fatty is not lazy fat. He is naturally fat. He is really very capable. I have seen him carry two hundred catties of things and walk ten miles in one breath without stopping. Please give him another chance.” He pointed at Nan Zhu, who was looking eagerly outside the fence.
Mu Aotie then also came over to help. “I can prove it. That fatty can do heavy work.”
Meng Wei looked at Yu Qing, then at Mu Aotie. He was silent for a moment and said, “Let me see if we have enough manpower.” With that he went into the house again.
He went straight upstairs and reached the room upstairs. He found Right Lingluo, told him about Yu Qing’s request, and asked for his opinion.
Right Lingluo walked past the window, looked at the big fatty outside the fence, and said, “So, they are a group.”
Meng Wei said, “It should be, and there is also the big fellow next to him.”
Right Lingluo said, “Since they are a group, then recruit them.”
“Yes.” Meng Wei agreed, then could not help but ask again, “Sir, what kind of person is that Niu Youqing?”
Right Lingluo looked puzzled. “Which Niu Youqing?”
Meng Wei was surprised. “The small-moustached one you asked to take care of. Is he not called Niu Youqing? I saw the name he filled in is Niu Youqing, Niu as in beef, You as in wealthy, Qing as in celebration.”
“Niu Youqing…” Right Lingluo seemed to savour it. His face showed a strange expression. “Such a great talent, how did he come up with such a vulgar name?”
Meng Wei was shocked and doubtful. “A fake name? A great talent? Sir, who exactly is this person?”
Right Lingluo walked behind the long desk and sat down. He sighed and said, “It should be the person who gives us a headache. If I am not mistaken, he is exactly that top scorer who threw down his crown and left. Damn it. We could not find him anywhere, yet we ran into him here.”
Meng Wei almost exclaimed, “He is Ashiheng?”
Right Lingluo said, “There have been quite big changes in appearance, but in principle there is no mistake in recognising him. Although I only saw him once when he was parading on horseback through the streets, I remembered him very carefully, especially that habit of looking around everywhere. It is exactly the same. Nine times out of ten it is not wrong. Sigh, we wore out iron shoes searching in vain, but obtained it without any effort. He actually took the initiative to bump into our door.”
Meng Wei clearly looked doubtful and uncertain. “Sir, why would he come here to apply for hard labour? It feels somewhat abnormal.”
Right Lingluo chuckled. “I did not understand just now either. No matter how down and out such a person is, he would not go to this extent. He would not lack food or use no matter what he wrote casually. Thinking again, it should be the same purpose as ours. He is also heading for Yuanshan. We do not understand what the Sinan Mansion means by heading for Yuanshan again, but this kid probably knows more clearly than us.”
Meng Wei was surprised. “How can you tell?”
Right Lingluo said, “On the day he fled the Jin Kingdom capital, a servant from the Zhong mansion appeared outside the Sinan Mansion and knocked desperately on the door. Not long after the person entered the Sinan Mansion, the Earth Mother personally visited the Zhong mansion and took his fiancee as a disciple. Now the Sinan Mansion is secretly plotting about Yuanshan again, and he is stealthily approaching at the same time. There must be some connection in this.
So, the situations we cannot figure out, Ashiheng may know something about them. Since that is the case, does he not want to borrow us to enter the mountain? Then we might as well bring him in conveniently. We can just keep him by our side and see what is going on.”
Meng Wei said with a grave expression, “Sir, if it really is him, now that the person has been found, should we not invite him to the Yin Kingdom? If something really happens to him, we may not be able to explain ourselves.”
Right Lingluo could not help but pinch his forehead. He really looked very troubled. In the end he sighed and said, “That is true, but this kid is looking for trouble. Since he has already gotten involved in this kind of matter, then the matters must be prioritised by urgency. I believe those above can distinguish the priorities. Just do it this way. If something goes wrong, I will take responsibility!”
“Yes!” Meng Wei agreed.
“Have we recruited all our manpower?”
“We recruited a total of twenty-six people. Our own twenty people have all arrived through this recruitment. If we add that fatty, it will be twenty-seven people.”
“Whether it is really that kid or not, I still need to confirm again. Set up a trap. You go and arrange it…”
The wooden fence gate opened again.
Meng Wei, with his hands behind his back, pointed at Nan Zhu. “That fatty, I will give you a chance. Come and try again.”
Hearing there was another chance, Nan Zhu immediately stood out from the watching crowd. He nodded and bowed to Meng Wei repeatedly, looking like he would definitely perform well. He appeared very obsequious.
If his two junior brothers had also been brushed off, then everyone would share the same fate and it would be fine. But why was it only him who could not do it? He felt extremely unbalanced in his heart, so he cherished this opportunity even more.
After happily following the person, he even kept giving eye signals to the watching Yu Qing and Mu Aotie, looking like he would be back soon. His fat face shone with excited red light.
The result proved he was capable. He picked up the heavy object and went back and forth. He shouldered the heavy object and went up and down without problem. After two trips his face was not red and his breath was not short. He was a sturdy fatty.
Meng Wei gave a slight nod as a signal. “Fine, go and register.”
“Yes!” Nan Zhu bowed once, then immediately trotted off to find the person in charge who had brushed him off earlier.
After Meng Wei left, Yu Qing once again nodded and bowed to express his thanks.
Mu Aotie silently looked up at the sky. He somehow felt this sect was a bit miserable. He did not know if he would see the day in this life when the disciples of Linglong Temple could stand tall and rise.
Yu Qing seemed to sense what this “proud” senior brother was thinking. When no one was paying attention, he whispered, “This time we are going deep into the tiger’s den. A true man can bend and stretch. Do not show it on your face. Whatever you act, make it look real.”
Before long, Meng Wei called out and led the group into a nearby warehouse.
There was a table placed in the warehouse, with brushes, ink, paper and inkstone on it.
Meng Wei stood in front of the table and faced everyone. He said, “Among you, is there anyone who can read and write? If so, step forward and write a few words for me to see.”
Everyone looked at each other.
The three martial brothers looked at one another and did not make a sound, pretending they could not write.
They did not want to do anything else. They only wanted to be porters to enter the mountain.
Someone shouted, “We are here to do physical labour. Do we still need to be able to read and write?”