novelraw Page 441
Page 441
Gao Genming couldn't help but complain.
Liang Fa said helplessly, "I asked those people today. They are all from nearby villages and counties. After hearing that my Huashan Sect was recruiting disciples, they all rushed to Hanzhong Prefecture. Most of the people who came to line up to register today are those who live too far from Hanzhong Prefecture and couldn't make it yesterday. They only arrived today. In addition, there are local people from Hanzhong Prefecture, so the number of people has not decreased but has increased."
Tao Jun muttered to himself, "Everyone's too enthusiastic."
Shi Daizi shook his head repeatedly and said, "Everyone knows that my Huashan Sect is a righteous sect that helps the weak and punishes the strong. They all want to join the Huashan Sect. Moreover, they have heard that families who can join the Huashan Sect will receive subsidies. Everyone is rushing here from all over the place like crazy."
Lin Pingzhi couldn't help but say.
Being too famous is also a kind of trouble.
Chapter 600: The Second Round of Disciple Recruitment Ends
"Now that there are so many, what should we do?"
Gao Genming didn't know what to do either.
Their subsequent investigations will definitely screen out some families that do not meet the requirements, but no matter how they screen, it is impossible to leave exactly seventy-odd families. There will inevitably be many more than the number of families that are allocated to them.
The other four all looked at Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning thought for a moment and asked, "How many people on the current registration list meet the age requirements? How many are under the age requirement?"
"Wait, let me see."
Lin Pingzhi quickly started looking through the pages, and the others also helped search. After a while, Gao Genming finally spoke.
“Junior brother, there are a total of 217 people on the list. 32 of them are 7 years old or older. Among the remaining people under the age of 7, 33 are 6 years old, 55 are 5 years old, 41 are 4 years old, and 56 are 3 years old.”
Jiang Ning frowned: "Are there so many underage?"
Six-year-olds are relatively easy to learn; they can master the basics in a year at most. However, five-year-olds, four-year-olds, and three-year-olds will need several years.
Gao Genming was also helpless.
"There's nothing we can do. The people heard that the Huashan Sect is now recruiting disciples regardless of age, even those under seven, and that there are subsidies for those who pass the requirements, so they all came hoping to give it a try. And that's all we have now."
Jiang Ning looked at the group and said, "Then I'll trouble you senior brothers and junior brothers to make the trip."
"what is this."
Gao Genming and the others waved their hands.
Next, they assigned tasks to each other. Jiang Ning was responsible for investigating the family backgrounds of 42 children, while Lin Pingzhi and the other four were responsible for investigating the backgrounds of 35 children. After the assignments were made, Jiang Ning did not waste any time and went directly to the place where the first child on the list lived.
A few days later.
Xiaojiwo Village.
Jiang Ning arrived at the village and headed towards one of the houses according to the address registered on the list.
Before long, they arrived at a house.
Jiang Ning looked at the house; although it was clean, it was still somewhat dilapidated.
Is this Zhang Erdan's house?
Jiang Ning spoke up from the doorway.
There was an immediate response from inside the house.
"Who called my son?"
A man opened the door and came out. Seeing Jiang Ning standing outside, he asked in confusion, "Who are you?"
Before Jiang Ning could speak, another person came out of the house and exclaimed in surprise when he saw Jiang Ning.
"Hero, is that you?"
As the man was wondering, the woman said happily, "Honey, this is a great hero from the Huashan Sect. He's here to take Erdan to Huashan."
Upon hearing this, the man dared not be negligent and hurriedly ran over to open the door for Jiang Ning, saying, "I am blind and do not recognize the great hero of the Huashan Sect. Please forgive me."
"It doesn't matter."
Jiang Ning smiled and got straight to the point: "Is Zhang Erdan inside now?"
The man said, "He and his sister went out to play with the other children in the village. I'll call him back now."
The man left in a hurry after he finished speaking.
"Please have a seat, sir."
The woman quickly invited Jiang Ning into the house.
"Thank you, sister-in-law."
Jiang Ning sat down and said.
The woman busied herself bringing water to Jiang Ning.
"Great hero, you've come to our village looking for Erdan. Are you here to take Erdan away?"
The woman asked cautiously, her eyes filled with anticipation.
Jiang Ning nodded.
"Zhang Erdan can leave with me today and live at the foot of Mount Hua. Once he is old enough, he can join the Mount Hua Sect."
Jiang Ning had already investigated the family's background before arriving, and everything met the requirements.
The woman was overjoyed.
"Great, great."
However, the woman's joy was short-lived, as she soon became somewhat sad.
Jiang Ning knew she was reluctant to part with her son, so he said, "If you're worried, you can go with your son to the foot of Mount Hua to take care of him."
Jiang Ning had brought up this topic before, but the woman still shook her head.
“My husband is under a lot of pressure working alone, so I won’t go. I believe Erdan will be fine if he goes to Huashan, and that’s enough.”
Seeing this, Jiang Ning did not press the matter further.
Not long after, the man who had gone out to look for his son ran back carrying Zhang Erdan in his hand.
"I'm coming."
The man quickly pulled Zhang Erdan in front of Jiang Ning.
"Erdan, kneel down now."
The man urged.
Jiang Ning stopped him.
"That's not necessary."
Jiang Ning looked at Zhang Erdan and found that the kid still looked completely bewildered.
"I'm here today to take him away."
Jiang Ning's words made the man overjoyed.
"The Huashan Sect previously promised that if the families of disciples who meet the requirements for joining the Huashan Sect are in financial difficulty, the Huashan Sect will provide subsidies. Although Erdan is not yet old enough to be a disciple of the Huashan Sect, he is considered half a disciple of the Huashan Sect. The subsidies for you can begin this year."
As he spoke, Jiang Ning took out some silver coins and placed them on the table.
Looking at the money on the table, the couple both thought that with this money, their family's life would be much better.
“The Huashan Sect will provide you with subsidies every year from now on, and will also bring Erdan back to see you. You don’t need to worry too much about not seeing Erdan again.”
Jiang Ning said something that made the couple even happier.
They originally thought they wouldn't see their son for many years after this, but they never expected to see him every year. What more could they ask for?
"thanks, thanks."
The man kept thanking Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning remained calm and said, "Unless something unexpected happens, Erdan will join my Huashan Sect in the future. I am now considered his half senior brother. Since that's the case, there are some things I need to make clear to you in advance. Although Erdan has been taken away by me, you must not bully the villagers or act recklessly because of his status. Otherwise, not only will Erdan be implicated, but you will be expelled from the sect at best, and at worst, the sect will be expelled. The Huashan Sect will not let you off easily either."
The couple trembled with fear upon hearing Jiang Ning's words and hurriedly said, "Don't worry, hero. We are honest and law-abiding farmers. We would never do anything to bully the villagers. We would never, we would never."
Jiang Ning nodded and said nothing more.
He didn't actually expect them to do these things. After all, people are different, and there will always be those who become arrogant and forget themselves once they gain wealth and power. Only then will they realize the ruthlessness of the Huashan Sect.
Having done what needed to be done, Jiang Ning stood up and faced Erdan.
"follow me."
Zhang Erdan was still in a daze until he saw Jiang Ning was about to take him away, at which point he burst into tears and quickly hid behind his parents.
"Erdan, be good, follow your senior brother, your parents will come to see you later."
The couple kept comforting Erdan.
But Erdan was only a three-year-old child, and he didn't understand so much. When he heard his parents tell him to go with a stranger, he just kept crying.
In the end, Erdan's father slapped his bottom a few times before he finally led Jiang Ning away, still twitching.
A few days later.
In addition to Jiangning's side having completed its investigation, Gao Genming and Lin Pingzhi's side had also finished theirs.
"Senior brother, the investigation is complete. There were a total of 217 people registered this time. After the investigation, those with unsuitable family backgrounds and those with bad character are removed, leaving 163 people. Among them, 16 are of legal age, 20 are under 7 years old, and the rest are under 5 years old."
Lin Pingzhi reported the specific situation of this group of disciples to Jiang Ning.
This time, none of them expected that the second round of selection would only eliminate 54 people, not even reaching half, leaving so many in the end.
After listening, Jiang Ning asked again, "How many families are willing to go to the foot of Mount Hua to take care of the children who are under the age of 18?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Pingzhi hurriedly searched for information and said after a moment, "Forty households are willing to go to Mount Hua with their children."
Jiang Ning nodded and said to Lin Pingzhi, Gao Genming, and the others, "Thank you for your hard work, fellow disciples."
"Nothing, nothing."
Gao Genming and the others waved their hands repeatedly, and Tao Jun asked, "Junior brother, shall we go back to the mountain now?"
"Ah."
Jiang Ning nodded.
The group quickly left to tidy up.
"We've collected so much this time, I wonder what Master will say when we get back."
Gao Genming said as he walked.
Tao Jun comforted him, "It's alright. Maybe we've recruited a lot here, while the other three prefectures might have recruited fewer. Take our eldest brother, for example. He doesn't like to get involved in these things, so maybe he hasn't recruited many. The extra recruits we've made up for the vacancies in his prefecture. Isn't that perfect?"
Gao Genming thought about it.
"Right."
……
Xi'an Prefecture.
"Senior Brother, we recruited so many this time, far exceeding the quota. What if Father scolds us when we get back?"
Yue Lingshan couldn't help but worry.
Linghu Chong, however, was quite carefree, and laughed heartily upon hearing Yue Lingshan's words.
"It's alright, there aren't many in total, just over a hundred, not much more than that. We've recruited a few more here, maybe even Junior Brother Jiang Ning hasn't filled all his spots yet? Maybe the extra people we recruit here will fill the vacancies for Junior Brother Jiang Ning, isn't that perfect?"
Chapter 601: Where's my wine?
Hearing Linghu Chong say this, Yue Lingshan thought it made sense, so she stopped thinking about it and happily returned to Mount Hua with Linghu Chong.
However, when Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan returned to Mount Hua a few days later, they were stunned when they learned the total number of people to be recruited.
"Four hundred and fifty-five?"
Linghu Chong was astonished.