To the martyred spirits, even though they had quarreled with Ren Xiaosu and were angry with him, they still acknowledged he was the future commander of the Northwest Army. They never denied he represented the future of the Northwest.
So after everyone calmed down from their anger, they seriously considered Ren Xiaosu’s suggestion.
But just as Commander Li had said, it would be really difficult to say where the future of the Northwest lay if these more than 200,000-strong martyred army were to become a single person’s private army.
Therefore, no one would make such an important decision so hastily.
In the following days, Ren Xiaosu continued coming to the memorial square daily to tear up newspapers. Meanwhile, the martyred spirits continued cursing him angrily as usual.
Many of the stronghold residents were touched by Ren Xiaosu’s persistence in honoring the departed spirits. Gradually, some people even followed Ren Xiaosu’s example and came to the memorial square every day.
Of course, it was basically just the elderly who had enough free time to do so.
At the beginning, the martyred spirits scolded Ren Xiaosu for being shameless. But later, they realized that as more and more people came to pay their respects each day, their willpower started becoming stronger.
As a matter of fact, they were only able to remain in the world because the Northwesterners held them in their memories. This showed they were directly affected when ordinary people came to pay their respects and commemorate them.
It had only been a short time, so they could tell what the effects were. However, it should at least be an improvement.
Just as Ren Xiaosu was about to continue leading this leisurely life, Xu Xianchu suddenly came to inform Ren Xiaosu that Commander Zhang’s matter was handled and that they would set off for the outposts tomorrow.
Ren Xiaosu regretted it a little that he still did not manage to “abduct” the 200,000-odd martyred spirits in the end.
At 6 o’clock the next morning, Zhang Jinglin was waiting for him at the memorial square. Zhang Jinglin had changed into his military uniform and was carrying a field pack as he stood in the thin fog of the morning.
Ren Xiaosu went up to him and said with a smile, “I’ve never seen Mr. Zhang dressed like this before. What are you carrying in the field pack?”
“Our tour on foot will go on for two months, so I packed some clothes and food for the journey,” Zhang Jinglin answered. “You didn’t bring anything with you?”
“Don’t worry.” Ren Xiaosu said with a smile, “Heading out into the wilderness is no different from going home for me.”
“Alright,” Zhang Jinglin said with a nod.
“But Mr. Zhang, shouldn’t you be bringing some bodyguards with you?” Ren Xiaosu asked, “Aren’t you afraid that you’ll encounter danger when we head out of the Northwest’s territory?”
Zhang Jinglin said calmly, “With the Stronghold Destroyer by my side, what’s there to be afraid of?”
“True,” Ren Xiaosu said.
The two of them set off from the memorial square. There was no one to see them off, nor did anyone bear witness to all of this.
Only Ren Xiaosu knew the 200,000-odd martyred spirits were staring intently at them as they watched them leave the square.
“By the way,” Zhang Jinglin said, “I heard you’ve been coming to honor the Northwest Army’s pioneers at the copper bell every day recently? Why’s that?”
Ren Xiaosu turned around and gazed at the memorial square behind him. Then he said in seriousness, “Because I admire the spirit of the pioneers who sacrificed themselves for the Northwest. Mr. Zhang, you also know that I’m a rather selfish person. So I couldn’t help but be moved when I heard about their glorious deeds. During this period, I’ve been coming to talk to them every day. I feel as though they are protecting me by my side. I’ve had a very fulfilling time and feel really safe knowing what they’ve done.”
Zhang Jinglin was stunned. He did not expect Ren Xiaosu to answer this way. In his impression, Ren Xiaosu did not seem like someone who would be moved by the mention of glorious deeds.
However, he believed this was a good thing. Ever since Ren Xiaosu returned to the Northwest this time, he constantly managed to surprise him.
Zhang Jinglin smiled and said, “How thoughtful of you.”
But as Zhang Jinglin was feeling gratified, the entire square was filled with voices inaudible to normal people.
“Ptui!”
“Ptui, ptui, ptui!”
“That kid doesn’t even blush when saying something like that in front of us!”
“How shameless!”
“Zhang Jinglin, open your eyes and take a good look. That kid is not a good person at all! He’s absolutely evil!”
The martyred spirits suddenly experienced the emotion they felt when listening to storytellers’ tales in the past. For example, hearing a story about a treacherous minister pretending to be a loyal servant and trying to plot against the good, the audience all knew the man was a bad guy. However, the protagonist did not. As such, they really wanted to plunge straight into the story and warn the protagonist to get a clear look at the treacherous minister.
As Zhang Jinglin and Ren Xiaosu walked farther and farther away, the martyred spirits became dejected. “Do y’all think that if we get summoned to the Martyr’s Palace by that kid we’ll be able to beat him up physically? If that’s the case, I’m willing to accept his summon!”
“Me too!”
…
The sun rose from the east and shone brightly across the entire Northwest.
When the sun started setting, the afterglow of the evening cast a golden glow over the memorial square like golden feathers carpeting the ground.
At 7 PM, a 13-year-old boy suddenly came to the square with a newspaper in hand. Then he found a place to sit down and started reading the newspaper word for word.
“May 28th: The Wang Consortium’s army broke through the Zhou Consortium’s northern defensive line and successfully took Stronghold 71, which was abandoned by the Zhou Consortium. Around five PM, the Wang Consortium’s army advanced south again, and it is estimated they will arrive at Stronghold 73 by the following day…
“The reforms introduced in the Northwest have brought about a prosperous scene in the territory. In the past, no one was willing to farm. But now, the lands there have become a treasure trove of resources, and the people are living in peace and contentment…”
The martyred spirits under the copper bell found it a little strange. Why was this little boy suddenly reading a newspaper in the square? What was going on?
But they had no time to think too much about it. Since someone was reading the news to them, they just had to listen.
Surely this was better than all of them rushing to read the newspaper like they were at war, right?
For the next seven days, the little boy came to the memorial square every day. It wasn’t until he finished reading the newspaper that he left. The martyred spirits started looking forward to 7 o’clock every evening. In their eyes, the normal-looking little boy was even starting to look very cute.
In the opinion of the martyred spirits, the child was probably the cutest person in the entire Northwest.
But they were all very curious as to why a child would suddenly come and read newspapers to them. Could it be that he was practicing public speaking?
On the seventh day, a middle-aged woman suddenly came to the square. When she saw the child, she asked curiously, “Son, what are you doing here?”
When the little boy saw that his mother had come over, he seemed a little flustered. “N-Nothing much.”
“What’re you holding in your hand?” The middle-aged woman snatched the newspaper from the child and asked him suspiciously, “Why are you carrying today’s newspaper? Where did you get it from? Did you pick it up?”
A copy of Hope Media’s newspaper cost two yuan, but the child’s monthly allowance was only ten yuan. Therefore, she did not believe her son had bought it himself.
The child hesitated for a moment before replying, “I bought it.”
“You bought it? Where’d you get the money from?” The middle-aged woman was stunned.
“The future commander gave me the money.” The child explained, “He said that as long as I come over and read aloud the newspaper every day, he’ll give me 300 yuan in pocket money each month. If I can persevere every day, he’ll give me an additional 1,000 yuan after a year! However, he had some conditions. I can’t come over during class time, so I have to wait until school is over and come in the evening. He also requested that I score over 90% in every subject in school. I’ll only get that additional 1,000 yuan if I can satisfy his conditions.”
The middle-aged woman was stunned. Her house was located right next to the guest house. She owned a small laundry shop there, so the future commander would send his clothes over to be washed every day. During this period, he and her son had gotten acquainted.
But she did not expect the future commander to make this sort of deal with her son before setting off.
The middle-aged woman was stunned for a while. “I was wondering why you’ve been coming home so late these past few days. I thought you were outside playing. Did the future commander say why he made you do this?”
The child answered, “I also asked him why he wanted me to read newspapers aloud in the memorial square. He said that the martyrs had died to protect our homes, so they have the right to know how prosperous it has become now. He said it was what they deserved.”
The middle-aged woman thought for a moment before patting her son’s head with a smile. “You could’ve just told us. Would your father and I have stopped you if that was true? From now on, you can return home for dinner after you finish reading the newspaper every day. I’ll start making dinner an hour later than usual..”
