Chapter 4 The Talents Gathered in the Deyue Tower

They spent New Year's Eve in Ye Bufan's residence and agreed upon some details of the plan.

After New Year's Eve, the old beggar began to look for talents among the beggars.

Ye Bufan was the only one of them who had a lot of savings from years of practicing medical skills.

He had few expenses for himself, and living expenses had come down a lot after he went into seclusion in the mountain. Therefore, he could fund the initiation of the gang.

The old beggar was familiar with the condition of the beggars, so he took the responsibility of recruiting talents. As they were just getting started, they focued on the competence of the talents more than their numbers.

The old Taoist priest had traveled far and wide and had met many people. What's more, he was skilled in observing stars and divination, which were requisites for a gang.

Mu Qianmei was the least busy one. She provided ideas and suggestions.

Everything was ready, and the date of the conference was set for the sixth day of May.

The news came out and made a big splash in all corners of the Yugu Continent.

Some people questioned,

"Can beggars establish a gang?"

Some people mocked,

"What can a bunch of beggars do?"

Some people took it seriously,

"It will be a gang with prospects!"

Some people smelled danger,

"Storms are coming. What impact will this gang have on the Yugu Continent?"

...

The whole continent was discussing it. In a short time, the news of Beggar Gang's establishment had become the most trending news on the Yugu Continent.

The headquarter of the Beggar Gang was located in a valley called Maplewood Valley in the western suburbs of Luoya City, a place which used to be an open field. Two months had passed and sixteen wooden towers had been built in the valley.

It could be seen that the Beggar Gang's members had great potential.

In Luoya City, inns and hotels were already full. It was difficult to get a room there.

Street beggars from all the countries all over the continent ran up here. Other gangs and organizations also sent representatives to congratulate as well as to sound them out.

Of course, there were also a lot of people who came purely to gawk.

On the fifth night of May, decorations and lanterns were hanging up everywhere in lively Luoya City, which was bustled with jubilant people.

On the day of the assembling, the restaurant before which Mu Qianmei was hit was filled up with guests and hullabaloo. Red lanterns were hung around the walls, making the restaurant stand out.

Right in the middle of the outer wall of the top floor of the restaurant, lanterns lit up two golden words: Deyue Tower.

This three-floor wooden building was the largest restaurant in Luoya City, luxurious and elegant with classic simplicity.

The best room of Deyue Tower was a large room on the third floor near the street and was named Deyue Chamber.

In Deyue Chamber, twelve adults and a child had been seated at the table.

The food and drink were ready on the table. The aroma of the wine and the delicious smell of dishes mixed together.

Eight of the twelve adults dressed in colorfully patched rags which were completely out of place.

Nevertheless, their clothes were clean and tidy and didn't give off any unpleasant odors.

There was a Taoist priest with a white beard, an old man in blue, a scholar in white, and a cute girl with big blinking black eyes.

They were the first generation of leaders of the Beggar Gang.

The old beggar with a grey beard and grey hair sat on the seat of the host, and the lovely girl sat on his left was Mu Qianmei.

On his right seated the old Taoist priest and the White Clothed Booksir.

Everyone sat in silence, waiting for the old beggar to speak.

The old beggar looked around seriously. He looked a little nervous and delight that he failed to hide.

He hadn't experienced such a big occasion for years.

Seeing everyone looking at him expectantly, he cleared his throat and spoke slowly,

"First of all, thank you for your support and assistance for the establishment of Beggar Gang. I hope that, under your full support, Beggar Gang will develop into a powerful organization with the right to speak on the Yugu Continent, and we beggars are no longer small potatoes that others look upon at!"

"I'm deeply surprised to see so many people coming to congratulate us on Beggar Gang's Establishment Conference. However, we should also aware of what do those gang members and guests come for."

"I hope Beggar Gang Establishment Conference a complete success, and this is a difficult task that can't fulfill without our efforts."

"Now, let me briefly introduce the organizational structure and personnel appointment and removal of our Beggar Gang..."

The audience was concentrated and serious.

The speaker offered information earnestly and slowly.

"The Beggar Gang is just set up, so we created these positions for the time being: a gang master, a vice master, a military counsellor, eight elders, twelve hall directors, thirty-six branch directors, and seventy-two incense directors. As the gang has just been set up, there are too many people coming to join us, so we must take strict control of our gang. It is advisable to limit the number of members to 2,000 people. It's quality rather than quantity that counts."

"Then, I, Feng Tianyu, will take the position of gang master for the time being, and Zhuang Shujun, the White Clothed Booksir, will be our vice master. Although Zhuang Shujun is not a beggar at present, he used to one of us."

The old beggar smiled at the White Clothed Booksir on his right hand and nodded. Other people also cast Zhuang Shujun looks of congratulation.

Zhuang Shujun stood up and said with a beam,

"I will try my best to assist Gang Master Feng to develop our Beggar Gang. I know I'm short in life experience, so I highly appreciate your support and advice."

The others had no objection because the White Clothed Booksir was very famous in the community of martial art. Though he was only 18 years old, he has been adept with both the pen and the sword. All the world knew his chivalric code and righteousness, and he had never been shy of his past as a beggar.

The old beggar followed,

"As for the counsellor, you all know it anyway. The old Taoist priest Ouyang Bo will take this position."

The old Taoist priest smiled and stood up, speaking modestly,

"Haha... I'll take the job for the time being, but I may not be able to do it for long. I'm delightful to see someone take it over at any time."

Then he secretly glanced at Mu Qianmei, smiling.

The old beggar looked at the eight beggars in clean patched clothes and went on,

"I know you eight were famous martial artists when you were young, and now you are extraordinary talents concealing among beggars. For whatever reason you covered your tracks, now that you are beggars, I hope you can be the elders of the Beggar Gang, contributing to the development of our gang. I know you are unwilling to give your true names, so I'd like to address you one by one with eight surnames: Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, Zhou, Wu, Zheng, Wang. Is it alright with you?"

Some of the eight old beggars were serious, some smiled, and they all nodded.

"Elder Zhao is the elder of administration, Elder Qian is the elder of discipline, Elder Sun is the elder of martial arts teaching..."

Feng Tianyu announced their positions and then continued,

"Twelve hall directors, thirty-six branch directors, and seventy-two incense directors will be appointed and arranged by you eight."

"One last thing is that Beggar Gang has a special department called Emergency Service Department. The main function of this department is to heal injured and sick members. Doctor Ye, Ye Bufan, is in charge of it, and his status is equal to an elder. Since he is not a beggar, let's call him Doctor Ye! Hahaha... The medical service of Beggar Gang depends on you."

Feng Tianyu looked at Ye Bufan, who dressed in blue, and laughed.

Ye Bufan smiled,

"I'm here to help you for the little girl's sake. After my disciples finished their apprenticeship, I will go back to the mountains to enjoy seclusion! Hahaha..."

Then he rubbed Mu Qianmei's head lovingly.

Then everyone noticed the little girl, who was both familiar and strange to them.

Feng Tianyu burst out of laugh,

"Well, don't you recognize her? Hahaha... She's the girl begging with me. Now she has washed herself up and wears new clothes, and you don't recognize her! She has a name now, Mu Qianmei, and her nickname is Little Butterfly. Please take care of her when I'm not with her."

Then everyone recognized her and praised her intelligence.

Mu Qianmei felt a bit uneasy, but she sent her regards to them one by one, blinking her big eyes.

She said to herself, "It's so difficult to act like this!"

She set those positions according to the beggar gangs in novels and TV series, but she hadn't studied these details before and dimly remembered them. In the end, she had to roughly set those positions, let the old beggar establish the gang, and hid herself behind the scenes.

If she had known that she would travel to such a world, it would be good to know more about the history of this time.

Seeing their imagination become reality, she could not help but felt a little proud and excited.

This was the real stage of life!

"Done. We will arrange it like this for the time being, and imperfections will be corrected and supplemented during later implementation. Now, on this very night, raise your wine cups and wish tomorrow's Beggar Gang Establishment Conference a success!"

Feng Tianyu said. He raised his cup together with others and drank up the wine in the cup.

Everyone raised their glasses and began their first party of the Beggar Gang.

They drank and discussed the details of operating the gang. Sometimes they laughed, while sometimes they fumed in the argument. The atmosphere was warm.

Mu Qianmei finished eating and went out of the room onto the balcony, leaning against a balustrade.

Stars were winking in the dark blue sky. A crescent was hanging high in the sky, emitting hazy moonlight in silence.

Outside the Deyue Tower, streets and lanes of Luoya City were crowded with people, most of which were people with martial art skills.

Topics related to Beggar Gang Establishment Conference remained to be the most popular topics.

As the saying went, hometown's moon is the brightest. However, in Mu Qianmei's eyes, the moon here was the same as her hometown's.

Mu Qianmei secretly said to herself.