Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 136 Invitation

Although Li Gaoyuan had said long ago that Pi Ruoyu intended to join him, Su Yaoyang still didn't expect the other party to agree so readily, which surprised him quite a bit.

But he immediately understood when he and Li Gaoyuan entered Pi Ruoyu's house.

The dilapidated mud wall let in the wind, and a few pieces of smelly garbage were piled up in the corner. Rats scurried by, kicking up a cloud of dust.

When he arrived, Pi Ruoyu's family was cooking.

A hunched woman was squatting in front of the stove, her withered fingers pinching half a handful of cornmeal. The sound of boiling water in the iron pot was just like the faint sound of cannons outside the city.

The two children were curled up on the straw mat, their bellies pressed against their spines, but their eyes were frighteningly bright as they stared at the cloth belt around their mother's waist that was tightening more and more.

The paper window next to the stove had long been shattered, and a cold wind carrying the smell of gunpowder blew in, making the faded New Year pictures on the wall rattle.

The woman suddenly covered her mouth and coughed, and the cornmeal that leaked through her fingers floated into the stove. The flames suddenly shot up for a moment, making the tear tracks on her cheekbones shine.

Seeing this scene, Li Gaoyuan could no longer bear it and turned to Pi Ruoyu angrily, saying, "Old Pi, why didn't you tell me about your family situation when we met yesterday?"
Brother, I may not be rich, but I believe I can help you. How can you bear to let your wife and two children suffer like this?

Pi Ruoyu gave a bitter smile: "Brother Li, I know your security team has good benefits and high salaries, but you earned them by risking your lives."

Brother, I'd rather starve to death than take your hard-earned money!

"Bullshit!" Li Gaoyuan was so angry that his eyes turned red, and he wanted to curse, but Su Yaoyang walked to the haystack, picked up the two children, and said to the woman who was cooking.

"Sister-in-law... don't cook."

I just assigned Old Pi a job: to be our chief of staff. From now on, our security team will take care of all your food, clothing, and daily necessities. Now, go inside and pack your things, then come with us.

"Hurry up, just pack your personal belongings; don't take any of those jars and pots."

"This……"

The woman looked at her husband with a mixture of fear and confusion. Pi Ruoyu stood by without saying a word, but nodded gently to his wife with red eyes. Only then did the woman stand up and go into the house to start packing her things.

More than ten minutes later, the woman, carrying two packages and holding her two sons' hands, followed Su Yaoyang and his group into the Willys Jeep that was waiting outside. The car quickly drove out of the city and arrived at the military camp in the suburbs.

Upon arriving at the military camp, Su Yaoyang first led them to the rear medical team and found Song Mei, immediately having Song Mei conduct physical examinations for the woman, the two children, and Pi Ruoyu.

The bad news is that Pi Ruoyu's entire family is suffering from severe malnutrition and is on the verge of collapse at any moment.

The good news is that, apart from malnutrition and some inflammation, they have no other health problems and can recover after a period of recuperation.

Soon after, Song Mei arranged for Pi Ruoyu's family to take hot showers, get haircuts, receive new clothes, and have meals in tents. By the time she finished all that, it was already evening.

Furthermore, Song Mei solemnly instructed them that the woman and child should mainly consume liquids for a week and only eat until they are 50% full, and then resume normal eating after half a month.

Watching Song Mei and her group bustling about, Pi Ruoyu felt a surge of emotion, thinking, "A scholar would die for one who understands him."

That evening, Su Yaoyang hosted a banquet for Pi Ruoyu, inviting all officers of company rank and above in the regiment to attend. During the banquet, he formally introduced Pi Ruoyu to all the officers. Seeing Su Yaoyang's actions, all the officers in the regiment understood that their boss was telling them, "This new chief of staff was personally invited by me; you all need to show him respect."

If anyone dares to feign compliance and sabotage me behind my back just because he's a cripple, don't blame me for being impolite.

Pi Ruoyu witnessed Su Yaoyang's actions and, moved by his efforts, resolved to make a name for himself and live up to the regimental commander's kindness in nurturing him.

After understanding their boss's meaning, no one dared to step forward and cause trouble, so the atmosphere at the banquet was exceptionally harmonious.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the officers dispersed. Su Yaoyang led Pi Ruoyu to a small tent, pointed to the pile of documents on the table, and said with a wry smile, "Old Pi, do you see this? These are all the documents from the establishment of the security regiment over the past few months."

I haven't had a good night's sleep in months because of dealing with this stuff. Now I'm handing it over to you, and to the security team as well.

Looking at the document, which was nearly half a person's height, Pi Ruoyu couldn't help but chuckle. "Commander... do you know how Zhuge Liang died?"

"Nonsense." Su Yaoyang said helplessly, "Of course I know he died from overwork, but what could I do?"
The security force has just been established. The men under my command are fine for fighting, but as for handling these trivial matters, it's better to kill them.

Now that you're here, I can finally hand this whole business over to you.

Of course, you probably can't handle it all by yourself. You could recruit or select a group of advisors to help us run our group smoothly.

Pi Ruoyu pondered for a moment, "Commander... I do know some people who might be good advisors."

As far as I know, they didn't have a very good time in their previous units, but I'm not sure if they would be willing to come here.

Okay, I'll prepare a list for you in a few days, along with their resumes, and you can decide whether to recruit them.

Pi Ruoyu knew very well that while it was a good thing that Su Yaoyang was willing to delegate power to him, he could not take advantage of Su Yaoyang's trust and act recklessly. As a chief of staff, he had to be clear about what he could and could not do, otherwise there would be problems.

“Great, it’s decided then.” Su Yaoyang patted his shoulder. “It’s getting late, you should go back and be with your wife and child. They must be eager to see you since you’re new here.”

By the way, the troops are setting off tomorrow, heading to Shanxi.

I'm giving you seven days. After seven days, I expect you to provide me with a development plan for the security force and a report on areas for improvement.

Pi Ruoyu smiled slightly: "No problem, I'll look at the documents for a while, and then I'll go back."

After explaining the situation, Su Yaoyang turned and left.

He just got married yesterday, and he's still a newlywed, so of course he wants to spend as much time as possible with his two wives.

As for official duties, didn't we just recruit a chief of staff? We'll just leave it to him.

Watching Su Yaoyang swagger away, Pi Ruoyu couldn't help but chuckle.

Working under this regimental commander should be much more pleasant than before...

(End of this chapter)