#177 - Chapter 177 Celebration
As the Green Bamboo Gang members steadily retreated, the Wolf Head Gang's stronghold gradually returned to calm under the night sky, leaving only the busy and excited figures of the Hongmen disciples.
Some were carefully searching for the property left behind by the Wolf Head Gang, each gain signifying that the Hongmen could establish itself more firmly in the south of the city.
Others were collecting corpses, distinguishing between the enemy and their own. The Wolf Head Gang's corpses were naturally left on the ground for the government's corpse collectors to retrieve.
In this battle against the Wolf Head Gang, the Yang Hall lost over sixty men, all of whom were unranked members.
Everything was governed by rules and regulations, so they just needed to follow the steps.
Cheng Feng estimated that the bulk of the loot should still be with Zhao Jin.
With over a hundred people, only eight hundred taels were left, averaging eight taels of silver per person. How could that be enough for anyone?
Cheng Feng returned to the Hongmen, waiting for the results while handling affairs.
First, they only needed to wait for Liu Yishou's reply from the Walking Stick Gang tomorrow.
Second, the Small Knife Gang sent good news. They had defeated the enemy without any losses, obtaining over five hundred and sixty taels of silver, two hundred bolts of fine cloth, and three property deeds.
Cheng Feng began to calculate all the Hongmen's gains: the property deeds alone numbered twenty. Although the locations varied in quality, selling them at market price, even with a discount, could fetch around eight hundred taels.
Of course, this battle also came at a cost, with a total of eighty-three unranked members killed in action.
Based on a total of three thousand taels from this battle, the Hongmen would first take one thousand two hundred taels.
For the unranked members, Cheng Feng decided to provide each family with a consolation of five taels, totaling four hundred and fifteen taels.
That left over one thousand three hundred taels, which would be divided among the deputy leader, the four great elders, and the three major leaders.
Since the rules had been established, Cheng Feng would not allow anyone to change them, especially since these rules took all parties into account.
"If we don't move, we don't move; if we do, we shock the world!" The surrounding small gangs were caught completely off guard and were all taken down by the Hongmen!
And the disciples would receive mission rewards later, which would inevitably improve the strength of the disciples under his command.
Cheng Feng decided to distribute the consolation money in front of everyone during this celebration.
In addition, Cheng Feng also learned some information about his eldest and third brothers from the sidelines.
Each team sent out experts, partly out of the selfish desire to take care of their own brothers at critical moments. If they were truly unable to help themselves, then they could only blame it on bad luck.
As for the third brother, he followed Sun Gui in his actions. During the battle with the Small Knife Gang, the third brother showed the unique vigor of a young man, daring to fight and displaying considerable strength, which was a pleasant surprise.
If their performance was unsatisfactory, Cheng Feng would consider finding them alternative paths in life. Now, it seemed pretty good.
Cheng Feng had always felt that he didn't have much ambition. He only hoped to live a better life, have more say, and no longer be bullied.
It was precisely because even these simple ideas were difficult to achieve that he had taken step by step, winding and turning, to his current position, which was also lamentable.
Cheng Feng stood on the high platform, calmly looking at everything before him. Behind him, two strong guards carried two huge boxes onto the stage and placed them at Cheng Feng's feet.
These two boxes were very heavy, containing both silver and copper. The top of the boxes was covered with gleaming white silver, each piece shining with an enticing light.
At this moment, Wang Hu walked to the front of the stage and shouted loudly, "Please be quiet, everyone!" The crowd immediately closed their mouths, quietly waiting for what would come next.
When they heard the first person's reward, a burst of exclamation immediately erupted from the audience. Because this disciple received a reward of a full thirty taels of silver! Then, the second and third people came to the stage to receive their awards, with prizes of twenty-five and twenty taels respectively.
The disciples below the stage were all dumbfounded, their eyes flashing with envy and jealousy. They couldn't help but marvel at how lucrative it was to work for the Hongmen!
However, Cheng Feng was not satisfied with this. He smiled and waved his hand, signaling the people around him to continue distributing the silver.
Next, a group of elderly, weak, women, and children appeared beside the venue. They were all family members of the unranked disciples who had died for the Hongmen. These people had sadness and helplessness on their faces, but at the same time, they also showed gratitude to the Hongmen.
Everyone who received the silver was in tears, constantly thanking Cheng Feng. Eighty-three families, five taels per household, totaling four hundred and fifteen taels.
Among the high-level bonuses, Cheng Feng had taken out four hundred taels from the 60% early on and distributed them to the four Blood Refinement stage elders, one hundred taels each. Another two hundred taels were taken out and given to Wang Hu, Sun Gui, Zhou Hai, and Li Yang, fifty taels each.
As for Wu Feng, Cheng Feng was more optimistic about this person, thinking that he was loyal and valued friendship. So he also took out one hundred taels of silver to give him, after all, he would also be a member of the Hongmen in the future, so he couldn't be biased.
Hearing Cheng Feng's words, Wu Feng felt a surge of emotion in his heart, and tears almost fell. He remembered the hardships he had suffered after being injured, the grievances and helplessness, and now he had finally met someone who could truly understand him.
Although it was just a few simple words, it almost brought this strong man to tears.
Wu Feng silently clasped his fist and bowed to Cheng Feng to express his gratitude. From this moment on, he was determined to follow Cheng Feng and work together to create a world of their own.
Of course, these expenses would not be publicly distributed in front of other disciples to avoid unnecessary trouble and jealousy. After all, everyone's contributions were different and could not be generalized.
As a leader, Cheng Feng deeply understood the wisdom behind the saying, "Talk about big things in small circles, talk about small things in big circles."
Such treatment would definitely make the surrounding people envious!
Who would dare say that the Hongmen was not generous enough? If anyone questioned this, they would probably be rebuked and lectured by other disciples.
Cheng Feng was worried that the disciples would feel unbalanced. In order to protect their mental health, he chose not to mention these details in public, which could protect the disciples' self-esteem and maintain the unity and morale within the organization.
Moonlight filtered through the sparse clouds, spilling onto the once smoke-filled land, adding a touch of gentle brilliance to the victory.
The Hongmen disciples worked together, some busy moving spoils of war. The sharp weapons glinted coldly in the sunlight, as if cheering for their new master.
According to Hongmen rules, the bodies of their own brothers must be brought back to Hongmen, where the high-ranking members would cremate and bury them.
Cheng Feng watched coldly from the shadows. Showing mercy at this time was tantamount to courting death.
The Wolf Head Gang likely belonged to the Green Bamboo Gang. The warehouse also contained twenty new blades and over eight hundred taels of silver, as well as five property deeds.
Seeing Li Yang and Wang Hu clean up the mess, Cheng Feng knew the plan had been a complete success. Now, all that was left was to wait patiently and enjoy the rewards of this battle.
Soon after, news from Zhou Hai's side arrived. They had easily wiped out three small gangs, suffering twenty casualties, but these were all unranked members. In total, this battle yielded about one thousand taels of silver and twelve property deeds.
The twenty knives and two hundred bolts of cloth could be distributed to the subordinates as benefits.
In terms of silver, the total amounted to three thousand one hundred and sixty taels.
According to Hongmen regulations, forty percent of the spoils must first be given to Hongmen to ensure logistical support. The remainder would be used to pay compensation to the families of the fallen, then distributed to those who contributed to the battle, and finally to all members.
After that, dividing it among the remaining four hundred or so people would only amount to about two taels per person.
Everyone risked their lives, so this was how much it was.
This time, Hongmen had come out in full force, holding their breath, waiting for this moment to explode!
Cheng Feng was very satisfied with this outcome.
Not only that, but Hongmen suddenly had one thousand two hundred taels of silver, which could be said to be a great harvest!
Many disciples were stuck at the last step of entering the Martial Warrior realm, needing potent medicinal soups to help them cross that threshold.
This would not only make the disciples understand that only by becoming official members could they truly be guaranteed security, but more importantly, it would stimulate their fighting spirit and ambition!
After all, having the means but not using them was no different from being a fool.
The boss followed Zhou Hai to eliminate those small gangs. Judging from the intelligence, his performance was considered average. For someone participating in such a bloody scene for the first time, being able to do this was already very good.
The super serum was Cheng Feng's last support for his brothers. It's better to teach a man to fish than to give him fish.
Cheng Feng also took note of several other outstanding members, but overall, these people were at the Body Refinement realm or just ordinary people. After remembering a few good performers, Cheng Feng ended his work.
Two days later, Wang Hu finally successfully exchanged the twenty property deeds for eight hundred taels of silver.
At the same time, after two days of rest, Hongmen once again gathered all its disciples. This action frightened the spies outside, but this time Hongmen was not launching a new war, but began distributing rewards to the disciples!
Everyone couldn't help but widen their eyes, their gazes fixed on the two boxes, throats bobbing, unconsciously swallowing saliva. They wondered how this silver would be distributed.
Wang Hu opened a roster and announced loudly: "The following is a list of disciples who performed well in last night's operation..." As he spoke, disciples were called by name, and they stepped forward to receive their respective rewards.
The fourth and fifth place finishers were not to be outdone, receiving fifteen and ten taels of silver respectively. The other fifteen outstanding disciples each received a reward of five taels of silver.
Just the top twenty performers had already received a generous return of one hundred and seventy-five taels of silver. One should know that a house in a remote location could be bought for less than twenty taels!
Cheng Feng personally walked up to them, handing the heavy silver to each person, and comforting them: "Although your loved ones have left us, their contributions to Hongmen will never be forgotten. This is a token of our Hongmen's appreciation, please accept it."
The remaining four hundred or so disciples each received about two taels of silver. With this, the remaining sixty percent was completely distributed.
Eight hundred, Cheng Yi, and Xu Miao were all his own people, but Eight Hundred and Cheng Yi were robots and didn't need money, so naturally, it would still go into Cheng Feng's pocket. And Xu Miao was his woman, so naturally, he had to give his woman some pocket money.
The silver in hand made Wu Feng extremely grateful, even to the point where the bandages on his hand were almost bursting open.
Cheng Feng patted Wu Feng on the shoulder, comforting him: "Don't worry, brother, following me, Cheng Feng, I can't guarantee anything else, but one thing I can guarantee is that your life will be taken care of. What are we risking our lives for? Isn't it to give our families a better life? So don't worry, as long as you work hard with me, there will be many good days ahead!"
As for Wang Hu and the other four elders who had always followed Cheng Feng, they had a deep affection for Hongmen. From the Tiger Head Gang era to the establishment of Hongmen, to the training camp stage and the Battle of the Si River Gang, they had always stood firmly by Cheng Feng's side. Therefore, it was not excessive to give each of them fifty taels of silver as a reward.
Taking this reward as an example, the first place winner alone received thirty taels of silver, and if an additional ten taels of silver were added for circulation, it would be enough to buy a small two-bedroom apartment with a courtyard in the area where Cheng Feng previously lived, which had a good environment.
But if the lower-level disciples knew that the leadership had received a high reward of fifty taels of silver, enough for each of them to own a house.
Why not do it?
