Xie Yushu said
"How could I not want you? I'm counting on you to be my right-hand man!"
"Then I will definitely study hard!"
Nanxing patted his chest and guaranteed it.
Over the next seven days, Xie Yushu directed everyone to begin paving the road, and also built green belts and gardens on both sides of the road. Drainage ditches were dug from the back, and a water channel was opened up from the spring halfway up the mountain to the foot of the mountain, making it much more convenient to fetch and use water.
A smooth road runs through the valley, and branching paths lead to the doorsteps of each house.
Even on rainy or cloudy days, it wouldn't be muddy. After being dried in the sun for two days, many people curiously ran barefoot back and forth on the road. Some said it was even flatter than the kang (heated brick bed) at home, and some wanted to sleep on it. Seeing that everyone liked it, Xie Yushu suddenly remembered that the floor in their house was still dirt, so she told them to go back and pave their own floors as well.
After the paving was completed, Xie Yushu inspected it and found it to have the feel of a new socialist countryside!
With the main tasks completed, Xie Yushu began selecting guards, while the rest followed Wang Wu to clear wasteland and chop firewood in preparation for winter.
In addition to the more than twenty boys and six girls they bought, Wang Wu and his five families each sent out two more to participate in the selection.
There were a total of thirty-two people.
The selection process lasted three days, starting at six in the morning. First, we followed Xie Yushu from the mountains to the outside and back, a distance of about three kilometers. After returning, we were taught a set of military boxing, followed by horse stance. At noon, we had lunch and rested for an hour. Then, Aunt Su led us in a class to learn to read. In the afternoon, we continued to teach military boxing until dinner.
Since the selection process has just begun, the intensity is not high. The military boxing only teaches the first five moves: bow stance punch, throat-piercing kick, horse stance horizontal strike, internal hook, and alternating side kick.
They are all children from rural areas who have worked hard at home. In the two months they have been here, their living standards are not high, but they are well-fed and warmly dressed. Their physical fitness and willpower are up to standard. In the past three days, no one has quit because they feel tired or unable to keep up.
However, the differences became apparent when they practiced military boxing. Two of them had particularly poor coordination. After three days of practice, they still couldn't stand steadily on one leg. If they moved their hands, their feet wouldn't move, and vice versa. Xie Yushu taught them hand-in-hand for three days, but they couldn't improve. She could only regretfully ask them to leave.
A boy of fifteen or sixteen and a girl of fifteen.
Upon being eliminated, the two immediately burst into tears. Xie Yushu had no choice but to comfort them in front of everyone.
"Although you two did not pass the guard selection, it does not mean that you are not capable. It just means that you are not suitable for martial arts. In other aspects, you can still show your strengths."
In the future, you can learn other skills. For example, girls can learn embroidery, needlework, or cooking and become cooks or embroiderers in our manor.
Boys can learn carpentry, gardening, and accounting. Our resort will also plant many flowers and trees in the future, and these will all need to be taken care of.
I know you are all good children, so don't cry. If you want to do something, go and talk to Aunt Su. Go and learn a skill that suits you.
Let's give them some encouragement and wish them success in other fields!
Xie Yushu led the way, and everyone applauded and encouraged them for a while before the two reluctantly left the playground.
The remaining thirty people were successfully selected, and the guard training officially began.
Xie Yushu always believed that people have feelings. Although they were nominally mistress and servant, the effect of her waiting for them to work hard for her and the effect of her personally teaching them skills and growing with them were different.
Only when you accompany them and guide them through the ups and downs of training will they develop genuine respect, obedience, and a sense of belonging.
So for the next month, Xie Yushu led morning exercises, gradually increasing the distance from 3,000 meters to 6,000 meters, and in the mornings, Xie Yushu led military boxing practice.
After learning the characters in the afternoon, Qu Xiaodie led them in practicing the Qu family's swordsmanship. Qu Xiaodie's swordsmanship was more refined and more lethal than Xie Yushu's, so Xie Yushu never interfered in practicing the swordsmanship and even learned along with her.
For the first twenty days, they practiced the moves repeatedly. In the next ten days, they began sparring. In the mornings, the students sparred in various ways, and in the afternoons, they took turns sparring with Xie Yushu and Qu Xiaodie.
Xie Yushu's moves are concise and efficient, and extremely fast, almost always killing with a single blow. Although they had studied for more than twenty days, some of them were knocked down in one move when facing Xie Yushu, while others could withstand two or three moves.
Qu Xiaodie's swordsmanship was sharp and powerful, a style originally suited for men, but she wielded it with a grand and majestic air, easily defeating these novice beginners.
The group of people were tortured to the point of being battered and bruised by the two female devils every day, yet they still grinned and pestered Xie Yushu and Qu Xiaodie to fight a few more rounds.
After spending a month together, Xie Yushu had a thorough understanding of their temperaments, personalities, and talents, so she had them spar once and divided them into groups.
The thirteen winners were promoted to special-class guards and placed directly under Xie Yushu's command, led by Zhao Hu.
The remaining seventeen people were led by Xie Zhong and were mainly responsible for the security of the resort.
The elite guards were divided into two groups, with Zhao Hu as the commander and Zhou Yiren as the team leader.
One team consisted of men; apart from Zhao Hu and Zhou Yi, the remaining five were named after the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
Xie Yushu named them Jin Ge, Mu Li, Tian Shui, Xing Huo, and Zhao Tu respectively.
Team Two is the women's team, and Nanxing is the captain of Team Two.
The women's team has six members: besides Nanxing, there are Qiushuang, Chunyu, Xiahe, Dongxue, and Hongmei, who later changed their names.
Hongmei was extremely talented in swordsmanship and was chosen by Qu Xiaodie to be her constant attendant, while the rest followed Nanxing and were at Xie Yushu's command.
After being divided into groups, dormitories were reassigned.
Commander Zhao Hu moved into a separate two-bedroom apartment, which was absolutely gorgeous.
Several team leaders were also moved into separate one-bedroom apartments, while the remaining team members still had their own individual dormitories, and everyone was quite satisfied.
A month and a half has passed since I left. I was wearing a light shirt when I came, but now I'm wearing a padded jacket. There's already a layer of frost on the ground this morning.
Xie Yushu left Qu Xiaodie to continue training them, while she planned to go back and check on things.
If Xiao Yi is willing to tell her what he's guarding against and to treat her as one of his own, she plans to bring Xiao Yi and his two children over, so that they won't have to live so close by and have Grandma Xiao and Xiao Yuanhang constantly coming and going.
Xiao Yi's kung fu is quite good. Once his leg is fully healed, it would be even better if he taught these newbies some marksmanship. Then she would set up a security escort agency and make Xiao Yi the chief escort. They could then train a batch of escorts. Even if Xiao Yi had enemies, they wouldn't be afraid. They could just beat them up one by one!
Moreover, this place is close to Tai'an Prefecture, so Xiao Jinyu can be sent to the official school there. Xiao Haitang can also practice martial arts with Qu Xiaodie.
But plans can't keep up with changes. Xie Yushu didn't expect that when she got home, not only was Xiao Yi gone, but her house had also been occupied.
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