Chapter 379: Chapter 216: Explanation; Returning to the Village
Cheng Zongyang was very pleased with this. Once they turned fifteen and began Body Forging, their progress would far surpass that of any ordinary genius.
They all chatted for a while, and the elders learned about the general situation outside from Cheng Zongyang.
Once the Cheng Family was firmly established, it wouldn’t be an issue for them to go and live in the County Town for a while.
"Big Brother, how long are you staying this time?"
The little girl, Cheng Zongyun, asked with a wide grin as she hugged Cheng Zongyang’s neck.
Cheng Zongyang sat on a small stool, letting his little sister keep her arms wrapped around his neck. He chuckled, "How long do you want me to stay?"
"I don’t know. Mother and Father said you’re busy." The little girl’s cheek was pressed against Cheng Zongyang’s as she spoke in a muffled, sulky voice.
Cheng Zongyang fondly stroked her small head and smiled. "Then I’ll stay a bit longer. I’ll tell you a story, and then you can tell it to your brothers and sisters, how about that?"
"Yay!" The little girl immediately nodded happily. "Will you tell it to me tonight?"
"Alright," Cheng Zongyang smiled.
The little girl, overjoyed, immediately scampered off to find her brothers and sisters.
After the elders had gone their separate ways, Cheng Zongyang sought out his younger brother, Cheng Zongliang.
"What is it, Big Brother?" Cheng Zongliang asked curiously, coming to his side.
Cheng Zongyang pointed to a small stool nearby, motioning for him to sit. Once Zongliang had, Cheng Zongyang began to speak.
"Father already told me you’ve been working quite hard while I was away. It’s all for the family, and as your big brother, that makes me very happy."
Cheng Zongliang scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed. What no one else knew was that he was only being pushed to study by his two fiancées. ’Otherwise, I’d have no motivation at all.’
Cheng Zongyang gave a knowing smile and continued, "You’re twelve now. In another three years, you’ll be able to start your Cultivation. But for now, there’s something I’d like you to do. Are you interested? If you do it well, you’ll become one of the top figures in our family."
’He knew exactly what boys this age wanted. They craved recognition and praise, and it was easy to get them fired up.’
’In short, they were easy to sway.’
"What is it?" Cheng Zongliang looked up. ’One of the top figures... that sounds incredible.’
"I’m planning to establish an intelligence division. I’ve already found the first candidate, and he’s about your age. We’ll specialize in recruiting all the orphans in the County Town, and in the future..."
Cheng Zongyang then explained his entire plan to him—the "Skynet," the different departments, the personnel, their Martial Arts training, and so on.
When he was done, Cheng Zongliang just scratched his head. "Big Brother, I don’t really get it. Can you explain it more simply?"
Cheng Zongyang was speechless, but after a moment’s thought, he said, "It’s about finding a group of kids, training them to gather information, and you’ll be their leader."
"Ohh," Cheng Zongliang understood at once. "So, eavesdropping. Just like Brother Zhennan. There’s nothing in the village he doesn’t know about."
As he spoke, to Cheng Zongyang’s utterly baffled expression, Zongliang began ticking things off on his fingers as if listing family treasures.
"Like how Auntie Cai Hua has bad legs that ache whenever it rains, and when they ache, she starts cursing out her husband; or how Butcher Guan loves to eat chicken butts and always sneaks some in the middle of the night; and how Commander Zhang’s son, Zhang Yongkun, has a crush on Zhang Caiyi and was always going to see her, until her brother, Zhang Xiang, found out and gave him a beating..."
"Stop, stop, stop..." Cheng Zongyang, finding this rather amusing, cut him off. "How do you know that Zhennan knows all this?"
Cheng Zongliang let out a sly chuckle. "Me, Brother Zhennan, and Zhenqi, the three of us are always together. He told me."
Cheng Zongyang fell into thought. He knew of Zhou Zhennan; the kid was a real handful. He used to steal things as a child and only toned it down after getting a harsh lesson, but he still loved to pick fights.
Later, when they all began living together, he started to settle down, especially with the Foundation Establishment training plan and physical conditioning program Cheng Zongyang had created.
’It seemed the boy still couldn’t stay out of trouble.’
’Still, one had to admit, Zhou Zhennan’s personality was both perfect and completely unsuited for this kind of work.’
’To be a leader, one needed to be quick-witted and daring, but also calm, composed, and able to think things through.’
’He didn’t know Zhou Zhennan all that well, but fortunately, the boys were still young. They could be trained.’
"You just said the three of you are always together, eavesdropping and getting into mischief?"
Cheng Zongliang immediately took two steps back, shaking his head so fast it looked like a rattle. Afraid his big brother was about to hit him, he hastily explained:
"No, no! We just wander around the village and happen to overhear things. As for stealing chickens and groping dogs, that’s impossible! The chicken, sheep, and cattle farms all have people watching. We’d never get the chance. And there are only a few dogs in the village, what’s the point of groping them?"
Cheng Zongyang didn’t know whether to laugh or be angry. "So you’re telling me you took that literally?"
But he didn’t press the issue. "I’ll talk to the three of you once I’ve finalized the plan. You can go now."
"Oh."
Seeing that he wasn’t going to be punished, Cheng Zongliang breathed a sigh of relief, turned, and bolted.
