348 Why pretend

While digging for silt to make clay bricks two days ago, everyone was discussing whether they should run away, go back to being bandits, or rebel. But by the third day, everyone suddenly had a different topic of discussion. "How many bullets do you have now?"

"Hehe, I already have ten bullets." Jin Lan said, "I think I can definitely get my gun back in less than a month!"

After arriving here, they ended up having to work for the guns that were theirs to begin with. That sounded incredibly absurd but everyone suddenly seemed to be enjoying it. It was as though it had suddenly become an honor to be able to carry guns again.

At the beginning, quite a few people slacked off. They only pretended to be busy while the others worked hard. They would lie on the edge of the riverbed to sleep and bask in the sun or watch the others as they worked.

But that changed by the third day. Those who did not do any work previously started feeling a little embarrassed of themselves. When the others were resting, they would continue working just to make up progress after falling behind for the past two days. Otherwise, it would be too fucking embarrassing when the others received their guns again and they were still empty-handed.

Furthermore, Yang Xiaojin had already informed them that she would not give any firearm lessons as long as a single person was still without their gun.

This left Jin Lan in a dilemma. He and Zhang Yiheng were each put in charge of more than a 100 people, so both of them were well aware of who was fast or slow in their progress.

Jin Lan and Zhang Yiheng counted all the bullets and found that some people were still missing quite a few. As such, Jin Lan took the lead and called for a meeting. "Well, our goal was to quickly save up a 100 bullets each so that we can trade them for the guns, but some people have fallen behind. If it were because they were slacking, I would not care about them. But y'all saw for yourselves how anxious they are to get to a 100 bullets too, so as the leader, I'll donate one bullet to each of them."

Then Zhang Yiheng also said to his 2nd Squad, "I'll donate a bullet to each of those who are short from my stash as well."

The bandits looked at each other for a while before someone hesitantly said, "I'll donate too, but on one condition: They have to be returned!"

Soon after, a large number of bandits donated around six bullets each. Although there was still a shortfall, the gap was considerably closed.

Jin Lan was very pleased and nodded. "Well done, brothers. Let's continue our work!"

Ren Xiaosu looked at them from afar. Suddenly, he said to Yang Xiaojin beside him, "I came across a book in the library of Stronghold 88 hidden away in a corner. It was called The Crowd.[1]"

"There's a passage in the book that states that once a person becomes part of a group, their intelligence will be badly lowered. In order to be accepted, an individual must be willing to abandon their capacity for reasoning and exchange their intelligence for a sense of belonging, which makes them feel safe," Ren Xiaosu continued. "Maybe that's the reason why it's so easy to get influenced when you're in a group."

Yang Xiaojin said calmly, "Do you mean they're going through this situation now?"

Ren Xiaosu shook his head. "I'd rather believe that this is the power of hope."

Now that this group had a common goal, these bandits who went through hardship together were also seeking ways to achieve that goal as quickly as possible. Friendship would be established in the process.

Jin Lan was working with the others when he suddenly sensed that another two people had appeared next to him. After he took a closer look, it turned out to be Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin.

They saw Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin taking off their shoes and rolling up their sleeves. Jin Lan and Zhang Yiheng hurriedly said, "Lords, you two don't have to work. Please rest and leave the work to us."

Ren Xiaosu smiled and said, "It's fine, we're not spoiled. You can divide the clay bricks that we make equally among your two squads. I'll leave the squad leaders to assign them to their members."

The bandits were stunned. They never thought Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin would also work together with them.

Shouldn't these big shots be resting on the sidelines? Back when they were working at the factories, the foremen did not do any physical work. While they went down to the coal mines, the foremen would sit outside and supervise the workers while resting.

Furthermore, the two people in front of them were much more impressive than those foremen. Both of them were supernatural beings, after all. Especially Yang Xiaojin, who was a woman, even she got to working together with them. Their boss lady was really quite different from the others.

Ren Xiaosu's face darkened. "What're y'all still standing around for? Trying to be lazy?"

Jin Lan chuckled. "No, we're not! Brothers, let's keep working!"

The bandits carried on working in silence. It was still the same work and the goal was still the same goal they had set out to achieve. But when Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin jumped in the trenches with them, it felt like a little more. It was a little more human compassion.

At this moment, a cloud of dust billowed in the distance. Ren Xiaosu was all too familiar with this sight. He knew a new band of bandits had arrived.

According to Yang Xiaojin's estimation, there should have been more than 3,000 bandits on the front lines of Mt. Guan, Mt. Tangwang, and Mt. Daban. And they had only gathered around 200 people here, far from the numbers of those to the north. They already knew there were far more bandits further north and much fewer of them here in the south.

But Ren Xiaosu was still a little disappointed when no new bandits came by yesterday.

This new bandit group that had just arrived consisted of about 30 people. When they saw a large group of people working from a distance, they were ecstatic. With so many refugees in this settlement, they were going to be rich!

In the distance, Jin Lan, Zhang Yiheng, Ren Xiaosu, and the others all had mud over their arms and legs. They were not even carrying guns. If they were not refugees, what else could they be?

Out here in the wilderness, refugees were the most obedient group of people and could be easily captured like livestock.

However, when they arrived at the settlement, the bandit leader suddenly felt that something was off. He saw Ren Xiaosu and the others stand up and watch them calmly as they approached.

The bandit leader suddenly muttered, "Why do I get the feeling that they aren't afraid of us?"

Meanwhile, Jin Lan said with a sigh, "Why the fuck are there newcomers again? They'll have zero bullets when they join us!"

Jin Lan already knew the fate of these bandits who had come from elsewhere. He was just feeling a little ripped off.

That bandit stopped his motorcycle beside the ditches and pointed his gun at Ren Xiaosu. "All of you, step out of the ditches right now! Haha, you're still in the fucking mood to make clay bricks? Who says that you can make them?"

Jin Lan and Zhang Yiheng looked at each other and began feeling sorry for the new bandit leader at the same time.

Half an hour later, the bruised and bloodied bandit leader had his sleeves rolled up inside the ditches. With his eyes swollen, he asked Jin Lan, "How many clay bricks do we have to make every day?"

Jin Lan snapped, "Do you know that you people are delaying us? I'm telling you, you can forget about sleeping if you can't produce 30 clay bricks by the end of today."

Then the bandit leader glanced at Zhang Yiheng beside him. "Wait a minute, I know you. Aren't you the leader of the bandit gang on the west face of Mt. Daban? What're you doing here?"

Zhang Yiheng also snapped at him, "Just dig silt and cut the crap."

The newly arrived bandit leader felt ganged up on. "Aren't y'all bandits too? Why pretend to be refugees here? If I knew that there were so many of you here, I wouldn't have come at all!"

[1] In the book, Le Bon claims that there are several characteristics of crowd psychology: "impulsiveness, irritability, incapacity to reason, the absence of judgment of the critical spirit, the exaggeration of sentiments, and others..." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crowd:_A_Study_of_the_Popular_Mind