Chapter 15: Troubled by Money

Sometimes, life in the army is just that simple. Everyone is a true man, and if there’s any issue, once it’s talked out, brothers are brothers again. The days in the company passed quietly, yet with a fulfilling sense that Gu Jianfeng enjoyed immensely.

Lately, seeing his old company commander fret over money day after day, Gu Jianfeng had a sudden flash of inspiration and began to devise some plans. All these years, he had never worried about finances, and now, out of the blue, he had to think about making money, which felt rather unfamiliar to him.

Fortunately, in today’s world, opportunities are everywhere; it all depends on how you seize them. In this world, people’s lives and culture were much the same as in his previous one, yet somehow without any real common ground. This realization filled Gu Jianfeng with joy—for it meant he had gained thousands of years of accumulated knowledge.

Seated before his computer, Gu Jianfeng browsed aimlessly, wondering what he might take up. Suddenly, a notice recruiting theme and ending songs for a major historical drama appeared before his eyes. He clicked in to find that the series, chronicling the life of an emperor, was much like the "Kangxi Emperor" he’d seen before. The deeds of both figures were strikingly similar; if it weren’t for the different names, Gu Jianfeng might have thought they were one and the same.

He spent half a day studying the basics of music, and thanks to his remarkable memory, quickly reached beginner’s level. The lyrics and melody for “Borrowing Five Hundred Years from Heaven” and “Big Man” soon took shape on paper. Having triple-checked his email for accuracy, Gu Jianfeng hit send and tossed the matter aside.

Though confident in himself—after all, these two songs had been widely sung in their own time—he found that, despite all the gold scattered everywhere, as a soldier, he was bound by many restrictions. There weren’t many ways for him to earn money that suited his situation.

He had a wealth of songs and scripts in his mind, but without fame, who would trust or adopt them? “Novels!” Gu Jianfeng slapped his thigh in realization. Only the world of novels had no barriers or hidden rules; as long as you had the talent, earning money was not a problem.

He opened the largest Qidian Chinese web fiction site, browsed the various ranking lists, and then his mind began to search furiously.

A moment later, the words “Zhu Xian” appeared in his writing software. Relying on his extraordinary memory and freakishly swift typing, by dinnertime Gu Jianfeng had uploaded nearly a hundred thousand words.

He stood up, stretched his weary limbs, and muttered to himself, “Writing novels really isn’t easy. Why does it feel more exhausting than a day of training?”

When Gu Jianfeng returned to the dormitory, everyone was chatting together. After the incident with Beibei and Chasewind, the company had become incredibly united, truly bound together as a single rope.

“Jianfeng’s back? We’ve all been waiting for you!” Wu Fugui said with a smile.

“Waiting for me? For what?” Gu Jianfeng asked, puzzled.

“Everyone wants to do something, but we don’t know what to do. Just sitting around is making us anxious!” Wu Fugui explained.

As he spoke, Squad Leader Su Weiguo and Squad Leader Mo Hongjun both came in. Fortunately, the dormitory was large enough—though there were twenty people, it wasn’t too crowded.

“Jianfeng, let me introduce you. This is the squad leader of the second squad, Mo Hongjun!” Xue Meng pointed to a capable young man.

Gu Jianfeng had seen Mo Hongjun before, but since he hadn’t been formally introduced, he only recognized his face.

“Hello, Squad Leader!” Gu Jianfeng saluted.

“We’re all brothers here, no need for formalities,” Mo Hongjun said, giving Gu Jianfeng a light punch and laughing.

“Jianfeng, everyone wants to do something for the company. You’re originally one of us and know more about military dogs than we do. So, we’d like to ask you—what should we do next?” Su Weiguo asked.

By now, Su Weiguo’s attitude toward Gu Jianfeng had completely changed. In fact, the way he’d treated Gu Jianfeng at first was shaped by some preconceived notions.

“We have less than half a year left. In that time, it’ll be hard for these puppies to mature. Fortunately, Tianjiang and Rifle will make it in time. As for Baiyi’s litter, I’ll try to help them grow quickly without harming their foundations.

As for everyone else, it’s best to read more books and improve yourselves. After all, being a qualified trainer isn’t easy. And since we don’t have enough dogs, some people may not get one. I hope no one takes it to heart,” Gu Jianfeng told them.

The next day, everyone began clearing the abandoned training ground behind the company. The waist-high weeds made walking a struggle. After clearing the weeds, they started repairing the running tracks, which had suffered from years of wind and sun.

Watching everyone busy each day, Long Fei’s eyes showed a hint of confusion. He wanted to tell them to stop wasting their energy, but seeing their enthusiasm, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“Let them be. They’re still young; who knows what the outcome will be?” Fu Zhihong, standing at Long Fei’s side, offered comfort.

After dinner that evening, Gu Jianfeng opened his computer and logged onto Qidian. The flood of comments nearly caused his computer to lag. Although he was mentally prepared, the readers’ praise still caught him off guard.

“A great book—adding to my collection!”

“If you update another hundred thousand words today, I’ll reward you with ten thousand yuan tomorrow, mark my words!”

“If you don’t want to reward, don’t say it. Who can update a hundred thousand words in one day? This must be stockpiled!”

Pinned at the top was a message from the website inviting him to sign a contract. Not knowing what it meant, Gu Jianfeng searched online for an explanation. After understanding, he handled the process online—a convenience that saved him much trouble.

Once everything was settled, Gu Jianfeng began his writing routine once more. For tomorrow’s ten thousand yuan, today he had to push himself harder!