Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

Li Ping put away the list and looked towards the main entrance with Lao Mao. There were quite a few people coming in, making a great commotion, heading straight for the main entrance of the guild hall.

That morning, about twenty people arrived from the direction of the dock, their faces covered in soot. They stood in a semi-circle at the entrance of the guild hall. The leader, a dark-faced man with a cloth wrapped around one arm, shouted as he entered, "Lord Li! This is your humble servant, Jin Ya, greetings! Last time at the teahouse, my hand trembled, and I scalded your hand with tea. I've come today to apologize!"

Li Ping stood on the steps without saying a word.

Gold Tooth rubbed his hands together, grinning to reveal his gold tooth: "I was blind before, sir! From now on, I'll work for you! No wages, just enough to eat! I know the ways of the docks best, you'll be fine with me!"

Erhu, carrying the door bolt, passed by and recognized him after a while: "Aren't you that coward from the teahouse last time, the one who was so scared by the Green Wolf Gang that he wet his pants and kept calling for grandpa?"

Gold Tooth quickly waved his hand, "Second Master Tiger is joking. I have turned over a new leaf and only beg Lord Li to give me a way to live. I'll do anything, even be your slave!"

"The guild doesn't tolerate idlers. Where's your pledge of allegiance?" Da Niu said calmly from the side.

"I brought it! How could we come empty-handed!" Gold Tooth raised his hand, and two men behind him carried out a bundle of things: a set of keys and a yellowed booklet. "The Blue Wolf Gang's smuggled goods hidden at the docks are all in this ledger and keys! Four warehouses, goods and materials, not a single penny left, all offered to you, sir!"

He held the booklet forward and lowered his voice: "The gang leader ran away, and I risked being expelled from the gang to find this, sir. My life is in your hands."

Li Ping glanced at the booklet, then at the gold tooth.

Old Cat was right: those people at the dock, scattered, are trouble; united, they're an army. Now the army has come with its own weapons.

"Accept it," Li Ping said, "It will be converted into silver at market price and recorded in the account. The guild will not take money that is not earned honestly."

That afternoon, the courtyard was filled with people.

The thirty Jiangning brothers stood ramrod straight on the left; the twenty-odd newly recruited members of the Green Wolf Gang on the right stood crookedly, some even secretly eyeing the knives at the Jiangning men's waists. Two opposing forces filled the air: one was the arrogance of "we've fought our mother battle," and the other was the defiant resentment of "you're nothing special."

A burly newcomer stepped on the Jiang Ning brothers' foot as he entered. The two glared at each other and almost came to blows. Li Ping didn't stop them; he just watched.

The two stared at each other for a long time, neither daring to make the first move.

"You've got some strength, are you saving it to dig your own grave?" Li Ping said.

The newcomer retorted, "We all have two shoulders and one head, so why should those from Jiangning get to eat meat while we only get soup?"

"The brothers in Jiangning are heavy-handed. If a fight breaks out, I'm not going to be responsible for preparing a coffin," Li Ping said. "If you want to die, don't die in front of the guild hall. It's too dirty."

"It's really stifling for the guild to not support infighting cowards. Go to the martial arts arena and find a big shot," Li Ping said. "Either you beat him down, or he carries you out horizontally. The choice is yours."

The two exchanged a glance and parted ways reluctantly.

Li Ping walked up the steps, glanced at the people filling the courtyard, and said, "Look up."

He pointed to the plaque above his head.

The four characters "Jiangning Guild Hall"

"Regardless of first come, first served"

The courtyard was quiet for a moment.

"I know what you're thinking," Li Ping said, taking two steps up the steps. "The old guys from Jiangning think they're slippery and unreliable after a few years at the docks. The newcomers think the people from Jiangning are arrogant and get cocky after winning a few fights."

Some people lowered their heads, some whispered among themselves, and some turned their faces away in dissatisfaction.

"Fighting is fine," Li Ping changed the subject, "but there are only three rules, they're set here, and no one can change them."

He raised his finger

"The first rule: Anyone who steals even a single coin from a commoner shall have both legs broken and be thrown out."

"Secondly, for those who destroy the livelihoods of honest people, I smashed their heads."

"Thirdly, if you work your lives for the association, the association will never shortchange you by even a single copper coin."

"Those who violated the first two rules, go to the Ministry of Justice's prison and reserve a spot. As for the third rule," he looked at Qian Duo, "you go find Qian Duo, he'll pay for it."

Qian Duo puffed out his chest: "Come find me! Come find me! As long as the accounts match up, I'll give you my head if I'm short a single penny!"

Old Cat squatted outside the doorway, smoking his pipe. He watched from beginning to end without saying a word. When he heard "make it symmetrical with Old Cat's leg," the pipe in his mouth trembled slightly, and he slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. He glanced at Li Ping sideways, but said nothing.

"Before the meeting adjourns, there's one more thing," Li Ping said. "Da Niu, step forward."

Da Niu stepped forward and scratched his head.

"From today onwards, you are the instructor," Li Ping said. "Turn these spineless cowards into human beings."

"Sir, all I know how to do is smash things... I really can't do the job of a schoolteacher."

"You don't need to say anything," Li Ping said. "If anyone disagrees, just beat them until they submit. That's what teaching is."

"Sir, what about me? You can't just leave me standing there like a block of wood, can you?" Erhu chimed in.

"You taught them how to get beaten."

"What kind of skill is it to get beaten up? This iron rod of mine isn't for use as a target!"

"Calculate," Li Ping said. "Those that can stand firm are called copper-skinned and iron-boned, while those that fall over at the slightest touch are called mud. Go and temper them into iron plates first."

After pondering for a long time, Erhu actually found it to make a lot of sense:

After the courtyard dispersed, Gold Tooth approached Erhu with a fawning smile: "Tiger Master, where do we start learning to fight?"

"Stand up straight first!" Erhu slammed the door latch on the ground. "You can't even stand properly, yet you want to try and cause trouble?"

Early the next morning, at the martial arts training ground

Da Niu stood in the center of the arena, facing more than twenty newcomers. Jin Ya was at the very front. After a long silence, Da Niu finally spoke: "What does 'standing' mean?"

"...Tiger, is there some particular rule about standing like this?" Gold Tooth asked tentatively.

"Standing firm, indeed," Da Niu stomped a wooden stake on the ground. "Unyielding to the wind, unmovable by people, and unyielding even to a knife, that's what it means to stand firm."

He pointed to Gold Tooth from the line, gave him a shove, and Gold Tooth stumbled a couple of steps before landing hard on his backside.

"You're just a lump of mud," Da Niu said. "If you can't stand up straight, then keep standing until you can."

Gold Tooth sat on the ground, unable to get up for a long time, on the verge of tears: "Second Master Tiger, I joined the guild to eat meat with you, not to be a punching bag..."

Erhu, standing to the side holding the door bolt, said, "The rule is: get beaten first, then eat meat."

The accountant with more money also established a new rule: wages were paid on the fifteenth of each month, and the account books were spread out in the courtyard. Anyone could see him standing in front of the accounting table, reading out the items one by one: "Two jugs of oil were collected from the east end, worth forty cash; three loads of lime were used for wall repairs in the west end, worth one hundred and twenty cash."

Halfway through the reading, Gold Tooth raised his hand: "Uncle Qian, I worked two days last month, did I get paid?"

"Yes," Qian Duo looked down and flipped through two pages. "On the 28th of last month, you carried fourteen bags of brown rice, which cost twenty-eight coins, not a single coin less."

Gold Tooth opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word.

Ah Si, carrying a tray of tea, hurried across the corridor and tripped on the threshold, causing the teapot to tip over. Li Ping reached out and caught it steadily.

"Why are your hands shaking?" Li Ping placed the teapot back on the tray. "If you can't even hold a tea tray steadily, how are you going to investigate other people's backgrounds in the future?"

"Sir, I know I was wrong! I will never do it again!" Ah Si's face turned red.

"If it were really intentional, you wouldn't even have a chance to lie outside the door," Li Ping glanced at him. "The guild doesn't keep idlers. Go report to Old Cat; he needs someone to run errands."

Ah Si was stunned, holding the tea tray, and blinked: "...Can I really do it?"

"Old Cat is extremely picky about who he chooses. Since he picked you, don't embarrass him," Li Ping said. "Go, don't let me down."

Ah Si took a deep breath and straightened his back immediately: "I will never let you down, sir!"

"Leave the tea tray, and get out."

Li Ping took the teacup and watched Ah Si run away. He turned and walked towards the backyard, his eyes fixed on the tightly locked blue brick cellar.