Zhang Zhicheng's legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees on the spot.
"Spare me, big brother. I'll take you back to the camp to get the grain right now."
Losing the grain, he could still make excuses.
But in this situation, if he didn't agree to Liu Tiezhu's demands, he'd probably end up eating a bullet.
Liu Tiezhu searched Zhang Zhicheng, making sure he wasn't carrying any other dangerous items, then escorted him onto the horse-drawn cart.
Back at Denglou Village, Liu Tiezhu sent Yang Hua to round up the others.
About thirty minutes later, Zhang Hailong and his four men arrived.
Liu Tiezhu pressed his gun against Zhang Zhicheng's waist, his other hand resting on his shoulder.
"You know what to say when we get there, right?"
Zhang Zhicheng nodded. "I know what to say."
"Good."
"But I'm warning you—don't try any tricks, or I'll blow your head off the first chance I get."
Liu Tiezhu gave Zhang Zhicheng a warning, then let him lead the way.
About ten minutes later, the group returned to the camp.
A young man in his early twenties was guarding the entrance.
Seeing Zhang Zhicheng coming back with a bunch of unfamiliar faces, he immediately stepped forward to ask.
"Brother Zhang, who are these people..."
Zhang Zhicheng shot the young man a glare and snapped, "These are brothers I've recruited. Hurry up and lift the barrier."
The young man didn't dare ask further and quickly signaled the four behind him to raise the bar and let them through.
The eight of them moved unimpeded until they reached the grain storage area, where they were stopped.
Guarding the granary was Ma Kui, Zhang Mingtao's brother-in-law.
Seeing Zhang Zhicheng bringing a group of strangers in late at night, he immediately grew wary.
Liu Tiezhu shot Zhang Zhicheng a warning look, signaling him to deal with these guys quickly.
Zhang Zhicheng inwardly cursed his bad luck, not expecting his cousin's brother-in-law to be on duty tonight.
To save his own skin, he had no choice but to steel himself and step forward to negotiate with Ma Kui.
"Ma Kui, what's the meaning of stopping me?"
"I need to move some grain and grab some cash right now. You'd better know your place."
Ma Kui wasn't about to let Zhang Zhicheng push him around. He replied coldly, "Sorry, Brother Zhang, but my brother-in-law gave specific orders before he left."
"Unless you have his token, no one touches anything in the granary."
Zhang Zhicheng said, "I need to move grain and get cash urgently. If you block me and screw things up, can you take the blame?"
"Urgently?" Ma Kui sneered. "Brother Zhang, what's so urgent in the middle of the night?"
"Ma Kui, do I have to report my business to you?"
"Just open the granary for me now." Zhang Zhicheng fumed.
"Zhang Zhicheng, don't you dare yell at me."
"I can tell you're up to no good, trying to haul this grain off to sell."
"Without my brother-in-law's token, not even the gods themselves are moving grain or cash tonight."
Ma Kui waved his hand, and the three men behind him immediately raised their guns.
Zhang Zhicheng roared, "Ma Kui, what the hell are you playing at?"
"You think just because you're my cousin's brother-in-law, I can't handle you?"
"Try handling me, then."
Ma Kui's face was icy as he glared at Zhang Zhicheng, showing no respect at all.
Liu Tiezhu frowned. At this rate, they'd be exposed soon.
He thought for a moment and gave Yang Hua a signal to act.
Yang Hua nodded and raised his gun, aiming at Ma Kui and his men.
Ma Kui exploded, "What are you doing? You bastards trying to rebel?"
Liu Tiezhu didn't waste words. He raised his compound crossbow and shot straight at Ma Kui's head.
Once Ma Kui was dealt with, taking down the others would be easy.
Blood splattered. The others panicked at the sight and quickly turned their guns on Zhang Zhicheng.
Zhang Zhicheng hurriedly said, "Don't do anything rash! Ma Kui's dead. There's no point dying for a corpse."
"Listen to me now—put down your guns, and I swear you'll live like kings from now on."
Hearing this, the three hesitated for a moment, then lowered their weapons.
Seeing this, Liu Tiezhu immediately pulled the trigger on his compound crossbow.
To prevent any surprises, he had to kill them.
"Everyone move fast—grab the cash first, then the grain."
Yang Hua called out and was the first to enter the granary.
The seven of them worked for over an hour before clearing half the grain in the storehouse.
By then, seven carts were fully loaded.
"Brother Zhu, what about the rest of the grain?" Yang Hua asked.
"Leave it. It's getting late; we need to head back."
Liu Tiezhu finished speaking and turned his gaze back to Zhang Zhicheng.
"Lead us out of the camp, and I'll spare your life."
Zhang Zhicheng didn't dare resist anymore. He immediately climbed onto the cart and took the lead.
The seven carts rumbled out of the camp, drawing stares from many onlookers.
"What are you looking at? Get back to your posts, or I'll skin you alive."
Zhang Zhicheng cursed at the Zhang family soldiers.
Seeing it was Zhang Zhicheng, no one suspected a thing.
Once out of the camp, the group sped toward Liu Family Village.
After traveling about fifty meters, Liu Tiezhu had everyone stop the carts.
"Big brother, I did what you asked. Are you going to..."
Thud...
Liu Tiezhu shot an arrow straight through Zhang Zhicheng's neck.
It wasn't that he was cruel, but letting Zhang Zhicheng go back would put them all in danger.
With Zhang Zhicheng dealt with, the group urged the carts onward.
Back at Liu Tiezhu's house, everyone helped unload the grain and shut the courtyard gate tightly.
No one had expected stealing the camp's grain and cash to be so easy.
Yang Hua estimated they'd hauled out about two thousand jin of meat and roughly the same amount of rice.
Besides the grain, they'd also taken 38,060 yuan.
To Yang Hua and the others, that sum was astronomical.
Liu Tiezhu gathered everyone together to discuss the split.
As agreed earlier, he'd take two shares, and Yang Hua would handle the rest.
Once everyone was assembled, Yang Hua reported his estimates and the actual cash amount.
But when he started talking about the distribution, Zhang Hailong cut him off.
"Brother Hua, we all put in the same effort. We should get equal shares."
Zhang Hailong's words made the other four nod in agreement.
"Brother Long's right—equal shares are fair."
"In terms of effort, we did more than him. Why should he get an extra share?"
"We risked our lives too. This stuff should be split evenly."
Hearing this, Yang Hua's face darkened.
"Everyone, without Brother Zhu, we'd still be starving."
"How can we be so ungrateful?"
Zhang Hailong said, "Brother Hua, I admit he helped us with food."
"But that's one thing, and this is another."
"Without us, he couldn't have pulled this off, right?"
"Besides, he gave us guns and ammo for his own gain too."
Li Minghe chimed in, "Brother Long's right. We don't owe him anything."
"This stuff has to be split equally."
Hearing their exchange, Liu Tiezhu smirked, his eyes cold as he stared at Zhang Hailong. "And if I say no?"
"No?" Zhang Hailong sneered, quickly raising his rifle and pressing it against Liu Tiezhu's head.
"I've been waiting for you to say that."