Zhang Xing did not go over to clasp hands and exchange warm greetings. It was not that becoming Dragonhead of the Left Wing had gone to his head. Rather, in the current military and political circumstances, someone of the other man's status and position coming over to his side was not, in essence, anything extraordinary. Instead, the man's enthusiasm, haste, and impassioned generosity left Great Dragonhead Zhang feeling uneasy, making him wonder just how much opportunism lay behind this defection.
Of course, people had to be allowed to seize opportunities. What mattered was making rewards and punishments clear, and working to build the sufficiently accessible and fair path of advancement for everyone that he had so often reflected on lately.
If he could accomplish those things, whether they clasped hands or not, and whether someone was an opportunist or not, would not matter.
As for why he had always clasped hands and called people his closest brothers before-even when he knew some of them were hesitant about so much as taking a chance on him-that followed a different logic.
It was like courtship and marriage. During courtship, people rushed toward one another, or one side pursued the other alone. If they did something beyond the ordinary at that stage, and things eventually worked out, it became romance, something etched into their bones and hearts-just as Zhang Xing would never in his life forget Bai Yousi waiting for him in the rain in that hollow on Red Mountain. But after marriage, people had to face practical interests and everyday living, the rice, firewood, oil, and salt. What mattered then was calm in daily life, respect for each other, and sharing a boat through the storms on a material foundation. Having that romance and those unforgettable memories was certainly good, but people