Protect Our Patriarch

There was a sturdy-built man in his prime, wearing a coarse linen robe, busily working. He suddenly let out a "clank" and dropped the box of salted fish on his shoulder, happily welcoming someone.

Wang Shoujie composed himself and recognized the man as Wang Shou Yi, the second brother of the Wang Clan. He immediately cupped his hands and smiled, saying, "Second Brother, why are you dressed like this and still doing manual labor yourself?"

Wang Shou Yi let out a helpless chuckle: "Sixth Uncle has gone crazy, sending people to deliver all the salted fish from the storage room to me, ordering me to sell them quickly. I'm too busy to handle it alone, so I'm unloading the cargo now."

As he spoke, he pointed to the several horse-drawn carriages lined up behind him, which were almost blocking the road.

Uh... haha.

Wang Shoujie, of course, knew the reason. It was because of his suggestion and idea that the fishing team's catch this year was absolutely overwhelming. If they didn't hurry up and sell the salted fish, they would be stuck with a large inventory when the new catch came in.

"Wang Zhong, Wang Yong, help me unload the cargo," Wang Shoujie waved his hand.

"Yes, Master," the two family servants immediately put down their bundles and went to help. One was at the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm, and the other was at the fifth level, with physical strength far surpassing that of ordinary people.

Adding Wang Shou Yi, who was also at the fifth level of the Qi Refining Realm, the three martial artists worked together to unload the cargo, and the speed was incredibly fast.

Of course, Wang Shoujie had already reached the sixth level of the Qi Refining Realm, and if he were to join in, the speed would be even faster. However, as the head of the family, it wouldn't be fitting for him to carry salted fish, which would damage the family's reputation.

In less than two hours, all the fish cargo from the horse-drawn carriages was unloaded into the storage room, and the road was cleared.

Afterwards, Wang Shou Yi, who had cleaned up, originally wanted to treat Wang Shoujie in the backyard. However, he was refused, and they instead found a place to drink tea and chat near the fish market.

"Fourth Brother, our fish market mainly sells salted fish, dried fish, fresh fish, and live fish," Wang Shou Yi personally poured the tea and said, "Most of the dried fish and salted fish are purchased in bulk by traveling merchants and sold to the northwest direction."

"Fresh fish is sold to vendors in Changning Garrison City, who come to our fish market to pick up goods every morning. Secondly, we supply fresh fish and live fish to several restaurants in the city. This part is handled by us, but the price is slightly higher."

"There are also some aristocratic families and wealthy merchants who have a daily demand for fresh fish and live fish. Therefore, every morning to noon is the busiest time for our fish market."

In just a few words, Wang Shoujie understood the operation mode of the Wang Clan's fish market, which was to maximize the sale of the fishing team's catch and bring in a net profit of around 200 gold per year.

It was precisely because the net profit was not high that the seventh-generation family member Wang Shou Yi was responsible for this task.

Wang Shou Yi's talent was not exceptional, only at the lower-middle level. Therefore, from a young age, he had not been able to enjoy as many family resources as Wang Dingyue and Wang Shoujie, and at the age of 33, he was only at the initial stage of the fifth level of the Qi Refining Realm.

Fortunately, Wang Shou Yi was steady and hardworking, and he had no complaints about the family's resource allocation. Instead, he worked diligently to take on the family's industry and contribute to the family.

"Second Brother, you've worked hard over the years," Wang Shoujie solemnly cupped his hands.

"What are you talking about, Fourth Brother?" Wang Shou Yi hurriedly stood up to return the courtesy, "As a direct descendant of the Wang Clan, managing the family's industry is my duty. What's there to talk about being tired? As long as Fourth Brother can reach the Spirit Realm one day, our Wang Clan will definitely have a good life."

Spirit Realm Spirit Realm!

Wang Shoujie sighed inwardly. Now, all the family members had placed their hopes on him. It was this hope that made them willing to work hard and make sacrifices.

"Second Brother, don't worry. Our Wang Clan will definitely get better and better," Wang Shoujie confidently smiled and said, "By the way, I heard that our nephew Zong Sheng's talent is not bad, with a lower-middle level of around 30%?"

As soon as the name "Zong Sheng" was mentioned, Wang Shou Yi's face lit up with joy, and he scratched his head, saying, "That kid is still doing well, better than his father, it seems my bloodline is not bad."

"Hehe, Second Brother, that's because of Second Sister-in-law's good bloodline," Wang Shoujie said with a smile, "I know that Second Sister-in-law was a famous beauty when she was in the Xu Clan's women's quarters in Jinsha, and many families went to propose to her. But who would have thought that you would ultimately win her heart?"

"Fourth Brother, you still remember this, you were just a kid back then? Hehe, Second Sister-in-law didn't like those flashy young masters, she only looked at Second Brother's honest and down-to-earth nature," Wang Shou Yi recalled, his face full of pride, "Being able to marry Second Sister-in-law is the greatest victory of my life, Wang Shou Yi. By the way, Fourth Brother, you're 18 this year, right? When are you planning to bring the Liu Clan's thousand-tael beauty back home?"

The Liu Clan's thousand-tael beauty?

Wang Shoujie was taken aback, and if Wang Shou Yi hadn't mentioned this, he would have forgotten that he had already promised to marry the Liu Clan's eldest daughter.

Logically, the declining Wang Clan was not worthy of marrying into the Liu Clan's main line, and their relationship was only maintained at the level of occasional intermarriage between direct descendants. It had been over a hundred years since the last time the Wang Clan and the Liu Clan's main line had intermarried.

At that time, the Liu Clan's eldest daughter had married Ancestor Zouxuan's second son, Wang Yu You, while Ancestor Zouxuan's second daughter, Wang Zhu Wei, had married into the Liu Clan's main line.

It's worth noting that Grandmother Zhu Wei had given birth to two sons and one daughter in the Liu Clan, and now the Liu Clan had two living Spirit Realm ancestors, one of whom was Grandmother Zhu Wei's son, and the other was her grandson.

It was precisely because of this that the Liu Clan of Shanyin had always cherished a sentimental bond with the Wang Clan.

However, the most formidable person in the Liu Clan was not those two Spirit Realm ancestors, but Grandmother Zhu Wei's daughter, Liu Xuanfu.

Looking back, Liu Xuanfu of the Liu Clan and Wang Longyan of the Wang Clan were cousins, and both were rare heavenly beauties, both of whom were admitted to the Purple Palace Academy, shocking the entire Changning Guard region at the time.

They were known as the Changning Twin Beauties, and their reputation exceeded that of the average family's Spirit Realm ancestors. Moreover, they had both developed well in the Purple Palace Academy, with a bright future ahead.

Unfortunately...

After the Wang Clan encountered a great disaster, Ancestor Longyan had to give up her elite student status at the academy and return to the family, ultimately suffering serious injuries and a significant reduction in her lifespan, and she still hadn't left Changning to this day.

As for Liu Xuanfu, she had continued to develop within the Purple Palace Academy, and her recent situation was not very clear. However, seeing the Liu Clan of Shanyin become increasingly powerful, it could be inferred that Liu Xuanfu had developed very smoothly within the academy.

Therefore, the marriage between Wang Shoujie and the Liu Clan's eldest daughter was a personal proposal by Ancestor Longyan, and it was also her preparation to leave a last guarantee for the family.

Perhaps Ancestor Longyan had paid some unknown price, or perhaps the Liu Clan still cherished the old affection, in any case, this marriage had been settled.

"Fourth Brother, what are you thinking about?" Wang Shou Yi asked with a smile, "Won't you be thinking about your future wife, Miss Liu Ruolan, the Liu lady?"

"Hehe, Second Brother, let's think more about how to prosper our family," Wang Shoujie shifted the topic, "If Sixth Uncle's fishing fleet can increase its annual output to twice that of previous years, can your fish market handle it?"

"What, twice?" Wang Shou Yi's face lit up, and he exclaimed, "Fourth Brother, is the family willing to expand our fishing boats? This is a great opportunity for the family, if it's true, I guarantee I won't fall behind."

"What about three times?" Wang Shoujie asked with a smile.

"Ah—" Wang Shou Yi took a deep breath, "Fourth Brother, don't tease your Second Brother."

Just as Wang Shoujie was about to explain a few sentences, a sinister laugh suddenly came from outside: "Wang Shou Yi, the second master of the Wang family, is he in? I'm Ding Youde, the second manager of the Fa Cai Gambling House. Your nephew owes our gambling house money, when is he planning to pay it back?"

Fa Cai Gambling House? Gambling debt? Nephew?

As Wang Shou Yi's face changed greatly, Wang Shoujie's smile also froze, and his eyes became somewhat sharp.

[Heartfelt thankyou for the support! SlaySaga]