Chapter 22: Amethyst Spirit Bee Hive (Patreon)

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However, this idea was only a fleeting thought, because Wang Shoujie only knew that the earliest Glutamate Sodium was extracted from seaweed, but the content of Glutamate Sodium in seaweed was very low, making it difficult to industrialize.

Modern technology extracts Glutamate Sodium from crops like soybeans through Microbial Fermentation.

However, Wang Shoujie was almost completely ignorant of the refining process and principles of Glutamate Sodium, making it uncertain when he could succeed if he were to develop it himself. Therefore, this idea of making a fortune was temporarily put on hold, and he decided to focus on improving and optimizing the family business instead.

"Second Brother, you understand the principles, I hope you can hurry up with the experiments and improvements, and don't disappoint Sixth Uncle's hard work in catching live fish. Of course, we also need to ensure the secrecy of our Wang Clan, and I believe you know how to do that better than I do."

After giving a few instructions, Wang Shoujie led his family guards to bid farewell.

Wang Shouyi, who had received the "legacy," was also eager to try it out. He didn't even bother to see Wang Shoujie off, and hastily went to experiment. Once successful, the fish market, a traditional family business, would be able to gain an advantage.

Changning Guard, East City Gate.

After leaving the city, it was a straight and wide official road.

Wang Shoujie, accompanied by two family guards, rode their horses at a gallop, stopping occasionally, and arrived at the Changning Ferry on the An River in less than half an hour.

The Changning Ferry was an official ferry, actually controlled by the Changning Guard government, and the influence of the three families in Ping'an Town also stopped here, marking a clear boundary.

A Wang Clan family guard had been waiting here and greeted Wang Shoujie and his entourage: "Wang Wu pays respects to the master."

"No need for formalities, have Mother and Fifth Sister arrived?" Wang Shoujie had left a letter for Gong Sunhui when he left the family, instructing her to act according to the plan.

"Reporting to the master," Wang Wu replied respectfully, "Mother and Fifth Miss's carriage is already waiting ahead."

Under Wang Wu's guidance, Wang Shoujie quickly met up with Gong Sunhui and the others. After getting on the carriage, Gong Sunhui first poured Wang Shoujie a cup of tea, with a worried expression: "Is the matter you mentioned in the letter really that serious?"

"It's probably even more serious than we imagined." Wang Shoujie took a sip of tea, composed himself, and frowned: "Qian's Trading Company has businesses all over Longzuo, but they seem to be unaware of this matter. It's clear that at least within the Longzu County area, there is no large power that has issued a warning about this disaster."

"How can this be?" Gong Sunhui's face turned pale as she exclaimed, "With so many wealthy families in Longzu County, not a single one has detected it? If so, won't many ordinary people suffer?"

"Don't worry too much, Mother. When the sky is about to fall, someone will always come to prop it up. Our small Wang Clan can only follow the trend and focus on how to survive and thrive. That's the right path." Wang Shoujie said calmly, "However, Mother is right. It's unlikely that we are the first to discover this pestilence in Longzu County. Maybe most people will overlook it, but there will always be some families that detect something unusual and make preparations in secret. Or maybe someone has already issued a warning, but the news hasn't reached us in Changning yet."

Human nature is the same everywhere.

After discovering this, Wang Shoujie immediately kept it a secret and prepared to take advantage of the situation, and other families that were lucky or clever enough to discover this would likely think the same way.

Moreover, Wang Shoujie discovered that this matter had already been delayed for too long, and he could only barely keep up with the situation. Even if he were to expose this matter, it would only hasten the outbreak of chaos, and it would be of no benefit to the overall situation.

"You're right, son," Gong Sunhui said with a sigh, "We small families can only take care of ourselves, and that's already not bad. The Daqian Government and the Purple Palace Academy, as well as those powerful clans, will definitely lend a hand in times of crisis. Philosopher, you're able to think of helping the Gongsun family at this critical moment, and I, as the matriarch, would like to thank you on behalf of the Shanyang Gongsun Clan."

"This is what you're saying, Mother?" Wang Shoujie laughed, "The Gongsun Clan and our Wang Clan have been intermarried for generations, and our bloodlines have long been intertwined. It's only natural that we should help each other."

As Wang Shoujie knew, the intermarriage between the Gongsun Clan and the Wang Clan was indeed very deep. Take Gongsun Mo, the current clan head of the Gongsun Clan, for example - his paternal grandmother was Wang Lingdie, the fourth-generation direct daughter of the Wang Clan, and Gong Sunhui would have to call her "great-grandmother".

Similarly, the direct line of the Wang Clan had also married a direct daughter of the Gongsun Clan in the fourth generation, who was Wang Shoujie's great-grandmother.

This showed how close the relationship was between the Gongsun Clan and the Wang Clan in terms of their direct bloodlines.

As soon as the three words "grandfather" were mentioned, Gong Sunhui's expression changed slightly, and she said with a mix of emotions, "Son, you've really grown up and become sensible."

Gong Sunhui was not Wang Shoujie's birth mother, but she was his stepmother. Her father, Gongsun Mo, was naturally Wang Shoujie's grandfather. However, Wang Shoujie's previous life had been quite lonely, and he had been relatively distant from Gongsun Mo since childhood.

As for Gong Sunhui, after remarrying Wang Dingyue, she had only given birth to one direct daughter and no direct sons, so she had placed all her hopes on her direct son, Wang Shoujie.

According to the laws of the Daqian Kingdom and the rules followed by all martial clans, the relationship between a stepmother and her stepson, regardless of whether they were biologically related or not, was a legitimate mother-son relationship.

While Gong Sunhui was chatting, Fifth Sister Wang Luojing sat quietly, listening attentively, even though she found it boring. She only blinked her eyes and didn't dare to say much.

"Luo Jing, Fourth Brother has brought you a gift. Take a look and see if you like it," Wang Shoujie said, handing over a package.

Wang Luojing opened it and saw that it was a beehive. She was overjoyed and covered her mouth, exclaiming, "This, this beehive is perfectly round, with a six-sided entrance, and its color is slightly crystalline. Could it be the legendary Amethyst Spirit Bee hive? Thank you, Fourth Brother, it's too good!"

Wait, what's this Amethyst Spirit Bee?

Wang Shoujie's face turned slightly red with embarrassment: "Luo Jing, you're not knowledgeable enough. This is clearly a Tiger Head Spirit Bee hive."

Wang Luojing was slightly taken aback, biting her jade finger as she said, "I know, Fourth Brother. You're testing me again. According to the Insect Classic, Tiger Head Spirit Bees and Amethyst Spirit Bees look similar in their first stage, with only minor differences. The Amethyst Spirit Bee is slightly longer in body shape. However, their beehives are quite different. Tiger Head Spirit Bee hives are usually flatter, with a coarser entrance. Amethyst Spirit Bee hives are usually round, with a crystalline body. This is an Amethyst Spirit Bee hive in its first stage, and it's already slightly crystalline. If they were to advance to the second stage, their hives would be more than ten times larger, and their bodies would gradually take on a Amethystline form."

As she spoke, Wang Luojing carefully poured out a few bee larvae, and her face was filled with distress: "The people who harvested this beehive are really stupid. Many of the larvae have died, oh no~ This is really an Amethyst Spirit Bee hive, and there are only a few dozen surviving larvae. What a pity!"

"Is this really an Amethyst Spirit Bee hive?" Wang Shoujie's face also turned strange, "Do I count as having stumbled upon a treasure?" As the young master of a minor clan, he naturally had to learn a lot, and he was familiar with the Tiger Head Spirit Bee, which was a common type of spirit bee.

However, he didn't know much about the Amethyst Spirit Bee, only that it was a rare species that could grow into a second-stage spirit bee.

Gong Sunhui, who was listening on the side, was also shocked, covering her mouth as she said, "Philosopher, you didn't really buy this thinking it was a Tiger Head Spirit Bee hive, did you? How much did you spend?"

"I just happened to be browsing the market and saw this beehive. I thought of Fifth Sister, who has the potential to become a Spirit Insect Master, so I bought it for her to play with..." Wang Shoujie said with a laugh, "I haggled the price down to ten taels of silver, and it seems that both the vendor and I were blind to its value, haha~"

"You're not just blind, you're both oblivious," Gong Sunhui said with a laugh, "The Amethyst Spirit Bee, once it matures, produces Amethyst spirit honey, which has the effect of nourishing the body and beautifying the skin. It's a key ingredient in many second-stage Spirit Elixirs. If you can produce the 【Amethyst Bee King Honey】, that would be a standard third-stage spirit material, and one of the main ingredients in the famous third-stage Spirit Elixir, the 【Spirit Awakening Pill】."

"Whoa~" Wang Shoujie took a deep breath, "The Spirit Awakening Pill, isn't that the legendary Spirit Elixir that can improve one's martial arts aptitude?"

[Heartfelt thankyou for the support! SlaySaga]

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Next Chapter ->Chapter 23: The Gong Sun Clan's "Young Clan Leader"