Chapter 40: Obsession with the Golden Finger (Patreon)

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The next five or six days passed quietly.

On the food transportation line, Gong Sun Qiang and Sixth Uncle Wang Dinghai were the first to complete their tasks. As a reward, Wang Shoujie promised Gong Sun Qiang that the last batch of grain could be transported back to the Gong Sun Clan, but at a fair price.

As a result, the "generous uncle" was also a "tough guy," who not only overloaded the carts with mineral slaves on their shoulders but also managed to transport three thousand sacks of grain back. The next day, he hastily sent over two hundred gold coins as payment, looking like he was afraid Wang Shoujie would go back on his word.

No wonder he was so tough, as the disaster situation in the entire Changning Guard was getting more and more severe. Only those with the means to invite a Spirit Insect Master or purchase large quantities of insecticide powder at a high price, like the Martial Clan, could hold on.

However, most ordinary families were not so lucky, and their fields were plagued by insect infestations. They could only rely on large amounts of plant ash to kill the insects, but against the increasingly severe effects of the aphids, the reduction in yield was inevitable.

Wang Shoujie also heard some even worse news, that this disaster was likely to spread beyond Longzu County. So, having food in hand would become even more valuable in the future.

Meanwhile, Wang Shoujie was not idle.

Daily cultivation was indispensable, and since he had been eating well lately, his body's qi and blood were flourishing. He could clearly feel his daily progress, steadily advancing towards the seventh layer of the Qi Refining Realm.

Of course, the path of cultivation was not easy, requiring a gradual transformation and strengthening of the body, which needed to be achieved through diligent practice.

He wished he could be like the protagonists in novels, who could take a few pills and instantly rise to a higher level, or kill a few chickens and dogs to gain experience points. But in his world, these were just fantasies. Everyone's cultivation level was the result of their own hard work and practice.

Apart from cultivation, Wang Shoujie was also busy with his system panel.

Since he didn't bring a system with him when he crossed over, he could only rely on himself to create a makeshift system panel.

First, he tackled the family's expenses.

Before clearing up the panel, Wang Shoujie was quite unclear about the family's expenses, but after checking the accounts with his aunt, he was shocked to discover that the expenses of a family were so enormous.

Taking his current situation as the clan leader, he enjoyed a certain amount of supplies and resources.

The annual allocation of ordinary goods included:

* 300 jin of fine rice (24 large copper coins)

* 150 jin of fine flour (15 large copper coins)

* 200 jin of various vegetables (8 large copper coins)

* 400 jin of melons and fruits (48 large copper coins)

* 20 jin of honey (20 large copper coins)

* 250 jin of pork (75 large copper coins)

* 150 jin of ordinary beef and mutton (60 large copper coins)

* 100 chickens and ducks (60 large copper coins)

* 30 geese (45 large copper coins)

* 100 jin of eggs (20 large copper coins)

* 20 jin of lard (8 large copper coins)

* 20 jin of fine bean oil (12 large copper coins)

* 10 jin of high-quality soy sauce (20 large copper coins)

* 5 jin of high-quality salt (20 large copper coins)

* 1 jin of snowflake salt (10 large copper coins)

* 10 jin of snowflake sugar (20 large copper coins)

* 1 jin of seasoning spices (10 large copper coins)

* 5 jin of incense (25 large copper coins)

* 500 jin of fine charcoal (15 large copper coins)

* 30 bundles of firewood (6 large copper coins)

* Expenditures on clothing and bedding (100 large copper coins)

* Other living expenses (20 large copper coins)

Just Wang Shoujie's annual consumption of ordinary goods reached 6 gold and 51 large copper coins. After looking at the list, he felt that it was a bit too much, but upon further reflection, he realized that he indeed had a large appetite.

He was about to reach the seventh layer of the Qi Refining Realm, and his food intake was far beyond that of an ordinary person. Moreover, cultivation was not just about sitting in meditation, but also required practicing martial arts, body techniques, swordplay, archery, and riding, which all consumed a lot of physical energy.

These ordinary foods were barely enough to satisfy his current needs. His aunt, Gong Sunhui, often allocated some of her allowance to Wang Shoujie.

Of course, this was just a small part of the expenses. The main part was the allocation of cultivation resources for Wang Shoujie every year.

* 60 jin of Spirit Rice (12 gold coins)

* 60 jin of Spirit Fish (20 gold coins)

* 60 jin of Spirit Meat (20 gold coins)

* 12 Minor Nourishing Pills (120 gold coins)

The total cost of these cultivation resources was 172 gold coins per year, just for him. And as his cultivation level increased, this part would need to be further increased. Otherwise, it would be hard to keep up with his consumption.

This was also why Wang Shoujie, at a young age, was about to reach the seventh layer of the Qi Refining Realm. It was not just because of his exceptional cultivation talent, but also because the family was investing heavily in him.

Imagine, the family's Spirit Fish, although produced by their own Fishing Team, averaged only around 400 jin per year, but Wang Shoujie alone needed 60 jin.

As for Spirit Meat, the sources were more diverse, usually obtained through hunting or purchase, because the Wang Clan did not have the financial resources or ability to raise Spirit-Horned Yaks. Hunting was mainly used to train the family's younger generation and supplement their meat supply.

However, due to the fear of venturing deep into the wilderness, they rarely caught fierce beasts. At least, the Wang Clan had not caught any fierce beasts in their autumn and winter hunts for five years. Therefore, the Wang Clan's main source of Spirit Meat was through external purchases, which was a huge expense.

In addition, as the clan leader, Wang Shoujie received a monthly allowance of 5 gold coins, which was 60 gold coins per year. This private fund could be used at his discretion. As the clan leader, there were many places where he needed to use private funds.

Therefore, Wang Shoujie's direct annual expenses alone would amount to approximately 240 gold. This does not include the costs of maintaining the family's residences, horse-drawn carriages, and specialized servants, as these are accounted for under other family expenditures.

As a result, the total expenses are staggering.

If he were to take a formal wife, the resources allocated for her would likely be reduced to about one-third of the current amount. However, the expenses for the wife of the clan leader, including her clothing, food, and upkeep, would still be around 100-200 gold.

Furthermore, the family's other expenses are also astonishing.

The average annual expenditure for all members of the Wang Clan, including Wang Shoujie, reaches around 1800 gold. The nine family generals and their families, as well as their retainers, have expenses that total nearly 350 gold.

There are also seven young or underage family generals in training, with resource costs of around 80 gold. Additionally, there are over 100 family servants, divided into several levels, with a total annual expenditure of around 170 gold.

Just the personnel in the main residence of the Wang Clan would consume around 2400 gold annually. Of course, not all of this 2400 gold is actual gold expenditure; a significant portion is resource allocation, with gold used as a unit of measurement.

For example, the White Jade Spirit Rice produced in the Xingsheng Farm's spirit field is recorded as farm income when it enters the family's accounts. When it is distributed to individuals in the form of resources, its value is ultimately reflected in gold.

Similarly, the fish, fresh fish, and Spirit Fish produced by the Sixth Uncle Wang Dinghai's Fishing Team are recorded as income when they enter the family's accounts, and the family also records the corresponding expenses.

Of course, these accounts only involve material transactions, and no actual gold is exchanged. Therefore, the profits referred to in the Fishing Team's accounts are usually book profits, not actual gold earnings. These profits have already been converted into material supplies for the family.

However, as a large martial clan, massive material expenditures are unavoidable. In fact, the Ping'an Wang Clan is already considered frugal, with overall expenditures being relatively low. The ancestors, including Ancestor Longyan and the elder generation, have been tightening their belts and cutting costs to the minimum.

Fortunately, the family has three main pillar industries.

Among them, the purely agricultural Fenggu Farm is currently the lowest-earning industry, while others like Xingsheng Farm, with its 20 acres of spirit field, have higher yields.

Additionally, the Xinmao Silkworm Farm focuses on producing cocoons and has a long-term stable supply contract with the Changning Xu Clan, generating mostly gold income.

The other two family industries, the Ping'an Wang Clan Fish Market and the Fishing Team, are managed by younger generations and have had significantly lower earnings in previous years.

However, this year's Fishing Team and Wang Clan Fish Market, after Wang Shoujie's efforts, are bound to take off, and it's not surprising if they surpass the earnings of the pillar industries.

Moreover, this year, as the largest grain-producing farm, Fenggu Farm, will also face a glorious moment with the arrival of the locust plague.

More importantly, Wang Shoujie, relying on some intelligence gathered during the locust plague, made a bold move and reaped a huge profit of over 10,000 gold, enough to bring about a qualitative change to the Wang Clan's struggling livelihood.

Just thinking about the stacks of gold notes and the overflowing granaries, Wang Shoujie's heart swells with pride!

The Ping'an Wang Clan is destined to rise to prominence!

After collecting his thoughts, Wang Shoujie turned his attention to the self-built earth system panel.

First, there was the main interface.

[Family Name]: Longzuo Changning Ping'an Wang Clan

[Family Rank]: Ninth Rank

[Family Prestige]: [Village Prestige (75) Renowned], [County Prestige (21) Somewhat Famous], [Prefecture Prestige (00) Unknown]

[Family Industries]: 5 items (click to view details)

[Family Members]: [Internal (35)], [External (10)] (click to view details)

[Family Relatives]: 6 (click to view details)

[Family Generals]: [Adult (9)], [Minor (7)] (click to view details)

[Family Servants]: [Adult (112)], [Minor (32)] (click to view details)

[Income and Expenditure List]: (click to view details)

After setting this up, even Wang Shoujie felt like he had played too many games or read too many system novels in his past life. If he didn't create a "system panel," he would feel uncomfortable.

However, this system is relatively simple, consisting of paper-based panels, with many templates still needing to be slowly added.

"Click to view details," Wang Shoujie said, pretending to click on the family industries item, which then jumped to the [Family Industries] details page.

In reality, he was just flipping through the small notebook of family industries... still bound with his own thread...

[Heartfelt thankyou for the support! SlaySaga]

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Next Chapter ->Chapter 41: Paying Respects to Ancestor Longyan