Chapter 56: In the Years to Come, I Will Be the Green Emperor, and the Peach Blossoms Will Bloom with a Smile (Patreon)

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"Wang Zhong, Wang Yong, you two have also done a great job." Wang Shoujie was quite satisfied with these two family retainers, who had strong combat skills and were capable of handling tasks. He immediately rewarded them with 10 gold coins.

The two family retainers were overjoyed and knelt down to thank him: "Thank you, Master, for your reward."

During this time, following the master and handling tasks had been very profitable, and their hearts were filled with enthusiasm. They were among the top-ranked family retainers, and their annual stipend was not low, with a standard of living that could reach around 2 gold coins per year. Moreover, they received 20 gold coins' worth of cultivation resources and 12 gold coins' worth of extra salary every year.

Compared to ordinary commoners, their income was extremely high. Therefore, Wang Shoujie's reward of 10 gold coins was a significant amount. Especially for Wang Zhong, who had recently completed a task as bait to lure out a disciple from the Yinsha Sect, and had been rewarded an additional 20 gold coins, making him extremely wealthy.

"Work hard and cultivate well," Wang Shoujie encouraged them before returning to his cabin to rest. He was generous with them because he intended to support them. Although the stipend for family retainers was not low, the resources they enjoyed were ultimately inferior to those of the bloodline clan members. Both Wang Zhong and Wang Yong were in their thirties, and it was not easy for them to cultivate to the fourth or fifth level of the Qi Refining Realm.

After that, the journey was uneventful.

When they arrived at the Fenggu Gate, they took a small boat from the Inner River to the main residence. This round trip had been very smooth, taking around 10 days in total.

On the boat with a black awning.

Wang Shoujie saw the massive changes in Fenggu Farm, where thousands of acres of wheat had been harvested, and the threshing grounds were piled high with wheat, like small hills.

It was a bumper harvest.

The busy farmers, with satisfied smiles on their faces, would have a better life this year.

In this world, most farms operated on a tenant-farmer model, where the more grain they produced, the more benefits they could share. Apart from what they needed for themselves, they could exchange the surplus grain for large copper coins.

Once they had saved enough money, they could send their children to Ping'an Town to learn a trade, and when their children had mastered a skill, they could become self-sufficient and start their own families.

If they saved even more, they could buy 10 or 20 acres of fertile farmland. Then, they could build a house next to the farmland and become self-cultivating farmers.

However, it was not easy to transition from a tenant farmer family to a self-cultivating farmer family. It often required the efforts and hard work of one or even two generations.

There were many cases of tenant farmer families gradually becoming self-cultivating farmers, and conversely, self-cultivating farmer families falling into decline and becoming tenant farmers. This was a normal phenomenon, like the ebb and flow of the tides.

Similarly, there were many cases of martial clans rising to prominence and then declining, and conversely, martial clans that were once in decline rising to power again.

In the eyes of these farmers, the Ping'an Wang Clan was like heaven.

But at this moment, Wang Shoujie had a revelation: the Wang Clan and these tenant farmer families or self-cultivating farmer families were not fundamentally different. Everyone wanted to work hard and accumulate wealth to make their family or clan stronger.

The black-awninged boat passed through Fenggu Farm, following the winding river course to the main residence, passing through several villages along the way. These villages had fewer than 30-40 households or more than 200-300 households, mostly self-cultivating farmer villages, with some small farms.

In the past, Ancestor Zouxuan had brought a group of over 100 people from the Wang Clan's side branches to open up the land in the south, apart from his own small family. However, these side branches had been separated from the Wang Clan's main bloodline for too long, and the ancestral bloodline had become extremely diluted, making it difficult to produce talented cultivators.

However, these Wang Clan side branches had taken root in Ping'an Town, branching out generation after generation. Today, the number of Wang Clan side branches in Ping'an Town alone had exceeded 1,000 people.

Due to the large population base, even in the recent generation, two individuals with martial arts talent have emerged. One is Wang Shoujie's servant, Wang Gui, and the other is Wang Xiaoyu, a maid who follows Wang Luoyi.

In this Mysterious Martial World, bloodline inheritance is the most crucial matter. Direct descendants will not intermarry with collateral lines, as this would dilute the martial arts bloodline in their offspring, potentially giving birth to children without martial arts talent. If that happens, it would be a tragedy.

Because such offspring would not be able to marry someone with excellent bloodline, no family would allow their talented daughters to marry someone without martial arts talent. Similarly, no direct descendant of a prominent family would marry a woman without martial arts talent.

Ultimately, such offspring would likely only be able to marry into a collateral line, which would be another tragic beginning, with a high probability of producing offspring without martial arts talent. As a result, their descendants would not even be able to enter the family registry, and would be relegated to the collateral line.

It is precisely because of this that the Mysterious Martial World attaches great importance to bloodline, with direct descendants marrying direct descendants, and collateral lines marrying collateral lines. This is an absolute rule that cannot be violated.

Even for Martial Clans, collateral lines are only considered collateral, and are not even considered true family members. Normally, ordinary collateral lines cannot even enter the main house's front door.

However, the Wang Clan's collateral lines, under the Wang Clan's care, live relatively comfortably and affluently. Key positions in the Family Industries that require trust are also reserved for talented individuals from the collateral lines.

Moreover, many managerial positions in the Wang Clan Manor are also held by talented collateral line members of the Wang Clan.

Such systems are not unique to the Wang Clan, but are a universal practice in the world.

Wang Shoujie has no power or intention to change these customs. You can't expect him, as a direct descendant, to marry a direct descendant from another family or a collateral line, can you? Not to mention the family's face, but also the well-being of his own descendants.

The Liu Clan's thousand-gold talent is a direct descendant, and he is also a direct descendant. Their bloodlines are not inferior, and their offspring will certainly be talented. They might even be lucky enough to produce a mid-grade talented child, which would be a blessing for both the Wang and Liu Clans.

In the villages and farmlands within the Wang Clan's sphere of influence, the crops have been affected by Wang Luojing's spiritual worm. Although they still suffered a disaster, the reduction in yield was not too severe, and at least they made it through this season without major issues, which was a relief for Wang Shoujie.

Just as Wang Shoujie was lost in thought, the black-sailed boat entered Zhuwei Lake and then docked at the Wang Clan Manor's rear courtyard. At this time, there were no more transport ships at the dock, indicating that Wang Luotong had successfully completed his task.

First, they sent Ancestor back to the Longyan Residence, and then Aunt Xu Zhirou and Wang Lici also completed their tasks. Wang Lici was walking with a spring in her step, feeling like she had just escaped a disaster and was overjoyed.

Hehe!

Wang Shoujie chuckled to himself. First, he bowed to Xu Zhirou, saying, "Fourth Aunt, you've worked hard on this journey." She had taken good care of Ancestor Longyan on the road, showing great care and tenderness.

"It's nothing, I'm just doing my duty," Xu Zhirou hurriedly replied, bowing in return.

Wang Shoujie then handed her five gold notes worth ten taels each as a token of appreciation, but Xu Zhirou was shocked by the large amount and quickly waved her hand, saying, "No, no, I don't need it. This is what I should do."

"Fourth Aunt, just take it. This money comes from the clan's treasury, not my personal account," Wang Shoujie said with a smile, putting the money directly into her hand. "Third Brother, Fourth Sister, and Fifth Sister are all at critical stages in their cultivation. And you've been working too hard over the years, so be sure to take care of your energy and adjust your body accordingly."

Xu Zhirou's eyes moistened, and she was about to say something when Wang Shoujie stopped her, instructing her to rest.

After Xu Zhirou left, Wang Lici began to stare at Wang Shoujie with a greedy expression, not caring about the money, but rather the large pile of seafood and local specialties he had brought back, including many delicious snacks.

Fourth Uncle, ah Fourth Uncle, Lici is so obedient and listens to you, Fourth Uncle, you have so many delicious things, can't you spare me half, no, 30%?

"Good girl, you've done well this time," Wang Shoujie praised, pinching her round face, and then pulled out a few books from his pocket. "Fourth Uncle knows you love to read, so I've carefully prepared these gifts for you as a reward. You mustn't slack off, Fourth Uncle will test you at any time."

"What, what, what?"

Wang Lici felt like the sky was spinning, and she was being treated unfairly by this devilish Fourth Uncle.

How infuriating!

Fourth Uncle, ah Fourth Uncle, haven't you heard the saying, "Thirty years on the east bank, thirty years on the west bank, don't bully a poor girl!" If I become the Azure Emperor in the future, I'll make your peach blossoms bloom all over your face!

[Heartfelt thankyou for the support! SlaySaga]

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Next Chapter ->Chapter 57: Acceleration Sprint Spirit Platform Boundary