...
It was a robust man wearing coarse hemp clothing and busy at work. He put down the box of salted fish he was carrying on his shoulder with a 'clang' and walked over with great excitement.
Wang Shouzhe composed himself and recognized that it was his elder brother, Wang Shouyi, the second of his generation with the character "Shou" in their names. He immediately gave a respectful bow and flashed a smile: "Second Brother, why are you dressed like this and even handling the chores yourself?"
Wang Shouyi grinned helplessly: "You don't know, for some reason, Sixth Uncle has sent over the entire stock of salted fish from the Dingpu Warehouse for me to sell urgently. Even with the help of porters, it's too hectic. See, we are still unloading the goods."
As he spoke, he pointed at several horse carts loaded with goods that were lined up behind him, almost blocking the road entirely.
Eh... Hehe.
Wang Shouzhe, of course, knew the reason. Due to his suggestions and plans, the amount of fish caught by the fishing team this year was unprecedented. If the stock of salted fish is not sold as soon as possible, once the large amount of freshly caught fish hits the market, the unsold salted fish would be left to waste.
"Wang Zhong, Wang Yong, help with the unloading," Wang Shouzhe waved his hand.
"Yes, Family Head." The two house guards promptly put down their baggage to lend a hand. Both of them, one at the Qi Refinement Realm Level Four and the other at Level Five, had physical strength much stronger than ordinary people.
To top it off, Wang Shouyi was also at the Qi Refinement Realm Level Five. With these three martial artists unloading together, the speed shot up rapidly.
Of course, Wang Shouzhe was already at the High Level Six of the Qi Refinement Realm. If he were to help, it would be even faster. But him, the prominent head of the family, moving salted fish would surely tarnish the family's reputation if word got out, wouldn't it?
In less than an hour, all the fish from the horse carts were moved into the warehouse, and the road was clear again.
Afterwards, a freshly cleaned-up Wang Shouyi originally planned to entertain Wang Shouzhe in the backyard. However, he was turned down, which led them to find a place in the fish stall to chat over tea.
"Fourth Brother, our fish stall mainly sells salted and smoked dry fish, fresh fish, and live fish," Wang Shouyi personally poured the tea and explained, "The dry goods such as salted fish are mostly bought by traveling merchants in bulk and sold towards the northwest."
"The fresh fish is primarily sold to the vendors inside Changning Guard City, who come to our stall to pick up the goods every day early in the morning. Secondly, we supply fresh and live fish to several restaurants in the city. For these, we provide the delivery service but the price is slightly higher."
"Further, some prominent families and wealthy merchant houses also have a lot of fresh and live fish requirements daily. Therefore, every day from the early morning to noon is the busiest time for our fish stall."
With this explanation, Wang Shouzhe understood how the Wang family's fish stall operated. The main idea was to sell the fish caught by the fishing team at the highest price possible. The net income it could bring to the family was about two hundred Qian gold a year.
It was precisely because the net profit wasn't high that the seventh-generation clansman, Wang Shouyi, was assigned the responsibility here.
Wang Shouyi's talents were not outstanding, merely Grade D. Therefore, the resources he had enjoyed from the family since childhood could not compare with Wang Dingyue and Wang Shouzhe, which resulted in his cultivation being only in the early Level Five of Qi Refinement Realm at thirty-three years old.
Fortunately, Wang Shouyi was calm, hardworking and had no complaints about the family's allocation of resources. Instead, he conscientiously took charge of one of the family businesses and contributed to the family.
"Second Brother, you've worked hard over the years," Wang Shouzhe said gravely as he bowed his hand.
"What are you talking about, Fourth Brother?" Wang Shouyi hastily returned the formality. "As a direct bloodline of the Wang family, it's my duty to manage the family's businesses. What's there to be hard about? As long as one day you can break through to the Spirit Platform Realm, our Wang Family will surely have better days."
Spirit Platform Realm! Spirit Platform Realm!
Wang Shouzhe sighed inwardly. All of his clan members were placing their hopes on him. It was this hope that allowed them to work tirelessly.
"Don't worry, Second Brother. Our Wang Family is bound to get better and better." Wang Shouzhe confidently grinned, "By the way, I heard that nephew Zongsheng is quite gifted and has a Grade C talent?"
Upon mention of Zongsheng, a joyful smile appeared on Wang Shouyi's honest face, "That boy is pretty good, better than his father. It looks like my bloodline is pretty decent!"
"Hehe, Second Brother, that's because your wife has good bloodlines," Wang Shouzhe said, teasingly. "I know, Second Sister-in-law was a famous beauty when she was at the Xu Clan of Jingsha waiting for marriage, many families proposed marriage to her. Yet, unexpectedly, you managed to fight your way through and captured Second Sister-in-law's heart."
"You still remember that, Fourth Brother? Weren't you a child at that time? Hehe, your Second Sister-in-law doesn't like those flashy young masters, and instead took a liking to your simple and honest Second Brother," Wang Shouyi said, recalling the past with evident pride. "Marrying your Second Sister-in-law was the biggest victory of my life. By the way, you turned eighteen this year, didn't you, Fourth Brother? When do you plan to bring home the Liu Family's daughter?"
The Liu family's daughter?
Wang Shouzhe was taken aback. Had Wang Shouyi not brought it up, he had forgotten that he was already engaged to the eldest legitimate daughter of the Liu Family.
Under normal circumstances, the now declining Wang Family would not be able to forge a connection with the direct line of the Liu family. Their relationship only extended to occasional intermarriages between their direct lines. The last marriage between the direct lines of the Wang and Liu families was a few hundred years ago.
At that time, Liu Xuanfu, the daughter of the Liu family's direct line, married Wang Yu, Zhou Xuan's second son, and Wang Zhuwei, Zhou Xuan's second daughter, married into the Liu family's direct line.
It should be noted that Grand Aunt Zhuwei gave birth to two sons and a daughter in the Liu Family, and the two living old ancestors of the Liu family at the Spirit Platform Realm level, one was Grand Aunt Zhuwei's son, and the other was her grandson.
It also explained why the Liu Family in Shanyin always reciprocated the kindness owed to the Wang Family.
However, the most remarkable person in the Liu family was Liu Xuanfu, the daughter of Grand Aunt Zhuwei.
Liu Xuanfu and Wang Longyan of the Wang Family were both regarded as Heaven's Spoiled Girls and were concurrently admitted into the Purple Abode's academic palace, which caused a sensation in the entire region of Changning Weicheng.
They were known as the two beauties of Changning, and their reputations surpassed that of many families' Old Ancestors at the Spirit Platform Realm. Moreover, they both performed well at the Purple Abode's academic palace and had promising futures.
Regrettably,
Following the Wang Family's great tragedy, Old Ancestor Longyan had to abandon her position as an outstanding disciple in the Academic Palace and return to her family. Unfortunately, she suffered a severe injury and her lifespan significantly decreased. She has not left Changning ever since.
Liu Xuanfu, on the other hand, continued to develop in the Purple Abode's Academic Palace, and her recent status was unknown. However, the growing strength of the Shanyin Liu Family indicated that her progress in the Purple Abode's Academic Palace must be going well.
Therefore, Wang Shouzhe's engagement to the legitimate daughter of the Liu Family was proposed by Old Ancestor Longyan when she personally visited them. This was her way of leaving a final safeguard for the family.
Perhaps Old Ancestor Longyan paid an unknown cost, or perhaps the Liu family still holds onto past sentiments, in any case, the engagement was set.
"Fourth brother, Fourth brother, what are you thinking about?" Wang Shouyi laughed hehehe, "Could it be you're thinking about your unbetrothed wife - Liu Ruolan, Miss Liu?"
"Hehe~ Second Brother, let's focus more on how to strengthen our family," Wang Shouzhe diverted the topic, "If Uncle Six's fishing fleet produces double the yield compared to previous years, can your fish stall handle it?"
"What, double?" Excitement colored Wang Shouyi's face as he exclaimed, "Fourth Brother, is the family willing to expand the fishing boats? This is a good thing for the family. If it really happens, I'll make sure not to drag us down."
"What about twice that?" Wang Shouzhe said with a smile.
"Sigh~" Wang Shouyi inhaled deeply, "Fourth Brother, don't tease your Second Brother."
Just as Wang Shouzhe was about to explain, a sinister laughter echoed from outside, "Is Wang Family's Second Brother, Wang Shouyi, in? It's Ding Youde, the second shopkeeper of the Wealth Casino. Your nephew owes our gambling house money, when will he pay it back?"
Wealth Casino? Gambling debt? Nephew?
At the same time as Wang Shouyi's face changed drastically, Wang Shouzhe's smile also froze on his face, and his eyes became sharper.
...