Chapter 26

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Wang Liuyu also held Wang Luojing, asking her many questions, clearly showing her deep concern for this well-behaved niece who had lost her father at a young age. She even gave her a gold note worth ten thousand gold.

" Aunt, Jing'er can't accept it. I heard that Cousin Zhuo is currently striving to reach the third level of the Qi Condensation stage. You should keep it for him," Wang Luojing waved her hands, refusing to accept it.

Usually, the cultivation resources for young clan members mainly come from the family's supply. In addition, closer relatives, such as parents, often try to support the younger generation.

However, Wang Luojing's father, Wang Dingbang, died five years ago, so she was at a disadvantage in this aspect.

"Jing'er, take it if your aunt gives it to you," Wang Liuyu said with a slight annoyance, "Your father is gone, and I, as your aunt, should help you."

"Luojing, just take it," Wang Shouzhe said with a smile, "Don't disappoint your third aunt's good intentions."

Of course, he was well aware that this was after Wang Luojing and Wang Shouzhe had both shown great value. "Cheap grandfather" Gongsun Mo had specially invited the third aunt and third uncle to join them, aiming to strengthen the relationship between the two families and play the family card again.

Moreover, Wang Luojing was a future Spirit Insect Master. When was a better time to court her? Wang Shouzhe was naturally pleased to see the relationship between the two families become more intimate, as the Gongsun family's overall strength was much greater than that of the Wang family.

"Yes, Fourth Brother, thank you, Third Aunt," Wang Luojing obediently accepted it.

Then, the two families sat down to a harmonious meal.

However, the main focus this time was not Wang Shouzhe, but Wang Luojing.

"Luojing," Gongsun Mo said kindly, personally serving her a bowl of White Jade Spirit Rice and a large piece of Spirit Horned Beef and Spirit Fish, "You've worked hard today. Eat more, don't be shy."

Wang Luojing was a bit at a loss and looked weakly at Wang Shouzhe. Family resources were always distributed uniformly. As a girl in the main lineage, Wang Luojing's cultivation ranking in the family was not high, and the amount of spirit food she received each month was very limited. How could she indulge in such luxury?

She pursed her lips, wanting to eat but not daring to.

"Eat, don't disappoint your grandfather's intentions," Wang Shouzhe patted her head affectionately, "In the future, your brother will work harder to ensure everyone in the family lives a good life."

"Okay, thank you, Fourth Brother, thank you, Grandfather Gongsun," Wang Luojing obediently picked up her chopsticks and started eating the White Jade Spirit Rice, looking very satisfied.

Seeing her eat so happily, Wang Shouzhe felt both comforted and a heavy sense of responsibility as the head of the clan.

"Shouzhe, this time it's also thanks to you," Gongsun Mo said, pouring spirit wine for Wang Shouzhe, "Our people have assessed that due to your support, we have at most a 20% reduction in production compared to last year, saving us over ten thousand gold."

Over ten thousand gold was a huge sum for both the Gongsun and Wang families. What Gongsun Mo cared about even more was the friendly signal Wang Shouzhe had sent to the Gongsun family.

Therefore, the Gongsun family also showed their utmost sincerity in hosting Wang Shouzhe and his group, providing ample spirit wine and spirit food. This meal alone would cost at least ten thousand gold.

"Grandfather, you're being too polite," Wang Shouzhe said humbly, taking a sip of spirit wine, "To be honest, it's also our good luck that my sister happened to understand some insect control techniques."

The young clan leader, Gongsun Qiang, who was also present, looked excited: "Speaking of which, it's your good fortune, Shouzhe. Just after becoming clan leader, you discovered a Spirit Insect Master in the family. I wonder if Luojing has a fiancé yet? Have you considered our little Yan?"

"Hmm?"

Wang Luojing, who was eating, suddenly opened her eyes wide, as if she had been startled.

"Uncle, Luojing is only twelve years old," Wang Shouzhe's tone revealed a hint of dissatisfaction, "Moreover, your nephew is from the main lineage of the Gongsun family, while our Luojing is just from the main lineage. I'm afraid they are not a good match."

"No problem, no problem," Gongsun Qiang seemed to ignore Wang Shouzhe's implied meaning, "A good girl like Luojing, our family wouldn't mind her lineage."

Wang Shouzhe rubbed his forehead, thinking, "You might not mind, but we do."

Fortunately, Gongsun Hui intervened: "Brother, don't get your hopes up. Our Luojing is a Spirit Insect Master with boundless potential. Just take her ability to control a Nine-Star Insect King; in the future, she will be a treasure in the entire Changning Garrison. After the Purple Mansion's insect extermination powder failed so badly, no one would want to use it again, right?"

Pausing for a moment, Gongsun Hui continued, "Take the Gongsun family's 16,000 acres of good land. If we use the powder once per season, twice a year, it would cost over 300,000 gold annually. If our Wang family charges the Gongsun family 200,000 gold for a Spirit Insect Master to personally drive away the insects, would you do this business?"

Gongsun Hui's words seemed to awaken everyone.

Even Gongsun Mo drew a sharp breath, looking at Wang Luojing with great respect, as if he were looking at a gold mine.

The earning potential of a Spirit Insect Master was truly immense.

Wang Shouzhe had already considered this business. However, with just Luojing as a Spirit Insect Master, the number of acres she could handle in a limited time was limited, at most 50,000 to 60,000 acres.

But even so, just by helping various families drive away insects, they could earn at least 700,000 to 800,000 gold a year, and that was at a friendly discount price.

Not to mention, Spirit Insect Masters were best at cultivating spirit insects, many of which were economically valuable, such as spirit silkworms and spirit bees.

So, Gongsun Hui's words echoed Wang Shouzhe's thoughts: Gongsun Qiang, you're dreaming. No family would be willing to give away such a golden child in marriage.

"Shouzhe, you're really blessed," Gongsun Qiang looked at Wang Shouzhe with envy and jealousy, wishing his own family could produce a Spirit Insect Master.

Unfortunately, Spirit Insect Masters were not easy to come by.

Firstly, the number of people with the talent to be a Spirit Insect Master is extremely rare. They must have the ability to communicate with insects, which is a very specialized talent.

Secondly, most major families do not have a tradition of Spirit Insect Masters, making it difficult to identify such talents among their members.

According to the Gongsun family's intelligence, there were only three Spirit Insect Masters in the entire Changning Garrison region: one from the Shanyin Liu family, one from the Changning Xu family, and one serving as a vassal in the City Guard.

The Gongsun family's intelligence was more detailed, as the Gongsun family was stronger among the spirit platform families.

Since both the Gongsun and Wang families had the intention to strengthen their relationship, the dinner was a harmonious affair.

The next day.

Wang Luojing, who had recovered her energy, continued to tame the newly captured Grassling Insect King and Nine-Star Insect King. With her multiple experiences, she seemed to have made significant progress, taming several insect kings in just half an hour.

By the afternoon, she had already released the insect kings into two other farms. Next, the Gongsun family members would continue to capture wild Grassling Insects and Nine-Star Insects to replenish the fields.

With the insect kings' control and leadership, the Grassling Insects and Nine-Star Insects would not leave.

"Fourth Brother, the taming of these insect kings is still too shallow," Wang Luojing said, looking a bit tired after finishing everything, "Their wild nature will likely return in a few days, so we need to come back again. Fourth Brother, let's go to the Yingxiu Lu family first."

"Luojing, you look tired," Wang Shouzhe said with concern, "Why don't you rest for a night and go tomorrow?"

"Fourth Brother, I'm fine," Wang Luojing shook her head, "The signs of the insect disaster are becoming more obvious. If we wait until tomorrow, the Lu family will suffer significant losses. Fourth Brother, I know the relationship between the Yingxiu Lu family and you..."

Yes, the relationship.

In fact, purely from a bloodline perspective, the Yingxiu Lu family and Wang Shouzhe were very close. His mother, who died of illness at a young age, was a daughter of the Yingxiu Lu family and the sister of the current clan leader, Lu Zhengxiong.

Additionally, Lu Zhengxiong's wife was from the sixth generation of the Wang family's main lineage, Wang Liuling, who was Wang Shouzhe's aunt.

This custom of intermarriage between the main lineages of the Xuanwu families was common. Such intermarriages would bring the two families to the highest level of intimacy.

The only exception was that Wang Shouzhe's mother, Lu Mengxue, died of illness when he was six, leaving behind a young son and daughter. In Wang Shouzhe's memory, the memory of his mother was the most persistent, and he still felt deep pain when thinking about her.

Fortunately, his stepmother, Gongsun Hui, had always treated him well, as if he were her own child, gradually helping him accept her and reducing much of his inner trauma.

As his memories and emotions merged more deeply, Wang Shouzhe gradually felt more integrated into this world, as if he had grown up here from a young age, and the memories of Earth gradually faded like a dream.

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