Chapter 29

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"Who are you?" Lu Xiaoxiao, hugging Wang Shouzhe's arm, glared at Wang Luojing and said, "Haven't you let go of my Cousin Shouzhe's hand yet? How shameless of you, a girl."

In the Changningwei area, most of the women from the noble families did not follow a strict naming system, and their names were more whimsical. However, the Wang family, due to its long history, had a naming system for women established by the ancestor Zouxuan, and this tradition was naturally carried on.

"I am the younger sister of the Fourth Brother, and he dotes on me the most." Wang Luojing did not back down, holding onto the other side of Wang Shouzhe's arm and said sarcastically, "I think you're the one who's shameless, throwing yourself into Fourth Brother's arms the moment you see him."

"You're lying, Cousin Shouzhe dotes on me the most." Lu Xiaoxiao said indignantly, "Every time we meet, Cousin Shouzhe always brings me gifts."

"Fourth Brother is the best to me. He even gave me a purple crystal spirit bee hive to play with the day before yesterday, worth more than 200 gold." Wang Luojing lifted her head, showing off.

"Cousin Shouzhe, I want a purple crystal spirit bee hive too." Lu Xiaoxiao felt inferior and started to pout and cling to Wang Shouzhe. She was usually pampered and probably didn't even know what a purple crystal spirit bee was.

"Uh..." Wang Shouzhe was speechless. How did these two girls start fighting over him as soon as they met? Especially Luojing, who was actually a year younger than Lu Xiaoxiao, usually quite well-behaved, but now was competing for his affection.

"Shouzhe, did you really buy a purple crystal spirit bee hive for the child to play with?" Lu Xiaoxiao's uncle, Lu Zhengjie, was also surprised, "That's too extravagant. I wonder how you'll get past your cousin this time."

200 gold was a huge sum for both the Wang and Lu families. It was like the fishing fleet of Uncle Wang Dingshai, with ten ships, working hard all year to make about 200 gold.

The Fenggu Farm, one of the Wang family's main industries, with 200 tenant farmers and thousands of acres of farmland, only made about 600 to 700 gold a year, and that was just on paper.

This time, coming to the Lu family, he had prepared some gifts, but they were all small trinkets.

"Uncle, there's more to this story." Wang Shouzhe smiled bitterly, "Why don't you try to persuade your niece? Even if you sell me, I can't buy a purple crystal spirit bee hive."

"I can't persuade her." Lu Zhengjie shook his head, "She's the most pampered in the family, even the ancestor dotes on her. Big Brother can't do anything about her. Shouzhe, you'll have to deal with it yourself."

The ancestor dotes on her?

Wang Shouzhe was a bit confused. Lu Mingcheng, the ancestor of the Lu family, was from the Ming generation and was over a hundred years old. In terms of lineage, he was Wang Shouzhe's great-grandfather.

The ancestors of the major Xuanwu noble families rarely appeared. They usually stayed in seclusion, focusing on their cultivation, only coming out for major events.

Wang Shouzhe, at eighteen, could only vaguely remember seeing Lu Mingcheng a few times, and being summoned only once, when he was seven and showed good potential, receiving some praise and resources from the ancestor.

Wang Shouzhe's potential was already close to middle-grade, yet he only received such treatment. What merit did this little girl, Lu Xiaoxiao, have to be doted on by her great-grandfather...

However, now he couldn't come up with a gift worth 200 gold, and even if he could, he wouldn't want to give it. He could only placate Lu Xiaoxiao with a lie: "Xiaoxiao, the bee hive was a lucky find for your cousin..."

"Wow! Cousin Shouzhe doesn't like me anymore, waa, Cousin Shouzhe is mean." Hearing that she didn't have one, Lu Xiaoxiao felt completely inferior and ran back into the house, crying.

Wang Luojing, however, held onto Wang Shouzhe's arm, looking triumphant, which made Wang Shouzhe roll his eyes. She was just a little girl, jealous over such a trivial matter.

But this was just a small incident, and Wang Shouzhe didn't mind.

Then, under the guidance of Uncle Lu Zhengjie, Wang Shouzhe and Wang Luojing went to the main hall of the Lu family's main residence.

At the same time, the head of the Lu family, Lu Zhengxiong, and his wife, Lady Wang, were already dressed in formal attire, waiting for them.

Lu Zhengxiong was in his fifties, with a square face and a neatly trimmed beard, looking quite dignified.

His wife, Lady Wang, was Wang Shouzhe's aunt, Wang Liuling. She was actually over fifty, but she looked like a middle-aged beauty due to good care and grooming.

"Shouzhe brings the fifth sister, Wang Luojing, to meet Uncle and Aunt." Wang Shouzhe stepped forward and bowed according to the etiquette for juniors meeting seniors. He had already sent a family guard to inform them of his visit, which was to pay respects to the elders, not to meet as the head of the family.

"Shouzhe, no need for formalities." Lu Zhengxiong stepped forward to support Wang Shouzhe, looking him up and down, "It's been a while, Shouzhe, you've grown so much."

"Zhe'er, Zhe'er." Wang Liuling also stepped forward, holding Wang Shouzhe's hand affectionately, "You've just become the head of the family and are already so busy. You must be very tired."

Aunt Wang Liuling had personally attended the funeral of the Wang family, having already cried for her brother. Now, she was more concerned about her nephew, Wang Shouzhe.

"Uncle, Aunt, it's not a hardship at all." Wang Shouzhe said, "The Wang and Lu families are blood relatives, and mutual support is our duty."

Because his mother was a direct descendant of the Lu family, Wang Shouzhe had a deep affection for the Lu family. The intermarriage between the two families' main lines made their blood ties very close.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Aunt Wang Liuling took Wang Luojing aside to talk.

Lu Zhengxiong sat down to talk with Wang Shouzhe, but he did not serve the usual spirit tea. Instead, he served the specialty of the Lu family, the Ice Crystal Dew drink.

The Lu family, occupying the Yingshou Lake, not only excelled in aquaculture but also had a special "spirit water" area where they cultivated a type of underwater spirit plant called Crystal Dew Grass. The Crystal Dew Grass produced a small, grape-like fruit, transparent like a cicada's wing. The juice inside, when chilled, became an excellent drink.

Drinking it, the cool and clear sensation flowed down the throat into the stomach, then spread throughout the body, making one feel refreshed as if their bones had been cleansed.

This was only the third time Wang Shouzhe had tasted the Ice Crystal Dew drink, as it was a rare spirit drink. A single cup cost several gold, and even the main line of the Lu family rarely drank it.

The Yingshou Lu family was not a very powerful family, with only one ancestor as their leader. However, their Ice Crystal Dew drink was a major specialty, with most of the production supplied to the Zifu Academy, and a small portion shared by the main lines of powerful families.

The annual net profit from this, Wang Shouzhe did not know, but he estimated it would not be less than 500 gold.

Besides Wang Shouzhe, Wang Luojing also received a cup. It was her first time drinking such a fine drink, and her eyes widened in amazement.

After the fine drink, they were served a spirit food feast, which made Wang Shouzhe and his sister feel their qi and blood surge.

Then, they naturally moved on to the main topic. Wang Luojing would assist the Lu family in the insect extermination operation. The method was simple, following the same procedure used by the Shanyang Gongsun family. The Yingshou Lu family's farmland was not extensive, only about 6,000 to 7,000 acres, making the operation relatively easy.

Wang Shouzhe originally wanted to help, but before he left, he received a message from Ancestor Mingcheng, summoning him.

This made Wang Shouzhe uneasy. Could it be that Lu Xiaoxiao had gone to Ancestor Mingcheng to complain, causing the ancestor to have an opinion of him?

However, this absurd thought quickly passed. Ancestor Mingcheng was the stabilizing force of the Yingshou Lu family, and he wouldn't get involved in such trivial matters.

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