Chapter 76

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After performing two almost identical plays in a row, Fangjie Chen felt utterly exhausted, finding it somewhat tedious.

However, Mei Wang seemed to enjoy it immensely, becoming even more spirited. Clearly, she relished such days, which was indeed a talent.

Shouzhe Wang could never have predicted that this unremarkable family retainer, Wang Mei, would start lusting after him.

With matters settled here,

Overall, Shouzhe Wang was quite satisfied with the completion of the second phase of the mission. Not only did he sell 40,000 dan of old grain at a high price, but he also planted a fatal seed in the minds of Yongzhou Liu and Dingtian Zhao, serving the third plan to be implemented later.

Following the original plan, the Donggang Chen family mobilized two large merchant ships and deliberately removed their markings. The Wang family, on the other hand, had already transported the grain to Fenggu Farm in advance, using a large number of people to move the grain onto the large merchant ships overnight.

Although transporting the grain back and forth seemed to waste manpower and resources, during such a special period, a bit more caution meant a bit more safety.

For a Xuanwu family that could be passed down through generations, the most important thing was not huge profits, but one word.

Stability!

Achieving stability was no easy task, but it ultimately came down to two major directions: the ability to avoid risks and the ability to withstand risks.

If the Wang family were not currently facing internal and external troubles, Shouzhe Wang would not want to engage in a direct confrontation with the Liu and Zhao families so quickly. He preferred to manage the big picture, lay out long-term plans, and ultimately crush the opposition with overwhelming momentum.

However, given the current situation, he could only try to find the best solution.

Time passed day by day.

One day.

Shouzhe Wang practiced as usual. When he went to the training ground at dawn, his eyes sparkled with a suppressed brilliance, and his aura became more intense.

"Master, have you broken through?" Wang Gui, the servant, felt the powerful aura and exclaimed in surprise and joy.

"Just broke through to the seventh level of the Qi Refinement stage." Shouzhe Wang, while remaining composed, could not hide his joy. He had already reached the peak of the sixth level some time ago. After some time of consolidation and refinement, he felt a sudden inspiration tonight and directly swallowed a [Cultivation Essence Pill], pinching a spirit stone to make a final push.

Due to his deep accumulation, combined with resources and luck, he succeeded in one go.

From today on, he, Shouzhe Wang, would have the strength of the later Qi Refinement stage.

Eighteen years old, seventh level of the Qi Refinement stage!

Looking at the entire Changning Garrison, this was a very good achievement. Recalling the past, Old Ancestor Longyan had also reached this level at eighteen, only half a year earlier than him.

Just after breaking through, the quality and quantity of his Xuan Qi, as well as his physical condition, had significantly improved.

In the days to come, he needed to practice diligently to stabilize and familiarize himself with the new level of power. However, advancing to the eighth level of the Qi Refinement stage was not a simple matter and could not be achieved in a short time.

In the training ground, Shouzhe Wang practiced Xuanwu combat techniques, body movements, sword skills, and archery. He could clearly feel that he was much stronger than before. While he might not be able to fight two of his former selves, he felt he could勉强 fight two ordinary sixth-level Qi Refinement practitioners. Of course, they had to be ordinary...

After a session of practice, with the sun high and his body aching, Shouzhe Wang returned to take a bath.

He then brewed a small pot of Yangshan Xiaoling tea in a side hall, cleared his mind, and began to handle some miscellaneous affairs.

"Master, these are the recent intelligence reports on the Liu and Zhao families," Wang Gui presented some letters and intelligence.

Shouzhe Wang browsed through the intelligence, his frown deepening. By the end, he slammed his hand on the table with a "bang," his eyes filled with coldness: "The wolf family is indeed a wolf family; even with a human skin, they cannot hide their greed and cruelty."

Although Shouzhe Wang had anticipated that the Liu and Zhao families would not be gentle once they started their merger strategy, he did not expect their methods to be so despicable and greedy.

Take the Liu family, for example. Their jurisdiction had about 2,000 households, with a total of 30,000 to 40,000 mu of good land. This time, the insect disaster severely affected these self-cultivating farmers, and many families had no grain left after paying their taxes.

However, among these farmers, there were also many middle and wealthy farmers.

Their households were relatively wealthy and had the habit of stockpiling grain. Therefore, although the region as a whole still lacked grain, by borrowing from each other, they could barely survive the disaster year.

But once the Liu family intervened, they first arrested a batch of middle farmers who had some grain. These farmers had dared to lend grain privately to others and even signed contracts, agreeing to return double the grain after the autumn harvest.

In the end, these middle farmers had to contribute part of their land to gain the Liu family's "forgiveness."

This was not all. Some wealthy households, seeing the plight of their neighbors, voluntarily provided relief without charging any interest.

This undoubtedly touched the fundamental interests of the Liu family. They secretly recruited some ruffians and troublemakers from among the scattered cultivators, who went to the homes of these charitable wealthy households every day to cause trouble, demanding "relief," forcing these wealthy households to retreat for self-preservation.

One particularly stubborn wealthy household continued to secretly provide relief. As a result, a group of scattered cultivators broke into their home at night, and all 15 family members, young and old, were killed.

The Liu family's goal was simple: to make the grain-depleted families mortgage their land to obtain their old grain. According to the intelligence, although not many self-cultivating farmers had done this yet,

As time passed, the "famine" caused by human factors would become more severe, and eventually, some people would not be able to hold out, ultimately exchanging their land for the "skyrocketing" price of old grain.

In this insect disaster, to avoid the consequences of a large number of displaced people, the regions were usually sealed off, making it difficult for civilians to move around. This also brought convenience to the Liu family's plan.

The Liu family did not want "much," just to merge one-tenth of the land in their jurisdiction. With cruel and ruthless methods, they would certainly achieve this in two months.

Of course, as a noble family, the Liu family would not openly violate the law.

They would use the method of "Dantai Heyu" and the Liu family's transaction, called gold mortgage lending, ensuring that no criminal traces were left in the documents.

This was the so-called "upper policy, lower countermeasure." Especially in the countryside, noble families were like local emperors to the common people. If they did not care about their reputation, they could do as they pleased.

At this moment, Shouzhe Wang regretted selling the old grain to the Liu and Zhao families.

But this thought was fleeting. Even if he did not act, the Liu and Zhao families would still obtain grain from other sources and carry out the same plan. It would be equivalent to funding their cronies and allowing the situation to get out of control.

"The people's resentment has already risen. Notify Wang Zhong to close the net and begin the sniping plan. At the same time, find the whereabouts of the group of scattered cultivators who wiped out the family." Shouzhe Wang wrote a secret order and had it delivered by a retainer.

Although delaying a bit would accumulate more resentment, making the future plan more effective, it would also likely cause more tragedies for civilian families.

After handling this matter, he drank several cups of Yangshan Xiaoling tea to calm his emotions.

"Master, don't forget that the second son of the Liu family will visit today," Wang Gui reminded him cautiously, reading his expression.

The second son of the Liu family?

Reminded of this, Shouzhe Wang recalled receiving a letter from the Liu family a few days ago, stating that the second son of the Liu family patriarch, Yuanrui Liu, was scheduled to arrive at Dingpu Ferry at noon to visit the Wang family.

Shouzhe Wang and the Liu family's daughter, Ruolan Liu, were already engaged. According to etiquette, the Wang family should send someone of equal status to welcome him. This reception task was usually given to the patriarch's eldest son.

However, since Shouzhe Wang was not yet married and Yuanrui Liu would be his future brother-in-law, he had to go personally to welcome him.

He prepared a carriage, some fruits, and called two retainers.

The group headed to Dingpu Ferry, passing by the outer side of Zhuiwei Lake.

At this time, the lakeside had changed. Over a hundred young and strong tenant farmers of the Wang family were dispatched here to clear the reeds around Zhuiwei Lake, level the land, and build sheds.

The person in charge of this project was the third son of the Shou generation, Shouzhe Wang's younger brother, Shounuo Wang. The tall and sturdy young man, tanned from the sun, was organizing the young and strong to unload some wood and stones. Seeing Shouzhe Wang's carriage, he waved from a distance and continued working.

The sheds being built were for the next phase of the plan. Seeing that his younger brother was busy, he naturally did not disturb him.

The carriage continued to move forward, eventually reaching Dingpu Ferry.

The Wang family had some businesses and ferry boats at this ferry, but they were mostly managed by the collateral branches, involving mostly labor-intensive work with little profit.

Shouzhe Wang went directly to the deep-water pier and waited for less than a quarter of an hour. A ferryboat arrived, and Yuanrui Liu and his entourage disembarked first.

From a distance, Shouzhe Wang greeted him with a smile: "Yuanrui, it's an honor to have you visit. I apologize for not welcoming you earlier. Please forgive me."

Yuanrui Liu, who was not yet sixteen, had a somewhat youthful face, but in his fine attire, he looked quite handsome and heroic.

He also smiled and quickly approached, bowing in greeting: "Yuanrui greets Brother Shouzhe. It was Yuanrui who came uninvited, please forgive me." He was graceful and charming, making people feel comfortable.

The children of the Xuanwu noble family, especially the main lineage, received elite education from a young age, with strict requirements for behavior and etiquette. Those who caused trouble everywhere, were full of hostility, and often provoked others were not unheard of, but they were very rare. At least in public, they would always behave gracefully and with excellent manners.

As the two were chatting,

A lively girl's voice came from behind Yuanrui Liu: "Brother-in-law, you look even better than I imagined."

Brother-in-law?

...