Protect Our Patriarch

Qianma Town.

The name has its own history.

Back when the Changning Commandery was still a frontier wilderness, Anyuan Commandery was the edge of human habitation. The name Anyuan Commandery itself indicates that it was a borderland.

And Qianma Town was a frontier outpost established by humans relying on the base camp of Anyuan Commandery and the pass of Anyuan Gate, to expand into the frontier.

It is said that the Ancestor of Huangfu's Clan, Huangfu Hongyu, was a remarkable figure in his time. He forcefully established Qianma Town in the frontier, and then, in cooperation with the government and Lei Clan, developed Changning Commandery.

Qianma, or "front horse", naturally became the pioneer land of that year's expansion.

Five or six hundred years have passed, and Qianma Town still bears the strong historical traces of that era. It backs onto Anyuan Gate, which leads to Anyuan Commandery, to the west is the vast Huangfu pasture, and to the south is a canyon, within which is a fortress-style pass called Qianma Fort.

Qianma Fort separates Qianma Town from the Changning Commandery area, but it is under the control of the government and falls within the jurisdiction of the town's governor.

This is as it should be, as many important transportation routes are directly controlled by the government. Just like Ping'an Town also has a town governor, and the Zhouxuan Gate built by Ancestor Zhouxuan is now under the jurisdiction of the Ping'an Town governor's office.

The reason why Wang's Clan was able to secure jurisdiction over Dingpu Crossing was because there was a Changning Crossing on the other side of An River, which was under the control of the government, so they didn't care about the jurisdiction of Dingpu Crossing.

The fixed assets of Huangfu's Clan in Qianma Town that Wang Shouzhe bought were worth a total of 600,000 Top Gold!

A low-key carriage, escorted by family generals, passed through Qianma Fort and arrived at Qianma Town.

Qianma Town is not very open geographically, with many hilly areas. Most of the land is not suitable for farming, so it is planted with grass for the Huangfu pasture.

Wang Shouzhe sat in the carriage, sorting out some account books and updating his system.

The main panel still read:

【Clan Name】: Wang's Clan of Ping'an, Changning, Longzuo

【Clan Level】: Eighth Rank

【Clan Prestige】:【Village Prestige (100) Dominating】【County Prestige (80) Overwhelming】【Commandery Prestige (19) Unknown】

【Clan Industries】: 29 (Click for details)

【Clan Members】:【Inside the Clan (47)】【Married Out (11)】(Click for details)

【Clan Relatives】: 6 (Click for details)

【Clan Generals】:【Adults (19)】【Minors (38)】(Click for details)

【Clan Servants】:【Adults (273)】【Minors (152)】(Click for details)

【Growth Facilities】:【Scripture Repository】【Treasure Repository】【Spirit Material Repository】【Spirit Pill Repository】【Clan School】【Martial Arts Field】【Spirit Testing Platform】

【Treasure Land】:【Frontier Trial Field】【Marrow Cleansing Cave】【Fire Cloud Cave (Medium Fire Vein Spirit Field) (Medium)】【Spirit Medicine Cave】

(Medium Spirit Medicine Field) (Small)】(Click for details)

【Income and Expenditure List】: (Click for details)

......

As for the prestige column, there's no need to mention it. The village prestige has long been maxed out, and Wang's Clan has long achieved dominance in Ping'an Town. The county prestige is also gradually accumulating, and recently there has been an "explosive growth", reaching the level of overwhelming.

As for the Huangfu's Clan that had a conflict with Wang Shouzhe, let alone the Lei Clan that is even more powerful, they dare not underestimate Wang's Clan. As for the commandery prestige, there's nothing that can be done about it for now, it can only be considered as unknown, after all, it's only an eighth-rank clan, there's a long way to go.

Let's not talk about the industries for now.

The number of clan members has gradually accumulated to forty-seven. Several brothers have married, and their wives and children are all under the name of Wang's Clan. However, it seems that the achievement of "over a hundred clan members" will take some time, unless Wang Shouzhe marries fifty-three more wives in one go! Then the achievements of "a cloud of wives and concubines" and "domestic violence leading to death" would be completed together.

The number of family generals has also seen a significant increase, but most of them are still underage. They are children raised by Wang's Clan from a young age. When they reach sixteen, they can join the family general system, which can make up for the shortage of clan members.

In addition, the number of family servants has reached nearly three hundred. This is not because the family business has grown and requires so many people to serve. In fact, in addition to being able to raise family generals, most families will also train robust family servants.

These robust family servants, in name, are servants, but in reality, they are the clan soldiers of Wang's Clan.

Because their bloodline qualifications do not reach the lower grade C level, they can only practice some of the simplest body strengthening techniques, accumulate some thin Xuan Qi, and after many years of practice, they can barely reach the first or second level.

Any clan would not be willing to waste cultivation resources on them. After all, a small Peiyuan Pill costs ten Top Gold, and a clan soldier only costs two or three Top Gold a year.

This is why people like Wang Yong are referred to as family generals. Many noble families, in addition to their family generals, also have clan soldiers. However, when registering with the government, they are all classified as family servants.

Fully armed clan soldiers, as long as they are well-trained, have a chance to kill lower-level Qi Refining cultivators when they band together. Moreover, family generals supported by clan soldiers have a significant advantage when facing enemies of the same level.

...

As for the Scripture Pavilion, it is still in its early stages under Wang Shouzhe. There isn't much of value inside yet. Apart from some basic techniques, swordsmanship, body techniques, etc., there are also some lower-grade items and a small amount of mid-grade items. As for the high-grade cultivation methods practiced by Wang Shouzhe and others, the Wang's Clan in Ping'an Town has not yet inherited them, and Wang Shouzhe and others cannot casually teach them.

In other words, most noble families, including celestial families, may not necessarily have their own high-grade cultivation methods. The "Red Dragon True Scripture" of the Huangfu's Clan, although it is a high-grade cultivation method, is said to only have the celestial chapter's inheritance. If one wants to practice the celestial chapter, they must go through their main lineage.

This is the current situation.

Just like the Wang's Clan in Longzuo, because their founding ancestor was a person from the Purple Mansion, their cultivation system is much more complete than that of the Wang's Clan in Ping'an, with a system that directly points to the Purple Mansion.

The "Mysterious Origin Scripture" of the Wang's Clan in Ping'an can only be cultivated to the celestial realm. If one wants to follow the Purple Mansion route, they either have to create their own cultivation method or rely on the Purple Mansion Academy.

At present, this is not a big problem. However, if the Wang's Clan wants to truly rise and become strong, the cultivation system in the Scripture Pavilion must be continuously improved and strengthened. They must have their own foundation and accumulation, and ultimately have at least one high-grade cultivation method of their own.

The Treasure Pavilion has the same problem, most of the items inside are mundane weapons below the spiritual level. However, some high-grade mundane weapons are not inferior to the Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber that Wang Shouzhe saw in his previous life, and they are not common items. Similar high-grade mundane weapons cost at least one or two thousand Top Gold, and the most expensive ones cost several thousand Top Gold. The Wang's Clan treasury does have a few stored.

As for spiritual weapons, the Wang's Clan has quite a few, but they all currently have owners. In the Treasure Pavilion, there is not a single spiritual weapon. This also requires a lot of time to accumulate.

The Material Pavilion and the Elixir Pavilion are in the same situation.

What Wang Shouzhe has done is just to set up a framework for the family, and then slowly fill it in. This process may take hundreds or even thousands of years.

The rest of the categories will not be detailed one by one.

What Wang Shouzhe is most concerned about at the moment is the various family industries. Only when the industries are expanded can there be more Top Gold resources, which can quickly develop and strengthen the Wang's Clan.

In this world, once you have a certain ability to protect yourself, as long as you do not leave the framework of The Great Qian, Top Gold resources are still very useful. For example, Wang Shouzhe once bought a jade charm that sealed a Purple Mansion sword qi.

It was thanks to this jade charm that he was able to turn the tide in Changning at a critical moment.

And to cultivate a celestial realm cultivator, that is an enormous expense. The total expenditure from start to finish is much greater than that of a Purple Mansion sword qi.

Wang Shouzhe was adjusting some of the family industry's composition list while sorting out his thoughts.

The Wang's Clan's industries are mainly concentrated in Ping'an Town. He opened the industry list to take a look.

***【Family Industries】***

【United Paper Industry (Secret) (Stock)】

【United Glass (Secret) (Stock)】

【United Cement (Secret) (Stock)】

【United Trade Caravan (Secret) (Stock)】

【United Weaving (Stock)】

【Daily Chemical Research Lab】

【Science and Innovation Research Lab】

【Wang's Clan School】

【Fishing Team】

【Changning Fish Stall】

【Wang's Winter Hunting】

【Wang's Engineering】

【Fenggu Farm】

【Xingsheng Farm】

【Xinmao Silkworm Farm】

【Dingpu Ferry】

【Zhuwei Mansion (Commercial)】

【Anping No.1 Farm】

【Anping No.2 Farm】

【Anping No.3 Farm】

【Anping No.4 Farm】

【Anping No.5 Farm】

【Anping No.6 Farm】

【Anping No.7 Farm】

【Anping No.8 Farm】

【Anping No.9 Farm】

【Terraced Field No.1 Farm】

【Terraced Field No.2 Farm】

【Tianhong Pasture】

【Qianma Farm】

【Xingwang Pasture】

【Real Estate Management】

...

From the earliest five industries, it has now developed to thirty. Among them are profitable industries, purely investment-losing industries, and special projects through the management of a large amount of fixed assets.

However, the most profitable industry for the Wang's Clan at present is divided into two parts. The first part is the manufacturing and sales of cement, glass, paper, and other industries.

This part is a joint venture with several related noble families. The Wang's Clan takes the lion's share in production, and a smaller share in sales.

The paper and glass industries both made over 20,000 Top Gold last year. Cement was the most profitable, with Wang's Clan taking the lion's share and making over 60,000 in pure profit. In addition, Wang's Clan also made over 30,000 Top Gold from sales.

Adding up these profits, even after deducting expenses, Wang's Clan made around 140,000 Top Gold in pure profit.

Moreover, Wang's Clan owns a total of 210 acres of low-grade spiritual farmland in Ping'an Town, all of which were planted last year with the No. 5 White Jade Spirit Rice seed personally developed by Wang Shouzhe!

That's right, starting from last year, they were not planting White Jade Spirit Rice for consumption, but for seeds. These seeds were sold throughout Longzuo Commandery via Qian's Clan.

Last year, they harvested over 1,200 tons of No. 5 White Jade Spirit Rice seeds, which were secretly wholesaled to Qian's Clan at 60 Top Gold per ton, making a gross profit of around 70,000 to 80,000 Top Gold.

The 20 acres of medium-grade Red Crystal Spirit Rice No. 6 seed yielded 130 tons, which were eventually sold for over 20,000 Top Gold.

Just the seeds produced by the spiritual farmland amounted to around 100,000 in gross income.

Why did Wang Shouzhe buy the former Huangfu's Clan's property? Apart from using it to choke the neck of the Heavenly Huangfu's Clan, he also saw the potential in the 250 acres of low-grade spiritual farmland.

In the hands of the former Huangfu's Clan, they were planting spiritual beans, which were used to extract spiritual oil for high prices. The leftover bean residue was used as supplementary food for the spiritual horned yaks raised by the Heavenly Huangfu's Clan.

This operation, although it brings in a steady income every year, can only make around 30,000 Top Gold in gross income. But in the hands of Wang Shouzhe, if used to plant No. 5 White Jade Spirit Rice seeds, the gross income could multiply several times, possibly approaching 100,000 Top Gold!

And most of the extra Top Gold is pure profit.

Therefore, just those 250 acres of spiritual farmland could generate astronomical profits in the hands of Wang Shouzhe, not to mention other things.

If Huangfu's Clan knew about this in advance, they would probably risk their lives to prevent Wang's Clan from succeeding.

Of course, the property in the former Ma Town has just been acquired. For now, there is only a large investment and no income.

In addition to the spiritual farmland, the output of Wang's Clan's ordinary farmland is also very high. Now, among the properties of Wang's Clan, there are a total of 60,000 acres of ordinary farmland, of which about 20,000 acres are core farmland, planted with Wang's Clan No. 19 rice variety and Wang's Clan No. 23 wheat variety.

These two types of common grain crops have extremely high yields. Even if the farmers buy these seeds at a high price, they can increase the per-acre income of their own farmland by more than 50% compared to previous years. This is the income after deducting all costs.

Most clans mainly engage in farming. If they have 100,000 acres of good farmland all buying Wang's Clan's seeds, the income is not worse than 150,000 acres, and it's even more convenient.

As a result, under the secret channel of Qian's Clan, these two types of seeds have sold like hot cakes. The price has been raised again and again, so just these 20,000 acres of core farmland have made a profit of over 60,000 Top Gold.

In addition, the 40,000 acres planted with the ordinary Wang's Clan No. 7 wheat variety and Wang's Clan No. 9 rice variety also made a total profit of over 40,000 Top Gold.

Adding it up, the income from Wang's Clan's ordinary farmland also exceeded 100,000 Top Gold! Adding the income from the spiritual farmland, the total income from farming exceeded 200,000 Top Gold. This number has already surpassed the combined numbers of cement, glass, and others.

This is the terrifying aspect of Wang Shouzhe's bloodline talent. It's not just in combat, but also extremely powerful in farming.

As for other things like fishing, selling fish, and autumn and winter hunting, these are minor incomes, adding up to only about 50,000 to 60,000.

Adding some scattered income, the total income of Wang's Clan from various family industries reached more than 450,000 Top Gold, which can be said to be the highest record in history.

Such a terrifying Top Gold income, even those old seventh-grade clans can't match. If they really had such income, they would have started to challenge the sixth-grade clans.

The current income of Wang's Clan can almost be compared with the poorer sixth-grade clans.

Of course, in terms of current income, it is still far from those old sixth-grade clans.

However, those old sixth-grade clans have extremely terrifying expenses. Just maintaining three or more Heavenly Realm cultivators costs a huge amount every year. Not to mention, they also have to raise dozens of Spirit Platform Realm cultivators.

But those poor sixth-grade clans, if they can only maintain such a scale of income, will inevitably decline gradually.

...

As for the spoils of war and other gains, they are not included, although the amount is also very large.

But after all, as a clan, it's impossible to fight every year. The seemingly huge income, once averaged over the long years of peace, is just a small part.

And the spoils of war and other gains sometimes directly turn into combat power. Except for the "Fire Spear" sold by Wang Shouzhe, it was just to make up for the loss.

What a clan values more is a sustainable, long-term income-generating property. With time accumulation, a clan can become stronger and stronger, and its foundation can become more and more solid.

...However, the account book that Wang Shouzhe got showed a severe deficit last year. The main losses came from purchases such as "Marrow Cleansing Pills", "two Storage Rings", "Purple Mansion Sword Qi Jade Talisman", "expenses for a trip to the Purple Mansion Academy", "properties from the former Huangfu's Clan", "subsidies for the price of war spoils", and so on. These expenses added up to about 1.4 million Top Gold for the Wang's Clan. After deducting the 280,000 from the Fire Separation War Halberd, there was still a loss of over 1.1 million in expenditures!

In addition, "flood resistance", "refugee gathering", "terraced field development", "housing development", "other project research and development", and so on, the total expenditure also exceeded 200,000 Top Gold.

The "family expenses" mainly included the purchase of cultivation materials, high-cost support for clan members, and the losses of Wang Shouye, the Alchemist, etc., which also exceeded 200,000.

Among them, just the cultivation materials for Wang Shouzhe and his wife, excluding the Marrow Cleansing Pills and Storage Rings, would consume 40,000 to 50,000 Top Gold a year.

There was no choice, their future goal was the path to the Purple Mansion, and it was better to develop quickly rather than slowly in the early stage.

According to the accounts, the Wang's Clan now had a Top Gold deficit of over 800,000. These deficits were borrowed through the Qian's Clan, and a little interest had to be paid each year.

And the expenditure for the new year would certainly not be small!

Facing such a deficit, Gongsun Hui, who was in charge of finance, was under tremendous pressure. No wonder Wang Luomiao was even prepared to make a profit from the resettlement houses.

Fortunately, although the Top Gold deficit was large, the clan's assets had expanded. The developed terraced fields and the purchased properties from the former Huangfu's Clan would all generate income. The dredged rivers and reinforced embankments also played a huge role in stabilizing the long-term revenue of Ping'an Town.

Overall, the Wang's Clan was much stronger than a year ago.

Moreover, with the further expansion of the industry scale this year, and the business development in the former Ma Town, the Wang's Clan's income in the new year would definitely far exceed 450,000 Top Gold!

With Wang Shouzhe's carriage leisurely traveling on the road of the former Ma Town, it seemed to be signaling that the Wang's Clan would once again welcome a great opportunity for development.

This place, the former Ma Town, would also welcome a new vitality.

......