Protect Our Clan Leader

Afterward.

He made an excuse to send Wang Licui away for a while, pointing out the recent plans that needed to be implemented and the parts that required the old ancestor’s cooperation one by one.

Inside the pavilion.

Longyan’s ancestral hair lightly danced in the wind as her eyes sparkled like stars, radiating a captivating brilliance. She spoke calmly, but her words were filled with fierceness: “Shouzhe’s plan is excellent, but why am I only arranged to be the backhand? I’ve already digested most of the Yin Sha poison in my body. There’s no need to worry about backlash when I take action.”

“Even if this scheme attracts an old ghost, I, Wang Longyan, am willing to pay the price to eliminate them. Even if two ghosts come, I’m not afraid.”

Wang Shouzhe massaged his forehead. The ancestor Longyan was excellent in all aspects, except for her impetuous temperament.

Fighting in a war was like playing a game of cards,—who would throw their trump card right at the beginning?

He set up Longyan’s ancestor in the plan as a just-in-case measure. Since her injuries were healing rapidly, how could he allow her to pay unnecessary prices flippantly?

Such a mindset was unacceptable.

Immediately, Wang Shouzhe sternly bowed his hand and said: “Ancestor, the confrontation between the Profound Martial prominent families is unlike personal bravado or warfare. All involved are our kin, members of the household, or close friends. Any mistake could result in irreversible losses.” Longyan’s ancestor’s body shook slightly, and she calmed down, apologized, saying, “Shouzhe, you’re right, I’ve been spoilt and willful for half of my life, I’ve made many mistakes, many of which caused irreparable past. It is necessary to calm down and think about my shortcomings.”

“Ancestor,” Wang Shouzhe hurriedly said, “the immense contributions and sacrifices you have made for the family are beyond question; we younger generations remember it. But times have changed. The Wang clan is hidden while the Liu and Zhao clans are out in the open. What we need to do is protect ourselves, while taking a large bite out of our opponents. Consider it as gaining some interest before collecting the debt.”

“In terms of strategy, I’m inferior to you, Shouzhe,” Longyan’s ancestor’s eyes flickered, “I’ll follow your arrangement.”

Having obtained Longyan’s ancestral approval, Wang Shouzhe also felt a burden lifted from his heart. This plan didn’t actually need her to get involved. As mentioned earlier, the most alarming possibility was facing unexpected circumstances.

Ancestor Longyan was his last resort,—a last resort not to be used unless necessary, as her health was just beginning to improve.

“If this is the case,” Wang Shouzhe bowed and excused himself, “we beseech our ancestor to take care of her health, I will notify you when it’s time to act.” After saying farewell, Wang Shouzhe left.

Before leaving, he also took Wang Licui, who had been eating on the side, to avoid disturbing the ancestor’s rest.

Over an hour later.

On the back dock, a dark boat slowly sailed out. Wang Licui was holding a bundle that fluttered in the wind. Besides her change of clothes, the package also contained a stack of selected ancient books chosen meticulously by Fourth Uncle.

She’s been assigned this task?

“My dear,” Wang Shouzhe bid her a tearful farewell from the shore, “while making contributions to the family on Prosperous Farm, you have to listen to Sixth Grand Elder. All your brothers, sisters, and younger generation at home, Fourth Uncle loves and respects you the most. Even your brother Wang Zongwei won’t get this kind of good job in his next life.”

“Th-thankyou so much for your consideration, Fourth Uncle,” Wang Licui’s tears were flowing like a spring, “I’m really grateful to you.”

“No need for thanks, it’s all in the details,” Wang Shouzhe was also full of emotions, as if he was bidding his daughter farewell. He was on the verge of tears. “Ju and Zhu, you two must take good care of Miss Lici along the way, there must not be any negligence.”

“Yes, Family Head.”

The two female heads of the household responded solemnly in unison. Then, they both fixed their gaze on Wang Licui. Clearly, their real task wasn’t to take care of Licui, but to “escort” her.

The boat slowly receded into the distance.

Only then did Wang Shouzhe cease his farewell wave, returning home with joyous strides.

However, despite delegating this task, Wang Shouzhe only aimed to mold her temperament. To make sure this lazy girl stopped dreaming about some Profound Martial battle technique that doesn’t require practice but allows for indulgence in food and drink, and could make one significantly stronger?

Was there such a Profound Martial technique or cultivation method? If there was, he, Wang Shouzhe, would take a dozen of them!

Your imagination is bigger than mine as a transmigrator.

It’s not practical!

How long does he have to mold her? Three months is too long, half a month too short. Then let it be one month. That should be enough time to shape her up before taking her back by his side for strict guidance.

Lici, Lici, don’t blame your Fourth Uncle for being ruthless.

As the saying goes, ‘the blade achieves its sharpness from the grindstone, beauty comes from weathering the frost.’ How can there be gains without effort?

Wang Gui, who was following them, was even more cautious. He was genuinely afraid of accidentally upsetting the Family Head and being assigned to mine.

Originally, Wang Shouzhe wanted to bring Wang Licui to Guard City for a stroll and pick up some spirit stones for use. But now, Guard City was too chaotic, so he would rather not take the risk for now.

Wang Shouzhe had just gotten back to his yard.

He had just heard that the doorman ran over to report that Gongsun Zhong of the Gongsun clan and Wang Liuyu of the Liu generation had returned home for a visit. They had come over after receiving a letter from the Family Head.

When he heard they had come.

Wang Shouzhe’s mood lifted. This meant that the matter he had asked Gongsun Zhong to investigate was settled. He immediately asked the doorman to lead the way to the guest quarters.

It was now dusk, and many were enjoying the cool evening.

“Third Aunt, Third Uncle.” Wang Shouzhe greeted as soon as he entered.

Gongsun Zhong and Wang Liuyu also hurriedly returned the greeting. Although they were more senior in terms of generation, Wang Shouzhe was the leader of the Wang family.

“Luotong and Luo Jing are also here.” Wang Shouzhe smiled and greeted his two younger sisters, then turned to his fourth aunt, Xu Zhirou, and performed a formal salute, “Shouzhe pays his respects to Fourth Aunt.”

Fourth Aunt Xu Zhirou had cared for him and Wang Luoyi for some time, a kindness he would always remember.

“Shouzhe, you are too polite.” Xu Zhirou also hastily returned the formal salute.

Their appearance here was completely normal. Wang Liuyu and Luo Jing’s deceased father, Wang Dingbang, were direct siblings, so the relationship between the two sides was naturally extraordinary.

Next came hospitality and dinner.

Later in the evening.

Wang Shouzhe had a private meeting with Gongsun Zhong, who sent a house servant to deliver some items to his courtyard.

Baskets of stones, some iron ore powder, several white gypsum, and a miscellany of other things.

“Shouzhe, when you wrote to me, I brought all the things you described. I brought a lot of different things because I wasn’t sure if they were right.” The dark-skinned Gongsun Zhong was a very honest fellow.

Since the age of eighteen, he had worked in the Gongsun Clan’s mines and was very familiar with various ores and stones. If Wang Shouzhe was going to work on cement, he indeed could not bypass the Gongsun Clan.

Honestly speaking, there was no need to bypass them. The Ping’an Wang Family’s strength was too risky to monopolize the benefits of cement. In his plan, if they were to successfully develop the cement industry, they would at least need to bring in the Gongsun Clan and the Chen Clan of Donggang.

Naturally, the premise was successful research and development.

“Thank you, Third Uncle. How much did it all cost?” Wang Shouzhe gratefully asked, “So that I can settle the account with you.”

“It’s all worthless scrap. It’s not more than ten carriage loads of stuff,” Gongsun Zhong hurriedly waved his hand and said, “My second uncle also instructed not to accept any money.”

“Then thank you, Third Uncle. Thank you, maternal grandfather.” Wang Shouzhe thanked them, not making a fuss about it.

After a short conversation, the taciturn Gongsun Zhong took his leave.

For the development of cement, Wang Shouzhe had basically formed a thought process. Recently, he had tried to remember and roughly determined some directions. This substance was not much different from oyster cement. It was produced by calcining limestone with various other things, then mixed with gypsum and ground into powder.

Most of the raw materials for this are very cheap, with the only slightly valuable item being iron powder, but its content should be very low.

Wang Shouzhe would naturally not develop cement himself. He had previously picked out a family who were brick kiln workers from a subsidiary line of the Wang family, who had been making bricks for generations.

It was said that their old ancestors were also brick kiln workers, and because of this skill, they followed Old Ancestor Zhou Xuan to the south. The bricks used for their own main residence were made by that family.

“Wang Gui.” Wang Shouzhe handed the written “Cement Development Guide” to Wang Gui for handling, “These were all collated from ancient books. They provide clues about ‘iron mud’, which has similar properties to oyster cement. I don’t understand the extra details. Tomorrow morning, give this information, along with the ten cartloads of research materials, to Wang…yes, Wang Jingyuan.”

“Yes, Family Head.” Wang Gui complied and collected the materials.

Wang Shouzhe naturally attached great importance to the development of cement and hoped for its success, but he was after all a layman in this field. It was better to provide the professionals with a thought process. The kiln workers, having dealt with bricks and tiles all their lives, were familiar with oyster cement, and even some homemade adhesives.

These professionals had extensive experience and plenty of clever individuals. Often, all they lacked was a flash of inspiration to point the way.

If the research did not bear fruit in the short term, that was also fine. There was no rush. One day, it would be figured out.

Similarly, for paper making, Wang Shouzhe simply wrote up a “Paper Development Guide” and picked out some intelligent, reliable side-line family members with broad thought processes from the woodworkers. After giving them research funds, he let them handle things on their own.

One benefit of having a large group of side-line family members is that you can always find talents from various professions.

At present, Wang Shouzhe needed to focus more energy on the grand plan of attacking the Liu and Zhao clans.

Night.

It was late.

Outside the Dingpu Ferry at Peace River, a grand and luxurious medium-sized building ship was bobbing on the roaring river. This ship was clearly not a transport ship, but one used for the travels of someone of high status.

The ship’s tower was delicately crafted, made entirely from expensive wood and painted with vibrant colors, emitting an air of grandeur and luxury.

The decor inside the main hall of the tower was even more extravagant, as if a son from a prominent clan had moved his expensive living room and bedroom onto the ship. The exquisite and expensive antique vases didn’t seem to fear being shattered by a sudden wave, which said a lot about the extent of the luxury.

However, at this time, two young, heroic-looking men were facing each other in the hall. A beautiful woman, who appeared otherworldly and as pure as a fair maiden, was standing nervously nearby.

Her enchanting eyes stole glances at one, then peeked at the other.

The family head appeared more handsome. She silently came to this pleasing conclusion in her heart.