Protect Our Clan Leader

Almost eight years have passed since Wang Shouzhe’s time travel.

It is a season of blooming flowers and rejuvenation.

Dingpu Ferry Terminal.

A large ferry slowly docked in the deep-water port area.

As soon as the docking bridge was leveled, the crowd orderly disembarked holding a card, passing through the gate in succession.

The card, the size of a child’s palm, is exquisitely crafted, seemingly gold but not gold, resembling jade but not jade, presenting a faint purple color in the sunlight.

Inside the card, there appears to be an inlaid piece of paper, inscribed with the holder’s birthplace, name, age, and basic physical characteristics.

As long as the one holding the card passes through the gate, the fully armed gatekeeper merely inspects it briefly before expressing their welcome with a smile, “Welcome home.”

The one passing through, would also express their gratitude, “Thank you for your protection.”

However, those without a card need to go through another gate. That gate is more crowded, the gatekeepers sternly inspecting those passing, requiring an official Da Qian guide. Without the guide, they are immediately sent back.

Even if they have a guide, a dedicated person will interrogate them about their origins, purpose, and how long they plan to stay in Ping’an Town. The interrogation is strict, and if anything feels off, they are sent back immediately.

After passing the interrogation, they are given a thick card with a warning that they can’t stay in Ping’an Town for more than a month, and a processing fee of a single copper coin is charged.

They may refuse, but then they will have to pay for their own return on the next ferry.

On the ferry, a few men dressed as peddlers formed a small caravan. Since they have a horse carriage with them, they were arranged to disembark last.

At this moment, a young peddler in his twenties looked at the scene in the distance and asked, “My brother, what’s with those pale purple cards?” Obviously, it was his first time coming to Ping’an Town to trade.

The peddler caravan was loaded with goods like refined salt, coarse salt, crude iron, and copper, all best-sellers in Ping’an Town. Especially refined salt and crude iron, which were bought up at high prices by smithies and general stores as soon as they disembarked.

And they would buy some snow candy, coarse cotton cloth, patterned cotton cloth, ordinary porcelain, and other high-priced items from Ping’an Town. After a hard trip, they would make quite a profit.

“The purple card?” An old peddler in his forties or fifties looked envious, “That is the identity card of the locals in Ping’an Town. Nowadays, outsiders who want to migrate to Ping’an Town are required to buy at least twenty acres of land and a set of houses to get an identity card. With an identity card, they can come and go freely in Ping’an Town.”

“Dear me, I heard the prices for fields and houses in Ping’an Town are very high now.” the young peddler said enviously, “Don’t tell me even those lowly tenant farmers are given identity cards?”

“Watch your words.” The old peddler hurriedly stopped him.

But it was too late.

A few rough men dressed in fine cotton clothes stared at them fiercely, “What’s wrong with us tenants? How are we inferior?”

The old peddler apologized on behalf of the young man, “I apologize for the young man’s ignorance. He doesn’t know the high status of the Wang family’s tenant farmers now.”

Their high status came from their high income and the Wang family’s attention to them.

Now, the average annual income of the Wang family’s tenant farmers has exceeded 30% of the income of the independent farmers in Ping’an Town. The only explanation for such an upside-down situation is that the income of the Wang family’s farms has become very high, and the tenant farmers have benefited.

It must be known that the independent farmers in Ping’an Town, because they are farming Wang’s N0.9 Good Variety and can enjoy the Insect Master’s preferential extermination prices, are already much higher in yield than the independent farmers in other places.

From this, it can be seen that the income of the Wang family’s tenant farmers is higher than many people’s imagination.

The tenant farmers of the Wang family waved dismissively, too lazy to argue with them. They began a casual conversation, “I heard that Old Zhang’s daughter got married to an independent farmer’s family? I remember that girl used to work in Silkworm Manor, right? I don’t know what he was thinking, allowing his daughter to marry beneath her.”

“Their family has fifty acres of good land? That boy is a blacksmith’s apprentice? In that case, they are well matched.”

“Old Liu, I heard your family bought a storefront outside of Zhuwei Manor Phase Two? This is all your family’s savings from over the years, right?”

“Yes, you’re right, my third son has some talent in sewing, and he’ll be ready to work in a couple of years. Opening a tailoring shop can sustain him. Our Liu family can’t be farmers throughout all generations, can we?”

“What’s wrong with farming? Becoming a tenant farmer for the Wang family isn’t easy now. They need to verify your background, assess your skills, and work in the outer farms for a few years…”

“That’s true, but having a tailoring shop plus a craft, the income isn’t low. It’s also good investment owning a storefront.”

The tenant farmers talked about profits and investments once they opened their mouths.

This frightened the young peddler. Are these tenant farmers? The confidence and tone sound like rich farmers from other places.

He felt odd hearing them disdain the match with independent farmers.

“Is the storefront in Zhuwei Manor very expensive?” The young peddler asked weakly.

“Well, it’s a little over a hundred Qian gold coins.” Old Liu said, “We poured all our family’s savings into it and borrowed quite a bit.”

“That expensive?” The young peddler was shocked, “If this were another town, you could buy more than thirty acres of land. The Wang family sells the shops at such high prices?”