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"Who are you?" Lua Xiaoxiao, holding Wang Shouzhe's arm, glared at Wang Luojing and said, "Let go of my cousin Shouzhe's hand quickly, girls shouldn't be so shameless."
In the Changning Guard Region, most of the noble families' daughters didn't follow any name generation order, it was more casual. The Ping'an Wang Family, however, had a long history, and Ancestor Zhou Xuan personally set the name generation order for the girls, which had continued on.
"I'm Fourth Brother's sister, and he's the most fond of me." Wang Luojing, not backing down at all, held onto Wang Shouzhe's other side and mocked, "I think you're the shameless one, throwing yourself into his arms at first sight."
"You're lying, cousin Shouzhe dotes on me the most." Lua Xiaoxiao said angrily, "He brings me gifts every time he sees me."
"Fourth Brother treats me the best, he just gave me a Purple Crystal Spirit Bee Hive as a gift to play with the day before yesterday, it's worth over two hundred Qian Gold." Wang Luojing said proudly with her head held high.
"Cousin Shouzhe, I also want a Purple Crystal Spirit Bee Hive." Lua Xiaoxiao felt overshadowed and started to whine to Wang Shouzhe. She was usually pampered and probably didn't even know what a Purple Crystal Spirit Bee was.
"Uh..." Wang Shouzhe was somewhat speechless, why had the two little girls started fighting over him as soon as they met? Especially Luojing, who was actually a year younger than Lua Xiaoxiao, normally well-behaved, but now vying for favor.
"Shouzhe, did you really buy a Purple Crystal Spirit Bee Hive for the child to play with?" Uncle Lua Zhengjie on the side was also very surprised, "That's way too extravagant, let's see how you get past your cousin now."
Two hundred Qian Gold was a huge sum of money whether for the Wang Family or the Lua Family. Like Sixth Uncle Wang Dinghai's Fishing Team, ten ships would go through wind and rain all year to earn about two hundred Qian Gold in profit.
The Fenggu Farm, being one of the pillars of the Wang Family, had two hundred tenant farmers and thousands of acres of farmland, even with such a scale, a year's profit was only six or seven hundred Qian Gold, and that's the book profit.
This time coming to the Lua Family, some gifts were prepared, but they were indeed just some small trinkets.
"Uncle, there's more to this than meets the eye." Wang Shouzhe smiled wryly, "Why don't you try to persuade cousin? Even if you sold me now, I couldn't buy a Purple Crystal Spirit Bee Hive."
"I don't have the ability to persuade her." Lua Zhengjie quickly shook his head, "That girl is the most spoiled, even Ancestor dotes on her, big brother can't do anything about her. Shouzhe, you'd better fend for yourself."
Even Ancestor dotes on her?
Wang Shouzhe was a bit confused, Ancestor Lua Mingsheng of the Lua Family, he's from the direct lineage of the Mingsheng generation, already over a hundred years old, right? In terms of bloodline rank, he would be Wang Shouzhe's great-grandfather.
The ancestors of the major Black Tortoise Clans rarely liked to show their faces. Normally they would be in seclusion, focusing on making further progress, only coming out for major events.
Wang Shouzhe, who was eighteen now, vaguely remembered that the number of times he had seen Ancestor Mingsheng was countable on one hand, and the only time he was summoned was when he was seven years old, tested to have good talent, and was called to be praised and given some resources by Ancestor Mingsheng.
You have to know, Wang Shouzhe's talent was close to middle grade, yet he only received this kind of treatment. What merit or ability does the little girl Lua Xiaoxiao have to be doted on by the great-grandfather...
But things had come to this point, he couldn't take out a gift worth two hundred Qian Gold, even if he could he wouldn't be able to part with it, so he had to brush off Lua Xiaoxiao with a line: "Xiaoxiao, that hive was a bargain cousin stumbled upon..."
"Wow! Cousin Shouzhe doesn't like me anymore, boo hoo, cousin is bullying me." Hearing she wouldn't get one, Lua Xiaoxiao immediately felt overshadowed and ran into the room crying.
Meanwhile, Wang Luojing, holding Wang Shouzhe's arm, wore an expression of triumph over the "bad person," causing Wang Shouzhe to roll his eyes, what a little girl, even jealous over this sort of thing.
But this kind of thing was just a minor episode, which Wang Shouzhe didn't mind.
Then, under the guidance of Uncle Lua Zhengjie, Wang Shouzhe and Wang Luojing reached the main hall of the Lua's residence.
At the same time, Clan Leader Lua Zhengxiong of the Lua Family, along with his legitimate wife from the Wang Family, were already waiting there in formal attire.
Lua Zhengxiong was already in his fifties, had a square face and sported three strands of beard, which gave him quite a dignified air.
And his legitimate wife from the Lua Wang Family, was actually Wang Shouzhe's eldest aunt—Wang Liuling. Though she was already in her fifties in age, with good maintenance and attire, she sat there like a middle-aged beautiful woman.
"Shouzhe brings sister Wang Luojing from home, to see uncle and aunt." Wang Shouzhe stepped forward and bowed according to the etiquette of the younger generation meeting the elders. He had already sent his Household Generals ahead to report, this trip was to pay respects to the elders, not to meet as family clan leader.
"Shouzhe, please rise," Lua Zhengxiong stepped forward to support Wang Shouzhe, looking him up and down, "Haven't seen you in some time, Shouzhe you've grown up so much."
"Zhe'er, Zhe'er," Wang Liuling also stepped forward to hold Wang Shouzhe's hand affectionately, "You've just become clan leader, and you're already running around so much, it must be hard for you."
Elder Aunt Wang Liuling had personally gone to Wang Family to mourn, having already cried for her younger brother's death, and with the deceased gone, her concern now was more for her nephew Wang Shouzhe.
"Uncle, aunt, this isn't really a hardship," Wang Shouzhe said, "Our Wang and Lua Families are blood connected, mutual assistance is a matter of course."
As Wang Shouzhe's mother was a direct daughter of the Lua Family, he had a deep affection for the Lua Family since childhood. The exchange of direct descendants between the two families in the previous generation also brought their bloodlines exceedingly close.
After a brief exchange, Aunt Wang Liuling took Wang Luojing to the side to chat.
Meanwhile, Lua Zhengxiong sat with Wang Shouzhe on the opposite side to chat, but surprisingly he served not regular spirit tea, but Yingxiu Lu Family's specialty Ice Crystal Dew Drink.
The Lua Family took advantage of the lake resources of Yingxiu. Not only did they have some achievements in aquatic farming, but they also cordoned off a "Spiritual Water" area, where a submerged spirit plant—Crystal Dew Grass—was specially grown. The Crystal Dew Grass bore a grape-sized spirit fruit, translucent like cicada wings, with juice that, once chilled, made a superb drink.
A sip down, a cool and clear sensation traveled from the throat to the stomach, then spread throughout the body, feeling as if one's whole body was refreshed similar to the sensation after a Bone Marrow Purify and Fur Cutting process.
Speaking of which, this was Wang Shouzhe's third time drinking Ice Crystal Dew Drink, as this was a scarce spiritual drink; just one cup could cost several Qian Gold. Even the direct lineage of the Lua Family rarely had the chance to taste it.
The Yingxiu Lu Family wasn't a particularly strong family, with only one ancestor overseeing it. Yet their Ice Crystal Dew Drink was a significant specialty, primarily supplied to the Purple Mansion Academy, with limited portions shared among some strong families' direct lineages.
Wang Shouzhe wasn't sure of its yearly net earnings, but he estimated it wouldn't be less than eight or nine hundred Qian Gold.
Besides Wang Shouzhe's cup, Wang Luojing also received one. It was her first time tasting such a fine drink, her eyes went wide.
After the wonderful drink, there was a sumptuous spiritual food feast, leaving the Wang siblings invigorated.
Then naturally, they moved on to the main topic. Collaborating with Lua Family members, Wang Luojing participated in a pest extermination operation. The model was simple, directly borrowing the method from the Shanyang Gongsun Family. Moreover, with only six to seven thousand acres of land, the LUas' fields were not too hard to handle.
Wang Shouzhe had originally intended to help, but before he could set out, he received a summons from Ancestor Mingsheng, summoning him for a meeting.
Causing Wang Shouzhe's heart to be uncertain, could it be that Lua Xiaoxiao had run to Ancestor Mingsheng to falsely accuse him, causing Ancestor Mingsheng to have a problem with him?
However, this ridiculous thought just flashed by, as Ancestor Mingsheng was the stabilizing force of the Yingxiu Lua Family; how could he involve himself in the petty issues of youngsters?
...