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PROTECT OUR PATRIARCH – CHAPTER 16

Chapter 16 – Qian trading firm

That night.

Wang Shouzhe's carriage returned to the Wang's residence where he wrote a couple of letters which were later dispatched by the family's generals.

The first thing to do is to alert the families with whom the Wang clan have closer relationships so that they would not become suspicious of the non-infested farms of the Wang clan after the disaster. Even in the unlikely event that they have already discovered signs of the pestilence, this would not have prevented the Wang family from making a goodwill gesture.

Then, Wang Shouzhe took only two of his generals on horseback and rode out overnight. After arriving at the Dingpu ferry port, he crossed the Anjiang in secret with his family's fishing boat and raced all the way to Changning'wei city and reached the city at the break of dawn.

The outline of the Changning'wei city was majestic and gleamed in the sunlight.

The walls are more than 10 zhang (1 zhang = 3.34m) high, made of thick black stone bricks, and the battlements are guarded by soldiers in full armour and bows. There is also a huge bed* crossbow at every few dozen feet.

Although Changning'wei is only a county town, it is more powerful and domineering than the famous cities on earth.

After all, this world is not ancient China. There are many demonic beasts and fierce creatures who live in the dangerous outer realm. Once a beast tide occurs, the high walled city is the only protection for mankind.

Ping'an town also has a city wall, but the wall is nothing compared to Changning'wei.

Wang Shouzhe and his two generals stopped slowly in front of the city gates, got off their horses and joined the group of people rushing into the city early in the morning. However, most of these were farmers, small traders, craftsmen, and other commoners.

When they saw Wang Shouzhe and his generals, who were holding tall horses and dressed in finery, they instinctively stepped aside in awe.

In the Great Qian Kingdom, aristocratic families are a privileged class, and even the most downtrodden small families are better than commoners.

The entrance gate to the East City.

Two fully armoured soldiers greeted him, checked Wang Shouzhe's family token, and then respectfully invited him into the city.　　

After entering the city, he did not delay, took his horse, and went straight to the Qian trading firm. The merchant house had businesses all over Longzuo County, with a strong and prominent reputation. It was the Qian trading house which took the lead in managing the insecticides made by the Zifu Academy.

That alone made the Qian trading firm a fortune, not to mention the fact that their businesses go far beyond insecticides.

He took out the Wang family token, and the family generals remained outside to keep watch. Wang Shouzhe was led to a side hall to wait. The maids served melons, fruits, and tea, and then retreated.

Wang Shouzhe calmly sipped his tea and looked around. Even if it is just a side hall of a merchant firm's branch, it was still decorated in an extremely luxurious manner, with various screens made of precious wood, and antique ornaments placed at random, all of which were worth a lot of money.

Even with Wang Shouzhe's relatively "shallow" perception, he noticed the value of the decorations which cost hundreds, if not thousands of Qian gold, at the very least. This demonstrated the strong financial resources of the Qian trading firm, and the family really deserved to be one of the wealthy and powerful clans which dominate Longzuo.

As a transmigrator, Wang Shouzhe naturally understands the psychological tactics of the Qian's.

He waited around 15 minutes.

A cubby and fair looking middle-aged man with a face which exuded peace and prosperity walked in, "The Patriarch of the Ping'an Wang clan is here in person, I'm sorry that I have missed welcoming you, I apologize."

Wang Shouzhe narrowed his eyes as the other party's calm and polite remarks disclosed some important information.

He served as the Patriarch for only two or three days, and now that the Ping'an Wang clan is in decline, even a change of patriarch would not attract much attention. However, the Qian merchant house took note and managed to confirm his identity within 15 minutes. (Translator: Very impressive for a world without whatsapp! )

The trading house really deserved to be one of the business giants dominating Longzuo as their ability to gather information is very powerful. Moreover, the other party's surname is Qian, and his temperament is extraordinary. He is, most likely, of the Qian clan lineage.

"Not at all. I'm honoured to have been personally received by Master Qian. After all, I took the liberty of coming here." Wang Shouzhe naturally responded with courtesy and modesty. This person surnamed Qian naturally could not be the shopkeeper.　

The Qian merchant firm was extremely large, and even the head of the Changning'wei branch was a bigwig and would not welcome him, a dilapidated family's patriarch whose cultivation level is only at the Qi Refining realm.

The two men exchanged pleasantries and then sat down.

They didn't start talking about business matters. Master Qian and Wang Shouzhe talked about ancestor Zhouxuan to ancestor Longyan, and then talked about Wang Shouzhe's achievements in the Zifu Academy's preliminary exams, and spoke with fervour about Wang Shouzhe's outstanding homework.

Wang Shouzhe had a huge scheme up his sleeves, so naturally, he couldn't show his nervousness, and accompanied him in the small talk, inadvertently showing off his logical and thinking skills, which were better than those of the natives.

"What a shame! With your knowledge, if you were to participate in Zifu Academy's retest, becoming a disciple of the academy would almost be guaranteed."

Master Qian, inadvertently, took Wang Shouzhe more seriously and said, half-honouring, half-sentimentally, "The Zifu Academy doesn't just focus on cultivating talents; they equally value the disciples' vision and organisation. I think that sooner or later, in your hands, the Wang clan will return to the top and make even further progress."

"Brother Qian, don't ridicule your younger brother." Wang Shouzhe shook his head and laughed bitterly, "We at the Ping'an Wang clan only want to survive peacefully, nothing more."

With mutual courtesy, the two have begun to call each other brothers.

"You are too modest. By the way, younger brother Shouzhe, you rushed to my Qian's firm overnight, could it be that you have some big business to discuss?" After exchanging pleasantries for a long time, Master Qian finally couldn't hold back any longer and raised the topic.

At those words, Wang Shouzhe put his teacup down gently and calmly said, "Speaking of which, I really need elder brother Qian's help in this matter. I need 5,000 bags of pesticides."

At these words, Master Qian's hands trembled, and he looked at Wang Shouzhe incredulously. After a long while, he swallowed his dissatisfaction and said, "Did you come here to joke with me?"

"Why would you say this?" Wang Shouzhe calmly replied, "It can't be that the large Qian trading house doesn't even have 5,000 bags of pesticides, right?"

"Brother, do you know how much are in 5,000 bags of insecticides? One bag of insecticide is about 50 kg. After dilution, it is enough for 100 mu of fertile land, while 5,000 bags of insecticide is the amount for 500,000 mu of farmland."

Master Qian frowned and said, "Our Changning'wei and all the towns under its command combined are only about 1.5 million mu of fertile land."

"I know." Wang Shouzhe's expression didn't change, and he remained serious.

Master Qian gradually became excited, "You are not joking?"

"Naturally, it is not a joke." Wang Shouzhe said, "Even though my Ping'an Wang clan is only a ninth-ranked, bottom-ranked family, we are aware of the importance of such a matter."

"Excellent, excellent, you have really given your unworthy elder brother a big surprise. I'll take this deal," Master Qian said with a cheerful expression, "However, there are only 2,000 bags in stock in the Changning branch, and the remaining 3,000 bags need to be retrieved from the other branches, which will take at least 10 days."

"Why is the inventory so low?" Wang Shouzhe frowned slightly.

"That's actually quite a lot. In previous years, everything was sold out." Master Qian said with a straight face, "Because it involves the cultivation and production of raw materials, the annual production of insecticides is planned in advance.

"Last year's harvest was 10% more than raw materials, and I originally wanted to sell the pesticides to the clans at a low price, but I didn't realise that only a few clans would be willing to spend money to stock up. This is why we still have a backlog of 2,000 bags left in Changning'wei from last winter's batch."

"Brother, why won't those families take advantage of the low prices to stock up?" Wang Shouzhe asked casually.

"This ... well, it's not a secret to tell you, many clans already know about it, so it is not against clan rules to tell you." After a slight hesitation, Master Qian said helplessly, "The medicinal herbs used in the pesticides are all grown in the medicine fields of many aristocratic families.

"As the benefits are good, more and more families are putting their medicinal fields into production. In recent years, there in an increase in production, while we are purchasing the raw materials at a low price. I'm afraid that this winter's batch of pesticides, the production would be ... as you know, the bigger the family, the better informed they are."

Haha~ Wang Shouzhe understands that this is overcapacity, and the market is saturated. Although he is not a professional in economics, he still surpassed the natives of this world in terms of outlook and awareness.

"In that case." Wang Shouzhe said after a moment of calculation, "I'll take the 2,000 bags in stock, as well as the 3,000 bags futures."

"Well, brother Shouzhe, what are futures?" Master Qian didn't understand this term and his chubby face was full of doubts.

– End of this chapter –

References:

Bed crossbow

An ancient Chinese crossbow of great power. One or several bows were mounted on a bed frame, and the arrows were opened and loaded by twisting the axle at the rear of the crossbow, ready for firing. The multi-bow bed crossbow can be used with several people twisting the axle and using the combined force of several bows to fire the arrows, its projectile power is far greater than that of a single person using a propped or waist-led crossbow. (Translated from Baike)

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Ligustrum

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Novels & New Adventures Await Us….

PROTECT OUR PATRIARCH – CHAPTER 17

Chapter 17 – Take it or leave it

"Spot refers to goods which can be delivered on the spot, and futures are for goods to be delivered on a specified date. Brother Qian, didn't you say that you need to transfer the pesticides from other branches, and you can only deliver the 3,000 bags after 10 days?" Wang Shouzhe casually shared his knowledge.

"That makes sense, I understand the difference now." Master Qian's spirits lifted, and he looked at Wang Shouzhe perceptively, "Ah, brother Shouzhe, these 5,000 bags of insecticides are certainly not for your own use. Could it be that you have found a new business opportunity?"

"Hehe, well, as brother Qian said, it's a new business opportunity." Wang Shouzhe smiled as he sipped his tea, "I'm helping your firm to clear its inventory, and I'm also making a small profit from it. Together, it is a win-win situation. Brother Qian, give me a good price."

"Hahaha, a win-win situation. Brother Shouzhe's words are really interesting. Then, I won't ask anymore. In that case, I'll give you a 10% discount on these 5,000 bags of pesticides, for a total of 4,500 pieces of Qian gold."

"4,000!"

"4,200 is the lowest, brother."

"4,200 is 4,200, but I want to use the reputation of the Ping'an Wang family to pay for this shipment." Wang Shouzhe said calmly, "In a month's time, I will deliver every cent of the 4,200 pieces of Qian gold."

Master Qian was taken aback for a moment, but then he smiled and said, "This is feasible, but we have to sign a contract. If the payment is not made when the time comes, our merchant house has the right to use any means to recover the money."

Even if the Wang family is in dire straits, it is still an aristocratic family, and still has family properties accumulated over decades. Fenggu Farm alone would fetch some 10,000 pieces of Qian gold, if sold. As long as the two parties have a contract, the powerful Qian merchant firm has plenty of ways to recover the debt.

"I will draw up a contract even if elder brother Qian didn't say anything about this." Wang Shouzhe said with a straight face, "I have already contacted the merchant ships. In three days, I will send someone to your warehouse to collect the 2,000 bags of insecticides, and in 10 days' time, the second batch. If your firm defaults on the delivery of the goods or fails to deliver them, you will have to pay us a penalty of three times the purchase price."

"Brother, please rest assured, credibility is the foundation of our Qian merchant firm for hundreds of years." Master Qian's face was very solemn as he said, "No matter what, we will deliver the quantity of goods ordered on time."

"I trust your firm's reputation, but this deal is of great importance to our little Ping'an Wang clan." Wang Shouzhe replied solemnly, " I can rest assured once the contract is made in black and white."

"In that case, let's write it down." Master Qian didn't think his side had any reasons to breach the contract, and the transaction was only for a trifling amount of a couple thousand pieces of Qian gold.

It took a full hour for the two of them to clearly write down all the terms of the contract under Wang Shouzhe's critical attitude.

By the time both parties had signed the contract, Master Qian was already sweating profusely.

He wiped his sweat and smiled bitterly, "I have been a businessman for 20 years, but this is the first time I have seen such detailed terms and conditions and meticulous wordings. But then again, such detailed terms and conditions will prevent unnecessary disputes in the future, which has widened my vision and helped me learn."

Hehe~

Wang Shouzhe just smiled, what is this contract? Some complex business contracts on earth are a hundred times more complicated than this kind of crude contract. To the layman, those business contracts are all Greek.

When Wang Shouzhe finally received the signed contract, he felt extremely relieved.

Although, with his knowledge of the Qian merchant house, even if the contract was not that detailed, they would not have violated their contract. A reputation that has been built up over hundreds of years is the most valuable thing for a merchant house.

It would be even more unlikely for them to send expert to exterminate the family and so on for this small amount of money.

Although our own ancestor Longyan might not live long, she is, after all, a Lingtai ancestor from the Zifu Academy. No one knows what trump cards are hidden in her hands. If she goes all out in a battle without any concerns for her own survival, she might eliminate a Lingtai cultivator.

It was only after weighing all these reasons that Wang Shouzhe's decision to take a risk was made. He had no choice. The Wang family was too poor, so poor that they had to calculate even a single " Xiao Pei Yuan Dan". If this continues, they will only fall into a vicious circle.

He feels very apologetic towards Master Qian.

The middle-aged Master Qian was only a shopkeeper of a branch in a remote area, and obviously was of rather lowly birth in the well-established and flourishing Qian clan. It is highly likely that the head of the branch will let him take the blame for this money-losing transaction.

"Brother Qian, it was a pleasure to cooperate with you." Wang Shouzhe rose and excused himself, then said whispered, "If nothing unexpected happens, I will give you a great gift in the near future."

Master Qian was stunned and immediately laughed, "Thank you for your kind words, I'll see brother Shouzhe off." As they talked and laughed, Master Qian sent Wang Shouzhe out.

After leaving the merchant house, Wang Shouzhe's mood instantly lifted. In three days, in just three days, he would be able to substantially ease the Wang clan's financial crisis.

"Patriarch."

The two family generals who had been guarding the door came over with their horses and greeted him respectfully.

"Wang Zhong, Wang Yong." Wang Shouzhe smiled, "I haven't been out for a long time. Accompany me for a stroll around the city."

"Yes, Patriarch." Both generals replied respectfully, led their horses, and accompanied Wang Shouzhe as he strolled around casually.

When ancestor Zhouxuan was alive, there were 47 generals at the peak of the Wang clan's power, and the one with the highest cultivation level reached the ninth level of the Qi Refining realm.

Today, however, there are only nine generals, and the highest cultivation level is only at the fifth level of the Qi Refining realm.

Household generals differed from household servants in that they were no longer slaves but vassals, but they also differed from contracted non-native officials.

Most of the generals are confidants cultivated within the family. They have high status and treatment within the family, but do not have the freedom to come and go as they please. They are born as generals and will die as generals.

Their fates, their lives and deaths, are firmly tied to the master's house, and they prosper or perish together. It is precisely because of this that some families would intermarry their kinsmen's or concubines' children with the families of exceptional generals. This achieves two objectives, cementing the relationships and improving the family's bloodline.

The nine generals of the Wang clan today, whose ancestors were all personally trained by ancestor Zhouxuan, have descended from generations of extremely loyal generals.

"Wang Zhong, I recalled that your youngest son is seven or eight years old?" Wang Shouzhe asked casually, "Has he achieved any Xuanwu qualifications?"

Wang Zhong hastily took two steps forward and replied, "I am grateful for the family head's concern for my son. That boy took the qualification test this spring and the result was a lower grade C. He has now entered the clan school for enlightenment and has begun the stage of warming his meridians."

As he spoke, the corners of his mouth curled up in a slight smile. He was clearly very pleased with his son's qualifications.

The Xuanwu qualification is divided into the first grade and the second grade. The ability to make the grade is extremely important and represents the potential for cultivation. The lower grades are divided into four classes: A, B, C and D. To be rated as a lower grade C is already considered to be the second grade and worthy to be trained by the family.

"Like father, like son." Wang Shouzhe praised, "Teach him well and he will be better than you in the future.

"Thank you for your kind words, family head." Wang Zhong smiled, and the corners of his eyes crinkled.

He was 36 years old and has two sons, both of whom had entered the Xuanwu qualification class. The eldest son is already 15 years old. In another year, he will be considered an adult and will be able to serve the family as a general. The younger son has even reached the lower grade C talent level and has entered the priority training list.

On the other hand, Wang Yong, the other general next to him, looked slightly embarrassed. He was about the same age as Wang Zhong and had married a Wang clan's kinsman's daughter and had a son and a daughter.

His son failed the Xuanwu qualification test and so, he can only study literature. He is currently 17 years old and working at the silkworm farm.

His daughter is only six years old and yet to be tested. But even if she has Xuanwu qualifications, she was just a girl after all.

"Wang Yong, you should seize these last few years of opportunity and work harder with your wife and try to have another one." Wang Zhong smiled and teased, "Maybe things will turn around and your wife will give birth to lower grade B boy."

"Get lost," Wang Yong waved his hand impatiently as he was slightly unhappy when this topic was raised.

The three of them wandered through the city, and Wang Shouzhe's memory of the city gradually became clear. The entire city had a permanent population of about 150,000 to 160,000. There were several old aristocratic families living in the city, and the Changning Xu clan was the closer one to the Ping'an Wang clan.

But in the end, they were only relatively close. The gap between the two families have increasingly widen and they were no longer on the same level. Therefore, Wang Shouzhe had no intentions of visiting the Xu clan's Patriarch.

In addition to running traditional farms, the Xu clan's unique and special industries are focused on silk and cloth workshops.

The cotton and linen cocoons grown and produced in the entire Changning'wei area were supplied to the Xu clan's several workshops. They produced cloth and silk which were sold throughout the county, making the family a fortune.

At the same time, the cocoons produced by the Xinmao silkworm farm, one of the pillar industries of the Ping'an Wang clan, were supplied to the Xu clan.

– End of this chapter –

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6 thoughts on "Protect Our Patriarch – Chapter 17"

Laandra says:

March 5, 2022 at 5:12 PM

Thanks for the chapter

Great to see you back

enterandrejoice says:

March 6, 2022 at 11:04 AM

You are welcome. Hope all is good with you. What else are you reading these days?

Laandra says:

March 8, 2022 at 12:29 AM

I mostly follow couple of books on Royal Road and have quite the backlog to go thorough when I will have time. Otherwise I enjoyed reading a few classic cultivation stories but now that the quidan become shitty and wuxia world world started translating mostly only korean novels I stopped reading most translations besides this one.

And what do you read? Anything you would recommend?

enterandrejoice says:

March 9, 2022 at 11:04 AM

I generally prefer the farming/ slice of life/ cute children genre hence am translating Farmer's Blessed Girl. You might want to give this a try – https://www.novelupdates.com/series/chronicles-of-primordial-wars/. Enjoy!

Kaal says:

March 7, 2022 at 1:07 AM

Hey, Thanks for translating this, though I'm already upto date with raw, but it's heartening to see a good novel is getting translated..

enterandrejoice says:

March 7, 2022 at 3:56 PM

My pleasure. I find Mandarin very interesting so, am having lots of fun translating the 2 novels.

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Ligustrum

Ligustrum is a species of privet known as "glossy privet" native to the southern part of China. Known as Nu Zhen Zi in Chinese. It is grown primarily as an ornamental shrub, but has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for some time. (Pic and text taken from https://www.gaiaherbs.com/blogs/herbs/ligustrum)

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Novels & New Adventures Await Us….

PROTECT OUR PATRIARCH – CHAPTER 18

Chapter 18 – Spirit beehive

In Changning'wei, the two busiest areas are the East Market and the West Market. The East Market is mainly a variety of shops along the streets, selling local products from the various towns under the county, such as fruits and vegetables, livestock, meat and poultry, firewood, rice, oil and salt, household items, etc. Ping'an Wang clan's fish stall is located in the East Market.

Wang Shouzhe and his generals led their horses into the market, and it was as if they had entered a huge farmers' market, with all sorts of agricultural products and handicrafts.

In addition to the large shops of wealthy merchants or aristocratic families, there were many vendors occupying every corner of the market, selling strange things. These were stalls specially designated by the Changning officials for casual cultivators to prevent them from setting up stalls everywhere and making it difficult for the officials to manage them.

Basically, the casual cultivators don't have any good things to sell, but because they usually wander all over the world, they sell a wide variety of things, and occasionally, there would be some novelties.

"Gallbladder of a top-ranked beast of the second order, black-backed ferocious bear. Only one, priced at 15 pieces of Qian gold, no bargaining." A scarred man in beast skin armour was setting up a stall. The casual cultivator laid out a thick bear skin and above him, a pair of dried bear gallbladders hung from a tree branch. There was a sign which looked like a strangers do-not-approach warning.

"This bear skin has a black back and a white belly, and the texture is thick, so it is indeed the skin of a black-backed ferocious bear." Wang Zhong, the family's general whispered, "The inner side of this bear's gallbladder is golden in color and the quality is not bad so, 15 Qian gold is not expensive. We can resell this to the Dan workshop and will make at least four or five Qian gold."

Wang Shouzhe had to study the ferocious beasts' charts since he was young and was able to distinguish most of the materials on common and top ranked ferocious beasts. So, he just smiled and said, "Let's not be greedy for this bargain." With that, he left without looking back.

"Does the Patriarch think the seller is a swindler? I see that the colour and lustre of the gallbladder are extremely good, it can't be wrong." Wang Zhong was a little reluctant, but he still obeyed and followed, but he found it hard to tear himself away, "If the Patriarch does not see the point of making just a small sum of money ... why not ..."

"Idiot, the Patriarch must have seen something fishy." Wang Yong gave him a fierce glare.

"Hehe~ The edge of the bear skin is dry and black. It's obviously a few years old. Although the gallbladder is dry, the color of the bladder is still fresh, which means the gallbladder can't be more than three months old." Wang Shouzhe said with a smile, "Wang Zhong if you want to buy it, I can lend you the money. You don't have to share the profit with me."

He couldn't help laughing in his heart. Compared to the swindlers on earth, the Xuanwu world's hustlers are so crude. They don't even make up any bizarre stories or anything. It's so unprofessional!

"No, no, no, thanks. Fortunately, we are out with the Patriarch today." Wang Zhong was so frightened that he broke out in cold sweat, and denounced angrily, "Sure enough, casual cultivators are not credible. There are too many swindlers and cheaters."

"Our Xuanwu aristocratic family has a home and an industry, we have roots and foundation, and as long as we protect this foundation, we will have a steady stream of cultivation resources."

Wang Shouzhe said indifferently, "Casual cultivators are wanderers without roots or foundations, they have to fend for themselves and look for their own resources, so naturally, life is difficult. It's easy for them to go astray, such as swindling, cheating, deceiving, stealing and so on.

"Moreover, if they commit a crime, they can just walk away and change their identity. If casual cultivators could get resources at will, why would our ancestors have to build up their successes? Why would our ancestors have to build up the family's assets and sacrifice their lives to protect the family's foundation?"

The Patriarch made a lot of sense.

Wang Zhong and Wang Yong gradually grew to admire Wang Shouzhe even more. They have already sensed the difference between the new Patriarch and the previous Patriarch. In just a few words, Wang Shouzhe clearly distinguished the differences between casual cultivators and their aristocratic family.

At this point, they became more vigilant of the differently attired casual cultivators who were selling all sorts of messy objects along the roadside. Whenever they saw them, they thought they were scammers.

"How do I sell this beehive?"

Just then, Wang Shouzhe suddenly squatted down in front of a stall. The stall owner was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, with a somewhat unkempt image. At first glance, he looked like he was only at the peak of the third level of the Qi Refining realm.

However, this is also the normal state of most casual cultivators. Poor natural talent, lack of systematic cultivation techniques, lack of careful guidance from elders, extremely unstable cultivation resources, etc., all contribute to the difficulty of most casual cultivators to make a name for themselves.

When the stall owner saw a luxuriously attired Wang Shouzhe and two heavily armed and valiant family generals behind him, the casual cultivator knew Wang Shouzhe was not an ordinary person.

He immediately swallowed the rip-off price he wanted to quote and smiled ingratiatingly, "Young master, this is a tiger-head spirit beehive, which I risked my life to secure after a chance encounter in the mountains. There is still a lot of spirit nectar and pupae in this hive, so I would like to exchange it for two Xiao Pei Yuan Dan."

When he talked about Xiao Pei Yuan Dan, his stomach grumbled.

"Are you trying to rob us?" Wang Yong's expression changed, and he pressed his hand on the hilt of his sword, furious, "Your hive is no more than the size of your head, and it can be filtered for two taels (1 tael = 1.76 ounces) of spiritual nectar at best, and the small number of pupae are not even enough to fry a dish. At most, it will only sell for a couple of Qian gold."

"Oh, this master, don't get angry." The stall owner said with a slightly frightened expression, "My hive is newly picked, and many of the pupae inside are still alive. If your family have a spirit insect master, you might be able to cultivate a tiger-head spirit bee colony."

Although the casual cultivators who wonder all over the world are not powerful, they have pretty good knowledge.

"You're thinking too much, I haven't heard of any spirit insect master in the entire Changning'wei. It is rare to see this, so I want to fry these pupae and eat them. Wang Shouzhe took out 10 Qian gold, "Enough for you to buy a small Xiao Pei Yuan Dan. Take it or leave it, add one more dime and I'll leave."

The stall owner hesitated for a long time. Finally, he had no choice but to agree to the deal, "Young master, if this was the town in Zhou prefecture, the beehive would really be worth 20 Qian gold, but unfortunately, by the time I get there, all these pupae would be dead."

If it wasn't for the fact that the pupae cannot survive beyond a few days, the stall owner would really be willing to go to Zhou prefecture to sell the hive. After all, there was a difference of 10 pieces of Qian gold. However, if most of the pupae are dead, the value of the hive would plummet.

After the transaction, Wang Shouzhe asked Wang Yong to pack it up and carry it, and he didn't bother to talk with the stall owner any longer.

Although the beehive can't be considered as picking up an antique at a cheap price, it wasn't a loss either. If you give it to fifth sister, Wang Luojing, for her to play around with, perhaps a miracle would happen. If they can raise the tiger-head spirit bees, they'll add a unique business to the family's industries.

The tiger-head spirit bees are almost invisible in the wild, and one would only occasionally encounter them off the beaten track. However, you might not even find them even if you took the trouble to hunt for them for half a year.

After that, Wang Shouzhe wandered through the stalls of the casual cultivators, but didn't come across anything of interest. As he walked around, he ended up at the East Market where the clan had a fishmonger's shop.

Ping'an Wang clan's fishmonger shop.

With six large letters running across the three shops, the shops are noticeably neater and more upmarket than the messy stalls.

Looking at the Wang's shop, Wang Shouzhe's memories came flooding back and his heart rippled.

These three shops, plus the courtyard behind them, were the last of the Wang's assets in Changning'wei county.

Since those two great battles 50 years ago, the prestige of the Ping'an Wang clan had plummeted. In order to support those who are strong and capable to reach the spiritual realms so that they can support the family as soon as possible, the Wang clan ruthlessly sold off many of their fixed assets in the county.

Regrettably…

Second uncle, Wang Dingtian, on whom so much hope was pinned, died young at the age of 20, without even leaving his bloodline behind.

His sixth grandfather, Wang Xiao Han, reached the ninth level of the Qi Refining realm when he was in his forties and tried to reach the Lingtai realm, but he failed after consuming a huge amount of resources. Now at the age of 65, he was still stuck at the ninth level of the Qi Refining realm.

Wang Shouzhe's father, Wang Dingyue, was even more pitiful. When he did not have enough resources to support his breakthrough to the Lingtai realm, he ventured into the outer realms in search of an opportunity and ended up losing his life.

In fact, if they had continued to sell the family's assets, such as selling all three major farms, they would definitely be able to get the resources for Wang Dingyue to attack the Lingtai realm. But then, it would be all or nothing. If he failed, the Ping'an Wang clan would be destitute overnight.

Wang Shouzhe had a vague feeling that if he waited until he reached the peak of the ninth level of the Qi Refining realm, the family might make a move to sell off all their assets to allow him to make the final gamble.

However, if the family were to take that final step, Wang Shouzhe, the transmigrator, would be a failure.

"Fourth brother, what brings you here?"

Just as Wang Shouzhe was feeling a bit emotional, he heard a surprised voice.

– End of this chapter –

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2 thoughts on "Protect Our Patriarch – Chapter 18"

Kaal says:

March 18, 2022 at 1:58 AM

Hey! Why not open a discord server? This novel is really good and gets better and better. Definitely with time, readers will increase. Discord server is a good option for interaction.

enterandrejoice says:

March 18, 2022 at 2:24 PM

Thanks Kaal! Sorry, no bandwidth to manage a Discord server, although its a great idea! Maybe later down the road…

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PROTECT OUR PATRIARCH – CHAPTER 19

Chapter 19 – The legendary fiancée

It was a sturdy man in rough linen. He dropped the box of salted fish on his shoulders and greeted him happily.

Wang Shouzhe calmed down and recognized that the man was the second oldest of the Shou generation, Wang Shouyi. Immediately, he arched his hand, smiled, and said, "Second brother, why are you dressed like this? You have to do the work yourself?"

Wang Shouyi laughed helplessly, "I don't know what kind of madness has infected sixth uncle, but he sent someone to send all the salted fish in stock from Dingpu's warehouse, and ordered me to sell them as soon as possible. The guys have their hands full, so we are unloading them now."

With that, he gestured to a couple of laden wagons which were queuing behind them, blocking the road.

Oh…hehe.

Of course, Wang Shouzhe knew the reason. This was because of his suggestions and ideas. This year, the fishing brigade's catch would be absolutely mind-boggling. If the previous stock of salted fish is not disposed of quickly, its value would drop when a large number of subsequent catches are sold in the market.

"Wang Zhong, Wang Yong, help to unload the goods," Wang Shouzhe waved his hand.

"Yes, Patriarch." The two family generals immediately unloaded their bundles and went forward to help. One was at the fourth level of the Qi Refining realm and the other at the fifth. Their strength and physique were far beyond that of ordinary people.

Together with Wang Shouyi, who was also at the fifth level of the Qi Refining realm, the three Xuanwu practitioners worked together to unload the goods, and the unloading speed accelerated.

Of course, Wang Shouzhe was already at the peak of the sixth level of the Qi Refining realm, so if he helps out, the unloading would even be faster. It's just that he is the head of a clan. If word gets out that the patriarch helped to unload salted fish, wouldn't that affect the clan's prestige?

In less than half an hour, the goods from several wagons were moved into the storehouse, the roadside cleared, and traffic resumed.

Then, Wang Shouyi, who had cleaned up, wanted to entertain Wang Shouzhe in the courtyard behind the fish shops. But his idea was rejected, and he found a place in the shop for them to drink tea and chat.

"Fourth brother, our fish stall mainly sells dried salted and smoked fish, fresh fish, as well as live fish." Wang Shouyi poured the tea himself and said, "Most of the salted fish and other dried goods are purchased in bulk by traveling merchants and sold to the northwest.

"The fresh fish is firstly sold to the vendors in the city. They will come to our fish stall at daybreak to pick up their goods. Secondly, we supply fresh, live fish to a few restaurants in the city. We do the delivery, but the price will be slightly higher.

"Then, there are the noble families, wealthy merchants, etc., who have a high demand for fresh and live fish every day. So, the stall is busiest from daybreak to morning."

In just a few words, Wang Shouzhe understood the modus operandi of Wang's fish stall, which was mainly to maximise the price of the fishing brigade's catch. The overall annual net income that could be brought to the family was only about 200 pieces of Qian gold.

It is precisely because the net income is not high that Wang Shouyi, the seventh generation of the family, is in charge here.

Wang Shouyi's aptitude was not very good, and he was only of the lower grade. Therefore, the family resources enjoyed since his childhood were far from comparable to Wang Dingyue and Wang Shouzhe. As such, at 33 years old, he is only in the initial stage of the fifth level of the Qi Refining realm.

Fortunately, Wang Shouyi has a calm personality, is hardworking, and has no complaints about the family's allocation of resources. Instead, he conscientiously picked one of the family industries and made contributions to the family.

"Second brother, it has been hard for you all these years." Wang Shouzhe arched his hand solemnly.

"What kind of words are you saying, fourth brother?" Wang Shouyi hurriedly rose to return the greeting, "As a direct bloodline clan member, it is my duty to manage the clan's industries property. It's not hard work. As long as you, fourth brother, can breakthrough to the Lingtai realm one day, our Wang clan family members will definitely have a good life."

Lingtai realm! Lingtai realm!

Wang Shouzhe sighed in his heart. All the clansmen had their hopes pinned on him. It was this hope that made them work so hard and give so much.

"Second brother, don't worry, our Wang clan will definitely get better." Wang Shouzhe smiled confidently and said, "By the way, I heard that nephew Zongsheng has good aptitude and looks like a low-grade C-class?"

As soon as Zongsheng was mentioned, Wang Shouyi's simple and honest face exuded joy, he scratched his head and said, "That boy is not bad, better than his father, it seems that my bloodline is still good."

"Oh, second brother, that's because second sister-in-law's bloodline is good." Wang Shouzhe chuckled and teased, "I do know that when second sister-in-law was in the Xu family's boudoir in Jinsha, she was a famous beauty, and many families went to propose marriage. But I didn't expect you to win her heart in the end."

"I can't believe you still remember this, fourth brother, you were still a kid back then, right? Well, your second sister-in-law didn't like those gaudy and flashy gentry, she took a fancy to your second brother's honesty and integrity."

When Wang Shouyi recalled this, he was full of pride, "To marry your second sister-in-law is the greatest victory of my life. By the way, fourth brother, you are 18 this year, right? When are you going to marry the Liu family's daughter?"

The Liu family's daughter?

Wang Shouzhe was dumbstruck. If Wang Shouyi didn't bring this up, he would have forgotten that he is engaged to the Liu family's eldest daughter.

In theory, it is difficult for the now declining Wang clan to match the Liu clan. The relationship between the two clans is only maintained by occasional intermarriages of the indirect lineages. The last time the clan's official/ direct lineage married each other was over a hundred years ago.

At that time, the official daughter of the Liu clan married Wang Yuyou, the second son of ancestor Zhou Xuan while his second daughter, Zhuwei, married into the official line of the Liu clan.

It is worth mentioning that Aunt Zhuwei gave birth to two sons and a daughter. There are two Lingtai realm experts in the Liu clan now, one is Aunt Zhuwei's son and the other, her grandson.

It is precisely because of this that the Shanyin Liu clan has always respected the Wang clan.

But the most powerful member of the Liu clan is not the two Lingtai realm ancestors, but Aunt Zhuwei's daughter, Liu Xuanfu.

He recalled the time when Liu Xuanfu and Wang Longyan, who were cousins and pride of heaven, were accepted into the Zifu Academy, and shocked the entire Changning'wei region.

They were known as the Changning twins, and they were more famous than the Lingtai realm ancestors of ordinary families. Moreover, they were doing very well in the Zifu Academy and have a bright future.

Unfortunately.

After the Wang clan suffered a catastrophe, ancestor Longyan had to give up her status as an elite disciple of the academy to return to the clan. Eventually, she ended up with serious injuries and a greatly reduced life span.

Liu Xuanfu, on the other hand, was doing very well in the Zifu Academy although her current situation is unclear. However, seeing that the Shanyin Liu clan is becoming increasingly stronger, it was possible to deduce that Liu Xuanfu should be doing very well in the Academy.

Therefore, the marriage contract between Wang Shouzhe and the Liu family's eldest daughter was a marriage personally contracted by ancestor Longyan. It was also the last protection that she was going to leave to the family.

Perhaps ancestor Longyan paid some unknown price, or perhaps the Liu clan still remembered their old friendship, and the marriage contract was thus settled.

"Fourth brother, what are you thinking about, fourth brother?" Wang Shouyi said with a smile, "You are not thinking about your future wife, Liu Ruolan, Miss Liu, right?"

"Hehe~ second brother, let's think more about how to expand the family's business." Wang Shouzhe changed the subject, "If sixth uncle's fishing brigade doubles the annual catch this year, can your fish shop cope?"

"What, double?" Wang Shouyi's face flushed with joy and he whispered, "Fourth brother, the family is willing to expand the fishing brigade? This is a good thing which will benefit the family. If that's the case, I will do my best."

"What about twice as much?" Wang Shouzhe said with a smirk.

"Hiss~" Wang Shouyi took a breath, "Fourth brother, are you teasing me?"

Wang Shouzhe was just about to explain when suddenly, they heard an earnest laugh outside the shop, "Is the Wang family's second child, Wang Shouyi here? I am Ding Youde, the second boss of the Fat Choi gambling house. When is your nephew going to repay the money he owes us?"

Fat Choi gambling house? Gambling debt? Nephew?

Just as Wang Shouyi's expression changed drastically, Wang Shouzhe's smile stiffen, and his eyes became a little sharper.

– End of this chapter –

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2 thoughts on "Protect Our Patriarch – Chapter 19"

Laandra says:

March 22, 2022 at 3:37 AM

Thanks for the chapters.

Your next chapter link in chapter 17 is broken and it looked like you didn't update. Only after checking the toc did I see new chapters.

enterandrejoice says:

March 23, 2022 at 11:43 AM

Thanks for letting me know, fixed!

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PROTECT OUR PATRIARCH – CHAPTER 20

Chapter 20 – Teaching the younger generation

In any Xuanwu family, while there would be dedicated clan members who contribute to the family, there would also be a couple of bastards. Fortunately, with the strict rules of the Ping'an Wang clan, the pressure of the glory of their ancestors and the clan's difficult existence, most of the clan members have always toe the line.

Instead, it was the Zong, the eighth generation which produced an unmotivated scoundrel.

"Fourth brother, you are the patriarch now, so it is not convenient for you to get involved." Wang Shouyi said coldly, "Please wait here. I'll be right back."

Subsequently, he strode out in a rage.

A moment later, Wang Shouyi dragged in a young man in his 20s. The young man was beaten until his nose was bruised and face, swollen. He was crying, "Second uncle, I was wrong, I really know I was wrong. Please forgive me this time, don't tell my father!"

"You bastard!" The enraged Wang Shouyi kicked the young man so hard that he rollover a couple of times on the ground. "You have degenerated to such a state and still refuse to reflect? You dare to beg for forgiveness and want me to cover up for you?"

Ouch!

The young man wailed twice and was just about to cry and plead again when he looked up and saw an extraordinary young man with an expressionless face staring at him.

Immediately, he trembled, and as if struck by lightning, he displayed a doomsday-like fear, "Fourth, fourth, fourth, fourth uncle! You, you, you, you ..." His body shook and he almost fainted. At a time like this, he would rather run into his father than his fourth uncle.

At most, his father would beat him up badly, and lock him up for several months. Subsequently, he would be free again.

But now …

"How much did he lose?" Wang Shouzhe asked indifferently.

"This bastard have only been here for slightly over a month. He owes the casino 20 pieces of Qian gold. When we add the money his mother gave him from her private savings, and a Xiao Pei Yuan Dan which he sold privately, he lost a total of 40 Qian gold!"

Wang Shouyi was burning with anger. The clan's fish shop with 20 to 30 workers only managed to laboriously earn more than 200 pieces of Qian gold annually.

This kid was so great that he lost 40 pieces of Qian gold in gambling, which could have bought four Xiao Pei Yuan Dan.

"Fourth uncle, I was wrong, I was really wrong." The young man fell limp on the ground and kowtow to Wang Shouzhe repeatedly, "I beg fourth uncle to give me another chance."

"Chance? You have been given too many chances," Wang Shouyi said angrily, "The family originally asked you to work with your eldest brother in Xinmao Silkworm Village and learn the skills. Instead, you spent your days hanging out with wastrels, and even dare to molest a virtuous woman!

"Then, your grandfather and your mother begged and got you to join sixth uncle's fishing fleet. Yet, you complained that it was hard work, sneaked off and ran to me. I was wrong, I really shouldn't have taken you in! The sensual pleasures of Changning'wei have beguiled you!"

Wang Shouzhe pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "Zongwei, you are the eldest of the Zong generation. You should have set an example for your younger siblings in the clan, but now, you are unacceptable.

"You are eldest brother's son, and he should be the one to discipline you. But I, Wang Shouzhe, as the Patriarch of the clan, also have the power and duty to discipline unworthy clansmen."

"Fourth, fourth uncle!" Wang Zongwei was scared into a puddle, "For my father's sake, my, my, my grandfather's sake ..."

"How about this? Since you like to gamble, I'll gamble with you." Wang Shouzhe said expressionlessly.

He took out a piece of Qian gold and held it in one of his hands, "Take a gamble to see which of my hands holds the money? If you win this wager, we'll pretend that today's incident never happened. If you lose, I won't make things difficult for you. I'll take one of your hands, and for your grandfather's sake, you can sponge off the clan in the future."

"What?" Wang Zongwei was so petrified that his tears stopped, "Fourth, fourth uncle, I'm not going to bet, I'm not going to gamble."

"Fourth…" Wang Shouyi's expression changed. When he was about to intercede, he was stopped by a wave of Wang Shouzhe's hand only to hear him say in a cold voice, "Today even if the second great grandfather, Wang Xiaohui is here, your grandfather, Wang Dingchuan, and your father, Wang Shouxin are here, it's still useless."

Wang Shouyi shuddered and subconsciously shut his mouth, not daring to plead for mercy anymore.

Although everyone were members of the Wang clan, and were all brothers of the Shouzi generation, Wang Shouzhe's family was a direct descendant of the Wang clan. Furthermore, he was the clan's Patriarch, and has been favoured by ancestor Longyan since he was a child, So, obviously, they were not equal.

To the Wang clan, even if 10 bastards like Wang Zongwei were tied together, they would not be as important as a single finger of Wang Shouzhe.　　

After shocking Wang Shouyi, Wang Shouzhe continued to stare at Wang Zongwei and said indifferently, "If you don't bet, fourth uncle will consider that you have conceded defeat. Stretch out your hand."

"No, no, no, I'll bet, I'll bet." Wang Zongwei said excitedly, "I bet the money is in fourth uncle's right hand."

"Hehe~" Wang Shouzhe's eyes flashed coldly, and he slowly open his empty right palm, "Zongwei, you've lost."

"No, don't! Fourth uncle, give me one more chance, one more time!" Wang Zongwei howled hysterically, "In the left hand, the gold is in fourth uncle's left hand!"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, I'm sure!"

Wang Shouzhe slowly opened his – empty – left palm and his gaze was like a sharp blade cutting into Wang Zongwei, "Zongwei, a man must be trustworthy, and he must accept defeat when he gambles. Wang Zhong, Wang Yong!"

"Yes, Patriarch."

The two generals came out in response and picked up the limp Wang Zongwei, who was trembling like death and could only say, "Fourth uncle, spare me! Spare me!"

Clang.

In a flash, Wang Shouzhe's sharp sword was unsheathed.

Wang Shouyi could not bear to look and turned his head away.

Swish!　　

Wang Shouzhe sliced with his sword, the sword's aura flashed, and the next instant, the sharp sword had returned to its sheath.

"Ah ~~~~" Wang Zongwei screamed miserably, "My hand…my hand… it's gone, it's gone ..." The smell of urine permeated the air.

Wang Zhong and Wang Yong dropped him in disgust, their faces contemptuous. This young master Zongwei and the family head are both descendants of the ancestor Zhou Xuan. Why is there such a huge difference? Furthermore, Wang Zongwei was already 20 years old which means he is two years older than the Patriarch.

Slap! Wang Shouyi rushed up and stopped his howl with a tight slap, annoyed and disgusted, "Okay, stop howling, disgraceful dog, quickly, thank your fourth uncle."

"Hand, my ... hand is still here, it's still here ..." Wang Zongwei shouted furiously in surprise. With tears and snot, he bowed towards Wang Shouzhe to thank him repeatedly, "Thank you, fourth uncle, thank you, fourth uncle. I will definitely, definitely behave and be an upright person."

"Remember, you owe me a hand, and I reserve the right to take it back at any time. In addition, you are temporarily deprived of all your cultivation resources and salary which are transferred to, well~ transferred to Wang Luotong for her use." Wang Shouzhe didn't want to see him anymore and turned around to leave, followed by the two family generals.

"Thank you, fourth uncle, thank you, fourth uncle." Wang Zongwei dared not retort and just kowtowed repeatedly.

Wang Shouyi gave Wang Zongwei a fierce glare and quickly caught up with Wang Shouzhe, sighing and saying, "Fourth brother, I know you want to teach that little beast, Zongwei, a lesson, but ..."

"But what?" Wang Shouzhe said with a sneer, "Would second grandfather or the eldest brother replace him to win the wager?"

"I'm not worried about grandpa and eldest brother." Wang Shouyi said helplessly. "You also know that eldest sister-in-law, Xu, is from the direct bloodline of the Xu family in Changning. She has been spoiled and pampered since childhood. Well…you have stripped Zongwei of his resources, and she can't fault you for this. But, I am afraid that she will take the opportunity to create trouble since you transferred the resources to Luotong."

"Whether she comes from the Xu or the Liu clan, she is now a member of our Wang clan." Wang Shouzhe replied calmly, "I believe that since she comes from such a big aristocratic family, she must be an educated person, and she will, eventually, understand my conscience."

Wang Shouyi opened his mouth to speak, but then, he stopped. He understood that while sister-in-law Xu was shrewish, she might not really dare to confront Shouzhe, so he was rather relieved.

– End of this chapter –

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One thought on "Protect Our Patriarch – Chapter 20"

Laandra says:

March 27, 2022 at 10:22 PM

Thanks for the chapter.

It's really a pleasure to have an intelligent mc for once.

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PROTECT OUR PATRIARCH – CHAPTER 21

Chapter 21 – Opening the door to a new world for second brother

Wang Shouzhe did not take such a small incident too seriously, but changed the discussion to the main topic, "By the way, second brother, is the value of live fish in your fish stall the highest?"

"Yes, in addition to the spirit fish, some of the finest live fish have the highest value. Perch, yellowcheek, Mandarin fish, Spanish mackerel, herring, and long-tailed anchovies, these are known for their freshness and tenderness, and they are quite popular with the aristocratic families and wealthy merchants. The only requirement is the fish must be alive."

Wang Shouyi frowned, "There are live water tanks on the sixth uncle's fishing fleet. After the fish is transferred from the tanks, they need to be sent to Changning'wei by special carriages overnight, and we need to get them to the buyers in the shortest possible time.

"Even if it takes a very short time, there will be many mistakes. Six to seven out of 10 will die, and when they do, their value drops by half, and they can only be sold as fresh fish."

Wang Shouzhe said after some thought, "In that case, the cost of the transportation, and the death rate of the live fish are the two key factors. By solving these two problems, even if the catch does not increase, we can still make a lot of extra money in a year."

The reason he rushed to inspect the clan's various industries was to see how every aspect of the production could be optimised to increase output by utilising his modern experience on earth.

"If fourth brother has a way to solve the death rate of the live fish, it is conservatively estimated that we can make an additional 70- or 80-pieces of Qian gold every year." Wang Shouyi couldn't help but feel distressed, "The dead fish are all pure profit."

"It's hard to tell right now. I need to see your current arrangements, second brother."

"Fourth brother, follow me." Wang Shouyi led Wang Shouzhe to the back courtyard of other courtyard, where there were two horse carriages.

Unlike ordinary carriages for passengers, each of these carriages only carried a large wooden barrel.

He said, "One of the barrels is filled with live water and fish, while the other with live water only. Every hour, some of the water in the fish barrel will be replaced. But even so, when there are slightly more live fish, they will still die. I'm currently considering whether to add a carriage with live water, but then, expenses will increase substantially."

As soon as he saw Wang Shouyi's means of transporting live fish, Wang Shouzhe's eyelids twitched. The daily amount of valuable live fish from sixth uncle's fleet is not much, at most, it was only 500 to 1,000 kg.

What an astonishing mean of transportation! These barrels were also surprisingly unexpectedly crude, no air pumps and no filtration. Just three words, change the water!

In order to change the water, a carriage was exclusively reserved to carry just a barrel of water. As if that wasn't enough, Wang Shouyi was prepared to add another carriage?

However, Wang Shouzhe also knows that Wang Shouyi is not to blame. As this is a Xuanwu world, everyone is focused on improving their cultivation realm and personal strength.

Of course, this doesn't mean that the elites didn't study natural subjects. It's just that for some of these people, even if their studies generated insights or results, they would treasure them, keep this knowledge strictly secret, and will not disseminate the knowledge.

It's only natural. Even the knowledge that Wang Shouzhe has researched would only be reserved for the family's secret use. Want him to spread the information to benefit other families? Dream on.

In his last life, Wang Shouzhe was a salted fish with no ideals at work. During holidays, he would often go fishing with his friends. When he caught too many fish, he bought aeration pump to try to keep the fish alive so that he can eat live fish leisurely, but these fish also died very quickly. After some research and study, he understood some simple principles.

You need to make sure your fish tank fulfils three conditions if you want to keep live fish to eat leisurely.

The first is the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. Fish need oxygen to survive but the oxygen in the water is limited. If you have more fish in a barrel, the greater the oxygen consumption, which can be achieved by increasing oxygen.

Next is the cleanliness of the water. Fish faecal matter and food waste produce ammonia and nitrites, and respiration produces nitrogen, factors which cause fish mortality and can be solved by changing water and filtration.

The third is temperature. The higher the temperature, the more active the fish will be, the more oxygen they will consume and the more toxic substances such as ammonia will be produced. Therefore, it is also very effective to keep the water at a relatively low temperature.

After combining these three factors, the two men went into Wang Shouzhe's study. After some thought, Wang Shouzhe drew a simple sketch on paper. The top of the wooden barrel containing the fish was filtered, and the filtered water fell into the barrel in the form of rain. This was the simplest principle of dripping water to increase oxygen.

And in the simple terms possible, he explained the principles of oxygen and toxic substances to Wang Shouyi.

Wang Shouyi has been working at the fish stall for more than 10 years, and he quickly understood these principles. He suddenly realized, "After hearing what fourth brother said, I suddenly understood many things.

"In the past, the elders in the family only said that we should change the living water. The reason is that the fish needs the living qi in the water. If there is not enough living qi, the water will become stagnant, and the fish will die. Fourth brother is suggesting that we use the rain drip method to increase the living qi in the water. I've never thought about it."

"This is from the ancient books. It's hard to say whether it's effective or not. You'll have to do a few more experiments and comparisons." Wang Shouzhe nodded secretly. Fine, let's use the phrase "living qi", it's easier to understand than the awkward word of "oxygen".

"Fish eats living qi and exhales dead qi. Too much faeces in the water produce poisonous qi. The poisonous qi in the water is filtered through the layers of cotton cloth, broken charcoal, and gravel. Then, the water will be non-toxic, and the fish, naturally, will not die. Why didn't I think of that?"

As Wang Shouyi went on, he became more excited, "What you said about hot and cold conditions are also quite reasonable. Less fish die during cold days then in summer. It turns out that the fish are more active in the heat, and so, require more living qi…No wonder the transportation during the day is not as good as the evening. If you add some cellar ice to the water ..."

The theory imparted by Wang Shouzhe seemed to have opened the door to a new world for Wang Shouyi who quickly figured out the many things which puzzled him in the past.

"Second brother, since you understand it, you can ask the craftsmen to make a few small devices and run a couple of experiments." Wang Shouzhe looked at the sky, "It's getting late, I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."

As the Patriarch, Wang Shouzhe was not here to invent and create. What's more, it's easier said than done, so he might not be able to do a good job of creating these devices by hand.

As long as Wang Shouyi understands the principles, he can do the rest.

"Fourth brother, why are you in a rush to leave?" Wang Shouyi held on to him and refused to let go, "You rarely come to the fish stall, and second brother hasn't entertained you properly.

"We'll have lunch at [Bai Wei Xuan], that restaurant we supplied with live fish. The taste of all the various dishes is superb.

"There are still several things I haven't figured out. What do you mean by siphon drainage? What is the principle of using a pump to increase the living qi in the water barrels? How do you use the pump principle to make the water rise higher…"

Got it!

As Wang Shouzhe listened to his "100,000 questions", he knew it was a good thing, although he was slightly overwhelmed. Wang Shouyi had been running the fish stall for many years, and if he could really immerse himself in this, the fish business would become better, and this would be a great contribution to the family.

After all, Wang's fish shop is not the only fishmonger in Changning'wei, there are more than 10 aristocratic families who are in the same business. The Liu and Zhao clans, in particular, have larger scale operations.

The better their fish stalls do, the more wealth they generate and the more they squeeze their rivals' businesses.

Therefore, Wang Shouzhe spent more time, and then started the "enlightenment education" session with Wang Shouyi. Both the siphon effect and the hand pump require pipes. The use of pipes in this world is quite crude. There are only bamboo pipes, clay pipes, and copper pipes, but they are barely adequate.

It doesn't matter if you can't make a manual pump for the time being. Use the simple siphon principle to suck the water out of the bottom layer and ask the workers to pour the water into the filter layer manually. This way, the volume of water transported by one carriage has increased considerably, and the rate of live fish will also increase significantly.

Wang Shouyi was so enthralled by what he heard that he asked non-stop questions while having lunch at Bai Wei Xuan at noon.

"Second brother, is this Bai Wei Xuan really the best restaurant in Changning'wei?" When Wang Shouzhe had lunch, he felt the taste of the dishes was average, although the quality of the ingredients was better.

Of course, the level of seasoning was better than the Wang clan chefs, but it fared poorly compared to the meals on earth.

"Fourth brother, this meal cost 32 large copper and 73 cents ..." Wang Shouyi's face turned black, and he cried out injustice, "This is all the private money that I managed to save with my hard work. Such fresh and delicious dishes, and you are still not satisfied? "

Wang Shouzhe rubbed his chin and guessed that the taste discrepancy was due to monosodium glutamate. In his last life on Earth, MSG and chicken cubes had flooded every corner of the food world, and that very delicious taste lingered in his memory.

If we could produce MSG, can it be turned into a business?

– End of this chapter –

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One thought on "Protect Our Patriarch – Chapter 21"

Laandra says:

April 6, 2022 at 2:28 AM

Thanks for the chapter.

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