章 25: Little Spirit of Shanyang
編集者: Atlas Studios
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"What's so good about the Liu Clan of Shanyang?" Chen Clan muttered incessantly, "All of them are arrogant and scheming all the time. The way I see it…"
The Liu Clan of Shanyin and the Gongsun Clan of Shanyang were only separated by Dragon Ridge Mountain. There were abundant resources and minerals in Dragon Ridge Mountain, and there was usually a lot of friction between the two clans, so their relationship naturally could not be considered harmonious.
"Enough! Old woman, how can you make such nonsensical comments on the marriage between the Wang Clan and the Liu Clan?" Gongsun Mo could no longer sit still. He hurriedly stood up and shouted, "Gongsun Qiang, help your mother back to rest. Shouzhe and I still have something to talk about."
Gongsun Qiang hurriedly helped the nagging old lady away. Gongsun Hui also said, "Zhe'er, accompany Grandfather for a proper talk. I'll go and talk with Mother for a while."
Gongsun Hui had already achieved her goal of making connections today. Given her identity, it would be inappropriate for her to participate in Gongsun Mo and Wang Shouzhe's conversation. Then, she held Wang Luojing's small hand and left together.
After everyone had left, Wang Shouzhe cupped his hands and bowed to Gongsun Mo. "Shouzhe greets Grandfather."
"There's no need for formalities, Zhe'er. Come, have a taste of the spirit tea Grandfather personally planted." Gongsun Mo was already prepared for Wang Shouzhe's arrival. He immediately ordered people to serve the spirit tea and spirit fruits.
The spirit tea and spirit fruits were luxury goods in Arcane Martial Clans. They could only be grown in spirit fields, and spirit fields were an important strategic resource for every family. Gongsun Mo only had several acres of spirit fields for planting spirit tea and spirit fruit respectively, specially to treat distinguished guests.
As for the Wang Clan of Ping'an, the remaining spirit fields they had left for planting white jade spirit rice were not even enough for consumption by their clansmen. Naturally, they would not use them to plant the less economical spirit tea and spirit fruits.
"Thank you, Grandfather." With spirit tea and spirit fruits to enjoy, Wang Shouzhe naturally wouldn't stand on ceremony. He immediately sat down and began to enjoy them.
The tea in the spirit jade teacup was rosy and fragrant, and the scent alone made one feel refreshed. After taking a sip, a slight bitterness filled his mouth. However, in the next moment, a cooling sensation filled his head, making Wang Shouzhe feel refreshed. Some of his gloomy thoughts were swept away.
"The tea is good." Wang Shouzhe could not help but praise it. "This spirit tea is mellow and fragrant, with a lingering aftertaste. It can also help to calm and focus one's spirit, washing away the distracting thoughts in one's heart."
"Haha, I didn't expect Zhe'er to be someone who knows about tea as well." Gongsun Mo was consoled. Sensing that he had not misjudged and wasted the treat, he proudly introduced, "This tea is called the Little Spirit of Shanyang. It's a wild spirit tea plant that I discovered by chance in the depths of Dragon Ridge Mountain when I was young. After decades of careful nurturing, it can now produce more than half a kilogram annually. Even the two ancestors in my clan quite like it. How about this, I'll give you one catty per year."
At the mention of sharing one catty, the corners of Gongsun Mo's lips twitched imperceptibly. It was obvious that his heart ached for it. It was no wonder. Planting spirit tea was not comparable to the white jade spirit rice, nor could it be planted densely like the tea species on Earth.
Typically, only a few spiritual tea trees could be planted in an acre of spirit field. Moreover, regular intensive farming and maintenance were indispensable. The harvesting, kneading, fermentation, and other processes were also very particular.
Therefore, even one catty of spirit tea had a high cost.
"Thank you, Grandfather. It would be impolite for Zhe'er to decline." Wang Shouzhe knew that Gongsun Mo was intentionally supporting him, so he naturally wouldn't decline.
In the current Wang Clan, only he, Wang Shouzhe, was worth Gongsun Mo's investment. It was just like how Gongsun Mo had married his daughter to Wang Dingyue to be his second wife. If there came a day when Wang Shouzhe could advance to the Spirit Tower Realm, he would definitely remember this favor.
More importantly, Gongsun Mo and his wife loved Gongsun Hui very much, and Wang Shouzhe was Gongsun Hui's legitimate son. He could be said to be her future support in the Wang Clan. Therefore, on account of his daughter, Gongsun Mo would also find a way to squeeze out some resources to support his cheap grandson, Wang Shouzhe.
Of course, all of this was established on the fact that Wang Shouzhe had good potential and had a good relationship with Gongsun Hui.
If Wang Shouzhe was an arrogant ingrate, Gongsun Mo naturally would not bother with him. If the Wang Clan declined completely, he could just bring his daughter and granddaughter back to the Gongsun Clan.
The two of them exchanged pleasantries before getting to the main topic.
After Gongsun Mo drank a cup of tea, his expression gradually became solemn. "Zhe'er, after receiving the letter you sent this morning, I still had some doubts. Then, I went to the farms to investigate it personally, and after communicating with the agricultural experts of the clan, I finally confirmed it. This time, as you said, there is indeed a possibility of an aphid disaster. I'm afraid it will reduce production by more than 60% compared to last year. Zhe'er, on behalf of the Gongsun Clan, I…"
"Grandfather, there's no need to talk like an outsider," Wang Shouzhe interrupted. "Even if I don't give the warning, given the speed at which the aphids are erupting these few days, the various clans will definitely be alerted by today at the earliest, or tomorrow at the latest."
The signs of the aphids were not obvious at first. Every year, their production would more or less be affected by aphids. Therefore, farmers were used to the appearance of some aphids in the beginning. However, once they erupted, they would crawl out of the eggs buried in the soil in a very short period of time, catching people off guard.
"You're mistaken." Gongsun Mo shook his head and said, "The Gongsun Clan of Shanyang possesses a total of 16,000 acres of fertile land. This winter's wheat harvest is calculated to be 15 large coppers per acre, which makes 240,000 large coppers, equivalent to 2,400 gold. It's the early stage of the aphid eruption now, so even if the production is reduced by 20%, it will still prevent the loss of 400 to 500 gold. Besides, I also heeded your arrangements and sent clansmen and clan guards into the mountains to catch the lacewings and the nine-spotted beetles in advance."
For lacewings and nine-spotted beetles, even the bug kings were ultimately ordinary creatures, and could not even be considered Class One Spirit Insects. Normally, no one would pay attention to them. At the very least, they could find some in the depths of the mountains of Shanyang.
As the two of them were talking, a clan guard came to report that the first batch of lacewings and nine-spotted beetles they captured had been sent back.
"In that case, there's no time to lose. Grandfather, please send your trusted clan guards to accompany us." Wang Shouzhe stood up and said, "Relieving disaster is like putting out a fire. There can be no delay at all."
In next to no time, the maidservant called Gongsun Hui and Wang Luojing back. They rode to the largest farm of the Gongsun Clan. It was a huge farm with a total of 7,000 acres of fertile land.
It could be seen that the current foundation of the Gongsun Clan of Shanyang far exceeded that of the Wang Clan of Ping'an.
The tenant farmers in the entire farm were already operating in a frenzy. They used the traditional wood ash water mixed with double doses of insecticide powder to eliminate the insects. The effect of this operation was quite good. If they had enough insecticide powder, it seemed that they would still be able to suppress the outbreak of the pest disaster this time.
Unfortunately, the Gongsun Clan had only amassed a small amount of insecticide powder. It was too little to control the overall situation.
"Fourth Brother." Wang Luojing spent more than two hours to tame three Lacewing Kings and one Nine-spotted Beetle King. She seemed very tired. "As the time was too rushed, only simple taming could be conducted on these insect kings to barely manage commanding their movements. Get the clan guards to release the wild lacewings and nine-spotted beetles."
"Luojing, it's been hard on you." Wang Shouzhe patted her head, feeling a little sorry for her. He took out the spirit fruit he had taken just now from his pocket. "Refresh yourself first. The disaster relief can't be delayed after all."
"Don't worry, Fourth Brother." Wang Luojing nodded obediently. Her strength recovered quite a bit after eating the spirit fruit. "As long as we can control the insect kings, those lacewings and nine-spotted beetles won't run off. However, we can't make them summon the smaller insects themselves and fly back."
Then, Wang Luojing did as before and barely managed to direct the insect kings and the insects into the thousands of acres of wheatland. After the round of work, the sky had already turned dark.
At this moment, Gongsun Mo arrived at the scene in person. He also brought the cook and a lot of spirit food. They cooked dinner on the spot and cleaned up a room in the farm. The patriarch, the young patriarch, a clansman named Gongsun Zhong, and his wife, Wang Liuyu accompanied them.
Wang Liuyu was a member of the Wang Clan. She should be 40 years old now, but because she had maintained her appearance well, she appeared to be in her early thirties. From her manner of dressing, she seemed to be leading a good life.
"Shouzhe greets Third Aunt and Third Uncle." Wang Shouzhe cupped his hands first and bowed.
"This-this… Shouzhe, you're too polite." Gongsun Zhong had a rather rough and dark appearance. It was said that he oversaw work in the mines of the Gongsun Clan. His status among the direct bloodline clansmen was fairly high, but his personality was rather simple and dull, and he was not good at socializing.
Wang Liuyu also returned the bow repeatedly, appearing very respectful towards Wang Shouzhe. Although her seniority was a generation over Wang Shouzhe, Wang Shouzhe belonged to the main line of descent and was the patriarch of the Wang Clan.
Wang Luojing, however, threw herself into Wang Liuyu's arms and called out sweetly, "Auntie."
In terms of blood relations, Wang Liuyu was the second daughter of the Fourth Old Master, Wang Xiaozhi. She was also Wang Luojing's direct aunt, so their relationship was naturally close.
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