BXBX NOVEL Chapter 58 - 58 Wang Mei, The Unremarkable Head of Household_1
The worst affected by this locust disaster were naturally those low-ranking Profound Martial clans who had no means to combat the disaster.
Like the Zhao and Liu Clans.
A rough calculation would illustrate just how much they lost. Using the previous examples, a 70% crop failure on twenty acres of land would only yield 90 Copper Coins profit. The tenant farmer would take away 30 Copper Coins as a baseline, then 40 Copper Coins would go to taxes, 10 Copper Coins for oxen, farming tools, and seed amortization, and 20 Copper Coins for insecticide powder. Just these expenses alone left the Zhao and Liu Clans not just without any grain harvest for the season, but they had to spend 10 Copper Coins for every twenty acres of land.
For the Liu Clan, their various farming estates totaled over ten thousand acres of fertile land. Therefore, not only did they not make a single shilling, they had to pay out 50 Qian Gold.
This sum of Qian Gold did not even include other expenses like the costs of supervising the farming process, which made the total deficit exceed one hundred Qian Gold.
It might sound like losing one hundred Qian Gold was not a big deal, but in reality, they were bleeding money from this. In a normal year, those ten thousand acres would bring them a net profit of eight or nine hundred Qian Gold for the season. The loss and the lack of profit meant they were now a thousand Qian Gold short.
Under normal circumstances, for a Prominent Family like the Liu Clan, their annual expenditure was massive. If they could save up five or six hundred Qian Gold a year, it was a feat. This loss of a thousand Qian Gold eroded two years of their savings.
“There’s another piece of detrimental news that you’re probably not aware of, Wang Shouzhe.” Gongsun Hui continued, “The Government Office of Changning Guard City has issued an order to all the Prominent Families. This summer’s taxes cannot be paid in Qian Gold but must be paid in actual grain.” Hearing this news, Wang Shouzhe drew in a sharp breath of surprise. This pushed the weaker Profound Martial families into a dead-end. In the past, they could choose to pay taxes either in grain or in Gold, as long as the equivalent value was met.
However, this year, all the families were short on grain. If they had to pay in actual grain, it would be adding insult to injury for the weaker Profound Martial families. This, of course, did not include the Wang Clan and some of their relative allies who managed to maintain their crop yields and were still able to afford tlie grain tax.
The ones truly affected were prominent clans like those in Ping’an, such as the Liu and Zhao Clans. Their grain supplies were already sparse. Now they were forced to pay grain taxes, which would deplete their reserves. When cornered, they would have no choice but to shift the pressure onto the commoners and ’ even the tenant farmers.
“I can understand the government’s command.” Wang Shouzhe said gravely, “Given the overall grain shortage in the region of Changning Guard City, if the government did not issue this order to convene grain from the families, the city would likely descend into chaos.”
“Are you planning to watch the commotion unfold within the Zhao and Liu Clans, Shouzhe?” Gongsun Hui asked. “The land annexation will inevitably trigger chaos, and it isn’t risk-free for Zhao and Liu clans to take advantage.” “No!”
Wang Shouzhe’s eyes were filled with icy resolve, “Ping’an is the land that our Old Ancestor Zhou Xuan claimed by slaying ferocious beasts, and the foundation he built painstakingly over a hundred years. How could I stand by and watch it be ruined by the two jackals? They want to play the land annexation game amidst the chaos? They have to get past me, Wang Shouzhe! This time, I am going to strike against the Zhao and Liu Clans and show them just what I am capable of.”
“Shouzhe, you do have grandeur. I wasn’t wrong about you.” Gongsun Hui’s eyes twinkled, “No matter your decision, I will support you. At this critical moment, I will try to invite Old Ancestor Ming to our Wang Clan as a guest.” “Old Ancestor Ming?”
Wang Shouzhe’s face lit up, “Mother, you can actually invite Old Ancestor Ming?”
In dealings between Prominent Families, figures of the Old Ancestor’s level generally reframed from intervening in disputes between other families, so as to avoid triggering larger scale altercations among allied families.
Gongsun Hui laughed, “Did you forget? The eldest legitimate daughter of the fourth generation of our Wang Clan, Wang Lingdie, married into the Gongsun Clan to become the Lady of the house. Old Ancestor Ming is her biological son, with half of his bloodline coming from our Wang Clan. Thus, he naturally has close ties with our Wang clan. Also, do not forget, Old Ancestor Ming is my biological grandfather. I paid him a visit when I returned to my maternal home a while ago. He deeply regrets the incident of Old Ancestor Longyan. He lamented that he was only at the ninth level of the Qi Refinement Realm back then and received the news too late.”
After a pause, Gongsun Hui added, “Old Ancestor Ming also heard about you from your maternal grandfather and spoke very highly of you. He wanted to see you when there was a chance. I believe he would not refuse my invitation to visit our Wang Clan this time.”
“Good, good, good, this makes things much easier.” Wang Shouzhe was overjoyed. He had thought about Old Ancestor Longyan whose health hadn’t fully recovered and wondered whether he could deter the opposition.
If Old Ancestor Ming were to come and stay for a few days, would the old ancestors of the Liu and Zhao Clans dare to make any wild moves?
After talking with Gongsun Hui for a while, Wang Shouzhe bid her farewell and left.
Planning to strike at the Zhao and Liu Clans simultaneously was a mammoth task. It required careful planning and scheming, as it was necessary to prevent the size of this move being rendered blind.
Intelligence!
It was always the foundation of warfare.
Wang Shouzhe called Wang Zhong over. Although Wang Zhong’s strength was not high, being only at the High Level Four of Qi Refinement, he had shown himself to be quite resourceful and meticulous in his work.
“Greetings, Family Head.” Wang Zhong bowed upon entering.
“You may rise.” Wang Shouzhe said, “You didn’t have the chance to reunite properly with your family before I asked you to work again. It must be tough.” “Serving the Family Head is not tiring at all.” Wang Zhong seemed particularly spirited, his eyes shining with excitement at the mention of work.
It wasn’t merely because the Family Head was generous, but also the fact that every action he took was powerful and decisive, showing promising signs of prosperity for the Wang family under his leadership. The relationship between the head of household and the family was one that thrived and suffered together.
Wang Shouzhe smiled, and told him what he needed to be done.
Wang Zhong deliberated seriously for a moment before saying, “Family Head, intelligence work is not my strong suit. I would like to recommend another family member to you – Wang Mei. She is only twenty-three years old, yet her cultivation base has reached Level Three of the Vital Energy Refining Realm. More importantly, she has a delicate mind and keen observational skills, and she is very adept at disguising and infiltrating to collect clues.”
Wang Shouzhe didn’t give a definite answer, instead, he sent someone to summon Wang Mei, wanting to assess her personally.
Not long after, Wang Mei arrived. She greeted with sincere respect and fear, “Greetings to the Family Head.”
Wang Shouzhe gave her a once-over. Her appearance was unremarkable, almost forgettable as soon as you turned your head. However, her figure was quite good, well-proportioned with long, strong legs, a promising indication of physical prowess.
He immediately showed interest, saying, “No need for formalities. Wang Zhong mentioned that you’re good at undercover work and have a keen mind. Can you elaborate?”
“In return to the Family Head,” Wang Mei replied evenly. “I indeed excel in undercover work.”
“Oh~ You seem quite confident.” Wang Shouzhe said with a smile, “Could you give me a demonstration?”
Wang Mei agreed, but she would need to do some preparatory work.
Wang Shouzhe found this interesting and insisted she prepare thoroughly. After she left, Wang Shouzhe sobered up and began to plot his plan.
The plan wasn’t anything complex, just a small commercial maneuver. Such events were constantly happening on Earth.
But Wang Shouzhe began to plan meticulously as this was a opportune moment and he couldn’t afford to miss it.
The steps of the plan started to take shape…
Greetings to the Family Head.” A robust male voice rang out.
“Dis-” Wang Shouzhe turned his head abruptly, only to see a stranger standing there greeting him with a hand held in salute. The man was not particularly tall, but imposingly solemn. His face clean and fair, making him look handsome, possessing an aura of scholarly military official.
“Who are you?” Wang Shouzhe didn’t remember having such a member in the Wang family and raised his brows in question.
“Family Head, it’s I, Wang Mei.” The man suddenly spoke in a woman’s voice, causing Wang Shouzhe to shudder in surprise as the shift in atmosphere was so drastic. Feeling the goosebumps, he responded, “This skill of yours is truly unique. Very interesting indeed.”
When the Family Head praised her, Wang Mei filled with joy and said, “Please wait a moment, Family Head, I’ll change into another disguise.”
Two hours passed.
When Wang Mei appeared again, Wang Shouzhe, Wang Zhong, and Wang Gui were all stupefied.
In front of them stood a graceful young woman. She was dressed in a thin gauze, her feet clad in lotus-patterned shoes. Holding a vintage floral umbrella, she swayed with every step she took, emitting a hidden fragrance.
The most surprising thing was her face, which had become prettier. Her red lips and rosy cheeks coupled with her hair tied up presented her as a true beauty.
“Respectful greetings, Family Head.” Her voice softened as she bowed.
“Gulp.” Wang Gui, a young servant, swallowed audibly, his eyes glued to her.
Wang Shouzhe, however, had seen much and quickly recovered. At the same time, he was amazed at the mastery of Wang Mei’s makeup skills, which were no less impressive than those he had seen on makeup apps in his previous life.
Wang Mei’s makeup skills were comparable to that of those freakishly talented makeup artists on makeup apps, which completely shocked Wang Shouzhe.
Ping’an Town was the countryside of the countryside. How many of the youths from the Liu, Zhao, and other clans had seen such a spectacle?
Surely, with a little effort from Wang Mei, intelligence would follow right after.