…

Later on.

Using an excuse to temporarily dismiss Wang Lici, Wang Shouzhe explained the plans that needed to be executed soon and the parts that required the Ancestor’s cooperation.

Inside the pavilion.

The Ancestor Long Yan’s snow-white long hair lightly danced with the wind. In her eyes, like a pair of stars, appeared a breathtaking light. Her words were plain but revealed a sense of killing intent: “Shouzhe’s plan is good, but why am I only arranged to be the backup? The Yin and Sha poison in my body has already been refined by half, and there is no need to worry about backlash in a short time when I take action.”

“Even if this plan attracts an old ghost, I, Wang Longyan, can still kill it with some cost. If it attracts two old ghosts, there is still no need to fear.”

Wang Shouzhe rubbed his forehead. Long Yan was good in every aspect, but her temper was too fierce.

The conflict between the Xuanwu clans was like playing cards. How could one immediately throw out the trump card?

He arranged Long Yan into the plan just in case, as a backup card. Now that her injuries were rapidly improving, he could not let her casually pay a price.

This kind of thinking was not good.

Immediately, Wang Shouzhe solemnly bowed and said, “Ancestor, the conflict between the Xuanwu clans is not like personal bravery and ruthlessness, nor is it like marching and fighting. Because everyone involved in the operation is their own relatives, family members, or close friends. Once a mistake occurs, it is likely to cause irreparable losses.”

Long Yan’s body trembled slightly, and she calmed down a bit, apologizing, “Shouzhe, you’re right. I, Wang Longyan, have been spoiled and made many mistakes in my life, causing many irreparable past events. I must calm down and think about my own shortcomings.”

“Ancestor.” Wang Shouzhe hurriedly said, “The contributions and sacrifices you have made for the clan do not need to be questioned. We younger generations have them in our hearts. But now the times have changed, and our Wang Clan is in the dark, while the Liu and Zhao Clans are in the light. What we need to do is to protect ourselves and take a big piece of meat from them. It can be considered as taking some interest before collecting the debt.”

“In terms of strategy, I am not as good as you.” Long Yan’s eyes flashed, “It’s all up to your arrangement.”

After getting Long Yan’s approval, Wang Shouzhe also felt relieved. In fact, he did not need Long Yan to participate in this plan. But as he said, he was most afraid of unexpected situations.

Long Yan’s move was just used as the last trump card. If it could be avoided, it would be avoided. After all, her body had just started to recover.

“In that case.” Wang Shouzhe bowed and took his leave, “Please take good care of yourself, Ancestor. When the time comes for action, I will come to inform you.”

After speaking, Wang Shouzhe left.Before leaving, Wang Shouzhe didn’t forget to drag Wang Lici, who was eating, away to avoid disturbing the Ancestor’s cultivation.

…

Over an hour later.

On the pier in the backyard, a black-covered boat slowly sailed out. Wang Lici carried a package that was being tousled by the wind. Besides her change of clothes, there was also a pile of ancient books that Fourth Uncle had carefully selected.

Is this arranged?

“Big Girl.” Wang Shouzhe bid her farewell on the shore with tears in his eyes. “While contributing to the family in Xingsheng Farm, you must listen to Sixth Elder’s words. Your little brothers, sisters, and juniors in the family are all cherished and valued by Fourth Uncle. Your brother Wang Zongwei will never be able to get such a good job even in his next life.”

“Thank you so much for your appreciation, Fourth Uncle.” Wang Lici’s eyes welled up with tears. “I am truly grateful to you.”

“No need to thank me. Everything is self-evident.” Wang Shouzhe also felt emotional, as if he were sending off his daughter who was getting married. He had the urge to wipe away his tears. “Wang Ju, Wang Zhu, you two must take good care of Miss Lici along the way and never slack off.”

“Yes, Master.”

The two female family generals solemnly responded, then they stared at Wang Lici together. Obviously, their real task was not to take care of her, but to “escort” her.

The boat gradually sailed away.

Wang Shouzhe finally stopped waving goodbye and returned with light and joyful steps.

However, in reality, Wang Shouzhe just sent her away to temper her character. He didn’t want this lazy girl to think that she could become very strong in Xuanwu’s martial arts without practicing and just eating and drinking all day long.

Where on earth did she get the idea that there was such a Xuanwu martial art or cultivation method that could make her very strong without practicing?

Your imagination is even bigger than mine as a time traveler.

It’s unrealistic!

How long should he temper her? Three months is too long, and half a month is too short. So, one month is enough. By then, she should be well-tempered. Then he could take her with him and teach her well.

Lici, don’t blame your Fourth Uncle for being cruel.

As the saying goes, a sword is sharpened by grinding, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold. Without hard work, how can there be rewards?

Wang Gui, who followed him, was even more cautious. He was really afraid of accidentally offending the Master and being sent to the mines.

Originally, Wang Shouzhe wanted to take Wang Lici to the Wei City to stroll around and pick up some spirit stones to use. But now, Changning Wei was too chaotic, and he didn’t want to take the risk for now.

As soon as Wang Shouzhe returned to the courtyard, he heard the gatekeeper reporting that Gongsun Zhong from the Gongsun Clan and Wang Liuyu from the Liu generation came to visit their families. They came only after receiving the Master’s letter.

As soon as he heard that they had come.Wang Shouzhe’s mood lifted as he knew that the matter entrusted to Gongsun Zhong had been settled. He was immediately led by the gatekeeper to the courtyard where the distinguished guests were being entertained.

It was now late afternoon, and everyone was enjoying the coolness.

“Third aunt, third uncle.” As soon as Wang Shouzhe entered, he greeted them with a bow.

Gongsun Zhong and Wang Liuyu also hurriedly returned the greeting. Although they were of higher generation, Wang Shouzhe was the leader of the Wang Clan.

“Wang Luotong and Wang Luojing are also here.” Wang Shouzhe greeted the two sisters with a smile, then solemnly bowed to his fourth aunt Xu Zhirou, “Shouzhe greets fourth aunt.”

Xu Zhirou had taken care of him and Wang Luoyi for a while, and he was always grateful for her kindness.

“Shouzhe is being polite.” Xu Zhirou also hurriedly returned the greeting.

It was normal for them to be here. Wang Liuyu and Luojing’s deceased father, Wang Dingbang, was their own brother and sister, so their relationship was naturally extraordinary.

After some hospitality and dining, it was evening.

Wang Shouzhe met with Gongsun Zhong alone, and Gongsun Zhong sent his servants to deliver some things to his yard.

Basket after basket of stones, some iron ore powder, some white gypsum, and various other things.

“Shouzhe, the things you described in your letter to me, I brought them all because I didn’t know if they were right or not, so I brought a lot of miscellaneous things.” Gongsun Zhong, with his dark skin, was a very honest man.

Since he was eighteen years old, he had been working in the Gongsun Clan’s mineral resources and was extremely familiar with various mineral stones. If Wang Shouzhe wanted to make cement, he could not avoid the Gongsun Clan.

And to be honest, there was no need to avoid them. With the strength of the peaceful Wang Clan, the risk of monopolizing the benefits of cement was too high. In his plan, if the cement industry was successful, he would need to involve the Gongsun and Chen Clans in the process.

Of course, the premise was successful research and development.

“Thank you, third uncle. How much is it in total?” Wang Shouzhe thanked him and said, “I will settle with you.”

“They are all worthless scraps, and there are not even ten trucks of things in total,” Gongsun Zhong quickly shook his head and said, “My second uncle also instructed me not to accept money.”

“Then thank you, third uncle, and thank you, grandfather.” Wang Shouzhe thanked him with a bow and did not make a fuss about it.

After a short chat, the inarticulate Gongsun Zhong left.

Wang Shouzhe had a basic idea for the research and development of cement. He had been trying to recall it recently and had probably narrowed down some directions. This thing was not much different from clam ash, it was just burnt with limestone and some miscellaneous things, then mixed with gypsum and ground into powder.Most of the raw materials are very cheap, and the only thing worth a little money is iron powder, but the content should be very low.

Naturally, Wang Shouzhe wouldn’t personally develop cement. Instead, he found a family of kiln workers from the Wang Clan’s side, who had been building kilns and burning bricks for many generations. Their ancestor was said to be a specialist in kiln burning and followed Ancestor Zhuxuan south because of this skill. Many of the bricks in his main residence were made by this side family.

“Wang Gui.” Wang Shouzhe handed the “Cement Development Guide” he had written to Wang Gui and said, “These are all compiled from ancient books, with clues about iron mud, whose properties are similar to oyster ash, and I don’t understand the rest. Tomorrow morning, you will give this information and the ten or so development materials to Wang Jingyuan.”

“Yes, Master.” Wang Gui took the information and left.

Naturally, Wang Shouzhe attached great importance to cement and hoped it would be successfully developed, but he was ultimately an outsider. It was better to provide ideas to professionals. Kiln workers had been working with bricks and tiles their whole lives and were familiar with oyster ash and even some soil-based adhesives.

These professionals were experienced and had talented people among them. Many times, all they lacked was a flash of inspiration.

As for paper-making, Wang Shouzhe only wrote the “Paper Development Guide” and found some smart and reliable carpenters from the side family in exchange for research funds and left them to handle it.

The advantage of having a large population in the side family was that there were talents in various fields that could be found.

But Wang Shouzhe’s current focus needed to be on the plan to target the Liu and Zhao Clans.

…

It was late at night.

Outside the An River’s Dingpu Ferry, a luxurious medium-sized ship with an elegant design floated on the rough river. This ship was obviously not a transport ship, but was specifically used for the travel of high-status individuals.

The loft in the ship was exquisitely crafted, using expensive wood and colors everywhere, giving it an air of luxury and high-end.

The interior of the loft was even more luxurious, as if a wealthy aristocrat had moved his expensive living room and bedroom onto the ship. Were those precious antique vases not afraid of being smashed to pieces by a gust of wind and waves?

It was clear how luxurious it was.

However, at this moment, two very young and handsome men were facing each other in the main hall of the loft. There was also a stunningly beautiful and ethereal woman standing nervously beside them, her hands hanging down.A pair of enchanting eyes, secretly glancing at one person for a moment, and quietly looking at another the next.

The family head is still more handsome. She secretly and delightedly came to this conclusion in her heart.

…