…

 

"What's so good about the Liu Clan in Shanyin?" Chen Clan muttered, "They are all arrogant and constantly scheming. In my opinion…"

 

The Liu Clan in Shanyin and the Gongsun Clan in Shanyang are only separated by a Dragon Ridge Mountain, which is rich in resources and minerals. The two families often have friction and their relationship is naturally not harmonious.

 

"Enough! You old woman, how can you casually talk about the marriage alliance between the Wang and Liu Clans?" Gongsun Mo couldn't sit still anymore and quickly stood up and shouted, "Gongsun Qiang, help your mother go rest. I have something to discuss with Shouzhe."

 

Gongsun Qiang hurriedly helped the chatty old woman leave, and Gongsun Hui said, "Shouzhe, you talk with your grandfather. I'll go talk to my mother for a while."

 

Gongsun Hui had achieved her goal of playing matchmaker today, and it was not appropriate for her to participate in the conversation between Gongsun Mo and Wang Shouzhe with her identity. Then she took Wang Luo Jing's little hand and left together.

 

After everyone left, Wang Shouzhe bowed to Gongsun Mo and said, "Grandfather, I greet you."

 

"Shouzhe, no need to be so polite. Come, taste the spirit tea that your grandfather planted." Gongsun Mo was prepared for Wang Shouzhe's arrival and immediately ordered someone to serve the spirit tea and fruit.

 

Spirit tea and fruit are luxury goods in the Xuanwu world and can only be grown on spirit fields, which are important strategic resources for each family. Gongsun Mo only had a few mu of spirit fields for growing spirit tea and fruit, which were specially used to entertain distinguished guests.

 

As for the Wang Clan, they only have white jade spirit rice planted in their spirit fields, which is not enough for the clan to consume. They naturally wouldn't use it to grow low-quality spirit tea and fruit for economic benefits.

 

"Thank you, grandfather." With spirit tea and fruit to enjoy, Wang Shouzhe naturally wouldn't be polite and immediately sat down to enjoy them.

 

In the spirit jade carved tea cup, the tea was reddish and fragrant, and the scent was refreshing. When he took a sip, a slight bitterness filled his mouth, but in the next moment, a cool feeling rushed to his forehead, making Wang Shouzhe feel refreshed and clearing away any vague and gloomy thoughts in his mind.

 

"Good tea." Wang Shouzhe couldn't help but praise, "This spirit tea is mellow and fragrant, with a long aftertaste. It also helps to calm the mind and wash away distracting thoughts."

 

"Haha, I didn't expect you to also understand tea." Gongsun Mo was pleased with Wang Shouzhe's words and proudly introduced, "This tea is called Shanyang Xiao Ling Zhong. I accidentally discovered this wild spirit tea in the depths of Dragon Ridge Mountain when I was young. After decades of careful cultivation, it can now produce more than a pound every year, which even the two old ancestors in my family are quite fond of. How about this, I'll give you one or two ounces every year."

 

When he mentioned giving one or two ounces, Gongsun Mo's mouth twitched imperceptibly, obviously feeling a bit heartbroken. It's no wonder that growing spirit tea is not the same as growing white jade spirit rice, nor is it the same as tea on Earth, which can be grown densely.

 

Often, only a few spirit tea plants can be grown in one mu of spirit field, and meticulous cultivation and maintenance are essential. The picking, kneading, fermentation, and other processes are also very particular.

 

Therefore, even the cost of one or two ounces of spirit tea is very high."Thank you, Grandfather-in-law. Zhe-er is grateful for your support." Wang Shouzhe knew that Gongsun Mo intended to help him and naturally would not refuse.

 

Nowadays, only Wang Shouzhe in the Wang Clan was worth investing in for Gongsun Mo, just like how Gongsun Mo had married his daughter to Wang Dingyue as a second wife. If one day Wang Shouzhe could advance to the Lingtai 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, so he could be considered her reliance in the future of the Wang Clan. Therefore, for the sake of his daughter's face, Gongsun Mo would also find ways to squeeze out some resources to support his cheap grandson, Wang Shouzhe.

 

Of course, all of this was based on Wang Shouzhe's good potential and his filial piety towards Gongsun Hui.

 

If Wang Shouzhe was an ignorant and arrogant person, Gongsun Mo would naturally not bother with him. If the Wang Clan completely declined, he could simply take his daughter and granddaughter back to the Gongsun Clan.

 

After some small talk, they finally got to the point.

 

After drinking a cup of tea, Gongsun Mo's expression became serious. "Zhe-er, I had some doubts after receiving the letter you sent this morning. I went to the farm to investigate and asked the experienced farmers in the clan before finally confirming that there is indeed a possibility of a honeybee disaster, which may reduce the yield by more than 60% compared to last year. Zhe-er, on behalf of the Gongsun Clan…"

 

"Grandfather-in-law, there's no need to say such polite words." Wang Shouzhe interrupted, "Even if I didn't issue a warning, with the speed of the honeybee outbreak in the past two days, all the clans would have become aware of it sooner or later, today at the earliest, the day after tomorrow at the latest."

 

The signs of aphids were not initially obvious, and every year there would be some impact on the yield. Therefore, when some aphids appeared, the farmers would be used to it. But once it broke out, the aphid eggs buried in the soil would crawl out in a very short time, catching people off guard.

 

"That's nonsense." Gongsun Mo shook his head and said, "Our Gongsun Clan in Shanyang has a total of 16,000 mu of fertile land. This season's winter wheat yield is calculated at 15 large coppers per mu, which is 240,000 large coppers, equivalent to 2,400 Top Gold. Even if the yield is reduced by only 20%, it can still recover losses of four to five hundred Top Gold. Moreover, I heard that you have arranged for people to go into the mountains early to catch grasshopper worms and nine-star insects."

 

Grasshopper worms, nine-star insects, and even the insect king were still just ordinary creatures, not even first-level spirit insects. Normally, no one would pay attention to them. In the deep mountains of Shanyang, at least some could still be found.

 

As they were talking, a housekeeper came to report that the first batch of grasshopper worms and nine-star insects had been captured and sent back.

 

"In that case, we can't delay any longer. Grandfather-in-law, please send your trusted housekeeper to go with us." Wang Shouzhe stood up and said, "Disaster relief is like putting out a fire, we can't afford to waste any time."

 

Soon, the maidservants called Gongsun Hui and Wang Luojing back, and they rode their horses together to the largest farm of the Gongsun Clan, which had a whopping 7,000 mu of fertile land.

 

It can be seen that the foundation of the Gongsun Clan in Shanyang was far beyond that of the Ping'an Wang Clan.All the tenant farmers in the entire farm were working frantically. They used traditional grass and wood ash mixed with double the dose of insecticide to exterminate the insects. The effect was not bad, but unfortunately, the Gongsun's Clan only had a small amount of insecticide, which was not enough to control the situation.

 

"Fourth brother~" Wang Luojing spent more than an hour taming three grassworm kings and one nine-star worm king. She looked very tired. "Because time is too rushed, these worm kings can only be tamed briefly and can be commanded to act, so let the family members release the wild grassworms and nine-star worms."

 

"Luojing, you have worked hard." Wang Shouzhe touched her head with some distress and took out the spirit fruit he had just picked from his arms. "You should refresh yourself first. We cannot delay the disaster relief."

 

"Fourth brother, don't worry." Wang Luojing obediently nodded and ate the spirit fruit. Her strength recovered a lot. "As long as the worm kings can be controlled, those grassworms and nine-star worms will not run around. But it is impossible to let them go and gather small insects and then fly back."

 

Later, Wang Luojing imitated what she had seen and barely commanded the worm kings and worms to enter the thousands of acres of wheat fields. After a lot of trouble, it was already dark.

 

At this time, Gongsun Mo arrived on the scene, bringing a chef and a lot of spirit food. They cooked dinner on the spot and cleaned up a room in the farm. The Clan Leader, the Young Clan Leader, and a clan member named Gongsun Zhong and his wife Wang Liuyu were accompanied.

 

Wang Liuyu was a member of Wang's Clan. She should be about forty years old at this time, but she looked like she was in her thirties because she had taken good care of herself. From her dress, it seemed that she was living a good life.

 

"Shouzhe has seen Third Aunt and Third Uncle." Wang Shouzhe first bowed and saluted.

 

"This, this, Shouzhe is too polite." Gongsun Zhong was relatively dark and rough-looking. He was said to be in charge of work in the Gongsun Clan's mines and had a high status among the clan members. His personality was simple and introverted, and he was not good at socializing.

 

Wang Liuyu also returned the greetings repeatedly and seemed very respectful to Wang Shouzhe. Although she was one generation older than Wang Shouzhe, he was the direct descendant and the Clan Leader of Wang's Clan.

 

It was Wang Luojing who suddenly rushed into Wang Liuyu's arms, calling out sweetly, "Auntie."

 

Compared with blood relationship, Wang Liuyu was the second daughter of Wang Xiaozhi, the fourth grandfather, and was also Wang Luojing's real aunt, so their relationship was naturally close.