……

Immediately, Wang Shouzhe stepped forward, bowing his hand and said, “I am Wang Shouzhe, the Clan Leader of the Wang’s Clan in Ping’an. I have the honor of meeting Clan Leader Xie Rui.”

Technically, Wang Xie Rui was a senior of the Xie generation.

However, since they were meeting as Clan Leaders, they naturally had to follow the rules between noble families. Moreover, the blood relationship between Clan Leader Xie Rui and him was relatively distant.

Unlike those close uncles and maternal grandfathers.

Both sides naturally exchanged courtesies.

Then, Ancestor Long Yan, Ancestor Xuan Fu, and several Lingtai realm elders from the other side, all exchanged courtesies.

Especially Ancestor Long Yan, who was a female of the Long generation, had a higher status. Among the Lingtai realm elders present, only because of Elder Wang Yuchen, and Ancestor Long Yan were of the same generation.

This elder was called Wang Yuchen, and everyone in the Wang’s Clan of Longzuo Commandery called him Ancestor Yuchen. He was now over a hundred and fifty years old, much older than Ancestor Long Yan.

He looked very old and probably had only one or two decades of life left.

Lingtai realm cultivators could live for two hundred years, but not every Lingtai realm cultivator could live to be two hundred years old.

This depended on the age of promotion, whether there were any hidden injuries that had not healed, and even factors such as bloodline and long-term health maintenance.

Most Lingtai realm cultivators would die of old age at around one hundred and seventy or eighty years old. Those who lived to be two hundred or just over two hundred were considered to have a very long life.

As soon as he saw Ancestor Long Yan, he trembled all over, his eyes filled with excitement and guilt: “Cousin Long Yan, it’s been sixty years since we last saw each other. Ah… I’m sorry for not being able to help you much back then.”

He sighed deeply, obviously lamenting the events of the past sixty years.

“Brother Yuchen.” Ancestor Long Yan said indifferently, “All of this is fate. The help that the Wang’s Clan of Longzuo Commandery gave us back then was already great. Back then, Brother Yuchen also followed Ancestor Zhou Bo and worked hard for us. Long Yan is very grateful.”

When Ancestor Long Yan was in the academy, she often stayed with the Wang’s Clan of Longzuo Commandery for a while, so she naturally had a close relationship with Ancestor Yuchen.

On the other hand, Ancestor Xuan Fu, although she was also the maternal granddaughter of Ancestor Zhou Xuan, she was after all surnamed Liu, and was a bit less close to the Wang’s Clan of Longzuo Commandery.

But now she was a core disciple of the academy. The Wang’s Clan of Longzuo Commandery naturally respected her, and there was a sense of closeness in their words.

After the elders had exchanged courtesies, the younger generation came forward to pay their respects one by one.

This was the way it was between noble families.

Just this greeting and small talk took a full half an hour.

At this time, Wang Xie Rui began to call a halt: “Ancestor Long Yan, Clan Leader Shouzhe, this is not the place to talk, please follow me into the city first.”

“Thank you, Clan Leader Xie Rui.” Wang Shouzhe bowed his hand in salute.

Then, under the guidance of Wang Xie Rui, the people of the Wang’s Clan entered the Longzuo Commandery through the VIP gate. More than a dozen carriages passed through the VIP passage one after another without any inspection.

And the Xuanwu soldiers guarding the city were respectful and polite throughout.

“Thank you for your hard work, soldiers.” Wang Xie Rui bowed slightly. Then an elder stepped forward and secretly gave them some tips.

After the convoy left.

A young soldier who had just taken office asked, “Boss, which noble family was that just now? They had quite a lineup, with a group of Lingtai realm elder cultivators.”

The older Lingtai realm officer said, “That’s the Wang’s Clan of Longzuo Commandery, an old Tianren noble family. It’s said that they have a history of over a thousand years in our Longzuo Commandery.”

“A thousand years?” The young soldier was shocked, “My goodness, that’s almost half the history of our Longzuo Commandery.”

“That’s right, the Wang’s Clan of Longzuo Commandery back then was a famous Zifu noble family, very prominent.” The Lingtai realm officer said, “Unfortunately, after their founding ancestor exhausted his life and fell on his eight hundredth birthday, they gradually declined over the next few hundred years because they failed to complete the Zifu transition.”

“A few decades ago, the Wang’s Clan of Longzuo Commandery almost failed to complete the Tianren transition. Fortunately, thirty-five years ago, their Ancestor Zhou Bo succeeded in breaking through, allowing them to continue as a Tianren noble family.”

“The current Ancestor Zhou Bo is only in his two hundreds, but he can at least secure the safety of the Wang’s Clan of Longzuo Commandery for a hundred or so years. As long as they can complete the Tianren transition again, this family can continue to exist. Therefore, be polite to them next time.”

“I see, boss, I really envy these Tianren noble families.” The young soldier, who was obviously born in an ordinary Lingtai noble family, could only look up to the Tianren noble families.

With the low voices of the city guards.

Wang Shouzhe and his party finally entered the city of Longzuo Commandery.

From the outside, Longzuo Commandery was already a huge entity. But when you were in it, you realized that it was an absurdly large city. The large bluestone road behind the city gate was more than ten feet wide, allowing for twenty or thirty carriages to drive side by side.

And the rules within Longzuo Commandery were quite strict. The middle of the main road was only for the Tianren or Zifu noble families to travel. If anyone walked around without the relevant token and was caught by the city defense army, it would be a serious crime.

On both sides of the road, there were markets, taverns, and various shops and stalls, and further in were blocks of residences.

Even the commoners who lived in the city of Longzuo Commandery had to have good skills. Otherwise, it would be difficult to gain a foothold in the expensive Longzuo Commandery.

Further in, there were the main houses or other residences of the Xuanwu noble families of the eighth or ninth rank. There were also a large number of shops here, conducting various trades and businesses.

Wang Shouzhe and his party, the young people were all very interested, as if they had entered a new world.

Only Wang Lici was not interested in anything else. She was looking around the street with wide eyes, looking for something delicious.Seeing the roadside stalls with unique delicacies, or wine shops and food pavilions, she couldn’t help but secretly swallow her saliva.

If it weren’t for Wang Shouzhe’s numerous reminders before entering the city, she would have jumped down and feasted.

“Listen to Fourth Uncle, listen to Fourth Uncle, small impatience can ruin big plans.” Wang Lici crazily reminded herself. Fourth Uncle had promised her that after visiting the Wang’s Clan in Longzuo Commandery, they would stay in the commandery for a few days. Whatever delicious food she wanted to eat, Fourth Uncle would cover it.

Everything in Longzuo Commandery was incredibly fresh to most of the Wang’s Clan.

Meanwhile, Wang Shouzhe was riding his Fire-Stepping White Cloud, riding side by side with Wang Xiaorui, constantly listening to Wang Xiaorui’s talk about various local customs, which he found very interesting.

However, what he paid more attention to were some business opportunities, such as cloth shops, spirit seed stores, etc. Anything that the entire Longzuo Commandery had could basically be bought in this commandery.

This was a huge economic center, commercial center, and political center. Spirit Platform Realm cultivators, who were rarely seen in remote places, could not be said to be everywhere in Longzuo Commandery, but one could catch a glimpse of one every now and then.

And it was full of shops.

Just the cloth shops, they had seen four or five along the way. Perhaps the silk sold in one of the cloth shops was made from raw materials produced by Wang’s Clan’s silkworm farm and processed by Changning Xu’s Clan.

In the middle of the avenue, the carriage was not slow.

But even so, it took nearly an hour to reach the main house of Wang’s Clan in Longzuo.

This main house was grand and covered a large area. The tallest tower was dozens of feet high, and the surrounding buildings were also very grand.

Either it was the headquarters of a certain business association, or it was a Purple Mansion Clan.

Even the capital of Longzuo Commandery was not far away.

Therefore, this area belonged to the core area of Longzuo Commandery, and ordinary civilians could not enter without a special pass.

“Clan Leader Wang Shouzhe, how do you like our Wang’s Clan’s main house?” Clan Leader Wang Xiaorui looked slightly proud.

“It’s indeed the main house of a thousand-year-old clan.” Wang Shouzhe also sighed, “That tower is the famous Lingyun Tower of our family, right? I heard that our ancestor, Hongtian, lived in the Lingyun Tower for the last two hundred years.”

Hongtian Ancestor was the common ancestor of both Longzuo Wang’s Clan and Ping’an Wang’s Clan.

And Wang Shouzhe’s consecutive “our” made Wang Xiaorui feel much closer. He sighed and said, “The Ancestor built the Lingyun Tower with the intention of stepping into the void. Unfortunately, until the end, the Ancestor did not take that step. This tower is also a warning to future generations, reminding them not to forget their courage and diligence. It’s us, the descendants, who have failed the expectations of the Ancestor. The clan’s fortune is declining day by day, and we almost failed to complete the transition of heaven and man.”

After saying this, he laughed and said, “Clan Leader Wang Shouzhe, don’t take these complaints to heart. Let’s go home together.”

With that said.

Under the guidance of Wang Xiaorui, everyone stepped into the main house of Wang’s Clan.

It was indeed a thousand-year-old clan. Every grass and tree, every brick and tile, every pavilion and courtyard, all exuded a strong historical atmosphere, ancient and profound. Its area was extremely large. According to Wang Xiaorui’s introduction, there were hundreds of courtyards alone, and two to three thousand rooms for miscellaneous tasks.

The main house of Ping’an Wang’s Clan was already built on a large scale. But compared to the main house in Longzuo, it was probably only a third of the size.

“Clan Leader Wang Shouzhe, I have prepared a dozen courtyards. We are all members of the Wang’s Clan, so there’s no need to be polite. Everyone must be tired after a long journey, so rest for a while. In the evening, we will hold a banquet in the Yinglong Pavilion to welcome you. Tomorrow morning, I will take you to meet Ancestor Zhubo. Is there any other arrangement you would like, Clan Leader Wang Shouzhe?”

“Clan Leader Wang Xiaorui’s arrangement is very thoughtful. In that case, I will have to trouble Clan Leader Wang Xiaorui.” When in someone else’s territory, one naturally follows their arrangements. Wang Shouzhe would not overstep.

Then there was a series of settling in, washing, resting, and washing away the dust of the journey.

In the evening, members of the Wang’s Clan came to invite Wang Shouzhe and his party to the Yinglong Pavilion.

Yinglong Pavilion.

It was the place where Longzuo Wang’s Clan entertained their distinguished guests.

This time they treated them with the highest regard, with countless delicious delicacies. Many varieties Wang Shouzhe had never seen before, and some dishes he had never even heard of.

Spirit wine and spirit tea were also freely provided.

It was very clear that the reputation of a certain foodie had already reached the ears of Longzuo Wang’s Clan.

They simply brought a whole Spirit Horned Yak and made a whole yak feast, half of which was given to Wang Lici.

This meal made Wang Lici very satisfied, and she exclaimed that it was thrilling.

Even with mental preparation, seeing Wang Lici eat half a Spirit Horned Yak and a whole bucket of Purple Jade Crystal Rice still shocked them.

This girl really had a good appetite.

It must have been hard for Ping’an Wang’s Clan to raise her.

However, Wang’s Clan also presented a gift list, which included some top-quality spirit rice and spirit meat, including some precious third-order spirit meat. This gift list was not light, adding up to more than ten thousand Top Gold.

This made Wang Xiaorui repeatedly refuse, and only reluctantly accepted in the end.

Afterwards, several core elders, Clan Leader Wang Xiaorui, and Wang Shouzhe and other core figures, began to drink tea, chat, and talk about trivial matters.

Wang Xiaorui, as the Clan Leader of a Heavenly Clan, was a person who had seen a lot and was well-rounded. He casually talked about some strange and unusual things in Longzuo Commandery, which made everyone feel quite interesting, as if they were there.

After three rounds of tea.

Wang Xiaorui’s expression turned slightly serious as he cupped his hands towards Wang Shouzhe, “Clan Leader Shouzhe, my grandson Shouyue has informed me in his letters about your care for him. He has established contact with the Chen’s Clan in Donggang and the young master of the Dantai family, and has received a warm welcome. He has secured a large share of foreign goods for our clan. On behalf of the Wang’s Clan of Longzuo Commandery, I express my deepest gratitude to Clan Leader Shouzhe.”

“Clan Leader Xiaorui, you are too polite.” Wang Shouzhe returned the gesture with a smile, “Just now, the Clan Leader mentioned that we are all part of the same family. Such a small matter is not worth mentioning.”

Those so-called “foreign goods” were produced by several companies that Wang Shouzhe himself had partnered with. Who he sold them to didn’t matter.

Since the Wang’s Clan of Longzuo Commandery had this demand, they could naturally be given priority. However, he would not reveal the secret that he was the real boss behind the scenes.

“What Clan Leader Shouzhe considers a small matter is of great benefit to the Wang’s Clan of Longzuo Commandery.” Wang Xiaorui said with deep emotion, “Clan Leader Shouzhe may not know, but the competition within Longzuo Commandery is fierce, and nothing is easy to do.”

“We are all family. To be honest, we are just barely maintaining our current situation with some shops left by our ancestors and a few remaining farms. Now with the trade of foreign goods, our financial difficulties can be greatly alleviated. Clan Leader Shouzhe, there is one more thing…” Wang Xiaorui said, looking slightly embarrassed.

“Are you referring to the Wang’s No.9 rice variety?” Wang Shouzhe said with a smile, “I have already prepared for it. The Qian’s Trading Company will deliver it later, and the Clan Leader just needs to receive it. This batch of rice seeds is about ten thousand dan, enough for fifty thousand mu of good farmland. I don’t know if it’s enough.”

Wang Xiaorui’s spirits lifted instantly, and he immediately said, “It’s enough, more than enough. We only have thirty thousand mu of good farmland. Clan Leader Shouzhe, I heard that the price of Wang’s No.9 rice variety is about eighteen large coppers per dan. Including the transportation cost, it would be two thousand Top Gold. Please accept it, Clan Leader, and do not refuse.”

Wang Shouzhe declined slightly twice before accepting it.

Gifts are gifts, and business is business.

Since this Wang Xiaorui was a sensible person who clearly understood the boundaries, Wang Shouzhe was not afraid to cooperate with him again.

He looked around and said seriously, “Clan Leader Xiaorui, since we are all family, allow me to speak frankly. Our Wang’s Clan of Longzuo Commandery clearly has a golden goose, why not make good use of it?”

Wang Xiaorui’s eyes lit up instantly, “Clan Leader Shouzhe, in such a short time, you have made the Wang’s Clan of Ping’an rise, your vision must be extraordinary. Please teach me!”

…