...
The next five or six days passed quietly and peacefully.
Regarding the grain transport line, Gongsun Qiang and Sixth Uncle Wang Dinghai were the first to complete their tasks. As a reward, Wang Shouzhe promised Gongsun Qiang that the last batch of old grain could be transported back to the Gongsun Family. Of course, there would be a charge, selling it at a flat rate to the Gongsun Family.
As a result, that "cheap big brother-in-law" was quite a "relentless person," arranging for overloaded carts and mining slaves to carry on their shoulders, bringing back a full three thousand dan. The next day, he couldn't wait to send over two hundred Qian Gold for the grain purchase, afraid that Wang Shouzhe might change his mind.
No wonder he was ruthless, as the disaster in Changning Guard was becoming more intense. Those able to hire Spirit Insect Masters or have means to purchase large amounts of Insecticide Powder at a high price were Black Tortoise Clans that could remain stable.
But most lower-rank noble families were not so fortunate, and the fields were plagued by insect disasters. They could only rely on large amounts of plant ash liquid to kill pests, but against the increasing number of Honey Bees, it was of limited effect, and a large-scale reduction in yields was inevitable.
Moreover, Wang Shouzhe heard worse news, and this disaster could very well spread beyond Longzuo County. Therefore, holding on to grain at this point would be even more "valuable."
At the same time, Wang Shouzhe was not idle.
Daily cultivation was necessary, and recently, due to good food consumption, his qi and blood were abundant. He could clearly feel his cultivation was steadily moving forward, heading towards the seventh layer of the Qi Refining Realm.
Of course, the cultivation path was not easy, as it was a process of gradual physical transformation and strengthening. It required slow, meticulous effort to progress,day by day
He also wished he could be like the protagonists in those mystical world novels, casually taking pills and effortlessly breaking through realms, or taking a sword to kill a chicken or slaughter a dog to make experience points soar.
But in his world, these were all pipe dreams. No matter whose cultivation realm it was, it was achieved through meticulous, sustained cultivation.
Apart from cultivating, Wang Shouzhe was also working on his system panel.
Since he didn't have a system with him when crossing worlds, he had to create some sort of rudimentary system panel himself.
Firstly, there was the family expenses.
Before he figured out the panel, Wang Shouzhe was quite unclear about family expenses, but after comparing with his aunt-in-law's accounting book, he was truly amazed at how extensive a family's expenses were.
Just consider the tributes and resources Wang Shouzhe enjoyed as the Clan Leader.
Allocation of ordinary supplies each year:
Refined rice 300 jin (24 Large Copper), refined flour 150 jin (15 Large Copper), various vegetables 200 jin (8 Large Copper), fruits and melons 400 jin (48 Large Copper), preserves 20 jin (20 Large Copper), pig meat 250 jin (75 Large Copper), ordinary beef and mutton 150 jin (60 Large Copper), 100 chickens and ducks (60 Large Copper), 30 geese (45 Large Copper), eggs 100 jin (20 Large Copper), lard 20 jin (8 Large Copper), refined soybean oil 20 jin (12 Large Copper), superior soy sauce 10 jin (20 Large Copper), superior refined salt 5 jin (20 Large Copper), snowflake salt 1 jin (10 Large Copper), snowflake sugar 10 jin (20 Large Copper), seasoning spices 1 jin (10 Large Copper), incense 5 jin (25 Large Copper), refined charcoal 500 jin (15 Large Copper), fuel wood depreciation 30 dan (6 Large Copper), clothing and bedding depreciation (100 Large Copper), other living material depreciation (20 Large Copper)
Just the ordinary supplies portion for Wang Shouzhe alone adds up to a whopping 6 Qian Gold 51 Large Copper annually. He glanced at the list and felt it was quite indulgent, but upon reflection, he did indeed have a large appetite.
As he was about to reach the seventh layer of the Qi Refining Realm, his food intake was far beyond that of ordinary people. Moreover, cultivation wasn't just about meditation and qi refining; it also required training in Black Tortoise Combat Technique, body technique, swordsmanship, string control, and riding skill, which also consumed significant physical energy.
These ordinary foods could just barely satisfy his current needs. Aunt-in-law Gongsun Hui would often divert some of her tributes to Wang Shouzhe.
Of course, this was just a small part; the major portion was the annual allocation of cultivation resources for Wang Shouzhe.
Spirit Rice Type 60 jin (12 Qian Gold), Spirit Fish Type 60 jin (20 Qian Gold), Spirit Meat Type 60 jin (20 Qian Gold), Minor Primordial Cultivation Pill 12 pills (120 Qian Gold).
A full 172 Qian Gold in cultivation resources were provided just for him each year. Moreover, as his cultivation realm increased, this portion would continue to rise. Otherwise, it would simply not keep up with his consumption.
This is also why Wang Shouzhe, at such a young age, was about to reach the seventh layer of the Qi Refining Realm, not solely because his cultivation talent was exceptional, but because the clan piled resources on him.
Considering that the clan's Spirit Fish Type was produced by the Fishing Team, averaging only about 400 jin annually, Wang Shouzhe alone would consume 60 jin.
As for Spirit Meat Type, the sources were quite varied, generally through hunting or purchasing, as the Wang Family lacked the financial power and capability to raise Spiritual-Horned Yaks. In hunting, the clan would organize an autumn-winter hunt every year after autumn harvest, primarily to train clan children's skills while supplementing some meat.
However, because they didn't dare delve deep into the Outer Domain wastelands, rarely could they hunt Fierce Beasts. At least, the Wang Family hadn't successfully hunted a Fierce Beast during the autumn-winter hunts for five years. Hence, the main provision of spirit meat types for the Wang Family was mostly acquired externally, incurring substantial expenses.
In addition, now as the Clan Leader, Wang Shouzhe had a monthly allowance of 5 Qian Gold, totaling 60 Qian Gold each year. This private money he could use freely, as there were many areas where a Clan Leader would need personal funds.
Thus, just Wang Shouzhe's direct annual expenditure would amount to around 240 Qian Gold. This doesn't include the depreciation expense for house repairs, carriage and horse maintenance costs, and expenses for assigned servants, as those were part of other family spending items.
So when the account was calculated, it was a staggering figure.
Once he marries a proper wife, the cultivation resources certainly cannot be given as much, perhaps about a third of it. However, the food and maintenance of the Clan Leader's wife would follow the level of the Clan Leader, resulting in another hundred Qian Gold or more in expenses.
In addition, the other expenses within the clan are also quite astonishing.
All bloodline members of the clan, including Wang Shouzhe, have an average annual expenditure of about 1800 Qian Gold. Meanwhile, the expenses and treatment for the nine Household Generals and their families together amount to nearly 350 Qian Gold.
Furthermore, there are seven minors or young Household Generals under cultivation, and the resource expenses for this group are about 80 Qian Gold. Additionally, there are over a hundred household servants, divided into several levels, with an annual total expenditure of about 170 Qian Gold.
Just the personnel within the main residence of the clan consume a total of 2400 Qian Gold each year. Of course, this 2400 Qian Gold is not entirely spent in Qian Gold; a significant portion consists of resource provisioning, measured in Qian Gold only as a yardstick.
For instance, the White Jade Spirit Rice produced from the Spirit Field of the clan's Xingsheng Farm is accounted for in the farm income when it enters the clan, and when allocated to someone in the form of resources, its value is ultimately expressed in Qian Gold.
Similarly, part of the live fish, fresh fish, and Spirit Fish produced by Sixth Uncle Wang Dinghai's Fishing Team is recorded as income upon entering the clan, while the clan also records it as an expenditure.
Of course, this type of accounting only involves material transactions; there is no actual Qian Gold being transferred. Therefore, the so-called profit of the Fishing Team is usually a paper profit, not actual money earned back in Qian Gold. This portion of the profit has already turned into a resource supply for the clan.
However, for a large Black Tortoise Clan, the huge material expenses are obviously unavoidable. In fact, because the Ping'an Wang Family is so poor, their overall expenses are already considered low, and Ancestor Longyan, along with those clan elders in the Xiao generation, are already trying to cut down on spending as much as possible.
Fortunately, there are still three main pillars among the clan industries.
The Fenggu Farm, purely based on ordinary agriculture, is currently the industry with the lowest recorded income; others like Xingsheng Farm boast a greater output due to its 20-acre Spirit Field.
Besides, the Xinmao Silk Farm mainly produces cocoons and supplies them steadily in the long term to the Changning Xu Family. Most of its overall earnings come in Qian Gold.
The other two clan industries, the Ping'an Wang's Fish Stall and the Fishing Team, are managed by the younger generation, and their previous annual earnings have been far less than the three major pillar industries.
However, this year, after Wang Shouzhe's several maneuvers, the Fishing Team and Wang's Fish Stall are bound to take off, and surpassing the earnings of the pillar industries is not surprising.
Moreover, this year, as the largest grain farm, Fenggu Farm will also usher in a glorious moment due to the impending insect disaster.
More importantly, strategically seizing some intelligence during the insect disaster, Wang Shouzhe made a bold move that yielded a pure profit of over ten thousand Qian Gold, enough to bring about a qualitative change for the financially constrained Wang Family.
Thinking of that large stack of Daqian Gold Notes and the food piled high in the backyard, Wang Shouzhe felt a surge of enthusiasm!
The Ping'an Wang Family is certainly bound for a meteoric rise!
Gathering his thoughts, Wang Shouzhe redirected his attention to the self-built earth system interface.
First, the main interface.
[Family Name]: Longzuo Changning Ping'an Wang Family
[Family Grade]: Ninth Grade
[Family Prestige]: [Village Reputation (75) Remarkable][County Reputation (21) Slightly Known][County Reputation (00) Obscure]
[Family Industries]: 5 items (click to view details)
[Family Members]: [Clan (35)][Outmarriage (10)](click to view details)
[Clan Relatives]: 6 (click to view details)
[House Generals]: [Adult (9)][Minor (7)](click to view details)
[House Servants]: [Adult (112)][Minor (32)](click to view details)
[Income and Expense List]: (click to view details)
After finishing this, even Wang Shouzhe felt he had played too many games and read too many system novels in his past life. If he didn't create a 'system interface', he'd feel uncomfortable.
However, this system is still relatively rudimentary, made up of sheets of paper panels, and many templates still need to be gradually added.
"Click to view details." Wang Shouzhe pretended to click on the family industries item, then jumped to the [Family Industries] detail page.
In reality, he merely pulled out the small notebook for tracking the family industries… still self-bound with perforated lines…
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