Protect Our Patriarch

Wang Shoujie's face turned almost black with rage. This big girl was so timid and afraid, yet she still had the audacity to claim that she studied and practiced every day in front of him?

"Clan Leader, don't scare the big girl anymore. Look, she's already been frightened to tears." Seeing her state, Xu Zhirou, with her gentle nature, hugged her and laughed, "Don't be afraid, big girl. Your Fourth Uncle is just teasing you. Think about it, if he really wanted to test your knowledge, would he not call you alone?"

It turned out to be like that.

Wang Lici patted her chest, feeling relieved. She was really scared to death, and quickly ate a piece of honey candy to calm down. As she ate, her expression changed from fear to delight.

Seeing this, Wang Shoujie's face turned even darker. This broken girl had transformed from being terrified to being a foodie too quickly. Didn't she have any shame or conscience?

What was there to test about her?

He had originally planned to find two female clan members from home to accompany Ancestor Longyan on the journey, one who was a bit older and more mature, and the other who was younger and more energetic.

Wang Shoujie was quite satisfied with Xu Zhirou from the Xu Clan, but Wang Lici, this big girl...

It was a headache!

Among the younger female clan members, there were his biological sister Wang Luoyi, his fourth sister Wang Luotong, and his niece Wang Lici. Since they would be passing through Donggang on this trip, it wouldn't be suitable to bring his sister Wang Luoyi, who was already engaged to the young master of the Chen Clan in Donggang.

Wang Luotong was busy with the final stage of the grain transportation, and Wang Shoujie planned to have her follow behind Gong Sunhui to handle the subsequent tasks, to train her further.

Therefore, he didn't want to disrupt Wang Luotong's original plans.

After thinking it over, the only suitable and idle person was Wang Lici. Looking at her silly expression, he almost wanted to replace her with a clever and quick-witted servant girl.

However, this thought only flashed by, and since this girl refused to study hard, it was better to bring her along and teach her a lesson, to discipline her properly.

Moreover, the current trend in the family was that the girls didn't study hard, and it was a common phenomenon. Even girls like Luo Jing were like that. It was likely that the other young girls were no better. The boys were a bit better, thanks to the pressure from their elders.

This unhealthy family atmosphere would definitely need to be rectified in the future.

With this thought, Wang Shoujie returned to the main topic, "Fourth Aunt, this time I need you to accompany us on a trip that will take around ten days. Please go back and prepare, and we will set off at dawn the day after tomorrow. Do you have any questions?"

Xu Zhirou, although somewhat doubtful, still stood up and nodded, "No questions, we will follow your arrangements."

Wang Lici's little brain was full of doubts, curiosity, and excitement. Was Fourth Uncle taking her to play at Changning Guard? In her mind, Changning Guard was already a distant place, and she had only been there twice in her life.

Time passed quickly, and two days went by.

At dawn, when the sky was just beginning to brighten.

A four-to-five-zhang-long black-awninged boat sailed from the Wang Clan Manor's dock into Zhuwei Lake, heading towards Fenggu Farm.

This was the route arranged by Wang Shoujie. Since Ancestor Longyan was going out, he naturally wanted to keep it a secret. If they took a horse carriage to Dingpu Ferry Terminal and then took a boat, it would be too conspicuous.

It was better to take the same route as the grain transportation, passing through Fenggu Gate and taking a large boat, which was, after all, their own territory.

There were few people accompanying Ancestor Longyan on this trip, just Wang Shoujie, Wang Zhong, Wang Yong, Xu Zhirou, Wang Lici, and Ancestor Longyan himself, a total of six people.

Wang Zhong and Wang Yong were responsible for navigating the boat outside. Although they were not professionals, as martial artists, they could easily control this medium-sized black-awninged boat, and their speed was quite fast.

Inside the boat, Wang Lici stared with wide eyes, her hands tightly clutching her bundle, not even daring to breathe too heavily. Fourth Uncle hadn't told her in advance that she would be accompanying Ancestor Longyan on this trip.

That was the family's elderly ancestor, a more intimidating figure than Fourth Uncle.

The surprise Fourth Uncle had given her was too great, and it was hard to digest.

"Ancestor, the route and arrangements are as follows. Fourth Aunt and Lici will be responsible for taking care of your daily needs." Wang Shoujie respectfully introduced the various arrangements for this trip to Ancestor Longyan.

"I trust your arrangements, Clan Leader," Ancestor Longyan was still very satisfied with Wang Shoujie's thorough planning, and then turned to Xu Zhirou, "Zhirou, this trip will require your hard work."

Xu Zhirou hurriedly expressed her humility, "Serving Ancestor is Zhirou's duty and honor."

Afterwards, Ancestor Longyan turned to Wang Lici, her eyes revealing a rare hint of gentleness: "You child, it's been two years since I last summoned you. You've grown into a big girl now. How have your studies been lately?"

Ancestor Longyan was usually more benevolent towards the younger generation at home. Especially since she was the third-generation granddaughter of Ancestor Zouxuan, while Wang Lici was already an eighth-generation descendant of the family.

"Huh?" Wang Lici was taken aback, asking about her studies again?

Fortunately, she had prepared for this moment, thanks to Fourth Uncle's previous experience of being examined.

Wang Lici's eyes darted around, and she hastily said, "I've been working hard lately. I'll recite an article for you, Ancestor..." She then began to recite an article, "Ascending to Heaven's Gate at Night to Observe the Vast Expanse," written by a powerful Heaven-Human Realm figure and literary giant from a thousand years ago. The article was renowned for its grand and majestic language, deeply appreciated by later generations.

Literature was an essential aspect of any civilization, playing a crucial role in cultivating emotions and enriching cultural heritage. If humans only knew how to fight and kill, without cultivating their minds or characters, and spent their entire lives pursuing power and slaughter, what difference would there be between them and savage beasts?

Wang Shoujie listened to her recitation, which was fluent and expressive, and couldn't help but smile inwardly. You call this "working hard" lately? It's probably just a last-minute effort, right? You can probably recite this article fluently, can't you?

However, he didn't expose her, and Ancestor Longyan seemed pleased, praising and encouraging her with a few words.

The black awning boat wound its way towards Fenggu Farm, and after arriving, they didn't stop, instead passing through to the [Fenggu Gate] area. Everyone got off the boat and crossed the gate, where a medium-sized riverboat was waiting.

This riverboat was a medium-sized sailboat, which could even carry a horse-drawn carriage on board. It was unclear where Wang Dinghai had borrowed it from.

"According to your instructions," Sixth Uncle Wang Dinghai greeted them, "the boat cabin has been slightly modified, and a temporary rest area has been set up. You're being very mysterious, are you preparing... uh?"

Wang Dinghai suddenly noticed Ancestor Longyan behind Wang Shoujie and was about to be shocked, his eyes almost popping out. Was this a joke? The Ancestor was actually going out...

He was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, just about to pay his respects when Wang Shoujie stopped him: "Sixth Uncle, just take care of the boat and head towards Donggang."

"I will, I'll take good care of the boat," Wang Dinghai replied, his face pale. He then hastily invited Wang Shoujie and the others to enter the temporary rest area on the boat before setting off without a word.

The Ancestor's outing must be a major event.

However, no matter how big the event, it couldn't compare to Ancestor Longyan's safety. Therefore, under Wang Dinghai's control, the boat slowly departed from the deep water area outside Fenggu Gate and reached the An River.

As they reached the river, the wind and waves gradually increased, and the sail was opened in an orderly manner, catching the wind and propelling the boat forward. The speed gradually increased, reaching around 50-60 li per hour. 𝒻𝓻𝘦𝑒𝓌𝑒𝓫𝓷𝑜𝓋𝘦𝓵.𝓬𝘰𝓂

On Earth, a boat's speed was calculated in knots, but in the Da Qian Kingdom, it was still measured in li per hour. Today, with the southeast wind and the rapid water flow, the speed had unknowingly reached around 10-15 kilometers per hour, which was two to three times the normal walking speed.

Sixth Uncle Wang Dinghai was indeed an expert who had spent many years making a living on the An River, steering the boat with ease. Wang Shoujie and the others in the rest area felt relatively little discomfort.

However, Wang Shoujie, being young and vigorous, found it difficult to stay idle in the cabin. He apologized to Ancestor Longyan and went up to the deck to enjoy the scenery. He saw Wang Dinghai steering the boat and went over to take a look.

"Sixth Uncle, this boat seems pretty good. It looks like a merchant ship. Where did you borrow it from?" Wang Shoujie examined the boat, noticing that the sailors on board were not from the Wang Family's fishing boat team.

Wang Dinghai replied while steering the boat, "You told me to find a better boat, so I borrowed one from a friend at the Jiaolong Business Firm's Changning branch. That old man owed me a favor, as I had rescued him when his ship was in trouble in our territory."

Jiaolong Business Firm?

Wang Shoujie had, of course, heard of this merchant firm, which operated along the entire An River, from Great Desert County in the west to Longzu County, with branches in every city along the way.

This was a merchant firm that was not inferior to Qian's Trading Company in terms of overall strength, but they only operated along the river, avoiding conflicts with local powers and signing non-aggression treaties with them.

"Be careful, don't think about running a water route business," Wang Dinghai warned seriously. "Jiaolong Business Firm is not to be trifled with. You should know that they used to be called Jiaolong Gang, a gang backed by several powerful families. In recent decades, they've expanded their business and changed their name to a merchant firm. They have agreements with local families not to infringe on each other's interests."

It turned out that this was a merchant firm that had whitewashed its dark past, which was no wonder, given their ability to occupy the strategic waterway of the An River.

However, Wang Shoujie didn't know whether to laugh or feel tragic. In the fantasy novels he had read on Earth, Jiaolong Gang and the like were just minor forces that served as experience points for the protagonist. How did they become a formidable force to be reckoned with here?

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