Let Ning Zhuo Come Home

The young clan leader of the Ning family summoned Ning Ze again, asking about the progress of the mission to contact the Tassel-Haired Wanderer.

Ning Ze braced himself and reported.

Bang!

The young clan leader Ning Xiaoren was so angry that he directly picked up the inkstone from his desk and slammed it out.

The inkstone hit Ning Ze's forehead, immediately drawing blood.

Ning Ze didn't dare to wipe it, his knees went weak, and he directly knelt on the ground, crying out, "Young Clan Leader, it's really not that I, Ning Ze, didn't try hard. I truly gave it my all, but that Tassel-Haired Wanderer is impervious to persuasion!"

"My ability is too insufficient, I really cannot complete such a task."

"Young Clan Leader, you think too highly of me, I am severely overestimated by you. I have no confidence or ability to complete such a job."

Ning Ze didn't dare to mention the matter of the Yellow Family Three Ghosts at all, as it was all his own doing.

He had also wanted to drop this task a long time ago. Since the situation had already deteriorated to the extreme, he might as well go all out, admit his incompetence, and frankly confess – he couldn't do this task!

"You, you, you!" The young clan leader's fingers trembled with anger, and for a moment he couldn't say anything to the shirking Ning Ze.

He leaned back in his chair, panting for a long time, before waving his hand grandly: "You can't even do such a simple job! Fine, I'll give it to someone else to do. Get out! Just looking at your useless appearance gives me a headache."

Ning Ze quickly bowed and withdrew, but just as he reached the door, the young clan leader called out to him again.

"Wait!"

Ning Ze's heart skipped a beat, and he turned around to bow: "What are the Young Clan Leader's instructions?"

The young clan leader softened his tone: "I looked at the list for this Grand Examination, and Ning Zhuo is also on it."

"He ranked 31st this time. As his uncle, what do you have to say?"

Ning Ze's face was full of bitter smiles: "Speaking of little Zhuo, I am also deeply troubled, Young Clan Leader."

"The child has grown up and thinks he's capable. After the exam yesterday, he had a falling out with my wife and me."

"Alas, perhaps it's because little Zhuo lost his parents from a young age, and we haven't done enough, leading to his strange temper and solitary nature. He is very stubborn, unwilling to use backdoors, unwilling to let us pull strings, because it would make him lose face."

The young clan leader's gaze sharpened: "Hmm?"

"Ning Ze, you know very well: Ning Zhuo's father, Ning Zhong, who is your own younger brother, is my savior. I promised him and his wife that I would take good care of Ning Zhuo and help him cultivate well."

"A child doesn't understand things, but don't you understand?"

Ning Ze quickly bowed and said: "Young Clan Leader, I understand what you mean. I will go back now and persuade Ning Zhuo to change his mind."

"Hmm!" The young clan leader waved his hand, issuing a final ultimatum, "If you can't even handle this small matter, you will no longer be qualified to be a purchasing manager!"

A heavy stone seemed to be pressing on Ning Ze's heart, and he returned home with a gloomy face.

Ning Zhuo's aunt, Wang Lan, saw him and immediately exclaimed: "Husband, how did you get injured!?"

"Naturally, the Young Clan Leader hit me," Ning Ze sighed.

His aunt said bitterly: "This Ning Xiaoren is really something! If he's capable, he should go recruit the Tassel-Haired Wanderer himself. What's the point of just ordering subordinates around?"

While complaining, his aunt gently applied medicine to Ning Ze's forehead wound.

The pain from the wound made Ning Ze's mouth twitch. He snorted coldly and said, "Fortunately... I finally managed to throw this hot potato away."

"But Ning Xiaoren has another matter he entrusted to me to handle."

"Alas, it's the messy business concerning Ning Zhuo!"

Ning Ze briefly explained.

Upon hearing this, the eldest aunt immediately raised her eyebrows, like a cat whose fur had stood on end: "What? We really have to spend money to pull strings for him and get him into the Family Business?"

"No, I don't agree!"

"How much money will that cost?"

"It's already been hard enough raising him for so many years. Now we have to spend more money?"

The eldest uncle sighed, "He lives in the academy, with no tuition fees, only a little living expense. It's nothing much, right?"

"Besides, his mother left a sum of money before she died of illness."

The eldest aunt exclaimed, "Are you clear about this? That money is ours!"

"Back then, Ning Zhuo's mother was lying on her sickbed and held my hand, giving me that money."

"You were there at the time, and so were several other clan elders."

"Ning Zhuo's mother said it clearly: this money was not for Ning Zhuo's upbringing expenses, but a thank-you gift for us!"

"This money should be ours, and we can use it however we want."

The eldest uncle sneered, "Precisely so, which is why we cannot treat Ning Zhuo poorly."

"After all, I am his biological eldest uncle, and he ranked 31st in this Grand Examination. If I don't make arrangements, it won't look right."

The eldest aunt gritted her teeth and furrowed her brows, absolutely refusing: "To take out such a large sum of money, you might as well kill me."

"This troublesome little brat, and Ning Xiaoren, that greedy ghost, they should all die!"

"Husband, can't you see? Ning Xiaoren specifically brought up this matter with you because he wants you to give him gifts, use his connections, and arrange for Ning Zhuo to enter the Family Business."

"What kind of person is that guy, and what are his intentions? Don't you understand yet?"

"He is narrow-minded and ungrateful. The promise he made publicly yesterday, he might forget with an excuse today."

"In the past, we also thought that having such a connection would make things convenient. As a result, for some matters we asked him for help, he either shirked responsibility or demanded money."

"To get you a position as a procurement manager, we asked the young clan leader for help. How much money did he demand from us? It was three times what others paid!"

"Now, he just wants to use Ning Zhuo's matter to extort another sum from us."

"Heh, if he truly cared about the life-saving grace, why has he never once cared for or visited Ning Zhuo in the past ten-plus years?! If he really wanted to repay the favor, he would have directly used his influence to arrange for Ning Zhuo to enter the Family Business himself. He is the young clan leader."

"Hypocritical, truly too hypocritical!"

The eldest uncle sighed, "Alas, do you think I don't know? His meaning is very clear. This time I handled things poorly. If I don't take this opportunity to please him and give him gifts, he will strip me of my manager position!"

The eldest aunt was incredulous: "Husband, you're just going to give in like this? Let him extort our family?"

"You have a son, you know."

"Ji Er also needs to cultivate, and he needs cultivation resources. What can we give him? Even the pastries from the Golden Cuisine Hall aren't enough for him."

His eldest uncle's face sank, and he low-growled, "Nonsense!"

"Even the head steward can't eat that Golden Silk Jade Dew Cake as a snack."

"Don't worry, let me think about this carefully."

Ning Ze was filled with resistance towards the idea of spending money and pulling strings to get Ning Zhuo into the Family Business.

Compared to his wife, Wang Lan, he wasn't stingy with money, but rather concerned about his own reputation.

Ning Zhuo had fallen out with the two of them and was very stubborn. On top of this, Ning Ze was going to eagerly find him a good place. Was this the behavior of an elder?

This was clearly the behavior of a servant.