"Besides that, the Yingxiu Lu Clan, Jinsha Xu Clan, and Donggang Chen Clan are families we must actively support as well." Wang Shouzhe spoke solemnly again. "Over the past forty or fifty years, our Wang Clan has intermarried with them, forging deep bonds between us."
None of those three clans was particularly powerful. Yet precisely because of that, they had entered into direct-line marriages with the now-declining Ping'an Wang Clan. Of them, the Yingxiu Lu Clan was the closest; Wang Shouzhe's birth mother had come from the Lu Clan's direct line.
Moreover, the current Clan Leader's principal wife of the Yingxiu Lu Clan, Wang Liuling, was also the Wang Clan's eldest direct-line daughter of the sixth generation—and Wang Shouzhe's own paternal aunt. Their ties were exceedingly tangled and close.
"Correct. Those three families are now very close to our Wang Clan. So, Shouzhe, what do you have in mind?" Wang Xiaozhi nodded in agreement. One of his two daughters had married into the Shanyang Gongsun Clan, while the other had married into the Donggang Chen Clan. His son, Wang Dingbang, who had died young, had married a direct-line daughter of the Jinsha Xu Clan.
"Fourth Grand-Uncle, you must swiftly compile the cause and dangers of this insect disaster. I'll send family retainers overnight to notify those six families." Wang Shouzhe spoke at a rapid pace. "The Shanyin Liu Clan and Changning Xu Clan have already cultivated Spirit Insect Masters within their clans. As long as we provide them with the methods, they should have no difficulty resolving this crisis themselves. As for the Jinsha Xu Clan and Donggang Chen Clan, agriculture is likely not their main livelihood. Once we fulfill our duty to notify them and help reduce their losses, that will suffice."
After a pause, Wang Shouzhe continued, "The troublesome ones are the Yingxiu Lu Clan and Shanyang Gongsun Clan. First, we must fulfill our duty to notify them at once. Beyond that, we need to actively send aid and show our goodwill to the utmost. Then, even if they suffer severe losses in the insect disaster, they will only feel gratitude toward us rather than harbor resentment."
Wang Xiaozhi was left staring blankly by this chain of calculations and arguments. He had never imagined that the sudden outbreak of an insect disaster would involve such a complicated situation.
More importantly, Wang Shouzhe had managed to arrange everything so thoroughly and meticulously in such a short time, taking every aspect into account.
"Shouzhe, this Fourth Grand-Uncle underestimated you—and underestimated Luojing as well." Wang Xiaozhi sighed with a bitter smile. "Your generation of young people truly is outstanding. We're old. Those of us from the Xiao Generation are truly old."
"Fourth Grand-Uncle, you are too modest. If your generation had not guarded our ancestors' foundation, where would the younger generation have room to stand?" After humbly saying that, Wang Shouzhe sneered. "Aside from those six families, there are the Liu Clan and Zhao Clan in particular..."
Wang Xiaozhi's expression immediately turned grave. "Rest assured, Shouzhe. For the next ten days, the Wang Clan's three great farms will certainly seal off all news."
To his surprise, Wang Shouzhe narrowed his eyes and smiled. "The outbreak of the insect disaster cannot be concealed. Every family has agricultural experts. Within three days, the entire Changning Guard region will surely boil over. Oh, Fourth Grand-Uncle, didn't you stockpile a batch of Pest-Exterminating Powder at a low price?"
At the mention of this, Wang Xiaozhi's face filled with regret. "Yes. Last winter's Pest-Exterminating Powder was at its lowest price in years, and buying in bulk came with discounts. I thought all three of our family's great farms needed it, so after discussing it with several elders, I stockpiled a huge batch—enough for our family to use for three years. There's still goods worth more than three hundred Qian Gold left. A massive loss, a massive loss! After this insect disaster, how could that Pest-Exterminating Powder possibly still be useful?"
The family was already so strapped for funds. Losing more than three hundred Qian Gold at once was enough to make Wang Xiaozhi feel guilty all the way into his grave.
"The Pest-Exterminating Powder shouldn't have completely lost its effectiveness yet, should it?" Wang Shouzhe pondered briefly as his mind raced.
"Not completely. It's just that dealing with those adult Honey Insects is more difficult than dealing with the eggs." Wang Xiaozhi's expression was extremely grave. "I tested it just now. We need twice the dosage mixed with grass-and-wood ash liquid to quickly eliminate the Honey Insects—and that doesn't even account for the Honey Insects that will continue hatching afterward."
Afterward, Wang Shouzhe fired off one question after another like a machine gun.
Having been awed earlier, Wang Xiaozhi no longer dared to underestimate Wang Shouzhe. He patiently answered each question one by one. He was now seventy-five years old and had begun learning farming from his father at fifteen. He had sixty years of experience, and it was indeed incomparably extensive.
"So, in an ordinary year, winter wheat yields roughly fifteen Big Copper per mu." Wang Shouzhe rapidly organized the figures in his mind. "After deducting taxes, tenant wages, and fixed costs such as farm tools, draft oxen, seeds, and Pest-Exterminating Powder, the amortized cost of the Pest-Exterminating Powder is around one Big Copper. Overall, each mu retains a gross profit of eight Big Copper. If this insect disaster is not properly controlled, and we calculate based on a fifty percent reduction in yield, the farms will enter a slight-loss stage. The greater the yield reduction, the greater the losses..."
"If we do nothing at all, yield will probably drop by around seventy percent." Wang Xiaozhi's body jolted. He began to understand Wang Shouzhe's meaning and made a rough estimate. "If, when the insect disaster breaks out, we invest an additional two Big Copper in Pest-Exterminating Powder, we can keep the losses to within twenty percent below normal years."
"The Great Qian Kingdom currently uses a unified official grain reserve system. Any aristocratic family or merchant house that dares speculate on grain prices during bountiful years or disaster years commits a grave crime." Wang Shouzhe continued sorting through the conditions. "Therefore, from a base of seventy percent reduced yield, every ten percent of yield loss recovered means one Big Copper and fifty Jiao less in losses. Reducing the yield loss by fifty percent is worth seven Big Copper and fifty Jiao. So here is the question: without a Spirit Insect Master to deal with the Honey Insects, is investing those two Big Copper in Pest-Exterminating Powder worth it?"
"It is!" Upon hearing Wang Shouzhe's analysis, Wang Xiaozhi immediately nodded rapidly. "Even if it cost four Big Copper, I'd invest it." At the same time, his eyes lit up with boundless excitement. "From what you're saying, Shouzhe, the three hundred Qian Gold worth of Pest-Exterminating Powder our family stockpiled not only hasn't become a loss—it could be worth six hundred Qian Gold? Good, good, good! Those people mocked me for stockpiling Pest-Exterminating Powder for nothing."
"It is worth at least six hundred Qian Gold. Our family has Fifth Sister Luojing, an elementary Spirit Insect Master who specializes in treating Honey Insects, so we no longer need that Pest-Exterminating Powder ourselves. But compared with the entire Changning Guard region, Spirit Insect Masters are merely a cup of water against a cartload of firewood. Most clans will still need to rely on Pest-Exterminating Powder to weather this disaster." Wang Shouzhe smiled faintly. "Congratulations, Fourth Grand-Uncle. You have earned the family a great profit."
"Ha ha ha, wonderful!" Wang Xiaozhi laughed until color returned to his cheeks. "My Luojing truly is a treasure, worthy indeed of being the granddaughter of Wang Xiaozhi."
Wang Shouzhe's mouth twitched. This Fourth Grand-Uncle was truly thick-skinned in his old age. Earlier, he had favored sons over daughters to an absurd degree, constantly claiming granddaughters were money-losers. Yet in the blink of an eye, Luojing had become a treasure.
Still, speaking of it, Luojing, this future Spirit Insect Master, truly was a treasure. Even if Pest-Exterminating Powder was upgraded in the future and remained effective, she could still save the family one or two hundred Qian Gold in costly "pesticide expenses" every year—and every bit of that savings would be pure profit.
"Still, all of this is thanks to your good fortune, Shouzhe." Wang Xiaozhi was grinning from ear to ear. "This Fourth Grand-Uncle finally understands what you meant when you said that sometimes bad things often turn into good things. Shouzhe, you are a blessed man. After you become Clan Leader, our Wang Clan will certainly prosper more and more."
Though superstition was not to be encouraged, Wang Shouzhe rather appreciated Wang Xiaozhi's superstition about him.
And with his forward-looking way of thinking, if he did not seize some business opportunity during this insect disaster, he would be unworthy of being a transmigrator. The Great Qian Government strictly controlled grain prices and forbade speculation—but it had not prohibited speculation in Pest-Exterminating Powder, had it?
A plan gradually took shape in his mind.
Before you continue