Where Is That Island?

Shen Miaomiao lowered her voice and said:

We've had dealings with these Jiang Family members before.

They used to be pirates; they're capable of anything.

They've taken all my farmhouses and shops! It's outrageous!

Zhou Wanwan said, "So the Jiang Family used to be pirates!"

Shen Miaomiao nodded and said:

"Yes! Don't be fooled by the Jiang Family's pathetic appearance, Jiang Family actually very, very rich, even richer than our family."

Bah! They're richer than the Qin Clan and Shen Clan families combined.

Zhou Wanwan's eyes lit up and she said, "Really?"

"What do you mean you can't? You don't think the Jiang Family is just a small village, do you?"

Let me tell you, the Jiang Family owns an island, a very, very big island.

I've heard that there are many, many treasures on that island.

"And it seems the Jiang Family also owns some kind of mine, anyway, that's all I've heard," Shen Miaomiao said while eating.

Zhou Wanwan brought a lot of dishes today: sweet and sour pork, creamy corn and shrimp, fried pork belly, garlic vermicelli scallops, steamed sea bass, and a cup of milk tea.

Shen Miaomiao ate with great satisfaction. "Wow! It's so delicious! Master, you're so good to me, I'll be loyal to you for the rest of my life."

Zhou Wanwan said, "The woodshed is so cramped, wait a minute!"

Zhou Wanwan took Shen Miaomiao to the courtyard. Zhou Wanwan asked the Old Scholar Tree to tidy up the woodshed a bit, and put a small bed and a quilt inside.

When they returned from their walk, Zhou Wanwan said, "You can stay here for now! I've left you some food; I have to go back now."

Shen Miaomiao nodded and said, "Yes, Master, I will follow your arrangements."

Zhou Wanwan took the Old Scholar Tree to the Jiang Family. The Jiang Family lived a very low-key life, and the entire village was located in a very remote location.

The Old Scholar Tree said, "This place is too remote. No wonder no one pays attention to the Jiang Family! They don't look wealthy at all from the outside."

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said:

"If it weren't for Jiang Ce causing trouble, we wouldn't know how powerful the Jiang Family is."

"I wonder if, as Shen Miaomiao said, the Jiang Family is hiding their true strength."

Old Scholar Tree led Zhou Wanwan to the Jiang Lineage Ancestral Hall, where a meeting was being held.

The Jiang Lineage clan chief laughed and said, "Shall we go and transfer that girl's shops, estate, and houses tomorrow?"

Someone said, "Yes, we'll go to the government office to transfer the property tomorrow. We have people there, so it'll be done quickly."

The Jiang Lineage clan patriarch nodded and said, "This time it's not bad; we've gotten two estates, a shop, and a house for free."

"That's right! Jiang Ce is quite capable."

The Jiang Lineage patriarch looked at Jiang Ce and said:

"Ce-ge'er is indeed quite good-looking, and very capable."

This year they've scammed over a dozen shops and houses.

The key is that those women are still completely devoted to him.

Jiang Ce smiled faintly and said:

"I may not have many other skills, but I do have a knack for making women happy."

I have more than 10 older sisters around me now, and they are all devoted to me, which makes me feel quite embarrassed.

Zhou Wanwan almost burst out laughing; she never expected that such people existed in ancient times.

Isn't this just living off a woman?

The Jiang Lineage clan chief looked at Jiang Ce and said, "Jiang Ce is a capable man; I think everyone should learn from him."

Jiang Ce said:

"It's actually quite simple. Women just like to hear nice things. Look at Shen Tao, so what if he's rich and powerful?"

She's always so quiet and reserved. When I was pursuing Qin Shuang, I was always looking for opportunities to make her happy.

Qin Shuang, feeling lonely and restless, eventually relaxed and let go of her feelings.

However, Qin Shuang wasn't the richest; the richest was the eldest daughter of the Chu Family.

The Jiang Lineage clan patriarch nodded and said, "Everyone should learn from him. Jiang Ce truly has a talent in this area."

Then they heard someone behind them say, "This time I cheated a widow out of three shops and 800 taels of silver."

"Wow! Jiang Huai is quite something. You and Jiang Ce are the backbone of our Jiang Lineage clan."

Of this younger generation, you two are the most promising.

Zhou Wanwan truly never expected that these people would make a living solely by deceiving women.

Sure enough, dozens more people followed, giving their reports.

Without exception, they were all scams to swindle money from women.

In modern times, many men make a living by deceiving women, who are completely fooled and end up losing both their money and their love.

Zhou Wanwan sighed and said, "These people are really shameless. They'll take any kind of money. Aren't they just profiting from other people's misfortunes?"

Women all want to find someone to rely on, but what they often find is not reliance, but bloodshed and turmoil.

The clan meeting ended quickly. The roots of the Old Scholar Tree slowly seeped into the ancestral hall and said, "This ancestral hall is quite luxurious. There's a large space underneath, filled entirely with swindled valuables."

Zhou Wanwan walked into the Jiang Lineage Clan Jiang Lineage Hall, which gave her a gloomy feeling.

The Old Scholar Tree turned on the basement switch, and Zhou Wanwan went straight down.

Who would have thought that such a small Jiang Lineage would have dug such a large basement underneath?

The Old Scholar Tree lit up the lamps beside it, and several oil lamps hung from the crossbeam.

In the center of the room, dozens of cypress wood chests were lined up in layers.

Many of the boxes were open, revealing neatly stacked ingots of silver.

There were also boxes filled with gold Yuanbao, coral, jade pendants, and strings of pearls, piled high with a dazzling array of items.

Along the walls on both sides of the stone chamber were large wooden pavilions, on which garments and fabrics were stacked layer upon layer.

Brocade, soft silk, and satin—all sorts of luxurious fabrics were neatly rolled up, along with formal dresses and brocade skirts embroidered with pine trees, cranes, and auspicious cloud patterns.

Zhou Wanwan looked at these things and said:

"I wonder how many women they swindled from this money. The Jiang Family is truly disgusting."

They're all being forced to move out, not even their houses, but also all their shops and estates—everything they can take is being moved.

Zhou Wanwan saw several boxes filled with all sorts of ledgers.

She flipped through the books one by one; they contained records of the shops and estates' profits, and the accounts were very clear.

At Zhou Wanwan's command, the trees began to be moved.

Zhou Wanwan looked at the piles of account books and said, "Hundreds of shops, can you believe it?"

The Old Scholar Tree sighed and said, "There are more than 80 villages, and this isn't even all of them."

As soon as they stepped into the yard, they heard the tree in the yard say, "What's the story behind this tree? How can it walk?"

"That's amazing!"

The Old Scholar Tree looked down upon these tree-lined paths in the village:

You can walk too!

"If you tell us all the treasures of the Jiang Family, we can let you travel freely."

A banyan tree looked at them and said, "Really? We can really walk?"

Zhou Wanwan directly infused them with spiritual power.

They carefully pulled the tree roots out of the soil.

Then, sure enough, he slowly stood up.

"Wow! We can walk now! We can really walk now!"

"I can run so fast! Much faster than people can run on two legs."

"Just who is this girl? Could she be a deity?"

Zhou Wanwan smiled, "I'm not a god, but I have a kind of energy that can make you walk. Would you be willing to tell us your address?"

An ancient ginkgo tree, several thousand years old, said:

"Of course I'm willing! I know they used to be pirates."

They transported all their belongings to the sea and hid them on that island.

The Old Scholar Tree asked, "Where is that island? Can you take us there?"

The Old Ginkgo Tree frowned and said, "It's too far. I really don't know about that, but there are a few plants that I should be able to identify."

Soon we spotted several plants, which were actually perilla, basil, lemongrass, galangal, litsea cubeba, fennel, and coriander brought back from the island.

It's all spices.

Zhou Wanwan squatted down and looked at them, asking, "Do you know the way back to the island?"

The aromatic plants all nodded and said, "We recognize them! We really want to go back to the island!"

"Yes! There are many of our companions on the island, and we really want to go back."

Zhou Wanwan said, "Then let's go!"

The remaining tree began to organize all of the Jiang Family's belongings.

Zhou Wanwan brought the Old Scholar Tree, the Old Ancestor Old Ginkgo Tree, and these spices to the seaside.