The Four Sons of the Qin Lineage, Profit and Profit!

After giving second son Qin Hui a dressing-down.

With nothing to do, Qin Lu walked to the inner courtyard to visit his wives and concubines.

A short while ago-

Madame Qin Yan gave birth to a pair of twins, and Qin Lu named the third son Qin Wu. He was also one with aptitudes, possessing nine-tenths spiritual light.

He was currently the offspring with the best aptitudes under Qin Lu.

If there was no path forward in the future, he could borrow the Willow Wood Human Pill Refining Technique to elevate his aptitudes with it and contend for a chance to break through the Qi Condensation Realm.

As for the fourth son, the younger twin brother, he was named Qin Wen, possessing five-tenths spiritual light.

He was the exact opposite of Qin Wu and was currently the child with the poorest aptitudes under Qin Lu's knees...

Regarding this-

Qin Lu did not hold high hopes for his path of cultivation, and vaguely intended to send Qin Wen to study the Dao of command and governance by Yan Quan's knee.

In the future, he could succeed to the post of village magistrate of the Yan Family.

He would also be able to step into the imperial court in days to come, which could also be considered a father seeking a path out for his child.

When the two children were a few months old-

First Branch Madame Qin Zhao gave birth to the fifth son, naming him Qin Zhao. He was born with seven-tenths spiritual light, and was also a fledgling destined to miss Qi Condensation...

Following that...

Co-wife Qin Chu gave birth to the sixth son, named Qin Zhuang.

His aptitudes possessed nine-tenths spiritual light and were passable. If he spared no cost in the future, he would also have the opportunity to charge at the Qi Condensation Realm, and his future could be anticipated.

Within a year, four sons were born in succession.

It finally propped up the reputation of the Qin Family, giving it the embryonic form of a family, even if Qin Lu were not around one day...

With these six people, the Qin Family could also sit securely as an overlord.

Inside the courtyard-

Qin Lu held his several fine sons, teasing them endlessly, and the smile on his face never ceased.

It was not until he made the children cry that Qin Lu finally stopped his hands.

He never expected that a bachelor who didn't even have a wife in his past life would have six sons in this life. The ancients once said: half-grown boys eat their father out of house and home.

With his six sons, how many resources would it take to support them from now on...

Thinking of this, Qin Lu wanted both to cry and to laugh.

Forget it, forget it.

I won't give birth anymore. If I give birth again, your old man is practically going to be unable to afford you little brats~

Saying this-

Qin Lu ordered the servants to go collect some fish bladders to prepare for backup...

And they couldn't be too small; if they were small, he was afraid he couldn't use them, and if there were too few, he was afraid they wouldn't be enough. No matter how much you suffer, you cannot suffer yourself, and no matter how poor you are, you cannot be poor at education...

Yingchuan City-

The county office, which was usually calm and tranquil, was exceptionally bustling today.

The magistrate, the county cheng, the county wei, and the master of records-the big shots who usually came and went like dragons seeing their heads but not their tails-had all arrived in full today...

Behind each of them represented one of the four giants of Yingchuan County.

The four major lineages of Zhang, Li, Wang, and Chen were the four heavy heavens hanging above Yingchuan County. Here, their rules even overrode the imperial authority!

And now...

New players had stepped onto the table!

This discussion would determine the future trajectory, the attitude of the four lineages, and even the redistribution of the cake in days to come...

Upon the gubernatorial hall-

County Magistrate Zhang blew on his hot tea, savoring the ten-year-old Longjing tea and eating the Nanyun preserved fruits offered as tribute by a small southern lineage.

The teacup he drank from was Jing'an Dragon Kiln blue and white porcelain, and the chopsticks he used were gold-inlaid jade square-and-round chopsticks...

Draped over his body was a gilded robe made of gold threads, hanging from his wrists were mica-jade carved bracelets, and worn on his feet were March calf-skin rose-yellow boots.

With this carefree demeanor, even the old emperor himself fell short of him!

"Gentlemen, speak your minds~"

"Regardless of what attitude everyone holds, my Zhang Household has only one demand..."

"Do not stir up trouble!"

"Do not cause any family-annihilating tragedies, and definitely do not make it known to everyone."

"My Zhang Household will not be staying here for many more years either. I ask you all to let this old man depart smoothly, and as for how things will be afterward, each family may do as it pleases."

County Magistrate Zhang spoke with breezy contentment.

His Zhang Household once had a son with a natural aptitude of one inch and eight fens of spiritual light, who entered the Xiashang Dao Academy decades ago and was now a great cultivator of the Qi Condensation Realm!

Once matters were handled properly, in less than a few years, his entire Zhang Household would move into the Prefecture.

At that time-

He would also rise with the tide, be promoted to a post in the Prefecture, enter the ninth-rank officialdom, officially step into the court of Da Zhou, and have hopes of a high promotion!

Naturally, he did not wish for any freaky mishaps to appear during the tail end of his tenure.

As for the other three lineages, it was different.

His Zhang Household was transforming into a dragon in a single bound, becoming an Immortal Clan conferred by the imperial court in the future. A mere prefecture and county, a place the size of a mustard seed, naturally had nothing worth lingering over.

But they, however, would continue to reside here from generation to generation.

Although the Zhang Household was leaving, the annual tributes would not decrease by much...

Coupled with the imperial court's taxes, what remained was for the three lineages to divide amongst themselves, and now another lineage had come, clearly wanting to carve meat out of their three parties!

Naturally, they were unwilling.

Yet as it happened, the newcomer was a tough nut to crack—possessing the status of a Rank-1 Alchemist.

Hanging that title anywhere made him a grandmaster!

There was no telling if they would have to beg others for help in the future.

Ceding profit was equivalent to cutting off flesh; not ceding it was equivalent to offending an alchemist. You cannot have both fish and bear's paw; it was hard to achieve the best of both worlds...

After a moment-

It was ultimately County Vice Magistrate Li who first picked a fight, saying:

"Matters concerning the Four Arts masters ultimately fall under the jurisdiction of imperial court appointments. Presumably, it will not be long before the Commandery Hundred Arts Directorate sends people to appraise..."

"If that Qin Family truly has some ability, then naturally they should be treated with courtesy."

"Facing an alchemist, what harm is there in us all ceding a bit of profit together? Being on good terms with an alchemist-such meager worldly wealth is nothing much..."

"However..."

"If this Qin Family lacks that ability, then they had best curl up like a turtle in the Bayi Region."

"If they dare to snatch food from the tiger's mouth, then we shall chop off their hands, slice out their tongues, pull their teeth, and extract their bones. Our several lineages shall naturally carve them up and devour them!"

"Of course, since Lord Zhang has spoken."

"Our several lineages naturally will not commit acts of ransacking houses and annihilating lineages."

"Gentlemen, does this sound appropriate?"

Hearing these words-

Master of Records Chen furrowed his brows slightly, cursing inwardly: Well played, you dog Li. You say all the nice and nasty things yourself, yet you simply won't discuss anything practical.

He looked sanctimonious on the surface, but in reality, he wanted to drag them down into the water!

Thinking of this, Master of Records Chen said coldly:

"Lord Li puts it very cleverly, and this master of records would like to ask..."

"If that Qin Family truly stirs up trouble, may I ask how much profit the Li Household will cede? How much shall my Chen and Wang families cede?"

"Today, our several lineages have gathered, not to play tai chi. I ask Lord Li to make it clear!"

"Indeed, indeed!"

County Wei Wang chimed in at this moment, saying:

"Lord Li, my Wang lineage has never meddled much in the trade on the Ying River."

"Whereas your Li Household occupies nearly forty percent, and the precious pill trade in the county is entirely handled by your Li Household, yielding abundant profits..."

"Now, that Qin Family intends to engage in water commerce. Presumably, this should be the Li Household ceding profit; why must you have my Wang family bear it together?"

"This subordinate believes this matter has nothing to do with my Wang lineage. Lord Li, please make your own choice."

With that-

The gazes of everyone present converged completely.

They saw County Vice Magistrate Li's complexion turn iron-blue, the porcelain cup in his hand squeezed until it creaked!

"How can you gentlemen think this way? The Qin Family intends to take root in the county office. When the time comes, all families will be affected by the Qin Family, so how could there be no relation?"

"I ask gentlemen..."

At this point, County Wei Wang interrupted, saying:

"My Wang lineage deals in grain and clothing trade within the county, so how could it affect my Wang lineage?"

"Lord Li is talking utter nonsense..."