Protect Our Chief

...

The river course of Changning Guard Xinping Town.

On Patrol Boat No. 003.

Wang Anye and the others returned to the patrol boat. He was handing out money—a stack of small-denomination Gold Notes, ten to a bundle—which he distributed to the ten Qi Refining Realm soldiers in the patrol team: "Everyone’s worked hard."

Each note had a face value of twenty Qian Gold.

"Not hard, not hard, all for the rise of the Wang Family."

"Many thanks, Seventh Young Master."

"Seventh Young Master grows ever more valiant and handsome, like a True Immortal descended to the mortal world."

A string of gratitude and flattery rolled on without pause; every one of them had something pleasant to say.

These patrol squads were all Clan Soldiers that the Wang Family had carefully selected and trained from childhood. Their ancestors had lived under the Wang Family’s wings for several generations, and their loyalty could stand the test.

Of course, the Wang Family’s investment in them was no small thing either. A single "Spirit Awakening Pill" could raise their originally "Waste Grade A" bloodline talent up to Lower Grade D, granting them the qualification to cultivate Black Tortoise.

And the Clan Soldiers Academy, affiliated with the Clan Academy, not only taught Black Tortoise Tortoise Combat Technique, but also strictly emphasized cultural classes. Every year, they ranked students according to their liberal and martial exams, and gave an extra subsidy of resources to those who performed well.

The very best among them even had a chance to test into the Wang Clan Academy and receive more elite education, with a far broader future ahead.

Such layer-by-layer selection and incentives made every Clan Soldier work extremely hard, and their overall quality was quite outstanding.

After they graduated at eighteen, they would enter different departments and positions within the Wang Family, and each year they could receive basic stipends, housing subsidies, Spiritual Food subsidies, Elixir subsidies, and so on. The pay and benefits were extremely generous.

For an excellent Clan Soldier around the fifth layer of the Qi Refining Realm, the total amount of goods and stipends they could receive each year was about sixty Qian Gold; if they earned a few more merits, it was entirely possible for their annual total to break a hundred.

This treatment was already better than that of the direct-vein juniors of the vast majority of Eighth and Ninth-Grade Noble Families in the Daqian Kingdom.

But even so, that single Gold Note of twenty Qian Gold awarded by Wang Anye already counted as a very generous income for them.

As for the captain of Patrol Boat No. 003, Shentu Hongyi—this middle-aged man who usually rarely smiled and was considered strict by his subordinates and commoners—was now grinning from ear to ear, his face full of flattery: "This humble one’s admiration for Seventh Little Young Master is like the torrents of the Anjiang, surging and roaring on. You are like that blazing sun in the sky, guiding this humble one at every moment... You’ve given far too much."

From the look of him, it seemed that so long as Seventh Little Young Master gave the word, he’d dare charge howling with a blade straight at the Great Emperor.

There was nothing to be done—who didn’t know that the Wang Family’s Seventh Young Master of the "An" generation was a walking God of Wealth? And who wouldn’t like a God of Wealth?

"Uncle Shentu, just take it. You’re not like those youngsters—you’ve got a whole big family to feed." Wang Anye said with a smile. "This time when I went out to sea to herd fish, I accidentally picked up a few treasures and a pile of Spirit Stones. Since fate brought us together here, naturally everyone who sees it gets a share."

Shentu Hongyi belonged to the Spirit Platform Realm Household Generals sequence; his income was actually quite decent, with annual total earnings exceeding two thousand Qian Gold (including all sorts of goods). But he had married an outstanding woman from a collateral branch of the Wang Family, and had several children in succession, all of them doing fairly well. Now he even had grandchildren, so naturally his yearly expenses weren’t small.

As an elder, he had to subsidize his excellent children here and there, right? Who didn’t hope their children could go higher and farther?

A clan was just like that—one small family after another gathered together, ultimately condensing into a vast and mighty force.

That Qian Gold Ticket of two thousand Qian Gold given by Anye naturally relieved the financial pressure on Shentu Hongyi’s little family all at once.

"Seventh Sister-in-law, An Song offended you just now."

As a direct-vein junior of the Wang Family, Wang Ansong was even quicker to flatter Wu Xue Ning. While pouring tea and handing water, he slipped in a "Seventh Sister-in-law" that made Wu Xue Ning so delighted her heart bloomed, and she wholeheartedly forgave this brat An Song.

"An Song, what nonsense are you spouting? Anye and I haven’t even had our birth characters written yet." Wu Xue Ning cast a faint glance at Wang Anye, then beamed as she rewarded Wang Ansong with a Gold Note. "Your Seventh Sister-in-law came in a hurry and didn’t bring any gifts. Whatever you like, just go buy yourself something."

Purple Gold Ticket!

"An Song thanks Seventh Sister-in-law for her support."

After shouting excitedly, Wang Ansong, in his excitement, also fell into a bit of a daze. Even as a direct-vein junior of the Wang Family, he didn’t often get to see a Purple Gold Ticket.

Just what kind of background did this new Seventh Sister-in-law have? Not only was she so young yet terrifyingly strong, seemingly not much weaker than Seventh Brother, but her fortune was this abundant?

It wasn’t surprising, though. Wu Xue Ning herself was from Prince Rong’s Mansion.

Although Prince Rong’s Martial Power didn’t stand out at all among the many Princes of the Imperial Family, he was still a properly orthodox Prince and not the type to squander. Naturally his family wealth was extremely deep.

And Wu Xue Ning’s maternal clan was the Chen Family, a rising Third-Grade Noble Family brimming with talent.

With both clans doting on Wu Xue Ning, it was only natural that her purse was well-stuffed.

What’s more, Wu Xue Ning was a Divine Power Species of the Imperial Family. Whether it was the Great Emperor or the Ancestral Mansion, both would give her quite a bit of subsidies.

"You brat..."

Wang Anye was speechless at his twelfth younger brother’s "shamelessness." This kid truly hadn’t inherited a shred of Third Grandpa Zongsheng’s "honest" nature.

"Seventh Brother, didn’t you pick up a lot of Spirit Stones this time?" Wang Ansong once again squeezed up to Wang Anye with a fawning smile. "Could you spare a few for your poor Twelfth Brother to cultivate with?"