Chapter 136. Her first approval.
Three hours later, Lin Shuli finally left the Patriarch’s office.
Her shoulders drooped as she walked away, looking completely drained.
Lin Xuan watched her leave before letting out a long sigh.
"...Now, back to work."
He returned to his desk and opened another stack of scrolls.
Although the Supreme Elder handled the elders’ affairs, the responsibilities of a Patriarch extended far beyond that.
He still had to review the clan’s financial records, approve the allocation of cultivation resources, examine reports from the Shadow Guards and personally stamp every major decision with the Patriarch’s seal.
Only after all of those matters had been settled could he finally return to what he had originally planned for the day, refining pills.
Sitting beside his desk was a black stone.
It was the reward the system had granted after the Lin Family advanced to a Rank Eight cultivation family.
A Martial Spirit Upgrade Stone, an item that could raise any Mortal Grade Martial Spirit by one grade.
Whether it was First Grade to a Second Grade or Ninth Grade to the Tenth Grade, the result was guaranteed.
Lin Xuan picked up the stone and stared at it, wondering who to use it on without looking partial.
His daughter didn’t even need it after all.
After staring at it for several more minutes, he eventually set the stone back onto the desk and returned to the mountain of paperwork before him.
At the same time, Lin Shuli finally arrived at the Supreme Elder’s office.
A family servant respectfully pushed open the door for her before helping her carry several bundles of documents inside.
"Thank you."
Lin Shuli smiled gratefully.
After watching the servant leave, she slowly closed the door behind her.
The smile on her face instantly disappeared.
She slumped over the table with a long sigh.
"...The Patriarch isn’t kind at all. He’s so scary..."
After mourning her fate for a brief moment, her gaze drifted toward several neatly stacked piles of files on her desk.
Within the Lin Family, there was an old saying.
The Patriarch made the final decisions, while the Supreme Elder decided which decisions reached the Patriarch.
Lin Shuli reached for the file on top of the nearest pile.
"Hmm?"
She opened it and began reading.
"...A petition requesting additional funds for the branch family stationed in Willowshore Village?"
Willowshore Village was located along the western coastline, just north of Azure Willow City.
Although the village lay only a short distance from the city, it was separated by rolling hills and stretches of farmland, making it peaceful and largely self-sufficient.
Most of its residents earned their livelihood through fishing, salt production, and tending small orchards that overlooked the sea.
Compared to the bustling Azure Willow City, Willowshore Village was little more than a quiet coastal settlement.
The Lin Family’s branch there was equally modest.
According to what Lin Shuli knew, the branch should never have existed in the first place.
The proposal had been rejected repeatedly by the previous Supreme Elder, Lin Zhenghai.
Only after Patriarch Lin Xuan had privately promised him a handsome reward did the proposal somehow receive approval.
Although nobody knew what that reward had actually been, the story of how the Patriarch had "bribed" the Supreme Elder into approving a branch family had quietly spread throughout the clan and eventually became something of a running joke among the elders.
Lin Shuli lowered her gaze and began reading the petition.
"To the Honorable leaders of the Main Family,
This humble one, Lin Zhengyuan, Branch Patriarch of Willowshore Village, respectfully bows before the ancestral hall and submits this memorial.
Thanks to the boundless grace of the Main Family and the benevolence of the Patriarch, Willowshore Village has remained peaceful throughout the past season.
Our branch has diligently upheld the clan’s teachings, guarded the surrounding villages, and continued caring for the abandoned children entrusted to us.
In recent months, however, the number of orphaned children seeking refuge has increased considerably.
Unable to bear witnessing innocent lives perish upon the roadside, this humble one has accepted them into our care and expanded the village orphanage accordingly.
Though our hearts remain willing, our resources have gradually reached their limits.
Therefore, this humble one respectfully requests the Main Family’s assistance in the form of Body Tempering Pills for the children’s cultivation and a modest allocation of Spirit Stones to sustain their daily necessities and future instruction.
Should the Main Family deem this request worthy of approval, this branch shall forever remember such kindness and repay it through unwavering loyalty to the Lin Family
.
With utmost respect, this humble one awaits the Main Family’s judgment.
Respectfully submitted,
Lin Zhengyuan
Branch Patriarch of Willowshore Village."
Lin Shuli blinked several times as she reread the petition and a smile gradually spread across her face.
"...Aww, what is this..."
She rested her chin on one hand as she continued reading.
"He wants more resources just to help the children."
She couldn’t help but murmur to herself.
"Is he following in the Young Miss’s footsteps too?"
The thought alone made her smile even brighter.
"I should definitely approve this, right?"
Even so, remembering everything Lin Xuan had drilled into her over the past three hours, she resisted the urge to immediately stamp the document.
Instead, she carefully reread the petition from beginning to end.
She even reviewed the branch’s previous requests, compared them against the family’s current finances, and checked whether Willowshore Village had fulfilled its obligations over the past year.
Only after spending nearly twenty minutes examining every detail did she finally pick up the approval seal.
Stamp!
"There."
She nodded with satisfaction.
"Worthy of approval."
The moment she set the seal down, however, a wave of exhaustion suddenly washed over her.
Her eyes slowly drifted toward the mountains of unopened files still waiting on her desk.
"...Do I have to do the same thing for all of these?"
She stared at them in disbelief.
"No wonder the previous Supreme Elder was always so grumpy."
She puffed out her cheeks before muttering to herself, "Tsk... Alright I won’t become like him. So let’s take a short break."