Protect Our Chief-Chapter 536 - 31: Prosperity! More and more clan members

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Ping’an Town.

April, with continuous drizzling rain.

Since the Wang Family unified Ping’an Town, they have continuously intensified development efforts.

Today, many lands in Ping’an Town, originally unsuitable for farming, have been transformed into productive fields through land reclamation, whether by excavation or filling.

Around these fields, numerous farms have also been built.

Under the unified planning of the Wang Family, old river channels have been repaired and dredged, and new river channels have been excavated. Now, the entire water system of Ping’an Town has been revitalized.

Throughout Ping’an Town, a dense network of waterways crisscrosses in all directions, with numerous rivers and streams providing connectivity. At key waterway points, floodgates have been specially constructed to regulate water levels during critical times.

Every farm and village is linked by waterways and has its own dock, solving irrigation issues and saving on transportation costs. After all, under current conditions, the transportation capacity of boats far exceeds that of horse-drawn carts on land.

Under the invasion of the continuous rain, layers of ripples spread across the crisscrossing waterways. From a bird’s-eye view, the entire Ping’an Town seems to be enveloped in a mist of water vapor, adding a touch of elegance and spiritual rhyme.

Amidst this dense network of waterways, clearly visible are gray-white, wide cement roads crisscrossing like spider webs throughout Ping’an Town.

This is the Wang Family’s specialty—the "Foreign Cement Road."

Even in this continually rainy season, the cement roads remain clean and tidy, without any muddiness.

Twenty or thirty years ago, Ping’an Town would certainly not have had this appearance. At that time, there were few roads within Ping’an Town, and most were rammed earth roads. During the rainy season, the ground became muddy everywhere, making travel by carriage or on foot very embarrassing.

In fact, when heavily laden carriages with heavy bodies traveled, it was quite normal for their wheels to sink into the mud.

It was only in the town or near the gates of noble families that the roads were somewhat clean. In these places, some bluestone was laid to harden the roads and activity areas.

However, laying bluestone roads was quite expensive, and the paving efficiency was very low. Each piece of bluestone required a stonemason to spend considerable effort cutting, carving, and processing, with elaborate ones even inscribing names and patterns.

The cost of such construction was manageable for paving inside and outside mansions, but to pave the entire town with bluestone roads was nothing more than a pipe dream; even the Wang Family’s financial resources would find it hard to bear.

Building "Foreign Cement" roads was relatively simple. The "Foreign Cement" was produced domestically, with low costs and quick setting. Most importantly, it was very clean and tidy, very suitable for the current situation in Ping’an Town.

At this moment.

On a wide, straight, gray-white cement road spanning Ping’an Town, a quietly humble carriage slowly moved amidst the curtain of rain.

Amidst the "clip-clop clip-clop" of hoofbeats, Wang Shouzhe looked through the carriage window at the drainage ditches on both sides of the cement road and the vast farmlands.

This season is precisely the time when wheat is growing vigorously. Looking around, the surrounding farmland resembles a green ocean stretching into the horizon.

With abundant rainwater, excellent drainage, coupled with timely disease and pest control measures, barring any surprises, this year is set to be another bumper harvest for wheat.

Although the Changning Wang Family has many industries, the most important of all is still the farmland. Moreover, the Wang Family’s farms produce all wheat or rice seeds with earnings far surpassing ordinary grains.

Noble families in Changning Guard and some surrounding Guardian Cities have gradually begun to accept the grain seeds provided by the Wang Family. This is because although the Wang Family’s grain seeds are slightly more expensive, their superior traits—whether in disease resistance, lodging resistance, or yield—offer significant advantages.

Using the Wang Family’s grain seeds results in more stable yields and significantly higher outputs. Overall, returns will be 30% to 70% higher than before. You must know, this additional return is equivalent to pure profit.

This portion of pure profit is extremely important for those Eighth and Ninth-Grade Noble Families. It allows them to accumulate resources for Spirit Platform alternation more quickly or further expand their industries or widen their nurturing strategies for other talented family members, with the opportunity to nurture a second Spirit Platform Realm, or even a third Spirit Platform Realm.

Notably, many Ninth-Grade Noble Families are beginning to find ways to curry favor with and depend on the Wang Family. They are willing to put forth their productive fields and Spirit Fields to cultivate grain seeds for the Wang Family. In return, the Wang Family will purchase these grain seeds for unified selling.

As a reward, those Ninth-Grade Noble Families can gain higher returns each year, making their family finances more comfortable and providing more opportunities for the family to grow and thrive.

As a result.

Under the leadership of the Wang Family, many noble families in Changning Guard are gradually embarking on a path of "common prosperity."

Once noble families taste the benefits, they find it hard to return to the past. They become tightly bound to the Wang Family and consciously uphold their shared interests.

With few exceptions among the dozens of noble families in Changning Guard, the development speed of most of them is steadily accelerating. Consequently, the entire region of Changning Guard is becoming increasingly powerful.

Since crossing over, Wang Shouzhe has spent more than twenty years in this noble family.

Reflecting on the journey thus far, he feels quite sentimental. Although there are still many regrets, in the end, he has led his family to live a better life.