Protect Our Chief-Chapter 598 - 52: Clash! The Dispute between Wang Family and Jiaolong Gang
...
Changning Guard, Ping’an Town, Dingpu Ferry.
The cement-hardened ferry road appears particularly clean after the spring rain.
All the port buildings have gradually been replaced by cement brick and tile structures. The rows of buildings are neatly arranged, as if in a modern Earth port town.
After numerous expansions and renovations, Dingpu Ferry is more of an inland port than a "ferry" by now.
Ships dock at the ferry, transporting various mid-to-high-end living goods needed by the Wang Family, such as salt, rough iron, refined copper, porcelain, cooking oil, and some special materials.
Now, the small Ping’an Town has a permanent population of 110,000, with a transient population of no less than 20,000. The development level of the land and population density are very high.
Furthermore, people in Ping’an Town are quite wealthy, with a high spending power. This also attracts frequent visits from various sizes of trading companies and traveling merchants.
Compared to more than twenty years ago, when Wang Shouzhe first took charge of the Ping’an Wang Family, the atmosphere is no longer the same.
In addition, every day there are many loose cultivators coming to Ping’an Town to try their luck, either taking on tasks outsourced by the Wang Family or going on adventures to the Outer Domain in groups of three or five.
The area hundreds of miles outside Zhouxuan Pass has been cleared by the Wang Family and some allied noble families time and again, turning fierce beasts into "rare commodities." As a result, the level of danger for loose cultivators has become very low.
They scavenge all sorts of slightly valuable things from the Outer Domain, such as ores, herbs, or fossilized remains of fierce beasts, spirit bee honey, beehives, or some strange insects and flowers. In short, with enough numbers and exploration, someone will get lucky and find something of considerable value.
All items obtained from outside Zhouxuan Pass are screened after entry. Anything useful to the Wang Family will be purchased by them at a high price, whereas things useless to them will be allowed to leave Ping’an Town.
This is a rule set by the Changning Wang Family.
All loose cultivators heading to the Outer Domain via Zhouxuan Pass need to sign a contract with the Wang Family to qualify for exit.
This isn’t a case of the Wang Family forcing sales; it’s clearly stipulated by Daqian Law. The Wang Family inherently possesses this qualification. It’s also one of the benefits granted by the state to pioneering noble families.
Unless one day another family opens up the Outer Domain, turning Zhouxuan Pass into a public pass again, the Wang Family will retain their priority buying rights.
Back then, when the Wang Family declined and couldn’t maintain control over Zhouxuan Pass, it was forcibly turned into a public pass. Now that the Wang Family has regained strength, this honor that should belong to them has naturally returned.
Of course, the Wang Family only has the priority buying right, and prices still follow market rates.
Through the relentless efforts of the loose cultivators, the Wang Family has obtained quite a few good items over the years.
Dongfang Cangqiong and Ximen Buqun, a duo of loose cultivators, struck it rich this time.
With fewer people before the year-end, the two ventured beyond Zhouxuan Pass together. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
In just two months, they returned with a bountiful haul, including a wild spirit ginseng and many valuable herbs. More astonishingly, they found a fierce beast claw with an unknown history, over a foot long, capable of easily piercing stone.
For all the miscellaneous items combined, the Wang Family offered several hundred Qian Gold.
The brothers split the Qian Gold, bought some specialties from Ping’an Town, and are now preparing to return to their hometown to settle, currently queuing at Dingpu Ferry, waiting to board a ship.
Dongfang Cangqiong is a middle-aged man in his forties with a scruffy beard.
Halfway through the queue, he glanced around and found it odd: "Brother Ximen. Doesn’t this ferry look different from when we arrived? Look at those two rows, aren’t those statues covered with red cloth?"
"Younger Brother Dongfang." Ximen Buqun, a man with small shining eyes in his fifties or sixties, responded, "While purchasing White Jade Spirit Rice at the Wang Family’s rice shop, I overheard someone discussing something called a ’Divine Power Cannon.’ It’s said to be used by the Wang Family to welcome esteemed guests."
"Divine Power Cannon? Never heard of it~ Could it be something like fireworks or ceremonial cannons?" Dongfang Cangqiong wondered, amazed, "Brother Ximen, I’ve traveled east to west in Longzhou County for many years, and I fancied myself quite knowledgeable. But upon arriving at Ping’an Town, I realized just how shallow my knowledge is. This place is truly full of wonders, with marvels at every turn. If not for my family back home, I’d want to stay in Ping’an Town forever."
"It’s just a pity that the housing prices and land prices in Ping’an Town are too high; even some commoners are wealthier than us loose cultivators." Ximen Buqun lamented, "Moreover, the household registration in Ping’an Town is quite strict, and it’s very hard for loose cultivators to settle in..."
"Brothers, you don’t know?" Said a traveling merchant in his thirties or forties who was in line nearby, "The Wang Family has already announced plans to pioneer the Outer Domain and build a city. Loose cultivators can also register to participate and earn merits to purchase land and homes."
Pioneering the Outer Domain?
Ximen Buqun and Dongfang Cangqiong both felt a stir in their hearts.
With their ample adventure experience and strong wilderness survival skills, joining the Wang Family’s pioneering team might very well allow them to gain a lot of merits.
They glanced at each other and secretly made a decision. After returning home, they would bring their families and settle in Ping’an Town to enlist in the Wang Family’s pioneering team.
