From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 116 Old grudges

a few days later.

With the help of a spirit crystal, Xu Zhongche drew qi into his body and became a qi cultivator practicing the "Nine Flames Spirit Fire Technique".

He no longer needs to practice stance training; he only needs to cultivate qigong and hone his medicine-making skills.

A few days later, the Xu family's newly built five-courtyard mansion in Baihe Village was furnished.

"Why, you can't bear it?"

Xu Fugui and Jiazhen were moving, carrying some everyday items from their old house to their new home.

"Yes, I've lived here for over forty years. Time really flies..."

Jiazhen looked at the familiar old house and recalled scenes from the past.

"We won't move the furniture and old things in this old house. We'll come back to visit when we miss them."

Xu Fugui recalled his "professional skills" from before he transmigrated, and an idea arose in his mind. He would have to buy some talisman pens and talisman paper next time he went to Qingqiu Market.

The Xu family's new residence is very large, and Xu Xiaoan specially built a training ground for practicing stance training, as well as a series of secret rooms and a medicine refining room for Xu Zhongche.

The maids and nannies could only enter and exit the outer courtyard, and could not easily enter the inner courtyard where the Xu family lived, let alone approach the back courtyard.

This protected the Xu family's many secrets to the greatest extent possible.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Not far from Baihe Village, there is a small village called "Goudi Village".

This village is very remote and inconvenient to get in and out of; there are only about a hundred households in the whole village.

at this time.

In a simple courtyard enclosed by a low earthen wall that is more than a meter high, there are a few mud-brick houses.

Two rough, dilapidated wooden doors were open, and a farmer couple in their thirties stood in the doorway.

A carriage was parked outside the gate, and a thin middle-aged man dressed in a silk robe stood beside it.

Wang Nian tossed a bag of silver to the farmer: "We agreed on ninety taels of silver, I'll add ten more, making it one hundred taels. You count it."

The farmer took the money bag, counted the money, and reluctantly handed the three-year-old child he was holding to Wang Nian.

That's his own daughter.

The woman beside him was holding a baby girl who had just been weaned.

"Master of the Human Sponsor, will my daughter Pandi really be able to live a good life over there?"

"Don't worry, the rich men who are willing to spend so much money to buy a maid are all rich men who want a daughter to pamper. There are several rich men in Qinghe County waiting for this, some are tea merchants, some are medicine dealers, and they are all families that are not short of money."

Wang Nian made it up on the spot.

He knew what the two people in front of him wanted to hear: self-comfort for their guilty conscience.

The three-year-old girl was a little shy and hid behind her father, too afraid to show her face.

Wang Nian bent down, revealing a kind smile: "Good boy, come with your uncle, there's candy here."

As he spoke, he took out a few milk candies.

This trick works very well with children.

Sure enough, the child couldn't take his eyes off the milk candy and reached out to walk over.

The farmer hardened his heart and pointed to the child in his wife's arms: "Master of the human dealer, you can take this one with you too."

Wang Nian glanced at the baby, who was about a year old, and shook his head: "I've had a long and tiring journey, I can't raise such a small child. An older one would be better."

As he spoke, his gaze inadvertently swept over the girl peeking from behind the door in the courtyard.

"..."

The farmer remained silent for a few breaths, then turned around to look for his eldest daughter: "Jiaojiao, Jiaojiao?"

He has had several children since getting married, all of them girls.

My eldest daughter, Meng Jiaojiao, is ten years old this year.

The second daughter died shortly after birth, and the three-year-old child Pandi who was sold was the fourth daughter.

"What are you doing? Jiaojiao will be able to get married in a few years, and she can still work at home. How can you be so heartless?"

His wife was unwilling.

I've raised my ten-year-old daughter, and I've grown attached to her.

"I……"

The farmer hesitated.

Wang Nian's words were the last straw for him: "I think your eldest daughter is quite clever. If you're willing, I'll offer 150 taels. Some wealthy families are short of maids who come from poor backgrounds but are clever and sensible."

Upon hearing this offer, the farmer gritted his teeth, turned around, and pulled his eldest daughter out: "Jiaojiao, you go with your sister so she has company on the road."

The girl didn't struggle. She had had enough of living in such a house. She thought it would be better to become a maid in a wealthy family; perhaps that would lead to a different life.

Wang Nian gave the two women 150 taels of silver, then had them get into the carriage and drive away.

He traveled at a leisurely pace, without any rush.

The horse-drawn carriage rattled along as it passed the entrance to Baihe Village.

Looking at the familiar scene around him, Wang Nian recalled his younger brother, Wang Yue. "Ten years have passed. We were so stupid back then, only thinking about forcibly taking someone else's child. Little did we know that getting a child could be so easy."

He looked in the direction of Baihe Village.

He made a foolish mistake back then, thinking that wealthy families had many children and wouldn't care if one of them died.

Little did they know that wealthy families had manpower and connections; provoking them was tantamount to courting death.

Now he knows that if he's going to steal or rob, he should go after the poor.

"Brother, you've been gone for ten years."

He couldn't help but miss Wang Yue.

When he returned to Tonggu County this time, he made a special inquiry and learned that his younger brother had died at the hands of a member of the Xu family, a man named Xu Xiaohou.

If it were in the past, he would definitely have tolerated this grudge.

But things are different now...

Unbeknownst to him, he had traveled from dawn to dusk, during which time he fed the two girls water and dry food.

The carriage stopped in front of a dilapidated temple in the middle of nowhere.

"We're here, right here."

Wang Nian's voice was cold.

Meng Jiaojiao stepped down from the carriage, looking at the gloomy atmosphere emanating from the dilapidated temple at night, and hesitated to go forward.

The human traffickers are letting them spend the night here? Is that normal?

"hurry up."

Wang Nian impatiently grabbed Meng Jiaojiao's arm, picked up the three-year-old child with one hand, and walked towards the dilapidated temple.

Upon reaching the door, he set the two down, bowed respectfully, and softly called out, "My lord."

Meng Jiaojiao saw the door open silently, and a figure shrouded in a black robe walked out.

Without saying a word, he threw down a few silver notes, grabbed Meng Jiaojiao and the child, took them into the temple, and then closed the gate.

"Thank you, sir."

Wang Nian bent down to pick up the silver note and stepped back to leave.

Those silver notes totaled three thousand taels of silver. He bought them for less than three hundred taels of silver and resold them for three thousand taels.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly: This is the importance of finding the right buyer.

Back then, he thought that selling a child for two or three hundred taels of silver was a high price, but little did he know that some people didn't care about money.

Sometimes, if the person doesn't have any silver or silver notes, they'll give them a spirit crystal; that's a real windfall.

He could guess what would happen to those children, but he didn't care. What did it matter to him whether they were demonic cultivators or evil practitioners? He only cared about making money.

He had only taken a few steps when he saw someone drifting towards him in the night, carrying a burlap sack on their shoulder.

The two brushed past each other, nodding and greeting each other.

Wang Nian thought with a hint of disdain: "How stupid. Relying on this method to capture people, they'll be caught by the Demon Subduing Division sooner or later."

The man who had just delivered the "sack" into the dilapidated temple turned back and caught up with Wang Nian: "Hey, how was your haul today?"

"One big, one small, and you?"

"A big one."

"By the way, you used to live in Tonggu County, right? Do you know about the Xu family, a wealthy family, in Baihe Village?"

Wang Nian inquired.

He wasn't particularly close to this person, but since they both worked under the demonic cultivators, they exchanged information and helped each other in a mutually beneficial way.

"The Xu family? Of course I know them."

Li Mang ended up working under demonic cultivators because Xu Xiaoniu stole his military officer status: "The Xu family is formidable; you must not provoke them."

"Heh, what? Do they dare to go against that lord?"

Wang Nian didn't know the demonic cultivator's exact strength, but he knew that even a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator would have to be subservient to him, like Li Mang in front of him.

"The eldest son of the Xu family is a military officer and county magistrate, and he can speak with the Demon Subduing Division. Don't play with fire, or you'll get burned."

Li Mang's tone was meaningful.

Actually, he had a grudge against the Xu family, and if Wang Nian foolishly went to cause trouble for the Xu family, he would be happy to watch the show.

"Hehe, I was just mentioning it casually. I have no grudge against the Xu family."

Wang Nian buried his resentment in his heart.

You have to use your brain to do everything, and he's survived this long because he's quick-witted.

If he had acted recklessly, he would have died somewhere long ago.

Tonggu County has been in turmoil lately; they have arrested over a hundred girls, causing quite a stir.

If Wang Nian hadn't mostly relied on buying things, he wouldn't have aroused suspicion; otherwise, the trouble he caused would have been even greater.

(End of this chapter)