Miss and farmhand

Shen Jingzong returned from the sea feeling as if he had shed a layer of skin; he was mentally exhausted, but at least the outcome was good. Ji Zheng relented, allowing him to continue the Zhou family's previous business under a shell company at sea, giving him some face, and letting him arrange the manpower himself.

It wasn't for nothing that he brought so many gifts.

Originally, his private property stored with the Zhou family had been divided up and he couldn't get it back in a short time. If he just sat there and waited for death, he would lose everything. Once he got to the gambling table, he couldn't get off, so he could only keep betting and take out his savings to please Ji Zheng.

Now that he has Ji Zheng's guarantee, it's time for him to recoup his losses.

Once he had rested, he summoned all the shop owners and managers at the dock. They had been so focused on currying favor with Ji Zheng's men, but Ji Zheng's men would eventually return to the sea; Shen Jingzong was their ancestor on land. If he didn't win them over and make them pay him back tenfold, he would have wasted all those years as an official.

Not only would they have to spit it out, but they would also have to pay even more tribute. Whoever paid the most tribute would succeed the Zhou family. From now on, he wouldn't be so accommodating to anyone who wanted to do business at sea. These merchants were all spineless, fearing power but not morality. He had been too kind to them in the past, which was why they only recognized Ji Zheng and not him.

This was a strong shock to Shen Jingzong. He had always thought that everyone's roots were in the land, and even if Ji Zheng was formidable, the dockworkers should fear him more than Ji Zheng. He hadn't expected that in a more relaxed environment and with the lure of extremely high profits, people would abandon all sense of roots for profit. In their eyes, whoever offered them the greatest benefit would be the one they obeyed and feared. If things continued as before, and something really happened, they would be the first to side with Ji Zheng, not with him or the government he represented.

At this point, if Shen Jingzong had even a shred of conscience, he should have been worried about local coastal defense. It was clear that civil aviation had completely succumbed to profit and been eroded. What about official aviation? Was the coastal defense's stance still firm? They also spent countless hours at sea, dealing with people on the surface. Wouldn't the coastal defense be unaware of these maritime merchants' inclinations? Could they too have been tempted by profit? Shouldn't he have sent someone to contact and investigate? Civil aviation is merely an economic activity, and economic rules can only function under conditions of social stability, the foundation of which is security.

But Shen Jingzong clearly had no such intention. He had completely lost the essence of being an official; his official position was merely a tool for him to make money. Making money was for climbing the ranks to a higher position, and being in a high position was for making even more money, a cycle that continued endlessly.

He was assigning tasks related to the docks to his clerk when someone suddenly came to report that the Huang brothers wanted to see him.

Shen Jingzong was already annoyed, and when he heard it was the Huang family again, he felt an even greater surge of pent-up resentment.

"No way! Do you think this government office is run by their family? They're not doing anything else, just focusing on the Huang family's business?"

The messenger was quick-witted. "I thought so too. I was just thinking of sending them away at the door, but when I asked, I found out, sir, that you really have to see them this time. It's going to be a good show."

"Oh? What is it?"

"They say the eldest brother Huang is going to enforce the clan law and remove the second brother from the genealogy! They just need you to be a witness!" The young man blinked and said, "Don't you think it's a good show? Brothers fighting, and it's the two brothers you hate the most. Don't you think you should see it?"

Shen Jingzong raised an eyebrow. "Cut off the family tree? Have those brothers gone mad? That's unheard of in centuries. The Huang family has only produced one successful generation; what family tree could they possibly have?"

"Therefore, we must ask them to personally go to the adults to explain themselves."

The Huang brothers were led to the back. Only the two brothers came; no one else followed.

Huang Xingyu personally placed the large lacquered wooden box containing his family's genealogy in front of Shen Jingzong, saying, "I have already opened the altar and offered incense to inform the ancestral tablets of this decision. You know my family is small, and those in the countryside don't count. I am the clan head, and both families know about this matter, so the 'informing the clan' is complete. I wrote the indictment; it's short, explaining the cause and effect of the matter. There are two copies; one has already been burned before my parents' spirit tablets, and the other needs to be handed over to the government for filing. It will be kept by you, sir, and is also in this box. Finally, we will remove his name from the genealogy. I ask that you, sir, make a judgment and do this in your capacity as the local official to ensure fairness."

The ancestral hall was notified, the clan members were gathered, the proclamation was burned, and the genealogy records were erased.

This is the formal procedure for spectrum reduction.

Despite having few people and limited time, they completed every procedure meticulously, demonstrating their dedication.

Shen Jingzong opened the wooden box, but didn't look at the genealogy. Everyone knew that such things were newly made, and his own family genealogy was the same, so there was no point in looking at it. He picked up the folded proclamation on top of the genealogy.

The document explicitly stated that the younger cousin was unfilial and disrespectful, and had assaulted and insulted his elders. Although Huang Xingyu was not academically gifted, he still possessed a solid foundation in the eight-legged essay style. He wrote a lengthy and eloquent critique of Huang Xingtong, citing classical texts and expounding on his crimes to the point that even the ancestors in heaven would send down lightning to punish Huang Xingtong and exterminate the family.

Shen Jingzong asked Huang Xingtong, "You've seen it all? You have no objections? If you burn something like this for your parents, what do you think they'll think in the afterlife?"

Huang Xingtong said, "Nonsense, no point in arguing."

"But your brother is going to remove you from the family register and disown you as a member of the Huang family based on your nonsense. He will not only disown your parents, but also forbid you from worshipping them in the future."

Huang Xingtong scoffed, "He can't just say no and then he can't? I have a memorial tablet carved at home for worship, and I still sweep the tombs and offer sacrifices during festivals. Can he stop me? The monthly allowance and annual gifts for the relatives who guard the tombs in my hometown are all paid from my account."

Huang Xingyu's face flushed red: "I won't take a single penny from you from now on! As the headmaster, how could I not afford to support my own parents' graves?"

From Shen Jingzong's perspective, he actually disliked neither of the Huang brothers. One was a fool, the other a thief; it didn't matter who suffered, he'd rather they both. The brothers had fallen out like this; he'd seen the injury on Huang Xingyu's face the moment he entered. Two scholars, the younger brother had actually started the fight, the older brother had actually been beaten, and Huang Xingyu was even much stronger than Huang Xingtong—it was utterly ridiculous. He felt no sympathy for Huang Xingyu whatsoever.

But then again, if he really had to choose one of the two to help, he would rather help Huang Xingyu.

Shen Jingzong had not forgotten that all the troubles and misfortunes were stirred up by Huang Xingtong. It was Huang Xingtong who caused him to lose the Zhou family's support and suffer such heavy financial losses.

Previously, Ji Zheng's two managers had personally come to protect Huang Xingtong, which made him wary. However, upon closer reflection, he realized that the two managers were mainly there to deal with the Zhou family's affairs, and Huang Xingtong was probably just an extra.

Furthermore, after boarding Ji Zheng's ship, he observed the situation. He saw Xiao Lin, the man he had originally intended to frame, on Ji Zheng's ship. Xiao Lin had been in Ji Zheng's cabin earlier, and after Shen Jingzong was summoned, he had come out but hadn't gone far, as if he planned to see Ji Zheng again later. Xiao Lin was venting his anger on someone's crew member, whose name was unknown, and his curses contained fragments of information such as "a person surnamed Huang," "thief," "anger," and "make amends." This was enough for Shen Jingzong to make a judgment.

The Huang family, Huang Xingtong, must have offended Ji Zheng.

If not now, when?

He thought that he couldn't be the only one suffering such a huge loss; Huang Xingtong should also lose some money.