Protect Our Patriarch

Chapter 5 – Ancestor, Longyan! I’ll release the King Bomb!

“Zhe’er, you …… how can you say such things?” Gongsun Hui didn’t expect Wang Shouzhe, who had always been well-behaved, to speak so shockingly.

“Fifth sister-in-law, I think Shouzhe’s words are reasonable.” Wang Dinghai was somewhat convinced by Wang Shouzhe today, and immediately supported him by saying, “How long more can ancestor Longyan protect the family? We need to know so that everyone can be psychologically prepared.”

Gongsun Hui’s expression changed a few times, but she finally said, “This is our family’s secret. The other day when I went to report to ancestor Longyan, she personally told me that if she didn’t fight, she could live for 20 more years, but if she fought…… I’m afraid it would shorten her life.”

20 years? Wang Shouzhe was secretly thinking. It was much longer than what he thought, but there might not be an opportunity to make a comeback.

“Zhe’er, you’re the only hope for the family.” Gongsun Hui’s expression was grave.

“Our Wang clan should continue to forbear and keep a low profile and gather the entire clan’s strength to help you breakthrough to Lingtai realm within 20 years, so don’t cause trouble!”

“Yes, yes, sixth uncle will find ways to catch more spirit fish and sell them for money to raise resources for you.”

He added, “As long as you can breakthrough to the Lingtai realm, our Wang clan will be saved.”

“Breakthrough to the Lingtai realm? Then what?” Wang Shouzhe sneered and scoffed.

“Let’s not mention whether I can make it, even if I had the chance to do so, would the Liu and Zhao clan stand by idly and watch me succeed?

“Would they give me 20 years? What’s more, even if I was lucky enough to breakthrough, I’d still be just another ancestor Longyan!”

Wang Shouzhe was a transmigrator so naturally, he was able to think outside the box, beyond the Wang clan’s prevailing thoughts.

His words sent a chill down the spines of Gongsun Hui and Wang Dinghai, who had previously lived under the protection of ancestor Longyan. They had always believed that the Liu’s and Zhao’s wouldn’t completely fall out with the Wang clan.

But if Wang Shouzhe, on whom they had pinned all their hopes, was really expected to breakthrough to the Lingtai realm, would the Liu and Zhao clans just sit back and do nothing?

“I’ve just deliberately hinted that the old ancestor will not live long. I believe that with the old fox Liu Shengye’s scheming, he would never choose this time to be the first mover to attack my Wang clan.

“Therefore, I asked my family generals to secretly let the word out, giving the Liu’s and Zhao’s a countdown of about a five-year period.”

Wang Shouzhe grunted, “Whoever dares to provoke us within these five years, we’ll fight them to death, and kill their families. At the critical moments, we can release … err…invite ancestor Longyan to stabilise the situation.”

In Wang Shouzhe’s opinion, the ancestor of Longyan was a King Bomb*. The greatest effect of the bomb was not in the moment it exploded, but the deterrent effect it had before detonation.

“The patriarch’s plan is excellent. We’re now a beast which is on the verge of death. They’re afraid we’ll desperately counterattack before we die.

“This way, not only will they not dare to bully us, but they’ll also have to find ways to befriend and humour us. No wonder that old fox, Liu Shengye, obediently offered 30 gold pieces as compensation.”

“Not only that, because there is now a clear ‘death date’ for our Wang clan, and with such a large piece of enticing fat meat in front of them, wouldn’t the Liu and Zhao clans, who were previously allied because of the same enemy, not have other thoughts while waiting?”

Wang Shouzhe said with a smile, “You know, greed and dissatisfaction are the fundamentals of human nature. The subsequent situation is bound to become very interesting. If we can find a way to secretly add fuel to the fire…hahaha.”

After listening to Wang Shouzhe’s analysis, both Gongsun Hui and Wang Dinghai drew in a cold breath and looked at each other. They were slightly terrified.

However, at the same time, they had a glimmer of hope, a glimmer of hope that the family would have a chance to make a comeback!

“Madam, sixth uncle, this is a great secret for the survival of the Wang clan.” Wang Shouzhe solemnly said.

“Firstly, I hope you can keep the secret, and secondly, I hope you can trust and support me unconditionally.”

This was Wang Shouzhe’s real intention. He was just too young. Even with the identity of the patriarch, he would inevitably be criticized. As such, he could only first throw out some amazing ideas to convince a couple of key people and win allies.

Gongsun Hui was his official mother, while he was her son whom she would be dependent on in the future. Meanwhile, sixth uncle, Wang Dinghai had a straightforward and gregarious personality which was easy to win over.

Gongsun Hui and Wang Dinghai took a deep breath each and solemnly vowed to keep the secret.

As the three family members continued their discussion, the medium-sized fishing boat, under the control of the boatmen, left the deep-water wharf and entered the center of Anjiang, where the current was swift.

The Anjiang was wide, far beyond Wang Shouzhe’s imagination. As far as the eye could see, it was all water while the Dingpu ferry wharf was getting smaller and smaller, and gradually become less and less clear.

As they sailed further out, the wind and waves grew stronger, and the ship rocked more violently. Even Wang Shouzhe, with his physical fitness at the peak of the sixth level of the Qi Refining realm, felt slightly nauseous.

Gongsun Hui, who grew up and lived in comfort, also turned pale and became uncomfortable.

“Haha, fifth sister-in-law, Shouzhe, fishing boats are not as robust as ferries. When the boat is rocking, don’t resist the tilt but go with the flow like an unstable man.” Wang Dinghai patiently taught the two of them how to deal with the wind and waves.

Wang Shouzhe and Gongsun Hui were both martial artists, with profound energy and physical strength. They adapted to the rocking movements in just a couple of minutes.

Wang Shouzhe, in particular, followed Wang Dinghai’s example and nailed his feet to the deck like stakes, his body swaying rhythmically with the wind and waves, and his posture gradually became more relaxed.

“Shouzhe is really talented. Sixth uncle will show you how he usually fish.” Wang Dinghai was excited and ready to show off.

There were but only a few people in the family who would enjoy coming on the fishing boat and watch him fish.

“Sixth uncle, I’m sure your skills are extraordinary, but let’s allow the ordinary fishermen to try it first,” Wang Shouzhe suggested.

Wang Dinghai was taken aback, but he immediately laughed, “Shouzhe, you’re here to assess our skills.

“Wonderful! All the fishermen on sixth uncle’s lead fishing boat are highly skilled. Wang Goudan (literally dog egg), come and demonstrate to the patriarch.”

“Yes, Master Hai.” A young lad of 20 years old leapt down from the mast, moving as nimbly as a monkey.

He picked up a fishing net and, after sorting it out, twisted and flung it from his waist. It flew over the side of the ship, spreading out in the air in a nice big arch.　

Wow!　

The net, buckled and heavy, smashed into the water like a large upside-down ocean bowl and sank to the bottom in a few seconds.

“Excellent!”

The surrounding fishermen praised the young man’s skills.

Wang Shouzhe also judged to the lad to be skilled. Before transmigrating, he was an ordinary office worker. Occasionally, he goes fishing with friends. When browsing videos on apps, the algorithm would recommend fishing videos including live broadcasts of experts in casting fishing nets.

Although Wang Shouzhe himself didn’t know how to cast nets, he could judge whether the caster’s skills were good or otherwise. He acknowledged that Goudan’s skills were pretty good.

After waiting for the net to sink to the bottom of the river, Wang Guodian began to carefully reel in the rope, gathering the net against the bottom of the river and then gradually pulling it upwards.

Finally, he yanked, and pulled the entire fishing net onto the boat in an instant.

Bingo!

The fishing net caught a large fish with a gray dorsal fin. Wang Goudan removed the fish from the net. After catching it, he happily came over to show off, “Brother Hai, it’s a nine-star perch, which weighs 2.5kg.”

“Good job! Throw it into the live tank.” Wang Dinghai patted his shoulder and praised him.

He turned around to Wang Shouzhe and explained, “Although the nine-star perch is not a spirit fish, it has a smooth and refreshing taste and is a top-grade fish. Even if you sell it to a fishmonger, you can get one big copper coin.

“But our family runs a fishmonger shop in Chang Ning city, we catch and sell our own products, so that we can earn a few more cents.”

Wang Shouzhe nodded his head in appreciation. The currency of the Grand Qian kingdom was calculated in terms of cents, big copper and Qian gold.

Normally, 0.5kg of rice was only worth between five and 10 cents while 100 cents could be exchanged for one big copper. This fish was expensive and it was worth one big copper.

Wang Goudan placed the catch in the running water hold in the center of the boat. This hold was connected to the river water, which was paramount in keeping the catch alive and active.

However, according to Wang Dinghai, only some of the higher value catches were treated as such. The running water compartment was also divided into several areas dedicated to different types of fish.　　

With Wang Goudan’s dedication, the rest of the fishermen also performed their tricks, each with great skill, casting large and round nets, but one may not necessarily catch any fish.

Most of the nets that were pulled up were empty, with some occasional surprises.

After slightly more than an hour, various catches gradually increased. There were three nine-star bass, and a more expensive leopard mandarin fish.

Although it was only around two catties, Wang Dinghai said that this fish cost at least 1 large copper and 60 cents. All the best catch was reserved for the patriarch.

Wang Shouzhe was smiling, but he was calculating inwardly. The 30-mile fishing and hunting grounds were the scope of the Ping’an Wang clan’s fishing and hunting activities, and the family valued this asset as an important source of income.

As time passed, Wang Shouzhe gradually became impatient, and said, “Sixth uncle, I think we are done with the performance?

“All the fishermen’s netting skills are very strong. Can we quickly get to the main event and demonstrate the real fishing operations?”

Wang Dinghai’s originally red and glowing expression instantly froze. Somewhat puzzled, he said, “Shouzhe, aren’t we already demonstrating real fishing?

“Could it be that you want to see how spirit fish are caught? Some of the smaller spirit fish are caught through luck, while some of the larger spirit fish are very fierce and require fishing and hunting arrows to deal with.”

Is this professional fishing?

Wang Shouzhe was dissatisfied. In his previous life, he was curious and freeloaded off his colleague’s relative to experience professional fishing. The commercial fishing vessel caught over 40,000 catties but that was considered a poor harvest.

As for casting nets, it was just a fishing tool on earth, just slightly better than using a fishing rod and reel. The fishing enthusiasts were just trying to have fun. Whoever wants to cast a net as a professional fisherman to support their family would starve to death.