Protect Our Chief-Chapter 674 - 80: Drawing Calamity Eastward! Opening up the Wastelands in the Outer Domain (Requesting Monthly Tickets)_2

Chapter 674: Chapter 80: Drawing Calamity Eastward! Opening up the Wastelands in the Outer Domain (Requesting Monthly Tickets)_2

Cao Bangning had long anticipated that he wouldn’t agree so easily. Skillfully, he pulled out a gold note from his storage ring and stuffed it into his hand, saying sincerely, "Brother Tianming, you must help me! Right now, you’re the only one I can rely on. I ask nothing else, just that your daughter intercede on my behalf and have Zuoqiu’s Ancestor of the Purple Mansion agree to meet with my family’s ancestor to talk. That’s enough."

"Ah~ how could I possibly accept this?"

Liu Tianming rubbed the texture of the gold note and discovered it was a Purple Gold Ticket. His smile instantly became much more sincere. Hearing that Cao Bangning merely wanted to talk with the Zuoqiu Family, his mind was immediately set at ease.

He promptly put away the Purple Gold Ticket and confidently said, "Brother Cao, rest assured, I will certainly ask my daughter to speak for you when I return. However, while I can try to mediate, I can’t guarantee success. I need to make this clear in advance."

"Of course, of course. Brother Tianming’s agreement already helps me a lot. No matter the outcome, I won’t blame Brother Tianming."

Cao Bangning naturally nodded repeatedly, without another word.

After some small talk, they finished their meal. Soon, Liu Tianming leisurely left the Seafood Inn.

After he left, the smile Cao Bangning had forced onto his face could no longer hold, and it instantly faded away.

"Ah~"

He sighed heavily, unable to shake the worry in his heart.

This time, his aunt had impulsively killed Zuoqiu’s Celestial Pride, which greatly offended the Zuoqiu Family.

Though officially, when family descendants join the Saint Land or the Academy they are considered people of the Saint Land, and the family should not be implicated. However, the Zuoqiu Family lost a Celestial Pride and was exposed to such a major scandal, becoming a laughing stock among many noble families. How could they not retaliate?

Unable to do anything to the Saint Land, they would certainly vent their anger on the Cao Family. Even if they don’t act openly, they would certainly sanction the Cao Family secretly.

Compared to Zuoqiu Family, which dominates Qeng’an County with four or five visible Ancestors of the Purple Mansion, Cao Family is just an ordinary Fifth-Grade Noble Family. With only a solitary Ancestor of the Purple Mansion, the family’s foundation and industry are thoroughly overwhelmed by the Zuoqiu Family.

If the Zuoqiu Family were to really take action against the Cao Family, Cao Family simply wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

Now, the most reliable plan he could think of is to have his own ancestor mediate and talk with Zuoqiu Qingyun’s superior Ancestor of the Purple Mansion. If they come to an agreement, although Cao Family would unavoidably have to pay some price, they would at least survive this ordeal. If no agreement is reached...

Ah~

Cao Bangning couldn’t help but sigh again.

Liu Tianming had always been cunning and unreliable. He couldn’t put all his hope in Liu Tianming; it was best to prepare for both possibilities.

Hands behind his back, pondering strategies in his mind, he slowly walked out of the Seafood Inn.

"Farewell, Patriarch."

At the entrance of the Seafood Inn, the shopkeeper and a group of staff stood respectfully in a line. Only when they saw Cao Bangning enter the carriage did they breathe a long sigh of relief, feeling as though they had just escaped an ordeal.

...

The "entanglements and grievances" between Qeng’an Zuoqiu Family and Liaoyuan Cao Family, leading to changes in the situation, for the time being, had nothing to do with Wang Shouzhe.

With Wang Shouzhe becoming a Great Celestial Pride, resolving his past troubles and returning to the family, he focused wholeheartedly on the intense work ahead.

After over twenty years of accumulation, Changning Wang Family finally launched a new phase of expansion.

For the Wang Family, this was an essential expansion.

Despite the Wang Family’s annual revenue reaching millions of Qian Gold, after massive expenses, they could only save just under two million Qian Gold. Although this seems like a lot, as the family’s Celestial Prides and Great Celestial Prides gradually reach the Celestial Human Realm, these funds quickly become inadequate.

Moreover, with the new generation of young ones in the Wang Family being continuously born, under the family’s concept of high fertility and quality, the expenses would only grow larger.

Additionally, the total population of Ping’an Town has now surpassed 150,000, showing signs of congestion, and internal development and reclamation have encountered bottlenecks.

Only by inheriting the aspirations of Ancestor Zhou Xuan, expanding externally is the fundamental way for development.

Zhouxuan Pass!

This is the pass that was built by Ancestor Zhou Xuan at great cost and effort; it has protected generations of Wang Family descendants and tens of thousands of people in Ping’an Town.

Exiting Zhouxuan Pass is a narrow mountain cliff corridor, the necessary path heading towards the Outer Domain in Ping’an Town’s direction.

All along, Loose Cultivators and Noble Family Descendants have ventured into the Outer Domain through here. With bad luck, they might leave their corpses in the wilderness. With good luck, they could have considerable gains.

Currently, a more than four-zhang wide foreign cement concrete road is being paved along this corridor. (In the Daqian Kingdom, the term ’foreign’ bears neither positive nor negative connotation, merely indicating that it is an overseas product.)

The construction of a foreign cement road requires first compacting the dirt road with a stone roller, then laying a thick layer of crushed stone sub-base, compacting the crushed stone layer with a stone roller, pouring the concrete layer with foreign cement, and treating the surface of the concrete for a smooth finish. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

The process, while seemingly simple, relies heavily on foreign cement as the core material.

Currently, the foreign cement sold by joint industries is priced at over two large coppers and fifty coins per dan (about a hundred pounds), only half the price of regular grains.

From this, it is clear that foreign cement is essentially a luxury-grade construction material. Therefore, not every Noble Family has the capital to build roads with foreign cement.