Protect Our Patriarch

"How did you manage to get 50,000 to 60,000 pounds of grain?" Gong Sun Qiang asked, almost disbelieving.

The Shanyang Gongsun Clan was considered powerful, with 10,000 to 20,000 acres of fertile farmland. However, even with that, their annual grain production wouldn't reach 50,000 to 60,000 pounds. Moreover, they had to give a portion of the harvest to the tenant farmers and pay taxes per acre, not to mention setting aside seeds and insecticide powder, which would further reduce the yield.

It was clear that 50,000 to 60,000 pounds of grain was an astronomical figure. Even in normal times, it would be extremely difficult to obtain such a large quantity of grain, let alone in the current chaotic era.

"I bought it through a friend's connection from Qian's Trading Company," Wang Shoujie replied, "Uncle, time is of the essence. Let's set off for Ju Cai Manor first, and the horse-drawn carriages will follow later."

The Gong Sun Clan's horse-drawn carriages, designed for transporting minerals, had specially reinforced cargo compartments. The horses pulling the carriages were also carefully selected for their sturdy build and endurance, with each carriage requiring four to five Northern Heavy-Duty Warhorses to pull several thousand pounds of cargo.

Bought through a friend's connection?

Gong Sun Qiang's eyes widened in disbelief, wondering what kind of friend could make such a purchase. He felt a mix of admiration, envy, and skepticism, and decided to follow Wang Shoujie to Ju Cai Manor.

Ju Cai Manor was one of the Qian Clan's properties, used for storing large quantities of goods. Many of these goods weighed tens of thousands of pounds, and it was unnecessary to transport them to Changning Garrison City.

As for the fear of being attacked or robbed, that was just a joke.

Not to mention the armed forces within Ju Cai Manor, but even the Qian Clan's reputation was enough to deter anyone from harboring ill intentions.

After seeking an audience through the gatekeepers, Master Qian Xue'an emerged with a dark expression, clearly unhappy with Wang Shoujie.

He then represented the Qian Clan in a transaction, and the two parties renegotiated a contract, with the Qian Clan "repurchasing" the insecticide powder from Wang Shoujie.

The price was very reasonable: 10,000 gold coins in cash, and 60,000 pounds of stored grain. Originally, the 5,000 bags of insecticide powder would be repurchased, and the Qian Clan could sell them for at least 15,000 to 20,000 gold coins, ensuring a profit.

Regarding this "loss of face," the manager of the Qian Clan's Changning branch didn't want to show his face, leaving everything to Qian Xue'an to handle. The unseen manager had clearly planned to shift all responsibility for any mistakes to Qian Xue'an.

Therefore, Qian Xue'an's face was already "as dark as thunder" as he assisted Wang Shoujie with the procedures, not wanting to say a word to him from start to finish.

After completing all the formalities, Qian Xue'an handed Wang Shoujie a large stack of gold notes and a receipt for 60,000 pounds of grain, then stormed off in a huff.

Wang Shoujie was also taken aback by this over-the-top performance. He thought to himself that once Qian Xue'an succeeded in advancing to the Spirit Realm, he would definitely become a renowned figure.

After finishing the procedures, Wang Shoujie found Gong Sun Qiang waiting outside: "Uncle, the receipt for 60,000 pounds of grain is ready. Once your people arrive, we can start transporting the grain."

Gong Sun Qiang's body shook, his eyes wide with amazement. It was really true – they had actually "bought" 60,000 pounds of grain. This nephew of his was truly unbelievable.

Soon, Gong Sun Qiang's 20-horse carriage team arrived, accompanied by 80 sturdy miners.

The grain warehouse was piled high, with each bag of grain weighing 100 pounds. However, the miners easily lifted three to four bags at a time to load onto the carriages.

"Uncle, how much can one carriage hold?" Wang Shoujie asked, having never seen so much grain in his two lifetimes. Although he had mentally prepared himself, the volume and quantity still far exceeded his imagination.

"Load it up, load it up, all the way to 100 sacks per carriage. Our carriages are specially reinforced, and the Northern Heavy-Duty Warhorses are not just for show," Gong Sun Qiang said, his eyes already red from excitement. He had lived a lifetime, but had never seen so much grain piled together.

With the Shanyang Gongsun Clan's immense strength, they had accumulated enough food to last several thousand strong laborers for a year, which was equivalent to around 20,000 tons of grain. The clan's farmers, miners, and family members added up to several thousand people.

Over a hundred tons? That's equivalent to tens of thousands of pounds of grain...

Wang Shoujie was slightly taken aback, realizing that this was indeed a fantastical world where even ordinary people had extraordinary strength, not to mention the powerful Northern Heavy-Duty Warhorse. And this wasn't even a Spirit Beast-Level Warhorse, which would be even more formidable.

The miners were clearly accustomed to heavy labor, with each group of four people assigned a horse-drawn cart. They didn't need to make more than six or seven trips to load up the carts. Each cart was specially designed for hauling heavy loads, overflowing with grain.

However, even with this effort, they had only managed to transport around 2,000 tons.

At this rate, they would need to make around thirty trips. Well, there was no rush, and they didn't expect to finish transporting the grain in a short amount of time anyway.

Just then, Qian Xue'an appeared, his face still cold as he said, "Our Qian's Trading Company values its reputation highly and would never cause trouble for our clients. You can rent our heavy-duty cargo carts, including the cart drivers, for twenty large copper coins a day, which includes the drivers' and horses' food. You'll need to handle the loading and unloading yourselves."

It was clear that Qian Xue'an had come to their aid.

However, Gong Sun Qiang, who was standing nearby, almost spat out a mouthful of old blood. Although the price offered was reasonable, it would undermine his own hard work, wouldn't it? Gong Sun Qiang had originally planned to use this opportunity to ask his nephew for some grain as a favor.

"So we'll have to trouble Master Qian," Wang Shoujie said with a smile. "Let's rent thirty more carts then."

Qian's Trading Company had a vast number of carts, far surpassing the Gong Sun Clan's, and their business spanned Longzuo, so their carts were naturally of high quality, not inferior to the Gong Sun Clan's in any way.

After loading up all fifty carts, they set off from Ju Cai Manor.

Ju Cai Manor was only about six miles from Changning Ferry, and under normal circumstances, the carts could reach the ferry in less than an hour. However, Changning Ferry was crowded and chaotic, and Wang Shoujie didn't want to draw attention to themselves, so they avoided taking the direct route.

After passing the third fork in the road, they took the road to Shanyang, and after another two or three miles, they turned towards the An River. They arrived at a dense forest, where the carts could go no further. However, after walking a hundred or so steps into the forest, they came to a steep cliff about 15-20 feet high, with a natural waterway about 60-90 feet wide at the bottom.

By this time, Sixth Uncle Wang Dinghai had already received a message from the family and was waiting with a fleet of boats, including fishing boats and ferries, and had set up a temporary inclined dock. They had brought all the boats they could use from home.

Although this transportation method was laborious, it was very discreet.

From the carts to the forest and then to the cliff and the boats, this route required about 250 steps, and Wang Shoujie had the miners and family members stand in position, with three people per step, to transport the grain in a relay style.

After a brief adjustment, everyone discovered the benefits of this simple human-powered transportation line, which was stable, orderly, and efficient. The speed of loading the boats eventually reached one or two tons per breath, and they were able to save a lot of time and energy from running back and forth.

In just over an hour, they had miraculously finished loading all the grain from the fifty carts. The cart team then returned to Ju Cai Manor to fetch another batch, while Wang Shoujie followed the boat team, crossing the An River and arriving at the Fenggu Gate.

Fenggu Farm had even more people, with around 200 households of farmers, and they easily spared 150 strong laborers. Using the same method, they transported the grain through manual labor, temporarily storing it at Fenggu Farm.

The boats on the Inner River were insufficient, with only five or six vessels available, so they had to transport the grain slowly along this final stretch.

The successful establishment of the transportation line brought Wang Shoujie a sense of relief, but also a strong sense of dissatisfaction with their own transportation system.

Firstly, they were too reliant on public ferries and lacked private, discreet docks.

Secondly, the An River to Inner River route was inconvenient due to the difference in water levels, which made it difficult to keep the sluice gate open for extended periods without causing flooding. They needed to find a way to build a ship lock that would allow boats to pass through.

Thirdly, the family had obvious weaknesses in their ship and cart transportation. While this might not be a significant issue at present, it would severely hinder the family's development as they continued to grow.

It seemed that establishing a complete and self-sufficient transportation system was an urgent matter.

[Heartfelt thankyou for the support! SlaySaga]