Chapter 381 - 355: Reward
The second reward, the Stabilizing Spirit Bell, was a magical artifact that aided the Divine Soul.
It had two wondrous uses.
First, it could be used for physical offense and defense. The bell could grow or shrink at will. At its smallest, it could rest in the palm of one’s hand; at its largest, it could envelop its user like a house.
When facing an enemy, a single ring would release a sonic wave powerful enough to heavily injure an opponent with weaker Cultivation. In defense, the bell’s body was indestructible, transforming into a solid bulwark.
Second, it was a supreme treasure for the Divine Soul. It could be refined with one’s Divine Sense. When facing Evil Skills or Illusion Skills that specifically targeted the Divine Soul, or when under assault from a powerful individual’s Divine Sense, the Stabilizing Spirit Bell would automatically protect its master, making it a peerless treasure for Divine Soul defense.
Even Chen Li’s eyes burned with desire upon seeing the bell’s functions.
He had already formed his Primordial Spirit. If he had this bell’s protection, it would be like giving a tiger wings, greatly enhancing the defense and power of his Primordial Spirit form.
If he encountered a powerful foe he couldn’t defeat, he could use the bell’s defense to escape. It was undoubtedly an extremely powerful trump card.
But on second thought, he had already formed his Primordial Spirit and possessed a Divine Artifact like the Qiankun Ruyi Staff, while his two sons still had no weapons for their own protection.
After weighing his options, he decided to give the bell to his second son to help him solidify his strength and deepen his foundation.
Seeing that Chen Shouye had entered a deep state of refinement that would not end anytime soon, Chen Li’s gaze turned to his eldest son, Chen Shouheng, who was standing to the side.
Chen Shouheng was staring at him eagerly. Though he didn’t know the bell’s wondrous uses, he saw that it could be refined by one’s Divine Sense, so it had to be something good.
His eyes were filled with envy, and he even unconsciously smacked his lips. His expression and posture were exactly as they had been in his youth—unable to tear his eyes away from a good treasure. He looked nothing like a Divine Hall Grandmaster who could stand on his own.
Chen Li couldn’t help but grin. "You have no ambition," he chided with a laugh. "Cultivate properly and break through to Void Transformation sooner."
"Yes, Father. I will certainly work hard."
Chen Shouheng wasn’t embarrassed at being found out. He agreed readily.
But then the excitement on his face faded, replaced by a trace of helplessness. He sighed. "Father, the family’s silver coins... we’re already stretched thin just covering daily expenses. I’m afraid it will take many years to quickly break through to Void Transformation."
The hint of a smile on Chen Li’s face vanished. He fell silent for a moment, then turned his gaze to his wife, Song Ying.
"Ying’Er," Chen Li asked, "what is the state of the family’s accounts? Tell me everything in detail."
Song Ying said, "On the twenty-seventh of the twelfth lunar month, Shouheng, Shuwei, and I followed last year’s precedent and audited the family’s accounts for the entire year."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over Chen Shouheng and Zhou Shuwei, indicating that she would lead the explanation and they could add details.
And so, she began to lay out the Chen Family’s financial situation over the past year for Chen Li.
The past year had been one of rapid industrial expansion for the Chen Family, but it was also the year their expenses flowed like water, with the most severe deficit they had ever faced.
In terms of expenditures, the amount was colossal.
First was the one million one hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver paid to annex the Sun Family’s businesses. This enormous sum nearly depleted the Chen Family’s entire silver reserves.
Second, various other expenses were also substantial.
Purchasing Cultivation medicinal ingredients, stockpiling raw silk, acquiring new shops, building weaving workshops, renovating and expanding the mansion, and the costs of maintaining various businesses, not to mention trivial expenses like the daily needs of several hundred family members and servant salaries...
All told, these two categories of expenditures totaled a staggering two million one hundred thirty thousand taels.
In contrast, their income looked exceptionally thin.
Because Chen Li planned to hoard goods and wait for prices to rise, the Chen Family had sold almost no core materials on a large scale last year.
This resulted in extremely meager reported income.
The only source of what could be called stable income was the land rent from the 17,000 mu of fertile fields from the Zhou Family dowry and the 14,000 mu of fields from the Sun Family’s estate.
But even the rent collection from these thirty-thousand-odd mu of fields was not going smoothly; to date, only a little over eighteen thousand taels of silver had made it into their coffers.
Although all nine of the new silk shops opened last year were operational, they had been open for only a short time and were still developing their market. The total net profit for the entire year was just over one thousand taels of silver.
Compared to expenditures that easily ran into the millions, this was a drop in the bucket.
After taking stock, the Chen Family’s currently available liquid silver amounted to only 153,000 taels of silver, plus 6,300 taels of gold.
A sum of over a hundred thousand taels of silver would have been more than enough to maintain the family’s daily expenses, pay servant salaries, and handle ordinary social obligations, making them seem quite well-off.
But to support the Cultivation of three Divine Hall Grandmasters—Chen Shouheng, Chen Shouye, and Zhou Shuwei—it was undoubtedly a fool’s dream.
The Sweet Wind Jade Dew Heaven-Repairing Creation Pill that Chen Li had used for his Cultivation after reaching the Divine Hall stage had cost between two and three thousand taels of silver for a single set of ingredients.
To maintain a rapid pace of Cultivation, based on Chen Li’s consumption back then, each person would need an investment of at least two hundred thousand taels of silver per year.
And that was just for the three of them. The Cultivation expenses for the rest of the family also constituted a considerable sum.
Right now, there were three main assets that could be liquidated relatively quickly.
First, the 90,000 dan of grain reserves taken over from the Sun Family.
Grain was a hard currency and easy to liquidate. If sold decisively, it was estimated to fetch around 180,000 taels of silver.
Second, the 730,000 jin of raw silk piled up like mountains in their warehouses.
Calculated at the current market price of one tael and one mace of silver per jin, selling it all would yield approximately eight hundred thousand taels of silver.
But the slow and steady rise in the market price for raw silk put Chen Li on alert, making him even more certain of his earlier judgment.
Not only could this silk not be sold, but he would probably have to continue acquiring more in secret.
Third was the 470,000 taels from the auction proceeds, which, according to the agreement with the Sun Family’s concubine Zhuo Yuan, was supposed to be refunded by the Liyang Commandery Magistrate’s Office.
But this money had yet to arrive.
The problem didn’t lie with Governor Zhao Yuanhong, but with the Cao Family, who had purchased the first set of assets. For some unknown reason, they had yet to pay the 350,000 taels they owed.
Zhao Yuanhong was caught in the middle. He didn’t dare press the powerful Cao Family, nor did he dare declare the deal void. He could only delay, causing the refund to stall.
Because of this, everyone in the family had been forced to voluntarily reduce their use of Medicinal Cuisine and Elixirs for their Cultivation in recent months.
After hearing his wife’s account, Chen Li’s brow furrowed slightly. He too felt this was a thorny issue.
Their massive family enterprise looked magnificent on the surface, but its foundations were still fragile.
The only rapid solution he could think of to this urgent crisis was the hoard of 4.5 million taels of silver hidden in the secret chamber beneath Hidden Emperor Castle.
But moving 4.5 million taels of silver would create a huge disturbance, which would inevitably alert the Celestial Sword Sect.
Before his own family possessed the strength to confront the Celestial Sword Sect head-on, rashly taking the silver would be no different from pulling chestnuts out of a fire.
The time was far from ripe.
Chen Li sighed inwardly. After a moment of contemplation, he looked at his eldest son and daughter-in-law. "After the New Year’s festivities, the two of you are to take five thousand taels of gold and make another trip to the Black Market in Wuzhou. Purchase all the necessary Cultivation ingredients for the family this year and transport them back to Lingxi. Exchange the remainder for silver and bring it home for emergencies."
"Yes, Father. We will go after the New Year."
Chen Shouheng agreed.
Zhou Shuwei also nodded lightly, indicating she had taken note.
Chen Shouheng glanced at his mother, Song Ying, then at his grandmother, Shouyue, and the others. His lips moved as if he had something more to say, but he hesitated.
Chen Li read his expression and knew he had something on his mind. "Follow me to the study," he said.
With that, he rose and walked toward the study.
Chen Shouheng and Zhou Shuwei exchanged a glance and quickly followed.
Inside the study, Chen Li walked behind his desk and sat down. He looked calmly at his eldest son and got straight to the point. "There are no outsiders here now. Speak. What else is on your mind?"
A trace of hesitation crossed Chen Shouheng’s face as he said in a low voice, "Father, it’s about the Sun Family’s concubine, Zhuo Yuan, and her daughter, Sun Wanru. The two of them are still under house arrest in a courtyard of the Zhou Mansion. How should we handle this matter? I ask for your instruction, Father."
Chen Li’s brow twitched. He glanced at Zhou Shuwei, then back at his eldest son, and asked directly, "In your opinion, how should they be handled?"
A bitter smile appeared on Chen Shouheng’s face, tinged with a hint of pity. "Father, I... I feel that Zhuo Yuan and Sun Wanru ultimately have no connection to the feud between our families. They were compliant and quite cooperative when we took over the Sun Family’s assets.
"They once begged me, willing to give up all the Sun Family’s assets, asking only that we find a reliable Escort Agency to send them back to their hometown. If we were to act against them... wouldn’t that be... too cruel?"
Chen Li looked at the compassion in his son’s eyes and shook his head inwardly.
’This eldest son of mine,’ he thought, ’is excellent in ability and temperament, but his heart is still a bit too soft.’
He countered, "Where did that He Zhanglin come from?"
Chen Shouheng was taken aback. "The Qingtian Bureau..."
Chen Li’s voice grew grave. "Last year in Liyang Commandery City, you saw the strength of that old man with the abacus with your own eyes. Do you think our Chen Family can handle several Grandmasters from the Qingtian Bureau?"
At this, his gaze sharpened. "They know all the inside details of the Sun Family’s destruction and He Zhanglin’s death, especially the role our Chen Family played. You say they are innocent, and perhaps that’s true.
"But have you ever considered what they might say against the Chen Family if they were to fall into the hands of the Qingtian Bureau? To leave such a huge liability for the sake of two insignificant women who hold fatal leverage over us... Once it’s exposed, the Chen Family will face utter annihilation. Have you considered the consequences of this mercy of yours?"
He paused for a moment, watching the changing expression on his son’s face, and said earnestly, "Shouheng, it is a good thing that you have a benevolent heart. But a kind man cannot command an army, and a righteous man cannot amass wealth. The sages’ paths of mercy and forgiveness are rules for others to see. If we allow ourselves to be bound by them, how are we any different from common folk?"
These words struck Chen Shouheng’s heart like a heavy hammer.
His expression shifted, and he fell into a stunned silence.
It wasn’t that he didn’t understand the reasoning; it was that a sliver of conscience and pity still lingered in his subconscious.
After struggling for a moment, he finally took a deep breath, lowered his head, and said, "Yes, Father. I was mistaken."
Chen Li said no more, only stared at him and said, "Then you shall handle this matter. If you can find a better way, there’s no reason they can’t be left alive."
"Yes, Father."
Chen Shouheng agreed.
Seeing his eldest son fall silent, Chen Li asked, "Is there any news from the Court?"
Chen Shouheng shook his head. "There hasn’t been any movement. A round trip from Jiangzhou to the Court takes two months. I expect we won’t have news until after the New Year."
Chen Li nodded and asked again, "What about the Cao Family? Any recent movements from them?"
Chen Shouheng’s expression turned serious. He replied, "On the seventeenth of the twelfth lunar month, Cao Wenxuan came to Lingxi. She paid her respects at Great-Uncle Yongxiao’s grave and then left. She didn’t mention the matter of cooperation again during her visit. I don’t know... what the Cao Family’s intentions are this time."
Chen Li nodded thoughtfully.
’She didn’t mention cooperation. Could it be they have other plans?’
His gaze swept casually over Zhou Shuwei, who stood to the side. His brow furrowed slightly. "Shuwei, your breathing is unsteady. Have you suffered a hidden injury?"
Zhou Shuwei hadn’t expected Chen Li to be so observant. A blush instantly colored her fair cheeks, and her gaze subconsciously darted to Chen Shouheng.
A hint of an irrepressible smile appeared on Chen Shouheng’s face. "Father, I hadn’t yet had the chance to report to you. Shuwei... is with child. It’s just been a month."
"With child?"
Chen Li was stunned for a moment, then a smile broke out on his face. "This is truly a joyous occasion. Shuwei, you must rest well. Don’t overwork yourself with household matters."
"Thank you for your concern, Father. I understand."
Zhou Shuwei replied in a low voice, her face red.
Outside the window, the scattered pops of firecrackers grew more and more frequent.
Midnight arrived. A new year had begun.