Doted By The Regent King-Chapter 681 - 680: Want to Go Back to Taiping Town to Sell Meat?

The Hou Family has also continued the tradition of having only one male heir into the third generation. Hou Shulian is the current head of the Hou Family. Given that the Hou Family has always had few descendants, he married and had children early. His son, Hou Ziwang, did the same, but he only had Hou Ling.

Therefore, at fifteen, Hou Ling was still young, and Patriarch Hou hadn’t even reached fifty; they were quite young.

Hou Shulian was a man of settled calculations. However, since circumstances weren’t as strong as others and they only had one seedling at home, the family had to yield and make concessions when pressured by the Lu Family. His son was an honest man who didn’t amount to much, but his grandson, Hou Ling, was different from the usual Hou Family mold—extremely intelligent.

It’s said that the Hou Family managed to stand firm so quickly in the neighboring town thanks to several clever ideas from Hou Ling. The boy was somewhat extraordinary: he was quite young, yet capable of fighting, smart, and decidedly resolute. He truly was an anomaly in the Hou Family.

Liu Jin listened to Purple Jade’s detailed account and admired her, his face showing amazement as he exclaimed, "Sister, you’ve found out so much in just one day? That’s impressive."

Purple Jade said, "This is all the surface-level information. What lies beneath requires more thorough digging."

"Is Sister Zi Yu certain that the Hou Family can be of use to us?" Liu Jin asked.

"The world thrives on self-interest—everything approaches for profit and departs for the same reason. Besides, there’s long been a rift between the Hou Family and the Lu Family; they’ve been wanting to reclaim some ground. They just haven’t moved against the Lu Family because they lack support from behind," Purple Jade replied.

"If someone were backing them up, it would be a different story. The Lu Family can oppress and dominate precisely because they have powerful family members, but even more so because they have someone supporting them from behind—the Town Chief."

"The Town Chief can’t compare to having Lord County Magistrate on our side," Liu Jin cleverly chimed in.

Purple Jade nodded in approval.

"But Sister, didn’t you say we can’t use the Magistrate’s name?"

Purple Jade smiled, "We don’t need to use it. We just need to let the Hou Family know we have such backing, and that we can be their support. As for the specifics, the Hou Family will act on our behalf."

"Is that what you meant by ’using borrowed force’?" Liu Jin’s eyes lit up.

Purple Jade touched his head and nodded slightly.

After some thought, Liu Jin said, "Then Sister Zi Yu, shall we go to the Hou Family tomorrow?"

"There’s no need to go to the Hou Family. Just finding Hou Ling will do," Purple Jade replied. "Now, tell me more about this pig farm."

"Yes."

...

The next day, Purple Jade went to Shuangliao Town, stopping not far from the Hou Family’s pork stall. There was a robust young man about fifteen or sixteen, holding a pig-slaughtering knife in his hand, which he elegantly twirled into a beautiful pattern.

This was Hou Ling, and not only did he appear capable of fighting, but judging by the skillful dance of the knife, he might possess martial skills.

Purple Jade watched from the side, her gaze deepening.

At the pork stall, there was a woman dressed better than the average farming household, holding a basket in her hand, chatting and laughing with Hou Ling. The boy had a silver tongue, flattering the woman so well that she laughed merrily.

After the exchange, Hou Ling added a large bone to her basket, claiming it was for her grandchild to make a nourishing soup. The woman complimented him twice, saying, "Young Boy Ling, you’re stronger than your father or grandfather."

Hou Ling replied humbly.

Once the woman left, Purple Jade approached Hou Ling, who greeted her with a beaming smile, "Miss, would you like to buy some meat? Our prime belly pork will make you prettier after eating it!"

Purple Jade smiled faintly, "I’m not here to buy meat. However, I want to ask you, does the Hou Family want to go back to selling meat in Taiping Town?"

Hou Ling’s smiling face suddenly turned serious.

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