Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains-Chapter 80 - 067, Set out, Tongling Prefectural City【Ticket needed!】

New Yu Era 1322, beginning of February, the fifth day

In a concealed mine shaft within the Green Wolf Gang's mining area on the Nanling Mountain Plains, Hou Yuxiao, dressed in azure garments, stood at the forefront, with Hou Yucheng and Hou Yuling behind him.

A faint layer of golden light reflected on the faces of all three, their expressions all somewhat stirred, their pupils focused on the three large chests before them.

Within those chests were neatly stacked gold bars, each three inches long. The gathering of so much gold illuminated the dark mine shaft with a layer of brilliance.

"This gold mine has a daily yield of more than ten pounds. We've extracted over three hundred pounds in a whole month, with direct onsite smelting. Counting some slag, there are a total of these three hundred gold bars, each weighing one pound—that's three hundred pounds!"

Hou Yucheng spoke with excitement in his voice. While speaking, he took a gold bar and handed it to Hou Yuxiao, then turned to Hou Yuling beside him and asked, "Third Mother, you've been to the Prefectural City; how much silver can this batch of gold be exchanged for?"

Hou Yuling lightly stroked her forehead, calming her emotions slightly before looking at Hou Yuxiao and answering, "In the Prefectural City, there are only three places capable of handling such a large amount of gold—Rakshasa Silver Shop, Great Jin Tongbao, and Da Luo Pawn Shop. Their exchange rates for silver vary, ranging from 98.5 to 101.5, but this gold will fetch at least 472,800 silver taels at the lowest rate!"

"472,800 taels, tsk tsk, and that's just the yield of the first month. We've had people go in and explore; this gold mine is not large, but conservatively estimated, it could be mined for five to six months. That's over two million silver taels—we've struck it rich..."

Hearing this number, Hou Yuling also showed excitement on her face. However, her thoughts were more meticulous, and after pondering for a while, a slight look of concern appeared on her face as she said, "It's a lot, but if such a large batch of gold enters the prefectural city and someone with ulterior motives catches wind..."

"Hehe, have you forgotten our eldest brother's reputation?"

Only then did Hou Yuling remember, and her eyes immediately brightened. Looking at Hou Yuxiao, she showed a hint of a smile and said, "Right, I almost forgot. We'll prepare first, and then let Big Brother go and exchange the gold in disguise. As long as we're careful, there shouldn't be any problems."

Hou Yuxiao, who had been listening to the two speak, nodded at this point and put the gold bar back into the chest, saying with a laugh, "Leave it to me to handle this matter. Second Brother, take advantage of this time to step up mining. We're going to have many expenses in town soon, and I'm afraid there won't be enough."

"Understood, Big Brother. When are you planning to go to town?"

"In about ten days' time. There's a lot to do in town this time, and I reckon I'll be staying there for ten days to a half month. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can return!"

Hou Yucheng immediately pleaded, "Big Brother, take me with you. It's been so many years since I last went to the prefectural city; I almost can't remember what it looks like."

Hou Yucheng knew that his eldest brother would definitely bring Hou Yuling, who was familiar with the prefectural city, so he gave her a look, hoping she would speak up on his behalf.

But before Hou Yuling could speak for him, Hou Yuxiao agreed.

"Fourth Elder is immersed in comprehending the Yuan Gang Beads, and there are still many family affairs to attend to. Old Fifth, being a high-level practitioner of the Gang Qi Realm, certainly can't be spared. There's much to do in town, and I was intending to take you two with me. Don't worry!"

Hou Yucheng immediately became excited, but before he could speak, Hou Yuxiao added another condition.

"However, you need to promise you won't cause any trouble. Unless I give the word, you must not engage with others physically. Promise me this, and I will take you."

"I promise, without Big Brother's word, I absolutely will not lay a hand on anyone!"

Watching Second Elder pat his broad chest and vowing his promise, Hou Yuxiao still felt somewhat skeptical in his heart. It wasn't that Second Elder was disobedient; his temperament was just too fiery, and sometimes, when he lost his temper, even Hou Yuxiao could not hold him back.

However, going to town this time with a fierce temper shouldn't cause any issues...

A flicker passed through Hou Yuxiao's eyes as he silently reassured himself.

......

New Yu Era 1322, mid-February, the fifteenth day

Following the Hou Clan's series of directives, the rebuilt Zhaoyang City recovered even more quickly.

The marketplaces revived, the streets were bustling with life; more people went to Nanling Mountain to seek livelihoods; and the lives of the common folk gradually began to normalize.

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It is worth mentioning that, under Hou Clan's restructuring, Zhaoyang City took on a new layout.

The area of Changle Street, where Hou Mansion was originally located, now became a gathering place for Hou Mansion's warriors. The orphans adopted by the Hou Mansion were also housed here.

The street where the Green Wolf Gang once resided, Dongkang Street, had been transformed into the stables for the Hou Mansion. As of now, the Hou Family owns nearly two hundred horses. As the number of martial artists continues to grow, so too will the number of horses. This street is not only used as stables for the Hou Clan, but there are also rumors that the Hou Family is planning to turn it into a horse market for Zhaoyang City in the future…

As for the Hou Mansion, it has now brazenly relocated to inside the county government office.

Not only that, but the Hou Mansion solemnly announced last month that from then on, all local law enforcement and tax collection duties within the county would be the responsibility of the Hou Family. This directive scared quite a few people, as many thought the Hou Clan was truly planning to rebel.

However, a month and a half had passed, and the prefecture had not sent anyone to investigate the matter. Many clever people had already realized that the Hou Clan must have reached some sort of agreement with the prefecture; otherwise, they would not dare to transform Zhaoyang City so recklessly.

From now on, everything in Zhaoyang City was essentially dictated by the Hou Family. As more people became aware of this, the words of the Hou Family carried more and more weight in the city.

The streets of Pingyang and Feiyun, where the Hou Mansion was located, had become the busiest places in the entire city. Out of the county's population of three hundred thousand, these two streets alone accounted for at least half of that number.

Pingyang Street was bustling with activity.

Suddenly, a series of urgent hoofbeats came from the east, causing passersby to look up. They all displayed a look of shock.

They saw a group of black-clad Hou Mansion's warriors, about a hundred riders strong, escorting five carts loaded with goods, galloping from street to street towards the west side of the city.

The city streets were divided into pedestrian and horse lanes, but it was rare to see so many people and horses out at once, so pedestrians moved aside to give way.

"What's the Hou Mansion up to?"

"Didn't you see that they're pulling carts? They must be heading to the prefectural city."

"What's in those carts that they're causing such deep ruts in the road?"

"Iron ingots aren't that heavy, are they?"

"Why don't you go ask? The Master of Hou Family is right at the very front..."

"Go on, why don't you ask? Do you really want Second Elder to slap you twice to feel better?"

......

At the official road intersection due west of Zhaoyang, all members of the Hou Clan had gathered, with Hou Yuxiao standing at the forefront. He turned back to glance at the black riders behind him, at least five levels of body refinement in strength, escorting five carts full of goods, a hint of a smile appearing on his face.

In a month and a half, martial artists above the third level had been mostly recruited into the Lower Hou Sect.

According to the rankings he had established, the Upper Hou Gate consisted of ten divisions, each with a full complement of thirty people with a minimum cultivation of five levels; the Lower Hou Sect consisted of twelve zodiac-based divisions, each full contingent of one hundred people with a minimum cultivation of three levels, totaling 1522 people,

Currently, there were only 404 martial artists above the third level within the clan, which was certainly not enough to fill these positions, so priority was given to certain divisions. In the past half month, Hou Yuxiao had asked them to recruit on their own, and the divisions led by Su Li and Gao Hu had already completed their recruitment.

There was no need to mention Gao Hu; as direct members of the Hou Clan, they were the first choice for those martial artists. Su Li's popularity was due to his youth and his potential for development, which was definitely higher than that of Xiong Nutao and Zhang Kong. These two divisions being filled first came as no surprise to Hou Yuxiao.

For this trip to the prefectural city, Gao Hu's Si Division and Su Li's Geng Division, along with Hou Fei's Kui Sector, amounted to 93 people. Adding in Gao Cheng, Wang Gong, Hou Yucheng, Hou Yuling, and himself, plus others, totaled over a hundred people.

Hou Yuxiao turned back to glance at Fourth Elder and Old Fifth, gestured with his hand, and said, "No need to see us off any further. Take care of things at home. We'll come back immediately after handling the matters in the prefecture!"

"Yes, Big Brother!"

Upon hearing this, Hou Yujie and Hou Yuduan immediately nodded in agreement.

Hou Yuxiao took the reins in hand, turned towards the official road, and gestured grandly to the people around him.

"Depart for Tongling Prefectural City!"

"Yes!"

The shouts of over a hundred riders resonated thunderously. Hou Yuxiao, taking the lead, steered his companions onto the official road heading due west…