Chapter 1304 - 26: Working to Pay Off Debts! No Embarrassment

"An Ye is already being protected, Your Majesty need not worry about Jiang Xueqing."

"?" Emperor Longchang was filled with doubt, "When did the Wang Family recruit a Divine Power Realm tributor?"

"Ahem~" Old Yao coughed twice from the side, saying, "Your Majesty, that task was taken by this humble servant. So this time, I won’t be able to serve you in the extraction of the spirit vein."

"..." Emperor Longchang was momentarily stunned, then his brows raised in anger, "Old Yao, you are my person."

"Your Majesty, this humble servant also has to make a living." Old Yao said with a forlorn face, "Your Majesty knows, for old eunuchs like us, merely living on that meager pension is not enough. When Your Majesty was in power, I could still glean some profits. But now that Your Majesty has stepped down and is lost in gambling... sigh~ not to mention profits, even your rewards have lessened!"

"This humble servant has no choice, Lady Ruolan offers so much."

"You old thing! I’m not dead yet, and you’re already preparing to turn to a new master."

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, I’m just doing odd jobs to earn some living expenses."

At the gate, Wang Anye was about to enter, but upon hearing the commotion inside, the corner of his mouth twitched, and he silently retreated.

Oh well~ he’d better wait for Grandmaster Great Emperor to leave the courtyard before going in to say goodbye to Grandmother~

...

Several days later.

Great Wilderness Marsh.

After decades of development, the Great Wilderness Marsh had undergone earth-shattering changes compared to before.

North of Anjiang, the area of the Great Wilderness Marsh that was once segregated by dikes has now been partitioned into many different zones.

A large area near the edge of the Great Wilderness Marsh was enclosed to create fields by draining lakes, combined with the originally existing spirit fields around it, forming a vast expanse of fertile water element spirit fields, specifically used for cultivating "Crystal Spirit Rice."

Every autumn, when the fruit of the Crystal Spirit Rice grows full, its uneven husk splits open, revealing the crystal-clear spirit rice inside, which, from a distance, looks like one stumbled into a crystal quarry.

The intricate water element spirit veins throughout the Great Wilderness Marsh provide ample spiritual qi to them, and the Crystal Spirit Rice cultivated here is of good quality, bringing considerable economic benefits each year.

Within the Great Wilderness Marsh, depending on the terrain, various water element spirit plants of high economic value were intercropped, mixed with some spiritual medicines and spirit fish. Although their grades aren’t particularly high, they are economically valuable species that thrive without worry of sales, generating significant economic benefits annually.

Besides that, there are isolated breeding grounds for aquatic fierce beasts within the Great Wilderness Marsh, where the signature fierce beast of the marsh—the "Desolate Swamp Ferocious Crocodile" is bred.

The Desolate Swamp Ferocious Crocodile is not of a low tier, it has thick skin and abundant flesh, requires small activity range during breeding, and its intelligence is relatively low. Reaching Tier Six makes for a superb meat-producing fierce beast due to its high meat yield.

Moreover, its rough and thick skin is an excellent defensive refining material, which can make various defensive gear with good protection through slight refining.

Back then, when Wang Shouzhe understood the habits of this fierce beast, he saw its economic potential. This breeding farm, the core focus of the Great Wilderness Marsh development project, produces enormous economic benefits annually.

Over the years, not only has the Wang Family reaped great benefits, but the Waang Family has also used this advantage to completely turn around from its previous dire situation.

Decades later, even the towns surrounding the Great Wilderness Marsh have gradually prospered.

A comprehensive industrial chain has formed in these towns centered around the produce of the Great Wilderness Marsh, including processing of spirit rice, treatment of spirit plants, slaughtering of fierce crocodiles, further processing of fierce crocodile flesh, treatment of fierce crocodile skins, and processing of various byproducts, all with each link become quite mature.

In the past twenty years, with the full development of the Great Wilderness Marsh north of Anjiang, the Changning United Wilderness Economic Development Department, led by the Wang Family, has set its sights on the Great Wilderness Marsh south of Anjiang and established a series of development plans for it.

At first, the plan progressed quite smoothly, but as the development progressed, the Great Wilderness Marsh faced some troubles.

The Primordial Water Cyan Dragon lineage residing in the Southern Wilderness Ancient Marsh felt threatened by human encroachment into the marsh domain, leading to conflicts with the Development Department.

The tension and clashes between both parties were increasing day by day.

At this critical moment.

The Wang Family unleashed their major weapon.

Wang Anye rode a striking "Jade-Horned Flying Horse", passing through the southwest side of the Ring Mountain near the Wang Family’s Main Residence in Ping’an Town, then through a seldom-trodden rugged hilly area, entering a small delta plain.

This location, Wangxia Town within the jurisdiction of the Changning Guard, was originally a dwelling site developed by clan members who split from the Celestial Human Lei Family, crossed Anjiang, and settled on the edge of the Great Wilderness Marsh.

This branch of the Lei Family became known as the "Wangxia Lei Family" because of that.

Though the Wangxia Lei Family was originally an Eighth-Grade Noble Family, following their main vein, the Changning Celestial Human Lei Family, marrying into the Wang Family, they naturally followed closely, clinging to the Wang Family’s influence.

With the initiation of the Wang Family’s Great Wilderness Marsh development plan, Wangxia Town was selected as a bridgehead, and the headquarters of the increasingly renowned Changning United Wilderness Economic Development Department was built in Wangxia Town.

Benefiting from it, the Wangxia Lei Family advanced from an Eighth-Grade Family to a Seventh-Grade in less than sixty to seventy years.