10: Chapter 10 Family Dinner and Follow-up Arrangements

As she walked through a moon gate, she suddenly stopped.

In the backyard training ground, a six or seven-year-old boy was holding a wooden sword, practicing sword techniques with meticulous precision.

The boy's movements were still quite immature, but every thrust of his sword carried a sense of earnestness; even with his forehead covered in sweat, he refused to stop.

"That is Young Master Ning Changqing, the master's eldest son," Su Yuniang said. "He is six years old and is learning swordsmanship from me. The one beside him is Young Master Changhe, the master's second son."

Zhao Qingli's gaze lingered on the two boys for a moment, and a flicker of complex emotions flashed in her eyes.

If her parents were still alive, and if Zhao Family Village still existed, her younger brother would probably be about this age.

"Let's go." Zhao Qingli withdrew her gaze and continued walking forward, following Su Yuniang.

That evening, Ning Yuan hosted a Family banquet in the main hall, officially welcoming the three newcomers.

There were currently four mistresses in the Ning Family—Madam Lin, Madam Liu, and Su Yuniang, plus the three newcomers. With seven people sitting around the table, it was quite lively.

Ning Yuan sat at the head of the table, with the seven wives and concubines seated on both sides, while the children were being looked after by maids in the side hall.

"Today is a good day," Ning Yuan said, raising his wine cup. "Qingli, Xiaohe, Waner, from today on, you are part of my Ning Family. Although the Ning Family is still small now, it will surely grow larger in the future. If you follow me, I will not treat you unfairly."

"Thank you, Master." The three of them raised their cups in unison.

After drinking a cup of wine, the atmosphere gradually relaxed.

Shen Xiaohe and Qin Waner were a bit reserved at first, but under Madam Lin's gentle hospitality, they slowly opened up. Both of them came from ordinary farming families, so they found it easiest to talk with Madam Liu, and within a few words, they were chatting away.

Su Yuniang had been sitting next to Zhao Qingli the whole time, speaking to her in a low voice. Although Zhao Qingli did not say much, the expression on her face was much softer than when she had first arrived.

Ning Yuan watched this scene and was secretly satisfied in his heart.

Only when the inner courtyard is harmonious can the Family flourish. He knew very well that these women were willing to marry into the Ning Family for various reasons—some for resources, some for protection, and some because they had nowhere else to go. But regardless of their reasons for coming, as long as they entered the Ning Family's door, they were people of the Ning Family.

He treated all his wives and concubines equally, never looking down on anyone because of a humble background, nor showing favoritism because of high cultivation. This fairness was the Foundation of the harmony in the Ning Family's inner courtyard.

"Master." Madam Lin suddenly put down her chopsticks, her expression becoming more serious. "There is something I would like to discuss with you."

"Speak."

"Our Family now has six wives and concubines, and seven children; the number of people in the house is growing. Although the current residence is still spacious enough, at this rate, I am afraid it will not be enough in another year or two."

Ning Yuan nodded. What Madam Lin said was indeed a problem.

The Ning Family currently lived in a three-courtyard complex built three years ago, with a main courtyard and east and west wing courtyards, totaling about ten rooms. It was enough for now, but if the number of wives and concubines continued to increase and the children continued to grow, it would soon feel cramped.

"What are your thoughts?" Ning Yuan asked.

"I was thinking, could we purchase a piece of land outside the city and build an estate?" Madam Lin had clearly been thinking about this for a long time, and she spoke logically and clearly. "Land outside the city is cheap. If we buy a few hundred acres, we can build a large estate. Then, the wives and concubines will each have their own courtyards, and the children will have space to practice martial arts and Cultivate. Furthermore, the estate would be close to Qingyun Mountain, where the Spiritual Qi is more abundant than in the county town, which would also be beneficial for your cultivation, Master."

Ning Yuan looked at Madam Lin with some surprise.

His primary wife, although a Mortal, had managed the Ning Family's inner courtyard for the past few years, and her vision and perspective were far beyond those of the farm girl she once was.

"That is a good idea," Ning Yuan nodded and said. "There are indeed some good plots of land at the foot of Qingyun Mountain. Tomorrow, I will go find Brother Zhou and see if we can buy that land."

"There is one more thing." Madam Lin hesitated for a moment. "My father sent a message through someone again yesterday."

"What did he say?"

"He said that there is a girl from the Zhang Family in the neighboring village, who just turned sixteen this year. It is said that Qingyun Temple discovered she has a Spiritual Root..." As Madam Lin said this, she secretly glanced at Ning Yuan.

Ning Yuan couldn't help but laugh.

His father-in-law now completely treated the Ning Family as a hot commodity, recommending girls to the Ning Family every few days.

"No rush for now," Ning Yuan waved his hand. "Let me build the estate first, and there will be plenty of space to accommodate newcomers then."

Madam Lin nodded and said nothing more.

After the Family banquet dispersed, Ning Yuan returned to the cultivation room alone.

He sat down cross-legged, not rushing to Cultivate, but instead opening the System interface.

Ever since the System was bound to him, he had been exploring its rules. By now, he had roughly figured out the System's reward mechanism.

First, for every child born, the System would grant a reward. The content of the reward was random, but it generally followed one rule: the better the child's Spiritual Root Aptitude, the more generous the reward.

Secondly, when the number of children reached certain specific numbers, the System would trigger an "Achievement Reward." For example, when the fifth child was born, the System rewarded him with the Nine Yang Art; when the seventh child was born, it rewarded him with a foundation establishment pill.

Ning Yuan speculated that when the tenth child was born, there should also be an Achievement Reward, and the intensity would be greater than those of the fifth and seventh.

"The tenth child..."

The Ning Family now had seven children, and Madam Lin was pregnant with another one. In other words, they were still two short.

And now he had six wives and concubines, four of whom were Cultivators. Children born to Cultivator wives and concubines generally had better Spiritual Root Aptitude than those born to Mortal wives and concubines, and the chances of pregnancy were also higher.

"For the next period of time, I will focus on Qingli, Xiaohe, and Waner," Ning Yuan calculated in his heart. "I will strive to let the number of Ning Family descendants exceed ten within this year."

He closed his eyes and began to circulate the Nine Yang Art.

The Pure Yang Spiritual Power within his body flowed slowly; wherever it passed, his Meridians felt slightly warm, as comfortable as soaking in a hot spring. His cultivation at the fifth level of Qi Refining was stable and solid, and the vortex of Spiritual Qi in his Dantian was several times more solid than it had been three years ago.

According to his current speed of Cultivation, Ning Yuan estimated that he would need about two more years to reach the sixth level of Qi Refining.

But if the Achievement Reward for the tenth child was generous enough, this time might be significantly shortened.

"Two years..." Ning Yuan opened his eyes, his gaze deep. "Too slow."

He needed more children, and more rewards.

Pingan County was too small, and Qingzhou City was also too small. This world was vast, and the world of Cultivation was even larger. He could not keep living in this small county town and developing slowly.

But one must eat one bite at a time, and take one step at a time.

What was most important right now was to build the estate, establish a firm Foundation, and then plan for greater development.