191: Chapter 191 Family Development

"Yier, you have agreed to this, and your father is very gratified. Tomorrow, I will take you to see the Ma Family," Pei Tianming said with a smile.

Pei Siyi said in disbelief, "Dad, you aren't planning to make me go see Ma Cuihua, are you?"

Pei Tianming said with a gratified expression, "No one knows a father better than his son. Yier, you truly understand my intentions."

Having confirmed his suspicions, Pei Siyi felt as if the sky had collapsed.

The careless words he had spoken years ago had now become his Heart Demon.

"What a sin…" Pei Siyi thought with grief and indignation.

As the end of the year approached, the younger generation of the Pei Clan who were studying abroad returned to Wuyang City one after another.

Pei Sili and Qi Yanran had also returned to the Wuyang Pei Clan early.

It was extremely rare for someone like Pei Siyi to study in a different prefecture and not return for years.

Of course, there were also those who could not make it back.

For example, Pei Siyao, who was far away in Jinxiu City, Beilong Province, was a formal student of Shanhe Academy and the Personal Disciple of Master Tianlan.

Before advancing to the Five Viscera Realm, one generally needed to stay within the academy for a long period.

This was both a form of protection for the geniuses of the academy and a way to lay a solid foundation for the future cultivation path of the talented students.

Even with Pei Siyao's talent, it would take at least two years to advance from the Early Stage of Divine Power to the Five Viscera Realm.

Unless some unconventional methods were used…

Clearly, Master Tianlan would not allow Pei Siyao to do so.

However, it had been less than a year since Pei Siyao entered the academy, and advancing to the Late-Stage Divine Strength Martial Artist was already the limit.

On the day before the end of the year, Pei Qingyun held the annual summary meeting.

Whenever this time arrived, there were those who rejoiced and those who worried.

For those members of the Pei Clan who had made significant contributions to the Family industries, they would naturally receive material rewards and recognition. As for those who were lazy, slacked off, or harmed the Family's interests, they would be punished by having their salaries docked for minor offenses, or disciplined according to clan rules for major ones, to be handled by the Family's law enforcement department.

The establishment of this punishment system was also one of the core policies Pei Qingyun used to strengthen the Wuyang Pei Clan.

Pei Qingyun knew well that one must remain vigilant in times of peace.

Under his deliberate push, many problems indeed surfaced.

Especially this year, as the Wuyang Pei Clan developed rapidly, many shortcomings were exposed.

Some members of the Pei Clan disregarded the Family's interests for personal gain.

In the end, it was all driven by desire.

This was like the dynasties of old: poor and destitute when fighting for the world, but filled with corrupt officials once they sat on the throne.

The Wuyang Pei Clan had gone from an annual total income of one hundred thousand taels back then to over one million taels today.

The income had increased by more than tenfold.

The imbalance of wealth would inevitably corrupt people's hearts.

This was an inevitable result of a faction developing at high speed.

However, such shocking figures still left Pei Qingyun somewhat appalled.

Fortunately, the direct and main branches of the Pei Clan had not yet encountered such a situation.

"Tianlin, from now on, the Family's Law Enforcement Hall will be handed over to you, and you will also be in charge of external affairs. It will be a bit arduous, but I believe you are capable of handling it. As for those traitors who bite the hand that feeds them, do not show any leniency," Pei Qingyun said.

"Old Ancestor, please rest assured. I will definitely purge these black sheep in the shortest possible time," Pei Tianlin said, his eyes firm and his words resonant.

In fact, Pei Tianlin had not expected this.

In just two years, such huge changes had taken place within the Family.

Before this, Pei Tianlin had thought the Old Ancestor was making a mountain out of a molehill.

At this summary meeting, once the data was announced, he realized how conservative and naive his thoughts had been.

"Tianlin, remember. No matter who it is, you must not bend the law for personal gain. You have my full permission to act," Pei Qingyun said solemnly.

After all, those to be dealt with this time were all members of the same clan.

Pei Qingyun was worried that Pei Tianlin might have reservations, which was why he gave this instruction.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Pei Qingyun also reformed the Family's Shadow Guard.

The Family's Shadow Guard was thus divided into three parts: the first part was to protect the core members of the Family, and the second part was to monitor some members of the Pei Clan.

The third part was to handle some dirty work that the Wuyang Pei Clan found inconvenient to do openly.

This was also the way of survival for a Great Family.

In less than an hour, the summary meeting concluded.

In his past life, Pei Qingyun had always hated long-windedness, so he was always swift and decisive in his actions.

Meetings were no exception.

Shortly after the meeting ended, Pei Tianlin arranged for the Law Enforcement Hall to start making arrests.

It was precisely this move that greatly deterred those in the clan who harbored malicious intentions.

Longxi Prefecture.

Pei Clan Main Branch, Family Head's courtyard.

After successfully establishing the Yuanhang Trade Caravan branch in Jinhuai Prefecture, Pei Qingyun wrote a letter and ordered someone to deliver it to Family Head Pei Yongsheng.

The purpose was very simple: naturally, it was to purchase a batch of Dragon Scale Horses and Dragon Scale Beasts for breeding.

After receiving the letter from Pei Qingyun, Family Head Pei Yongsheng was somewhat surprised.

Under normal circumstances, Pei Qingyun would always contact Ancestor Yuhuan.

It was only after opening the letter that he suddenly realized.

As a top Great Family within Longxi Prefecture, the strength of the Pei Clan Main Branch was incomparable to the four great families of Jinhuai Prefecture.

Although few Great Families were willing to sell large quantities of Dragon Scale Horses and Dragon Scale Beasts, if the Pei Clan stepped in to make the purchase, let alone one hundred and fifty, they could even buy one thousand five hundred.

The next day.

Pei Qingyun discovered that the family luck had increased slightly.

This discovery made him realize that family luck was not only related to external influences, but internal factors also played a role.

At the same time, Pei Qingyun also received a reply from Family Head Pei Yongsheng.

"I didn't expect that in just half a month, Family Head Yongsheng would have acquired one thousand Dragon Scale Horses and twenty Dragon Scale Beasts for breeding. This should be enough for the time being," Pei Qingyun sighed with emotion after reading the reply.

It is always easier to get things done when you have the right connections.

If he had gone himself, the round trip would have definitely taken several months, and he might not even have succeeded.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

A new year arrived, and the one thousand Dragon Scale Horses were transported back to Jinhuai Prefecture in batches.

According to the plan, half of these one thousand Dragon Scale Horses were to be used for the Jinhuai Branch, and the other half were to be used in the various counties of Jinhuai.

As for the Dragon-Blood Horses that originally served as substitutes, they had no choice but to unwillingly exit the historical stage.

With these one thousand Dragon Scale Horses, the transport efficiency of the Yuanhang Trade Caravan was significantly improved.

In particular, the people of Jinhuai Prefecture City felt the convenience and low prices brought by the Yuanhang Trade Caravan for the first time.

This was something the escort agencies could never compare to.

This made the various Great Families who were optimistic about the Yuanhang Trade Caravan and had invested in it even more confident.

Although it had been open for less than two months, the Jinhuai Branch had already captured ten percent of the market share.

At this rate, in at most one year, the Jinhuai Branch would be able to capture half of the transportation market share.