Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

A moment ago, the three who had been marveling at the increase in family strength, upon hearing Hou Yuduan's speech, sobered up considerably, showing a hint of helplessness.

Although Hou Yuxiao was internally prepared for these numbers, his face did not show helplessness, but he also sighed softly, feeling a sudden increase in pressure.

A single penny can be the downfall of a hero!

The family's strength had indeed increased, but the larger the undertaking, the more money it required to maintain it, a fact understood by everyone!

Martial artists needed to cultivate, ordinary people needed to eat, and now there were only five blood relatives left in the Hou family including Zhao Si, Wang Wu, Hou Fei, Hou Ying, Hou Cun, and the twelve others in charge of the local branches, totaling fifteen members who were the old guard of the Hou clan and could follow the family without requiring money; what about everyone else?

In this world, no one is a fool; without presenting tangible benefits, people won't even give you a glance, let alone join the Hou clan.

It was estimated that the total number of martial artists in Zhaoyang County barely reached a thousand, with the four major forces including the county government accounting for nearly seventy percent. The Hou family having two hundred martial artists already placed them at the absolute top among the five houses.

And the reason the Hou family had attracted so many martial artists was largely due to the string of numbers just mentioned by Hou Yuduan.

Actually, the business dealings of the four martial artist powers in Zhaoyang County were not much different, and their monthly profits were fairly similar; the rapid growth of the Hou family over the past year was entirely due to the overextension of the clan's assets.

A year ago, when Hou Yuxiao announced these plans, Hou Yucheng, Hou Yuling, and Hou Yujie somewhat opposed them but seeing Hou Yuxiao's insistence, they eventually compromised. Now, hearing that the family's finances were almost unsustainable, naturally their attention was focused on him.

"Is money important, or is strength important?"

Facing the gaze of four people, Hou Yuxiao calmly asked, almost certain of the answer. He did not wait for the four to respond before continuing.

"Back when the old man first came to Zhaoyang County, he was unfamiliar with the place. Though he had the strength, even he couldn't beat everyone alone. Seeing such a valuable area as Nanling Mountain, he didn't dare monopolize it alone.

Out of no choice, he sought to collaborate with the county government, uniting the three major forces to develop Nanling Mountain together. Today, every month, the medicinal herbs and iron ore mined from Nanling Mountain are worth a total of around sixteen thousand taels, and after deducting four tenths as taxes, about ten thousand taels are left, divided evenly among the five families.

When the old man first arrived, he was alone, taking care of five young children, which was understandably restraining his capabilities.

But times have changed. Now, any of us five can make the entire Zhaoyang shudder by a single gesture. The other day at Shengxin Residence, that old man Ren Feng was so humiliated by me and didn't dare to retaliate; that's the proof!"

Hou Yuxiao's commanding tone echoed in the training ground, and seeing the slightly startled expressions of the four, he paused momentarily before continuing with a tempting tone.

"What do you think if all of Nanling Mountain belonged only to the Hou clan?

A single month's protection fee from Changle Street is over one thousand taels. What if we were to also take in the protection fees from the two streets of Dongkang and Feiyun?

Besides the iron and medicinal businesses, Flying Eagle Sect has an Escort Agency co-managed with Ren Feng, catering exclusively to Tongling County, purportedly bringing in over one thousand taels a month. What if this were ours to manage?

The Green Wolf Gang has also been working with Ren Feng on a high-interest loan business these past few years, which has been extremely profitable. What if we took over that as well?

Have you considered how much we could earn each month if all these businesses were ours alone?"

The breathing of the three sped up, only Hou Yuduan remained alert and, after a moment's thought, burst out.

"If it's as big brother says, and all these businesses were ours, the family income would be at least about fifteen thousand taels monthly after deducting the county government's four tenths tax.

But, that's just not possible!"

With these final words, Hou Yuduan abruptly pulled Hou Yucheng and the others back from their fantasies to reality.

Indeed, it was impossible.

Not to mention that the Hou Family didn't have the strength to take on three and wipe out all three families, each family's business had a share from County Lord Ren Feng. If they really seized all these businesses, Ren Feng would definitely tear his face off with our Hou Family.

However, Hou Yuling was the first to think of something, and suddenly her eyes lit up.

"Don't worry about the County Lord's side; I've already taken care of that. As for those three families, I've had plans for a long time. Relying solely on our family, of course, it's impossible to wipe out three families, but if there's external force involved, that's a different story!"

"What external force, brother, did you also seek external help?" Hou Yucheng quickly asked.

"That little girl I abducted, where did you put her!"

"When we came back, we also brought her along. Her senior brother named Duan Zhengqi, his injuries have also almost healed, and both of them are locked in the west wing.

Among the four, only Hou Yujie gradually became clear-headed; he had already vaguely understood something.

He had been to Tianling County and had taken two mares to the Mountain Sword Sect for breeding; he knew everything about Tian Honglu's identity.

"Brother, you conspired with Zheng..."

"Hush... Silence!"

Seeing Hou Yuxiao put his index finger to his lips in a cautious manner, Hou Yujie instantly understood and his expression became incredibly lively.

Along with it, Hou Yucheng also suddenly had a clear train of thoughts, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

No wonder... no wonder Tian Honglu had been captured for nearly half a month, and yet no one had come to rescue her. It turned out that Hou Yuxiao had already made contact with them...

"For now, I will say just this much. I have already notified Hou Cun in the Prefectural City to bring fifty men and rush back here, and they will return by tomorrow night at the latest.

Today is December 15th. For the next half month, you can find opportunities to provoke the Green Wolf Gang and the Flying Eagle Sect. Right now, they can only complain to Ren Feng at most and dare not take any significant action.

The old coward Ren Feng in the Shengxin Residence is subdued by my Gang Qi, and before the new protector takes office, as long as we don't confront him directly, given his fear of death, he will definitely choose to endure.

In this half month, you guys seek revenge, unleash all the anger from two years ago, and thoroughly suppress those two families' spirits. The first step is to squeeze their living space, and I suggest you start with... Nanling Mountain!"

"Understood, big brother!"

The three stood up together, their expressions filled with excitement.

Hou Yucheng couldn't help but gently pinch the large knife strapped to his waist.

Hou Yujie slightly licked his dry lips, a hint of killing intent appeared in his eyes.

Hou Yuling smiled cunningly, the murderous intent all hidden deep within her beautiful eyes, and anyone unaware would think she was thinking about something delightful.

Only Hou Yuduan alone, feeling the murderous aura from his brother and sister, sighed repeatedly on the side. He wanted to offer some words of comfort, but, thinking of the miserable state of the Hou Family when their father Hou Tong died two years ago, he chose to remain silent.

Though he was determined to follow the path of a sage, even sages had emotions and desires, let alone him!