Chapter 247:
Central Province, Shenmu City
Lin Die only stayed in Shenmu City for two days and kept a very low profile. She didn’t show herself much, but she spent two days with the children of the Lin family and advised them to always follow Lin Jiang’s lead.
Lin Die knows a lot about Lin Jiang’s experiences. Lin Jiang has had many more adventures than the young children of the Lin family. He has been through a lot in Yunzhong City and in the Five Elements Sect. He has been very successful everywhere he went, and his knowledge of the world is far beyond what the young Lin family members have. So naturally, they all look up to Lin Jiang as their leader.
As time passed by, the young children of the Lin family grew up rapidly and became more reliable in their tasks. Lin Jiang started to delegate more and more responsibilities to them, giving them opportunities for growth and development.
With the growth of many children from the Lin family, the business named Fengyun Trading Company, given by Lin Jiang, gradually established its presence in Shenmu Sect. Compared to other big companies, Fengyun Trading Company is only average in Shenmu City. However, the monthly profits are quite substantial, barely enough to support everyone’s spiritual cultivation.
However, both Lin Jiang and Small Shadiao faced some challenges. Lin Jiang needs a lot of medicine to enhance his abilities, and Small Shadiao has high expenses. For Small Shadiao to continue advancing, the required resources are not insignificant. Even a fourth-tier Demon Core is just a basic supplement for him, which Lin Jiang cannot afford in the long run.
Therefore, for now, Small Shadiao can only take some Beast Spirit Pills, roughly one pill per month. This amount is far from enough for Small Shadiao’s advancement, but Lin Jiang has limited abilities, so they have to make do.
As Small Shadiao spends more time with everyone, he becomes smarter and more capable. He is no different from ordinary cultivators now. He is currently responsible for guarding the trading company and solving any security problems.
"In the mountains, there is no day or night. Practicing also has no day or night. Blink, and three years have passed."
On this day, Lin Jiang woke up from his practice. This was his long-term seclusion, lasting for three years. And his cultivation has also reached the peak of the initial stage of the golden core.
"At 385 years old in the initial stage of the golden core, I am definitely a waste. But compared to before, I have improved so much."
Lin Jiang glanced at the system and confirmed his age. Otherwise, he really forgot how old he was. He lived for too long, almost four hundred years. The mortal dynasty has changed twice.
Advancing to the golden core also takes more than seventy years. It’s really useless to not break through to the intermediate stage of the golden core in more than seventy years. After all, an ordinary golden core cultivator would exhaust their energy and blood at over four hundred years old. There would be no chance for the Nascent Soul stage.
But Lin Jiang’s records in the Five Elements Sect show that he is only in his twenties, and in Zhang Wanjing’s known experiences, he is not even three hundred years old. He can at least maintain his identity as a disciple of the Five Elements Sect for two hundred years. That’s already enough.
Lin Jiang cherishes this life experience. He knows that the later he goes, the more lonely he will become. After several thousand or tens of thousands of years, when all his acquaintances have turned into a handful of soil, he may never be this happy again. He only hopes that time can pass slower now.
After feeling emotional, Lin Jiang tidied up and walked out of the door. The courtyard was empty, with only him and Small Shadiao living there. The young members of the Lin family were in the neighboring courtyard, which Lin Jiang took a lot of effort to rent.
The walls between several courtyards have been knocked down, and there is a small door for entry and exit. When Lin Jiang pushed open the door, he heard a woman scream. Several women in the yard panicked, and there were a few children looking stunned at Lin Jiang.
"Don’t panic, don’t panic, it’s Martial Uncle, one of us."
Someone in the house heard a scream, and a woman came out quickly, seeing Lin Jiang comforting everyone.
"Lin Dongyuan, what’s going on? Who are they?"
Lin Jiang was a bit confused, wondering how so many people came into his house.
"Reporting to Uncle Ancestor, these are all the wives of the Lin family descendants. Let me introduce them to Uncle Ancestor. This is Lin Cunjian’s wife, this is his second wife, third wife, and this is..."
Lin Dongyuan quickly introduced everyone to Lin Jiang. The women in the courtyard were all spoken for, married to the Lin family descendants.
"Lin Cunjian and them got married."
"Yes, Uncle Ancestor got married after going into seclusion. We originally wanted Uncle Ancestor to attend the wedding banquet, but he’s in seclusion, so we didn’t dare to disturb him."
"That’s good."
Lin Jiang rolled his eyes, the wedding feast was all about the food, but they didn’t even invite him.
"Uncle..."
"I’ve been secluded for these years, tell me, what major events have happened?"
"Yes, uncle. After you secluded yourself..."
Lin Dongyuan slowly explained that after Lin Jiang secluded himself, nothing major happened in these three years. They handled the small problems in their business on their own. The biggest thing was that the younger generation of the Lin family started to get married and have children.
A total of sixty-seven people from the Lin family came, fifty of them were men and seventeen were women. All fifty Lin family men have gotten married in the past two to three years. There are more than eighty Lin family daughters-in-law, and more than half of the Lin family men have more than one wife.
However, only one out of the seventeen women got married. Like Lin Dongyuan, she isn’t allowed to marry outside the family. Lin family women, starting from the third generation, can only use their family name as their given name. If they choose to get married, they cannot use their family name. Lin Dongyuan, for example, belongs to the East-generation, and since she used her family name, she cannot marry outside the family.
"He really carries the traits of Lin Batian, well-versed in the traditions of the Lin family. Impressive."
After listening, Lin Jiang couldn’t help but admire the Lin family’s younger generation. They were impressive. They had only been in Shenmu City for three to four years, but they had all found partners, and some even had more than one.
Lin Jiang thought about himself again. He has been single for almost four hundred years. In terms of cultivation, he is very powerful. In terms of wealth, there is no comparison. In terms of appearance, he is handsome and well-known in the whole village. Why has he been single all this time? Where can he find an explanation for that?
"Uncle..."
"Clean up the courtyard. We will have a family gathering tonight. Invite everyone who can come."
"Yes, Uncle."
Lin Dongyuan received the order and immediately went to inform several female cultivators from the Lin family to prepare food and drinks for the dinner tonight.
Seventeen female cultivators from the Lin family came to Shenmu City. Only eight of them were busy at the shop, while the others were taking care of logistical matters. They had enough manpower, and for safety reasons, they didn’t hire any servants or the like. They did everything themselves.
In the evening, the courtyard became lively. All the tables were put together to form two super long tables, and both sides were filled with people.
"Greetings, Uncle."
When everyone was gathered, they all bowed to Lin Jiang.
"Please sit down."
"Why are you calling me ‘uncle’? If you want to call someone, call your father."
Lin Jiang glanced at Small Shadiao next to him. Has this guy become dumb after hanging out with Lin Cunjian for so long?
Small Shadiao sat down without saying a word, smiling. He had a high position here, second only to Lin Jiang, so he sat next to him.
"The last gathering was three years ago, before I went into seclusion. There were only around seventy people back then, but now there are nearly two hundred!"
Lin Jiang raised his glass and spoke to everyone. There were over seventy Lin family members, over eighty wives, and dozens of children. If we count the ones on the way, there are probably over two hundred!
"Uncle, this matter should have been decided by you, but you were in seclusion, and we didn’t want to disturb you, so we took the liberty to make the decision. Please forgive us, uncle."
"No need for that. It is the duty of the Lin family descendants to expand the family. In this regard, I should learn from all of you."
"If uncle wishes to marry, my wife’s family has several good women. It’s just that her family doesn’t have much influence..."
Lin Cunjian hurriedly said. In the Lin family, most wives’ families are not very influential. In fact, they are rarely equal. This is because the Lin family likes to have concubines. Lin Batian has dozens of wives and concubines, and the descendants of the Lin family follow his example. I, Lin Cunjian, have three wives in Shenmu City and even more in my hometown.
"That’s not necessary. Today’s gathering is not meant to blame you. I am just deeply touched in my heart. The Lin family of Yun State, starting from the family head Lin Batian, has grown to include thousands of people. Well, I don’t really know how many now, but there are definitely a lot of offspring."
Lin Jiang shook his head. He was the sixth brother in the birth order. When he was born, there were only a dozen people in the Lin family. Now, he doesn’t know how many people there are anymore. He witnessed the rise of a family, and that was what impressed him the most.
"Yes, Uncle Grandfather."
"No need to say more. Let’s eat and drink. The prosperity of the Lin family is in your hands."
Lin Jiang raised his cup again and everyone enjoyed drinking together. Lin Jiang was very down-to-earth, and everyone felt comfortable. Soon, the atmosphere became lively.
After more than two hours, some people were already drunk. Lin Jiang saw this and thought it was about time to leave, but he left Lin Cunjian and a few others behind. He said to them, "The rules of the cultivation world are like this: as long as a man has strength, he can have multiple wives and concubines. The same goes for women if they have strength. I don’t have much to say about that. But since you have married someone and have children with them, you have to take responsibility for them. Try to treat your wives, concubines, and children fairly. Family conflicts often start with parents showing favoritism, you know?"
Lin Jiang taught sincerely. In fact, Lin Batian didn’t do a great job at this. He was busy with his cultivation and the matters of the Lin family, and he was not affectionate towards his children. The younger siblings of the second generation of the Lin family also didn’t feel close to Lin Batian. Lin Jiang didn’t want the future generations of the Lin family to experience the same fate.
"Yes, Uncle Grandfather."
Everyone agreed, they didn’t dare to argue, and some people themselves didn’t receive any fatherly love.

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