Family practice: all members of the villain

Chapter 5 Tension

The four long streets in Zhaoyang County are named Changle, Feiyun, Dongkang and Pingyang.

The Hou family's territory is called Changle Street.

When Hou Tong moved to Zhaoyang with his five children 20 years ago, there were only three streets in the county: Feiyun, Dongkang, and Pingyang. Changle Street was built with his fists.

Being able to seize a territory from the squeeze of three local forces shows that Hou Tong is not easy.

In fact, Hou Tong's extraordinary character has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of people in Zhaoyang County.

After Hou Tong opened Changle Street, the first thing he did was to ask his eldest son, Hou Yuxiao, to worship Ren Feng as his adoptive father and make good friends with the county government.

Later, he asked the county official Ren Feng to come forward and unite the four major forces in Zhaoyang to jointly develop the Nanling Mountain iron mine, making a lot of money in just a few years.

At the same time, he also used the right to collect medicine in Nanling Mountain to attract villagers from outside the county to the city. As long as they had a county household registration, they did not have to pay taxes when they went to Nanling Mountain to collect medicine. This move instantly attracted the population of nearby towns and villages. They all gathered in the county seat.

As a result, in less than ten years, Changle Street has developed into a bustling street with more than 200 shops and a population of over [-].

Five years ago, Hou Tong was promoted to Gang Qi Realm warrior and ranked 819th on the Righteous Demon Slayer List. After becoming the number one expert in Zhaoyang County, Changle Street ushered in its most prosperous period, with a population that almost exceeded 20. Almost more people than the other three streets combined.

It's a pity that all this prosperity came to an abrupt end after Hou Tong's death two years ago.

Today, the population of Changle Street is less than [-]. Although it is still the most prosperous street in Zhaoyang County, it is incomparable to what it was before.

"This is all the result of my efforts in the past two years to promote trade. Unfortunately, my Hou family is not well-known and not strong enough. In addition, the other three forces in Zhaoyang County continue to oppose me. It is still difficult to develop. …”

Hou Yuxiao walked into the street and sighed slightly. The more prosperous Changle Street is, the higher the profit for Hou, as the owner.

But in the final analysis, this world still respects martial arts. No matter how brilliant his development methods are, without enough strength to cooperate, it is still in vain.

"Second Master is back!"

"I pay my respects to the second master."

"Second Master..."

…………

Hou Yuxiao did not show his true face to others. Although people on both sides of the street guessed his identity, they were not sure, so they all greeted Hou Yucheng.

Neither of them paid much attention to it, and went straight back to the Hou Mansion.

After all, he is the owner of Changle Street. The Hou Mansion is built on the right side of the center of the street. The gate about two feet high is also the tallest building in the street. There is a large plaque hanging high on the gate with two vigorous and powerful words. Large characters:

"House"

The door was not closed. The two gatekeepers, Zhao Si and Wang Wu, saw Hou Yucheng and knew what was going on. They hurried forward to greet the four of them. Especially when they saw Hou Yuxiao, who was leading the way, a smile appeared on his face. Excited.

"Master, we just received word that you were back. We thought it was false news!"

"Uncle Zhao, Uncle Wang!"

A slight smile appeared on Hou Yuxiao's thin face. Zhao, Si, Wang and Wu are now in their 40s. They are all at the sixth level of cultivation. They were brought into the family when Hou Tong was the head of the family in the early years and have served in the Hou Mansion for more than 20 years. , can be regarded as the old man of the Hou family.

He is only 25 years old this year, and the youngest, Lao Wu, is only 20 years old. It can be said that the five brothers and sisters grew up under the watch of Zhao, Si, Wang and Wu, and the two parties have already developed some feelings for each other.

With a sixth-level cultivation level, he could be considered a minor master in a small place like Zhaoyang County. Hou Yuxiao had long proposed to let the two of them take up other family positions, but both of them had sworn in front of Hou Tong that they would stay together for the rest of their lives. For the reason of being a gatekeeper for the Hou family, she declined him several times, so Hou Yuxiao had no choice but to give up.

Zhao Si looked at Xiao Hong behind the two of them, and his eyes suddenly froze. He stepped forward and touched a handful of fiery red hair. After confirming it, he praised it.

"Hey, Lie Zong, tsk tsk... This is not an ordinary thing. The Patriarch is lucky to be able to get such a good thing!"

Hou Yuxiao grinned lightly and said with a smile: "Uncle Zhao, go find someone to pull this strong mane to the backyard. In addition, lock these two people into the west wing first, and find someone to watch them day and night. Don't let them escape." !”

The two nodded and hurriedly ordered others to do it.

Hou Yuxiao took Hou Yucheng into the mansion and headed to the main hall.

The entire Hou Mansion covers an area of ​​about [-] square meters. According to the layout of east, west, south, north and center, the five areas belong to the five brothers and sisters. Xueyang Garden on the east side is the residence of the fourth Hou Yujie, and Yaxiang Garden on the west side is the residence of Yu Duan, the fifth Hou. , the second eldest Hou Yucheng lives in Handao Yuan in the south, and Hehuan Yuan in the north is the residence of Hou Yuling, the third eldest and the only female among the five Hou family sons.

In addition to being Hou Yuxiao's own residence, the middle area also plays many family functions, such as the family's main hall, the meeting hall, the Hou Men's main hall, and even the family's treasure house, are all located in this location.

The two walked into the main hall of the family. Hou Yuxiao was sitting at the head of the throne. Two divine lights, one black and one white, flashed in his pupils. A black and white lotus with twelve petals appeared between his eyebrows. Under the divine light, his whole body began to change.

The short body of less than five feet seemed to be pulled by an unknown force, and it continued to lengthen until it reached about five and a half feet before gradually stopping.

The lean body began to bulge, and the thin and pointed face gradually became plump and normal, but after a while, a handsome face with a knife and an ax slowly emerged.

Hou Yuxiao's body changed, and his whole temperament also underwent a big change.

Black vertical hair, slanting handsome eyebrows, star-like eyes, slender and sharp, combined with that handsome face, the whole person is like an extraordinary sword. Fortunately, Wearing a green robe and a slight smile that often tucks at the corner of his mouth, his sharpness has been slightly reduced and he has become more soft.

If there are outsiders here, they will definitely sigh, the title of Jade Man with Thousand Faces is really correct.

Hou Yuxiao's face is indeed worthy of this title.

Although he had seen his eldest brother Hou Yuxiao transform many times, Hou Yucheng still had a look of surprise in his eyes. If the disguises widely rumored by the outside world were so magical, the world would have been in chaos long ago.

"I've been away for more than a month. How have the other three families reacted?"

After hearing Hou Yuxiao's words, Hou Yucheng pondered for a moment and said: "The people from the Qinglang Gang and Happy Forest are starting to target us in the Nanling mining area, and the people from Feiyingmen are targeting us in the herb mining area. People, Hou Men has lost more than 30 brothers in more than a month!"

Hou Yuxiao suddenly frowned and asked, "It started from the day I left home?"

"That's right, the four of us are the only ones who know the news about your going out. It should not be leaked out, but for some reason, the three families knew it right away. After thinking about it, there should be only one reason!"

Hou Yuxiao sneered, raised his head and said, "Ren Feng?"

Hou Yucheng nodded, with a hint of indignation on his face: "The eldest brother transformed and left Zhaoyang. It is impossible for the four of us to leak the news. Then only the county government knew about it through Lu Yin. That old man Ren Feng You thing, after receiving so much money from our Hou family, they actually teamed up with three other companies to deal with us!"

Speaking of which, Ren Feng has been the leader of Zhaoyang County for almost 20 years. He was in Zhaoyang County when his father Hou Tong was in charge of the family. During these 20 years, the Hou family gave him money one after another. 10 taels, not to mention that when Hou Tong died two years ago, Hou Yuxiao almost gave away all the Hou family's property in order to make a living.

Not to mention that he received these benefits, Hou Yuxiao was at least his adopted son. After Hou Tong's death, Ren Feng did not provide any help, not to mention that he almost added insult to injury. If Hou Yuxiao hadn't cut off his wrist and used the money that the Hou family had saved for many years. If you bribe him, he might have joined forces with the three families to deal with you.

Only two years have passed, and the Hou family has just relaxed a little. This Ren Feng is actually together with the three families. No wonder Hou Yucheng is so angry.

Hou Yuxiao didn't have much unexpected emotion. He just sneered and said: "If he can collect money from our Hou family, he can naturally collect money from the other three families. I'm not afraid of such a villain. No matter how much he charges me, sooner or later he will get it." Let him spit it out one day with profit!"

Having said that, Hou Yuxiao still felt quite stressed.

Hou Tongshen died two years ago. He continued to instigate relations between the three families, which allowed the Hou family to survive. But in the final analysis, the most critical part was the support of the county official Ren Feng. Now Ren Feng is also involved with the three families. If they go together, the Hou family will be in danger.

Although in the past two years, Hou Yuxiao has developed the family's industry and established the Hou clan's armed forces. The strength of the Hou clan has made great progress. However, if you want to win against three forces at the same time, plus the county leader Ren Feng, you have to win. It's absolutely impossible.

"How is Hou Men's strength now?"

Hou Yucheng shook his head and said: "The time is too short. At present, the Shanghou Sect has only established the Kui tribe. Apart from the dragon leader Hou Fei, there are only thirty people.

Xiahoumen is also much worse. Although the twelve stalls have been built, there are not that many people downstairs. Currently, there is only one fully equipped stall, the Zi Shu stall, and the other eleven stalls are all empty. Yes, but not that many people.

Although the total number of Hou Clan members has exceeded one thousand, the number of warriors is only 198. If we want to completely complete the Hou Clan's organizational structure, I am afraid that recruiting all the warriors from Zhaoyang County will not be enough. "

Hou Yuxiao could probably guess these situations, so he was not surprised to hear them.

He founded Hou Men a year ago. When Hou Tong was the head of the family, the armed forces of the Hou family were relatively loose, and the supply of martial arts training was not accurate. After becoming the head of the family, he took advantage of the situation and founded Hou Men.

The Houmen is divided into upper and lower gates, each based on the heavenly stems and earthly branches.

Shanghoumen is divided into ten heavenly stems, with ten branches: A, B, B, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren and Gui. Each branch has a leader and has fifty people under its jurisdiction.

Xiahoumen is divided into twelve earthly branches, including rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. There are 100 people in each stall, led by the stall head.

According to his original expectation, Hou Men, as the strongest military organization in the family, would have to keep away warriors with at least fifth level of cultivation. However, Zhaoyang County is still a small place, and even after searching for warriors, he could not find such warriors. There are many people, so the standard can only be lowered.

Currently, for the top ten Heavenly Stems of the Shanghoumen, the cultivation level must be above the eighth level of Kaishen. Ordinary tribesmen must have the third level or above of Kaishen. However, for the twelve earthly branches of the Lower Houmen, the cultivation level must be above the Kaishen level. Above the sixth level, ordinary members only need to open the first level.

I just didn’t expect such a low standard. At present, Shanghoumen has only established one Kui branch, and the staff is not yet full. Lower Houmen has only one full stall, and the other eleven stalls are available, including the lower branch. There are not that many people.

Seeing the frustration on Hou Yucheng's face, Hou Yuxiao asked with a smile: "Why, you promised to build Houmen back then, but now you find it difficult?"

"It's indeed a bit difficult. The key is that Zhaoyang County is too small and there aren't that many warriors!"

"That's at present. What if our Hou family's sphere of influence expands to the county or even the mansion in the future? At that time, do you still think that there are too few warriors?"

After hearing this, Hou Yucheng's face cheered up slightly.

"It is reasonable to have some setbacks due to the incomplete system at present, but we should not belittle ourselves. If you compare the three groups of rabble-rousers, the Green Wolf Gang, Happy Forest, and Flying Eagle Gate, you will know how strong we are!"

Hou Yucheng really nodded and said with a smile: "The total number of warriors in the three families is less than [-]. Our Hou family has almost [-], and Ren Feng is also with us now." The three of them are mixed together. In the end, they are not afraid of our strength."

"Go on and do your work. I'm going to retreat to understand the Yuan Gang Pearl these days. If I'm provoked again, I don't have to hold back. The more tolerant I am, the more these jackals will take advantage of me. That old man Ren Feng is messing around in Zhaoyang. He has been eating and waiting for death for more than 20 years, and when he is about to die, he still wants to do some tricks. Don’t worry...he won’t be able to jump around for much longer!”

Hearing that Hou Yuxiao was going to comprehend the Yuangang Pearl, Hou Yucheng's face was filled with excitement. He respectfully stood up and left to go about his own business.

(End of this chapter)