: Bring Ning Zhuo Home

Author: Gu Zhenren

Date: 2024-07-31

The young clan leader of the Ning family summoned Ning Ze again to inquire about the progress of his mission to contact Chuítiáokè.

Ning Ze braced himself and reported the situation.

*Thud!*

The young clan leader, Ning Xiaoren, was so furious that he grabbed an inkstone from the desk and hurled it violently.

The inkstone struck Ning Ze’s forehead, immediately drawing blood.

Ning Ze didn’t dare wipe it away. His legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees, wailing, “Young Clan Leader, it’s not that I didn’t try! I gave it my all, but that Chuítiáokè is utterly unyielding!”

“My abilities are insufficient. I truly cannot complete such a task.”

“Young Clan Leader, you overestimate me. I have neither the confidence nor the capability to handle such a matter.”

Ning Ze didn’t dare mention the incident with the Three Ghosts of the Huang family—it was entirely his own doing.

He had long wanted to abandon this mission. Since the situation had already deteriorated to the worst, he decided to lay his cards on the table and admit outright—he couldn’t do it!

“You… you… you!” The young clan leader trembled with rage, momentarily speechless at Ning Ze’s shamelessness.

He leaned back in his chair, panting heavily for a long time before finally waving his hand dismissively. “You can’t even handle such a simple task? Fine, I’ll assign it to someone else. Get out! The sight of a useless fool like you gives me a headache.”

Ning Ze hurriedly bowed and retreated, but as he reached the door, the young clan leader called him back.

“Wait!”

Ning Ze’s heart sank. He turned and bowed again. “What are your orders, Young Clan Leader?”

The young clan leader softened his tone. “I’ve seen the list for this year’s examination. Ning Zhuo is on it.”

“He ranked 31st. As his uncle, what do you have to say for yourself?”

Ning Ze forced a bitter smile. “Young Clan Leader, Ning Zhuo has been a constant source of worry for me.”

“The boy has grown up and thinks he can stand on his own. Yesterday, after the exam, he had a falling out with my wife and me.”

“Alas, perhaps it’s because he lost his parents at a young age, and we haven’t done enough for him. He’s become stubborn and reclusive. He’s adamant about not taking shortcuts or letting us pull strings for him—he says it would shame him.”

The young clan leader’s eyes narrowed. “Oh?”

“Ning Ze, you know very well: Ning Zhuo’s father, Ning Zhong, was your own younger brother and my savior. I promised him and his wife that I would take good care of Ning Zhuo and help him cultivate properly.”

“If the child doesn’t understand, shouldn’t you, as his elder, know better?”

Ning Ze hastily bowed. “Young Clan Leader, I understand your meaning. I will go back and try to persuade Ning Zhuo to change his mind.”

“Hmph!” The young clan leader waved his hand, issuing an ultimatum. “If you fail at this simple task as well, you will no longer be fit to serve as the procurement manager!”

Ning Ze felt as if a heavy stone were pressing on his chest. He returned home with a grim expression.

His wife, Wang Lan, gasped at the sight of him. “Husband, you’re injured!”

“The young clan leader struck me,” Ning Ze sighed.

Wang Lan gritted her teeth. “That Ning Xiaoren! If he’s so capable, why doesn’t he recruit Chuítiáokè himself? All he knows how to do is order others around.”

As she grumbled, she gently applied medicine to the wound on his forehead.

The pain made Ning Ze’s mouth twitch. He snorted coldly. “At least… I managed to pass that hot potato to someone else.”

“But Ning Xiaoren has given me another task to handle.”

“Ah, it’s about that troublesome Ning Zhuo!”

Ning Ze briefly explained the situation.

Upon hearing it, Wang Lan’s eyebrows shot up like a bristling cat. “What? Are we really going to spend money to pull strings and get him into the family business?”

“No, I won’t agree to it!”

“How much would that cost?”

“We’ve already raised him all these years. That was hard enough. Now we have to spend more money?”

Ning Ze sighed. “He lives at the academy with no tuition—just some living expenses. It’s hardly anything.”

“Besides, his mother left some money before she passed away.”

Wang Lan cried out, “Are you out of your mind? That money is ours!”

“Back then, when Ning Zhuo’s mother was on her deathbed, she took my hand and gave me that money.”

“You were there, and so were several other elders.”

“She made it clear—that money wasn’t for Ning Zhuo’s upbringing. It was a token of gratitude for us!”

“That money is rightfully ours. We can use it however we want.”

Ning Ze sneered. “Exactly. That’s why we can’t treat Ning Zhuo poorly.”

“I am, after all, his uncle. He ranked 31st. If I don’t make arrangements, it’ll reflect badly on me.”

Wang Lan clenched her teeth, her eyebrows furrowed in disagreement. “If you want to spend that much money, you might as well kill me first.”

“That ungrateful little brat and that greedy Ning Xiaoren deserve to die!”

“Husband, can’t you see? Ning Xiaoren is specifically bringing this up because he wants you to bribe him to get Ning Zhuo into the family business.”

“What kind of person is he? What are his intentions? Don’t you know?”

“He’s narrow-minded and heartless. A promise he makes today, he might conveniently forget tomorrow.”

“In the past, we thought having this connection would make things easier. But when we asked for his help, he either made excuses or demanded money.”

“To secure your position as procurement manager, how much did we have to pay him? Three times what others paid!”

“Now, he’s trying to extort us again using Ning Zhuo as an excuse.”

“Hah! If he really cared about the life debt, why has he never once shown concern for Ning Zhuo in all these years? If he truly wanted to repay the favor, he could’ve arranged for Ning Zhuo to enter the family business himself. He is the young clan leader, after all.”

“Hypocrite! What a hypocrite!”

Ning Ze sighed deeply. “Do you think I don’t know? He made it very clear—if I don’t seize this chance to flatter him and offer a bribe, he’ll strip me of my managerial position!”

Wang Lan was incredulous. “Husband, are you just going to give in? Let him extort us like this?”

“We have a son of our own.”

“Ning Ji also needs to cultivate. He needs resources too. What can we give him? We can’t even afford to buy him pastries from the Golden Meal Hall.”

Ning Ze’s face darkened. “Nonsense!”

“Even a senior manager can’t afford to eat Golden Thread Jade Dew Cakes as snacks.”

“Don’t rush me. Let me think this through carefully.”

Ning Ze was deeply resistant to the idea of spending money and pulling strings to get Ning Zhuo into the family business.

Unlike his wife, Wang Lan, his reluctance wasn’t about the money—it was about his pride.

Ning Zhuo had already fallen out with them and was being stubborn. Under these circumstances, if Ning Ze went out of his way to secure a good position for him, would he still be acting as an elder?

Wouldn’t that make him more like a servant?

(End of )