So, it had been seven days since the last family meeting.

These seven days seemed particularly peaceful, but beneath the calm surface, there seemed to be an undercurrent of something big brewing.

Qin Ruqing acted as if nothing was going on.

After drafting a series of shocking reform policies for the family, she went back to her own busy activities.

She had a breakthrough in her cultivation that needed consolidating, so she meditated for three days.

After coming out of seclusion, she started supervising Tang Zifeng in refining magical items.

The materials he needed had already been provided, so Qin Ruqing kept an eye on him as he crafted two types of spirit bracelets.

She often teased him, saying:

“You know you’re an unregistered member in the Qin family, right?”

“You need to finish crafting the bracelets quickly so the ancestor can help you get an official position at the next family meeting. Maybe even make you a guest elder!”

While Qin Ruqing nagged, Tang Zifeng focused on polishing a piece of Xuanxing Iron on the workbench.

He worked meticulously and calmly, without rushing.

He had been repeating the same motion for an hour.

After Qin Ruqing finished speaking, he paused and looked at her seriously, “I don’t want to be a guest elder.”

Qin Ruqing raised an eyebrow and smirked, “So, you still want to manage the pill room?”

Tang Zifeng responded, “Anything is fine, even being an unregistered member, as you said.”

Qin Ruqing tilted her head and teased, “What’s this? Has Elder Tang changed his mind? Didn’t you want to be a mysterious expert and manage the pill room back in the Zhang family? Why do you seem so lazy now that you’re in the Qin family?”

Qin Ruqing’s head was tilted upward as she spoke, her almond-shaped eyes slightly upturned, making her look both innocent and a bit seductive.

Tang Zifeng met her gaze, pressed his lips together, and replied in a flat tone, “You exposed my identity, so I can’t maintain the mysterious expert image anymore.” This answered her first question.

“Though I don’t know what ‘lazy fish’ means, since I’ve already verbally agreed to cooperate with the Qin family, there’s no need for other tactics.” He answered the second question properly.

His serious and straightforward answers were amusing, and Qin Ruqing indeed laughed.

She smiled and said, “So, we agreed to your terms too early, making you slack off… How about providing a few more spirit tool designs?”

Tang Zifeng took a step back, realizing her true intention for coming to him today.

It wasn’t surprising; this was just the kind of thing she would do.

He silently turned his head and resumed polishing the Xuanxing Iron.

This action meant he was refusing to provide more designs.

Qin Ruqing moved her face closer, “Hey, you don’t want to? Is it that you don’t want to or you don’t have any more designs? You must have more, right?”

Tang Zifeng avoided her gaze, keeping his head down, and said while working, “Don’t try to trick me. We agreed on only two designs before.”

Qin Ruqing nodded, “Got it, so you do have more designs.”

Tang Zifeng sighed and stopped responding, clearly unwilling to engage with her anymore.

Seeing him like this made Qin Ruqing laugh.

She said, “Hey, when you wore that mask before… You don’t even need to wear a mask. Your real facial expressions aren’t much different from the mask. There’s a term for people like you – ‘face paralysis,’ you know that?”

Tang Zifeng pressed his lips together and remained silent.

Seeing that he was ignoring her, Qin Ruqing got bored and started watching his hands.

This guy really had patience; he’d been polishing that little iron piece for almost half a day without changing his posture.

As she watched, she realized the scene was quite beautiful.

His fair, slender fingers were well-proportioned and glistened, looking like jade pebbles polished by spring rain.

Qin Ruqing, usually someone who favored a silly and playful style, didn’t have much of an artistic side.

If she had to describe it, Tang Zifeng’s stance reminded her of a science student in a white lab coat, fiddling with test tubes and beakers, only here it was small iron pieces and jade rings…

After watching for a while, Qin Ruqing couldn’t help but compliment, “Your hands are quite good-looking.”

The ancient, unchanging polishing motion suddenly trembled, causing the yet-to-be-formed Xuanxing Iron to bend.

Qin Ruqing noticed the disturbance, thinking she had distracted him.

Regretting that she had failed to get more designs today, she patted him on the shoulder and said, “Alright, I know I’m disturbing your crafting. I’ll leave now. There’s something big happening in our family these days, so I’ll come back to find you later. If you need anything, use the communication jade to contact me.”

Without waiting for his response, she walked out in a few steps.

Tang Zifeng silently watched Qin Ruqing’s back as she left, then turned his head to look at the bent Xuanxing Iron in his hand.

He pressed his lips together, discarded the ruined piece, picked up a new one, and resumed his work.

And so, another day passed.

That day, Qin Ruqing suddenly received a message: “Zhang Xiao is dead!”

This Zhang family Ancestor, after being crippled by their own ancestor, finally couldn’t withstand the family’s internal strife and passed away.

The person who brought the news to Qin Ruqing was Qin Deming.

He rushed over late at night, and his first words were this.

Qin Ruqing was momentarily stunned, then, after calculating the time, she calmly nodded and said, “He deserved to die.”

If Hao Gou hadn’t made any substantial progress after all this time, she would have had to reconsider whether to give him next month’s antidote.

Zhang Xiao’s death was a step forward, and getting him to become the clan leader would be another.

Qin Ruqing stepped aside, “Dad, come in and talk.”

Father and daughter sat at the table in the room. Qin Deming, looking quite serious, asked, “Are you and the ancestor determined to implement your reform plan?”

Qin Ruqing casually nodded, “Yes!”

Her hands seemed restless, grabbing a cup and rolling it in her hands as she spoke, “The Qin family has reached a point where reform is necessary. Previously, the Qin family was weak, the clan treasury wasn’t full, and we were under a lot of pressure.

Being cautious and conservative was the right approach.

But now, the Qin family has clearly become stronger. If we continue with the old ways, the clan members will gradually lose their edge and their drive!”

In fact, this trend was already appearing in the Qin family.

“That’s why the ancestor and I have long agreed that the Qin family must change!” Qin Ruqing raised her eyes, her tone calm yet sharp.

Qin Deming, hearing his daughter’s firm tone, knew the decision was made.

He sighed, “Actually, the Qin family’s current development path is…”

“…related to me becoming the clan leader. This was also the directive of the previous clan leader!”

“The previous clan leader, my father, your grandfather and the Ancestor Wenxuan’s brother, Qin Wenfeng, left a final message before his death: the Qin family must lie low and cultivate, avoiding reckless actions at all costs!”

Qin Ruqing was sharp and immediately understood the implications.

Setting aside why the previous clan leader gave such a final message, from her father’s words, it seemed his position as clan leader had some underlying reasons.

Qin Ruqing smirked and probed, “So, Dad, your becoming the clan leader also has something to do with this, right? Because your personality aligns with the family’s development strategy?”

In essence, it wasn’t that her father had made the Qin family cautious and stable; it was that the previous clan leader had set a conservative and low-profile path for the family’s future, hence choosing the relatively mild (weak) eldest son, Qin Deming, as the clan leader.

Imagine if her second uncle had become the clan leader.

With his personality, what would have become of the Qin family?

Would they have survived long enough for her system to awaken and start the family’s development?

Qin Deming choked up.

Being directly confronted by his daughter about his somewhat lucky rise to clan leader was certainly embarrassing.

He coughed lightly, put on a stern face, and defended, “That’s because I am steady. Otherwise, would the old clan leader have chosen me?”

Qin Ruqing laughed and nodded repeatedly.

It was enough teasing for now; after all, she still had to consider her father’s dignity.

They both knew the truth about this ‘steadiness.’

Qin Deming forcefully changed the topic, “You and the ancestor have reached an agreement… So, you’ve already decided on the new roles for the new industries?”

Qin Ruqing replied with a smile, “Yes, we have.”

“Then…”

“Hehe, it’s a secret! You’ll find out at the next clan meeting.”

Hearing this, Qin Deming swallowed his questions.

Judging by his daughter’s demeanor, their branch of the family should be getting a good position, right?

Qin Deming asked, “When will the next clan meeting be held?”

If the last clan meeting was relatively peaceful, the next one would be a real battle.

After all, it involved the distribution of benefits, and no one wanted to lose out.

Qin Ruqing narrowed her eyes and sharply said, “Tomorrow!”

With Zhang Xiao’s death, the Zhang family would be in complete chaos.

The Qin family had to make decisions quickly and take advantage of the Zhang family’s disarray to develop fully and achieve a significant leap ahead.

Thinking about it, Qin Ruqing felt a bit excited.

As expected, just as Qin Ruqing said, the ancestor called an emergency clan meeting the next day.

It had been nearly ten days since the last clan meeting.

During these ten days, the family members mainly considered two things: whether to implement the reforms and, if so, how to distribute the roles.

The ancestor had given the Qin family ample time to think (and struggle), showing great consideration.

Despite this, the Qin family members knew well enough, having spent so much time under the ancestor’s rule.

From the last clan meeting, where the ancestor remained silent and let Qin Ruqing, the little girl, stand on stage and talk endlessly with a scroll in hand, and her calm demeanor throughout, it was clear that Qin Ruqing and the ancestor had discussed it beforehand.

In other words, Qin Ruqing decision basically represented the opinion of the family Ancestor.

In fact, the Ancestor’s sudden idea of reform was likely prompted by the little girl Qin Ruqing behind the scenes!

Reform was necessary!

Today’s family meeting focused on job distribution, which was crucial for determining their positions within the family.

They had to fight for every inch and not give up any ground!

As usual, everyone sat neatly.

The Ancestor raised a hand, always calm and unperturbed, “It’s been ten days. You must have thought it over by now. Let’s hear your opinions!”

Qin Deming, usually known for being a slowpoke, was the first to speak, “I agree!”

With a serious expression, he said, “The Qin family has been weak for a long time.

We finally managed to hit back at our enemies and found a chance to catch our breath.

We must seize this opportunity to develop fully.

The previous development method is no longer suitable for our current situation and must be changed!

As the head of the Qin family, I am the first to support the family reform and support the Ancestor!”

After Qin Deming’s righteous speech, many people’s first reaction was to roll their eyes.

This old guy was still pretending.

He spoke as if he cared so much for the family, but it was clearly his daughter’s idea.

When it’s implemented, his family would benefit the most, so of course he agreed.

Though they complained in their hearts, they dared not show it.

Even though the little girl Qin Ruqing was annoying, what she said made a lot of sense.

This was indeed the best time for the Qin family to grow significantly.

Given the situation, no one could oppose it. So, one by one, they stepped forward to agree.

“I agree.”

“I agree too.”

“Haha, the head is right!”

Qin Dexin, who was always eager for progress, was happy to see the family making such a big change and would never oppose it.

Even Qin Dehao, who usually loved to argue with Qin Deming, didn’t object this time.

Seeing people looking at him in surprise, Qin Dehao remained unfazed.

Fighting with the main branch was one thing, but the development of the Qin family was another.

As a member of the Qin family, even if he hated the little girl Qin Ruqing, he knew that what she proposed was indeed beneficial for the family’s development.

Since it was beneficial, he wouldn’t act out of spite and block it.

He could tell the difference.

Instead, the third elder had a few more words to say, “Recruiting affiliate families and making a name for ourselves is indeed what our Qin family should do now.

However, dividing the pharmacy into three sections… I don’t oppose it, but I worry that changing everything at once might confuse the public and end up harming the Qin family.”