Everyone craned their necks to look and saw that the two letters were addressed to the head of the family and the descendants of the Gao and Xiao clans, respectively.
Xiao Jue immediately handed the letter addressed to the head of the family back to Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan took the letter, tore it open, and read the words. The handwriting was messy, unrestrained, and casual. The two simple sentences read: "The fact that you can read this letter proves you are a qualified head of the family, skilled in both literature and martial arts. I hope that the Gao and Xiao clans will continue to prosper under your leadership, producing many talented individuals and enjoying a flourishing family."
Lu Yuan's lips twitched. So all those mechanical boxes, the way they opened, and the mechanisms at the entrance were tests for the head of the family. If you were capable, you could enter the treasure chamber; if you weren't, you'd be riddled with holes and sent down to keep the ancestors company.
That's really ruthless!
The other letter was much more formal, and the handwriting was quite different. The beautiful running script made it feel like appreciating a masterpiece by a great calligrapher.
Upon seeing the words, Xiao Jue first sighed before loudly proclaiming, "We, the descendants of the Gao and Xiao clans, should know that this place is a secret treasure chamber. This wealth is accumulated over generations and is intended to protect the prosperity of our family."
This letter is left to clarify the method of distribution: ninety percent of the wealth shall be placed in the hands of the head of the family, to be carried forward and developed when the time is right, without any slackening; the ancestral graves and ancestral halls shall be repaired, for these are the foundation of the family and shall not be neglected, in order to honor our ancestors and pass on the family spirit.
The remaining 10% will be divided equally among all households to help improve their livelihoods. Anyone who is disloyal, unfilial, unkind, or unjust may be expelled from the clan and will not be allowed to enjoy any family legacy.
May future generations live in harmony, and remember never to let wealth cause discord and lead to family division…
After the reading, the secret room fell silent, and everyone's hearts were filled with turmoil.
The Lu family of four felt relieved. With the letter left by the old man, they were spared the trouble of figuring out how to divide the property. If everyone agreed, all would be well; if not, there would be another uproar.
Now everyone has no choice but to follow the arrangements of our ancestors.
Xiao Jue folded the letter again and handed it to Lu Yuan, saying, "Our ancestor has considered things very carefully. If we do as instructed in the letter, our Gao and Xiao families will surely prosper under the leadership of our heads!"
"Yes, it will get better and better!"
The others nodded in agreement.
Lu Yuan took the letter, raised an eyebrow, and thought, "This eldest cousin of the Xiao family is a promising talent. Hmm, he can be given special attention in the future."
"Since our ancestors left behind letters, I have nothing more to say. This is not only a huge fortune, but also an opportunity for the development of the Gao and Xiao families, as well as a heavy responsibility."
He folded the letter and handed it to his wife. "To be honest, I only took on this responsibility because of my parents. You know my abilities; I can achieve wealth and status entirely through my own efforts."
Everyone nodded in agreement; having witnessed his abilities, they knew this was indeed true.
"Yes, yes, no one in our family can match your abilities as head of the family. From now on, we will follow your arrangements for family affairs. We hope that you can lead our two clans to prosperity in the future," Gao Shengyao said.
Lu Yuan nodded slightly, "Since I have taken on this responsibility, I will do my best. Although I have 90% of the treasure in my hands, this is the foundation for development. I will distribute the profits generated in the future to everyone, and I will also focus on cultivating those who are capable."
"Alright, alright, I'll follow the head of the family's arrangements."
With Lu Yuan's words, they felt reassured and content.
"However, the timing is not right now. We will have to wait at least ten years before we dare to make any big moves. As for distributing profits to you, that is not possible for the time being."
"It's alright, we understand all of this."
After everything that needed to be said was made clear, everyone began to count the treasure.
They thought that the ten percent divided equally among each household wouldn't be much, but when they finally saw the ten percent of the property that their ancestors had separated and piled up, everyone's mouths practically popped out of their sockets.
One-tenth of his assets consisted of one box of gold, five boxes of silver, and three boxes of various jewelry.
This isn't your average small box; it's a genuine sandalwood box, about the size of a 20-inch suitcase.
The box contained gold bricks, gold bars, large yellow croakers, and small yellow croakers, totaling approximately 200 jin (100 catties).
Even if gold is only worth five or six yuan per gram now, this box would still be worth five or six hundred thousand yuan.
In this day and age, what does 500,000 or 600,000 yuan mean? Households with 10,000 yuan are extremely rare, and ordinary workers only earn 20 or 30 yuan a month. For them, several hundred thousand yuan is an astronomical figure. Moreover, the truly valuable items aren't the gold, but the jade ornaments in that box of jewelry; any one of them will be worth at least several hundred thousand or even millions in the future.
Lu Yuan was also pleasantly surprised. In addition to gold and jewelry, the remaining 90% also contained many antiques and paintings, which were priceless and incalculable. The most valuable items were the boxes of books and the handwritten notes passed down from generation to generation by the leaders of the Gao and Xiao clans. These were the crystallization of wisdom and the summary of experience.
It covers all walks of life, including medicine, mechanical arts, divination, and even martial arts.
Lu Yuan asked Xiao Jue to register the one-tenth allocated to everyone, and to record exactly how much each household received.
Allocation by household is the easiest thing to do. Currently, there are only six households: Gao Weishan, Gao Zhihai, Xiao Shengming, and the three brothers Gao Shengyao.
Lu Yuan thought for a moment and said, "The daughters of the Gao family and the Xiao family who have married out should also be included, as part of their dowry."
Although everyone was somewhat reluctant, they readily agreed.
"I will follow the arrangements of the head of the family."
Lu Yuan then added three more households: two were Gao Shengyao's two younger sisters, and the other was Xiao Biyun's aunt.
This increased the number of households from 6 to 9.
Lu Yuan first divided the gold equally, which was easy; he divided it into nine equal parts according to the number of pieces. Each family received approximately 25 jin (12.5 catties) of gold.
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