The Fire Clan is located on the island in the middle of the lake on the unnamed lake, less than five miles away from the outer city of Luofei City in the north, and there is a long bridge connecting the outer city.

Crossing the long bridge and entering the fire clan, you can see a majestic iron pear wood inlaid gold tower towering near the end of the long bridge.

A ten-zhang wide fiery red sand avenue runs straight across the island in the middle of the lake from north to south.

On both sides of the avenue, there are nearly 10,000 single-family houses.

In the middle of the Fire Clan, there is a huge square paved with rare meteorite gold, which has been expanded step by step for thousands of years, covering an area of ten hectares.

The meteorite is indestructible, and the energy protection net around the square is the strongest arena in the world that is least likely to cause collateral damage.

At the north end of the square is a magnificent Yuanjing platform of more than 200 square meters.

The dazzling golden glow and the crystal light of the stage reflect each other, which is very easy to introduce people's thoughts into a world outside the world that is also dreamy and illusory.

The Huo clan was already prominent in the capital a hundred years ago, and it was even more prosperous after Huo Feng became the patriarch.

At that time, the island in the middle of the lake was full of guests and guests. The royal dignitaries who are as close as Miyagi, and the top powerhouses of the hidden world as far as the Luoxia Mountains and the Pomp Plateau, are especially fond of visiting the Fire Clan.

As for the cultivators of the thousands of sects in the capital and other counties, they were all proud to be the guests of the Fire Clan, and they came every day to admire them.

There are even many young scholars and young masters who live on the island in the middle of the lake all the year round, and they want to touch the "fairy energy" here.

The wealthy and strong Huo clan is not only hospitable, but also has the golden sign of Huo Feng, who is in his thirties and is the pinnacle of the Yuanzai, which is naturally the place where the strong in the world return to their hearts.

Nowadays, the scenery of Huoshi is no more, few outsiders enter the island in the middle of the lake, the former flaming red avenue full of pedestrians, now it has become extremely deserted, and the developed catering and hotel industry has been a depression.

The whole clan only left the majestic archway and the glittering meteorite square and other luxurious empty shelves, silently telling the past glory of the Huo clan in the loneliness.

For the first time in ten years, the Huo clan held a clan meeting, and everyone felt that it was fresh, so no one wanted to be absent.

Except for those who can't get out of bed and can't move their nests, or those who are seriously ill, more than 20,000 adult men and women over the age of 18 in the clan gathered in the Meteorite Square, waiting for the acting patriarch Huo Jing to announce the latest news in public.

"Is what the Acting Patriarch is going to say today about a happy event or a bad thing?" Glancing at the plain skirt woman beside her, a middle-aged man asked in a nervous whisper.

The woman in the plain skirt pursed her lips and said angrily: "Happy event? That was ten years ago, don't dream! ”

The scenery and decency of the past are still in the remaining memories, so the people of the Fire Clan are quite particular about dressing, and none of them are disheveled.

However, there are more than 20,000 people, except for those on the stage, there are few brightly dressed people.

Since the first year of Kangjing, the clothing business has been worse than a year, and the amount of dividends has been decreasing year by year at the speed of light.

More than 10,000 families are counting on more than 6,000 young men and women working in the garment shop to support their families.

The people of the Fire Clan, who gnawed on the old book and a silver coin and longed to be used as five flowers, still cared about decency, and all of them were dressed simply, but they were also neat and clean.

The five people sitting on the stage looked a little out of place with everyone in the audience.

Huo Jing sat in the center, although he was dressed in a Yuanshi robe, but it was completely different from the decay in front of the iron lion, at this moment his face was cold, his eyes were deep, and his whole body was full of the charm of looking down on all beings, and he was majestic.

Huo Gang, the main Huo Gang of the East Fang, Huo Lie, the main Huo Lie of the South Fang, and the Huo Drama of the West Fang sat on both sides of Huo Jing, all four of them were fat, dressed in gorgeous brocade clothes, calmly drinking tea, and whispering a few words in their ears from time to time, all of them looked like successful businessmen.

In other words, ten years ago, among the powerhouses of the entire clan, only the patriarch Huo Feng was qualified to take the stage, and after taking the stage, Huo Feng had to stand and speak, without a seat.

Those who are qualified to sit on the stage are only five respected elders elected by the clan.

"If you want to think well, ask the elderly." This is the clan motto of the Fire Clan.

It's good now, the five elders are still alive, but they are old and standing under the stage, looking at the fire on the stage, watching the four owners drinking tea and chatting with all their eyes.

Peak Yuanzai Huofeng didn't dare to sit and talk to his clansmen, but Nine-Duan Yuanshi Huojing dared!

Back then, Yuanzai and Yuanjue didn't dare to take the stage at will, but now the four layman owners dare, and they sit safely and comfortably!

In the past ten years, Huo's has been circulating a touching story: the Ducheng Yifang market has been disrupted by a mysterious and powerful force, and Huo's exclusive operation has become full competition among multiple parties, and profits have continued to be diluted.

If it weren't for the hard work of the patriarch Huo Jing and several owners, the Huo family's clothing industry would have gone bankrupt, and tens of thousands of people surnamed Huo, regardless of men, women and children, would have to drink the northwest wind.

This story has been told again and again, brainwashing the listeners again and again, and constantly reinforcing their memories, so that the people have formed a certain sense of piety, in their eyes, except for the patriarch and a few owners, including the five elders, everyone else is useless people who rely on people to feed themselves and eat dry food.

Therefore, the status of the acting patriarch and several owners has been infinitely raised, not to mention sitting on a high platform and talking to the clansmen, even if they enjoy the privileged treatment of the emperor of the soil, one day riding on the neck of others to give orders, the clansmen do not seem to object.

"Ahem!"

Huo Jing coughed, obviously about to speak.

Trying his best to straighten his back, Huo Jing's eyebrows were towering, and he looked like he was heartbroken for the clan affairs, and said in a deep voice:

"In the past, I and several owners worked day and night, trying our best to shoulder the burden of feeding tens of thousands of people in the whole clan, and we didn't want any of them to worry about their livelihood.

But now that the fate of the garment industry is on the verge of despair, it is time for everyone to face the great changes that the Fire Clan has not encountered for thousands of years. ”

When the words fell, everyone in the audience was worried, but no one was shocked.

The ten-year decay process is like boiling frogs in warm water, and they have already left an imprint on the fate of Huo's clothing workshop in their minds:

East, south, west, north, middle five squares, four squares long-term losses, only the north side profits, offset, Huo's clothing workshop can only barely protect the capital, if you want to hold on, keep the sunrise of Yunkai, not to say that it is impossible, but the hope of running is really slim.

Tens of thousands of people naturally know that Beiyifang, which has been profitable in the past, has now suffered huge losses, and it is not surprising that the Huo's clothing workshop industry is finally on the verge of despair, but the slim hope is completely dashed.

Few people wonder: how can you lose money running a garment shop in Lofe City, a megacity with a population of more than 50 million?

After years of blinding and brainwashing, the clansmen can be said to have collectively reduced their wisdom and their ignorance has taken deep roots.

A few people who are smart and dare to question have disappeared one after another, and the last clansman who often questioned the patriarch Huo Jing was Huo Jue, the owner of Beifang, who was both powerful and upright.

But it's been a month, Huo Jue doesn't know where he went, and he didn't show up at today's clan meeting, although everyone was suspicious of this, but Huo Jing didn't mention it, and the clansmen were used to not taking the initiative to ask.

It's not that there are no people who don't understand at all, such as the five elders, who don't believe like "the clothing industry is on the verge of a desperate situation", but they can't keep their voices.

In the past ten years, the old man who once had a transcendent status was first scolded by the acting patriarch Huo Jing, and then by the owners of the eastern, southern, western, and middle four squares.

The five elders were forced to remain silent, otherwise, how loud their doubts were, how fierce the humiliating counterattack launched by the Acting Patriarch and several owners would be.

With his hand stroking his thin chin, a dark face that was not angry but threatening, Huo Jing said loudly: "I have repeatedly summed up with several owners, and I have contacted the Tie family many times, and I plan to ask the Tie family to take over the Huo family's clothing shop completely.

Tie promised that after they took over, none of the Huo owners, store managers, and clerks who originally worked in Wufang would not be reduced, not only would they not reduce their staff, but they also promised to increase the salaries of the owners, store managers, and clerks by two percent. ”

Hearing this, those clansmen who have families working in the clothing shop finally took a reassuring pill.

In these years, as long as there is a bowl of rice to eat, you will be content!

Those who have no family to work in the clothing shop can't help but feel unbalanced in their hearts.

The middle-aged man who was standing beside the woman in the plain skirt before had the courage to ask, "Acting Patriarch, the Fire Clan's five squares have nearly two hundred stores under their jurisdiction, and the Tie Clan should always pay a lot of consideration for the transfer of this huge industry, right?" Distributing that money to every family will be enough for us to eat for many years. ”

"Boom, dream!" Nanfang's owner Huo Chuang's face sank, and he reprimanded sharply: "The clothing shop has been losing money for many years, and it has long been insolvent, if the Tie family can agree to take over, the Huo family should be thankful, and you still want a consideration?" I think you've eaten too much and been blinded by lard!

Debt is rigid, if no one takes over, what will be paid? Hmph, pull you to the downtown price and sell it, and see how many silver coins you can sell! ”

The middle-aged man blushed and said embarrassedly, "I just asked, and I didn't take it seriously." ”

"That's it." Huo Jing waved his hand to signal Huo Chuangbei to continue to make trouble, and said with a relaxed expression: "The Tie clan is quite generous, in addition to promising not to reduce the staff of the clothing workshop, he also promised to find a career for the young men and women who are idle at home for the Huo clan, if it were not for this, I and a few owners would not be ruthless to hand over the clothing workshop industry." ”

I heard that the young men and women who were idle at home had something to do in the future and a way to live, and the people in the audience were a little at ease, and no one raised any objections.

Seeing that the clan assembly was going much smoother than expected, Huo Jing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, put his hands around his chest, glanced at the five elders warningly, and raised his voice:

"The current Huo Clan, cultivation is small, eating is big, in my opinion, those dozen Yuan Shao, nearly 100 Yuan Zhi should still drop out of school and go home, no matter how much cultivation is difficult to achieve!

Without the support of the industry, the Huo clan has no financial resources to support Yuan Shao and Yuan Zhi, if they want to continue to cultivate, they can do it, but in the future, their families can only pay for it themselves! ”

As soon as these words came out, the buzzing discussion in the audience suddenly sounded.

Don't look at the current Yuan Shao and Yuan Zhi only need to spend a mere ten silver coins per month for living expenses, which is not a big burden, but the cultivation resources they usually consume are expensive, and all the cultivation expenses are shared by the five clans per capita.

Without the support of the clan, only one family alone bears the expensive cost of resources, and the entire Huo clan is afraid that no family has the financial resources.

Moreover, once Yuan Shao is promoted to a Yuan Shi and a strong man, the required cultivation resources will be upgraded all the way, and if he does not invest a large amount of silver coins, he will not be able to go on the road of the strong.

How could a small family afford the massive amount of silver coins needed for cultivation?

Whispered for a while, those adults who have children are young or naïve no longer speak, although they are unwilling, but they weigh it again and again, and they can only give up.

There were more than 20,000 people in the audience, and except for the fire twist, no second person dared to speak out against it.

The only opponent, Huo Twist, also seemed to lack confidence when he spoke: "Uncle Jing, no matter how difficult the Huo Clan is, for the sake of the long-term future of the clan, you should grit your teeth and support Yuan Shao and Yuan Zhi to continue to cultivate!" ”

Squinting at the decaying fire twist under the stage, Huo Jing snorted coldly: "You are teaching in the Yuan Shaoyuan Courtyard in peace and stability, naturally the wind can't blow the rain or get wet, and you don't have to worry about the livelihood of the clansmen."

Can I, the shopkeepers, be as idle as you? What are we thinking about as far-reaching as yours? Hey, what a big joke! ”

Huo Twist looked embarrassed, and hurriedly retreated into the crowd, hanging his head to avoid Huo Jing's gaze.

Huo Jing got up from his seat, put his hands behind his back, and glanced at everyone in the audience with cold eyes, seeing that except for the five elderly people with expressionless faces, and a few young clerks with different expressions, the others all hung their heads in disobedience, and a satisfied smile gradually appeared on Huo Jing's sallow face.

When his gaze touched the dozen or so figures slowly approaching from the cracks in the people, and touched the face that was set off by a black robe, he suddenly changed color, and his heart sank.