Elaine nodded to Fane's reminder and chimed in, "That's right. You can’t eat too much!"
"Oh, dear... This meat smells so good, but w e can’t eat too much of it," grumbled Ben as he swallowed his saliva.
"Everybody, come and take your seats. There's no need for any formalities!" Fane smiled and said to the masters of the branch families. "We're all members of the Woods family and, by right, makes us one whole family. Everybody must enjoy themselves when we drink later, alright?"
"Yes, yes! Young Master is correct!" Everybody sat down smiling and started drinking.
After a while, Fane turned to Lancelot and
said, "By the way, Lancelot, is everything alright within the branch families? Let me know if there's anything to be done. I’m not very familiar with the situation among the branch families."
Lancelot opened his mouth as he hesitated to speak openly, and he instinctively glanced at the other branch family masters.
They looked like they wanted to speak but were afraid to do so.
Chad, the old man with white hair, also nodded. "Yes, we only needed to send in fifty percent of what we got in the beginning, but it gradually increased to sixty or seventy percent in recent years. W e didn't complain about anything, but several months ago, they increased our requirement to eighty percent. If we’re lucky enough to get a hundred spirited grass, we need to give eighty pieces to the main family and can only keep the remaining twenty for ourselves!"
"You had to hand in that much?” Fane's face darkened when he heard this-that went too far. After all, these people from the branch families risked their lives and went into the forest to find spirited grass and food, yet the main family only allowed them to keep 20 percent of what they obtained. The grievance in their hearts would only deepen if this continued.
Fane thought about it before he solemnly asked, "Does my father know about this?”
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