Chapter 90 - Borrowing People

Chapter 90: Chapter 84 Borrowing PeopleZhao Hanzhang: "Does father... know you did this intentionally?"

"Are you silly? Of course he can’t know," Mrs. Wang said, "These are little tricks among ladies, only we women should know. Don’t foolishly tell Fu Dalang."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "I definitely won’t tell him."

But the next day she still went to find Fu Tinghan.

Fu Tinghan handed her the drawn blueprint, "Based on your dictation, you can try to build a kiln and see."

Zhao Hanzhang: "Haven’t found craftsmen who can fire bricks?"

"Uncle Cheng said no."

Zhao Hanzhang felt a bit regretful, collected the blueprint and turned around, "Let’s go, take a look."

They planned to build the kiln near the clay; Uncle Cheng selected several strong men to accompany them. Zhao Hanzhang handed the blueprint to Uncle Cheng and asked, "Is there anyone who can read?"

Uncle Cheng brought out Hu Zhi.

Zhao Hanzhang remembered him, a refugee picked up along the way, "Can you understand the blueprint?"

Hu Zhi hesitated a bit, "Replying to Lady, I can read but have never seen a brick kiln nor recognize the drawings, so..."

Fu Tinghan took over the blueprint, "I’ll do it."

Zhao Hanzhang was pleased, "Thank you, Professor Fu."

Fu Tinghan glanced and immediately understood; she had long been waiting for him to speak up. He couldn’t help but smile, the warmth in his eyebrows, "I’ll try to build it for you, but the method for firing bricks is all text records. Neither you nor I have experience, nor do the people here, so the success is not guaranteed. If you want to succeed sooner, you have to find a way to invite some craftsmen."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Cheng immediately said, "Third Lady, most craftsmen serve in the government; outside the government, only some big families have craftsmen. It’s hard to find craftsmen outside, but if you return to Wu Castle for help..."

Zhao Hanzhang understood, aside from the government, Zhao’s Fortress also has craftsmen.

Zhao Hanzhang clenched her fingers, determined, "I’ll go back and write a letter to Fifth Uncle, you think about what gifts we should send."

Uncle Cheng: "Fifth Grandfather loves porcelain; I remember there’s a set of white porcelain cups in Lady’s dowry. Why not pick them out to send to Fifth Grandfather?"

Zhao Hanzhang glanced at him, "I lost all my dowry; do you think I can pull out a set of white porcelain now?"

"This..."

Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze fell on the wheat field not far away, thoughtful, "This wheat seems ready to harvest."

Uncle Cheng followed her gaze and was slightly stunned, "Third Lady wants to send this?"

Zhao Hanzhang waved her hand, "Have someone harvest this wheat; I want to send a bag of wheat to Fifth Uncle and let him taste the white flour from our manor."

Uncle Cheng silently agreed.

Fu Tinghan couldn’t help but ask, "Is the gift too thin?"

Zhao Hanzhang smiled, "The value of a gift lies in its suitability, not its thickness."

To show importance to Zhao Song and smoothly borrow craftsmen, Uncle Cheng personally took the gift to Xiping.

Following Zhao Hanzhang’s words, Uncle Cheng presented a bag of freshly harvested wheat, "This is the first cut of wheat harvested from the manor, cut personally by Third Lady. Lady believes this first cut should be given to Fifth Grandfather. Since they returned to Ru Nan, Third Lady and Second Son have relied heavily on Fifth Grandfather’s care. Third Lady is very grateful in her heart and thought of offering this first cut of wheat to Fifth Grandfather during harvest."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Song was delighted and quickly reached out to receive it. He grabbed a handful of wheat from the bag, seeing the plump grains made him even happier, "I understand her filial piety. Are they doing well in Shangcai? Have they encountered any difficulties?"

Uncle Cheng respectfully replied, "Pretty good, the summer harvest is about to start. It looks like this year’s crop will be fine; Third Lady has arranged all the people she brought on the estate."

He said, "There are quite a few fields in Shangcai, but new refugee long-term laborers can be arranged. However, Third Lady is compassionate and doesn’t want them living in straw houses, so she wants to build houses for them."

Uncle Cheng looked embarrassed and said, "But the refugees we’ve taken in are strong, yet they don’t know how to do the craftsman work like firing bricks and building houses."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Song said, "Third Lady’s good heart is correct. In times of chaos, people’s hearts are uneasy; if they have a place to dwell, they’ll settle down. Beneath her name, there are so many fields that need cultivation, which requires a lot of manpower. This is indeed a good way to gather people’s hearts."

He pondered for a moment and said, "Outside, it’s hard to find craftsmen for building houses, but the clan can provide some. I’ll have someone find you a batch to take with you; once the houses are built, you can send them back."

Uncle Cheng responded excitedly, flattering words spilled out as if they were free.

Zhao Song listened happily; hearing that they lacked craftsmen who could fire bricks, he waved his hand and said, "I remember Lu Kun’s family is best at brick firing. I’ll let him go with you."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Cheng readily agreed and was very considerate, "Third Lady said it’s not right to let the clan’s craftsmen delay their summer harvest because of her affairs. She will send manor laborers to help them harvest their wheat and do any farm work."

Upon this, Zhao Song simply entrusted everything to him, "In that case, this matter is entrusted to you."

It also saved him from having to send people to help with their summer harvest. While he managed Wu Castle and had prestige, above him stood the clan leader, Zhao Zhongyu, who was the rightful authority.

Thus, in many matters, he only touched upon without being too forceful.

Thinking of Zhao Zhongyu, Zhao Song had someone bring him a letter to give to Uncle Cheng, "You didn’t come, and I was just about to send someone to Shangcai to find you. It’s only been two days after you left when someone came looking, sent by the clan leader to find Third Lady and them."

Although Zhao Song had already written a letter to reprimand Zhao Zhongyu and scolded Zhao Ji harshly, in front of Uncle Cheng, he maintained Zhao Zhongyu well. He said, "The clan leader is really concerned about Third Lady and Second Son. Knowing their disappearance, he was very anxious and immediately sent guards to search, but they went off course, passing through Yingchuan, couldn’t find you on the road and feared missing you, so they turned back to search again, eventually couldn’t find you and returned to Xiping."

He said, "Tell Third Lady not to mind too much, it’s best to write a letter to assure peace. After all, he is her own paternal uncle, their two houses are the closest in blood, and it’s crucial not to estrange in such a misunderstanding."

Uncle Cheng repeatedly agreed, "Yes, the young one will go back and persuade Third Lady, but Third Lady has always been filial and probably hasn’t taken this to heart."

Zhao Song nodded in satisfaction, "Yes, that child is generous." Much better than her uncle.

Zhao Song murmured to himself, smiling pleasantly as he sent Uncle Cheng off.

He handed the bag of wheat to the servant, "Take it to dry; after drying, husk it. Taste how the wheat tastes this year."

The servant agreed.

Zhao Ming returned from outside and heard that his father had generously lent out many craftsmen; people from nearby houses were preparing their things to leave with Uncle Cheng.

Zhao Ming sensed truth and went to find his father, "Father, you’ve dispatched so many craftsmen. How will their family manage the summer harvest?"

"Don’t worry about it," Zhao Song said, firmly and proudly, "Third Lady said she would send laborers to help them with the summer harvest. The craftsmen won’t need to worry about household affairs at all."

Such thoughtfulness made Zhao Ming’s heart pound, his niece doing this made him very uneasy; if she were a man, he would definitely think she had ulterior motives and would achieve much in the future.

But... she is a woman.

Zhao Ming held back the questions, nodded, "Alright, as long as you’re happy."