She knew this matter could only be temporarily hidden from Zhao Ming. Once the iron mine was officially mined, she couldn’t keep it secret for long.

And she didn’t really want to hide it either. After all, using firewood to smelt iron… consumed too much firewood, and the results weren’t good, so she needed coal.

Fu Tinghan had already used the blast furnace to smelt steel. That blast furnace had been modified repeatedly and could now be finalized.

He no longer involved himself in this matter, only handed over the craftsmen who could build blast furnaces and smelt iron and steel to Zhao Hanzhang, then took Zhao Hanzhang’s sword to the newly built blast furnace site.

Blacksmith Lu was currently covered in sweat, forging iron beside the blast furnace.

Outside it was the depths of winter, cold enough to freeze, but inside the room was warm and toasty. Although the forging craftsmen found it hard work, they didn’t find it unbearable.

Seeing Fu Tinghan, all the craftsmen stopped their work and respectfully bowed to him.

Fu Tinghan waved his hand dismissively and handed the sword to Blacksmith Lu. “Use the steel we smelted recently to reforge this.”

Blacksmith Lu received it with both hands, set the scabbard aside, and carefully examined the blade before saying, “This sword is already very good. Its sharpness qualifies it as a famous sword. Why reforge it?”

“It can’t compare to steel.”

Actually, if it weren’t for his lack of strength, he would have done it himself.

However, blacksmithing was also a skill—it wasn’t something you could do just by having strength.

Fu Tinghan had theoretical knowledge but practical ability equivalent to zero, so he could only entrust it to Blacksmith Lu.

To conquer Yuzhou, Zhao Hanzhang would definitely have to go to battle in the future. A sharp treasured sword was the best protection he could currently give her.

“If there’s any steel left over, forge it all into spearheads.”

Blacksmith Lu agreed.

Fu Tinghan began inspecting the room. The craftsmen immediately gathered around asking, “Young Master, the steward told us to pack our things, saying we’re going somewhere else to build blast furnaces. Where are we going?”

Fu Tinghan said, “You’ll know when you get there.”

The craftsmen hesitated. “We don’t know if it’s far. If it’s too far, can we bring our families?”

Fu Tinghan didn’t answer, but after coming out, he still went to find Zhao Hanzhang to inquire about this matter.

Zhao Hanzhang was currently allocating materials, having people transport the materials for building houses and blast furnaces over there. Hearing this, she said, “The houses aren’t even built yet. Once everything there is constructed, I’ll prioritize arranging for their families to come over.”

After the winter solstice, the weather became colder and colder. Most of the women, children, and elderly in the city stayed home, while the able-bodied men gradually left their homes to take work from the county office and go out to labor.

This time at the Zhao clan banquet, Zhao Hanzhang sold quite a few glass products, with full-length mirrors having the highest sales.

No man of the Wei-Jin period could refuse a full-length mirror. If there was one, it must be that the other party was being rude.

As members of the gentry, makeup was the most basic courtesy. Whether applying powder or dressing, having a full-length mirror that allowed them to see themselves clearly and comprehensively was how important.

Not only did they themselves need them, they also wanted to bring some for their fathers, their brothers, their uncles and cousins, and their younger brothers.

So the full-length mirrors from the glass workshop were in short supply.

Ji Yuan had no choice but to have the steward first record their addresses and the quantities they wanted to purchase, promising to deliver the goods to their doors once made.

That’s right, their service was just that considerate.

Because they decided to buy some grain while delivering the full-length mirrors.

Zhao Hanzhang had taken in too many people. Although she had stockpiled quite a bit of grain before, because of work-for-relief, the grain reserves were dropping rapidly.

So after the weather got even colder, Zhao Hanzhang stopped issuing work assignments. Everyone stayed home for winter, and grain consumption decreased considerably.

But through the winter solstice banquet, she not only made a substantial profit but also negotiated agreements with several families to exchange glass products for grain.

With more grain reserves on hand, Zhao Hanzhang’s ambitions grew again. So taking advantage of winter when there was no farm work, as soon as she returned to the county office, she called all the village chiefs and squad leaders to announce new employment requirements.

Actually, it was still work-for-relief, but this time they weren’t distributing grain—they were distributing money.

Zhao Hanzhang listed over a dozen types of work, each paying between eight and fifteen coins per day, settled every ten days.

With the money, the common people could choose to buy grain from the county office or purchase other things. In any case, it wasn’t like before when only grain was distributed.

The village chiefs brought the news back, and immediately many people left their homes to participate in this employment wave.

The squad leaders in the army needn’t even be mentioned. The people under their command were all refugees they had taken in, without family or roots. They wouldn’t miss such an opportunity to earn money.

However, the squad leaders still confirmed with Zhao Hanzhang, “Can they also receive wages?”

“Of course,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “It’s winter now, when they should be resting. Working when they should be resting, naturally I must pay them wages.”

The squad leaders breathed a sigh of relief, indicating they understood, and immediately took the news back to their respective resettlement points to tell everyone this good news.

Thus, when the guests who had come to Xiping were mostly gone, all of Xiping County became active.

Whether it was the common people in Xiping County town or the tenant farmers in the countryside, everyone followed the village chiefs or squad leaders out, shrinking their necks against the cold wind while working.

After working a bit more, their bodies would start warming up and wouldn’t be so cold anymore.

The main work for the able-bodied men throughout the county was digging irrigation channels, reservoirs, and building houses.

The winter ground wasn’t easy to dig. After two snowfalls, the topmost soil was rather hard to dig and required great effort. But as long as they thought about the ten coins per day wage, they were full of energy.

In the four directions of Xiping County, four brick kilns were built and began supplying finished bricks to the various resettlement points.

Zhao Hanzhang rode her horse around inspecting daily, solving various problems on-site. She was moved by her own diligence.

She hadn’t been this proactive even when she was paid a salary for work.

However, this way, the common people of Xiping County also quickly became familiar with this “County Mistress.”

Ordinary people didn’t care whether those in power were male or female. They only cared whether their lives weren’t too bitter.

Regarding Zhao Hanzhang who had exempted them from this year’s autumn tax, although they had some doubts about her ability, they were more grateful.

Later, when she implemented work-for-relief and had the village chiefs send those who had become orphans and widows due to marauding troops to the county’s charity hall to be cared for, everyone began to genuinely approve of her from the bottom of their hearts and hoped she could always be Xiping County’s magistrate.

After all, county magistrates as benevolent as her were very hard to encounter.

By today, when she issued the work-for-relief decree in the depths of winter, the common people’s reverence for her climbed steadily. Combined with the reputation of being loyal, righteous, and supremely filial that spread from the Zhao clan banquet, the people’s hearts completely turned toward her. From the bottom of their hearts, they felt this was their County Mistress!

As the clan’s actual representative, Zhao Ming was the first to notice the changes in Zhao Hanzhang’s popular reputation.

Seeing that in just three short months she had won the hearts of all the common people in Xiping County, the last bit of hesitation in Zhao Ming’s heart also dissipated.

He convened a clan meeting and formally said, “Have Zhao Kuan and the others prepare to enter the world.”