After Fu Tinghan watched Zhao Erlang practice with the spear and drew a suitable spear shaft for him, he handed everything over to the craftsmen to make.
Meanwhile, Chen Zhou’s people also brought two craftsmen—oh no, one craftsman and one apprentice.
When Zhao Hanzhang saw them in the front hall of the county office, she was astonished. She hadn’t expected Chang Ning to actually persuade the other party to send people over.
Zhao Hanzhang looked the two over and asked, “What are your names?”
The young man standing in front bowed and said, “This humble one is Hu Jin.”
Zhao Hanzhang then looked at the other one.
The other was actually about the same age as Hu Jin, but taller and more robust. He also bowed and said, “This humble one is Lu Hu.”
His voice was like a great bell, very resonant.
Zhao Hanzhang looked at him skeptically. “You’re also a craftsman?”
He didn’t look like one; he looked more like the warriors in her military camp.
Lu Hu said in a muffled voice, “This humble one is still an apprentice.”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded and asked, “How long have you been studying woodblock carving?”
Coincidentally, both had been studying woodblock carving for the same length of time—both started at age six and had now been at it for twelve years.
Hu Jin was already a craftsman who could work independently and lead others, while Lu Hu was still an apprentice.
This was what Chen Zhou’s steward said.
Chen Zhou’s steward stated that although they were willing to send craftsmen to Zhao Hanzhang, they also had to ask their opinions, and currently only these two were willing to come serve Zhao Hanzhang.
Among them, Hu Jin’s skills were quite good.
Hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang looked very moved. Looking up, she glimpsed Lu Hu looking down somewhat unwillingly.
Zhao Hanzhang asked, “I wonder if they have family members? Can their family members also be sent over?”
The steward smiled and said, “Hu Jin’s family members came with him. Lu Hu is alone in his household.”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded and immediately had someone arrange lodging for the two near the book bureau, making sure to treat them well.
She didn’t immediately make any promises, and the steward was tactful, not mentioning the banquet at all. After delivering the people, he stood up to leave.
Once he left, Zhao Hanzhang immediately went to ask the two, “Are you registered as slaves or craftsmen?”
Both respectfully said, “We are both registered as craftsmen.”
Zhao Hanzhang was even more satisfied. She had them bring their registration documents to register in Xiping County. From today on, they and their families were people of her Xiping County.
Zhao Hanzhang took them directly to the book bureau. Of course, starting work immediately was impossible. She just wanted to ask them about the woodblock printing process to grasp their capabilities.
Lu Hu basically just listened. Throughout, it was Hu Jin explaining.
The key techniques of woodblock carving were in the carving, inking, and woodblock maintenance. Hu Jin was skilled in all of them. It was clear he was indeed a mature craftsman.
Zhao Hanzhang wrote a line of characters and had him carve it.
Hu Jin knew this was testing him, so he didn’t panic. He pressed the paper onto the wooden board, then took out his carving knife and began carving along the traces.
As Zhao Hanzhang watched, she asked, “Can you read?”
Hu Jin paused before saying, “Not many. Just a few characters.”
“Do you recognize the characters in this line I wrote?”
Hu Jin set down the carving knife, took out that paper, and read word by word: “Old, man, under, heaven, first.”
Zhao Hanzhang was very satisfied and said, “Actually, you don’t need to pause between words.”
She watched as Hu Jin finished carving the relief characters, processed them slightly, then began inking and printing. The printed characters were not much different from her handwriting.
Her eyes flashed with brightness as she looked at this freshly printed page, very satisfied. “I’ll give you two days to settle your families. After two days, go to the school and select a few clever students to help. I’ll give you manuscripts, and you can carve according to them.”
Hu Jin hesitated briefly before agreeing.
Zhao Hanzhang smiled and said, “Rest assured, work well for me and I won’t treat you poorly. Your wages will be thirty percent higher than the Chen family’s. If you have other requirements, you can also raise them. If I can meet them, I will.”
Although Zhao Hanzhang spoke very generously, neither dared to make demands.
The book bureau was also managed by Zhao Qing. Zhao Hanzhang was very interested in the book bureau, but most importantly, the first books she printed would be two elementary textbooks she had transcribed from memory.
So she temporarily didn’t let the Zhao clan manage it, planning to explore everything herself first.
Most importantly, there were only two people, so not much management was needed.
As soon as Zhao Hanzhang left, Hu Jin glanced at Lu Hu and asked hesitantly, “Junior apprentice, do you want to come to my house?”
Lu Hu turned and walked away.
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t know what happened between them. She had just tested Hu Jin’s skills and was very grateful for Chen Zhou’s kind gesture. She said to Chang Ning, “Go tell Chen Zhou to prepare. The day after tomorrow at the banquet, I’ll take him with me.”
Seeing how satisfied she was, Chang Ning smiled and agreed, then asked, “Should we send someone to investigate the two men?”
Zhao Hanzhang waved her hand unconcernedly. “There are no secrets in the book bureau.”
With all the technical personnel belonging to the other party, what secrets could there be?
Chang Ning felt that made sense, but said, “How is it possible that Lu Hu has no family at all? We should still investigate.”
Zhao Hanzhang sighed. “Teacher, I don’t mind investigating more, but I’m short on manpower right now.”
Chang Ning fell silent.
In the end, his suspicion and caution led him to find two bailiffs from the county office to investigate in Ancheng County.
Lu Hu… actually did have family members, but… ahem, he had been separated from the family.
The news came back quickly, the evening before they attended the banquet. Fu Tinghan was with Zhao Hanzhang when they heard the sad story of an underachieving student.
“Hu Jin and Lu Hu both studied under Craftsman Lu—oh, that Craftsman Lu is Lu Hu’s father. He has three sons who all studied woodblock printing with him, but Lu Hu’s aptitude is very mediocre. After twelve years, even with Craftsman Lu’s favoritism, he’s still just an apprentice.”
Even Zhao Erlang stopped to listen, holding his chopsticks blankly, then asking, “And then?”
“Then he was separated from the family.” Chang Ning looked up at Zhao Erlang and said, “Their family split him off. The bailiff asked around and heard that if he can’t become a master craftsman soon, he’ll have to do odd jobs. The Chen family book bureau’s apprentices are raised from childhood. Once they can work, they receive wages. They say he hasn’t earned a single coin for his family to this day.”
How pitiful.
Zhao Erlang thought of himself and felt great sympathy for the other party. He quickly looked at his sister. “Elder sister, will you drive him away?”
“Why would I drive him away?” Zhao Hanzhang smiled. “Just because he’s not suited to be a craftsman doesn’t mean he’s not suited for other work. It’s only because his ancestors did this that he could only choose this path.”
Although they lost one usable apprentice, Zhao Hanzhang didn’t feel much regret. After all, they were all her people. If he wasn’t suitable for one place, she could just move him somewhere else.
“Right now the book bureau has no one. Although his craftsmanship is mediocre, having been an apprentice in the book bureau for twelve years, his knowledge is better than most people’s. Have him assist Hu Jin. After we train people up, we can decide later.” Zhao Hanzhang said, “We need to cultivate our own personnel here, but we still need to continue searching for craftsmen elsewhere.”
This didn’t concern Chang Ning. He didn’t have those connections. These matters were all being handled by Ji Yuan.
—