Ting He and Fu An saw their masters being dragged out like this and quickly went back to grab cloaks before chasing after them to drape the garments over the two.
Zhao Erlang eagerly pulled them to the main gate and pointed at two other winnowing baskets. “Sister, Brother-in-law, these are your firecrackers. Hurry and burn them. Mother said that burning firecrackers during New Year’s drives away all the bad luck from the past year, and next year will be prosperous and full of advancement!”
Zhao Erlang even thought about it with his limited brain power, his eyes immediately lighting up with joy. “Sister is already a Provincial Governor, a frontier official. If you advance further, wouldn’t you be able to become enfeoffed as a marquis or prime minister? Sister, hurry up.”
Zhao Hanzhang couldn’t help but laugh. After glancing at Fu Tinghan, the two stepped forward together, each grabbing a handful of bamboo segments to toss into the brazier before quickly stepping back. They’d only retreated two steps when the bamboo segments in the brazier began crackling and popping…
Hearing this sound, Zhao Erlang jumped up excitedly, shouting, “Woohoo—Sister’s and Brother-in-law’s firecrackers are so loud! The new year will definitely go extremely well!”
Zhao Hanzhang couldn’t help but scold him, “Your mouth is getting better and better at talking.”
Zhao Erlang just grinned foolishly.
“Alright, you can burn the rest for us.”
This made Zhao Erlang even happier. He immediately rushed forward, grabbed a large handful of bamboo segments and threw them into the brazier. When the crackling sounds rang out, he excitedly bounced and jumped on the spot.
Zhao Hanzhang watched with a smile on her face, then turned to Ting He and said, “You can go burn some too.”
Ting He happily curtsied. “Yes!”
Fu Tinghan also nodded at Fu An, whose eyes were shining. The two rushed up to burn firecrackers together with Zhao Erlang.
After making a commotion for half an hour, the sounds of firecrackers in the city gradually faded, with only occasional pops heard.
Zhao Erlang and his companions had also finished burning all the firecrackers. He finally felt tired, yawning constantly yet still thinking about tomorrow’s firecrackers. He smiled and said, “Tomorrow I’m going to the alley to compete with the other kids to see whose firecrackers are the loudest and which ones pop the most.”
“Alright, go to sleep then.”
Zhao Erlang yawned as he headed back to his room to rest.
Zhao Hanzhang stood in the courtyard waiting for him to go far before having Ting He and Fu An step back a bit. She walked shoulder to shoulder with Fu Tinghan back to the main courtyard, taking the opportunity to chat. “Let’s begin testing the gunpowder tomorrow.”
Fu Tinghan nodded. “I’ve already had Qiu Wu look for materials.”
He stopped and turned to her. “I thought you wouldn’t agree.”
Zhao Hanzhang replied, “Didn’t you also change your mind?”
Fu Tinghan was silent for a moment before saying, “They’re having such a hard time. Stone quarrying… it’s so arduous that people die. If we slow down house construction, people will die. I don’t know whether more people die from quarrying stones one hammer strike at a time, or whether more casualties would result after gunpowder appears.”
He continued, “These are lives, one after another. I can’t use them as test subjects, collect data, and then make a decision. I can only go with the flow. I think that introducing gunpowder at this time to make their work more convenient and reduce some sacrifices should be a good thing, right?”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded, then her expression turned serious. “I’ll have Qiu Wu assist you. From now on, this matter will only be entrusted to Qiu Wu. The formula for gunpowder must be kept strictly confidential!”
Fu Tinghan nodded. He knew this was more precious than anything they’d dealt with before.
The two returned to the main courtyard. The coldness on Zhao Hanzhang’s face dissipated as she smiled again. “Rest well tonight. See you tomorrow.”
Fu Tinghan nodded. “See you tomorrow.”
Watching Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan walk away shoulder to shoulder, Wang Nie and Xie Shi also turned to head back to the guest quarters.
Wang Nie sighed, “I had thought we could drink until dawn tonight. I didn’t expect the Magistrate to return so early.”
Once Zhao Hanzhang left, it wasn’t appropriate for them to continue the long gathering, so they could only slowly disperse.
Xie Shi was contemplating another issue. “The Magistrate will be out of mourning this year. Does that mean she’ll marry Master Fu?”
Wang Nie frowned. “It won’t be that soon, will it? After marriage, can the Magistrate still be the Magistrate? What if she becomes pregnant?”
Xie Shi shared this concern. Currently all of Yuzhou depended on Zhao Hanzhang’s authority. She ruled with an iron hand. Though there were conflicts, no one dared openly defy her.
But once she married, or even bore children, the situation would become complicated.
“Master Fu and the Magistrate live together in the main courtyard.”
Wang Nie replied, “But they’re separate. Although they come and go together, I can see the two haven’t reached that stage yet.”
“I don’t think so. When the two of them stand together, they always create their own world that others can’t penetrate.”
Wang Nie frowned in thought for a long while before shaking his head. “Forget it. We can’t do anything about such matters through excessive contemplation. Better to focus on the tasks at hand.”
Xie Shi agreed.
Zhao Hanzhang hadn’t even thought about marriage. This year was the third year of Yongjia. By June this year, she would be out of mourning.
However, she had temporarily forgotten about this matter. She still had many things to do. After spring began, the most important matters were spring plowing in various regions and recruiting talent.
A year’s plan begins in spring. Last year, the northern part of Yuzhou had its spring destroyed by Gou Xi and the Prince of Donghai, and summer and autumn were ruined by them along with Liu Yuan, to the point that all of Yuzhou was now a disaster area.
This year, they absolutely had to make up for last year’s disaster. Otherwise, Yuzhou would only get worse and worse.
So on the first day of the first month, while the common people throughout the city were still resting and savoring last night’s New Year celebration, Zhao Hanzhang was already discussing this year’s agricultural encouragement and talent recruitment with officials who came to pay New Year’s respects.
Especially regarding agricultural encouragement, she specifically instructed Yin Sheng, “Have the county magistrates personally go to the countryside to encourage agriculture and sericulture. Take in all refugees, distribute land for cultivation, and prepare the needed seeds. Help them as much as possible with farm tools and livestock.”
She added, “Have the people from the Agricultural Bureau go to the countryside to provide guidance so they can farm more efficiently.”
At this point, Zhao Hanzhang turned to ask Fan Ying, “I remember the Agricultural Bureau in Runan produced quite a few results—they’ve developed two new composting methods, correct?”
Fan Ying thought for a moment and nodded. “Yes, they’ve developed composting methods, and there have also been some changes in spacing. They say that spacing plants out more helps them grow better and increases yield per acre.”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded slightly and asked, “How is the popularization of the new farm tools going?”
“Currently they’re mostly used in Runan Commandery. The other commanderies and counties have almost none.”
Zhao Hanzhang frowned slightly and looked at Yin Sheng. “I remember when the new farm tools were first made, I immediately sent the blueprints to all commanderies and counties and had you prepare for this.”
Yin Sheng’s forehead broke out in sweat as he explained, “Yes, but even the cleverest housewife can’t cook without rice. We have no iron or very little iron—we really can’t forge them.”
Zhao Hanzhang snorted lightly. If they didn’t have it, couldn’t they find a way to obtain it?
However, she was too lazy to pursue it now. She told Fan Ying directly, “Pass word to Chen County and Runan Commandery that this year, Runan Commandery’s iron production should allocate a portion for making farm tools to be sent to all commanderies and counties.”
Zhao Hanzhang’s face turned cold. “Tell all the commanderies and counties that if this iron doesn’t appear in the hands of common people in the form of farm tools, I’ll use their heads to plow the fields.”
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. Fan Ying loudly responded, “Yes!”