Zhao Hanzhang asked, “Does Father… know that you’re doing this deliberately?”

“Don’t be silly—of course you can’t let him know,” Lady Wang said. “These are little tricks between us women. It’s enough that we women know about them. Don’t foolishly tell Master Fu about this.”

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 completed blueprints. “Based on what you wrote from memory, we can try building a kiln and see how it works.”

Zhao Hanzhang asked, “Didn’t you find any craftsmen who know how to fire bricks?”

“Chengbo said there aren’t any.”

Zhao Hanzhang felt somewhat regretful. She put away the blueprints and turned around. “Let’s go take a look.”

They planned to build the kiln near the clay deposits. Chengbo selected quite a few able-bodied men to follow them. Zhao Hanzhang handed the blueprints to Chengbo and asked, “Are there any literate people?”

Chengbo brought out Hu Zhi.

Zhao Hanzhang still remembered him—a refugee they’d taken in on the road. “Can you read blueprints?”

Hu Zhi hesitated somewhat. “In reply to the young lady, though I can read, I’ve never seen a brick kiln before, nor do I know how to read blueprints, so…”

Fu Tinghan took the blueprints. “I’ll do it.”

Zhao Hanzhang was delighted. “Thank you for your efforts, Professor Fu.”

Fu Tinghan could see at a glance that she’d been waiting for him to volunteer all along. He couldn’t help but smile, his eyes full of warmth. “I’ll do my best to build it for you, but the brick-firing methods are all from written records. Neither you nor I have any experience, and neither do the people here, so I can’t guarantee success. If you want to succeed as soon as possible, you still need to find a way to invite some craftsmen.”

Upon hearing this, Chengbo immediately said, “Sanniang, craftsmen mostly serve in the government offices. Apart from the government, only some great families have craftsmen. It’s very difficult to find craftsmen outside, but if we go back to the walled fortress to request people…”

Zhao Hanzhang understood. Besides the government offices, the Zhao family’s walled fortress also had craftsmen.

Zhao Hanzhang rubbed her fingers together and made up her mind. “I’ll go back and write a letter to Fifth Grand-Uncle. Think about what gifts we should send back.”

Chengbo said, “Fifth Great Lord loves porcelain. I remember that among the young lady’s dowry was a set of white porcelain cups. Why not select that to send to Fifth Great Lord?”

Zhao Hanzhang glanced at him. “My dowry was completely lost. Do you think I can produce a set of white porcelain now?”

“This…”

Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze fell on the wheat field not far away, looking thoughtful. “This plot of wheat seems ready to harvest.”

Chengbo followed her gaze and was slightly stunned. “Sanniang wants to send this?”

Zhao Hanzhang waved her hand. “Have people harvest this plot of wheat. I’m going to send Fifth Grand-Uncle a bag of wheat so he can taste the white flour from our estate.”

Chengbo silently agreed.

Fu Tinghan couldn’t help but ask, “Won’t the gift be rather meager?”

Zhao Hanzhang smiled. “Gift-giving isn’t about quantity but appropriateness.”

To demonstrate her regard for Zhao Song and successfully borrow the craftsmen, Chengbo personally brought the gifts to Xiping.

Following Zhao Hanzhang’s script, Chengbo presented a bag of freshly threshed wheat kernels. “This is the first cut of wheat from the estate. Sanniang cut it herself. The young lady felt this first cut of wheat should go to Fifth Great Lord. Since returning to Runan, both Sanniang and Erlang have relied on Fifth Great Lord’s care. Sanniang is deeply grateful, and when cutting the wheat, she thought of presenting this first cut to Fifth Great Lord as a filial offering.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Song was overjoyed. He quickly reached out to receive it, grabbed a handful of wheat from the bag to examine, and seeing each grain plump and full, was even more delighted. “I appreciate her filial piety. Are they doing well in Shangcai? Have they encountered any difficulties?”

Chengbo respectfully replied, “Quite well. The summer harvest is about to begin, and it looks like this year’s yield will be good. Sanniang has arranged all the people she brought on the estate.”

He continued, “There’s quite a bit of farmland in Shangcai, enough to accommodate the newly recruited refugee laborers. However, Sanniang is compassionate and doesn’t want them living in thatched huts, so she wants to build houses for them.”

Chengbo said with an embarrassed expression, “But while the refugees we recruited have strength, they don’t know craftwork like firing bricks and building houses.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Song said, “Sanniang’s kind heart is correct. In these chaotic times, the common people feel uneasy. If they have a secure place to live, they’ll settle down. She has so much farmland under her name that she’ll need quite a few people to cultivate it. This is indeed a good method to win people’s hearts.”

He pondered for a moment and said, “House-building craftsmen are also hard to find outside, but the clan has some. In a moment, I’ll have someone find a group for you. Take them first, and send them back after the houses are built.”

Chengbo agreed excitedly, his flattering words flowing out as if they cost nothing.

Zhao Song listened with pleasure. Hearing that they most lacked craftsmen who could fire bricks, he waved his hand grandly. “I remember the Lu family has the best brick-firing skills. I’ll have Lu Kun make a trip with you.”

Chengbo agreed and was very considerate. “Sanniang said she doesn’t want the clan’s craftsmen to be delayed in their summer harvest because of her matters. She’ll send laborers from the estate to help harvest all their wheat, and if there’s any farm work in the fields, have them do it all.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Song simply entrusted everything to him. “In that case, I’ll leave this matter to you.”

This also saved him from having to send people to help with their summer harvest. Though he managed the walled fortress and had prestige, above him was still the clan leader, and Zhao Zhongyu was the rightful person in power.

So in many matters, he only went so far and didn’t push too hard.

Thinking of Zhao Zhongyu, Zhao Song had someone bring out a letter to give to Chengbo. “Even if you hadn’t come, I was just about to send someone to Shangcai to find you. Just two days after you left, someone came looking—sent by the clan leader to find Sanniang and the others.”

Although Zhao Song had already written to reproach Zhao Zhongyu and thoroughly scolded Zhao Ji, in front of Chengbo he defended Zhao Zhongyu. He said, “The clan leader still cares deeply for Sanniang and Erlang. Learning they were lost, he was very anxious and distressed, and immediately sent guards out to search. They just took the wrong route, passing through Yingchuan. Unable to find you on the road and worried about missing you, they turned back to search again. Only after failing to find you did they return to Xiping.”

He continued, “Tell Sanniang not to take it to heart. After all, he’s her own grand-uncle. Their two branches have the closest blood ties. It would be best not to let this misunderstanding create distance.”

Chengbo repeatedly agreed. “Yes, this servant will advise Sanniang upon returning. However, Sanniang has always been filial—she probably hasn’t taken this matter to heart at all.”

Zhao Song nodded with great satisfaction. “Indeed, that child is magnanimous.” Much better than her uncle.

Zhao Song grumbled internally, then sent Chengbo off with a smile.

He handed the bag of wheat to a servant. “Take it to be dried. After it’s dried, remove the husks and taste how this year’s wheat tastes.”

The servant agreed.

When Zhao Ming returned from outside, he heard about how his father had waved his hand and lent out many craftsmen. In households not far from theirs, people were packing their things, preparing to leave with Chengbo.

Zhao Ming’s intuition proved correct. He went to find his father. “Father, you’ve transferred out so many craftsmen. How will their families manage the summer harvest?”

“You don’t need to worry about it,” Zhao Song said confidently and proudly. “Sanniang said she’ll send laborers to help them with the summer harvest. The craftsmen won’t need to worry about any household matters.”

Such thoughtfulness made Zhao Ming’s heart pound erratically. His niece made him very nervous this way. If she were a man, he would definitely think she had ulterior motives and would surely accomplish great things in the future.

But… she was a woman.

Zhao Ming swallowed his questioning words and nodded. “Alright then, as long as you’re happy.”