Zhao Hanzhang first went to inspect the charitable hall, finding it packed with people and truly unable to accommodate anyone else.
One room held over ten children—they couldn’t squeeze in any more.
She walked out of the charitable hall and looked at the courtyard houses along the street before asking, “Are there any other vacant courtyards on this street?”
“Yes,” Chen Siniang replied. “There are three more vacant courtyards. Two belong to families who relocated entirely and left the courtyards with brokers for sale. The other one…”
She paused. “…is the Sung family’s secondary residence.”
Zhao Hanzhang directly skipped over the Song family’s secondary residence and instructed, “Go to the land office to check the asking prices for those two courtyards. If the price is reasonable, buy them.”
Chen Siniang said, “But even at a good price, the two courtyards will require considerable funds, and right now money is needed everywhere. The county office probably cannot spare that much.”
Zhao Hanzhang thought for a moment before saying, “Use the private accounts. Register the properties under my mother’s name. These courtyards will be considered loans from my mother to the charitable hall. Have people modify the courtyard interiors—you may build a few additional rooms. From now on, the two charitable halls will operate separately: boys in one, girls in the other. That will be easier for you to manage.”
Chen Siniang breathed a great sigh of relief and happily agreed.
As for bedding and other winter supplies, Zhao Hanzhang reviewed the county office account books and had to admit that if she used the public accounts, she really couldn’t purchase anything.
She returned Chen Siniang’s calculated list of bedding to be acquired. “Use my private accounts as well. When my steward arrives, I’ll have him buy sufficient fabric and cotton batting for you. See if anyone in the charitable hall knows how to sew bedding. If there aren’t enough hands, hire from the county town.”
Because of the city’s fall, Xiping County town had lost many able-bodied men, leaving many women widowed. With winter approaching, they needed to earn household income.
Thinking of how the rampaging soldiers had set fires that destroyed many houses, including bedding and other items, it seemed many people would lack winter supplies this year.
Zhao Hanzhang immediately returned to the county office to write a letter to Ji Yuan.
She needed hemp and cotton cloth for bedding—preferably fine hemp—as well as various fabrics for winter protection.
Zhao Hanzhang wrote while sighing. Beyond the charitable hall, there was also the military camp. They had recruited so many refugees, all needing winter clothing and bedding—a substantial expense.
After finishing the letter, Zhao Hanzhang left the numbers temporarily blank. Only after Fu Tinghan finished his current work did she say, “Tinghan, you need to help me calculate the minimum amount of winter supplies I need to purchase.”
Fu Tinghan glanced at the letter she handed over, then searched his desk and found a sheet to give her. “I’ve already calculated it all.”
Zhao Hanzhang looked down to see extremely detailed listings: numbers of people, required quantities of winter clothing, winter bedding, even shoe quantities.
Following that were material costs for making one set of winter clothes, bedding, and shoes, with price estimates, and finally the totals.
Zhao Hanzhang asked, “When did you calculate this?”
“Just now,” Fu Tinghan replied. “When you went to the charitable hall. Since the children there need bedding, naturally the refugees we’ve taken in also need it. I got the prices for various fabrics and cotton batting from Geng Rong, but we’re purchasing large quantities and the prices here are inflated, so I think the prices are somewhat inaccurate. This sheet is only for your reference.”
So he had written it directly in Arabic numerals, not even bothering to convert them. As long as they could understand each other, that was enough.
Zhao Hanzhang pondered over the sheet. “With such a large quantity of clothes and bedding, relying solely on the womenfolk in the county town won’t be enough to produce them.”
Fu Tinghan played along and asked, “So?”
“So I need to meet with the various village chiefs. Keep the benefits within the family—find some women from the villages below with decent skills and entrust the bedding work to them.” Zhao Hanzhang continued, “And Shangcai too. The city there is larger with more people, so work will progress faster.”
This was a perfect opportunity to let the common people of Shangcai know Scholar Ji, and know her, Zhao Hanzhang!
Zhao Hanzhang’s thoughts turned several times. Having made up her mind, she immediately estimated rough numbers based on what he had given her and had Ji Yuan go purchase them.
She glanced at the final total price Fu Tinghan had estimated and calculated her private assets. Breathing a great sigh of relief, her dowry should still suffice.
Fu Tinghan set down his brush and rubbed his wrist. Looking up to see her staring blankly at the sheet he had given her, he seemed to know what she was thinking. “The county office is almost out of paper again.”
Zhao Hanzhang came back to herself. “How is the paper workshop construction progressing?”
“The workshop itself isn’t difficult to build—it’s already been constructed according to your instructions. But we haven’t found any craftsmen, not a single one.”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “If there aren’t any, forget it. We’ll train people from scratch. Select some loyal individuals to follow instructions, and we’ll try it ourselves.”
“But papermaking has a long cycle. Starting now, we probably won’t know the results until after the winter solstice.” Zhao Hanzhang picked up her brush and added a few more lines to the letter. “I’ll have Scholar Ji buy more paper and bring it back.”
When Scholar Ji received Zhao Hanzhang’s letter and saw the procurement list, he couldn’t help twitching his mouth. He tossed the letter aside and pulled out the dowry inventory he had brought from Luoyang.
Chengbo stood nearby. Glancing at the procurement list, he couldn’t help sighing. “Sir, with my lady spending so extravagantly, can we truly support her?”
Scholar Ji replied, “My lady is fortunate. Back in Luoyang, she exchanged the fields and shops in both Luoyang and Chang’an for gold, silver, and jewels ahead of time, so it’s still sufficient.”
“But that will only last a year or two. Beyond that, if she continues spending like this without other income sources, maintaining this will be very difficult.”
Chengbo quickly said, “Don’t we have the glass workshop…”
“Although glass is profitable, income still doesn’t match expenditure. Moreover, this item could command high prices initially, but later as it becomes more common, prices will naturally fall. It will be hard to make such profits again.”
Ji Yuan tapped the table with his finger. “This won’t do. We can’t rely on money to support them. They need to be self-sufficient. Military forces are one thing, but it’s impossible for all these people to become military personnel.”
Ji Yuan asked, “How are things with Changning?”
Chengbo immediately replied, “Master Chang has finished preparations and can depart for Xiping tomorrow.”
Ji Yuan nodded. “You should go with him. Take some money along—my lady cannot be without funds on hand.”
Chengbo acknowledged the order.
At that moment, Zhao Hanzhang was squatting at the military camp entrance holding a bowl of wheat rice, with Fu Tinghan squatting beside her. After arduously chewing and swallowing for over ten bites, he managed to get it down.
Zhao Hanzhang ate while sighing. “This won’t do. We need to be self-sufficient. I can spend money on military supplies, but the common people’s food and clothing must be self-sufficient. Ideally, they’d have surplus to help me maintain the army.”
Fu Tinghan said, “Right now we’re thinking of whatever comes to mind and doing it—one hoe here, one hammer there. This really isn’t proper. Should we sit down and make a comprehensive plan?”
Zhao Hanzhang asked Qiu Wu, “Still no word from Master Chang?”
Qiu Wu shook his head.
—