Zhao Hanzhang said, “Tomorrow you take people to Shangcai and personally invite him here. He’s now Xiping County’s registrar—many matters require consultation with him.”
Actually, she wanted his advice. Zhao Hanzhang had plans, and she kept busy every day handling many affairs, yet she always felt something was missing.
Fu Tinghan was equally busy. They did their best to delegate to subordinates, yet still felt efficiency fell short of expectations.
Although Song Zhi and Geng Rong both said their efficiency was already quite high, the two of them still felt pressed for time. Calculating the days, winter was approaching quickly. Once the cold snap arrived and the ground froze, they couldn’t plant anymore.
But right now they lacked everything. Although they had already asked Ji Yuan to purchase supplies and had Zhao Ming negotiate with clan members at the fortified manor to buy some, the shortfall remained substantial.
Zhao Hanzhang poked at the wheat rice in her bowl. “My goal is that one day, the people under my governance can afford to eat steamed buns and rice instead of bean rice and wheat rice.”
Wheat rice—rice cooked from unhulled wheat.
Admittedly, some common people truly didn’t know that dehulled wheat could be ground into flour to make more delicious food, but those were only in extremely remote places.
Most common people knew.
But why didn’t they make it, and still ate wheat rice?
Of course it was because grain wasn’t sufficient, so they had to conserve.
Oh, there was another reason—laziness and manpower issues.
After dehulling wheat and grinding it into flour, the wheat chaff could also be ground into powder and mixed with the flour to make steamed buns. Though the taste wasn’t great, it was better than wheat rice.
But grinding into flour required expending great manpower and time. When survival resources demanded large amounts of time to secure, few people had the interest to do such things.
After all, having something to eat was good enough.
But good food could not only bring happiness to people—it could also inspire their fighting spirit. Zhao Hanzhang took another bite of wheat rice and immediately decided, “I’m going to build a mill!”
Fu Tinghan immediately agreed. “I support that.”
Zhao Hanzhang couldn’t help laughing and pushed her bowl over. “Share some with me?”
Fu Tinghan moved his bowl away. “No need, I can eat it.”
The next day, Qiu Wu and his men intercepted Chengbo and Chang Ning’s party halfway.
Qiu Wu happily said, “My lady sent me to meet Master Chang.”
Chang Ning felt Zhao Hanzhang’s regard. Even knowing her intentions were impure—no, that she had ulterior motives—he still couldn’t help being moved.
This was the change brought by shifting perspectives. Indeed, once the other party became one’s own lord and they became allies, even ulterior motives transformed into treating talent with courtesy.
Chang Ning appreciated Zhao Hanzhang’s regard and quickened his pace along the road.
Before even approaching Xiping County, he noticed differences.
In the fields along both sides of the road, many able-bodied men were laboring. He stopped to observe and discovered three to five young men working each plot, with not a single woman or child nearby.
Ordinary farming families didn’t only have men working the fields—rather, the entire household, old and young, anyone who could move freely would go to the fields to work.
Chang Ning pointed and asked, “Are those villagers?”
Qiu Wu glanced over. “No, they’re refugees my lady took in. They’re currently hired laborers.”
“Then this land…”
“It’s all ownerless wasteland now,” Qiu Wu said. “My lady had them clear it to plant wheat this year.”
Chang Ning silently made note and continued. The closer to the county town, the livelier it became. Women, elderly, and children gradually appeared in the fields on both sides, but these plots saw fewer able-bodied men.
Chang Ning didn’t need to ask to guess. He sighed and asked, “The battle to defend the city resulted in heavy casualties, didn’t it?”
Qiu Wu nodded. “Yes.”
Because it was the busy farming season, the area outside the city was quite lively, making the interior somewhat quiet. Yet one could still sense Xiping County town’s vitality.
Though white banners and hemp cloth still hung along both sides of the road, one could no longer feel much of the sorrow war had brought. Faint smiles graced the faces of passersby.
Chang Ning hadn’t expected Zhao Hanzhang to have accomplished this much. How long had it been since the city fell? Yet she had already led the people out of their grief.
Chang Ning rode along observing everything. Soldiers had already gone ahead to the county office to report.
Zhao Hanzhang then summoned all the officials working at the county office to come out and welcome him.
Chang Ning had just reached the county office entrance and hadn’t yet dismounted when Zhao Hanzhang hurried forward, her face full of delight. “Master Chang, you’ve finally arrived.”
Chang Ning felt overwhelmed by this honor and quickly bowed. “My lady, you embarrass me with such grand ceremony—I dare not accept it.”
“Master, you are someone I worked so hard to invite. No ceremony is too grand for you.” Zhao Hanzhang pulled him over to introduce everyone. “This is our Xiping County’s new registrar, Chang Ning.”
Geng Rong and the others quickly bowed. “Registrar Chang.”
Chang Ning hastily returned their salutes. Looking up, he noticed a woman standing in the second row. He paused briefly before recovering his composure.
Even the lord was a young lady—what was strange about having a female clerk in the county office?
Zhao Hanzhang introduced them. “Master has met this one before—Master Fu. Though he holds no position in the county office, I rely on him for many matters. He’s my right and left hand.”
Chang Ning understood. Fu Tinghan held the position of advisor, to be treated like a county magistrate’s private secretary from now on.
However, this lord’s attitude had changed remarkably fast, calling him “Master” immediately.
Zhao Hanzhang first introduced Song Zhi. “County Clerk Zhao is busy and mostly absent from the county office, so the county clerk position is managed jointly by Master Fu and myself. Song Zhi handles trivial matters. In the future, when Registrar Chang has matters requiring communication with the county clerk, find him first.”
Chang Ning understood—Song Zhi was the scribe, though apparently not yet officially appointed.
Zhao Hanzhang then introduced Geng Rong. “This is the scribe I found for Registrar Chang—Geng Rong. His father was the former registrar, so he’s fairly familiar with Xiping County. If you have questions in the future, ask him.”
She also told Geng Rong, “Assist Registrar Chang well.”
Geng Rong respectfully acknowledged, “Yes.”
Then she introduced Chen Siniang. “This is Chen Siniang. She’s also with the land office now. Due to the war, Xiping County has many orphaned children with nowhere to go, so I opened a charitable hall in the county town to take them in. She manages the charitable hall now.”
Chen Siniang stepped forward and curtsied.
Chang Ning returned the courtesy and said, “A charitable hall requires substantial funding. The accounts must be clear and transparent for it to endure.”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded. “Exactly. Fortunately, she’s not only kind-hearted and meticulous—she’s also literate and can keep accounts, so I entrusted this matter to her. In the future, Registrar Chang should also pay extra attention to the charitable hall. Since we’ve begun caring for those orphans, we must care for them well.”
Chang Ning agreed.
Then came several runners from the county office. “There are others busy elsewhere and not currently at the county office. I’ll have Registrar Chang meet them when they return.”
Zhao Hanzhang smiled warmly. “Come, let me show you your office.”
—