Hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang nodded with satisfaction. “Excellent, excellent.”

She said to everyone: “If you have the means, you should eat more eggs, especially children. Eating well makes the body healthy and also makes one smarter.”

Everyone readily agreed. At this moment, whatever she said, they would say was good—agree first, then talk.

Zhao Hanzhang continued looking around, and by the time she finished, she had a good sense of the marketplace’s goods. She narrowed her eyes. “There’s still too little cloth. Next spring, plant more mulberry and hemp in the dry fields and field edges. Mulberry trees can support silkworm cultivation, and hemp can be made into hemp cloth. Does anyone here know how to raise silkworms?”

The crowd quieted for a moment, then two hands rose trembling, followed by three more.

Zhao Hanzhang had the five come forward—three were women, two were men.

Zhao Hanzhang asked them their names and hometowns with a smile, then asked how many years they had raised silkworms.

After each answered, Zhao Hanzhang had Fan Ying, who was following behind, record their names. Then she said: “It’s winter now, so there’s no hurry. Plant the mulberry trees first. Once they grow, I’ll have people find silkworm eggs for you.”

She continued: “Now the manor’s grain can be self-sufficient, but clothing can’t fall too far behind. If we have surplus, we can sell it. Right now our Yuzhou lacks everything, especially grain and cloth.”

“So we must tend the fields well and also plant more mulberry and hemp.” As Zhao Hanzhang toured the area, she encouraged agriculture and sericulture. She herself hadn’t expected that after becoming Provincial Governor, she would return to doing a County Magistrate’s work.

After viewing the market, she simply went to look at the manor’s school.

The manor also had a school. Unlike Shangcai’s school, Shangcai’s school primarily cultivated talent for Shangcai County and Runan Commandery. The manor’s school had only one purpose.

To cultivate talent for Zhao Hanzhang.

If the Shangcai and Xiping County schools cultivated students’ loyalty to Zhao Hanzhang from time to time, then the manor’s school made it a daily routine.

Everyone here belonged to Zhao Hanzhang—whether the manor steward Zhao Tong or the children’s parents and elders, they told the children daily that their master was Miss Zhao of the Zhao family, ranked third, styled Hanzhang, currently Xiping County Magistrate (Runan Assistant Administrator, Commandery Governor, Yuzhou Provincial Governor), and that without the Miss there would be no them—everything they had belonged to the Miss.

What they learned here was also slightly different from what was taught in the Shangcai and Xiping County schools, but they were very happy nonetheless.

In this school, boys and girls were equally represented. They had to labor daily, with the remaining time devoted to study.

Moreover, their learning was targeted. The brightest class followed a teacher in studying the Four Books and Five Classics, while the rest learned various things according to their strengths.

Among them was a class of about forty students, all girls.

They learned the arts of service, as well as horsemanship and martial skills. This was the highest-status class in the school that all students aspired to join.

This was Zhao Hanzhang’s first time learning of such a class’s existence. Momentarily stunned, she asked: “Service… what do they learn?”

Zhao Tong had arrived at some point. He bowed and replied: “They learn so much—needlework and embroidery, tailoring and cooking, grooming and dressing, and also perfume preparation and tea brewing. They must learn it all and become proficient.”

Zhao Hanzhang couldn’t help but look back at Ting He following behind her.

Zhao Tong grinned widely. “That’s right. These people are prepared specifically for you, Miss.”

Zhao Hanzhang: “…Whose idea was this? I don’t recall the school having such a class.”

“It was Madam’s idea,” Zhao Tong said. “Madam said that now you fight on battlefields, and the maids raised at home before are no longer suitable to keep by your side. But you also can’t rely only on Miss Ting He forever, so she had this humble one find you some female servants skilled in martial arts.”

“But female servants who can ride horses and shoot arrows and know martial arts aren’t easy to find. Even if found, they wouldn’t serve you well, Miss. So this humble one opened a separate class and selected some clever girls to study.” Zhao Tong was very proud. “Once they complete their studies, they can serve at your side, Miss.”

Zhao Hanzhang listened and remained silent for a long while.

She looked at the little girls arranged in four rows, eagerly waiting for her inspection. After brief contemplation, she said: “Then you should study martial arts well, and it would be best to also learn some military strategy. Zhao Tong, arrange a teacher to teach them military strategy.”

Zhao Tong: “Ah?”

Zhao Hanzhang glanced at him. “Even if they’re just maids by my side, they must be accomplished in both civil and military arts. You should study well. Perhaps in the future you can go to the battlefield to kill enemies like me. As long as you can kill enemies and achieve merit, I’ll grant you the rank of general.”

The girls’ eyes all lit up brightly upon hearing this.

This was too wonderful!

Who among those who managed to squeeze into this class lacked ambition?

The little girls responded in unison, staring intently at Zhao Hanzhang, indicating they would never disappoint the Miss’s trust.

Because the school was opened for Zhao Hanzhang and learning was for Zhao Hanzhang’s sake, in the manor, whether boys or girls, as long as they had the opportunity, they went to school. Parents absolutely never had thoughts like “girls shouldn’t study” or “this son is dull and shouldn’t come out to study.”

Because everything they had belonged to Zhao Hanzhang. If Zhao Hanzhang told them to study, they studied. If she told them to learn skills, they learned.

When Zhao Hanzhang learned of this mindset, she didn’t know for a moment whether she should change their thinking.

Seeing her rare silence, Fu Tinghan spoke: “The process isn’t actually very important—what matters is the result.”

“Moreover, when people grow up, they think. Some principles, when they mature to a certain age, they’ll naturally understand,” Fu Tinghan said. “By then, I’m afraid even if you want them wholly devoted to you, they’ll develop selfish thoughts for themselves and their families.”

He continued: “I hope that when that time comes, you can be like today, wanting them to study for themselves and for this country, not just for you alone.”

Zhao Hanzhang raised an eyebrow. “If I forget, you remind me.”

Fu Tinghan nodded. “If I can maintain my original intentions and remember this matter, I will definitely remind you.”

“You have so little confidence in yourself. I’m different—I believe I can absolutely remain constant from beginning to end, never forgetting my original intentions.”

Fu Tinghan: “…Is ‘constant from beginning to end’ used this way?”

“Of course. I think it’s very appropriate.”

The two continued their whispered conversation as they headed toward the separate courtyard.

Reaching the courtyard entrance, Zhao Hanzhang waved to the manor folk still following closely behind. “Those who should work, work. Those who should go home, go home. I’ve arrived home now. With so many of you, I can’t invite you all inside.”

Everyone laughed for a while and relaxed considerably, saying they would see Zhao Hanzhang inside before leaving.

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t demur. She pulled Fu Tinghan along and entered. Once the main gate closed, the manor folk outside finally began to disperse. However, everyone’s faces showed excitement with high spirits. They simply gathered in groups of three or five, enthusiastically discussing the Zhao Hanzhang they had just seen.