Finally having prepared the Emperor’s gift as well, Zhao Hanzhang stood haggardly at the gate watching Zhao Xin’s party depart. She sighed and said to Ting He, “Go prepare a horse. We’re going outside the city to see Tinghan.”

Ting He acknowledged.

Zhao Hanzhang wanted to go out and look at her money pouch—after all, so much money had just gone out.

Fu Tinghan was at the water mill. Shen Ruhui was very capable. Not only could he help Fu Tinghan perfect the water mill linkage, recently he’d also been planning to improve the water wheel to increase its pushing force and achieve the pressure of a forging press. Supposedly they’d already made progress recently, so Fu Tinghan had been staying here, doing research with Shen Ruhui and the others, forgetting food and sleep.

Zhao Hanzhang rode her horse toward the Luo River. Approaching the water mill, she saw a group of people stopped by the Luo River—one horse carriage, five ox carts, and fifty or sixty people who were clearly guards and servants. They looked somewhat familiar.

Zhao Hanzhang had good eyesight. She reined in her horse at the roadside, pointing at the people by the Luo River and asking Ting He, “Do they look familiar to you? I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere.”

Ting He was also on horseback. She craned her neck to look that way. “I can’t see the people very clearly, but that carriage looks familiar. It seems like Seventh Great-Uncle’s carriage.”

Zhao Hanzhang excitedly slapped her own thigh and said delightedly, “Right! That’s why they looked familiar. Who else would have such a wide, large carriage? No wonder it looked familiar. This must be Seventh Uncle Zufu’s carriage, right?”

Zhao Hanzhang spurred her horse forward. The guards quickly followed, with one even overtaking her to go ahead and inquire about the situation.

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t compete with them, even slowing her horse’s pace.

As a military commander, she needed to be mindful of preserving her life.

The guard went ahead to ask and found it really was Zhao Hu’s carriage. He immediately turned back happily to tell Zhao Hanzhang, “Governor, it really is Seventh Great-Uncle’s carriage.”

Zhao Hanzhang came forward, scanning the convoy, her gaze pausing on the ox carts before asking, “Where is Seventh Uncle Zufu?”

The steward who had stayed behind immediately pointed to the not-too-distant water mill. “The master entered the workshop. That place won’t allow us to enter. Nulang…”

“Oh, the water mill indeed isn’t open to just anyone. You all stay here for now.” Zhao Hanzhang finished speaking and ran off, very happily going to find Zhao Hu.

Zhao Hu was someone who enjoyed comfort and disliked traveling. This was also the hottest time, so of the twelve hours in a day, aside from sleeping at night, during the daytime he only traveled for an hour and a half in the morning and one hour in the evening.

He had also bought some things along the way, so this short distance from Chen County to Luoyang had taken him several days without arriving.

Actually, if he’d traveled another half hour yesterday, he could have entered the city, but he felt the sun was too fierce. He’d rather stay an extra night in a small village outside the city than travel under the scorching sun.

In the morning, he reached the Luo River bank. With one glance, he saw the water wheel not far away. Moreover, several rows of houses had been built by the Luo River, enclosed by a perimeter wall—clearly a place for major undertakings.

So he curiously approached to look.

Upon inquiry, it turned out not to be a private residence but a workshop built by his grand-niece, and his grand-nephew-in-law was right inside the workshop.

Zhao Hu curiously went in to tour it.

Fu Tinghan was quite polite at first, following behind him to give introductions. But they probably didn’t hit it off conversationally. Zhao Hu preferred to look on his own, so he had Fu Tinghan go about his business while he wandered by himself.

This was just the water mill. The hydraulic forging press would be built in a separate workshop—there was nothing here he couldn’t see. So Fu Tinghan also went about his own business at ease.

Zhao Hu entered a room where four stone mills were arranged in a semicircle. A pole extended from outside, and when it moved, all four water mills turned along with it.

A person stood before each stone mill, adding soybeans to the mill openings. After the soybeans were ground and pressed out, they fell into the mill trough. When there was enough, workers used small brooms made of tied rice straw to sweep the soybean powder down into wooden buckets.

Zhao Hu watched in astonishment. “This, this doesn’t require human power?”

Shen Ruhui, who had been squatting in the corner, heard the voice and stood up. “Who are you?”

Zhao Hu was startled. Only then did he notice Shen Ruhui, dressed in blue cloth, had been squatting at the front end where the wooden pole extended in, blocked by the first water mill, so he hadn’t seen him.

Zhao Hu patted his chest and complained, “Why did you suddenly speak up? You scared me.”

Shen Ruhui slowly looked him over. Seeing he didn’t look like a craftsman or someone knowledgeable about water principles and mills, he ignored him and continued squatting to ponder.

Zhao Hu, seeing he actually ignored him, was so angry his beard bristled. He turned left and right, asking, “Where’s Tinghan? Call him here quickly. How can this craftsman be so arrogant?”

Zhao Hu’s attendant quickly soothed him. “Master, Third Son-in-law seems to be just outside.”

Zhao Hu stormed out indignantly. But outside was a courtyard with people carrying wheat and soybeans in and out, delivering them to various rooms—but no Fu Tinghan in sight.

Zhao Hu turned to ask, “Where is he?”

The attendant pointed to a small door in the wooden fence. “I just saw Third Son-in-law go out from there.”

Zhao Hu immediately went forward, pulling open the wooden door with one motion and stepping out. Who knew that outside was actually a wide water channel? He nearly stepped right into it.

He steadied himself and looked forward to see Fu Tinghan standing on a bamboo raft with his trouser legs rolled up, holding a pole and gesturing with it.

“Write it down—four chi and three cun.”

Fu An quickly used his brush to record it. He carefully put away the notebook, afraid of getting it wet. Turning his head, he saw Zhao Hu and immediately told Fu Tinghan, “Young master, Seventh Great-Uncle has come.”

Fu Tinghan, who had been about to move closer to inspect the great water wheel’s operation, turned back. Seeing Zhao Hu staring wide-eyed at him, he said, “Let’s go back.”

Fu An quickly rowed back.

Fu Tinghan walked barefoot to the channel’s edge, then jumped across. “How did Seventh Uncle Zufu find his way here? Finished touring the workshop?”

Zhao Hu shook his head. Seeing him wash his feet in the channel then slip on a pair of wooden clogs, he was shocked. “You, this workshop, these matters—do you still have to do them personally?”

Fu Tinghan was puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

Zhao Hu looked at his soaked trouser legs and somewhat reddened toe webs, couldn’t help but sympathetically pat his shoulder. “Tinghan, it’s our Zhao family that has wronged you.”

He said, “If you feel wronged, I’ll speak to Fifth Brother on your behalf. Let’s just cancel this marriage arrangement. You come to my place. I’ll put you in charge of all my family’s workshops. The money earned—you get three parts, I get seven. How about it?”

Zhao Hanzhang, who had enthusiastically come to see Zhao Hu, froze, her face turning cold as she stood behind Zhao Hu and asked quietly, “Seventh Uncle Zufu, what did you say?”

Zhao Hu was startled, clutching his chest and turning around. Seeing Zhao Hanzhang, he couldn’t help getting angry. “Why do all the people in this workshop like to scare others? Can’t you make a sound before speaking so I know someone’s there?”