After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 599 - 593

Wang Si Niang asked, "What is the most valuable thing in Luoyang right now?"

Zhao Kuan: "Cloth!"

"The most valuable thing in Luoyang is not something shipped from outside," Wang Si Niang replied.

Zhao Kuan tilted his head thoughtfully and said slowly, "The things made in the workshops, glass, paper, and books." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Zhao Kuan pursed his lips, "If it’s really the workshop, then there’s a rat in it."

Fan Ying also became serious, frowned, and said, "The workshop is managed by the eldest son. His accounting is meticulous; who could fabricate under his nose?"

Wang Si Niang said nothing. She didn’t know much about Fu Tinghan; her memory was still at the point where she assisted Zhao Hanzhang to visit the Fu Family, and they fell in love at first sight.

In her heart, Fu Tinghan still couldn’t compare with her elder brother.

Her elder brother would pair so well with Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Kuan temporarily set it aside, but he kept it in mind.

Zhao Hanzhang was going to host a banquet for her subordinates at the Zhao Mansion today. All the generals, deputy generals, officials, and her advisors would attend, and even heard that Chen Wu from the Qihu Army was coming.

He decided to mention this issue to Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan when he went to the Zhao Mansion. If there was indeed a rat in the workshop, it should be caught, but to save Fu Tinghan’s face, the matter should be handled quietly.

Otherwise, if word got out, people might think Fu Tinghan was incompetent.

But Zhao Kuan did have some doubts. If it was indeed a problem with the workshop, would Fu Tinghan not know?

He was so smart.

The calculation of provisions needed for several large armies was so complex that it required the accounting room seven or eight days to figure it out, but he could calculate it all at once.

How perfect would the workshop’s accounts need to be to deceive his eyes?

Fan Ying was anxious, fearing that Fu Tinghan was doing something behind the young lady’s back. Zhao Kuan and the others rarely saw Zhao Hanzhang, but she was with Zhao Hanzhang every day. As Zhao Hanzhang’s secretary, she knew too well about their relationship.

If the young lord really did something to betray the lady, how heartbroken would the lady be?

Fan Ying slammed the document on the table with a "snap," and after the two looked over, she said without any expression, "County Magistrate Zhao, the Inspector said that Luoyang is increasingly stable. After the Dragon Boat Festival, beans from various places will gradually mature, and they can be harvested by then. Before that, you should meet the magistrates of other counties in Henan County, so the Inspector wants you to invite them to gather in Luoyang in your name."

Zhao Kuan glanced at her cold face and immediately nodded in agreement, "Okay, I’ll write the posts in a while. How about the fifteenth of May?"

Fan Ying glanced at him and said, "You make the decision yourself. When people arrive, the Inspector will also meet them, but it’s best not to delay the bean harvest."

"Then the twelfth of May," Zhao Kuan said, "Even from the farthest county, a fast horse should reach Luoyang in two days."

Fan Ying handed him the document and then said, "The second thing is, with the summer harvest imminent, County Magistrate Zhao must coordinate the summer harvest well, not letting a single soybean or millet rot in the field, and also prepare for the sowing mobilization after the summer harvest."

"Besides the local area, the army should also be mobilized to better cultivate the fields. By the way," Fan Ying looked up at him and said, "The Inspector said that the families of the Xiliang Army have arrived in Luoyang, so County Magistrate Zhao should designate some land near the Xiliang Army’s fields for them to cultivate. Remember to include them in this year’s county government’s grain seeds distribution."

Zhao Kuan opened his mouth wide, wanting to say he had no money.

But facing Fan Ying’s cold face, he swallowed the words back, thinking he’d wait until she was in a better mood to bring it up, since there’s still some time before the autumn sowing.

"The Inspector also said to prepare the county government to settle the families of the Xiliang Army. They’re all settling in Luoyang, and the new houses outside belong to the military families."

This wasn’t a problem, Zhao Kuan readily agreed.

Times had changed. Luoyang now wasn’t the Luoyang of before. Household registration wasn’t valuable, and even the houses weren’t valuable anymore.

After discussing the matters and confirming the dates for execution, Fan Ying turned and left.

Wang Si Niang watched her leave and said, "I’ve heard that Fan, the clerk, is the orphan of the former County Magistrate of Xiping County, a descendant of the loyal and brave?"

Zhao Kuan nodded.

Wang Si Niang: "She acts swiftly and decisively, no wonder Hanzhang would promote her to be a clerk."

The Chief of Staff of the Inspector Mansion was from the sixth rank, now the direct superior of Wang Hufeng.

Wang Si Niang had long heard of her sister’s direct superior, who often boasted about how capable she was at home.

Zhao Kuan continued to nod, then handed the second document to her and said kindly, "Chief Clerk Wang, please put more effort into this matter. The autumn sowing is mainly hemp and wheat, and we need to prepare more seeds, especially wheat seeds."

He said, "Hemp can be transplanted, but the amount of hemp currently planted in Luoyang isn’t much, so we need to buy it from other counties."

At this time, Wang Si Niang was still unaware of the treacherous nature of people. Although she had been poor for a short time, she wasn’t particularly poor and hadn’t realized the importance of money. So she took the document and readily agreed, promising to complete the task.

Zhao Kuan breathed a sigh of relief and reminded her, "Start preparing early so that it can begin along with the summer harvest. By then, the grain prices will drop, and the price of wheat seeds will also be relatively cheaper."

If she couldn’t buy them, they could report early, and they would figure it out together.

Wang Si Niang agreed.

Zhao Kuan worked until 3:00 PM, handling all the matters at the county government, then got up to go to the Zhao Mansion.

Since the Zhao Mansion had become the temporary office of the Inspector Mansion, officials could enter and exit the front courtyard without reporting, but they needed to be announced once they reached the front.

Zhao Hanzhang had finished her work for the day and was chopping bones in the backyard with Zhao Erlang.

Because Zhao Kuan shared the Zhao surname, he could smoothly reach the backyard kitchen, where he saw them moving a long table to the yard outside the kitchen, with a freshly killed lamb on it.

Zhao Hanzhang held a knife and, under the guidance of a trusted aide, dismembered the lamb, seemingly effortlessly. She cut off a leg and tossed it to Zhao Erlang, who shaved off the meat, soon producing a beautiful lamb leg bone.

Zhao Kuan: ...

What a nice leg of lamb it would be for grilling with a layer of honey, it must be delicious.

Why were they scraping all the meat off?

Zhao Erlang started cutting off the lamb’s hooves and then took a cleaver to chop the leg bone.

The siblings divided the entire lamb meticulously, leaving only some for grilling, while the rest was used for stewing, frying, and simmering, boiling...

Fu Tinghan sat under the gallery, leisurely picking vegetables while avoiding the sun.

Zhao Kuan was a gentleman and had never entered the kitchen, so he stood in the yard at a loss. He looked around and finally chose Fu Tinghan, "Ting Han, why do you personally do it yourselves?"

Here, Zhao Kuan was their clan brother, so he didn’t use an honorific but directly called him by his name.