After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 688 - 680: Science and Engineering Talent

Besides the officials and craftsmen he works with, Fu Tinghan doesn’t like having people around, especially when he’s working at his desk.

So he usually wouldn’t have Fu An serve him in the evening, and if Wei Jie hadn’t visited unexpectedly last night, Fu An would have gone to bed.

This was the first time in three years that Fu An stayed up outside the room, so when he woke up, he was a bit dazed and didn’t know what was going on.

He got up with a bewildered look, leaned against the door panel for a moment before remembering why he was sleeping outside, and as the morning sun shone on him, he was jolted awake and quickly got up.

As a result, his neck, which had been bent all night, suddenly made a cracking sound and became immobile.

Fu Tinghan drank the water in his tea bowl and was about to pour some more when he discovered it was gone. Just then, he heard a cracking sound and couldn’t help but look down at the teapot.

Wei Jie kindly suggested, "It seems to come from outside."

Fu Tinghan got up and opened the door, seeing Fu An with his body tilted, looking at him. "We’re done talking. Why don’t you escort Mr. Wei back to his room? Have the kitchen prepare some easy-to-digest breakfast for him... What’s wrong with your neck?"

Fu An was teary-eyed, "Master, I strained my neck."

Fu Tinghan: ...

In the end, it was Fu Tinghan who escorted Wei Jie back to his room and ordered a servant to prepare hot water and breakfast. Then he took Fu An to see a doctor.

There weren’t many people living in the Inspector Mansion, usually only Mrs. Wang, so there was no mansion physician, and he had to take him to the streets to find one.

By the time Zhao Hanzhang heard and came over, the doctor had already progressed to the acupuncture stage of the treatment. Fu Tinghan, having waited a while, was leaning against the table, supporting himself with his hand, eyes closed.

Zhao Hanzhang glanced at Fu An and motioned with her hand for him to relax during the treatment. Being jabbed with needles, what if a needle accidentally went into his neck while he was getting up to greet her?

Just the thought was terrifying.

Zhao Hanzhang shivered a little, then immediately moved closer to look at Fu Tinghan. Seeing his steady breathing, she realized he was asleep.

Upon closer inspection, she noticed the dark circles under his eyes had deepened, with a bluish tint visible through his skin — a clear sign of staying up late.

Zhao Hanzhang did not disturb him, gently walked over to the doctor’s side, and watched him administer the needles.

The doctor only applied two needles to Fu An: one on Fengchi and another on Houxi. She noted Houxi wasn’t much to say about, being on the hand, but Fengchi she knew. Just down from it was the carotid artery; when she liked to knock people out, she’d press there lightly and they’d faint.

If one woke up feeling dizzy, pressing Fengchi would have some effect.

Zhao Hanzhang glanced over and asked the doctor, "How is he now?"

The doctor replied, "Replying to your ladyship, I pressed on it for him. It’s somewhat relieved now. After this acupuncture, come back tomorrow for another massage, and make sure he rests; he’ll be fine."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, then walked over to stand beside Fu An, conveniently on the side where his head was leaning. She clicked her tongue and asked, "Did you strain it while practicing martial arts?"

Fu Tinghan didn’t like exercising himself, nor did the servant he brought along, which was why he distributed their guards to practice martial arts diligently every day. Occasionally they’d be thrust into the frontline of bandit suppression to train their combat skills and better protect him.

So Fu An straining his neck while practicing martial arts was as rare as Fu Tinghan exercising once in the morning and evening.

Fu An’s eyes welled up with tears, guiltily saying, "Replying to your ladyship, I strained it while sleeping against the door panel."

Zhao Hanzhang curiously asked, "Did Ting Han really talk with Mr. Wei all night?"

Fu An said "Hmm" and replied, "Yes, they talked all night."

Zhao Hanzhang couldn’t imagine what they could discuss that would take all night, so when Fu Tinghan woke up, he was met with Zhao Hanzhang’s curious eyes.

Fu Tinghan rose from the table, rubbed his eyes, and asked, "What brings you here? Is Fu An alright?"

"Not yet. He still needs to come back for a treatment tomorrow morning. We can set out after he’s done. Since his neck is strained, should we leave him behind?"

Fu An’s spine tensed, and he quickly said, "Master, I’m alright now, no need to leave me behind."

Fu Tinghan: "She’s teasing you. Just come early for treatment tomorrow. There’ll be many people seeing us off in the city; we won’t be departing quickly."

Only then did Fu An breathe a sigh of relief.

Zhao Hanzhang paid the bill, then led the two out of the doctor’s clinic, "You haven’t eaten breakfast yet, have you? Why not eat outside?"

Fu Tinghan agreed.

The two found a decent-looking dumpling stall by the roadside, ordered three bowls of dumplings, and chatted as they ate.

"Fu An said the two of you didn’t sleep all night."

Fu An: ...I didn’t say that, you guessed it yourself.

Fu Tinghan nodded and spoke of what could currently be discussed, "We talked about altering the mechanical systems."

Zhao Hanzhang paused in the middle of eating a dumpling, "Hmm?"

Fu Tinghan smiled at her and said, "I just found out last night that Wei Jie is not only good at light conversation; he possesses a commitment to getting to the root of things that only researchers have."

This kind of dedication is applied not only to philosophy but also to technical skills.

"We discussed the current focus on water power, but some areas have little water, or the water’s location is inconvenient for the common people to utilize more easily, so other power sources are needed," Fu Tinghan said. "When I was making the water-powered pestle, I discovered that the water power that can be used to operate a hydraulic press can also be used to crush ore. At the same time, it can be converted to be manually operated, which is more labor-saving than simply grinding."

"It’s just that switching to manpower requires changing the machinery, and Shen Ruhui and I are still researching it," Fu Tinghan said. "I was thinking, if water-powered pestles can crush ore, can’t we make cement and directly lay out a wider official road?"

Zhao Hanzhang’s hand holding the chopsticks tightened; she was greatly tempted, but after a moment, she shook her head with difficulty, "This is not the right time. Let’s postpone it; there might be a locust plague next year, and we might end up in a war. At this time, manpower should still be concentrated on water conservancy and farming."

Fu Tinghan nodded, "Then I’ll do some research first. If there’s a need to set up hydropower facilities, I’ll reserve a spot, so when it’s needed, it can be used right away."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded repeatedly, "That’s good, that’s good. Do the research first; we might not use it for now, but we need to know how to."

Zhao Hanzhang asked curiously, "Wei Jie understands these things?"

Fu Tinghan nodded and said, "He understands a bit, and he understands thoroughly once he begins. He differs from Shen Ruhui and Cao Ping in that he delves into the details, clarifies the principles, and then can infer deductions."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang grew thoughtful, "Then I know which aspect he should focus on."

This kind of person should indeed be applied to the sciences.

Zhao Hanzhang snapped back to reality and said to him, "Wei Jie isn’t in good health, you can supervise him to exercise when you collaborate, if he doesn’t like military boxing, he can do Five Animals Qigong and Eight Pieces of Brocade, haven’t you learned those?"

Fu Tinghan bowed his head and ate dumplings, pretending not to hear.

Zhao Hanzhang watched him for a while and decided that in the future, she would disturb him every morning, determined to drag him out of bed for exercise.

After breakfast, the two strolled back home. By the time they returned to the yard, they had almost digested their food. Zhao Hanzhang said, "Go to sleep quickly, and don’t stay up late anymore. Watching you work harder than I do, not only am I ashamed, but also a bit scared."

Fu Tinghan looked at her and said nothing, quietly returning to sleep.

Behind him followed Fu An, who tilted his head curiously.

Seeing Fu An tilting his head to make his bed, Fu Tinghan gestured, "I’ll do it myself, you should go and sleep too."

He said, "In the future, if I stay up late, don’t stay up with me."

Fu An was uneasy, "Master, did I cause trouble for you?"

Fu Tinghan froze for a moment before shaking his head, "No, I was just thinking about something earlier, it’s not related to you."

Fu An breathed a sigh of relief and then retreated.

Wei Jie didn’t come out after catching up on his sleep, causing those who came to visit the Inspector Mansion to return empty-handed. Helplessly, they could only turn the visit into a farewell gift for Zhao Hanzhang.

However, Zhao Hanzhang didn’t care much for such formalities and didn’t like to waste time on them, so she handed everything over to Mrs. Wang and the butler Uncle Cheng to handle.

Wang Yu, feeling quite bored, wandered around the Inspector Mansion. When he arrived at the garden, he happened to see Zhao Hanzhang practicing with a spear. Uncle Cheng came with two rolls of cloth and waited until she finished a set of spear techniques before stepping forward, "Lady, the Yu Family from Pingyu sent gifts for you."

Zhao Hanzhang wiped her sweat as she glanced at the silk fabric cradled by him and asked curiously, "Yu Family? Why are they sending me gifts? I remember the third master of the Yu Family and the Seventh Ancestor had a good relationship."

Uncle Cheng smiled and nodded, "Yes, the relationship is quite good. It should be an apology for the incident yesterday when the young ones from the Yu Family stopped the carriage on the street."

Zhao Hanzhang waved her hand, "Then it should be given to Mr. Wei, why send it to me?"

Uncle Cheng understood and bowed, "I’ll send it to Mr. Wei immediately."

Zhao Hanzhang handed the spear to Ting He and turned to look at a tree not far away.

Wang Yu paused briefly and then stepped out from behind the tree, saluting, "Wang Yu greets Governor Zhao."

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and said, "Mr. Wang, no need to be so polite, please come and sit."

Wang Yu, seeing that she no longer called him "Cousin Uncle," felt relieved.

Wei Jie had received too much attention, and in conversation yesterday, he was the focal point, unintentionally sidelining Wang Yu.

When Zhao Hanzhang talked with Wei Jie, she tried several times to include him, but he seemed unable to join the conversation, and Zhao Hanzhang didn’t want to force it, so she gave up.

Now with just the two of them, Zhao Hanzhang could find topics he was interested in, "I’m still young, since my grandfather passed away, Luoyang has faced difficulties several times, and relatives have scattered, so I don’t know the situation of my maternal family."

Mrs. Wang also hailed from a Wang family; she had to address Wang Yu as her clan brother. In fact, ethically speaking, Wang Yu and Zhao Hanzhang are closer family. He was a cousin with Zhao Hanzhang’s father, whereas Wei Jie was a cousin from the other side of the family, but Wang Yu was still Mrs. Wang’s clan brother, so Zhao Hanzhang had to call him "Uncle" in a formal sense.

Yet because of the relationship between the Zhao and Wang families, Mrs. Wang didn’t like Wang Yu, and so intentionally diminished this connection.

Wang Yu, mostly aware of this, thus didn’t boast about it.

When Zhao Hanzhang asked, he explained, "Many relatives still remain in Taiyuan, especially around Jinyang. Three years ago, some family members in the Capital City left, and no one knows where they have gone; there’s been no news so far."