Second Senior Brother

After exchanging a few polite words, Zhao Ruxi asked, "When will Old Master Zhang have time to visit the estate?"

"You can go to the yamen this afternoon," said Old Master Zhang.

"Alright, let's meet at the yamen when we go to court," Zhao Ruxi said.

"Good, good."

After Zhao Ruxi took her leave and returned to the next room, Qingfeng also came over with two maids from the Kang Residence. All three of them carried food boxes in both hands.

Seeing that Broker Li was about to take his leave, Zhao Ruxi quickly said, "Why don't you stay here and have something to eat together? Let Uncle Gao keep you company."

Qingfeng added, "Yes, that's right. The Kang Family's cook knew you hadn't eaten, and she was very hospitable, preparing a lot of food. We definitely can't finish it all. Broker Li, why don't you eat here with us?"

Gao Weiqiang also said a few polite words.

In general, when doing this kind of business, the middleman would accompany the client to the yamen to sign the official contract, in case of any unforeseen circumstances, and also to collect a commission. The yamen's lunch break was very short, and it would be time for the yamen to reopen in no time. Even if the Broker Li left, he wouldn't dare to go far, so he would find a small stall nearby to buy something to eat quickly, or simply gnaw on some dry rations.

Seeing Zhao Ruxi's sincere desire to keep him, Broker Li no longer declined. Gao Weiqiang took the three food boxes from the maid and ate with him in the outer courtyard's dining hall. Zhao Ruxi, on the other hand, had lunch with Qingfeng and Dianjiang in the inner courtyard.

After the meal, the group went to the government office.

Seeing that Zhao Ruxi had bought another house in just one day, Wang Guangyao admired her even more and became even more diligent in handling matters. When Zhao Ruxi offered him a reward for his trouble, he declined for a long time before finally accepting it.

Seeing Wang Guangyao's attitude towards Zhao Ruxi, Old Master Zhang became even more respectful. Before leaving, he said, "Miss Zhao, don't worry, my family has an estate just outside the city. We'll move there for a while, and we'll be able to vacate the house in less than ten days."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Elder Zhang." Zhao Ruxi bid him farewell, then called Broker Li back, "I need to buy some servants. If you have any suitable ones, please leave a message for me at my master's house."

"Alright. I'll pass on the message to the young lady after I've made my choice." Broker Li was Gao Xing to have another business opportunity come his way after completing one, and he bid farewell to Zhao Ruxi before leaving.

After returning home, Zhao Ruxi went to the Kang Family Painting Academy and told Kang Shilin and Wu Zong about her purchase of the house next door.

Kang Shilin was Gao Xing to learn that his youngest apprentice had bought the house nearby because of him and Wu Zong, and said, "That's good, it's convenient."

Although he and Zhao Ruxi were master and disciple, they were still of different genders. Even if he didn't live here, it was inconvenient for Zhao Ruxi to return to the capital sometimes, and it was also inconvenient for her to stay in his villa.

Therefore, it is essential to have a place to stay here.

"Junior Sister, you're spending money like water. You're probably running low on cash, aren't you?" Wu Zong teased her.

"It's really all gone." Zhao Ruxi nodded, then smiled and bowed to the two of them. "But the painting training class that Master and Senior Brother arranged for me is about to open, isn't it? If it weren't for this income, I wouldn't dare to buy a house like this. I would have to be very frugal to buy even one place. So thank you very much, Master and Senior Brother."

"Alright," Kang Shilin patted her on the head, "Stop fooling around here and go draw. If you don't draw well, I'll spank your hand."

After Zhao Ruxi painted a picture and received Kang Shilin's affirmation and praise, and after giving instructions to everyone on their sketches, Gong Cheng entered, still wearing his official robes.

Upon seeing him, Wu Zong smiled and said, "Senior brother, is your Ministry of Ministry of Works so busy? I remember you and I both took the afternoon off, right? Look at you, how many times have you even come?"

Gong Cheng ignored him, greeted Kang Shilin, went into the inner courtyard to change out of his official robes and into casual clothes.

After he came out, he said, "There was nothing I could do. I was supposed to be able to paint in peace once I finished dealing with the things that happened recently. But yesterday, His Majesty issued an edict saying that the Fifth Prince would be taking up his post at the Ministry of Works today. After the Fifth Prince arrived today, he went to all the government offices. None of us could leave, so we had to accompany him. If I hadn't already taken leave, I wouldn't be able to get out now."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ruxi's heart stirred.

Since the matter involved the royal family, Wu Zong decided it was best not to tease him any further and said, "Alright, get back to your painting."

Zhao Ruxi then moved closer to Gong Cheng: "Senior brother, can I take up a little of your time?"

Gong Cheng hadn't had much contact with Zhao Ruxi, but during this time he had heard his master and Wu Zong praise his junior sister in various ways, so he had a very good impression of Zhao Ruxi.

He smiled and said, "It's alright, go ahead."

"I just bought a farm, and I asked the farm manager. He said he only plants one rice crop a year, and leaves the land fallow the rest of the year. He also said not to plant winter wheat in winter to conserve soil fertility. I'm wondering if he's doing the right thing? Can you give me some advice?"

Gong Cheng was the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works. He was probably in charge of engineering and construction, not agriculture. But a high-ranking official would know something about anything related to his area of responsibility.

Take modern provincial and municipal leaders, for example. Even if they are not from farming families and have never farmed, they have inspected and learned a great deal about agriculture. When they encounter problems, they have to help local farmers solve them. They can also give a lot of advice and detailed data on this.

Sure enough, upon hearing this question, Gong Cheng said, "His statement is correct. The main problem is that the estate is too large, with too many fields and limited manpower. Farmers can't accumulate much manure, so the soil's fertility can't keep up. Plus, the winters are cold, so the fields can only be left fallow to allow the soil to recover its fertility."

"Isn't there anything else that can be grown in winter that can also help with fertilization?" Zhao Ruxi asked.

"Yes, we all advocate planting green manure. It can increase fertilizer, but it's impossible to sell it for money," Gong Cheng said.

Wu Zong chimed in from the side, "Junior Sister, I know you hope the estate will prosper and the servants will live better lives. But every estate is like this. If there were a better way, everyone would have followed suit long ago. Who wouldn't want to do something that makes money? But over the years, no one has been able to come up with a good solution."

Zhao Ruxi sighed, "Alright. I'll think of another way."

Actually, she did have some ideas.

She has not only fields, but also mountains and rivers. If she raises sheep and chickens on the mountains and ducks by the river, the manure from these livestock and poultry, along with the humus from fallen leaves in the forest, will make excellent fertilizer. The fertilizer will increase the fertility of the fields, and selling the livestock and poultry will bring in another source of income. It's a win-win situation and can be considered a solution to the problem of insufficient fertility.

But what to do if livestock and poultry get sick is a big problem. Even in modern times, outbreaks of fowl plague are unavoidable, let alone in ancient times.

The saying "Even with immense wealth, livestock and poultry income is hard to calculate; it all depends on your luck" means that the income from livestock and poultry is difficult to quantify and depends on your fortune.