Lord Zhao Was Formidable

Zhao Ruxi frowned.

Originally, she wanted to visit the winery to see the brewing techniques, compare them with her impression of brewing techniques and the level Xiao Lingyan had given her, and see how to improve them, and if necessary, cooperate with them.

But since the Dong family has passed down their winemaking skills through generations, and it's their ancestral craft that they rely on for their livelihood, how could they allow outsiders to visit freely? Workshops like this, passed down through generations, are the most difficult to negotiate with.

She then asked, "Did you find out about the Jade Milk Spring that I asked you to inquire about?"

Water is the soul of wine. The water from Jade Milk Spring is the key to Danyang rice wine.

Lu Yun looked ashamed. "I've searched all over Nanyang and asked many people, but I've never heard of this spring. Please give me a little more time so I can go out of the city and inquire further."

"Isn't it in the Dong family's residence or the Dong family's estate?" Zhao Ruxi asked again.

Lu Yun shook his head. "It shouldn't be. I specifically inquired, and the Dong family does use spring water for brewing wine, but that spring isn't called Jade Milk Spring, it's Dragon Pool Spring."

Zhao Ruxi frowned. "It might just be a different name; it's actually the same spring."

In a different time and place, Danyang became Nanyang; Zhenjiang became Linjiang. So it's not surprising that Jade Milk Spring is called Dragon Pool Spring.

"Check again. If possible, bring back some spring water from the Dong family's Dragon Pool Spring so I can taste it."

"Yes."

After spending two days with Kang Shilin and others in Danyang, Zhao Ruxi went to the yamen (government office) again.

Upon hearing that she had come to the yamen, Liu Hongyu quickly summoned her and said, "Lord Cai has already told me that he will put you in charge of the grain and water conservancy affairs under his jurisdiction. Lord Li said that you can just tell him which affairs you want to manage, and he will transfer them directly to you."

Zhao Ruxi didn't stand on ceremony and said directly, "Lord Li doesn't have many responsibilities, so I'll just take the land reclamation project."

There are roughly nine matters to handle in Nanyang. It's reasonable for the three assistant prefects to each be assigned three. Li Li originally had fewer matters to manage, so it's just right for Zhao Ruxi to take one from him.

Liu Hongyu was pleased to see everyone getting along so well. He was also very Gao Xing to see that Zhao Ruxi wasn't greedy and had resolved all the issues with Cai Yaozong.

"Clerk, which one do you want? If you haven't decided yet, you can leave it for now and let me know when you've decided on the personnel."

The three tasks that Zhao Ruxi needed to manage included writing files, drafting documents, and negotiating with the six departments' officials and clerks. She couldn't do these herself, nor should she ask her steward or attendants to do them. Therefore, she needed a dedicated clerk to serve her.

When she needed to collect grain, repair water conservancy projects, or mobilize the people to reclaim wasteland, she needed to negotiate with the village head or the people below, and that's where the yamen runners came in handy.

This is equivalent to a modern deputy mayor's personal secretary and clerk.

"If we're talking about the clerk, then let's choose Zhang Wenhuan," Zhao Ruxi said. "As for the yamen runners, isn't there someone named Chen Tao in the yamen? If he's willing, then let's choose him."

Chen Tao volunteered after Yu Gang. According to the information provided by Xiao Lingyan and the findings of Yang Jie and others, he seems like a decent person.

"Okay." Liu Hongyu's attitude couldn't have been better.

He summoned Cai Yaozong and Li Li and asked them to hand over these matters to Zhao Ruxi.

Cai Yaozong and Li Li handed over the files and accounts for these three matters to Zhao Ruxi one by one. Zhao Ruxi then called Zhang Wenhuan over to organize these things.

Having raised the white flag, Cai Yaozong gave up the struggle and instructed his steward to inform each department that any files and accounts under his jurisdiction, regardless of their nature, should be promptly presented to Lord Zhao Lord Zhao for his perusal, without any excuses.

Li Li, naturally not to be outdone, even made the trip himself.

When Cai Yaozong's steward and Li Li left, everyone in the yamen was astonished.

People whispered among themselves, "I never imagined that in just a day or two, Lord Zhao would get Lord Cai to relinquish the grain supervision duties and even allow Lord Zhao to review all the files and accounts. Just who is this Lord Zhao? She's so powerful! What methods did she use to make Lord Cai submit?"

They hadn't forgotten that when Li Li came, he had fought openly and covertly with Cai Yaozong for a long time, but ultimately lost and could only handle some thankless tasks, let alone review case files; he wasn't even given a chance to look at them.

Once, Lord Cai fell ill, and it happened to be the autumn harvest season, making the task of collecting grain urgent. Lord Liu wanted Lord Li to take care of this matter for Lord Cai, but Lord Cai insisted on working despite his illness, not giving Lord Li any opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

"Yes, not only Lord Cai, but Lord Li did the same. He even personally came to instruct us to do our utmost to fulfill Lord Zhao's orders and provide whatever he needed. Lord Liu was also very accommodating to Lord Zhao, giving him whatever he asked for. I've been in the yamen for decades, and I've never seen a yamen official treat a colleague or subordinate like this. It seems she has powerful connections."

"Come on," one said with a sneer. "If she had powerful connections, Lord Cai wouldn't have made things difficult for her in the first place. Her current submissive attitude is probably due to Lord Zhao's shrewdness."

An old official said, "Whatever the reason, this new female official is formidable. You all need to be careful, lest she catch you doing something wrong and make an example of you. If you gossip and her servants find out, you'll be in for a beating."

Everyone tensed up, quickly shut their mouths, lowered their heads and focused on their work, but still kept a close eye on Lord Zhao's movements.

Then Lord Zhao summoned the officials from the Household Revenue Department and the Works Department one by one, inquiring about issues related to grain, water conservancy, and military farms. After that, she stayed in the yamen and didn't go out. However, the files and accounts that the Household Revenue Department had moved over a few days ago were moved out and replaced with a new batch.

The entire yamen watched as Zhao Ruxi went from room to room, taking all the yamen's files and accounts and reviewing them for a full twenty days. After twenty days, she had Zhang Wenhuan and Chen Tao return the borrowed files and accounts, and then there was no further news. It seemed she had finished reviewing them.

"So many documents, Lord Zhao only spent a little over twenty days reading them all?" Everyone couldn't help but discuss again.

They now know that Lord Zhao is looking at documents from the last five years. The Sixth Division has a considerable amount of documents from the last five years, enough to form a small mountain. If they were to look at so many documents, even just browsing them would take them at least half a year.

"You don't know, do you? Lord Zhao has a photographic memory; her memory is exceptionally good. Otherwise, how could she have stood out at such a young age?"

"Amazing, absolutely amazing!"

After discussing Lord Zhao's powerful background and formidable methods, people started to talk about her intelligence.