So Useful

Wang Fugui thought for a moment, put down his tools, took a nail shovel from someone next to him, put his foot on the flat iron frame and stepped on it. The nail shovel easily sank into the soil. He then lifted it up, and a large, deep, and wide pile of soil was lifted up.

"Huh?" everyone exclaimed in surprise.

"Wow, this is so easy! This thing is really useful; it requires almost no effort and lifts up a lot of dirt, just as well as the hoe. The best part is that it saves so much back strain; if you get tired of the hoe, you can just use this instead—you don't need to rest at all."

"I'll try, I'll try." The others tried to snatch the nail shovel from the other person's hand.

"Don't grab it, don't grab it! I haven't even tried it myself yet."

Several people eagerly tried out the nail shovel, and one after another praised it.

Someone even turned to the constable and asked, "Officer, who made these two things? Why weren't they given to us to use before? If we had these two things, clearing land wouldn't have been so tiring in previous years."

When the people initially didn't think much of these two farm tools, the yamen runner, though worried about angering Zhao Ruxi, also harbored resentment towards this unfair treatment. He was happy to see these people achieve their goal of not completing their tasks and avoiding punishment by discussing the farm tools. As long as what they said didn't offend Zhao Ruxi too much, he would turn a blind eye.

Therefore, he not only didn't stop everyone's discussion and experiments, but also watched with great interest from the sidelines.

Seeing that the two tools were judged by these experienced farmers to be excellent, even better than the hoes of Team B, he was overjoyed. He didn't bother answering the farmers' questions and turned to Zhao Ruxi to claim credit. "Lord Zhao, the farmers all say these two things you made are very useful!"

Liu Hongyu and the others were very curious about the new farm tools, but they were worried that if they didn't work well, Zhao Ruxi would lose face, so they didn't dare to go over and check how they were used.

Hearing the constables say this, everyone relaxed. Li Li even started flattering him. "I knew that whatever Lord Zhao made would be amazing. Didn't you see that even the most skilled thief couldn't break the safe Lord Zhao invented? Inventing new farm tools is a piece of cake for him too. Lord Zhao's brain, I really don't know how it's structured, he's just smarter than us."

Although these words were cheesy, they were true. Liu Hongyu, Cai Yaozong, and Chen Kang all recalled the scene when Zhao Ruxi first came to the yamen and used a safe to store case files. They suddenly understood and readily accepted Zhao Ruxi's approach of developing good farming tools just by observing others farming.

"Let's go, let's go, I have to go and take a good look." Liu Hongyu said as he walked forward, not forgetting to flatter Zhao Ruxi, "Can our brains compare to Lord Zhao's? How many people in the world can win the title of top scholar at the age of sixteen? Not to mention Lord Zhao in calligraphy and painting. Throughout history, there are almost no ones who can compare to Lord Zhao."

"Yes, Lord Zhao is a man of unparalleled talent and extraordinary ability." Cai Yaozong quickly followed suit, not wanting to be outdone.

Hearing this string of flattery, Zhao Ruxi's expression was truly indescribable.

As the group was walking towards the reclamation area, they suddenly heard the rapid sound of hooves, and there was more than one horse. Liu Hongyu and the others quickly stopped and turned to look at the road.

In those days, horses were strategic resources, and ordinary people couldn't afford them. The sound of a dozen or so people riding horses was an aura only found among royalty and nobility.

It seems that officials from the Ministry of Works have arrived.

Liu Hongyu couldn't help but look up at the sky.

It's only 11:00 AM, isn't it? Why are the officials from the Ministry of Works here so early? Did they leave the city before dawn?

Upon seeing a group of people riding towards them from afar, some of whom were dressed in official robes, Liu Hongyu quickly went to the roadside to greet them.

Zhao Ruxi had sharp eyes; she immediately recognized that not only Xiao Lingyan but also Gong Cheng had arrived.

She was pleasantly surprised. When the men rode up to her, she dismounted and hurried to greet them, "Second Senior Brother, what brings you here?"

"Haha, junior sister, you've made such a fine farming tool, so naturally I, as your senior brother, must come and learn from you," Gong Cheng laughed.

The two senior and junior disciples had not seen each other for half a year. Gong Cheng had thought that his junior sister would be darker and thinner, but Zhao Ruxi's skin was still so fair and clean, and she hadn't lost weight at all; in fact, she seemed to have grown taller.

Seeing that Zhao Ruxi only had eyes for her senior brother and not her fiancé, Xiao Lingyan coughed lightly to acknowledge his presence.

In fact, Xiao Lingyan was not lonely at all. Liu Hongyu, Cai Yaozong and others had already gathered around to offer their concern and flatter him. His side was quite lively.

Upon hearing Xiao Lingyan's cough, Gong Cheng turned around and burst into laughter again. "Lord Zhao, why don't you come over and pay your respects to our Prince of Qi?"

Zhao Ruxi had no choice but to approach Xiao Lingyan as a subordinate and respectfully bow. "This humble official, Zhao Zhiwei, greets Your Highness Prince of Qi."

Everyone watched the two of them and smiled, secretly envying Zhao Ruxi.

When Zhao Ruxi was injured last time, Xiao Lingyan personally brought the imperial physician to treat Zhao Ruxi injury early the next morning; now that Zhao Ruxi has made some new farming tools, he has come early again, showing such concern for his future Consort of the Prince of Qi, which shows that the Prince of Qi is very fond of her.

The Prince of Qi held a high position and wielded great power. He was also tall, handsome, and deeply devoted to his family. Lord Zhao's marriage was simply too perfect, making even these grown men envious.

Gong Cheng couldn't let his junior sister be embarrassed and become a laughing stock.

After Zhao Ruxi greeted him, he asked, "How long has it been over there? His Majesty ordered us to come and make a practical comparison of the new agricultural tools."

"It's only just begun," Zhao Ruxi said. "Let's go, let's go over there."

Although the new farm tools that Team A had brought were handy, everyone had taken a little time to try them out. Liu Hongyu and the others went over to take a look and found that the land they had dug on both sides was not much and the area was about the same, so they ordered both sides to stop.

"The new farming tools that Team A has brought were developed by Lord Zhao of Nanyang Prefecture. His Majesty has ordered His Prince of Qi and Vice Minister Lord Gong of the Ministry of Ministry of Works to come here to observe their effectiveness. In a moment, you will all do your best to dig with the tools in your hands for half an hour. We will judge the effectiveness of the new farming tools based on the size of the area you have dug," an official from the Ministry of Works announced loudly.

"Did everyone hear me clearly?"

"Understood."

"Okay, let's begin."

At the command, both Team A and Team B got to work diligently.

Needless to say, Team B, with so many people watching, dared not slack off in the slightest; Team A, upon hearing that such excellent farm tools were actually designed by that extremely beautiful lady who was very kind and caring towards them, the old farmers, and that Lord Zhao was also their prefectural magistrate, one of their own, was full of enthusiasm. They were determined to far surpass Team B, so that the Emperor and the officials in the capital would look at Lord Zhao with new eyes and earn Lord Zhao a great achievement.

Good officials who can develop agricultural tools for farmers should be promoted and rewarded.