What Reward Do You Want?

The officials here were all high-ranking and older. Although they didn't cheer out loud, their lightly clenched fists, bright eyes, and upturned lips revealed their joy and excitement.

"That's great, that's great!"

If you get closer, you can hear the mutterings of Eunuch Xie and Qi Xugu.

Although thirty strong men lined up to harvest rice, occupying a relatively wide area, the harvester pulled by two horses had a limited area, only occupying a quarter of the area they lined up. However, the harvester started slowly but had great momentum, and now that it had overtaken them, it might be even faster later on.

As long as we move forward at this pace, going back and forth twice, even if we are slower than thirty strong men harvesting this rice field in the end, we will still win.

The strong men are only cutting the rice stalks now; they still need to gather and thresh them later—the slower processes are yet to come. But the harvester is now completing the entire gathering and threshing process.

Sure enough, after the strong men had been cutting for a short while, eight people stopped what they were doing and began to gather the cut rice grains in handfuls. The four people closest to the threshing barrel quickly gathered the nearby rice stalks and began to vigorously beat them against the edge of the barrel to thresh the rice.

After they finished threshing the rice sheaves, they stepped back from the threshing barrel and jogged to collect the scattered rice stalks on the ground. The other four quickly followed, not letting the threshing barrel rest, increasing efficiency with a tight pace.

These eight people went to thresh the rice, leaving twenty-two people to harvest it. Each person had to cut a wider area horizontally. The original thirty people couldn't keep up with the harvester, and now they were far behind.

Although harvesters use animal power, which is more stamina-intensive than humans, cranking the lever is still physically demanding. However, the strong men over there know how to make clever arrangements, and so do the men here.

After rocking for a while, the man driving the horse in the carriage jumped down and switched places with one of the rockers, letting him catch his breath. Once that man had rested, he jumped down and took over for another. The three of them took turns, which was actually easier than the thirty strong men who hadn't dared to stop and rest at all.

They were already fast, and since they didn't need to stop and rest, by the time the strong men were halfway through cutting, they had already turned around and started cutting the other side. However, they did stop briefly in the middle because the two sacks they were dragging behind were full and needed to be replaced.

The high-ranking officials here all rose through the ranks from the lowest levels. Even if they've never farmed themselves, they're extremely sensitive to data. They don't even need to see the end to know the value of this harvester.

Two horses, three men, and a rolling mill can do the same amount of work in a day as thirty men do in a day.

Qi Xugu, the most business-minded among them, was the first to ask, "Your Majesty, what is the cost of this harvester? Could it be made smaller, so that it can be pulled by an ox?"

Zhao Ruxi knew why he asked that question.

The Great Jin Dynasty did not produce horses domestically and had to purchase them from the northwestern regions, making them expensive. This is why only nobles could ride in horse-drawn carriages, while ordinary people could only ride in mule carts or oxcarts.

She explained, "I used two draft horses because they are easier to control, and their pulling power and width are incomparable to those of a cow or a mule. In terms of cost-effectiveness and labor savings, they are the most economical option."

Fearing that people might not understand, she briefly explained what cost-effectiveness meant.

"This harvester isn't expensive to build. It's mostly made of wood, with only the cutting parts made of steel. The cost of one is about eight taels of silver."

"Even if we make it smaller, we can't cut back on the steel for the cutting parts; we can only save on the less valuable wood. And if the harvester is smaller, the harvesting area will also be reduced accordingly, significantly decreasing efficiency, but we still need three people."

Seeing Qi Xugu frowning in thought, Zhao Ruxi knew he was calculating costs and smiled, "I understand Lord Qi's concerns. You simply feel that the horses are not from the Great Jin Dynasty and are therefore too expensive. But don't forget that our Great Jin won a great victory last year, and the two northwestern kingdoms need to pay tribute to the court with a large number of horses every year. As the tribute of horses increases year by year, the price of horses should come down."

"Of course, if the court needs harvesters pulled by oxen or mules, I can improve them and make them smaller. However, I suggest making both models. After all, everyone's needs are different; some people prefer to raise horses."

As Zhao Ruxi spoke, Qi Xugu was also mentally calculating his next move.

He nodded in agreement, saying, "I was overthinking it. Her Majesty is very astute; she has already considered the cost-effectiveness before I have. If we were to manufacture both models, that would be the best outcome."

While the two were talking, the others were also listening intently. Upon hearing Zhao Ruxi's explanation, everyone nodded in agreement.

Gong Cheng then directly lectured the officials of the Ministry of Works: "Did everyone hear what the Empress said just now? When you make things, you only care about whether they work well and whether they are useful, but you don't consider anything about 'cost-effectiveness'. The things you make are expensive but impractical. Who will use them? Isn't that a waste of time and money?"

The officials from the Ministry of Works nodded repeatedly, not daring to refute, but inwardly they were all complaining: Making expensive but impractical things—isn't that just a sign of our incompetence? If we were like Consort of the Prince of Qi, who could come up with a new farming tool with a single thought, and whose mathematical skills were also top-notch, we wouldn't be stuck as minor officials anymore.

Gong Cheng spoke very loudly, and Zhao Ruxi, who was not far away, naturally heard him.

She touched her nose and said to Eunuch Xie and Qi Xugu, "Why don't we all sit over there? This rice field is ten acres in size, and we have to wait until one side wins and finishes harvesting. It won't be over anytime soon. The servants have brought out tables and chairs, so let's sit over there, drink tea, and wait."

When Eunuch Xie and Qi Xugu looked back, they saw that the rice paddies behind the ridges had been harvested. Although there were short stubbles, the soil was dry, and their shoes wouldn't get wet or covered in mud when they walked in.

Five tables and many chairs had been set up there sometime earlier. There was also tea and snacks on the tables.

The two glanced at the harvester that had already driven off into the distance and nodded, saying, "Alright, let's just sit and wait."

When Eunuch Xie returned to the palace in the afternoon, Xiao Ge was already waiting impatiently.

Upon seeing Eunuch Xie, he hurriedly asked, "How is it?"

"Your Majesty, very good, excellent." Eunuch Xie reassured Xiao Ge before continuing, "Thirty strong men competed against a combine harvester in harvesting ten acres of rice. The combine harvester took an hour to finish harvesting and threshing, while the thirty strong men only harvested a little over half."

He then described the harvester's appearance and components, recounted the conversation between Zhao Ruxi and Qi Xugu, and then knelt down to perform a grand salute to Xiao Ge: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! With this miraculous agricultural tool, a prosperous and enlightened era is just around the corner."

"Hahaha..." Xiao Ge laughed loudly, gesturing to Eunuch Xie, "Get up quickly."

As he spoke, he paced back and forth in the main hall, his face beaming with excitement. "What do you think I should reward Zhao Zhiwei with?"

Whether it's status or wealth, Zhao Ruxi had everything she needed the moment she married Xiao Lingyan and became the Consort of the Prince of Qi. As for official position, she had only been reinstated and promoted by half a rank; any further promotion would require her to attend court every day, which she probably wouldn't want.

"How about I promote the Earl of Suiping to another rank?" he said.

Eunuch Xie's eyelids twitched, and he quickly said, "Why doesn't His Majesty have Prince of Qi ask the Princess Consort what she desires?"

Xiao Ge knew his words were inappropriate the moment they left his mouth.

Although Zhao Yuanxun is a man of good character, his abilities are indeed mediocre. Being the Vice Prefect of Gusu is the highest he can achieve. If he were to rise any higher, he probably wouldn't be able to shoulder such a heavy responsibility. In that case, he would not only fail to bring honor to Zhao Zhiwei, but would also bring her trouble.

Upon hearing Eunuch Xie's suggestion, he nodded in approval and said, "Alright."

That evening, the question was posed to Zhao Ruxi.

Zhao Ruxi shook her head. "No, I don't want anything."

She patted Xiao Lingyan on the shoulder. "Prince of Qi, we are officials of the Great Jin. It is only right that we make some contributions to the Great Jin. What reward do we need! We should have a higher level of awareness, understand?"

Xiao Lingyan raised an eyebrow. "It's too late for you to pretend now. Your image as a miser is deeply ingrained in people's minds, and the Emperor knows it perfectly well."

Zhao Ruxi stroked her chin, looking thoughtful. "No, I think I can still be saved."