Chapter 11: The Prince Wants to Farm

The new managers were indeed experts, and the affairs of the mansion quickly fell into order. After the rent grain was stored, they immediately began to raise the walls and repair the courtyards. The weather also gradually turned cooler. Zhao Cheng seemed to have emerged from the shadow of the assassination attempt. He resumed his morning walks at dawn, but now it was much livelier. Jianxi carried a birdcage, Fengxi led a dog, and two stern-faced guards followed behind.

"Ah, if I had two pretty sisters by my side, I would really look like a playboy!" Zhao Cheng shook his head and sighed, but there was nothing he could do. The last incident had frightened everyone, and he couldn't even step out of the courtyard with fewer than three people.

Zhao Cheng walked around the garden twice and suddenly saw a few people busy at the rockery. He turned to Jianxi and said, "Jianxi, did a big python really appear? Let's go and see!"

"Second Young Master, please don't tease me anymore. I still get chills when I think about it!" Jianxi said with a pained expression.

"Hehe, you don't need to be afraid now. The guards are right behind us!" Zhao Cheng turned and nodded at the two guards a few steps behind.

After saying that, he walked over first. A few people were installing something on the roof of a room. "Old Li, what are they doing?" Zhao Cheng asked the new old gardener.

"Second Young Master, you're out for your morning walk!" Old Li hurriedly bowed. "The weather is getting cooler, and the delicate flowers are afraid of the cold. We are building a greenhouse."

"Oh, what are they installing on the roof?" Zhao Cheng pointed to the people on the roof and asked again.

"Second Young Master, those are transparent tiles, which can let sunlight through!" Old Li picked up a piece of the tile to show Zhao Cheng.

"Aren't these fish scales?" Zhao Cheng took it and examined it closely, surprised. The fish scales were as large as an adult's palm, thin as cicada wings, not transparent, but they wouldn't block the sunlight.

"Exactly, these are scales from a giant fish in the sea. They cost more than ten coins each, and it will cost several dozen strings of cash to cover the entire roof!" Old Li replied, feeling a bit heartbroken. That amount of money could feed his family for three months.

Zhao Cheng ignored Old Li's rambling and stared at the fish scales in his hand, lost in thought. In this era, there was no glass or plastic film, but they could think of using fish scales to build a greenhouse. It seemed that human ingenuity was truly boundless. "Jianxi, go and find the manager immediately and build a greenhouse for me in the garden. I'll tell you how to do it later, and it must be done within ten days!" he said with a firm tone.

"Second Young Master, what are you thinking? Why do you need this?" Jianxi, though used to the prince's 'nonsense,' still found it hard to understand.

"Shut up, I'll do somersaults in there. What's it to you? Do as I say!" Zhao Cheng glared at him and walked away.

"Ah, a child's casual words cost dozens of strings of cash. What a wastrel!" Old Li shook his head and sighed as he watched Zhao Cheng's back.

"Hehe, Old Li, don't worry about it. They have plenty of money. See that dog? It's enough to feed your family for five years!" one of the guards said with a bitter smile, also not fond of Zhao Cheng, this 'wastrel.'

Building a greenhouse, though a sudden idea, gave Zhao Cheng something to do. Being a parasite, eating and doing nothing all day, was hard to endure. Besides, he had already seen the kitchen preparing winter vegetables, which were mostly radishes and cabbages. Even with different cooking methods, they would have to eat these until the first new vegetables of the following summer, which was still several months away. The thought made him feel nauseous.

Jianxi's efficiency was impressive. Five days later, a nearly two-acre arched greenhouse was completed. Considering that the prince would use it as a playground, the entire structure was built with high-quality wood, spacious, bright, and well-ventilated. A well was also dug in the middle as per the prince's request, but no one understood what the prince intended to do.

The prince's next move shocked the entire mansion. He wanted to farm! He gathered the more than a dozen young servants who were still in 'training,' gave each a shovel, and had them enter the greenhouse to level the land, dig ditches, and make ridges. After a few days, under Zhao Cheng's direction, the greenhouse had completely transformed. A large piece of land was divided into neat rows of vegetable beds, each row measured by Zhao Cheng's steps, and each line required to be perfectly straight, looking like a giant chessboard.

Zhao Cheng, in his previous life, had been a farm manager for several years and was an expert in farming. He could even explain the latest soilless cultivation techniques, and growing vegetables in a greenhouse was no problem for him.

"Second Young Master, are you really going to farm?" Jianxi wiped the sweat off Zhao Cheng's face with a towel.

"Yes, why not?" Zhao Cheng smiled and asked in return.

"Farming is something the servants do. You are a prince, how can you do such things?" Jianxi stammered.

"Hehe, a prince isn't a superhuman. A prince also needs to eat, drink, and use the toilet. We are all human. The emperor himself plows the fields every spring. Why can't I?" Zhao Cheng said nonchalantly.

"Second Young Master..." Jianxi tried to persuade him.

"Stop it!" Zhao Cheng waved to stop Jianxi's nagging and said to Fengxi, who was leveling the land, "Fengxi, everyone has worked hard these past few days. Go to the kitchen and tell them to prepare a big pot of mutton stew for lunch. I'll eat here and not go back."

"Sure, Second Young Master, I'll go and tell them!" Fengxi wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve.

"Hey, Fengxi, wait a moment, I'll go with you." Jianxi was now afraid of Zhao Cheng and dared not disobey him, so he found an excuse to report to Huang Jingchen.

"Everyone has been working hard. Come and rest for a while!" Zhao Cheng stood up and called the busy young servants. Hearing Zhao Cheng's call, they gathered. There were no chairs or benches, so everyone sat on the ground.

"What's your name, and how old are you?" Zhao Cheng asked the oldest-looking young servant, who seemed to be the leader.

"Second Young Master, my name is Zhao Ren, and I am twelve years old!" the young servant answered respectfully.

"Oh, and you?" Zhao Cheng pointed to another.

"My name is Zhao Yi, and I am eleven years old!"

"My name is Zhao Li, and I am also twelve years old!"

"My name is Zhao Yong, and I am eleven!" The young servants reported their names and ages without Zhao Cheng's prompting. Zhao Cheng understood that these young servants had all changed their surnames, named according to the principles of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, as well as loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and courage. They had become his household servants, sharing his fate. If he were to be stripped of his title, they would all be implicated.

"Zhao Xin, you look so small. Are you really eleven? Did you lie about your age?" Zhao Cheng handed him a bowl of tea and asked with a smile.

"I really am eleven, but I just haven't grown much," Zhao Xin explained, his face turning red, almost on the verge of tears.

"Alright, I believe you. Don't worry, drink your tea!" Zhao Cheng smiled. At that moment, he felt like he was back in his previous life, chatting with new recruits in the army. He asked about their hometowns, whether they had siblings, and how they were adapting to life in the mansion. The children, with no ulterior motives, seeing the prince as just another child, gradually let their guard down. Before long, they had accepted the prince as a new friend.

Chatting with the young servants, Zhao Cheng felt a deep sense of unease. These children, in his mind, were all unfortunate. Some had lost their fathers in the western campaign, left destitute and sold into servitude. Others came from large families that could no longer support them. At that moment, he felt grateful to heaven. Compared to them, he wasn't the most unfortunate. At least he was still a prince.

At noon, Jianxi indeed brought two large basins of clear stewed mutton as the prince had instructed. The young servants, who might not have seen meat in a long time, had green eyes and, ignoring the rules, devoured the two basins of meat. Zhao Cheng joined in the fun, grabbing a bowl and eating with everyone. After this meal, the bond between them grew stronger, and they felt that the prince was a good person.

"Zhao Ren, this afternoon, you must prepare the vegetable beds to this standard, or there will be no meat for dinner!" Zhao Cheng demonstrated, using a shovel to shape the beds neatly. He looked up and said to everyone.

"Second Young Master, rest assured, we will definitely get it done!" Before Zhao Ren could answer, everyone was already chattering in agreement.

"Good, Jianxi, if everyone finishes the work tonight, we will add meat to the dinner!" Zhao Cheng said loudly, and the young servants' enthusiasm was rekindled. Jianxi, however, nodded with a pained expression. He had already consulted Huang Jingchen, who had given him one sentence: as long as the prince was happy and nothing went wrong, let him do as he pleased.

In the following days, Zhao Cheng spent his mornings in the greenhouse, directing everyone to water the land, spread horse manure from the stables, and plant vegetable seeds. The weather was getting colder, and it was already late autumn.

After a few autumn rains, the weather grew colder each day. The vegetables in the greenhouse had sprouted, and they needed to cover them with straw curtains at night to keep them warm. On the sixth day of the tenth month, a good day for moving, the summer courtyard had been repaired, and Zhao Cheng moved from the winter garden to the summer courtyard.