Chapter 65

Chapter 66: Troubled Fate

The reaper existed for only a day before Zhao Cheng ordered it to be dismantled again. The next day, more than a dozen people selected from the mansion each carried a part and set out. The major blacksmiths and carpenters in the nearby Gongzhou, Yingtian Prefecture, and other counties suddenly received a batch of urgent orders, which had to be completed within ten days. As a result, the residents nearby suffered, with the sounds of axes, chisels, and hammers continuing until late at night, causing them all to suffer from insomnia.

At the same time, the local craft guilds also became busy. They had to recruit over a hundred skilled and experienced blacksmiths and carpenters within a month. Finding so many people at once was not an easy task, but the high intermediary fees offered by the employer made them happy despite the hard work. They rode horses and sat in sedan chairs, digging for talent everywhere.

The Zhao mansion was also in chaos. Some people had already been dispatched to repair the canals and build embankments, but now the prince seemed unwilling to let the remaining people off the hook. He initiated a second mobilization, gathering all men aged between fourteen and fifty, regardless of whether they were gatekeepers, horse feeders, or cooks, and sent them to the craft workshops for intensive training. Although people had many complaints, they forgave the prince's "foolishness" in exchange for double pay.

Time flew by, and soon it was May. The weather became hot, and the main canal had been dredged. Several ponds had been dug, and the roadbeds along the canal had been leveled, waiting for the stone slabs to be laid after the summer harvest. The construction site was on holiday today, and the workers were paid and sent home to prepare for the summer harvest and planting.

In the back garden of the Zhao mansion, Zhao Cheng sat under a large willow tree by the pond, dressed in short sleeves and short pants, with his hair tied in two buns, looking cool. He held a fishing rod, his eyes fixed on the float bobbing in the water. Two carp about a foot long were thrashing in the wooden bucket beside him, clearly the fruits of his half-day's labor.

"Second Young Master, have some plum juice to cool off!" Jianxi, standing behind him, handed him a cup.

"Good, it's delicious. You should have some too!" Zhao Cheng took a sip and smiled.

"Hey, Second Young Master, you're so relaxed!" A crisp voice suddenly rang out, but it sounded somewhat sour.

"Hehe, Sister Mei, didn't you see I'm fishing? Why did you bring the ducks here? Didn't I tell you to keep them from moving around too much?" Zhao Cheng greeted her with a smile.

"The ducks insisted on swimming here. What can I do? They don't understand me!" Xiao Mei came out from the flower bushes, looking annoyed.

"Sister Mei, you look younger and younger. Your figure is like that of a girl under twenty!" Xiao Mei wore a pink, narrow-sleeved light robe, and her chest seemed to be about to burst out of the robe. She wore a green silk skirt, and her hips swayed as she walked, exuding a unique charm.

"I'm not that old to begin with!" Xiao Mei almost let it slip, touching her face and smiling awkwardly.

"Ha, if I were a bit older, I'd definitely marry you, Sister Mei!" Zhao Cheng teased, while Jianxi was surprised, his mouth wide open. In the past, the prince would immediately jump up like a cat with its tail stepped on whenever someone mentioned his mother, threatening and intimidating people to pay up. Why was there no reaction today? Could the prince be thinking about something else? No, the prince is only eight, not old enough to be in heat!

"Maybe the prince thinks you're too 'skinny' and has no oil on you." Jianxi could only come up with this reason, not knowing that every coin on her had already been squeezed out by the prince, who had even written a stack of IOUs, almost making her sign a contract to become his property.

"Alright, if Second Young Master looks up to me, I'll get closer to you!" Xiao Mei, though annoyed, smiled and walked over.

"Sister Mei, spare me. I can't stand the smell of duck droppings!" Zhao Cheng waved his hands, thinking to himself that it was only because he was young. Otherwise, even his senior brother would have killed him without hesitation if he saw him talking to her like this. Men's jealousy is even stronger than women's.

"Ah, if you had taken me as a personal maid, I would have made sure to smell good every day!" Xiao Mei pinched Zhao Cheng's face and sat down next to him.

"Hehe, then I'd be in luck. I'd have to sleep with my eyes open and keep a knife under my pillow to prevent you from climbing into my bed at night!" Zhao Cheng handed her the plum juice he was drinking.

"Hmph, I'll drink this one to avoid your tricks!" Xiao Mei snatched the half-drunk plum juice from Zhao Cheng, giving him a glare. This boy had once claimed to have given her a "Nine-Transmutation Life-Stealing Pill," scaring her for days. Calming down, she realized it was just some expired fennel seeds, but better safe than sorry.

"Dog biting Lü Dongbin!" Zhao Cheng drank the new cup in one go. "Hey, did you kill and eat all the ducks I asked you to raise? Why are there only a few left?" He suddenly noticed that there were always only about ten ducks swimming in the pond.

"Bullshit, they all died of overeating!" Xiao Mei glared at Zhao Cheng.

"Eighty out of a hundred ducks died of overeating? How did you feed them? You didn't force-feed them, did you?" The ducklings were bought by Jianxi at Zhao Cheng's request. Even if the ducks were stupid and didn't know when to stop eating, they shouldn't all be that stupid.

"Hmph, you guessed right. The ducks did die of overeating, but I fed them according to the method you told me!" Xiao Mei looked at Jianxi up and down.

"Oh my, how could they all die of overeating? These ducks will be very useful in the future." Zhao Cheng looked sad, pouting as if he was about to cry.

"Tsk, your ducks aren't made of gold. Is it really that serious?" Xiao Mei found Zhao Cheng's expression amusing.

"Though they aren't gold, they are silver. When they grow up and are roasted, each one will sell for hundreds of coins!" Zhao Cheng muttered.

"Alright, alright, I'll compensate you. I'll write you another IOU!" Xiao Mei was amused by Zhao Cheng but also feared he might come up with more schemes, like ducks laying eggs and eggs hatching ducks. She decided to admit it.

"Forget it, you can't pay off those debts anyway. Writing another IOU is just a piece of paper. I'll buy another hundred ducks and have you raise them again!" Zhao Cheng waved his hand, pretending to be generous.

"If you mention ducks again, I'll throw you into the pond and raise you as a duck!" Xiao Mei was annoyed. This little brat wasn't really asking her to raise ducks; he was just messing with her. When the ducks were about a month old, he didn't let them forage on their own and made her force-feed them several times a day. She didn't know how much to feed them, and they all died of overeating. Wasn't he just playing with her?

"Alright, I won't mention it!" Zhao Cheng was afraid that this white-faced ghost, who didn't respect the elderly, would really throw him into the water. He was also wondering if the ducks' breed was the problem. In his previous life, he had raised force-fed ducks for several large restaurants and had even trained in the methods of roasting ducks. But where could he find purebred "Peking ducks" now? They were probably still living in the wild in the Liao Dynasty. He would have to experiment for now, but it wasn't urgent.

"Where did you send my senior brother? Why hasn't he returned for over ten days?" Xiao Mei asked.

"You owe too much. Raising flowers and ducks won't pay off the debt for years. I gave him a job that pays double. He should be able to pay off this month's interest after a while!" Zhao Cheng rubbed his head.

"You didn't send him to do something dangerous, did you? His injuries aren't fully healed yet!" Xiao Mei swallowed her words, seeing Jianxi standing by.

"Cut it out, I'm a good person. Don't worry, I wouldn't make him do anything bad!" Zhao Cheng said dismissively.

"Second Young Master, Manager Zheng is here!" A young eunuch at the second gate whispered to Jianxi, who quickly reported.

"Ah, I can't even rest. Have him come here." Zhao Cheng sighed.

"What could a little brat like you have to do? You seem busier than the Emperor!" Xiao Mei coldly snorted at Zhao Cheng's expression.

Zhao Cheng looked at Xiao Mei and sighed again, but he didn't retort. He couldn't say what he was thinking. The Emperor was busy, but he was busy with women, seeking immortals, building gardens, and constructing temples, none of which were proper matters. If he could manage things properly, Zhao Cheng wouldn't have to worry about cleaning up his mess in the future.

"Second Young Master, the hundred reapers have been assembled. We tested them in the wheat fields today. With horses pulling them, they can harvest ten acres in an hour. If we get more skilled, it could be even faster!" Manager Zheng Lu, who had just been promoted, had just finished the construction site work and was immediately sent to the craft workshop.

"Good. Immediately select some smart young people from each village, teach them how to use the reapers, and send them out. Whoever needs them can use them, and we can charge a fee. We can't provide the labor, equipment, and feed for free!" Zhao Cheng nodded.

"Yes, I think we should charge thirty coins per acre. Hiring a day laborer, even a skilled one, can only harvest three acres a day and costs a hundred coins!" Zheng Lu said cautiously.

"Agreed. You decide. There's one more thing. After we finish harvesting our land, send five reapers north and five south. We don't need to make money, but we need to show everyone the benefits of our reapers and tell them where they were made!"

"Why, Second Young Master?" Zheng Lu was puzzled and asked.

"Idiot, do you think we're keeping all these craftsmen just for fun? We need them to make reapers. If you keep them at home, who will know you have something good? Who will buy them? Are you going to keep them for yourself?" Zhao Cheng scolded.

"Yes, yes, I'm foolish. But, Second Young Master, the wheat in the north hasn't been harvested yet, and the south has already finished. What's the point?"

"Ah, are you really stupid, or are you just pretending? After the wheat is harvested, there's still early rice. Our machines can harvest both wheat and rice!" Zhao Cheng smiled bitterly. This manager wasn't very competent and couldn't fully understand the leader's intentions. He needed more training.

"This boy isn't just clever; he has some real skills. He can make a manager obey him completely!" Xiao Mei, who had been listening, suddenly found Zhao Cheng less annoying and looked at him with a gentler gaze.

"The prince seems destined to be busy. The mansion can't do anything without him now. If he becomes the Emperor, he'll be even busier, won't he?" Jianxi looked at the prince and then at the obedient manager, suddenly thinking.