She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 243 - 242 The Guy Has Another Profession

Chapter 243: Chapter 242 The Guy Has Another Profession

The clerk spoke, and then turned his gaze toward Wong Qiao’s direction, wondering if the other young person working was also as capable as this woman.

Ye Xinyan took in their expressions. If she was going to do a good deed, she might as well do it thoroughly, since she had already looked over a part of their work; a little more wouldn’t hurt. Moreover, since everyone was in the same boat, having someone from the court’s Ministry of Works, who had specialized in engineering, working with them would make the railway transport plan more likely to succeed. It would also be a way to support Jinrong’s rise to power.

Ye Xinyan said, "If the two of you are interested, you can take a look at the work at Wong Qiao’s place. His work is more specific, involving construction techniques and data, which I, as a little woman, cannot handle."

The two clerks looked at Jinrong, and seeing him nod, they hurriedly turned and went over to the desk where Wong Qiao was working.

Wong Qiao had also been rushing his work these past few days. With Ye Xinyan working swiftly, he didn’t dare to relax, focusing all his time on the technical support for the railway transport and the explanation and drawing of diagrams for custom materials. So, he only went over to pay his respects when Jinrong took his seat and then continued with his work.

At that moment, seeing the entourage of Sixth Master coming over, he simply cupped his hands in a greeting and smiled, then continued to bow his head and work. Even when cupping his hands, he did not put down the writing brush in his hand.

Seeing this scene, the two felt very familiar with it—it was just like being among their own people. They approached quietly and watched Wong Qiao draw his diagrams, which clearly related to the auxiliary images for the railway transport.

One of them, unable to resist, pointed at the place where Wong Qiao was drawing and said, "Wouldn’t it be better to use a groove gauge for this? Whenever we draw this, we use a groove gauge."

Wong Qiao was stunned for a moment but then realized that using a groove gauge might indeed be better. He nodded and said, "I’ll give it a try."

"Indeed, it’s very useful." Having tried it, Wong Qiao found it to be extremely convenient. He clasped his fists and said, "Thank you for your guidance, brother."

The man quickly returned the gesture with his own clasped hands, "Brother, there’s no need for such formality. With your outstanding skills, I’ll be looking forward to more advice from you in the future." As he spoke, he pointed to another drawing to the side, "With your own effort, you manage to achieve so much; truly a young talent to be reckoned with."

"Not at all, not at all, brother, you flatter me too much. It’s just some unrefined folk methods that haven’t been taught by a proper master—at most, they’re only passable."

A few words later, the three had gathered together, pointing and discussing various aspects of the diagrams. After a while, they moved to the side of the wall, gesturing towards the rough sketches and discussing possible improvements, with Wong Qiao explaining what each part represented in the documents, and the other two suggesting that there might be a better way to handle one aspect.

Ye Xinyan was immediately attracted to the discussion between Wong Qiao and the other two, not so much by the content of their conversation but by the ancient craftsmen’s understanding of construction and Imperial Workshops.

From Wong Qiao’s performance, it was evident he must have found their daily discussions on construction quite challenging.

"Ye Zi," Jinrong called.

"Ah?" Ye Xinyan responded, "What is it?"

Jinrong indicated the two men discussing with Wong Qiao with a nod, and said, "The clerical work at my place is progressing very slowly. I’m afraid that by the time your part is ready, those useless men under me will still be planning and pondering. I trust the way Ye Zi works - always highly efficient and quick. I would like to ask if you could take one or two people under your wing? They won’t stay long; just long enough to learn some of your work methods and then they’ll go back. Maybe you could consider it like taking on apprentices, whom they will respect for the rest of their lives. What do you think? ...And of course, you wouldn’t be teaching them for nothing, Ye Zi. You can choose any reward you want."

Ye Xinyan looked at Jinrong with extreme skepticism. "You talk such a big game, asking you to give up the rivalry for the throne and just be an idle prince living a life of luxury, content to let us live peacefully, do you think that’s possible? What about the people who follow you? Will they agree?"

Seeing the disrespectful look in Ye Xinyan’s eyes again, Qi Younian coughed and said, "Ye Zi, think carefully about the Sixth Master’s proposal. If you find it feasible, accepting it isn’t out of the question. If it really won’t work, I’m sure the Sixth Master won’t object."

Jinrong quickly responded, "The elder speaks the truth, it all depends on Ye Zi’s wishes. Whatever Ye Zi decides, that’s what we will do."

When a prince is speaking so sincerely, it is indeed difficult to refuse, but...

Ye Xinyan, feeling somewhat troubled, said, "It’s not that I won’t let the Sixth Master’s people come over, but I am not skilled in such matters, I can’t teach them. Are you suggesting they learn to make cheese with me?"

Speaking of cheese, Zhang Baokui had wrapped two large chunks of cheese with oiled paper and secured them with wooden hoops, hoping to try out fermentation to see if the flavor would be more mellow. She hadn’t gone over to check in several days, and she didn’t know if they could keep it from molding, nor did she know how the fermentation was progressing.

"That’s also true," Jinrong nodded. Even if Ye Zi is competent, she is ultimately a young woman; it’s not proper for her to be surrounded by adult men. Besides, she genuinely isn’t skilled at that sort of thing.

Ye Xinyan had an idea and proposed a compromise, "How about this? The Sixth Master sends over two experienced workers in construction. They can work with me and Wong Qiao to put together this anticipated document. They’ll probably learn something that way." Having two knowledgeable workers under her command would not only free her up for other tasks, but it would also allow her to focus on the Jinrong Residence’s courtyard, a project she had just started discussing with Wong Qiao.

"Good, if this project is a success, Ye Zi will be credited with the primary achievement. I’ll be sure to reward you handsomely."

Ye Xinyan vaguely agreed, having already talked about payment in silver after the work was done. Now she was helping him by training people, also with a promise of a reward after success; if she accumulated enough, perhaps no thanks would be necessary.

Having manpower at her disposal, Ye Xinyan naturally knew best how to use it, utilizing human resources effectively. She not only freed herself but also informed Wong Qiao: Give the newcomers a chance to work independently as a way to develop skills. Hovering and giving guidance all the time would mean they’d need guidance again for the next task. You just oversee this thing here, and let the newcomers handle the rest.

The two ’newcomers’ from Jinrong Residence rolled their eyes at this, with one of them protesting, "The Sixth Master tasked us to come here to learn from Lady Qi and Brother Wong." He drew out the word ’learn’ for emphasis.

Ye Xinyan threw back an eye-roll in response, "If I just talk and you just watch, only watching without doing, how will you learn? Stop talking so much. Just follow the instructions listed on the wall and the examples I gave, and work through each item. If you don’t understand something, come and ask me, I will tell you."

She then called over to Wong Qiao, "Let’s finalize the layout for those pavilions and towers in the courtyard first. After that, you’ll take charge of the team to do the construction plans and paperwork according to the Construction Regulations, and I’ll go make my cheese."

The two workers from the prince’s residence exchanged glances. So, this was Lady Qi’s side job, and she had a main profession besides. What were they, the professionals, supposed to do?

They had no choice; the Sixth Master’s orders were to listen to Lady Qi in everything here. If they learned well, it was to Lady Qi’s credit; if not, they’d face punishment upon return.

Just do as Lady Qi instructed, what else could they do?