She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 269 - 268 A short paragraph

Chapter 269: Chapter 268 A short paragraph

Ye Xinyan answered without any burden, replying very calmly, "Oh, this is spoiled cheese. It is also part of Steward Zhang’s daily routine to check the fermentation of the cheese, and if there is any that has spoiled, it needs to be promptly cleared out."

Zhang Baokui, who was following behind, felt somewhat embarrassed, as every few days there would be one or two pieces of cheese that spoiled, which for him was a significant number. After production, it would become a very precious ingredient, and to just throw it away because it spoiled, that was a huge loss. As the steward in charge of cheese production, he had an undeniable responsibility.

Jinrong glanced at Zhang Baokui and asked, "Does this happen often? Do you know what’s causing it?"

Ye Xinyan shook her head and said, "The specific reasons are still being explored, but it usually comes down to inadequate dehydration, insufficient pressing when molding, leftover voids inside, or contamination during the cheese maturing process. Steward Zhang is strictly demanding a more precise production process to minimize conditions that could lead to spoilage. This kind of situation has been getting less and less frequent, and these two pieces are all that have been found in the last twelve days."

Jinrong nodded at Zhang Baokui and asked with a smile, "Since it’s already improving, why that expression, Zhang Baokui? You look as if you can’t bear the shame, as though you have done something wrong."

Ye Xinyan also glanced aside, casually saying, "Every time the spoiled cheese is cleared out, Steward Zhang blames himself for a long while. But in fact, Steward Zhang and the servants below have already been very diligent. After all, we are trying this method for the first time, and production time is short without accumulated experience, so some spoilage is inevitable. The important thing is that we are making progress. What’s worrisome is getting worse, being lazy, and yet not finding the cause."

"Oh?" Jinrong looked at Ye Xinyan with a different gaze, hearing her speak so leniently toward workers, her view was quite different from that of the petty officials and Qi Younian.

"Is there a problem? Does Sixth Master think what the little woman said is not right, that I’m making excuses for myself?" Ye Xinyan met Jinrong’s gaze, raising an eyebrow as she asked.

Nanny Liu coughed softly and quietly tugged at Ye Xinyan’s sleeve from behind, indicating that the Young Lady’s tone and manner of speaking were not appropriate.

Ye Xinyan glanced at Nanny Liu before looking back at Jinrong and others. That’s right, wasn’t this akin to being spoiled and petulant? Relying on being able to do some work and then not treating the prince as a serious official.

She changed her tone and asked, "As a little woman, I demand the same from all masters and stewards. As long as they are willing to work, making mistakes and knowing how to find faults are not to be feared, as mistakes are part of gaining experience. If Sixth Master thinks that the little woman’s thoughts are incorrect, I can make appropriate corrections."

Jinrong couldn’t help but laugh, "Just now when we were checking the progress of the work in the reception room, I mentioned the teachings that my two subordinate petty officials received, and their opinions were completely different from what you’re saying now. And this statement of yours? As long as one is diligent and willing to work, mistakes can be forgiven no matter how many?"

Ye Xinyan blinked, realizing that this statement wasn’t quite right. But when it comes to employing people, it wasn’t something that could be so easily articulated—it was more about intuition than something that could be explicitly explained.

She said, "It’s not entirely like that; the premise still is that the right people are being used. If the right people are doing the right things, even if there are mistakes, the problems shouldn’t be too serious, right?"

Jinrong looked at Jiang Yifan and asked, "I didn’t understand; did you, Yuanfan?"

Jiang Yifan shook his head, indicating that he didn’t quite understand either.

By this time, they had already reached the entrance of the workshop. Ye Xinyan directed Zhang Baokui and the teenage boy to take the two chunks of spoiled cheese out. She raised one foot, about to remove her shoe cover, when Bi Ning, who had been waiting by the door, hesitated for a moment but still hurried over a few steps, intending to crouch down and help. Ye Xinyan waved her away.

Bi Ning helplessly stood up, not daring to look at Jinrong, just uncomfortably gazing toward Nanny Liu.

Nanny Liu was also helpless; such matters, the young lady never allowed anyone to help with, she always did it herself. Although His Highness Prince Yu was watching, she was equally without a solution.

Jinrong probably hadn’t seen a woman with such ungraceful movements as Ye Xinyan, watching with furrowed brows from the side.

Jiang Yifan noticed the expressions of Bi Ning and Nanny Jin, alternately removing his own shoe covers while speaking to Jinrong, "How about Sixth Master? Do you need Hongzhi to help?"

Jinrong glared at him and waved off Hongzhi, who had already come over, removing his shoe covers by himself. He thought to himself that Nanny Liu probably couldn’t persuade Ye Xinyan, so they should have Nanny Jin speak with her. She was a woman of status and should not lose her composure just because she had fallen on hard times among the common folk.

The group of six came out, watching as Zhang Baokui and three other laborers locked the door and left, dragging the two pieces of spoiled cheese away. It’s only then that Ye Xinyan continued with her previous conversation, "The little woman here heard a joke about managing people before that felt deeper than just a laugh. It seemed to illustrate a profound principle."

"Let’s hear it," Jinrong said, taking up the conversation.

"It’s said that a person serving as an Advisor to the Commander in the military once shared a conversation with the Commander. He said that although there are countless types of people in the world, if they serve in the military, they could roughly be categorized into four kinds, each with their use."

Jiang Yifan glanced at Ye Xinyan. Here it came again, surely it was something she had heard before, but not clearly recalling where or from whom she had heard it.

Ye Xinyan continued, "The first type of person is both smart and hardworking, like the Advisor himself. Listening, it might seem he is the pinnacle among these four types, but in fact, that’s not the case. Such a person is only suitable to be a Strategist or Advisor. The second type, smart but lazy, is suitable to be a general, a Commander. The third type, foolish and lazy, is suited to be a soldier, obeying commands to charge into battle. The fourth type, foolish but hardworking,"

Ye Xinyan looked at Jinrong and Jiang Yifan, speaking slowly, "must be immediately kicked out of the military to avoid bringing disaster upon everyone. Surprising, isn’t it? What everyone considers the best and the worst cannot settle into the best and worst positions."

"The little woman here was also surprised when she heard this joke. How could a hardworking person not be better than a lazy one? But upon careful consideration, it’s not quite so. Although human nature is diverse, if we look at it from the perspective of getting things done, people can completely be divided into these four types. As long as the rules in the workshop are set reasonably, people are actually quite easy to manage."

Jiang Yifan listened with a sinking expression, turning her gaze away to the other workshops in the area. The things she spoke lightly of were far from as simple as she made them seem.

Jinrong’s gaze flickered for a moment before saying, "What Ye Zi said is right; this is not a simple joke. Where did Ye Zi hear this joke? Such a meaningful anecdote should be widely circulated."

Jiang Yifan listened carefully and sure enough, she heard Ye Xinyan say, "The little woman and Nanny Jin heard it on the road to Miyi County from an old traveling merchant. I can’t remember the circumstances at the time, maybe the people listening to the joke didn’t really feel much about it."