She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 627 - 625: Scholars and Practical Affairs

Chapter 627: Chapter 625: Scholars and Practical Affairs

Jiang Yifan didn’t pay attention to the look Jinrong was giving him, but simply smiled and asked Qi Younian, "Why is it only the old master here today? Where is Brother Jia, I haven’t seen him come out?"

Before, whenever Qi Jiaer heard that Lord Jiang had arrived, he would run faster than anyone, sometimes without even bothering to put on his coat before dashing out. Yet today was strange, for there was no sign of him.

Qi Younian replied with a smile, "With the New Year approaching, it’s bustling outside. Brother Jia and Sanshun have been pestering Master Guan to take them to the market and haven’t returned yet. They must be having so much fun that they don’t want to come back. When they left, they even pouted, saying that Lord Jiang never takes a day off and wondering when you would take them to the market for some delicious treats."

Jiang Yifan once again found himself the target of Jinrong’s animosity.

Qi Younian continued, "Ah Qiao and Song Ping have been busy at the shop, leaving early and returning late these past few days. It will be a while before they come back."

Jiang Yifan nodded, then said, "I’ve been in and out of your place all day and didn’t realize that the Construction Business had begun recruiting craftsmen. Sixth Master heard about this and also came to ask how many people you need to see if he can lend a hand."

Qi Younian quickly bowed his hands in thanks to Jinrong, "Thank you, Your Highness. We haven’t secured a project yet, so we’re slowly looking for manpower. When we find good candidates, we sign a contract with them right away; there’s no urgency for workers."

Jinrong cast aside those irrelevant thoughts and spoke seriously, "There are indeed more skilled craftsmen in the capital, but those with exceptional skills must already have employers. As for those with poor skills, I suppose they would be of no use to you. If the elder cannot find suitable people for a while, I can dispatch some individuals from my residence. Those are the clerks who have worked in Clear Water Village, and they have teamed up with Ye Zi and Ah Qiao before, so they should cooperate well together."

Qi Younian responded with a smile, "The gentlemen from the royal residence are used to handling significant matters; our construction work is but ordinary. We don’t want to trouble Your Majesty. Ye Zi says that now is the time for the Construction Industry to cultivate its own team. Recruiting craftsmen from outside and signing long-term servant contracts, starting them from the bottom, seems more appropriate."

Hearing this, Jinrong was quite surprised and asked, "If that’s the case, why didn’t the elder bring the craftsmen from Yuyuan Prefecture when you came? After all, they are the seasoned team of the Qi Family Construction Business, aren’t they ready-made?"

Qi Younian laughed, "This was Ye Zi’s idea. She says that our craftsmen from the Yuyuan Prefecture construction business might not be as skilled as those in the capital. However, they are the old team of the Qi Family Construction Business, and if we bring them over, these people may very well consider themselves indispensable and impede our future hiring and promotion of other workers.

Ye Zi always says that no matter what you do, the key is to make good use of people. If personnel management isn’t clear, it’s impossible to grow a large business. It’s better not to create discord later, rather than leaving them with Wusi. These are all seasoned workers who will find it convenient to work with him, and they won’t need to uproot their families to come out here."

Jinrong fell silent for a moment, lamenting that Ye Xinyan was not born male—a truly great regret. Many are entangled in matters of skills, financial resources, and the number of hands they have, but she left the ready manpower in Yuyuan Prefecture and came to the capital to reorganize and gather a new team.

He knew the manpower of the Qi Family Construction Business; recruiting them had taken significant effort and thought. Back then, it was his subordinates who had helped to smoothly gather the people.

Yet Ye Xinyan, intent on fostering a strong team, was ready to let go, leaving those seasoned craftsmen in Qingyuan County. She was not at all afraid of not being able to recruit people in the capital, or how it would turn out if the new recruits did not mesh well.

This vision, this courage, not even every man could possess.

"I heard you’re also recruiting literate people, giving priority to fallen scholars and Successful Candidates. What do you need those people for?" Jinrong asked.

Just now, during Jinrong’s silence, the atmosphere was a bit stifling. Qi Younian glanced at Jiang Yifan, and seeing that Jiang Yifan appeared nonchalant, he reassured himself and answered, "As an old man coming to the capital, naturally, I wish to expand the construction business. Ye Zi once said, no matter what it is, if you want to scale up, you must do it methodically, and the construction industry is no exception. For every project we undertake, while the craftsmanship of the workers is crucial, dealing with construction documents, load calculations, blueprints, material budgeting and management, inventory, all these tasks require people who are literate. Hence, we want to recruit some educated people."

Jinrong frowned, "Scholars have always studied classics and history, they don’t understand engineering or construction, and most are inflexible and look down on those who handle practical affairs. Even if you recruit such people, I’m afraid they won’t be very useful."

Hearing Jinrong say this, Qi Younian chuckled, "Scholars study classics and history because the court selects those well-versed in these areas. Among those who failed to pass, aside from those who are indeed too rigid and dull to be of use, there are those with lively minds who just didn’t focus on the classics and history. Perhaps they are actually skilled in practical affairs."

At this point, Qi Younian remembered Jiang Yifan was an outstanding scholar recruited by the court, and, feeling a bit apologetic, he gave Jiang Yifan a smile before continuing to speak to Jinrong, "Many of the scholars who didn’t pass the exams are not lacking in ability or intelligence; it’s the court’s way of selecting officials that limited them. Among the candidates who failed to pass, there should be many who are capable of doing work."

Jiang Yifan, in fact, wasn’t concerned with how Qi Younian evaluated scholars. What filled his mind was that these views must have originated from Ye Xinyan, the woman who studied in schools at various levels for over a decade.

It is said that in their place, the more than ten years of regular schooling taught things that could be applied in practice. As for classics and history, those were delved into by very few people, as a specialized subject, after over a decade of regular schooling.

It was someone with practical experience like her who could have such insight.

No sooner had Qi Younian finished speaking than Jiang Yifan, with a smile, asked him, "Did Ye Zi say it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand engineering, as long as you put your heart into it? Did she also say that looking at her and the Second Miss of the Zhou family, who held the Construction Regulations and with a bit of guidance, they too became outstanding construction workers?"

Qi Younian laughed heartily, looking at his grandson-in-law and how he was so in tune with his granddaughter.

"Indeed, that’s what Ye Zi said. She believes that everything in the world is interconnected; as long as one is perceptive and willing to put in the effort, even if one has never done something before, they can still do it well. Many of the scholars proficient in practical affairs probably failed the imperial examinations because they couldn’t adapt to the dryness of the classics and history," he said, his tone carrying a hint of pride. Ye Zi didn’t say these things without basis—there were plenty of capable people who failed to pass the exams. Ye Zi had once listed for him several individuals, from the records and hearsay, including great painters and calligraphers, as well as outstanding craftsmen and chivalrous figures.

Thus, his granddaughter Ye Zi’s insight and knowledge were incomparable even to men. He had never heard anyone else mention those eminent figures, but Ye Zi spoke of them with clear details and even showed him a book.

In fact, one need not look at others, his family’s Ye Zi herself was one of those remarkable figures with significant abilities but without going through the imperial examinations.