Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

If Tong'an County could monopolize the textile machines and cotton cloth business, wouldn't the people of Tong'an County have a stable job?

Moreover, manufacturing is now considered a major industry, and its prospects are many times brighter than those of growing crops!

Although it is said that there are scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, but from the perspective of farmers themselves, they can't even be ranked second, let alone second.

Although Shen Zheng now has a general idea, she did not write it down on the letter paper. All of this is just her preliminary idea. It will not be too late to discuss it when someone from the Ministry of Works arrives.

What the county needs to do now is to develop more talents.

It’s true that scholars are talented, but craftsmen are also talented.

Shen Zheng chuckled at the thought. It seemed like she had to find something for Old Qiao to do. She hoped that the old man wouldn't be scared and run away.

She sealed the letter and handed it to the constable at the government office.

"Your master said he was not in a hurry to reply, but in fact he was waiting for my reply in his heart. I'm sorry to trouble you to go back early today and give him this letter."

The constable of the government office took the envelope and put it in his pocket. He thought that it was really hard to guess what the adults were thinking. If you want someone to reply, just say it directly. Why make them beat around the bush?

According to what Lord Shen said, if he didn't bring the reply back today, Lord Shen might get angry again!

Shen Zheng stood up and said to Zhao Xiu, "Take this detective brother to Wang's farm and dig up one, no, two rice plants according to Lord Yu's request. If you don't know how to choose, ask Wang Guangjin. He knows which rice is considered standard."

"Yes, sir." Zhao Xiu accepted the order and led the constables from the government office out of the backyard.

As soon as Zhao Xiu and the other person left, Old Qiao appeared in front of Shen Zheng with the spun fine cotton thread.

"Girl, are you done with your work?"

Shen Zheng was delighted when she saw Old Qiao showing off his treasures. She asked with a smile, "What treasure have you made?"

Old Qiao waved his hands. "Well, it's not a treasure, but I've been spinning the cotton thread according to the instructions these days. You know what? The cotton thread is really thin and soft after being washed and starched. Look!"

Shen Zheng took the cotton thread from Old Qiao's hand. Compared with the cotton thread used for spinning cloth a few days ago, the feel of this cotton thread was indeed much better.

Although it was still not as soft as the cotton she had seen before, it was still quite good nowadays.

And now they have just started out, so there is still room for improvement.

She gently stroked the cotton thread in her hand and praised: "How come your craftsmanship is so good? If I were to ask you, you can't be considered a craftsman, but an all-round talent, and the best craftsman in the Great Zhou Dynasty!"

"Oh! Hehe." When Mr. Qiao heard the flattery, he couldn't stop laughing.

But he still said modestly: "Look at what you said. How can I be called the best craftsman in the Great Zhou? Any thug in the Ministry of Works of the imperial court is much better than me!"

Speaking of the Ministry of Works, Shen Zheng directly told Mr. Qiao what Yu Zhengqing had said in the letter. After all, the matter was now almost certain.

Mr. Qiao was so shocked when he heard this that he almost jumped up!

"What! Little girl, you said that people from the Ministry of Industry are coming to our Tongan County?! Who is it?! How soon will they come?!"

Shen Zheng was also startled by Qiao Lao's reaction, and comforted him: "Don't worry, old man, how long it will take for someone to come, and who the person will be, we haven't confirmed yet, but now Lord Yu wants to report our county's textile machines to His Majesty, so the Ministry of Industry will definitely send someone!"

Mr. Qiao breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. He just mentioned the Ministry of Industry, but that was just a casual remark. Who knew that someone would really come?

He is just an old carpenter. He really has no confidence when facing those people from the Ministry of Works. Alas!

He hesitated and said, "Why don't we let Yu receive them when the time comes..."

Shen Zheng frowned upon hearing this and rejected it outright: "How can that be? You made the textile machine bit by bit. By then, you will be able to let the people in the Ministry of Industry learn more. By then, you will be the teacher and they will be the students!"

After hearing this, Mr. Qiao suddenly became more confident.

"That's true! Hahahaha, I never thought that an old man who has lived for decades can still be a teacher of the Minister of Industry."

Seeing that he was no longer bothered by the matter, Shen Zheng thought that she should discuss the issue of talent development in the county with Mr. Qiao.

After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Although the first textile machine has been built, our county wants to develop the textile industry, so this textile machine is far from enough, so you..."

"Then the old man will certainly not leave! Girl, just wait for me to take care of you in your old age!" Before Shen Zheng had finished her words, Old Man Qiao took the initiative to ask to stay.

Shen Zheng was pleasantly surprised and a little surprised. She couldn't help but ask, "When we left Liuyang Mansion, weren't you very reluctant to let us go? If you still miss home and just want to stay and help me out of consideration, just tell me. I can understand."

When Mr. Qiao heard this, he became unhappy.

His face fell. "Is the old man the kind of person who pretends to be so? You have to make the old man speak clearly. It's me who doesn't want to leave, right? Okay! That's right! It's me who doesn't want to leave!"

After saying this, Mr. Qiao turned his face away. He was already old, and yet he was still asked to say such shameless words. Even though he was thick-skinned, he felt a little embarrassed.

Shen Zheng was extremely happy to hear that. It was a great help for her that Mr. Qiao stayed. Moreover, after spending some time together, she had already regarded Mr. Qiao as a family member.

She couldn't help but chuckle, perhaps it was because she had been lonely for two lifetimes and she longed for family too much.

So whether it was Mr. Qiao, Zhao Xiu, or Master and Apprentice Li Hongmao, she gradually treated them as family members.

Shen Zheng took two steps forward, pulled on Old Qiao's sleeve, and said softly, "I'm very, very, very happy that you can stay."

Hearing this, Mr. Qiao felt even more embarrassed. He turned around and pretended to be suspicious: "Really?"

Shen Zheng nodded firmly, raised her right hand and stretched out three fingers, "It's absolutely true."

Old Qiao's face suddenly turned into a daisy, "Then I'll stay and help you."

Shen Zheng was startled. Wasn't this the opportunity? She slowly said, "Speaking of helping, there is something else I need your help with."

Old Qiao didn't expect that Shen Zheng would start assigning him tasks as soon as he said that. He looked Shen Zheng up and down before asking, "What do you need my help with?"

This posture is done to perfection.

Shen Zheng said in cooperation, "Old man, the first loom in the county has just been completed, but one loom is not enough. The county does not want you to be too tired, so they want to recruit a group of outer disciples to learn carpentry skills from you. Do you think it's okay?"