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

The next morning, with the sound of roosters crowing, the Tongan County Government Office was greeted with an unprecedented bustling scene.

The news that Wei Mansion was going to be converted into a county school spread like a feather in the warm summer breeze throughout the streets and alleys of Tongan County.

Those few businessmen and gentry were willing to help repair the county school, either for fame, profit, or out of genuine desire, but what other ordinary county citizens were doing today was simply to do their part.

After all, they don’t quite understand Shen Zheng’s thoughts now.

In their view, people who can study either have money at home or have a natural talent for studying. If a person has neither of these two qualities, how can he study?

Even if the county magistrate had said before that the county school would not accept tuition fees, they would not dare to send their children to study in the county school.

If you don't have any talent for studying, wouldn't it be a waste of resources for the county school if you went there?

It would be better to leave the opportunity to those talented and book-loving boys in the village. Maybe one of them can really pass the exam and become a scholar or something, which will bring honor to the village and they can also share in the joy.

So the county residents standing at the gate of the county government office at this time had a simple idea: the county magistrate wanted to repair the county school, which was a good thing, and they would help as much as they could before the autumn harvest.

As for who will go to study after the county school is completed, the county magistrate will consider it, and it is not their concern.

As soon as the gate of the county government office opened, Shen Zheng saw the people standing at the door.

At the front were Wang Guangjin and those gentry and businessmen, and when Shen Zheng saw the crowd standing behind, her eyes suddenly became red.

Except for the village heads, she couldn't name most of these people, but she could remember which village they were from and when she had met them.

The old man with the gray towel on his shoulders would always greet her happily and ask her if she had eaten every time he saw her.

The aunt holding the hoe was the one who secretly put two eggs in her pocket yesterday.

And the auntie wearing a headscarf! She was the auntie who served me sweet soup in Nanba Village!

Even Man Niang and He Hua, who she was more familiar with, were there. When they looked at her, they nodded slightly.

The purpose of their coming to the county government office today was self-evident. Shen Zheng just stood on the steps of the county government office, while the people in the county stared at her in the dam in front of the county government office. The team was so large and long that it blocked the entrance of the county government office.

Seeing that Shen Zheng didn't say anything, someone said, "Sir, we are here to help repair the county school, not to attack the county government office!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the touching atmosphere was immediately disrupted. The crowd burst into laughter, and Shen Zheng's tears, which were about to fall, were held back because of this joke.

The person who was speaking was touched by the person next to him, "Why are you still joking with adults?"

The person who was speaking laughed, looked at the person next to him and said seriously: "Didn't you see that the adults' eyes were red? We are here to repair the county school, not to make the adults cry."

The person next to him heard what he said and bowed to him: "Brother Liu, your opinion is good."

Wang Guangjin in front of the crowd looked back, then took a step forward and said to Shen Zheng with a smile:

"Sir, originally I only notified a few gentry and merchants, but the county residents also came here on their own accord after hearing the news."

Someone in the crowd said, "Sir, the autumn harvest is still some time away. During this time, we are all idle anyway. Why don't we come and help repair the county school? The sooner we finish it, the sooner the students can start studying!"

"Yes! Don't worry, sir. We all volunteered this time. We don't need any wages!"

"Yes! Studying is the work of saints and sages. It's so vulgar to talk about money!"

When these words came out, everyone was stunned, even the person who said them stood still.

How can we study without mentioning money?

How can studying be free of money?

Deeds of sages, deeds of sages.

If they didn’t have Lord Shen, how could they dare to think of such a sage thing!

The atmosphere, which had finally become lively, became quiet again because of this sentence.

At this moment, a breeze blew by, and Shen Zheng looked carefully at everyone standing below, trying to remember their faces.

This scene will surely become a precious memory and remain in her heart forever.

The road ahead is confusing. She may rise and fall in officialdom in the future, and there may be times of confusion and puzzlement, but Shen Zheng feels that as long as she takes a look at the scene at this time again, she will definitely stick to her original intention and face the difficulties!

She took a step back and bowed seriously to everyone.

The people below were startled and waved their hands and stepped back.

"My Lord, what are you doing? You can't do that! You are embarrassing us!"

Wang Guangjin hurried forward and tried to help Shen Zheng up.

Shen Zheng reached out to stop him, stood up after a moment, and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve.

"Shen Zheng would like to thank all the elders and fellow villagers here. Without you, there would be no Tongan County that is thriving."

As soon as she finished speaking, someone in the crowd responded, "Sir, don't say that! Without you, there would be no prosperous Tong'an County!"

Shen Zheng shook her head at them, "If I'm the only one working hard, it will be just a drop in the bucket."

Although most of them did not understand what "a drop in the bucket" meant, they could roughly understand that the county magistrate was praising them.

They had smiles on their faces. How could they, a bunch of peasants, deserve such high praise from the county magistrate? The county magistrate thought too highly of them.

Shen Zheng sniffed lightly and continued, "We are very tight on time to repair the county school this time. Your coming here is a great help to the county government. Although it is not the autumn harvest yet, I know there is still work to do in the fields, so..."

When Shen Zheng said this, everyone knew that she was going to talk about wages again, and quickly stopped her.

"Sir, we said we don't want wages, and that means we don't want wages. Otherwise, what are we doing today?"

"That is to say, if we accept the wages from the adults, wouldn't it be like we are forced to work here? We can't take this money!"

"Yes! I can't accept it! If you want to pay me, I will go home!"

Shen Zheng was stunned when she heard this. Looking at them like this, it seemed that they were determined not to take any wages today.

She felt a little conflicted because what she said just now was not wrong. Although it was not the autumn harvest yet, there was still work to be done in each family's fields. After all, they planted more than one crop.

Although the wages for repairing the county school were certainly not as high as those for patrolling or digging canals, she had thought about showing some appreciation, at least a few cents.

But now looking at the expressions of the crowd, she realized that they were determined not to take any wages, and it seemed that if she mentioned money again, they would turn around and leave.

In fact, Shen Zheng knew that other counties would recruit workers for any work they needed, and this recruitment was not voluntary but compulsory.

No matter whether you have work in the fields or other livelihoods at home, you have to come if you are asked to work.

As for the wages, just a bowl of porridge is enough. After eating the porridge, you can continue working!

You can say she is stubborn and can't change her mindset, or that she won't take advantage of others. You can say whatever you want about her, she just doesn't want the county residents to suffer.