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

After Uncle Lai left, Shen Zheng watched the laborers busy in an orderly manner. She thought that she would have nothing to do today, so she thought about returning to the county government office first.

What happened last night made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. She didn’t know how many times this kind of thing had happened in places she didn’t know about.

In order to maintain her innocence, the girl would naturally not publicize such things, which also led to the bad guys becoming even more aggressive.

But today is the first day of digging the canal, so naturally not all the people from their county government can leave. They can only let Xu Zhubu and two constables stay.

After Shen Zheng explained everything to him, she left. It was an hour later when she returned to the county government office.

She walked from the county government office to the alley where she met Liu Bucktooth last night. The alley was not as scary during the day as it was at night, but there were few people there either.

If you want to get information, you have to go to a crowded place.

Shen Zheng followed her memory and walked to the teahouse at the corner of the alley. In front of the teahouse was a slightly wider street with people walking in groups of three or four.

The teahouse proprietress was sharp-eyed and noticed Shen Zheng first. She threw away the rag in her hand and came forward.

"Mr. County Magistrate, please come in and sit down!"

As the proprietress approached Shen Zheng, she smelled a scent of powder, which was different from the perfume she had come into contact with before. She couldn't describe the smell, but if she couldn't see it, she would definitely think that there was a graceful beauty in front of her.

In fact, the proprietress is not bad either. She has a plump figure, curved eyebrows, and wears a red skirt. The apron she wears outside can't hide her graceful figure.

Seeing that Shen Zheng was staring at her and seemed distracted, the teahouse proprietress called Shen Zheng softly, "Mr. County Magistrate?"

Shen Zheng realized that she had been distracted and coughed lightly.

"What's the boss lady's name?"

The teahouse owner smiled and said, "The neighbors all call me Man Niang. If you don't mind, you can call me that too."

Shen Zheng saw that Man Niang was probably older than her, so she asked, "How is Sister Man?"

Man Niang smiled even more happily: "It's great that the county magistrate calls me sister!"

As they were talking, the two of them walked into the teahouse. Man Niang managed the teahouse very well. Although it was not big, it was clean and bright, and the air was filled with the fragrance of tea.

There were not many customers in the teahouse, only two tables. Judging from their attire, they should be the few educated people in the county.

After Shen Zheng sat down, Man Niang handed Shen Zheng the handwritten menu: "What would you like to drink today, my lord? Sister will treat you."

Shen Zheng took the menu and looked at it. Ordinary green tea was three cents a cup, while other cloud teas would be a few cents more expensive, so the prices were very reasonable.

She couldn't help but ask, "Sister, is it profitable with such pricing?"

Man Niang adjusted the hairpin in her hair and said, "This shop is my own. I don't have to rent it out, so I can make a small profit, which is enough to support my livelihood."

Shen Zheng nodded and pointed at the tea on the menu: "Sister Lao, just give me a cup of tea."

"That won't do!" Man Niang took out the menu from her hand, twisted her waist and walked away.

After Man Niang left, the sound of the scholars' conversation nearby could be heard.

The scholar in the moon-white robe next to Shen Zheng asked another person, "Have you paid this month's tuition?"

The scholar who was asked had a bitter look on his face, frowning:

"I probably can't pay it back. Last year, the harvest was not good, and there was not enough food to eat. Now, most of the money we have saved is used to buy food to maintain our livelihood. The price of food in the grain shop changes every day. I can see that my family can't even afford to eat. If you hadn't invited me today, I wouldn't even dare to enter this teahouse."

The scholar took a big sip of tea from the teacup and continued to complain:

"Brother Zhang, what can I do? I have been studying for many years, and my family has suffered enough for me. My sister is 18 years old and still hasn't found a husband. The monthly tuition fee is too high. I really can't afford it."

The scholar in a long robe called Brother Zhang also sighed. It was the same for his family. While he was the only one studying, the whole family suffered, as they all hoped that he could pass the imperial examinations.

But it is not so easy to obtain official titles. Nowadays, they cannot even pass the examination to become a scholar, let alone a juren or gongshi.

Shen Zheng, who was standing by, frowned slightly as she listened to their conversation and couldn't help tapping the table with her fingers.

She was thinking of two things.

First, although the original owner had never gone out to study in the past, she roughly knew that the monthly tuition for students was extremely high, but she didn't know how much silver it was in Tongan County.

Second, food prices have risen so much now that I have been so busy recently that I have forgotten to pay attention to it. The rise in food prices is not a good sign.

Shen Zheng moved the stool towards the two people. She ignored their strange looks and spoke to herself, "Two scholars, where are you studying and how much tuition do you have to pay every month?"

The two men had studied abroad for many years, so they did not know the newly appointed county magistrate and thought she was just an ordinary woman who was curious about them as scholars.

Although he thought Shen Zheng was strange, the scholar called Brother Zhang still answered:

"We are both studying at Liuchang Academy in the neighboring Quanyang County. Since we haven't passed the examination to become a scholar yet, we can only pay 500 coins per month. If we pass the examination to become a scholar and worship our teacher again, we will need more."

Shen Zheng was slightly surprised when she heard his words. Five hundred coins, how could an ordinary family earn so much money in a month.

Moreover, studying requires more than just tuition fees. Books, writing brushes, paper, inkstones, accommodation and food all cost money. Isn't this what they say: one person studying means the whole family suffers?

There was no academy in Tongan County, so it was even more difficult for students in the county to study.

"Mr. County Magistrate, tea is here!" At this time, Man Niang came over with a tea tray in one hand and placed a cup of hot tea with white mist on the table in front of Shen Zheng.

"Mr. County Magistrate!" The two scholars almost broke their voices. They were buried in their books. Although they knew that the County Magistrate of Tongan County had been replaced, they had never seen him before!

Didn't they just show impoliteness in front of the county magistrate?

The two men quickly stood up and bowed, saying in unison: "Students Zhang Yuanwei and He Mingcheng greet the county magistrate!"

"Just now, I failed to recognize the county magistrate. I was impolite. Please punish me."

Zhang Yuanwei lowered his head. As a student in a county, he did not recognize his own county magistrate. This was extremely rude. If he really made the person on the other side unhappy, their academic journey would come to an end.

"oops!"

Man Niang, who was standing by, cried out softly. She pointed at the two of them and said to Shen Zheng, "Did these two scholars bump into you?"

Shen Zheng was also a little embarrassed by their extremely panicked reactions. She shook her head at Man Niang and said, "That's not the case."

She stood up and helped the two who were still bowing, and comforted them: "I don't blame you, it's because I seldom go out, it's normal that you don't recognize me, ignorance is not a crime."

Zhang Yuanwei and He Mingcheng slowly raised their heads and secretly looked at Shen Zheng's expression. Seeing that she really had no intention of blaming them, the two of them felt relieved.

"Let's sit down and talk."

Shen Zheng called Man Niang and the two scholars, and the four of them sat around a table.