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

Shen Zheng looked at the tea that Man Niang brought over. The tea was emerald green with a slight yellow hue, clear and bright. She picked it up and took a sip. It also had a rich aroma and a mellow taste.

Although Shen Zheng had no experience in tea ceremony, she knew that this was not the plain tea she ordered.

"Sister Man, this shouldn't be the tea I ordered. You're giving me such good tea, but it's going to empty my wallet."

After hearing what Shen Zheng said, Man Niang glared at her: "Sister said she would treat you, how could I let you drink the worst tea!"

Zhang Yuanwei and He Mingcheng on the side silently raised their sleeves to cover the tea that had just been moved from the next table. What they drank was the "worst tea".

Shen Zheng raised her hand and bowed to Man Niang: "Thank you, beautiful sister."

Man Niang picked up her handkerchief and covered her mouth with it, laughing secretly: "If you were a man, I would want to marry you."

Shen Zheng shook her head helplessly. She turned to look at Zhang Yuanwei and He Mingcheng, thinking about asking them some more questions about the academy.

"Two scholars, I wonder how many students there are in the Liuchang Academy where you study?"

When the two were called, they immediately stood up. Zhang Yuanwei spoke first: "Sir, my name is Changwen, so I am not worthy of your title of scholar."

He Mingcheng also said respectfully: "Sir, I refuse the student's name."

Shen Zheng sighed and had to raise her hand again to signal the two to sit down.

Zhang Yuanwei recalled the scale of Liuchang Academy and made a rough estimate:

"Sir, there are about 200 students in Liuchang Academy, about half of whom are from Quanyang County, and the rest, like the two of us, are from the surrounding counties."

Two hundred people is not a small scale, so there should be quite a few teachers.

"Who are the teachers in that academy?" Shen Zheng continued to ask.

When Zhang Yuanwei talked about the academy, there was a hint of indifference on his face:

"The academy is divided into outer quarters, inner quarters, and upper quarters. In outer quarters, scholars usually teach students. After passing the examination for students, they can enter the inner quarters. The teachers in the inner quarters are scholars and juren with good achievements. After students pass the examination for scholars, they can enter the upper quarters and be taught by the gongshi themselves."

Shen Zheng nodded. In that case, these two people have not passed the examination for the title of scholar yet, so they should be in the inner dormitory.

It is also extremely impressive that Liuchang Academy can invite tribute scholars to be its teachers. No wonder the tuition fees are so high.

Shen Zheng felt quite depressed when she thought about the students in her county having to spend a lot of money to study abroad. She lowered her head and thought about the feasibility of opening an academy in Tongan County. The faculty alone was enough to stump her.

I have no choice but to go back and discuss it with Master Xu, Shen Zheng thought.

She saw that Zhang Yuanwei and He Mingcheng felt uncomfortable sitting at the same table with her, so she thanked them. The two understood Shen Zheng's meaning, waved their hands, said they couldn't bear it, and got up and left the teahouse.

Man Niang was wiping the table carelessly with a handkerchief. When she saw the two men leave, she spoke with disdain:

"There are many scholars who drain their entire families just to get a good degree. I think these two won't be far behind."

Shen Zheng looked at her helplessly, and Man Niang realized that she had said the wrong thing. She covered her mouth and said, "I forgot that you are also a scholar."

Shen Zheng didn't argue with her, but just felt that he was not doing a good enough job as the county magistrate.

"If we had an academy in Tongan County, these students and their families wouldn't have to suffer so much."

Man Niang looked at Shen Zheng curiously: "What do you want, sir?"

Shen Zheng wanted to do it, but the county government didn't have the ability to do it now. She could only shake her head: "Not yet. Tongan County is too poor now."

"That's true." Man Niang muttered softly. The same tea leaves were much cheaper in her teahouse than in the next county.

At this time, a little girl in linen clothes walked into the teahouse. She looked timid, and after looking at Man Niang, she stood there without moving.

Only after Man Niang raised her hand and pointed to the kitchen did she walk towards it.

"She is a little girl who usually comes to help me. Her name is A-Li. She has a drunkard father and is supported by her and her mother." Man Niang explained to Shen Zheng. When she mentioned A-Li's father, there was uncontrollable disgust in her eyes.

Speaking of wine, Shen Zheng remembered the main reason why she came here today. She turned around and looked around. After seeing that all the tea drinkers had left, she spoke:

"Sister Man, I came here today because I want to know something from you."

Man Niang said jokingly, "No one comes to visit you for no reason. What is your business?"

When talking about business, Shen Zheng's aura suddenly changed, and Man Niang straightened her face when she saw her like this.

"I wonder if Sister Man knows Liu Bucktooth who lives in the alley behind this?" Shen Zheng asked.

When Man Niang heard Liu Bucktooth's name, she instantly felt nauseous as if she had eaten a fly. She made a "Puh" sound:

"That rascal, everyone in our street knows him! He often drinks with Ali's drunkard father!"

When Shen Zheng saw Man Niang's expression, she knew that Liu Bucktooth must have done a lot of bad things, which was why the neighbors disliked him so much.

"I wonder what Liu Bucktooth did?" Shen Zheng was actually a little afraid of Man Niang's answer. If it was just a petty theft, it would be fine. But if it was like what happened last night...

"That's a lot to talk about. Ah Li, bring the plate of melon seeds!"

Ali came out from the kitchen, put a plate of melon seeds on the counter, and brought the melon seeds over with her head down. After placing the melon seeds on the table, she stood in front of the two men without moving.

"Let's go back to the kitchen." She turned and walked towards the kitchen after hearing Man Niang's words.

Shen Zheng looked at Ah Li's back. She seemed different from ordinary people.

Man Niang, who was standing by, saw Shen Zheng's confusion and said while eating melon seeds, "I have watched this child grow up. When she was little, she was very noisy. She followed me around all day, calling me Auntie Man Man, and she only wanted to eat the snacks in my teahouse."

"Then why now..." Shen Zheng was puzzled. She originally thought that this girl was suffering from some congenital disease.

Man Niang sneered, "Because of her drunkard father. When A-li was a child, her father was quite normal. The shop next door to me used to belong to their family, but when A-li was eight years old, her father became addicted to gambling and gambled away the shop."

Man Niang pushed the melon seeds in front of Shen Zheng and continued, "After the shop closed, everyone thought her father stopped gambling, but who knew he was still gambling secretly! He even used Ah Li as a stake."

Shen Zheng hadn't even had time to crack a melon seed before she inhaled sharply and looked shocked after hearing what Man Niang said.

Man Niang looked at her shocked expression and smiled: "It's hard to believe that there is such a father in the world, haha, he counted Ah Li as a bet of ten taels of silver."

"What happened next?" Shen Zheng asked.

"Later, A-li's mother came to me and asked me to save A-li. I only had ten taels of silver at the time! But thinking about that girl, I didn't refuse her mother."

Man Niang sighed pretending to be regretful, but whether she really regretted it or not, only she herself knew.

Only then did Shen Zheng realize that this woman, Man Niang, was beautiful not only in appearance.

She asked again: "So, sister, you used ten taels of silver to redeem Ah Li?"

"No, it's twelve taels!"