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

"Just say what you want to say." Yu Zhengqing said.

Shen Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "Sir, although we selected the best rice seeds, in fact, as long as it is rice, it can be planted."

She paused and gave an example: "For example, if the rice is not harvested in time, the mature rice grains will be blown to the ground by strong winds or heavy rains. They will be exposed to the earth's air and have moisture, so they can sprout. So those rice grains are just not suitable for seed preservation, but it does not mean that they cannot be used for seedling cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhengqing tapped his fingers on the small table.

"I've thought about your concerns." Yu Zhengqing asked in a low voice, "Do you trust the people of Tongan County?"

Shen Zheng pursed her lips and replied after a moment: "I believe them, and I am not doubting them, but I am saying..."

"You hesitated." Yu Zhengqing interrupted her and pressed on.

He asked again: "If someone buys their food rations at a high price and uses them for seeding, what will you do?"

Shen Zheng frowned slightly.

Before, she had no conflicts of interest with the people of Tongan County. In fact, she had been nurturing the people of Tongan County without asking for anything in return. Therefore, she was not afraid of their betrayal because they had no reason to betray her.

But now the county residents have their own interests, and her decisions will go against their own interests.

But the rice seeds of this first year are crucial.

She hopes Tongan County will be good, and that’s right.

But besides being the magistrate of Tongan County, she was also a citizen and an official of the Great Zhou.

She could never see that some people, out of their own selfishness, disrupted the entire grain seed market of the Great Zhou - to only gain profit for one year was too short-sighted.

"I will not let this happen." Shen Zheng said firmly.

Yu Zhengqing smiled, somewhat dissatisfied with her answer, and said: "What can you do? Collect all the food they have and replace it with ordinary food for them, so that others will not have the opportunity to take advantage of it? But this is not worth it, and it is also the dumbest method."

"Yes." Shen Zheng nodded. "Not only is it exhausting, but it also confuses the people of Tongan County. At least most people won't sell grain seeds privately. I trust them."

Yu Zhengqing agreed with this statement. "Most people in the county admire you very much, but human nature is selfish after all. You can't control their minds and make everyone think the same way as you do, so you are afraid that a bad apple will spoil the whole barrel."

He added: "It will also damage your reputation - Tongan County is small, with only tens of thousands of people. If you can't manage it, how will you be able to handle higher official positions in the future?"

"This is a difficult problem." Shen Zheng murmured.

"It's not just a problem for you," said Yu Zhengqing.

Shen Zheng knew it was difficult, but Yu Zhengqing didn't think it was her problem. Profit was a powerful force, and even he was not sure he could solve the problem.

"As a county magistrate, you and I are just prefectural officials. Even if we can control our subordinates, we can't control those greedy and desperate criminals. So we have to treat them harshly from the beginning." Yu Zhengqing's voice was cold. He looked down on those villains.

It’s not that he is a gentleman, but when it comes to the interests of the country, everyone has to stand aside. Anyone who dares to shake the interests of the Great Zhou deserves to die.

Yu Zhengqing's temperament changed so quickly that Shen Zheng could not help but be stunned. After a moment, she asked, "My Lord, do you want to..."

Yu Zhengqing suddenly smiled again, "When the people coming to Beijing arrive, we must make good use of them. We are not fools if we don't use them."

Shen Zheng also laughed, "Your Excellency is right."

Regardless of their starting point or purpose, they are all standing from the perspective of the Great Zhou, so they have to take advantage of the situation when it is time to do so.

Using the opponent's force to counter it is the way to win.

After a bumpy ride, Shen Zheng and the other person arrived at Qingyuan Village, which borders Quanyang County.

The drying dam of Qingyuan Village is close to Quanyang County, so during this period of time, as long as there is rice in the drying dam, every household will send someone to guard it.

They knew that the magistrate of Quanyang County intended to make friends with Lord Shen, so the people of Quanyang County did not dare to look down on them as they did in the past.

But not looking down on it does not mean that they will not have bad intentions. Their rice is so precious nowadays. If one is not careful and one of them is plucked by the people from Quanyang County, it will be a huge loss!

Today, the per-acre yield was calculated. The people of Quanyang County, who had been watching for a long time, finally could no longer sit still. They stopped outside the small mound at the border of the two counties and tilted their heads to look at the drying dam in Qingyuan Village.

Some even brought a ladder, leaned it against the tree, and climbed up the branch to watch.

The people of Qingyuan Village looked proud and laughed and scolded: "You are like a thief, not afraid of falling down. Don't blame us when you get hurt!"

Zhang Lizheng was recording the weight, and without looking up, he said, "Why bother with them? If they want to have red eye disease, let them have it."

He could never forget how the head of the Linmu village opposite had humiliated them when they were digging the canal.

Now I have finally gotten rid of my anger.

Zhang Lizheng raised his head and looked in the direction of the ditch in the village, chuckling in his heart. It wouldn't be long before Linmu Village Chief would have to go to them and beg for help.

At this moment, he saw a carriage slowly approaching from the corner of his eye. He widened his eyes slightly and called out quickly, "Everyone, be alert! Lord Shen is here!"

When the villagers heard this, they immediately perked up and worked busily on the dam to dry the sun.

As soon as Shen Zheng got off the carriage, Zhang Lizheng came to greet her. Before she could speak, Zhang Lizheng said loudly: "Sir! I have weighed more than a dozen households in Qingyuan Village, and the highest yield per mu is 1,270 kilograms!"

Shen Zheng smiled when she heard that and glanced behind Zhang Lizheng. He wasn't just saying this to herself.

As expected, everyone in Linmu Village was instantly excited when they heard the words. Before, they were far away and could not hear the weight clearly, but this time, they heard it clearly.

One thousand two hundred and seventy kilograms! The villagers in Linmu Village were all stunned.

Some people regretted: "Why am I not from Tongan County? What a sin! I have been unlucky all my life, and such a good thing still cannot happen to me!"

Shen Zheng saw a villager from Linmu Village almost falling from a tree branch, and said with a smile: "Don't show them off, or they'll make people sick."

"Hey, okay." Zhang Lizheng hesitated for a moment and asked hesitantly, "Sir...you came from Nanba Village, right? They..."

This is a case of comparison.

Yu Zhengqing smiled and said, "Just over 1,300 kilograms. You still have to work harder."

"What!" Zhang Lizheng's eyes widened, and he turned around and shouted, "Fellow villagers, hurry up, we can't let Nanba Village suppress us!"

He didn't make his words too clear, but everyone in Qingyuan Village understood what he meant and their fighting spirit was instantly ignited.

The atmosphere at the drying dam was lively. After watching for a while, Shen Zheng and Yu Zhengqing set off to the next village.

A day passed by and night came quietly. For the next two days, Tongan County was measuring the yield per mu - weighing by hand, one day was certainly not enough.

Nanba Village still holds the title of No. 1 in per-mu yield. All the other villages are working hard to defeat Nanba Village. Every day before dawn, the drying dam is crowded with people.

Just as Shen Zheng was thinking about whether there were any other lightweight weighing tools besides the mechanical scale, the people Yu Zhengqing was waiting for arrived one after another.