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

Four or five cents means that the price of grain increased by about half in just one month.

In this era, the wages of workers are not proportional to the price of food. The root cause of the problem lies in agricultural productivity. In areas where agricultural productivity has not developed, the problem of food and clothing alone can kill a large number of people.

Shen Zheng was thinking about the solution to the grain price problem in her mind. She had to control the grain price.

But after thinking it over, she felt that she had walked into a dead end. The county government now had no grain in stock, and the account book only had the three thousand taels of silver that Wang Guangjin had given at that time, and part of it had already been used.

The only way to control grain prices is to open granaries and store public grain, thereby lowering the grain prices set by merchants in the market.

But now she has neither food nor money. How can she lower the price?

Shen Zheng felt very annoyed at this moment and couldn't eat anymore. She just said something to Uncle Lai and left.

On the way back to the county government office, Shen Zheng couldn't help but curse the system in her heart. Others have systems and can get whatever they want, but she has a system that is simply there to collect debts!

The items in the exchange mall made her envious, but now she couldn't afford any of them. She could only look but not exchange, which was more painful for her than not being able to see them at all.

Apart from giving her a few sacks of grain seeds at the beginning, there was no further movement from this system!

Grain seeds!

Shen Zheng found a corner and opened the system panel, carefully reading the records about hybrid rice. When she saw the small words in the corner recording the per-acre yield of hybrid rice, an idea flashed through her mind.

I don't know if this business with no capital will work...

On the way back to the county government office, Shen Zheng was carefully pondering the feasibility of this method, and before he knew it, he had arrived at the only grain shop in the county.

"Mr. County Magistrate!" The sharp-eyed shop assistant in the shop saw him and hurriedly turned around and shouted, "Boss, the County Magistrate is here!"

But after a while, a slightly plump middle-aged man came out from the inner room. After coming out of the inner room, he glanced at the door. After seeing that the person was indeed Shen Zheng, he came out from behind the counter to greet her.

There was nothing wrong with the smile on his face, and anyone who saw him would think that he was a laughing Maitreya.

"Why is the county magistrate here today? It really brings honor to our little shop!"

Shen Zheng was looking at the grain prices written on the wooden board of the counter, which were exactly the same as what Uncle Lai had just said.

Shen Zheng bowed to the grain shop owner and said, "I don't know what the owner's name is."

The grain store owner looked flattered, and stepped back repeatedly, waving his hands: "My lord, please don't do that. My last name is Hu, and my fame and fortune are all mine. Please just call me by my full name."

While looking at the rice and flour in the store, Shen Zheng said to Hu Likai, "Shopkeeper Hu, I'm sorry to bother you. To be honest, I came here today because I want to discuss something with you."

Hu Likai's eyes flashed with a gleam of brilliance, but his face was still smiling: "Please come in, sir. Let's go to the tea room in the back to talk."

Shen Zheng nodded and gestured to Hu Likai to invite them in. Hu Likai then walked in front to lead the way.

After the two of them sat down in the tea room, Hu Likai added some tea leaves and hot water to the teapot on the table.

"I wonder what your Excellency is doing?"

Shen Zheng didn't want to beat around the bush with him. At this point, whether it would succeed or not, she could only try her best.

"Looking that Shopkeeper Hu is also a straightforward person, I will speak frankly. I am here today to discuss the price of grain."

Hu Likai in front of her understood what Shen Zheng meant when he heard this, but he was running a business, so what's the point of doing business if it doesn't make money?

He said to Shen Zheng with a bitter face: "Please wait a moment, sir."

After saying that, he began to rummage through the bookshelf beside him, and then took out a stack of things that looked like account books.

"This is my store's purchase list. Please have a look. I didn't mean to raise the grain prices. I had to!"

Shen Zheng pushed the account book back. She didn't need to look at the book to know that grain prices were indeed rising everywhere, and it was not Hu Likai's fault.

"I know that food prices are rising. I came here today to do a business with Shopkeeper Hu without any capital investment."

Hu Likai looked suspicious after hearing what Shen Zheng said: "I wonder what business you are talking about?"

Although Shen Zheng was still unsure, she couldn't show it at this moment. She said seriously, "The county is digging ditches now. Manager Hu should know about this, right?"

Hu Likai nodded: "Of course I know. Not long ago, the master recruited workers in a grand manner. The treatment was so good that all the servants in my family wanted to go."

"Then, Manager Hu, do you know why I want to build ditches and canals on such a large scale?" Shen Zheng continued to ask.

"This..." Hu Likai frowned and thought for a while: "I don't know, I hope you can explain it to me."

“I want all county residents to grow rice.”

Rice? Hu Likai felt that although the woman in front of him was a county magistrate, she didn't have much knowledge after all. Even if they planted rice in Tongan County, the harvest was not much different from other crops.

She is now digging ditches and building canals on a large scale. Even if she does grow rice, wouldn't it be too strenuous? Everyone's food rations have changed from hundreds of kilograms of beans to hundreds of kilograms of rice. What's the difference?

After all, women are short-sighted.

Shen Zheng kept staring at Hu Likai, paying attention to the expression on his face. Now she understood what was in his mind.

You think she's doing a thankless job, right?

"Manager Hu thinks that the rice yield per mu is extremely low. Even if the county residents plant rice, they will still go hungry?"

Hu Likai was a little embarrassed at this time, thinking that his thoughts were written on his face today.

He dared not admit it: "I didn't do that."

Shen Zheng gave him a knowing smile. It didn’t matter what he thought, did it?

"But what if I say that the minimum yield per mu of rice farmland is 800 kilograms?" Shen Zheng had underestimated this number, as the system panel showed 1,200 kilograms.

"What?!" Hu Likai was startled at first, and then he felt that Shen Zheng was talking to him in his sleep.

"Sir, please don't tease me. There is no rice in the world that can produce 800 kilograms per mu. I have been running a grain store for many years. The best rice seeds on the market can only produce 200 kilograms per mu."

Eight hundred pounds, let alone him, no one would believe it!

Hu Likai poured the brewed tea from the teapot to Shen Zheng: "My Lord, please drink some tea."

Shen Zheng looked at his reaction and sighed secretly. It was no wonder that Hu Likai didn't believe her. How could anyone believe her when she was just talking nonsense?

I just don’t know if Wang Guangjin still has hybrid rice seeds.

Shen Zheng picked up the teacup and took a sip. "Master Hu has been running a grain store for many years. If we only look at the rice seeds and seedlings, can you estimate the approximate yield per mu?"

Hu Likai frowned. He thought it was possible, but he was also afraid that he would spend the whole day hunting geese and end up being pecked by them.

But when he looked at the woman in front of him, he realized that she was a county magistrate after all. If he didn't give her enough face, his life would be difficult in the future.

He could only nod his head and said, "Just looking at the seedlings should be enough. My Lord, do you want me to help take a look?"