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

The next morning, Tongan County Government Office.

"Master Yu, Master Shen did not return home last night." Zhao Xiu found Yu Zhengqing and said seriously.

"what?!"

Yu Zhengqing was happily having breakfast with his daughter, but when he heard this, he almost threw away the chopsticks in his hand.

We can’t lose Shen Zheng now!

If someone gets lost right under his nose, His Majesty will not only skin him alive...

He was confused for a moment, but immediately calmed down and asked, "Didn't she still stay in the yamen during dinner last night? Did she leave after dinner?"

He thought of countless possibilities in his mind, wondering what might have happened to Shen Zheng that caused her to stay out all night.

Instead, Zhao Xiu was confused by his question.

"Master Shen didn't have dinner with us yesterday. Xiao Yuan took him to the village in the afternoon. Both of them didn't come back today."

"No." Yu Zhengqing finally understood the meaning of Zhao Xiu's words and felt a little amused.

"Lord Shen? Shen Xingjian?"

So it’s this Lord Shen?

Zhao Xiu nodded and said puzzledly: "Of course it is this Lord Shen. I never call you Lord Shen."

He thought Lord Yu knew who he was talking about, no wonder he reacted so strongly.

Yu Zhengqing lowered his head and held his forehead, "Shen Xingjian is just such a fool. The rice in our county is a great temptation to him. It is common for him to forget to eat and sleep. Didn't you say that Xiao Yuan is with him? It's okay. He will come back when he has seen enough."

Zhao Xiu sighed in his heart when he heard this.

Brother, it’s not that I don’t want to save you, it’s that I tried and no one cared about you.

That’s right, Zhao Xiu’s purpose in looking for Yu Zhengqing was not to report the “missing person” Shen Xingjian.

Instead, it was his most loyal little brother, Xiao Yuan, who had recently exchanged feelings with the girl he loved and was waiting for Xiao Yuan's family to go through the process of proposing.

However, Xiao Yuan disappeared yesterday, and the girl’s family came to inquire about her early this morning. Although it is normal for people in their line of work to occasionally not come home, the girl couldn’t help but worry.

Just like when he first became a constable, he often stayed in the county government office in order to gain recognition.

At first he didn't notice anything unusual about Hui Niang, but after a few times, he discovered that whenever he stayed in the county government office, Hui Niang would look very bad when he returned home the next day.

——She was worried about him and couldn't sleep all night.

......

A long dragon-like convoy drove into Tongan County, stretching endlessly with no end in sight.

Everyone in the convoy knew that a lot of rice needed to be transported today, but when they actually saw it, they still couldn't help but tremble in their hearts.

Several familiar drivers were busy with their work and chattering.

"When I heard that a female county magistrate had come to Tong'an County, I felt sorry for the fellow villagers here. Well, now I think about it, we were really ignorant. Lord Shen is really like this!"

The driver gave a thumbs up after saying this.

"That's right. My mother keeps complaining at home, asking why I didn't marry to Tong'an County..."

A burst of laughter.

"Hey, I heard that these rice grains were donated by the villagers. Why are you all praising Lord Shen?"

After asking this question, the man felt that his words were not appropriate, and quickly replied: "I'm not saying anything bad about Lord Shen, I'm just curious, curious."

"Hahahaha." The county resident who came to help puffed out his chest, feeling proud:

"My dear, you don't know that the rice donated this time is all from Lady Shen! She lent us the rice seeds in exchange for 10% of the harvest."

The driver opened his mouth wide, "Rice seeds are only worth 10%?"

His reaction successfully amused the county residents.

"It's only 10%. Now that we have collected the grain, Master wants to donate it in the name of our entire county! How can this be possible? What belongs to Master is Master's. Brother, when you transport the grain out, you must tell the people outside that this is our Master's own grain!"

No citizen in the county wanted to steal the credit from Shen Zheng.

As the two interacted, the county residents and the convoy became more and more familiar with each other.

The driver felt envious as he listened to the county residents describing their daily life in Tongan County.

Suddenly, an idea came to someone's mind:

I wonder... whether they can become residents of Tongan County...

The horse-drawn carriages were connected end to end. When the first carriage was loaded with rice and left, the next one would immediately take over, without wasting a single moment.

Fang Ziyan opened his mouth wide, staring blankly at the endless convoy.

"Zhao Qi, so much food has to be transported to such a far place and then given to the victims...Why can't we exchange the food for silver, then send the silver over and let them buy food themselves?"

Upon hearing this, Pei Zhaoqi looked at Fang Ziyan in surprise.

Ziyan actually began to think about the pros and cons! This was something he had never done before.

This made Pei Zhaoqi inexplicably feel that... my son has grown up.

He patiently explained, "The reason why there is famine in the east is because there has been very little food production in the entire eastern region in the past few years, and this year is the worst. A small number of people there may not lack silver, but they still can't buy food."

Fang Ziyan seemed to understand something and frowned, "So even if we give them silver, we won't have any food to buy with them."

He finished muttering to himself: "How could this happen?"

Pei Zhaoqi tilted his head in confusion when he heard this and looked at Fang Ziyan.

In Fang Ziyan's opinion, wherever there is demand, there will definitely be businessmen, like his eldest brother.

My brother has said before that the formation of a market is first of all "demand", and then "both parties of demand."

His elder brother also said: whoever wants what, then use what to exchange to achieve their own needs. The existence of businessmen is to mediate and profit by quickly meeting the needs of both parties.

Therefore, if there is very little food in the east, then you can definitely make money by transporting food from other regions.

It seems like a business that is sure to make money, so why doesn't anyone do it?

Fang Ziyan thought so and asked the same question.

A crisp voice answered him: "A small amount of food is just a drop in the bucket. It might be robbed before it even gets there. Large amounts of food are difficult to transport, and the more food there is, the lower the price, and the lower the profits for merchants."

It’s Yu Nanshu.

When Fang Ziyan saw her coming, his eyes lit up. He wanted to make friends with Yu Nanshu yesterday, but she had been following the prefect and didn't give him a chance.

At the moment, he didn't even hear what Yu Nanshu said, he just wanted to get closer to her and talk to her and make friends with her.

Before he could speak, Pei Zhaoqi spoke again: "The quantity is the main problem, but the role of the court and the government is also crucial."

Yu Nanshu walked towards them and agreed:

"If the government is lax, merchants will set prices without knowing the severity of the situation, which will cause suffering to the people. If the government is strict, merchants will not be able to make money from the national crisis, so they will be unwilling to come."

Pei Zhaoqi continued, "The imperial court will certainly not do anything. If the merchants take any action, and the imperial court allocates grain for disaster relief, then the merchants will definitely suffer losses. Moreover, if they do so, they may be targeted by the government."

During the years of famine, the people suffered no matter what.

The people are aware of their own sufferings, but they do not know that in the battle of hoarding grain, they have always been just pawns on the merchants' chessboard.

People in Tongan County also suffered from hunger a few years ago, and Pei Zhaoqi took this matter to heart.

He looked at the rice piled up into small hills and the endless convoy of cars, and suddenly laughed.

"Your Excellency's move is exactly the best solution to this problem."

Yu Nanshu looked at Shen Zheng's back, and the admiration in her eyes grew stronger and stronger.

"Grandfather said that when we set out from the capital that day, no one in the court had submitted a petition for disaster relief grain. The autumn harvest had just begun in various places, and no one wanted to be the first to offend others. Fortunately, Sister Shen cares about the world, and the people in the east are very lucky. They will be grateful to her."

Pei Zhaoqi and Yu Nanshu communicated calmly. The two little adults analyzed the current situation in the east.

It was a tough time for Fang Ziyan. He could understand at the beginning, but the more they talked, the more confused he felt.

He looked at whoever was talking, trying to get their attention, but neither of them paid any attention to him.

Fang Ziyan felt that he was abandoned by his friends. He was so sad and upset that he stomped his feet and ran out of the county government office.

"What's wrong with him?" Yu Nanshu asked.

She felt yesterday that this little fat boy was silly, and now he looks so puffy that he looks like a dough.

Pei Zhaoqi looked a little regretful, "I actually ignored Zi Yan just now, I'll go find him."