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

Hu Likai certainly felt good about it, but he didn't dare to show it too obviously: "All is up to you, sir."

In fact, he still had some concerns in his heart. He was just overwhelmed by the high yield of rice per mu. Now, thinking that he might have to spend a lot of money, he felt troubled again.

"Sir, I have something else to ask you. The amount of food should be fixed every day, otherwise I won't be able to finish it!"

Shen Zheng nodded. Of course, that was the point they hadn’t discussed yet.

She thought for a moment and said, "When I return to the county government, I will first produce a batch of non-transferable food coupons, and then distribute them to each household according to their needs. County residents who hold food coupons will buy food at the price we just agreed on. If someone does not have a food coupon, Manager Hu can just offer a normal price."

Hu Likai lowered his head and pondered her words, and suddenly felt that it was feasible: "Each grain coupon will be invalid after use. Keeping it with me will also make it convenient for us to count how much grain we have sold in total!"

That was about all they had to say, and Shen Zheng finally had a talk with Hu Li about the distribution of profits and the sale of grain seeds after the harvest.

Basically, after the autumn harvest this year, the county government needs to strictly control the county residents from selling grain seeds privately, and must ensure that grain seeds can only flow out from one place in the entire Tongan County, and that is the Hu’s Grain Shop.

As for how to get these grains out, Shen Zheng has to think about it carefully. He must sell them at a high price when the time comes, so that Tongan County can get rid of poverty and become rich in one step!

Moreover, when Shen Zheng cooperates with Hu Likai, she and the county government will get the lion's share of the profits.

Hu Likai had no objection to this. As long as Magistrate Shen ate the meat, he could just follow behind and drink the soup.

"Let's leave it at that for today. I'll go back to the county office and draft the contract and bring it to you. If Manager Hu thinks it's okay, the county office will start making food coupons. I hope Manager Hu can buy more food in the next few days."

At this time, Shen Zheng suddenly felt that he had a lot of official business, so he stood up and said goodbye.

She had to go back and draft the contract as soon as possible, as Liu Bucktooth had to be tried in court tomorrow.

"I'm here to see Lord Shen off." Hu Likai respectfully escorted Shen Zheng to the door of the grain store.

After Shen Zheng left, Hu Likai returned to the tea room. After the dizzy feeling just now subsided, he suddenly became afraid again.

In his mind, he kept thinking about the seedlings he saw in the nursery field today, and repeatedly confirmed the date when the seedlings would sprout.

If Lord Shen and that Prince Wang teamed up to deceive him...

"No, no." He shook his head again. Lord Shen said that he would sign a contract with him. As a county magistrate, why would he use rice to deceive him, the owner of a grain store?

Just for the price of grain? If the county magistrate was ruthless, he could just find a few excuses to make a small shopkeeper like him hand over all the grain he had.

It seemed as if he couldn't go back now, so he could only wait anxiously and expectantly for the autumn harvest.

If it succeeds, that would be the best, as Hu Likai would make money and gain fame. If it fails, he will definitely ask the county government to get back the money he lost!

......

Shen Zheng had been thinking about the contents of the contract with Hu Likai all the way. After much thought, she felt that she had to give the person a guarantee.

Hu Likai was blinded by the huge profits at that time, so he gritted his teeth and agreed to her request to lower the price of grain. However, he did not want to take advantage of others too much.

A clause had to be added to the contract: if the rice yield per mu did not reach 800 kilograms, the county government would return all the money Hu Li had paid to him.

Shen Zheng was very confident in the hybrid rice produced by the system and added this clause to the contract just to stabilize Hu Likai for the next few months. Otherwise, he would be heartbroken to see him spending money without making any money.

As soon as Shen Zheng stepped into the gate of the county government office, she saw Xu Zhubu standing in the yard. She had negotiated the price of grain today and was in a very good mood, so she no longer bothered with him about what happened in the morning.

"Master Xu, are you busy?" Shen Zheng asked.

Xu Zhubu had seen Shen Zheng a long time ago and thought she still remembered what happened in the morning. He didn't expect Shen Zheng to take the initiative to ask him about it.

"No, sir, is there anything I can do for you?"

Since he had asked, Shen Zheng had nothing to be ashamed of. "Please ask Xu Zhubu to help the county government draft a contract."

"Contract?" Xu Zhubu asked doubtfully. They hadn't seen each other for only half a day, and already there was something he didn't know.

Shen Zheng led Xu Zhubu to his book office, and as they walked she told him the content of her conversation with Hu Likai this afternoon.

Xu Zhubu suddenly stopped walking. He turned around in shock and asked, "Your Excellency, are you saying that the rice you asked Wang Guangjin to cultivate has an annual yield of 800 kilograms per mu?"

"That's right." Shen Zheng wanted to tell him to stop asking, because she couldn't explain the reason for this grain. It would be better for him not to ask her anything and just wait for the harvest.

For some reason, Xu Zhubu actually believed her a little. Perhaps it was because Shen Zheng's image of doing everything for the people in the past half month had been deeply rooted in people's hearts.

He didn't think Shen Zheng would treat matters of people's livelihood as a joke, and when he saw Shen Zheng's slightly impatient look, he couldn't even utter any words of doubt.

He had no choice but to change the subject: "You lowered the price of grain at Hu's grain shop to the price of grain in a bumper harvest year?"

"That's right." Shen Zheng nodded, but she also said that the difference in price would be paid to Hu Li by the county government in the future.

After the two arrived at the book office, Chief Clerk Xu drafted a contract according to Shen Zheng's instructions.

The contents of the contract are roughly divided into four clauses: the production and redemption requirements of the county government's grain coupons, the subsidy of the Hu family grain store for the current grain price and the future redemption by the county government, the monopoly system for the sale of grain seeds after the harvest, and the final profit distribution system for the sold grain seeds.

When Shen Zheng looked at the tentatively drafted contract, she remembered that there was one thing she had overlooked before, which was that she currently had no arable land in Tongan County.

This means that she herself does not have the conditions to grow hybrid rice in the short term, but she is the one who provides the seeds, so she can get a commission from it.

Nowadays, the agricultural tax in the Great Zhou is quite high. The tax rate of the local county government is 20%, which means that if a farmer grows 10 kilograms of grain, 2 kilograms of it must be paid to the county government.

The county government then handed over half of it to the prefectural government, and the prefectural government handed it over to the national treasury. As for the remaining 10%, it became the grain stored in the county government's granary.

At that time, Shen Zheng will hand over other grains to the government office and will not hand over the hybrid rice.

She thought, since she provided the seeds, it would not be too much to take a tenth commission after the harvest, right?

She thought so and asked the same question.

"Of course you can. The grain seeds are provided by you, and legally, this is considered as the county residents using grain to pay for capital. The commissions of the landlords and grain shops are even higher than yours."

After getting a positive answer from Xu Zhubu, Shen Zheng felt relieved.

She couldn't help but look forward to a good harvest. When the time came, she would hand over the grain in her hands to Hu Likai to sell to merchants from all over the place, and the grain in the county government's granary would be used to rip off other counties and generate income for the county government!