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

As the saying goes, seeing is believing.

No matter how vividly Shen Zheng described it in the letter, he felt that he should go and see it in person.

The two of them are not only scholars, but also the best and outstanding among scholars, so they are more particular about reading.

After reading most of the books on the market, I started looking for rare copies and masterpieces by famous authors.

But even though they had read countless books, they had never thought of turning words into seals and printing a book.

Since they do not have the worry of not being able to afford books, they will naturally not try to solve the problem of people not being able to afford books.

This is actually very realistic and somewhat cruel. Capitalism cannot be developed in a day or two.

But we can't blame them. They are at different levels, and if they don't think about some things carefully, they may never understand them in their lifetime.

Zhuang Zhiyun and Yu Nanshu, who didn't understand what was going on, also stood up.

It was simply that the father and son's reactions were too extreme and frightened them.

Yu Nanshu blinked and asked, "Grandfather, Dad, what is movable type...printing?"

Yu Zhengqing took the letter and walked up to the mother and daughter to explain it again.

He was surprised and happy, but also a little angry. He drank a sip of tea and said:

"Shen Zheng didn't say a word about such a big thing when we were in Tongan County, but after we left, she even negotiated the contract!"

After saying that, he muttered cautiously, "Is he guarding against us?"

"Snapped--"

Yu Shizhang threw a letter on his head, "What nonsense! Don't you know whether Shen Zheng is that kind of person? If she is, why are you waiting for this letter today?"

"Father......"

Yu Zhengqing adjusted his hair crown, sighed and said:

"Son knows Shen Zheng is not that kind of person, but son just..."

"Are you afraid that she will offend more people this time?" Yu Shizhang asked after sitting down.

Yu Zhengqing nodded: "That's right."

When the father and son first heard about "movable type printing", they were naturally surprised.

Shen Zheng is indeed a man of great luck. Everything he takes out is extraordinary.

However, the two have been in officialdom for many years, and when they encounter "benefits", they will subconsciously analyze the "disadvantages".

You don’t know if you don’t analyze it, but you will be shocked if you analyze it.

Shen Zheng's move benefits the country and the people, but not the nobles.

When the father and son looked at each other, the surprise brought by movable type printing was instantly diluted a little.

Yu Nanshu was confused and asked curiously:

"Grandfather, Dad, if what you just said is true, once the printing house in Tongan County is opened, all the students in the world will be able to read books. Once all the students in the world can read books, our Great Zhou will definitely be more powerful. Then why do you look unhappy? Who will Sister Shen offend?"

Yu Shizhang sighed, called Yu Nanshu over, patted her hands and said:

"Nan Shu, if you want to talk about happiness, your grandfather and your father are indeed happy, and even most of the scholars in the world and His Majesty are happy, but..."

"But most things have two sides. If someone is happy, then someone else must be sad. The person who is sad is the one Shen Zheng will offend."

Upon hearing this, Yu Nanshu bit her lower lip and fell into deep thought.

After a moment she looked up with a complicated expression.

"Nan Shu understands. But...but if there are people who worry about this, can Sister Shen ignore the scholars in the world and pretend that there is no movable type printing technology?"

Yu Shizhang and Yu Zhengqing were both shocked when they heard this.

The fog in my heart was cleared away by a pair of small hands.

Yu Shizhang suddenly burst into laughter, almost crying.

"I'm old, I'm old. When I get old, my mind becomes complicated. I can't see things as clearly as our Nan Shu."

He coughed twice and said, "If you ask me, my title of earl should be passed on to our Nan Shu. We are old, and we are hesitant when doing things. It's embarrassing."

Yu Zhengqing also laughed: "Pass it to Nan Shu, my son has no objection. Nan Shu deserves to be the first lady of our Great Zhou."

Yu Nanshu was so shocked that her mouth opened wide. Zhuang Zhiyun smiled and touched her head.

After Yu Zhengqing finished speaking, he took out the letter paper and pondered over the part about movable type printing.

My mind was working too fast just now, and I was only concerned with analyzing the pros and cons, without fully understanding some of the details of printing technology.

"Good, good, good!"

Yu Zhengqing slapped his thighs again and again.

"It turns out to be like this. It sounds very simple, but it takes a lot of effort to do it. Shen Zheng is really determined this time."

As Yu Shizhang watched, he felt his heart and hands itching, so he simply picked up the tea tray and showed it to the people present.

"This is the mold Shen Zheng mentioned."

He dipped the tea in the water and divided the tea tray into small equal sections.

Then he picked up the pastries on the table and placed them in the small grids one by one.

"This is what Shen Zheng called the 'clay seal'. Put it in the grid."

After saying that, he picked up the letter paper and spread it flat on the pastry.

"The paper is laid flat, ink is applied, and the words are pressed out."

He pressed lightly, and the oil stains on the pastry were pressed onto the letter paper.

Finally, he picked up the letter paper and shook it, showing it: "This way, one page of the book has been printed. If you want to print another batch, just change the paper."

Yu Nanshu's eyes sparkled as she watched, and she clapped her hands in joy, "Sister Shen is amazing! This way, there will be one book after another!"

Yu Shizhang handed her the "printed book" and asked:

"If it were Nan Shu, how much would you like to charge for this book?"

"what......"

When Yu Nanshu was asked, she actually didn't know much about the pricing of books. She only occasionally heard Zhao Qi and Zi Yan say that a cheap handwritten book cost about one or two taels of silver.

She answered hesitantly, "Three to five hundred wen...?"

Yu Shizhang burst into laughter.

"If you use the cheapest straw paper and the cheapest ink stick, you won't need three or five hundred coins. The poor people in the world are blessed."

After he finished speaking, he hummed a little tune, picked up the pastry that had just been made into "clay", and put it into his mouth.

He added: "After being in the officialdom for a long time, I have become somewhat utilitarian. Actually, if you think about it, as long as Shen Zheng allows movable type printing to be introduced, it will offend people, but the person in the world who cannot be offended the most is on her side."

Yu Zhengqing asked: "Did father say...Your Majesty?"

"Do you still need to ask?" Yu Shizhang glanced at him, wiped his hands and said, "Do you still think that His Majesty's opening of the imperial examinations is just a lip service?"

Yu Zhengqing shook his head, glanced outside and replied in a low voice:

"Originally, the aristocratic families and the royal family have been balancing each other for a long time, and there are fewer and fewer people available in the court. Moreover, the important officials of your generation, father, have either retired or semi-retired, and the path to officialdom is tightly controlled by the aristocratic families, which is really disadvantageous to the royal family."

"Yeah." Yu Shizhang clapped his hands and looked out the window.

"As long as Shen Zheng sets up this makeshift troupe, countless people will be willing to perform. How many people are there in our great Zhou? There will always be someone who can stand out, and then..."

At that time, it will not be a check and balance between two parties, but a check and balance between three parties.

Yu Zhengqing frowned and said, "It's just that if we want to set up this makeshift team, Shen Zheng... has a long way to go."

Yu Shizhang laughed out loud: "With me and Your Majesty here, what is there to be afraid of?"

Yu Zhengqing was quite surprised: "Father, you..."

You're not retiring?