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

The next morning, Shen Zheng thought she had gotten up early, but when she arrived at the lobby, Xu Zhubu was already sitting there drinking tea.

When Xu Zhubu saw her coming over, he took out a teacup and poured her a cup of tea.

Shen Zheng picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp. Still not feeling thirsty, she pushed the teacup over again, motioning Xu Zhubu to pour her another cup.

After she drank the second cup of tea, she felt much better and asked, "Is it time for dinner, Mr. Xu?"

Xu Zhubu shook his head and said, "I just got up not long ago. There is a wonton stand not far from the inn. The taste is good. Would you like to try it?"

Shen Zheng agreed immediately. Of course she had to try it. If she didn’t try the local food when she went out, she would always feel like something was missing.

The morning market in Liuyang Prefecture was extremely lively, with the hawkers' cries of hawking incessantly. Amid the surging crowd, Shen Zheng followed closely behind Xu Zhubu, fearing that she would lose him if she wasn't careful.

The wonton stall was doing very good business. There were six small tables in total, with only one empty table left, while the other five tables were occupied by people in groups of three or four.

Shen Zheng ordered a serving of pork wontons, and the stall owner brought the wontons over in just a moment.

"The pork wontons are here! Enjoy your meal, sir!"

Shen Zheng first picked up the bowl and took a deep breath. The hot steam from the bowl instantly filled her nostrils. This was the unique fragrance of wontons.

The green chopped green onions floating on the surface of the soup formed a contrast with the plump white pork wontons sinking in the soup.

Shen Zheng took out chopsticks, picked up a wonton and stuffed it into her mouth. The next moment, she was scalded by the wonton that had just come out of the pot.

Despite this, she did not spit out the wonton. Instead, she let the wonton swirl around in her mouth, breathing out the hot air.

The wonton skin was thin, and as soon as one took a bite one could taste the meat mixed with condiments, which was so fresh and fragrant that Shen Zheng was conquered by the wonton after just one bite.

Finally, she drank all the soup in the bowl, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and looked like she was still not satisfied.

"It's delicious! Let's eat it again next time!"

Xu Zhubu had just finished eating the wontons in his bowl and said with a smile: "This wonton stall has been open for more than ten years. Neighbors love to come here to eat."

Shen Zheng nodded. The competition in the snack stall industry was fierce, and one couldn't run the business for so long without some skills.

After they finished their meal, they returned to the inn to get the wooden box containing the blueprints, and temporarily left Zhuifeng in the backyard of the inn, waiting to come back and pick it up after they finished their business.

Yesterday, Shen Zheng said that she wanted to buy some gifts to cover her hands and then go find the craftsman. So Xu Zhubu took her to a relatively famous pastry shop in Liuyang Prefecture.

There were so many kinds of cakes and pastries, including hundred-flower cakes, mung bean cakes, red bean cakes, hibiscus cakes, cloud cakes, walnut cakes, etc., that Shen Zheng was dazzled by the choices.

"Master Xu, how old is that craftsman?" Shen Zheng asked. People of different ages like to eat different pastries.

"More than fifty." replied Xu Zhubu.

Shen Zheng thought about it and realized that most men of this age don’t like sweets, so the pastries they choose should be light.

"Then please give me two portions of mung bean cakes, two portions of cloud cakes, and two portions of walnut slices." Shen Zheng said to the shop assistant.

She thought of the two young men and the detectives in the county government office, and they should bring back some small gifts when they go out, so she pointed to some cakes and said:

"Pack three portions of each of these cakes and send them to Yunlai Inn. Tell them that the owner of the black horse bought them and ask them to put them on the carriage for me."

"okay!"

The waiter packed the pastries skillfully and handed them over to take away.

"A total of three taels of silver and two hundred and ten coins, please take it, sir!"

Shen Zheng paid the money with a reluctant heart. After all, only people from wealthy families could afford to eat these pastries. Three taels of silver could buy a lot of food.

Then the two of them went to the tavern and bought a few pounds of good wine and took them over.

The craftsman's residence was in an alley not far from the tavern. The alley was quite lively at that moment, with children running around from time to time.

"Knock knock knock."

Xu Zhubu raised his hand and knocked on the wooden door.

"coming!"

A young man's voice came from inside the door.

Shen Zheng turned around and looked at Xu Zhubu. Didn't they say that the craftsman lived alone? Could it be that he had found the wrong door?

Xu Zhubu shook his head when he saw her look. He should have remembered correctly, but he didn't know how there was an extra boy.

"Squeak..." The wooden door in front of them opened from the inside, and a young man about seventeen or eighteen years old stuck his head out.

He looked at them puzzledly at first, then looked at the cakes and wine in their hands, and then showed an understanding expression.

"Are you here to see my master?" the young man asked.

Xu Zhubu nodded. It turned out that the young man was the new disciple of Master Qiao.

He replied, "That's right. We two have something to ask Mr. Qiao. I wonder if he is at home today?"

The boy took a step back to make way for them.

"At home, you can come in, but first make it clear that my master doesn't take every job. If he doesn't want to, you can't force him."

In the past, there were some people who were quite wealthy and insisted that their masters make some crappy stuff for them.

If his master disagreed, he would argue for a while, so when someone came to him, he would tell them the rules in advance.

Xu Zhubu nodded. He had known this rule for a long time, but he was still very confident in what his master had brought out.

Shen Zheng followed them into the yard, which was filled with various logs and finished tools. The fresh scent of wood wafted into the air.

Some of the tools looked like they had been there for a long time, the wood had started to rot, and I didn't know why they were not put away.

The young man saw Shen Zheng looking at the tools and began to explain to her:

"Those are defective products made by the master, so they have to be thrown there. In fact, most of them can be used, but the master is not satisfied with them."

Shen Zheng thought to herself that he was truly a person who strives for perfection, and it seemed that they had made the right decision by coming here today.

"You guys sit in the yard for a while. The master just woke up. I'll go call him." said the young man.

Shen Zheng and Xu Zhubu placed the cakes and wine on the wooden table in the yard and sat down to wait.

But after a while, a strong voice was heard in the room:

"How can someone come to my house so early in the morning? You little brat, you let someone in!"

Then the young man complained: "Master, it's late. We will have lunch in an hour..."

"You're still talking back!"

"They brought cakes and wine!"

Not long after the young man finished speaking, Shen Zheng saw a figure walking out of the main room.

Shen Zheng and the other person stood up from their stools.

The middle-aged man was thin, but energetic, with sharp eyes. He stared straight at Shen Zheng and the others with his eagle eyes.

When he saw Xu Zhubu next to Shen Zheng, he was obviously stunned for a moment.

"Xu family kid? Why are you here?"

It seems that Mr. Qiao is quite familiar with Xu Zhubu.

He turned to look at Shen Zheng and asked Xu Zhubu: "Who is this?"