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

Logically speaking, if there were no outsiders present at the opening of the cloth workshop today, after the sacrificial process was completed, Shen Zheng would "say a few words" to everyone, and this "opening ceremony" would be a perfect ending.

But it's different now.

In addition to the people from Tongan County, there were hundreds of pairs of eyes staring at her in the audience.

Shen Zheng walked down the makeshift altar, looked at the unfamiliar faces, and said, "Today is the opening of the cloth workshop. Thank you all for coming to congratulate us. I and the cloth workshop appreciate your kindness. But I hope you can take the gifts back with you."

"Congratulatory gift?"

Yu Shizhang and others then noticed that there were many brocade boxes placed on both sides of the cloth shop's gate. All of these brocade boxes were exquisite, and in contrast, the mud floor underneath looked even more unbearable.

Yu Shizhang's expression visibly darkened, and he asked bluntly, "The opening of the cloth workshop has given you an opportunity to bribe Shen Zheng openly?"

"bribe?"

In the carriage not far away, a little maid with yellow hair was secretly lifting the curtain to look at the scene in front. When she heard the word "bribery", she quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth.

"How dare these people bribe Lord Shen? Are they crazy? If, if our master knew about this, he would chop off all their heads! They are so bold!"

The driver named Mei sat on the board with his arms folded, a mocking smile on his face: "We have come all this way, haven't we seen enough of these things? Even if it's an official's dog, those people would find a way to make a golden dog chain and send it over."

The yellow-haired maid bit her lower lip and stopped talking.

Where is the dog in the official's house?

Even the rats in some officials' homes would gnaw on gold ingots in the middle of the night.

She secretly looked at the old lady who was dozing against the wall of the car, feeling a little nervous: "Old lady..."

The old lady slowly opened her eyes, her eyes were clear, and her voice was steady: "Take another look."

bribe?!

The businessmen in the audience panicked when they heard this.

How can this be called bribery? Which workshop does not accept gifts when opening? Isn't this "etiquette"? Isn't their Great Zhou a country of etiquette?

They also didn't know that Lord Shen from Tongan County was a human being. How could he come here to congratulate them without any real skills?

It’s not like they haven’t suffered this kind of loss before!

Not accepting bribes?

Ha, that's nice to say.

and......

"Who is this? Why do you dare to address Lord Shen by his name? But he is the prefect?"

"Your Excellency the Prefect should not be that old. This guy looks to be in his sixties or seventies."

"Idiot! Keep your voice down, this is our prefect's biological father!"

"The prefect's father...isn't that Lord Yongning, Lord Yu?!"

"Uncle?!"

"My Lord, please understand! We have absolutely no intention of bribing Lord Shen. We just learned that the Tong'an Cloth Workshop opened today, so we brought some small gifts to congratulate him! This absolutely, absolutely cannot be called a bribe!"

"Yes, Lord! How dare we bribe the imperial officials in broad daylight? Wouldn't this harm Lord Shen and ourselves?"

When the people below heard the words "harmed Lord Shen", they were so angry that their hair stood on end.

More than a dozen people spontaneously formed a human wall to separate the people of Tongan County from the many foreign merchants, glaring at them: "I didn't invite you to the opening ceremony of my Tongan Cloth Shop, why did you come to harm us!"

"Our Lord has never accepted bribes. What are you thinking? When we asked you just now, what did you say? Just some fruit snacks! Now you dare to say that there are real snacks in it!"

The common people pressed on step by step, and the merchants retreated again and again. "Fellow villagers, fellow villagers, calm down! It's really not a bribe, just some small gifts!"

"A small gift?" Yu Shizhang came over without anyone noticing. He had an aura that was so impressive that he looked intimidating without even getting angry. "Since it's a small gift, I'll open it myself and take a look. But I'll make it clear in advance. For every one I open, one of you has to claim one!"

“This…” After hearing this, the businessmen became visibly panicked and looked at each other.

Shen Zheng also came over, put her hands behind her back and asked them solemnly: "But you don't dare?"

No one dared to answer.

Shen Zheng laughed.

She said self-deprecatingly, "How could I be so capable that I could make you, who are not related to me, spend so much money? This is really... a blessing I earned in my previous life."

She felt bitter in her heart and wanted to scold these quail-like businessmen in front of her, but she couldn't utter a word.

The saying “it takes two to tango” is not applicable to all incidents, but when it comes to bribery, it is really true that “it takes two to tango”.

She is Shen Zheng, who does not accept bribes. Yu Shizhang beside her does not accept bribes either. Yu Zhengqing in the city also does not accept bribes.

But how can these three of them represent all the officials of the Great Zhou?

There are always people who want to accept bribes, there are always people who want to accept bribes, there are always people who act just to accept bribes, and there are always people who have told all businessmen in the world, either explicitly or implicitly, that without bribes, nothing can be done.

Are these merchants stupid? Can they really give away all the gold, silver and jade articles that they themselves would not use to outsiders without any regret?

Some people want to compete by bribery, while others don't. But if you don't fight or compete, you will have nothing.

Therefore, bribery and corruption between officials and businessmen are the real pests in a class society.

"Take them all back." Shen Zheng's eyes were gloomy. "You brought them here, so take them back yourself. I will pretend that this never happened. You are the only ones here today."

There was actually more she wanted to say.

She wanted to put her hands on her hips, raise her chin, point at their noses and say, "I can't accept any bribes, so don't bribe me in the future if you know what's best for you."

I also want to say: "Who asked you to give gifts and bribes? Why don't you report him? Let His Majesty take off his official hat!"

She also wanted to say...

She had so much to say, but she couldn't, and not many people could listen.

The three-foot-thick ice does not form overnight. She is not capable enough to change the society now.

"Hurry up and move!" Xiao Yuan grabbed the iron ruler and drove the merchants to the door of the cloth shop like chickens. "Whoever brought it can take it. You must look carefully. None of us touched it!"

The merchants didn't know what they were thinking, they just stood there blankly. The followers who came with them carefully looked at their faces and then carefully took back their gifts.

In the carriage, the yellow-haired maid with bright eyes pulled Luluo and said, "Sister Luluo, Master Shen is so amazing!"

A chuckle came from outside, and the driver said, "I still think the uncle is more powerful."

"Master Shen is amazing!"

"My uncle is awesome."

"Master Shen!"

"Uncle."

"Master Shen, Master Shen, Master Shen, Master Shen!"

"Uncle."

"Shut up, it's not nice to make so much noise!"

The yellow-haired girl with the maidservant quietly stuck out her tongue, bowed, put on her veil and left the carriage, approached the coachman and whispered, "Master Shen..."

"... go in."