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

Everyone in the conference room was discussing enthusiastically, but the content of the discussion surprised Shen Zheng a little.

She had thought that each village head would seek benefits for his own villagers. Even if the wages were not 40 cents a day, they should at least be 30 cents, right?

Who would have thought that the headmen would actually start to lower the prices themselves.

Zhou Lizheng from Nanba Village insisted that the people of his Nanba Village did not want any wages, and no one could persuade them.

Wu Lizheng from Shanghe Village wants some wages because the village’s population is aging.

Otherwise, if those young and middle-aged people don't go out to work, the family will have no income at all.

Shen Zheng saw them arguing over the ten-cent and twenty-cent wages, and made the decision immediately.

"In my opinion, thirty cents a day is fine."

Several village heads wanted to refuse, but were interrupted by Shen Zheng.

"This thirty cents a day's wages is actually not that high, because the patrol team's duties are not just patrolling."

Several village heads were a little confused after hearing this. If they didn't patrol, what else could they do?

Shen Zheng pondered for a moment and said:

"Patrols can't actually stop outsiders from entering our village. If they just come to scout out the area, you won't be able to do anything to them, right?"

The village heads lowered their heads and thought about it. It was indeed true. They couldn't just pick up hoes and drive people out when they saw outsiders.

Zhou Lizheng knew that she had an idea in mind, so he asked directly:

"I hope you can give me some advice, what should we do?"

Shen Zheng smiled and said what was in her mind: "Set up a checkpoint."

The village heads were a little confused after hearing this. They knew what the word "set up checkpoints" meant, but these checkpoints were usually set up at the pass or city defenses.

How can they set up checkpoints in such a small village?

Shen Zheng took out the high-precision map that he had prepared long ago and placed it on the table.

The map was not big, and several village heads had difficulty reading it, so they all squeezed to the front, forming a human Jenga game.

However, Shen Zheng only has this one map and does not have time to copy more maps, so he can only inconvenience the village heads for now.

She stretched out her finger and pointed around the topography of Tongan County on the map.

Then he said, "In Tongan County, apart from the town where the county government is located in the middle, and Shanghe Village at the top, which is adjacent to the river, the other villages are more or less bordering other counties."

Although the village heads knew the general appearance of the county, it was definitely not as detailed as the map that the adults took out today.

They tilted their heads to look carefully, and found that what the adults said was right.

Zhou Li was looking at the map, and he had some guesses in his mind. He asked:

"My Lord, do you mean to set up checkpoints in the villages bordering other counties so that people from other counties cannot enter?"

Shen Zheng shook her head: "Not entirely. If it is completely isolated from other counties, it won't work either."

The rice in their fields will take more than two months to harvest. If they have no contact with other counties at all, they would be working in isolation.

Zhou Lizheng thought that he was biased and asked humbly, "Then what should we do to effectively prevent it?"

Shen Zheng looked around at them and asked, "Can you find a few people in your village who can read and write?"

The village heads lowered their heads and thought. Although there were not many educated people in their village, some children still learned to read for a period of time in order to be able to work in the town or the next county.

Although the words they wrote may only be recognizable by themselves, at least they can read and write.

And in every village, there are actually a few families who are willing to save money to support their children's education.

However, those students are basically in the academy in the neighboring Quanyang County. If something happens, I don’t know if I can invite them.

Zhou Lizheng replied: "Sir, if we only talk about literacy, there are still a few people who can do it, but if we talk about being able to read and write well, it is a bit difficult."

Shen Zheng suddenly thought of the two scholars she met at the Manniang Teahouse that day.

what do you say that is?

She frowned as she thought back to that day.

After a moment, she finally remembered the names of the two people and asked, "Zhang Yuanwei and He Mingcheng, which village are they from?"

Zhou Lizheng looked a little proud, raised his hand and replied: "Sir, the scholar named Zhang is from my Nanba Village."

Zhang Lizheng of Qingyuan Village also said: "The scholar surnamed He is from my Qingyuan Village."

Shen Zheng thought about the day when He Mingcheng said that his family could not afford the tuition and he was afraid that he could not continue studying in the academy.

Then he asked Zhang Lizheng: "Is He Mingcheng still studying at the Liuchang Academy next door?"

Zhang Lizheng frowned and recalled that He Mingcheng's home was in the north of the village. Although he hadn't seen the boy for a long time, he didn't know whether he was still studying in the academy.

He had no choice but to tell the truth: "I don't know. I will go to his house to check when I get back and report back to you, sir."

Shen Zheng nodded and said:

"What I am thinking is to set up a checkpoint at the main entrance and exit of each village. Each checkpoint must have a person who can read and write to record the information of visitors, and then be equipped with ten patrol team members to deal with emergencies."

The village heads were a little surprised to hear this idea.

No wonder the adults asked them to find someone who can read and write. This is a big project!

But if you think about it carefully, for the safety of the rice in the village, this is the safer method now.

They all replied, "I will organize some people when I return today!"

Shen Zheng had been thinking about expanding the county school in the future, so this was also an opportunity to give those scholars a hint first.

After the county school is built, it will be up to them to decide whether to return to the county school to study.

If they did not trust the teaching level of the county school and wanted to continue studying at Liuchang Academy, she would not stop them.

She then said, "There is no academy in Tongan County right now. If students want to study, they basically have to go to Liuchang Academy in the next county. I have an idea, and I hope you can pass it on to the scholars in the village or their families after you return to the village."

The village heads were stunned and had some guesses in their minds.

My Lord, do you want to...

Shen Zheng continued, "I plan to start opening a county school around the time of the autumn harvest."

Before she could finish her words, the village chiefs stood up again, their faces filled with shock.

Oh my god!

One good news today is not enough, good news comes in pairs!

They have seen how much hardship the students in their village have endured in order to study!

It is difficult for scholars to study. It is almost impossible for these peasants to make a name for themselves through studying!

But if you really pass the exam and become a scholar or a juren, it would be like a carp leaping over the dragon gate!

What a great thing that brings honor to the family!

But the cost of studying is really too high, not to mention the monthly tuition fees are sky-high.

Even the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone were beyond the affordability of these peasants.

Wow, a small piece of ink costs one tael of silver!

What's the difference between this and grinding a silver ingot into pieces and using it to write?