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

"I don't know you guys well, why should I have dinner with you?"

Cui Jinyin answered quickly.

But only Taotao knew that she was actually reluctant to leave and was hoping that they would invite her to have dinner.

"Why are you pretending?" Yu Nanshu rolled her eyes. "You followed me all the way here just to give me ice cream, lychees, and a message, and you're leaving right after you're done?"

She could understand any young lady in the capital city who was kind-hearted, but Cui Jinyin was the only one who was not cut out for charity.

"What else?" Cui Jinyin became even more assertive when provoked. "I've tasted all sorts of delicacies. My uncle is waiting for me to come back for dinner. Lord Shen, can we talk for a moment?"

Shen Zheng had never seen a child like Cui Jinyin.

Compared to Fang Ziyan a year ago, Cui Jinyin is more powerful, more arrogant, and more sensitive. She seems indestructible, yet as fragile as glass.

She brought a few people back to Ziyiju, and Cui Jinyin followed her into the study.

After entering, Cui Jinyin looked around quietly. Everything in the study made her curious.

A painting hanging on the bookshelf caught her attention.

There are many people and faces in the painting, and each person's expression is so vivid.

"Can I see it?" she asked softly.

Shen Zheng sat down to make tea, then looked up when she heard him say, "As you please."

Cui Jinyin approached slowly. The painting showed a small courtyard with a towering tree and a pavilion. There were many people gathered in the pavilion with different expressions.

She recognized Shen Zheng almost at first sight.

In the painting, she is wearing a green official robe and laughing like the sun.

The artist must have intended to paint her, as she was the subject of the most ink and had the most vivid expression. Yu Nanshu sat to her left, a chubby boy to her right, and the person opposite her seemed to be... Earl Yongning.

"Is this in Tongan County?" Cui Jinyin was slightly surprised.

"Yes." Shen Zheng also looked up at the painting.

Every blade of grass and every tree in the county government office grew in her heart, rising in the morning and setting in the evening, the sun and the moon alternating, the stars moving, over and over again.

"Who is this?" Cui Jinyin pointed at the person in the painting.

That person didn't look like a country boy.

"Him?" Shen Zheng's gaze fell on the area her fingertips touched, and she smiled, "That's the chief clerk in my county. He's knowledgeable and capable, and a very powerful person."

"Oh..." Cui Jinyin nodded: "If you hadn't told me, I would have thought he was a Beijing official, a respectable person."

Shen Zheng smiled even more. "Thank you for your evaluation. I will pass it on to you when I get back."

The joking words made Cui Jinyin relax a lot. Her eyes moved on the painting, and soon locked onto another person.

"What about him?"

The person she was pointing at was a serious-looking young boy.

"His name is Pei Zhaoqi. He is a student at the county school. He came to the capital with me this time. He is now a young scholar."

Pei Zhaoqi in the portrait is half a head shorter than he is now, which shows that the young man is growing very fast and looks different every day.

Cui Jinyin looked at the painting for a long time before sitting back down across from Shen Zheng. After a long while, she said, "Your Tongan County looks... not bad."

Shen Zheng looked at the painting, her eyes full of nostalgia.

"Our county yamen has more than just these few people. Many people were not there that day and were not included in the painting."

Li Hongmao was at the county school, Zhao Xiu and Xiao Yuan were patrolling the streets, Qiao Lao and Cheng Yu were selecting wood in the village, and Yu Zhengqing was not around either...

She brought several paintings like this to Beijing, and after piecing them together, she had almost completed the collection. Whenever she wanted to go to the county, she could take them out and look at them.

As I was thinking, the chirping of cicadas brought my thoughts back to the present.

Coming back to her senses, she asked Cui Jinyin, "By the way, you said General Zhenyuan... asked you to deliver a message?"

She and General Zhenyuan had only met once, at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet. She couldn't even tell whether he had single eyelids or double eyelids.

So she couldn't understand what message the other party could ask Cui Jinyin to convey?

Cui Jinyin held the teacup and sat up straight, her words becoming more and more obvious. "My uncle was originally planning to send a letter to the Shen family, and I happened to overhear it. I thought it was just a matter of a few words, so I helped run a message."

Only she herself knew that this mission of delivering the message was earned by her acting like a spoiled child in General Zhenyuan's Mansion.

Shen Zheng suppressed her smile: "Yeah... I understand."

Cui Jinyin could hear the teasing in her words, and said awkwardly, "On the day of the birthday banquet, my uncle saw the cotton wool made by the cloth workshop in the palace, and he has been thinking about it ever since. After returning to Beijing, I wanted to ask you, does the Tongan Cloth Workshop make cotton clothes? And what about the cotton wool? How much is it for, and how long can it last?"

Talking about business, Shen Zheng suppressed her smile and asked, "General Zhenyuan wants to...?"

"I'm asking about his soldiers," Cui Jinyin said bluntly. "This isn't anything confidential, and there's nothing shameful about it. In his early years, my uncle led soldiers on the border for many years, spending time in many harsh and cold places. He always said the border wasn't a place for people, but he stayed there for many years."

Shen Zheng nodded, but then became a little confused: "If he wanted to buy cotton-padded clothes for the soldiers, why didn't he report it to the Ministry of War and let them negotiate?"

Military procurement involved a number of procedures. First, the military had to report to the Ministry of War to see if there was any surplus within the year's "procurement quota." If there was a risk of overspending, the Ministry of Revenue would be consulted. If the Ministry of Revenue was willing to approve the funds, that was best. However, if they weren't, the purchase would either go unsold or be left on the account.

After hearing this, Cui Jinyin thought about it and actually found the answer in her mind.

It was her uncle who taught her: "My uncle said that the procedures of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue are complicated. It would be better for him to ask first and report it together when the time comes."

After thinking for a moment, she added, "My uncle also said that this would be a good thing for the cloth shop. The Ministry of Revenue wouldn't dare owe you money. As long as Tongan County can do it, he will report it immediately."

"The Ministry of Revenue... doesn't dare to owe me money?" Shen Zheng's expression paused slightly.

Her pure revolutionary friendship with Ji Benchang seemed to be challenged.

But what General Zhenyuan said makes sense.

No matter which dynasty, soldiers guarding the border are respected, and keeping warm is something they must not be careless about.

It is indeed most appropriate to entrust this business to Tong'an Cloth Shop.

But looking at Cui Jinyin who had an expectant look on her face, Shen Zheng felt a little worried again.

This girl's background is too complicated. On one side is the prime minister's residence, on the other side is the minister of personnel's residence, and on the other side is the general Zhenyuan's residence.

If she told Prime Minister Cui about this...it might cause another bloody storm.

How could General Zhenyuan trust her to deliver the message?

Don’t the military generals understand the undercurrents of their civil officials?

still......

"What else did General Zhenyuan say? Did he say not to mention this to anyone else?"

Shen Zheng asked in an obscure way, and Cui Jinyin snorted lightly, being careless with her words.

"Are you afraid that my grandfather will find out? Don't worry, my uncle taught me before, don't tell the Cui Mansion about the affairs of the Xu Mansion, and don't tell the Xu Mansion about the affairs of the Cui Mansion. I understand this principle, otherwise my uncle would not trust me to pass on the message."