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

Soon, the rumor spread throughout Beijing that the rice paddy frogs were incredibly delicious after being cooked, and people who had eaten them praised them highly. Even several well-known restaurants in Beijing were researching frog dishes and would launch them the next day. As a result, a trend of "eating frogs" quietly took off in Beijing.

Farmers in the suburbs of Beijing go to the fields to catch frogs every day, and people in the city and restaurants go out of town to buy frogs every day. Before the big frogs become rampant, 70% to 80% of them are eaten.

What to do if supply exceeds demand?

Many people think - raise it!

Anyway, frogs are cheap, and they lay many eggs at a time. Are you still worried that you can't raise them? If you raise them well, it can be considered a business.

But imagination is always beautiful, and reality is always cruel.

It wasn't long before the people discovered that this giant frog was actually difficult to raise - it only ate meat.

Although they are not picky eaters and can eat insects, small fish, shrimps, and dead meat, where can ordinary people find so many insects and dead meat to feed them?

As a result, 90% of frog farmers were persuaded to quit.

A few days later, the Ministry of Revenue issued a notice.

The notice clearly stated that it was forbidden for the people to selfishly enclose land to raise frogs, in order to prevent the frogs from escaping and destroying the fields. If anyone violated the notice, not only would the frogs be confiscated, but they would also be fined.

This would be a real loss of both money and men, so the common people gave up the idea of raising frogs for sale, and at most they would raise a few in their own yards to satisfy their cravings.

At the same time, the Ministry of Revenue received reports from various prefectures and cities. Apart from Shangjing City, only Jingzhou Prefecture had seen large frogs, so Shen Zheng's guess was confirmed - the bullfrogs were brought into the Great Zhou by someone with ulterior motives.

The imperial court began to investigate, and the Ministry of Revenue also selected a piece of natural water outside the capital and transformed it into a frog breeding site to study breeding techniques and analyze the habits and origins of frogs.

On the day when the farm was being fenced off, Shen Zheng was invited to go. Ji Benchang forced her to give suggestions for the farm, and the agricultural officials also stared at her.

In desperation, she briefly talked about bullfrog farming based on her memories of her previous life.

"In fact, when raising live animals, especially carnivorous ones, the most important thing to pay attention to is the cost, otherwise it is easy to spend more than you earn."

Ji Benchang nodded repeatedly, thinking that Xiao Shen was Xiao Shen, and it immediately hit the nail on the head.

Just take this piece of water for example, he has invested hundreds of taels of silver in it, and he doesn't want to do a business that loses money.

"What does Lord Shen think?" asked the agricultural officials.

"I wouldn't call it a brilliant idea, but I do have a humble one." After a humble remark, Shen Zheng said, "Feeding costs can be reduced as much as possible, so I think we can combine it with breeding. We can breed earthworms, mole crickets, and other fast-breeding live bait next to the frog enclosure and use them to feed the frogs."

Ji Benchang's eyes suddenly lit up, while the agricultural officials talked in low voices.

In a short while, they came to the conclusion that this method would work.

Earthworms and mole crickets are both vegetarians, so you can save a lot of money on feeding them.

After coming up with an effective solution, they felt that it was not enough and needed to find more solutions.

For a moment, Shen Zheng was surrounded by officials, some of whom fanned her and some brought her water.

"Master Shen, please say a few more words. Just anything will do!"

A good hunting ceremony was turned into an academic discussion.

Under the expectant gazes of the officials, Shen Zheng said, "This frog has a strong reproductive capacity. Once the breeding scale is established, where to sell the frogs will also be a problem. We should cooperate with the local people and sell them regularly. Firstly, it will add another delicious dish to the people's tables. Secondly, it will bring in income for the farm, and with a balanced income and expenditure, it will also be more stable."

Many officials showed hesitation on their faces.

It saves money, but it makes me feel like they are not working for the court, but raising frogs for the people...

Shen Zheng knew they were feeling uncomfortable, so she deliberately reminded them, "Of course, our farm is owned by the imperial court, so the cooperation method will be determined by us, and we can refer to the official farmland. As for the specific matters, you gentlemen will have to come down to discuss them."

The word "official fields" immediately woke up all the officials.

If you think about it carefully, don’t “breeders” and “tenant” mean the same thing?

......

After leaving the breeding ground, Shen Zheng took a car back to Huihe Dam.

Before he even got out of the car, Hua Duo whispered in his ear, "Sir, in front...it looks like the palace carriage."

As he was speaking, the curtain of the carriage opposite was lifted and a familiar figure got out of the carriage.

"Eunuch Hong?" Shen Zheng also got out of the car and took two steps forward and asked, "What are you doing...?"

Eunuch Hong was treated quite well when he left the palace. Not only did he ride in an exquisite little carriage, but there was also a little eunuch fanning him beside her, so even she could feel the coolness.

"This old servant greets Lord Shen." Eunuch Hong smiled and bowed before saying, "This old servant has come here on the orders of Your Majesty. I'd like to borrow a few men from you."

Borrow someone?

Shen Zheng turned and looked at Hua Duo.

She only has a few men under her command, and the emperor is willing to lend them away?

"Oh, my Lord, you have misunderstood." Eunuch Hong quickly raised his hand and said, "I'm not borrowing a guard, but your cook and nanny. Do you have time to go to the imperial kitchen and teach them a thing or two? Your Majesty and the Empress are a little curious about the taste..."

Shen Zheng understood.

I came here for the pickled ginger bullfrog and the perilla bullfrog.

I don't know who leaked the news, but recently many officials have asked her for recipes. She said she has some cooking secrets that she is hiding.

Now, the news has reached the emperor's ears.

"Eunuch, please go directly to the Shen Mansion to pick them up." Shen Zheng mentioned a few names, including Nanny Gu. "They have some experience in cooking, but they can't be called proficient. If the frog they make isn't tasty, please help me put in a few good words in front of His Majesty. I will continue to think of new dishes to present to His Majesty when I have time."

Eunuch Hong nodded and said a few polite words cheerfully. Before leaving, he glanced at the fanning eunuch, seemed to remember something, and slapped his head.

"By the way, Lord Shen."

"By the way, Eunuch Hong." Shen Zheng happened to think of something, and the two said it in unison.

Eunuch Hong smiled and said, "You go first."

"Lord Liang has all the lenses." Shen Zheng said with a smile, "If you're not in a hurry to return to the palace, you can stop by the Liulifang and have Lord Liang measure your prescription. He can then fit you with the lenses right there."

Eunuch Hong was delighted, but he tried to refuse: "Oh, I told you not to last time, how come you still remember it? Really..."

Glasses.

He also wears glasses.

I’m afraid many court officials don’t have it?

Hey.

Shen Zheng smiled faintly: "We agreed on this last time, how can we go back on our word? It's settled now. Regardless of whether my father-in-law is free today or not, I will keep your pair of glasses."

Eunuch Hong nodded repeatedly, his smile growing wider.

Many court officials called him "Eunuch", but in their hearts they looked down on the eunuchs.

But in front of Lord Shen, he really felt that he was being cared for.

He is not stupid and can still tell the difference between falsehood and insincerity.

"Thank you very much, Master Shen. I will go there today." After a pause, he said something else: "There is news about the tree you asked me to find last time..."