Restart the Disaster of Another World

The next day, Jing Yao drove a carriage with Wen Yu and Wen Qun to the county town. They dropped Wen Qun off in the largest restaurant in the county town before Jing Yao and Wen Yu left. They were going to a secluded place that must not be known by outsiders.

The two of them walked around and came to the back door of a small courtyard in the city. Wen Yu knocked on the door and soon a little boy came to open the door. After seeing the token handed over by Wen Yu, he welcomed them in, invited them to the hall, and then went to the back to call someone.

Soon the person they wanted to meet this time appeared in the hall. It was Lord Li Guoan, the magistrate of Lin'an County.

This time Wen Yu came back not only to attend Jing Yao's wedding, but also to do some things assigned by the prince.

Li Guoan, the magistrate of Lin'an County, is a good friend of the prince. He cares about the people of the world and asked to leave the capital and come to this small Lin'an County. As a county magistrate, he naturally wants to seek benefits for the people. Unfortunately, Lin'an County is just a small county town under Qingzhou Prefecture.

Although it is close to the sea, the mountains are high and the terrain is uneven, and the products are nothing special. Although the officials here are not evil people, they are not good officials who are willing to devote themselves to the country and the people and die without regrets. They live one day at a time, which resulted in him being unable to find a suitable gap to break through after several months.

Jing Yao's factory is a good way to open up a gap. The prince had already discussed it with them when he went to Beijing. This time he came back to develop the economy of Lin'an, so that the local people can see the prince's heart for the country and the people, and continue to have confidence in the court.

Li Guoan had received Xuanyuan Ting's letter a long time ago and was curious about the existence of such a businessman in his jurisdiction. After making some inquiries, he found that everyone gave positive comments about his factory and many people praised the food produced by the factory.

It was only then that he realized that the canned food that was being sold at sky-high prices in Shangjing was actually produced by the Jingyao factory. However, in a small village under his jurisdiction, such a courageous and capable person, who cared about the people, was a blessing to the villagers.

"Master Wen just came back from Shangjing. Did anything big happen?" Li Guoan asked casually.

"There is nothing unusual in other aspects, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince encountered several assassination attempts during his tour! After finally returning to Shangjing, he was almost ambushed by assassins again on his way to Fengguo Temple. Fortunately, the Imperial Guards were very vigilant and took quick action to eliminate them. However, after an in-depth investigation, the conclusion reached showed that this group of killers most likely did not come from the same camp or power group." Wen Yu stated with a frown.

Regarding the assassination, Jing Yao and Wen Yu had actually already known about it through the letters sent back.

Li Guoan's face was extremely gloomy, and his expression seemed particularly solemn and dignified: "Regarding the assassination, I have also sent people to start investigating. At present, we have found out that the mastermind behind the scenes is most likely the Second Prince and his gang who are stirring up trouble and secretly causing trouble."

"The guys in the Second Prince's faction are not going to be a big deal, so we don't need to worry too much about them. Instead, we need to pay more attention to the other two forces, the First Prince and the noble families, and the various forces lurking in the dark. They are the ones we need to pay close attention to." Jing Yao said solemnly. After all, as the saying goes, "It's easy to dodge an open spear, but hard to guard against an arrow from the dark."

Obviously, enemies in the open are relatively easy to deal with, but those enemies hiding in the dark, waiting for an opportunity, and ready to stab you from behind at any time are the most deadly threat.

"Don't worry, I will tell my friends in the court and the secret guards to be more careful." Li Guoan responded.

In this way, by combining both light and covert methods to conduct investigations, once these people reveal any flaws, they will surely not escape their keen insight.

"Other than that, things have been quite peaceful in the capital recently, and nothing major has happened. On weekdays, apart from occasionally meeting up with a few close friends for a drink, I spend most of my time studying hard," Wen Yu answered frankly.

Although Wen Yu came to the capital this time with the purpose of understanding the situation and quickly integrating into the officialdom, he has not yet participated in the imperial examination and is only a juren, so he must act in a low-key and cautious manner.

Li Guoan was not surprised by this answer. When he was in Shangjing, he could not hear any bad news from the outside world. The city wall of Shangjing was like an insurmountable ravine between the poor and the rich, preventing the painful groans from the outside from being heard. The people inside enjoyed their wealth and glory, and sighed at the peace and prosperity in the world.

After not dwelling on this topic, Li Guoan took the initiative to talk about the development of Wenjiabao. Jing Yao told him some of his plans and ideas truthfully, "Farmers have to farm all the time. Large tracts of wasteland need to be developed to grow more crops. The refugees coming from the north now just make up for the shortage of manpower. They can reclaim a large amount of land and grow new products, turning this place into a large county of economic crops. Let other people come here to buy things, and this place will develop. Moreover, Wenjiabao is by the sea, so it is very convenient to ship it out by sea."

What Jing Yao said made a lot of sense, but Li Guoan couldn't have the final say in Lin'an County. He needed to change the current situation to promote the development of these things.

Jing Yao thought about it and gave him some suggestions.

First, he had to control the financial power. Whether it was the salary issued by the superiors or the funding of the project, all the money had to go through his hands. Only in this way could Li Guoan make the officials in the county obey him.

Secondly, he wanted to win the hearts of the people. He would go out regularly to inspect and distribute benefits to grassroots workers, so that everyone would remember the kindness of the county magistrate and spread his good name far and wide.

The third is to accept refugees. Although the population in the south is large, there are also many people who have escaped from the north in the past few years. Some of these people came here because they were forced to make a living. They will all behave themselves. Some are just bandits walking on the edge of a knife. They should be distinguished from good citizens, treated well and punished by the criminals. In this way, the power is integrated. With a larger population, things will be easier to handle.

Li Guoan nodded and said that he would do as instructed next, and Jing Yao also said that if there was anything he needed, he could ask and he would help in secret. Their relationship could not be made public, but they could communicate privately. Fortunately, Wen Yu brought him here this time to introduce himself to the relationship, so it would be much easier to meet again in the future.

Next, Wen Yu will return to Shangcheng to continue his studies and prepare for the imperial examination in February next year. This is the most important step for him to enter the officialdom. If he can win the top spot and catch the eye of Emperor Qingde, he will be able to do more things in Shangjing and can better help His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

When the two of them returned, Wen Qun was sitting by the window on the second floor of the restaurant, listening to the storyteller outside. He was very interested and was very happy to see them back. Jing Yao and Wen Yu also accompanied him to listen for a while before returning to the village.

When he returned to the village in the afternoon, something happened. Jing Yao found out that a few old men and women from other villages brought a few baskets of peppers to Wenjiabao and wanted to sell them to the factory. After seeing those things, Wen Qin said he didn't need them and would not accept them. His words angered everyone and made them very unhappy. They asked him why, and that's when the commotion started.

The old ladies said anxiously, "Young man, what's going on? We worked so hard to pick all the peppers, but now you say you don't want them anymore. What should we do?"

There were a few people in the yard who had just finished weighing peppers and were waiting for Wen Qin to pay. When they heard him say he would not take any more, they thought he had bought enough and came over to check the situation.

However, if they really didn't want to harvest them, why didn't they inform everyone in advance? These picked peppers can't be preserved for a long time. If the weather is fine, they can be dried and preserved. But now it's winter, the sky is gloomy, and the air is humid, which can easily cause the peppers to rot and deteriorate. Everyone couldn't help but feel that Wen Qin's behavior was a little inappropriate.

Before Wen Qin could say anything, Wen Xin, who was helping, asked, "Where did you get your chili seedlings? Look at the quality of these chili peppers. They are so different from the ones in our village. Even if we want to make chili sauce, we won't accept such chili peppers."

After hearing what he said, everyone checked and found that the peppers these people brought were small and thick, covered with some strange patterns. They were different from the peppers in the village. The peppers in the village were red and long, and each one looked plump and very beautiful. There was indeed a world of difference between them and this pepper.

"Aren't these all the same peppers? What's the difference if they are chopped up and made into chili sauce? Whether they look pretty or ugly, as long as they are spicy, it's fine." When the others saw him say this, they were very disapproving and started to argue.

Other people who didn't know the reason also agreed, thinking it was a big deal. They knew that the chili sauce made in the factory was all chopped up, and they didn't know whether the chili was good or bad in the past, so they didn't think it was a big deal.

"There are certain requirements for the growth and development of peppers, as well as sunlight and nutrition. Even if we collect peppers to make chili sauce, we only use the best peppers. Those that are not good will not be made into chili sauce. This is the reputation and brand of the factory. How can we destroy our own brand and do whatever we want when others can't see it? As for the quality of the finished product, you can tell everything by just tasting it. You can deceive yourself, but you can't deceive others."

Wen Qin looked at these people who didn't care and said with disdain. All the food made in their factory is made with fine materials and precious spices, and is carefully made. The high price is well deserved. How can they ruin their reputation for such a small profit?

Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement. The taste is easy to tell by just tasting it. Besides, chili sauce is expensive and is sold outside. If people can really tell the difference, it would be more trouble than it’s worth. They all blamed those who wanted to pass off inferior products as good ones.

When those people heard this, their faces turned very ugly. Their seeds were not taken from the village, but were cultivated outside with second-generation pepper seeds. The peppers in Wenjiabao were not cheap, but there were many pepper seeds in a pound of peppers, which could be used as seeds to grow peppers for several acres of land. They thought they could make a fortune from this, but they didn't expect that the peppers they produced were not only small, but also thick and ugly in color. Originally, they thought that even if they didn't look good, as long as they were peppers, they would be willing to take them. Unexpectedly, the people in Wenjiabao were so determined and said no, as if looking at them any more would pollute their eyes.

The people in the village only then discovered that the rumor that the second-generation pepper seeds could not produce good peppers was true. Now they see that the fruits grown from the second-generation pepper seeds are indeed not good-looking, and they wonder how the taste compares to the original peppers.

"Hurry up and take your peppers with you. I don't care where you got the seeds to produce such fruits, but we in Wenjiabao will not accept them. You can sell them to other places, but Wenjiabao will not admit that they are produced in Wenjiabao. Please don't use the reputation of Wenjiabao to cheat people outside."

Wen Qin's words were indeed impolite, but he did not cut off these people's escape route. Since the peppers have been grown, there must be someone willing to buy them. As for who they are willing to buy, he doesn't know, but he also asks them to distinguish them from the peppers from Wenjiabao, so that everyone will not think that the peppers from Wenjiabao are also like this.

Being told this, many people were a little angry, but they didn't dare to do anything in other people's territory. They could only curse and say some dirty words and leave the village. Although the people in the village were also very angry, they didn't make trouble. Let them leave.

After those people left, the farce was completely over. Jing Yao and Wen Qun watched their handling of the whole process and felt that this method was very correct. Although they did not oppress the people, they also let them know that they were not so easy to bully. These things were in their village, and they were willing to open the seeds to them for planting, but they had to abide by the rules of the village. If they were willing to come to him to get seeds, they had to pay the corresponding seed fees. If they wanted to save a sum of seed fees, they could not blame others for using seeds obtained by improper means to grow crooked melons and cracked dates, and they could not ruin their reputation in their name.

"You two did a great job on this matter. It seems that you have the ability to stand on your own." Jin Yao looked at the two of them and said with a smile

The two felt a little embarrassed to be praised like this, but they have indeed grown a lot in the past six months. From the beginning when they were a little flustered when managing, to now managing several factories with ease, only the two of them know all the hardships, bitterness and efforts in between.

But the results are very impressive. They are now the two deputy directors of the factory. They are in charge of all matters of the factory when Jing Yao and Wen Qun are away. They know everything about the factory like the back of their hand. They also sincerely regard the factory as their responsibility and obligation and are protecting the factory well.

Jing Yao rewarded them with double their wages and affirmed their abilities. "If you encounter similar things next time, just deal with them directly. There are so many people in our village, hundreds of households and tens of thousands of people. We are not afraid of those people. Naturally, we have to be tougher and don't let people think that we are easy to bully."

Jing Yao's words also gave them confidence. They would be more adept at managing the factory and would be more strict in enforcing the punishments and rewards for people in the factory.