After traveling through time, she still led the villagers to make money as a county magistrate

After Gu Niannian returned, she was not idle. She went over the people in the yamen in her mind. After she got to know them almost completely, there were still two days before she officially took office, so she planned what to do in the next two days.

The next morning, Li Jing returned the organizational chart drawn by Gu Niannian. Why was it Li Jing who returned it?

The first reason is that the entire picture was copied by Li Jing, the second is that Zhang Da didn’t know where Gu Niannian lived, and the third is that Li Jing was afraid that Zhang Da would talk nonsense and be careless with his mouth.

During the copying process, Li Jing gradually understood why Gu Niannian did this. It was indeed too clear. With this drawing, it was easy to understand at a glance.

Gu Niannian didn't expect this person to come so early. She had the habit of getting up early to run. She had just finished running at noon when the servant reported her. She didn't care about the details and just wiped her face and neck with a handkerchief and left.

Li Jing gave her the blueprint and said goodbye. He was afraid that if he stayed any longer he would not be able to tell the difference between male and female.

It's no wonder Li Jing thought so. After running, Gu Niannian's face was flushed, a red color even without makeup, and the sweet fragrance of sweat from running was wafting out. Then he thought of what Zhang Da said yesterday.

Gu Niannian, who was standing by, was unaware of it and was still happily looking at the masterpiece she had painted.

Fortunately, Li Jing was a big and strong man. At the age of 22, he had not yet married and had never touched a woman, so he did not notice anything unusual. He just thought that he had not touched a woman for too long and was too lonely, so he mistook the man for a woman.

He simply thought the scent was from Gu Niannian's clothes. In the Holy Dynasty, incense was a popular obsession for both men and women who could afford it. Even Zhang Da would sometimes use incense on his clothes. Li Jing didn't think it was a woman's body odor.

Li Jing walked out of the door and quickly shook his head and said to himself: "I should listen to my mother and find a girl."

Bai came to Gu Niannian's yard and was about to call her daughter to have breakfast. From her daughter's appearance, she could tell that she had just finished running.

She also didn't know why her daughter seemed like a different person since her heart disease was cured. She would spend half an hour every day exercising, sometimes doing some strange movements. Her daughter told her this was called... yoga, and sometimes running. She was surprised at first, but later she saw that her daughter's face was getting rosier and her complexion was getting better and better. She thought it must be the result of daily exercise.

Now she sometimes follows along and does some simple movements, and she feels a lot more relaxed after doing them.

Bai Shi caught a glimpse of two teacups on the table and realized someone had been there. She asked cautiously, "Has anyone been here? A man or a woman?"

Gu Niannian took a sip of tea and said indifferently: "The county magistrate of the county government, a man..."

Bai exclaimed: "My little ancestor, how could you meet a man like this? You are too careless!"

Gu Niannian looked down at her outfit. It was a white men's gown. She also had a chest binder on, but her sweat didn't even wet her outer shirt. "Mom, what I'm wearing is pretty normal, right? It shouldn't reveal any flaws."

Bai: "Your men's clothing is fine, your face is indeed rosy, and you have a scent...

Gu Niannian took a mirror and looked left and right: "It is indeed a little red. I saw that Li Jing didn't say anything, so he probably didn't notice anything!"

After a while, Gu Niannian seemed to have thought of something: "Ah! He wouldn't think I'm a pervert, he must be putting on perfume and powder again... No wonder he left so fast."

Bai could only shake her head and said: "You kid, be careful in the future, remember you are a man now."

Gu Niannian thought that she should indeed be more careful and not arouse suspicion.

After the two finished their meal, Gu Niannian went back to the yard to take out the wallpaper and prepare to design her new home.

There must be fruit trees in the new house. It happened to be on the south side, which was conducive to the growth of fruit trees. There must also be chili peppers. In this holy dynasty, it was not popular to use chili peppers for cooking. They were mostly used for sale as medicine. She found some seeds. Self-sufficiency was the right thing to do. She also built a small fish pond and raised some edible fish and shrimps. It would be convenient to eat them when she wanted to, and they would still be fresh.

Oh, and there is also a toilet. This ancient outhouse is so smelly, comparable to a modern dry toilet. The only consolation is that her family is relatively wealthy in the Shengchao, and the dung bucket is cleaned every day, which is still acceptable.

She has a deep understanding of modern dry toilets. Not only are they smelly, but they are also infested with maggots. When she defecates, she has to lift her butt for fear that the feces will splash on her butt.

She experienced this unforgettable period when she was first assigned to Qingshi Village as a village official. Later, the country launched a rural toilet reform, using flush toilets and building biogas tanks, and that time became a thing of the past.

She didn't want to go back to that dark moment, so the design of the toilet had to be included in the plan.

There is also the issue of bathing. Here, women have to use a wooden tub to soak in water or use a gourd ladle to scoop water and pour it over their bodies. This is too inconvenient for a modern person like her. She needs to make a shower device so that it will be more convenient for her to bathe during her period. The wooden tub for bathing is not big enough, so she can make a small swimming pool. It would be comfortable to soak in the bath or swim when she has nothing to do. The swimming pool also needs to be indoors for safety.

Gu Niannian was drawing in the study when Bai knocked on the door and came in with a pile of gray and black clothes in her hands.

Mrs. Bai opened a gray piece of clothing and tried to fit it on Gu Niannian: "Come, try it on and see if it fits."

Gu Niannian put down her pen, opened her arms and let her mother gesture, wondering, "Mom, why are you wearing black? This style of clothes doesn't look like my brother's..."

Gu Niannian paused and thought for a moment: "Hmm... maybe it would be more suitable for Dad at his age."

After Bai finished folding the clothes, she said, "You are so careless, wearing white every day, which makes you look even whiter. I will change it for you so that it won't attract attention."

"Also, you should tan your face a little bit, your brother isn't that white."

Gu Niannian also knew that her mother was worried about her, so she agreed obediently: "Yes, mother."

Bai Shi chuckled and scolded, "You are talking nonsense, you are not serious."

After saying this, Bai was walking out and putting the clothes in Gu Niannian's room. Ever since they were planning to let Gu Niannian replace her brother as the county magistrate, in order to prevent the news from leaking out, the two of them basically did everything themselves. What they announced to the outside world was that Gu Niannian had gone to a distant relative's house to recuperate. In ancient times, women were not allowed to leave the house, so few people had actually seen Gu Niannian.

Even the former personal maid was concealed. Gu Niannian's maid Xiantao and Taoye are now doing some housekeeping work and basically cannot serve Gu Niannian closely.

The two of them thought that the master they were serving was Young Master Gu, so they didn't think much about it. After all, the young master wanted to marry a daughter from a good family, so he had to keep a distance from the maid before the wedding. Otherwise, if he had a child before the wedding, it would ruin his reputation and those famous families would look down on him.

This young master was a seventeen-year-old newly-minted scholar, handsome and elegant, with a bright future in front of him. It was not impossible for him to marry the daughter of a prime minister, but they dared not even think about it.

But sometimes I miss my young lady. When I think about why she didn't take them with her when she went to recuperate, I feel sad. After all, I have served her for more than ten years. It would be a lie to say that I have no feelings for her.

Gu Niannian called her hurriedly: "Mom, wait a moment, I'm done with painting, I have something for you to do."

After a while, Gu Niannian handed the toilet design drawing to Bai. The toilet was replaced with a squat toilet, which was made of stone slabs and was easy to flush. A pipe was designed to connect to the large dung bucket in another toilet, so that the servants would not feel the stink even if they did not empty the dung bucket for two or three days.

For now, she can only solve the problems of stench and unsanitary conditions. As for the biogas tank, it is a big project and she needs to think about it again. After all, she doesn't know whether the conditions here are sufficient. As for the flushing device, she can put a bucket of water next to the squat toilet and whoever finishes using it can flush it themselves.

There is also a bathroom with a shower device. There is no electricity here, so the maid has to add water outside and she can wash inside. In fact, she also wants to build a big swimming pool. I wonder how comfortable it will be in the summer. But it is just an idea because she doesn't have the conditions.

The design draft was drawn in great detail. Bai asked a few questions about a few things he didn't understand, and he finally understood them. This drawing is for people who will do the work, and it won't be difficult to find workers who can lay blue bricks.

Gu Niannian told her mother: "Give the blueprint to the housekeeper and ask him to find someone. It will be more convenient and you don't have to do everything yourself."

Bai nodded: "Mother knows"

After Bai left, Gu Niannian planned to walk around the house to see if there were any areas that needed improvement. She would officially take over in two days, and she would be very busy then, so she had to take this opportunity to look around and make some changes. She had been so busy buying the house that she had forgotten to ask for blueprints of the entire house. Otherwise, she could just make the changes based on the blueprints. Now that the seller was gone, she could only sketch them as she went along.

It took Gu Niannian a full hour to walk through the entire house. She even asked the servants to bring a ladder to climb to the roof to see the entire panoramic view before she could draw the house.

The structure of the whole house is like this

Upon entering the courtyard, one is greeted by a long and narrow front yard, also known as the outer yard. On either side of the front yard may be some simple wing rooms, used as servants' quarters or for storing sundries.

After passing through the front yard, you'll pass through a gate into the first courtyard, the main activity area. The courtyard is surrounded by the main house and the east and west wing rooms. The main house is typically occupied by the elders of the family and is spacious, bright, and beautifully decorated. The east and west wing rooms are for younger generations or guests.

Go through another door and enter the second courtyard. The layout of this courtyard is similar to the first one, but it may be more private and quiet. It is often used as an inner house for female relatives to live in. This is where Gu Nian Nian lives.

The overall architecture is symmetrical and neat, with corridors connecting the houses for easy movement. The courtyard is paved with bricks and stones, and some flowers, plants and trees are planted to add vitality.

The roof is a sloping roof, covered with green tiles, and the eaves are raised.

Looking at the picture on the paper, Gu Niannian nodded with satisfaction and said thankfully, "Gu Niannian of this era is worthy of being called a talented woman. She draws very well."

Time always passes quickly when you are doing things. Gu Niannian only realized that it was dark when the sun had set. She had dinner with Bai.

Gu Niannian went back to her room and planned to revise the painting, but there were no electric lights in ancient times, and the candles flickered and it was difficult to see clearly. It would be too tiring for the eyes after a long time, so Gu Niannian had to give up. She could revise the painting tomorrow, but she still had to protect her eyes. After all, there were no glasses here.

The next day, she finished revising the design early. She didn't make any major changes, but she carved out a space where she'd previously planted flowers and plants to grow vegetables: potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, and, yes, peppers. She also added a small fish pond next to the kitchen. All practical design.

After being a village official for so many years, I have come to understand that nothing is more important than having enough food and clothing.

Originally she wanted to make a swing in the yard. Girls all want to have a swing of their own, and Gu Niannian is no exception. But she thought that this would not be feasible. What would her colleagues think if they saw such a thing? After all, his current identity is to represent his brother Gu Rujun. If the news of a homosexual was spread, Long Yang would be furious when he came back to wait for his brother. Gu Niannian could only sigh regretfully, and then thought: "If she can't put it here, can her mother put it there! Hehe"

In this way, the Bai family’s yard in the picture now has a double swing with a backrest.

Mrs. Bai took the blueprint and looked at it, confused. "Mother is not a little girl anymore, why are you making a swing for me?"

Gu Niannian pulled Bai's sleeve and said coquettishly, "I will sit with mother then."

After hearing this, there was nothing that Bai didn't understand. He was using her as a cover!

But since I only have this one daughter, I can only obey her.

Bai pointed at the name of the pepper on the painting and asked in confusion, "Potatoes, tomatoes, and cabbage are all fine, but what kind of vegetable is this pepper? I've never seen it before."

Gu Niannian explained: "This dish is mostly used for seasoning. I will go to the pharmacy to look for it. It should be available there."

Bai gave the same blueprint to the housekeeper and told the housekeeper Hu Zhi: "Don't worry about the pepper for now, just leave some space for it."