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

Chapter 1274 Let's go back to Tong'an County and stay for 2 days!

Yu Shizhang was extremely curious about the zinc ingots lying quietly in the box, and quietly asked Shen Zheng, "Can we pick them up with our hands?"

Shen Zheng glanced at his palm secretly and shook her head: "No, you have sweaty hands."

"?"

Yu Shizhang was puzzled. He secretly wiped the sweat from his sweaty hands on his outer robe and asked, "What's wrong with your sweaty hands?"

Shen Zheng said in a deep voice, "This thing is a bit delicate. Sweat will corrode it. It's okay to touch it for a short time, but it's best not to hold it for a long time."

Yu Shizhang choked.

This is the greatest insult to sweaty hands!

Just as the two were whispering to each other, Fang Qizheng spoke up again: "Lord Shen, Lord. When this zinc ingot was first refined, it was silvery-white, but in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, it turned bluish-gray on its own. I wonder if it was the same when you two experimented earlier?"

Shen Zheng secretly tugged at Yu Shizhang.

Yu Shizhang immediately nodded: "Yes!"

He paused, then added, "That's how zinc is, Lord Fang, there's no need to panic."

Fang Qizheng seemed to be deep in thought, then asked, "I also discovered that... this object emits a faint white light under high temperatures. Is this normal?"

Yu Shizhang paused, but before he could turn to look at Shen Zheng, he heard a rustling sound from his sleeve.

He understood immediately: "Yes!"

"Oh..." Fang Qizheng nodded, then asked, "My lord, I've also discovered that even zinc gas seems to be able to turn the surface of bronzeware golden. This..."

Fang Qizheng's questions were getting more and more difficult, and Yu Shizhang was so angry he almost gritted his teeth.

He even secretly suspected that Fang Qizheng had already guessed that Shen Zheng had discovered the zinc, and was now deliberately causing trouble.

"..."

A moment of silence fell over the hall until Shen Zheng tugged at Yu Shizhang's sleeve again.

Yu Shizhang forced a smile and resigned himself to his fate: "Shen Zheng knows more about these things than I do. You should just ask her."

He's tired of it all—whether it's copper or not, whether it changes color or not!

tired!

Fang Qizheng was taken aback upon hearing this, then looked at Shen Zheng with understanding: "Lord Shen..."

Shen Zheng sighed inwardly, "Please sit, Lord Fang."

Subsequently, Shen Zheng and Fang Qizheng engaged in a heated discussion.

Shen Zheng's mouth was dry from talking, and Fang Qi's question, which had been weighing on his mind for many days, was finally answered, and his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

At Chen Shi (7-9 AM), the brilliant sunlight arrived as scheduled.

Fang Qizheng stood up to take his leave: "In that case, I will not trouble you any longer."

Just as Shen Zheng was about to get up to see him off, he stopped in his tracks: "By the way, Lord Shen, there is something I'm not sure if I should ask."

The meaning of "speaking when it's appropriate to speak" and "asking when it's appropriate to ask" is simply that I want to speak and I want to ask.

Shen Zheng initially thought his question was related to the "discovery rights" of zinc, but unexpectedly, he changed the subject and asked directly, "Did you... send someone to spread a message in the city? It's related to salt."

Shen Zheng paused for a moment, but did not deny it: "How did Lord Fang guess that it was I who sent someone to deliver the message?"

Fang Qizheng smiled and said, "Because the Salt and Iron Bureau has indeed been cracking down on smuggled salt recently, after receiving the news, I immediately sent people to investigate, and the result was..."

The investigation led back to the local government office.

Although she knew this news wouldn't harm the Salt and Iron Bureau, Shen Zheng still politely asked, "It won't affect your office's operations, will it?"

"It didn't have any impact." Fang Qizheng shook his head and added, "In fact, it even helped me a few times."

"How many?" Shen Zheng asked curiously.

Fang Qizheng said frankly, "As soon as your news spread, those salt merchants couldn't sit still. There were even two impatient guys who tried to transport the salt they had stockpiled out of the prefectural city overnight, but they were caught red-handed by the people I sent to inspect."

Shen Zheng was taken aback upon hearing this.

That's incredibly impatient...

Thinking of the bloodstained instruments of torture used by the Salt and Iron Bureau, she secretly rubbed her arms.

After Fang Qizheng left, Shen Zheng and the other two squatted down around the zinc ingot box.

Yu Shizhang wrapped his hands in the hem of his clothes and slowly put them into the box.

He pulled out a zinc ingot the size of a fist, weighed it lightly in his hand, and nodded: "It is indeed much lighter than iron."

Xu Yunyan finally couldn't contain his curiosity and asked softly, "Sir, do you intend to use this gold to refine copper?"

"No, no, no." Shen Zheng shook her index finger and laughed, "You'll find out the day after tomorrow."

The day after tomorrow is a day off for the government office.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Shen Zheng's mind: "How about... after we finish our work tomorrow, we go back to Tong'an County for a couple of days?"

Take the zinc back with you, and let Pei Zhaoqi and Fang Ziyan see what's new.

"Great!" Instantly, Yu Shizhang raised his eyebrows high and grinned.

For him now, Tongan County is a paradise on earth.

After working hard in the city for several days, it's time to go back and rest!

A smile appeared in Xu Yunyan's eyes: "This humble official will obey your command, sir."

With something to look forward to, the three of them became motivated.

They opened each of the thirty-two newsletters and commented on them one by one.

“This won’t do. It’s full of classical Chinese phrases; it gives me a headache just looking at it, let alone ordinary people.” Shen Zheng closed the book.

“This won’t do either. It’s too emotionally charged, and the news it produces is too one-sided.” Yu Shizhang closed a book.

"I think this one is no good either." Xu Yunyan closed a book as well, saying, "This person's perspective is mostly focused on the various government offices, seriously neglecting the people's sentiments."

One booklet after another was closed, and half an hour later, only fifteen booklets remained open.

Shen Zheng slammed her hand on the table: "Next up is the final round of the 15-to-10 competition!"

Yu Shizhang raised an eyebrow and said, "Come on! Let's go all out!"

Just when morale was high, Shen Zheng suddenly stood up: "We need to call Fang Xianyue over; he's the provisional president."

President...

That certainly sounds like an indispensable member.

Xu Yunyan immediately stood up: "Your humble servant may go."

Before long, Fang Xianyue followed Xu Yunyan into the hall, and the four of them sat around the table, beginning the final round of choices.

......

The next day, before dawn, a large crowd gathered in front of the government office's bulletin board.

While waiting anxiously, the group whispered about what they had seen and heard in the past two days: "I heard that... the Salt and Iron Bureau sent someone to clarify that they are not currently working with the government to crack down on smuggled salt."

“I heard about it too, it seems to be true…” someone said with a look of dejection: “The news that day was so convincing, I believed it! I even wrote it at the very beginning… Now it’s all over.”

"What do you mean by this?" Someone's face was even more somber than his: "I actually believed that news that 'Headmaster Hou will be giving a lecture the next day'... It's been a whole day, and not only Headmaster Hou, but even Headmaster Ma... we haven't seen a single one in the mansion!"

"And you say that!" someone scratched their head in frustration. "Not only did I believe the news about the crackdown on smuggled salt, but I also made my mother buy two catties of salt, and even persuaded her to buy a bolt of hemp to store at home..."

"Sigh—!" The group exchanged glances and sighed.

They probably guessed they had no chance, but people are stubborn and won't give up until they hit a wall. Today, they had to see the recruitment results with their own eyes.

"I'm coming!"

As the morning bell rang, Fang Xianyue appeared in everyone's sight.