When County Magistrate Cheng heard what the servant said, he frowned and turned to look at Song Jinggong who was also confused. He asked the servant, "Do you know why those two people are here?"
"This lowly one doesn't know. The two of them didn't tell this lowly one. Presumably, something big must have happened for the two of them to set off yesterday and rush over here."
"Okay." County Magistrate Cheng nodded and didn't say anything else. She led Song Jinggong into the mansion.
Song Jinggong didn't say much either. He could guess why Qi Zheng and Elder Qian were here. It was probably because the young master asked them to tell him. Ge Yingxi couldn't find anything so he reported the situation of Zhang Family and Wang Family in Zhuangzi.
These two people didn't have any rank and were similar to the village. They were just coordinating some things in the village. Unfortunately, the young master had already thought of it and arranged everything. He didn't have to worry about being schemed against.
County Magistrate Cheng slept for less than four hours but he didn't feel tired at all. He was still excited about being praised by the people. He asked Song Jinggong to rest in the side room and came to the main hall.
The village chief and Elder Qian who had been drinking tea three times saw the county magistrate and quickly stood up and bowed. They didn't sleep for long so they were as energetic as the county magistrate.
"So it's Qi Lizheng and Elder Feng. I wonder if something big happened in the county this early in the morning?" County Magistrate Cheng was also very polite to the two of them, especially the elder whose surname was Feng. He used to work in the yamen and retired from the position of county deputy. Because of his high status in the village, he was regarded as an elder by others and could not be neglected.
Qi Lizheng and Senior Feng looked at each other. In the end, Qi Lizheng said, "County Magistrate, the two of us do have something important to tell you."
"Oh? No hurry. You haven't eaten anything yet, right? Wait for someone to bring snacks. We'll talk after eating. I'm the same. I've been busy for so long and my stomach is empty. "
County Magistrate Cheng saw that these two people seemed to be happy so he wasn't in a hurry. He asked someone to bring snacks and sat there to eat with them.
Qi Lizheng and Old Feng were indeed hungry, especially Old Feng. He was old and rushed here overnight. He needed to eat something and rest.
The three of them drank tea and ate without talking. Qi Lizheng was relatively younger. He was thinking about how to tell the good news to the county magistrate. By then, he would have made a great contribution to the county magistrate.
As he ate, he thought about it. Last night, Ge Yingxi, the village chief of Zhuangzi, came looking for him and told him about the spring plowing of the Zhang Family and Wang Family in Zhuangzi. At first, he did not believe it, but when someone lit a fire and went over to investigate, he understood that the second plowing had already begun.
This was something extraordinary. Other families hadn't even finished plowing once. Zhang Family and Wang Family didn't have many people in Zhuangzi, but they plowed very quickly. There were only a few people on night watch in the fields. After questioning them, he didn't get anything. If Ge Yingxi didn't say that the plows used here were different from other places, he would have been fooled by the night watch of Zhang Family and Wang Family in Zhuangzi.
They had such a good thing but they didn't take it out and didn't report it to him. If it was something else, it would be fine. However, this was something that could speed up the spring plowing. He couldn't let it go. Since that was the case, he had to give it a push.
After going through the matter in his mind, Qi Lizheng drank tea from time to time. He stopped to look at the county magistrate and Old Feng. He thought that his prestige could be further improved in the future. He felt that the tea was better than usual.
Old Feng was also suppressing the excitement in his heart as he ate. Last night, Ge Yingxi and Qi Lizheng came together. He also went to take a look. After showing his identity, they didn't ask the person in charge to come over. They said that they had to wait until tomorrow morning.
As a deputy county magistrate of two realms, he knew that the plows that could speed up the plowing process was very beneficial to the entire Tang Empire. Even if Zhang Family and Wang Family didn't seem to want to take it out in Zhuangzi, he had to report it.
The snack lasted for half an hour. County Magistrate Cheng took another sip of tea and asked, "Qi Lizheng and Old Feng, do you feel that your stomachs don't feel so uncomfortable anymore?"
The two of them answered in unison. This time, Qi Lizheng started again. "Sir, we came here because we have something important to report. This matter is beneficial to the country and the people."
"Oh? What matter is beneficial to the country and the people? Tell me quickly. " County Magistrate Cheng pretended to be anxious. Just now, he asked them to accompany him to eat. However, he was really not anxious. Beneficial to the country and the people? What matter was more important than the new plows that he had just made?
Qi Lizheng coughed softly and tried to calm himself down. He said, "Sir, we found a place where the spring plowing process was several times faster than other places. I heard that there was a new type of plows that was different from other places.
Old Feng and I checked that night. When we went there to have a look, it was true. Other places had not finished plowing the first time, but that place had already started plowing the second time. When we went there to have a look, that place had already plowed a lot of the second time. The fertilizer had already been turned into the soil. When the time comes, people will step on it.
Old Feng and I wanted to see the person in charge of Zhuangzi. Who would have thought that no one would come out even after we asked them to call. They insisted that we should wait until tomorrow. Old Feng was afraid that a long night would cause trouble. At that time, they would not admit that there was a new plows. That was why we came here overnight. "
County Magistrate Cheng listened. At first, he thought that there was something else. But after listening for a while, he understood that it was because of the curved plows. Then, there was nothing strange. He thought that the two of them had not seen the plows and yet they came here looking for him. He was not as anxious as the two of them when he personally sent the plows to others.
"Ah, so it was this matter. I understand." County Magistrate Cheng waited for Qi Lizheng to finish speaking. Then, he nodded casually and picked up the teacup to drink.
"Sir, you should quickly send people to check and find the two people in charge of Zhuangzi. Then, you should ask them to present the plows."
When Qi Lizheng saw that County Magistrate Cheng was not happy, he became anxious and urged him. After he finished speaking, he was worried that County Magistrate Cheng would blame him. He sat there anxiously and did not know what to do.
When Old Feng saw this, he also said, "Sir, Qi Lizheng is right. What if the people there do not want to present the plows and secretly destroy them? Then, our dynasty will lose a good item."
"Fine. Since Old Feng said so, then I will let Old Feng and Qi Lizheng be at ease." County Magistrate Cheng said as he called a servant and whispered a few words into his ear. The servant turned around and left.
County Magistrate Cheng continued to invite the two people to drink tea. Qi Lizheng and Old Feng thought that County Magistrate Cheng was going to send them to Zhuangzi. Thus, they calmed down.
After about 15 minutes, the servant who left just now returned to the hall. He was carrying a set of plows behind him.
"Qi Lizheng and Old Feng, take a look. Is this the type of plows? It is different from normal plows. The shaft of this plows is curved. " County Magistrate Cheng took another sip of tea and said to the two people with a smile. The plows were just taken from Zhou Xihu.
Qi Lizheng and Old Feng had never seen the plows used by the Zhang Family and the Wang Family in Zhuangzi. They only heard from the housekeeper of Ge Zhuang that the new plows were different from the old ones. When they saw it and heard what County Magistrate Cheng said, they were stunned.
The two of them also knew that no matter how fast a horse was, it would not be able to go back and forth from the county to the village in such a short time. This meant that the County Magistrate Cheng already had the plows.
"Sir, where did you get this plows?" Qi Lizheng asked again.
"In a family in the county. I already know why Qi Lizheng and Old Feng are here. Don't worry. When the sun rises today, I will ask people to put up a notice in the county and ask the people who are plowing to go there to buy the plows. This morning, I came back from outside just to test this new plows."
County Magistrate Cheng put on an unfathomable expression and said to Qi Lizheng and Old Feng with a smile.
"This, this …" Qi Lizheng wanted to say something, but he did not know where to start.
"Sir, since you already knew, why didn't you ask people to make more plows at the beginning of the spring plowing?" Old Feng asked.
"It's not that I didn't want to, but I couldn't. Once the new plows are made, we don't know if they are good. We have to find someone to use them first. The Zhang Family and the Wang Family in Zhuangzi also thought the same. Now it seems that they are good." County Magistrate Cheng said and glanced at the servant.
The servant followed the County Magistrate to Zhuangzi last night to test the plows, so he naturally understood what the County Magistrate meant. He immediately said, "Qi Lizheng and Old Feng may not know, but this new plows are called curved plows. Our County Magistrate thought hard and found a farmer in Zhangjia Zhuangzi to make them.
After the Zhang Family and the Wang Family used them and sent someone to deliver the new plows, our County Magistrate did not care about his tiredness. He ordered people to make the new plows first and then personally went to a nearby farmer to test it. These days, our County Magistrate has not been eating and drinking, and he has lost a lot of weight. "
The servant started to wipe his tears as he spoke. It seemed that he really felt sorry for the County Magistrate.
Qi Lizheng and Old Feng were dumbfounded. They looked at County Magistrate Cheng and did not realize that he had lost weight. The two of them originally thought that they would be praised, but they did not expect that the County Magistrate already knew about it. Moreover, the new plows were made by the County Magistrate. Qi Lizheng did not doubt it, but Old Feng, who used to be the Deputy County Magistrate, knew the knack of it.
It seemed that the Zhang Family and the Wang Family had found County Magistrate Cheng. No wonder he did not care about Qi Lizheng and him going there. The most important thing was that he had thought about this aspect. Qi Lizheng and Qi Lizheng went there overnight and did not get anything in the end.
"So it is the new plows made by County Magistrate. I really do not know what to say. County Magistrate is really a good official. You think about the people. County Magistrate should rest more. Don't tire yourself out. The people in the county cannot lose a good official like you."
Other than saying this, Old Feng could not find anything else to say. After he finished speaking, he was about to stand up and leave.
County Magistrate Cheng quickly said, "Qi Lizheng and Old Feng, you don't have to leave in a hurry. Rest for a while and come with me to the place where the plows are sold."
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