When someone asked where the donated prescription came from, Magistrate Zhang replied, "The prescription you mentioned was indeed donated by the Qingquanwan Pharmacy."

The uproar subsided, and everyone began to search the hall, looking for the Qingquanwan Pharmacy.

Donating this prescription to the government might bring some fame, but it would mean losing money. This kind of simple-minded person... oh, a good person, we should definitely get to know him.

Magistrate Zhang, fulfilling everyone's wishes, called out in Jiang Zhi's direction, "Village Chief Jiang!"

This is a clear indication that they want to make their own appearance.

Jiang Zhi stood up in front of everyone, cupped her hands and bowed deeply: "I am a woman named Jiang, who has some knowledge of herbal medicine. I come from a poor family and know the hardships of the people, so I am offering this prescription to the government."

It was this woman! No wonder she was sitting in the county government hall; she must have offered a prescription!

The expressions of the people in the hall varied.

However, these people were not ordinary. Back then, when Old Song directly confronted Jiang Zhi about her identity as a woman at the post station, he was rebuffed and left looking humiliated.

These people now have a much broader perspective. Even if they have doubts, they won't stand out in public and show their narrow-mindedness.

However, he couldn't bring himself to say anything about waiting for them, so he responded with two sparse compliments, making the scene quite awkward.

Those words were spoken by the Huo family steward and Song Tingzhang.

Jiang Zhi remained calm and fearless in the face of the awkward silence.

Magistrate Zhang remained unmoved, simply raising his hand and saying, "The prescription donated by Village Chief Jiang has already been praised by King Zhou! Men! Bring out the gifts!"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone in the hall changed instantly, and they all stood up immediately, their attitudes respectful.

Yes, if these medicines are sent to the army, King Zhou will surely find out.

King Zhou... still needs to be cautious!

A clerk brought over a tray covered with red silk.

Magistrate Zhang unveiled the red silk, revealing two small gold ingots and an inkstone inside.

"For Jiang's meritorious contribution in offering the prescription, the King of Zhou has bestowed upon him twenty taels of gold and a top-grade Chengni inkstone!"

Jiang Zhi stepped forward and took the tray: "Thank you, King Zhou!"

Magistrate Zhang laughed and said, "You deserve to be rewarded for your merits. This is what you are entitled to."

Jiang Zhi's thanks were sincere.

Given Magistrate Zhang's past record of making empty promises, when she offered the prescription, she only wanted to give Errui and Xiaoman a minor official title and didn't expect anything else. She never thought she would get this unexpected benefit.

She was overjoyed!

Although twenty taels of gold are ostensibly equivalent to two hundred taels of silver, ordinary people rarely use silver in their daily lives, let alone gold.

Therefore, the value of this small gold ingot far exceeds two hundred taels of silver.

And this top-grade Chengni inkstone, a gift from the King of Zhou, is no ordinary item. Its price... Jiang Zhi doesn't know how much it costs, but it should be no less than a small ingot of gold.

Jiang Zhi happily received the reward and returned to her seat amidst the complicated gazes of the crowd.

Tian Tao quickly took the tray, her whole demeanor brightening. This was gold, something some people had never seen in their entire lives, and it belonged to Master Wang Shang.

At this moment, the crowd stirred, and someone spoke up again: "Magistrate Zhang, what is the drought-relief medicine advertised at the Qingquanwan Pharmacy? Pingchuan County suffered a drought a month ago, so why was there no medicine for disaster relief?"

As soon as he finished speaking, several people chimed in, "Yes, Magistrate Zhang's compilation of records of each department's strengths is very helpful for us, but it also requires rigorous verification."

"Yes, has anyone used the drought-resistant medicine developed by Qingquan Bay? What were the results?"

This is what they care about most, and what they have the most questions about.

A month ago, Bavaria County suffered from drought. Although it was short-lived, it happened just when corn was heading. Everyone tried their best to save the crop, but many plots still failed and the harvest was greatly reduced.

If there were drought-resistant medicines, my family wouldn't have suffered such a severe disaster.

“This matter is absolutely true. Please let Chief Song of Lihua Town explain in detail!” Magistrate Zhang pointed at Old Song.

Song Tingzhang stood up straight, shook his long robe, and bowed to the crowd in the hall, saying, "Many families in this town have used the 'miracle water' from Qingquanwan Pharmacy, and it is indeed effective. Just as Village Chief Jiang said, it cannot bring down sweet rain from the sky, but it can increase the drought resistance of crops."

After using the "miracle water," the town's crops experienced a slight decrease in yield during the recent drought, but there was no total crop failure.

He spoke in a refined manner, but the gist of his meaning was still clear to everyone: the crops in Pear Blossom Town had benefited.

A soft cough echoed in the hall, clearly indicating barely suppressed excitement.

Food is the most important thing for people, and crops are the foundation for people's survival. The ability to resist drought means that they will not go hungry.

Jiang Zhi was clear about the effects of the medicine. Even if the medicine purchased in Lihua Town was not 100% effective, it would at least reward their hard work in carrying water to save the seedlings.

But... Jiang Zhi looked at Song Tingzhang, shook her head helplessly, and found it amusing.

Having known each other for over a year, from the time we first dealt with Wang Xiaoju leading people to seize grain, to the time we worked on building houses in Xujia Village, Lao Song had already accused him several times of not giving him a chance to shine.

This time it's happening again.

Because it was the first time the "miracle water" had been used, and the second crop of corn in Xujia Village was not yet ready for harvest, there was no data to prove the harvest, so Jiang Zhi did not think of reporting it to the government.

However, the corn in other parts of Lihua Town matured and was harvested after the rain.

It's Old Song who's rushing to report this now, probably because he's afraid I'll leave him behind again.

Old Song's words brought no praise, but rather a rebuke: "Song Junheng, we've known each other for over ten years, how could you not have revealed something like this, causing us all to suffer losses? If I have offended you in any way, I apologize to you now!"

Immediately, others echoed this sentiment, as if Song Tingzhang was intentionally keeping secrets.

The two men speaking were about the same age as Song Tingzhang. One of them addressed Song as "brother," suggesting they were former classmates, though the atmosphere was rather tense.

Old Song was filled with righteous indignation: "Qingquanwan Pharmacy just developed the medicine, and I used all my savings to verify its effectiveness for everyone."

After the grain harvest was completed and its effectiveness was discovered, the county magistrate was notified immediately. What was wrong with that?

"My heart and Village Chief Jiang's are as bright as the moon, yet our light shines on your ditch."

Tsk!

Scholars have their own way of cursing, without using a single vulgar word.

Jiang Zhi watched with a smile as her superior, Song Tingzhang, argued with someone.

There are risks involved in showing one's face, and these responsibilities should have fallen on oneself, but Song Tingzhang took the lead.

This is the county government office, so naturally no one will be allowed to cause trouble. Magistrate Zhang shouted, "You are all respectable people in the eyes of the people. What kind of behavior is this, making such a racket? As long as we have this medicine, even if this year's summer harvest is damaged, we will still benefit from it next year, the year after, and for generations to come."

The hall fell silent once more.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man in a linen robe and with a stout build stood up in the corner and said with a smile, "Village Chief Jiang is a man of great righteousness. He was able to donate the prescription and receive a reward from King Zhou."

Now, this concerns the people's livelihood, the basic needs of tens of thousands of people in Pingchuan County. Could we also make this drought-resistant method public?

This man is smooth-talking; he pinned a accusation on Jiang Zhi, trying to force her to reveal the secret, and he even used the fact that everyone in Pingchuan County was struggling to make her live.

The word "morality" was applied, and the booklet clearly stated that Qingquanwan Pharmacy benefited the people and the army, and its achievements were outstanding, leaving no room for rebuttal.

The strangest thing was that when this person suddenly spoke, no one in the room uttered a word, while Magistrate Zhang was just drinking tea with his head down...

Xiaoman clenched her fists in anger and whispered, "Auntie, let's not say anything and see what he dares to do!"