After a few days of adjustment, Zhang Zhaoci finally managed to sort things out at home.

Although Granny Zhao was already receiving a salary from the former yamen, Zhang Zhaoci still gave her an extra one. The purpose of this extra salary was to enable Granny Zhao to better lead the people she had recruited. Moreover, Zhang Zhaoci entrusted her with the household purchasing affairs, which made Granny Zhao very grateful to Zhang Zhaoci.

Putting aside the potential profits in the procurement process, the fact that they entrusted her with this task shows they truly value her. She had heard that the Xu family came from a noble family, and the newly arrived county magistrate was a newly appointed scholar. The fact that they had given her such great respect made Granny Zhao feel a sense of righteous indignation, like a scholar willing to die for a friend.

Although Zhang Zhaoci studied medicine, he had at least seen things about corporate management, even if he had no experience with it. He clearly explained to Granny Zhao who was responsible for what, what to do if a problem occurred, and who was responsible for it. Moreover, these people had signed contracts and put their fingerprints on them when they entered the mansion. This was a kind of constraint on them. They enjoyed the high salary I gave them, so they had to pay the corresponding labor and at least be loyal.

The magistrate's wife's appreciation greatly boosted Granny Zhao's work enthusiasm, and she also felt a strong sense of belonging. She diligently managed the cook, the kitchen helper, and the two women responsible for washing and cleaning in the courtyard.

Granny Li had been coldly observing Zhang Zhaoci's management of the household affairs. She saw that Zhang Zhaoci pushed all the work onto Granny Zhao, while Granny Li herself only had to have Granny Zhao come over before lunch each day to record the accounts and ask a few simple questions about what was going on in the courtyard. Granny Li felt that Zhang Zhaoci was too lenient. How could she allow the servants to be so lax? At the very least, they should come to the master's house to report properly.

Xu Rao, a newly appointed official, was unsure where to begin his campaign, so he quietly went to the yamen every day to report for duty. Hexi County was a very special place. As a new county, its relationships were not as complex as in other places. Moreover, because it was close to the country's fortress, it often had to obey the orders of the heir of the Jingbei Marquis's mansion stationed nearby.

Although the prefectural government office was small, it had everything it needed. In addition to Xu Rao, the local official, the county magistrate, the registrar, and the clerk, there were six other staff members and three shifts of yamen runners. The small county government office really had to support a lot of people.

Some of these people receive government salaries, while others make a living on meager expenses for paper, pen, copying, and food.

Xu Rao doesn't care what people did before they joined him, or whose mole or informant they were. As long as they were with him, they were people he needed to protect and take responsibility for. Sigh, that's all pressure.

When Xu Rao returned home for dinner that evening, he told his family about these things.

The Xu family's dining table is not a place where one cannot speak while eating. During the meal, in addition to the four members of the Xu family, they also insisted on having Granny Lu sit with them. Granny Lu was unwilling, so Zhang Zhaoci said that he would take care of Granny Lu in her old age, which was the Xu family's rule, and he hoped that Granny Lu could adapt to the Xu family's rules in the future.

After Xu Rao expressed his pressure, Xu Di said, "Dad, it's just a matter of money. As long as you have the ability to develop the economy here, why worry about those people not being able to make money?"

Xu Rao sighed and said, "You make it sound so easy, but do you know how difficult it is to actually implement it? Tell me, what can I develop in this small border town?"

Xu Rao said, "Develop border trade. Isn't there a border market? I've inquired about it these past few days. The border market is managed by the government, but it has declined somewhat in recent years. Let's contact some big merchants in the country and have them bring their goods over. Then we can exchange the goods for them on the grasslands. It doesn't matter if it's cattle, sheep, or horses. These are all money."

Xu Rao said, "It's easy for us to talk about it here, but we still need to think about it carefully."

Zhang Zhaoci said, "Could we develop the planting industry? All we see here is oats. If we want to eat rice or wheat flour, we have to buy it at a high price. We can ask people to find some crops or vegetable seeds that are suitable for planting here. If we plant more, we can enrich our meals."

Granny Lu listened expressionlessly to the mother and daughter discussing politics. Xu Zhi thought of the potatoes and corn she had eaten when she went to Lingnan and said, "There are no potatoes or corn here."

Not only here, but even within the territory of Daliang, these two kinds of things are nowhere to be found. As for sweet potatoes, those are all crops brought back from overseas.

Xu Rao said with a headache, "Zhao Ci, is there still no news from your father-in-law these past few years? They've had ships for the past few years, see if they can bring back some seeds."

Zhang Zhaoci said, "Oh dear, there are also chili peppers. I'll have to go and find out about them."

Granny Lu didn't understand any of this, but she felt that as a lady of the inner quarters, it was wrong for her to interfere in the affairs of the front office. Granny Lu thought about subtly suggesting this to Zhang Zhaoci sometime, because if the censor found out, he could really impeach Xu Rao.

Xu Rao spent a few days there, squatting in the county government office, looking through some basic information about Hexi County, including how many towns, villages, and households it had, as well as information about the county's mountains, rivers, and topography.

A few days later, a group of people came to the county government office. The man introduced himself to Xu Rao, saying that he was under the command of the heir of the Marquis of Jingbei and that he had come to invite Lord Xu and his family to visit the heir's residence.

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