Three years later.

Today, Yuhai County is no longer what it used to be; the layout of the entire county has undergone a complete transformation.

All the houses were built by Lin Xue according to the blueprints. The people living in the county town only needed to pay a small portion of the cost, while the county government covered the majority of the expenses.

In fact, the county government didn't spend much money. Labor costs in Yuhai County were low. Lin Xue only needed to provide some food, and there were plenty of people willing to work.

The materials were sourced locally in Yuhai County, so the majority of the cost was in labor.

Although Huang Dehai is the one who bears the fame on the surface, those who know him well know that Lin Xue deserves the most credit for the development of the entire Yuhai County.

Today, Yuhai County is a prosperous and thriving county seat.

Flood discharge channels cross various villages and towns, each one meticulously excavated by hand, with various trees planted on both sides of the channels.

Even if floods occur again, the water will be properly diverted and distributed, preventing large-scale flooding of farmland.

Huang Degui has now mastered the production technology of brick and tile factories and has opened branch factories in various towns in Yuhai County.

Of course, the branch factory that followed was built by Huang Degui with his own money. He was no longer as honest and simple as when he first came out, but he was quite down-to-earth in doing business.

The Huang Dequan family has always managed the canned food business, whether it's canned fish, canned chicken, or canned fruit.

Lin Xue then handed over the management of the breeding business to Liu Xiaoyu, since Liu Xiaoyu was someone she had trained, and she had to take care of her.

In the second year of Huang Dehai’s tenure, he submitted a memorial to the imperial court, hoping to select candidates for the two vacant positions in Yuhai County.

When the emperor saw that Yuhai County had not complained to the court about needing money or grain this year, he granted Huang Dehai's request.

Although Yuhai County did not pay a single grain of rice to the imperial court in these three years, it also did not continue to demand supplies from the imperial court.

The emperor had almost forgotten about this place until one day he casually mentioned it to the empress, and suddenly this notorious troublesome place was brought up again.

The sudden disappearance of news piqued the emperor's curiosity, so he dispatched an imperial envoy, disguised, to inspect Yuhai County.

When the imperial envoy arrived in Yuhai County, he could hardly believe his eyes.

Is this still the same poor and backward Yuhai County?

The imperial envoy was named Yu Qianhua. He had also visited Yuhai County before, but at that time, many of the people in Yuhai County were barely clothed.

They were all pale and thin, and everyone had a worried look on their faces.

But what about Yuhai County today?

The streets are neat and prosperous, and the houses are built in a very orderly manner.

The entire county of Yuhai was spotless; Yu Qianhua could hardly find a single piece of litter.

The people were all smiling, full of energy, and their eyes were full of hope.

As Yu Qianhua was visiting various places in Yuhai County in disbelief, he saw a group of soldiers heading out of the city.

"Hey folks, what are they doing here?"

Yu Qianhua pulled over an old man who was watching the commotion and asked him very humbly.

"Don't you know?"

The old man first glanced at Yu Qianhua, and finding him to be an unfamiliar face, he assumed he was a businessman from out of town and didn't pay much attention.

"This is our county magistrate's wife, leading the county government officials to fight the Japanese pirates again!"

The old man's words really startled Yu Qianhua.

"Fellow villager, you're not kidding, are you? The magistrate's wife leading people to fight Japanese pirates?"

It should be noted that Japanese pirates were a major enemy of coastal cities, and many large cities were constantly bothered by their harassment.

This little county magistrate's wife of Yuhai County actually has such abilities, and can even lead people to fight against Japanese pirates.

Even if the magistrate's wife had led a group to fight bandits, Yu Qianhua wouldn't have been so shocked.

Those were Japanese pirates, ruthless killers!

"Hey, you outsiders don't understand!"

"Our county magistrate's wife is a woman who is just as capable as any man. If it weren't for the fact that there is no such thing as a woman being a general in our Great Zhou Dynasty, I think even a real general might not be a match for our county magistrate's wife!"

"Our county magistrate's wife is quite an extraordinary woman. Back then, our Yuhai County was impoverished, and the people were all so thin and pale from hunger that they could barely walk..."

Blah blah blah...

"If it weren't for the magistrate and his wife being like divine soldiers who saved the people of Yuhai County from their suffering, we, the people of Yuhai County, would have starved to death in that cold winter long ago!"

"Our Yuhai County was so poor that even rats would cry and leave when they came. The Japanese pirates had also given up on this place and stopped coming!"

"But later, as life in our Yuhai County gradually improved, those Japanese pirates reverted to their old ways and led their men into our Yuhai County!"

"At the time, I thought that the good days we had finally achieved were about to come to an end. But who knew that our county magistrate's wife would lead a troop of soldiers and fight those Japanese pirates head-on!"

The old man became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, and his radiant appearance attracted the attention of the surrounding people.

"Old Liu, what you said isn't entirely true!"

"It wasn't our magistrate's wife fighting those Japanese pirates; it was clearly our magistrate's wife chasing after them!"

"Have you forgotten the 23 naked corpses of Japanese pirates that were hung on the city wall of Yuhai County the morning after they first set foot on our coast?"

When they heard that the old man was wrong, some of the surrounding people came over to object and add their own comments.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!